It was the usual rush, packing up and carrying cases hither and thither. But underneath this slight distraction, we both knew what was to come. We would have to say goodbye.
This happens whenever someone near-and-dear heads off in a different direction to the SconeLady's, in this case with Ted standing in the 'between'. Dear Ted. He knew.
But there we were once again at the railway station, I with my crab sandwich in a Yellow Canary sack and numerous other bags stacked around my legs. We talked about what she and Ted were going to do. They were going to spend the weekend in a boat! With two beautiful daughters and the charming canal to rock them all to sleep each night. Delicious meals to eat; ever so much to talk about and catch up on, friends and relatives, past loves, all of it. I could envy such a weekend with nears-and-dears of my own.
As the little St Ives train pulled slowly away and Rosie became smaller and smaller, I thought of her Victoria Sponge and the cream I hope to duplicate when I get back home. But there is something unique about the dairy products in England. THEY WON'T BE DUPLICATED. I have tried. But of course I'll try again, in what must be the definition of insanity.
I really shouldn't go into the strange, crowded conditions of yesterday's Great Western Railway ride. The people were nice and very patient, but it was HARD getting all my bags past all their bags and into the right car, then squeeze myself into what seemed a minuscule seat where a man was sitting and then had to move. Oh, and it was hot in there.
In the midst of it all, though, there were the two sisters and their two daughters excitedly preparing to go to a very big concert that night: Billie Eilish! I don't even really know how to spell it but I knew who Billie Eilish was/is, and how big a deal the concert would be. And Billie's only twenty years old! The girls' eyes fairly sparkled in anticipation, and I murmured to one mother, "Have you any earplugs?" She laughed and said no, but that she was probably going to need them. The concert would be held in the O2 Arena, about as big as big can be (it's the arena they filmed the 2010 concert of Les Miserables with Alfie Boe playing Jean val Jean. THE BEST!).
So meeting those four lovely young/sort of young women was a huge joy. It had turned out I was sitting in one of their seats and had fallen asleep, and they had had to wake me so I could shift out of it - but my devices were all plugged in beneath the seat and I had to disentangle them, put away my laptop, gather my bags, and skooch across the aisle to a vacant spot. All of this took time. They had to arrange all their bags too and meanwhile this maneuvering plugged up the aisle so that no one could move in either direction.
But the sisters were so nice, saying things like "Oh, here is the cable for your laptop.." and "is this bag with the picture frame yours?" And most alarming, "Is this your Apple Watch on the floor?..."
It was a bit like saying goodbye to friends as I left that train and caught the one for Oxford. They saw me hovering outside their window, and waved enthusiastically - four excited females headed off on an adventure. My own adventure seemed tame compared with theirs; sitting in an ancient chapel at Magdalen College for the Choral Evensong, young boys singing like the angels without a microphone in sight.
I was probably listening to those boys at about the same time Billie Eilish was belting out whatever it is one belts in the O2, with fog machines and sound systems at full caliber. I'd love to hear what the mothers had to say about afterward, wouldn't you?
Shall I hazard a guess that four sets of young/sort of young ears are still ringing a bit today? I suppose it can't be much worse than when Jimi Hendrix screamed and banged his guitar onto the stage in a fit. Lots of hearing aids exist today, just because of him.
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
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