Au revoir England

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Wednesday, September 15th

Freed of some of the uncertainty of my mystery medical problems, I could now to my attention to the logistics of getting to Spain to join the family as quickly as possible. First a nod to modern technology: after getting my ultrasound I was able to use my Internet-enabled telephone to straightaway rebook my flight (for the second time), with the added bonus that in these Covid times there were no change fees. I could also call the car rental company, get directions to their office and easily drop off the car. And perhaps a final ode to England, the land of my upbringing and one of the homes that I hold in my heart. Google gave me three options for walking to the station; I chose the scenic one which was only marginally longer and soon found myself wandering along the River Wey in the middle of the large city of Guilford. In all my years of living close to the city I don’t think I’ve ever walked on this path. I probably vaguely knew it was here but rarely had cause to use it.

Saying goodbye to our trusty if somewhat "bijou" Picanto

A balding, middle-age man walks to the train station

The River Wey and associated loveliness


That doesn't look like Surrey

I planned to spend the evening quickly packing and then hanging out with my hosts before an early night ahead of my 3.30am wake-up. The other side of technology had other ideas. I couldn't complete my Spain health form without a seat number and I couldn't check in before BA had verified my covid vaccines. Stuck in a loop. And then Uber wouldn't let me book a scheduled pick-up. This gen X'er is starting to sound like a Millenial (stereotype because they're not really like that). I had a tantrum, broke my phone, and watched re-runs of Friends. No I didn't: I enjoyed a lovely dinner with my ever generous hosts (Manu finally got her roast chicken), hopped in the hot tub once more and went to bed later than I should have.

And all of sudden I found myself in Spain, a world away from leafy Surrey, with its hot, dry lunar landscape, its white hot neverending sun, and the blue waters of the Meditterean stretching away from its endless coastline. This is a place to marvel at the lifestyle of southern Europe, observe Brits out of their natural habitat and, once in a while, reach for the sunglasses that you realise you are already wearing. 

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