Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Back

Did you miss me??

Of course you didn't - because a) you didn't know I had gone anywhere, and b) I was only away for the weekend and don't update on those days. *g*

I went up to Swindon, which is, well, (I really don't want to upset any of our readers who might live there, but...), a crappy place, to be quite honest. I sure a hell couldn't live there. And I'm originally from a London slum!!

Anyway, I went to Swindon. On the train. Haven't been on a train for ages, I usually go by bus as it's cheaper. Unfortunately there is only one bus a day between here & Swindon - at an completely inconvenient time (obviously there aren't many people who do want to go there from here) - so I bit the bullet and paid three times as much to travel at a better hour.

Once in Swindon I discovered that, unlike my home city, there are not large quantities of B & B places dotted about. And there isn't a hotel quarter. Mainly because nobody goes to Swindon for any purpose (other than business trips) if they can help it, and there are nicer places to stay just a short drive away. There are a couple of expensive, fairly classy, American chain type, hotels at the edge of the town, but not much in the centre. I did find a few small guest-house/inn types places.

And then I ran into problems.

I don't have a credit card. It's amazing how few hotels (even those which are cheap inns rather than proper hotels) will take you if you don't have a card. I offered a cash deposit over & above the room fee, but nope, they wanted a card. Just when I was starting to think I'd be sleeping in the park I found an inn that was happy to take cash. And it was quite a nice room at a very reasonable price.

Of course - there was absolutely nowhere close where I could get breakfast. And very few places for dinner. No tourists = few restaurants.

So why was I in Swindon if it was so difficult??

I was seeing a mate get hitched. The author Jane Fletcher, to be precise. She was... hmm... grammar issue here, Civil Partnership is a noun, not a verb, so I can't say "getting Civil Partnered", (besides that sounds weird), and "getting a Civil Partnership" sounds as if she was popping into Ikea for a flat-pack kit. Ah, what the hell. You get the picture. She was doing the whole legal, till-death-us-do-part, thing with her American girlfriend. (It really should be "marriage" - it's so much easier to say "getting married" and it's exactly the same thing in UK law).

Jane lives near Swindon and that's where the registrar is based, so that's where the ceremony took place. And a lovely job they made of it, too. I was dead impressed. Jane's a cracking sort and it's great to see her happy. Her partner's a really nice lass (and a total softie).

But oh boy, if I never have to see Swindon again I really won't be upset about it...

Ze

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