Wednesday

After getting lost a few times , I was feeling quite good about taking the hire car back till we actually had to do it. We found the industrial estate and every type of car sales rooms, no car hire. We called them, and asked a man in a 2nd hand car yard and eventually found it. The logo of the hire company was tiny, beneath a huge sign of the umbrella company. We asked how we should get back to the town and we’re told, I can call you a taxi! Another 10 pounds. We will avoid the middleman next time.

It was nice to catch up with a friend from our time in Saudi. We were part of an amateur theatre company run on the American base there. Teri is still involved in theatre, we just enjoy attending plays nowadays. We’ll meet up with other friends from that time while we’re here. Being expats in such a different culture creates strong bonds!

We caught the train to Birmingham, impossible to get lost. Almost. Carriage J seats 40, 41. There was no carriage J. I asked a woman in uniform if it was the train to Birmingham and she assured me it was. As it was about to leave, we jumped on and sat in the first free seats.

An announcement informed us that the train had only five carriages instead of nine. They hadn’t told all the stations along the way. It was good to be met by my brother and whisked off to relax at his place. We have rested and walked to the local shops, rested some more, before heading to Devon tomorrow.