Briefly Back in England.

 

A brief trip back to England revealed to me the things that I have missed while living in France.  

As I sat on the bus from Heathrow to Cambridge, I was mesmerised by the autumn colours. The sun was shining, the sky pale blue and the trees were spectacular, as if putting on a show especially for me.  How could I have forgotten, so quickly, how lovely autumn is in England? I was so taken by all the loveliness that I didn't take any pictures.  You'll have to take my word for it. 

(The photograph above is one that I took last year, on Stourbridge Common, Cambridge.)

I hadn't realised that I missed the changing of the leaves. There are few deciduous trees around Menton and of the tress in my garden (two lemon, one orange, two kumquat, one fig and one persimmon) only the fig and the persimmon tree, lose their leaves.  The leaves on the persimmon had turned a lovely pale reddy orange before I left. When I returned just seven days later, all but half a dozen were on the  lawn (I use the term loosely) ready for me to sweep up.

I am aware that, tucked away in a corner of France as I am, that I must make an effort to keep in touch with people and in spite of the brevity of the visit, I managed to catch up on the news and gossip from family and friends—always so much better in person than by phone or even Zoom.

I made a long awaited visit to John Lewis —how can a shop be the thing (as opposed to person) that I miss most in England?  The shops in France are wonderful, I am spoilt for independent shops, markets and brocantes... Menton even boasts a small Galleries Lafayette, Nice, with all its shops, is only a thirty five minute train ride away.  There is everything that I want, except John Lewis. It must be my age, my upbringing or something but I could not go back to Cambridge without a visit to the shop (I won't mention the bedding that I had ordered while in France, ready to collect when I got there).

A lovely trip to the UK was only slightly marred by disruption to my return flight. It was cancelled, I was moved to a flight five hours later. It turned out that there weren't enough air traffic controllers that day,  throwing everything into chaos. The departure board made depressing reading and Terminal 5 was busier than a bank holiday Friday, with long long queues at every customer service desk. 

Thanks to an Avios funded upgrade, I was able to spend several hours in the British Airways lounge.  You could have a very pleasant (if mind numbingly boring) all-inclusive holiday there, with a steady flow of alcohol, soft drinks, hot drinks, hot food, sandwiches, snacks, cake. Out of the window there is a view of a constant stream of planes taking off; inside there is an ever changing crowd of people to watch and of course if you dare to venture out of the lounge, all the designer shops are waiting to tempt and tantalise.  It would be perfect if it had a pool (and you weren't trapped there, trying to get to somewhere else). 

I didn't find out about the cancellation until we were nearly at Heathrow.  There would have been just enough time to drive back to Cambridge, drink a cup of coffee and then drive back again—a bit pointless and less green than the flight I was due to take. So instead we veered off the motorway, into Staines upon Thames. The first place we stopped at, was closed. Interrupting a woman engrossed in extracting her child from his car seat, I asked where we might get breakfast. She advised against heading for Staines High Street as a procession was about to begin (we had wondered at the number of people dressed as Father Christmas as we drove into the town) and directed us to Restaurant 163 in Egham. They served an excellent full English (something else France doesn't offer)—definitely recommend, should you ever find yourself in Egham or arriving early at Heathrow.

Before leaving Menton I had visited the library and borrowed two books to read on the plane. The Sue Grafton one I finished before I left France — I thought I had read all hers all those years ago.  I hadn't read this one.  Loved it.

I'm not sure how I missed Exposure by Helen Dunmore either.  What a great read!

A quick update on my books, BookViral Reviews has reviewed all three of my books now. Here are the links:

Rude Awakening    https://bookviralreviews.com/book-reviews/womens-sagas/

Let's Escape            https://bookviralreviews.com/book-reviews/romance-literary-fiction/

Journey's End        https://bookviralreviews.com/book-reviews/womens-sagas-literary-fiction/