Sep 2: Back on the Ground

We made it to London! It was a hassle-free, somewhat luxurious trip. We bid on an upgrade and “won” two business class seats, for a small splurge rather than a large mortgage. WestJet forgot to do their pre-boarding, so called General Boarding and then had to hold back 90% of a plane-load, while small children and obese seniors were herded to the front and given their “extra time” for boarding and those in suits seethed.

We were not in suits, but were, nevertheless, among those elbowed aside by a very large older woman who had the balance and capacity to force her way through the throng, but, having been scanned in, stopped at the reader and demanded a wheelchair for making it to the plane. It was a whole thing. We subsequently watched a stand-off between two equally large women, both of whom had “specifically requested an aisle seat”, but only one of whom had actually been ticketed with one. That was also a whole thing, and bad tempered to boot.

Fortunately, once the plane took off, everyone seemed to cheer up or doze off. The rest of the flight was uneventful, on time and we and our luggage both arrived ten minutes early to a drizzly Heathrow. Our time in Kenya taught us that rain is auspicious. A new year or project that begins with rain is considered blessed. Living in drought-prone Calgary, I continue to be grateful for rain, whenever it falls. Even the Tropical storms that hit us on the Camino Portuguese last year were/are an unforgettable experience, a splendid story, and the excuse for our return in a few weeks.

We are staying in what has become our favourite hotel in London, the Town Hall in Bethnal Green. It offers 4-star facilities at 2+-star prices, for London, at least. This is because most tourists do not stay in East London. West London is Harrods, Buckingham Palace, Notting and Primrose Hills…. East London is former meat markets, current low-income housing and Jack the Ripper tours. It’s a bustling (gritty?), practical place to stay – where “real people” live, with pharmacies, groceries, cafes (rather than cafés) and greasy spoons. It’s an easy place to be slightly-scruffy, traveling-light visitors.

Gareth lives a fifteen minute walk away in the lovely London Fields (with a Sunday flower market and a weekend food truck huddle). We are going over there for dinner this evening. I’m particularly proud of this trip’s Gareth-gift: a rubber duck, proudly bedazzled with rhinestones in the white and red of the Canadian flag. It is awesome – the intersection of Jeepiness and Canadiana, by way of Camino (we have a couple of “St James” rubber ducks bought in the Cathedral gift shop in Santiago de Compostela. These are handmade in Calgary. During our recent US-trip, one went to Tammy, who calls Carey “Canadian”. Hers has lash-extensions. One went to fellow dual citizen and Jeep-driver, Lexi. Hers had maple leaves). Gareth gets the third, like him, pared-back and fabulous).

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Inspired by our 2024 Camino Francais, Karen has a periodic podcast called "I sent you a bloody boat", personal thoughts on faith by a person who believes in thinking. Also, known as "The Reluctant Christian". You can listen to it on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts at: