Flight from Winnipeg to London

I am finally in London, though there was some concern that I’d arrive on time. My flight from Winnipeg to Toronto almost did not take off the ground. Some sort of computer error, the captain said. Apparently the “computer didn’t like the initial energy transfer” and did not recognise that both engines were on. We were delayed for about an hour, which made my transfer in Toronto a little tight. Fellow passengers and I of the Winnipeg-Toronto flight were the last to board. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t have time to buy a supper, for according to my reservation, I was not to expect a evening meal with this flight. But, no worries: we did have supper. The best part is that I actually fell asleep on the plane – only for two naps of maybe half an hour each, but that’s two more times that I have ever slept on a plane before!

Arriving in Heathrow was easy and I was able to get to my destination via the tube without troubles, but it sure helped that I’ve been in London once before. It was raining when I arrived and continued on and off throughout the day. After settling into the London Mennonite Centre, I was able to go for a brief walk in a near by park before eating supper with staff's weekly joint meal.

Now that it is Wednesday morning, I have been here for 48 hours. Number of hours doing tourist stuff: maybe 1. Most of my energy was spent on the rainy Monday to counter jet-lag. I think this was a good choice. On Tuesday, I walked 30 min to the next transit zone so I could save a little money on tube fare, took a train to Chelmsford to meet with my consultant from Protocol Teachers (the company that recruited me), continued to Colchester to meet with a letting agency to look at a flat to rent. Except the flat wasn’t ready for me to look at yet (even though we have agreed to this meeting basically a week ago). So I have to go in again today. I took the train back and slept on it. (Why can’t planes be as “sleepable” as trains?) and saved a little more money by taking the bus from the train station to within 20 minutes walk of my place in London. I’ve done a bunch of walking to save money for transit (added with the walking to look around Chelmsford and Colchester), but my tired feet are asking if it is worth it. Since I had time before my meetings, I was able to tour the “smallest cathedral in England”, not too far from the train station in Chelmsford. It was neat to be able to browse through the place and not get too overwhelmed with all the details that some other cathedrals have. I also got to walk in the heart of the old town of Colchester. It is the oldest recorded town in England – their claim to fame. There are several streets on quaint shops along the tight streets. I did not want to buy anything yet because it would mean bringing it back here in London, and then carry it back to Colchester again next week with all of my stuff.
There is still a lot of logistics for me to work out before I even start teaching, each with it's own potential snags and issues. So I don't anticipate feeling totally relaxed for a while, yet. It sure helps that I am a great place to stay right now, though. (I found so many Mennonite connections with this place, it's not even funny!)
Kevin