After a sleepless night on the airplane, I arrived in London grumpy, tired and achy from the cramped seats. I had a moment with the Border Guard when he asked me why I was in London. I told him I was here for a conference and he asked me what the conference was. Obviously he is not into family history because when I replied, “Who do You Think You Are?” his eyes snapped up and it was clear he thought I was being cheeky. After a brief explanation, he welcomed me to England.
Wonder of all wonders, my luggage was waiting for me when I reached the carousel and I found the location to pick up my TEP wireless access point effortlessly. The tube ride from the airport to my hotel was long but uneventful and once out on the street, I quickly remembered how to get to the hotel. My room was ready for me when I arrived and after unpacking, I headed out to WH Smith to check out the British magazine stands. I managed to limit myself to buying only four and was thrilled to find they had self checkouts and I was able to avoid the long queue for the cashier.
I stopped by The Shakespeare and had a dinner (breakfast?) of eggs, ham and chips and even indulged in a glass of wine, despite my body clock telling me it was closer to morning than evening. Back at my room, I tried to call home to my mother, but was unable to get a call to ring through using my cell phone, despite my purchase of a very expensive 30 day EURO phone add-in. I spent over an hour on chat support with my cell carrier back in Canada but in the end, the only thing they had to offer me was to run a factory reset on my phone so I gave in and used Skype to call. By 7:30, I was exhausted and crawled into bed only to be woken an hour later by my cell phone ringing. Apparently something that support did during my hour long chat finally made the overseas talk plan kick in.
This morning, I feel more rested and am ready to tackle the conference. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to take my backpack, but leave my laptop behind, depending on my tablet only for the day. I have no idea what to expect but am looking forward to my first day at WDYTYA.
The tube awaits. Tally ho!
