Dawn

This morning I awoke in English waters, my first time here since my step-father's funeral just before the COVID lockdown. The Bretagne slipped into Portsmouth nearly bang on time and I was able to take a few pictures on my way in. The main and one extra are the Spinnaker Tower. I got a load of photos of Big Liz, but it's not that photogenic sitting by the harbour and I've added the best as an extra.

Once the ship had docked we unloaded and the bus took everyone to Border Control, where a very chipper inspector wanted to know where everyone was going. It was hard to know if he was being polite or enquiring, but it was odd. I the walked into town and to the train station to collect my train tickets. I had an hour to kill before my train, so collected some watch batteries (they are free-for-life replacements), paid in a cheque that wouldn't work though my phone app, and bought a few dull things that are cheap in the UK but painfully expensive in France.

From Portsmouth I took the train to London Waterloo without issue and then the Tube to Euston station. At Euston I noticed that it was rather warm, and I was glad I hadn't walked from station to station to fill the time, and instead went into Waterstones Bookshop which wasn't too busy and was much cooler than anywhere else at the station.

My Pendolino service to Manchester was fine, though the A/C was a bit strong and it wasn't quite warm enough on the train. The journey was fine and it arrived on time at Piccadilly station. I got of the train and walked into a furnace though, Manchester was blisteringly hot and it was sweating buckets when I walked to the bus stop for the next leg of my trip. The £2 single ticket from Manchester to Rawtenstall was a bargain, and the though the bus takes forever to snake though Manchester centre, once it's got to Bury it blasts up the M66 to Rawtenstall in no time.

At Rawtenstall bus station I met my father - though I came out the wrong side and had to go back in and look for him on the other side of the station, and he took me up to his home.

After several cups of tea and dinner we went for walk, and his little dog brought back a stick (as he always does) - see final extra that doesn't look like an aircraft carrier or a Portsmouth landmark...

There was some dead time in my trip, I could have easily caught an earlier train at Portsmouth and again at Euston, but it's always useful to have flex especially as to get a good price you have to buy inflexible tickets months in advance.

It's the first time I've been in England in several years, and quite a while since I've seen my father. He is doing well on his own now - his wife is in a home - but it is hard to live so far away. My step-father did okay after my mother died, but it is hard on men who've been reliant on their wives for so much of their lives. I hate being so far from my family, but there were no jobs when I was growing up and I had no choice but to move away after University... Brexit was the final straw and now I don't even live in the country of my birth...

Backblip