I took the afternoon off work on Friday, so I could catch the early flight back to London, and so onto Reading for my first weekend back home with the family. Unfortunately, they had some REALLY serious floods in UK on Friday which messed up road, rail and air travel over the weekend. I was due to arrive in Reading at 5:50pm, but it was actually about 11:30 that I finally arrived at the railway station. The journey was frustrating mostly because we landed at Heathrow at about 7:30pm I think, but it took them ages to get us a stand, and then another long wait for a bus to bring us from the plane to the terminal.
It was lovely to see the family again. In many ways it doesn’t feel too long since I came away, but I have now just finished my third week at Credit Suisse. On Saturday, Ben and I went to Legoland – one of his friends had told him that the new water ride is open, but it wasn’t! Anyway, it was very quiet. I guess lots of people were stuck at home or following the police advice to avoid travelling if not necessary. We did 6 rides in about 2 hours and bought Ben ANOTHER Lego model, then headed home.
Actually I must mention that Ben’s model was a reward for the excellent report and recognition certificates he has received this last term at school. His teacher gave him a certificate for 100% effort – we can’t ask for more than that. According to the SATs test results, he has moved up 4 grades in a year, which is excellent – normally the school expects them to do two grades a year. We are SO proud of him!
It was nice to get to Kennet Valley Free Church this morning and to catch up on the people there. A number of people have been affected by the flooding and are having to dry their homes out. Some parts of Berkshire, including Thatcham are still under quite a lot of water. It really was a major deluge on Friday. Annette took some pictures outside our house.
After lunch with Mum & Dad at the Rising Sun, Annette & Ben dropped me back to Heathrow for my flight back to Zurich. It was a bit ominous to see that they had the marquees up outside Terminal 4, which is a sign that they are still experiencing bad delays. They serve tea and refreshments in the tents and only allow people into the terminal building as their flights are ready for checking in. Anyway, my flight was actually not badly delayed at all, and we got back to Zurich less than an hour late.
I’ve just heard that Uncle Wes went to Heaven today. I have so many good memories of this lovely man and it’s sad to think that we won’t see him next year when we (hopefully) fly over to Australia for the wedding. However, I know that Alison, Elizabeth and John and their families will be relieved that he is no longer suffering the effects of Altzeimers, which has been so devastating for him. Our prayers go out to the folk in Aus. I know you will miss him as well.
And finally, my “proper” GA travel card has arrived over the weekend, so I no longer need to worry about renewing my temporary one every two weeks. I am really looking forward to some more exploration of this lovely country, and also being able to show Annette & Ben around a bit when they come over next month for a week.