Southwest Trains

London, as I discovered yesterday, has several train stations. I keep forgetting how large a city it really is. Millions of people, even back in the 1870s. The tube has been in existence I think now for around 100 years, but I digress. Trains.

The region South and West of London is served by…Southwest Trains. Camberley is not on a direct line, rather a feeder that requires a train change in Ascot unless one is smart enough to take one of three direct trains in the morning or two in the evening. Those trains are packed with other people who have exactly the same desire to shorten their journey by 15-20 minutes.

“This train is for Waterloo.” Startled, I looked up. To an American ear, it sounds rather ridiculous. Trains don’t get to vote or support one station over another, do they? Actually, it doesn’t matter in the least where the train would prefer, what is important is where the engineer decides to drive it. Too many years in Germany where the city would be referenced. Or an expression about a train “ending at” or “final destination is” would be used. But perhaps a “train ending” would seem as silly to another person’s ears.

I was on my way to the US Embassy with the goal of filing a PSC voucher, getting all the local information, more pages in my passport and obtaining an official passport.

The US Embassy is like a fortress and you can’t get in easily unless prior arrangements have been made. You also can not take in cameras or cell phones.

I was surprised that I managed all the things on my list plus picked up contact information for the other PEP and LNO officers, a phone directory, and a sense that all of us are really on our own.

Taxis, arches and confusion

I was glad to leave the crowds and confusion, going back to my small corner of the UK

-Holly
(uploaded when I finally got on line)

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