Kevin and I watched some television, switching between a cricket match (which I find completely incomprehensible) and a World Cup soccer game. The soccer game was scoreless until the last minutes when Belgium finally scored a goal and defeated Russia. Good! England and Spain have already been eliminated from advancing in the competition. It doesn't look too good for Switzerland (they lost to France a few days ago), so I guess the only country I have left to root for is Mexico. (Well, there is my home country of the United States, but are they a contender?)
After more than three weeks of fairly intense sightseeing, yesterday was just what I needed... a relaxing day, enjoying wonderful hospitality, company, and conversation with family. Oh, good food too, but my waistline really didn't need that.
This morning I took the train from Borehamwood back to St. Pancras Station in London. Then I switched over to the Picadilly Line of the tube and traveled quite a distance to the southwestern outskirts of the city. I got off at the Osterley Station, where I was met by another English cousin, Rosalie. I met Rosalie briefly back in 2009 on my previous trip to England, and we have kept in touch since then via e-mail. We went out to a nearby restaurant and had a leisurely lunch. Rosalie is a sweet and charming lady, and it was so good to spend time with her. The conversation was fascinating, especially her memories of World War II. She was just a girl at the time. Her parents lived near an air force base, and they opened their home to pilots who needed lodging. Some of those pilots never returned from their missions. The neighborhood was heavily bombed during the Blitz. Her family's home survived the war, but many nearby houses did not, and some of her neighbors perished in the bombings.
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| (photo taken by our kind waitress) |
The first time WWII really hit home for me was walking the streets of London and realizing the empty lots without houses was because of the bombings during WWII! It literally stopped me dead on the street where I stood contemplating how horrible that truly was for families and everyone. So great that you have relatives to visit! Enjoy. The tube is wonderful in London. So easy to get around!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine that it took many years before all traces of the devastation were gone.
DeleteThe tube is great, but I did have a problem yesterday with the train. The train I took didn't stop at the Borehamwood station. Fortunately it did make a stop before it had left the zones covered by my "Oyster Card". So I got off and waited for another train. Now I make sure that the train stops at ALL the stations.
So good for you, enjoying a quiet visit and catching up with your relatives after all the frenzy of previous days. Rosalie must have been very, very young when all those horrors happened. One can see that she's a sweet lady.
ReplyDeleteYes, Rosalie was a young girl during the war, but she still has many memories of it. And, yes, she is a very sweet lady.
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