Saturday 29th October 2022
Today my friend who I went to Italy with, (gosh that sounds like such a fib!) travelled from Portsmouth to Southampton to meet for coffee and to say goodbye. I leapt out of bed when I realised how late it actually was but relaxed when I saw that the station was only an 8 minute walk away.
There was trainline maintenance being done so her train was cancelled and replaced by bus. By the time I got to the station to meet up with her, I got a message saying my later train was also being replaced. Fortunately the rain had stopped so we walked along to the mall with some pauses for me to catch my breath. My backpack felt a little heavier after my flu bug so we took it easy and chatted about how unreal our Italian trip seems in our minds. We found a bigger mall than I'd seen yesterday on my walkabout and sat and drank our coffees before it was time for me to leave.
Another Goodbye.
I started my journey on the replacement bus which was full. I'm still impressed with how efficiently the railways coordinate frantic passengers all thrusting our phones in their faces. On my last station changeover, I chatted briefly to the train staff going off their shift while going up the escalator. They were cheerful and polite and we had a laugh about the unusually high temperature of the day.
I finally got to my last Travelodge of this tour in Slough and decided it was time to have a hot meal in their restaurant. Bangers and mash, a classic British meal. It set the tone for the evening of The Voice TV program final and fireworks in the area. The clocks go back an hour tonight which is likely to confuse me a bit, lol.
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