Ah, England …

Ah, England …

England with its full-crowned green trees, furrowed fields, green meadows that would have rabbits in them if the train wasn’t going by, church steeples, country houses with cars parked in front, thereby designating them of historical interest and probably owned by the National Trust.

This is the England of the English – not the England that the refugees are looking for but the England that the English want to protect and keep English. They don’t care so much about the cities.

Council houses – built after the second world war to house the population after so much had been bombed; some built by my father’s company and definitely lacking in any architectural merit, but with a roof over people’s heads and plumbing and electricity – who cared?

Low gray clouds threatening rain, cows lying in the fields as they do when it’s going to rain. What are they trying to keep dry – their tummies?

(I’m just grateful for cooler temperatures, getting my brain back again and not having to peel my clothes off each night.)

This is the England of my childhood, without the bomb sites filled with crumbling walls and rose bay willow herb (fireweed).

I’m on the train to Glasgow, Scotland after a restful overnight stay at the Lodge of The Christian Community in London. This is a long train journey but it will constitute a day of rest for me.

(Just passed a canal with colourful holiday barges lined up against the bank. There must be a good pub nearby.)

The first stop will be Warrington where I was born, then on through the Lake District which is unbelievably beautiful. Do I sound nostalgic? I probably am.

We flew in last night over London, the first time I have seen it from the air.

I stayed at the Lodge of The Christian Community which is a haven of peace in London although not inexpensive – but worth it.

It’s funny going back to pulling the chain to flush the toilet and needing to remember to switch on the electric outlet before the juice will flow. I could make my own cup of tea in my room and was served poached eggs on toast for breakfast – ah – my morning bliss 🙂

I’m on a Virgin train, a company that has the same sense of humour as Southwest Airlines and West Jet. See photo. I’m in a Quiet Carriage i.e. no cell phones and the sign says Do Not Create Any Unnecessary Noise. The conductor announced over the system – Carriage A is a Quiet Carriage therefore Be Quiet! But it was said humorously 🙂

I’m impressed with The Shop on the train where you can buy food and a really hot cup of tea and someone comes through every half hour or so asking if anyone has any rubbish.

The big news in England is the startling election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the opposition Labour Party. No one expected this result and neither, it would seem, did he.

From what I can tell from the newspapers he has some radical ideas/intentions that, in my opinion, are exactly where society needs to go. His own party is in a state of shock.

Imagine – he chose women for his shadow cabinet to head education, health, families and children etc and when criticized for not choosing women to head finance, foreign affairs etc he maintained that the health, education and welfare of the British population was even more important! Radical! 🙂

Now we are coming up to the Lake District, one of my favourite areas of England, the land of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit, and I want to watch out the window.

Scotland next … 🙂