Donna Matthews

Category: Travel

  • Another Eventful Journey to London

    This morning I was dropped off early at the train station and started my trip into London. Thinking I now had the choice of 3 trains so no rushing required. As I arrive at the platform I see that the first two trains are delayed by 15-20 minutes. When the first train arrived it was standing room only, it was followed by another standing room only train directly behind it. So, now I have to just jump on and hope for the best. I stood for awhile and then a jump seat opened up. I sat down and realised that the dimensions of the jump seat did not match the dimensions of my backside. After about 20 minutes I could not feel my right leg as my bum was hanging half off the seat! There were a couple other things that I did not take into account when I took this seat. Firstly, it is directly in front of the toilet. Secondly, the jump seats are much lower than a normal seat. As the parade of gentlemen, who obviously drank too much coffee this morning, continues into and out of the toilet. I realise that when the train stops in Paddington I will have to hoist myself up out of the seat with a numb right leg. Not a pretty sight I will assure you.

    Off the train and onto the platform I now see that we have come into Paddington Platform 1 which is the furthest possible point from the taxi rank which is past Platform 12. Oh well, off I go. I get to the escalator and it is not working…no way I’m walking up those stairs! There were actually queues waiting for the lift. I wait my turn and then as the lift opens I see the queue for the taxis is further back than I have ever seen in all my years of doing this journey. I look at my watch and the early start I had has now evaporated and I will be lucky to get to the office before my meetings start. Finally I get into the cab and I am immediately hit with the powerful smell of cherries. My driver had two plastic or glass cherries hanging from his mirror and this was his air freshener. It was more like an oxygen destroyer! I could not breathe without opening the window and sticking my head out. I know these guys like to keep their cabs clean and tidy but there is a limit to how much freshener is too much. I paid for my taxi and inhaled a deep breath of cherry free air. I finally made it to the office…now my day can begin.

  • Should we be afraid?

    I travelled into our London office today and the atmosphere on the journey in was very different. It is the first day back to school for many districts but the usual buzz that comes with this day was not in the air. Instead there was a strained and tense feeling at the station, on the train and on the streets as you walked. People were looking at each other a bit closer, checking out what you were carrying. The government raised the alert level last week and you can really tell a difference. I am sitting here in central London in what I am told is a bomb proof building. When I learned that last week at first I thought “how sad that we have to bomb proof our buildings” but then that knowledge actually made me feel safer. I don’t know how it is for you but for me I am stuck between wanting to know as much as possible about the threats we are facing and not wanting to know so much that I become concerned enough to change my plans and actions. It is that fine line between vigilant and overly cautious. I would like to say that it does not bother me and I will always do the British thing and “keep calm and carry on” however, I have to admit it I do feel a bit uneasy today on a journey that I would not usually think twice about taking. How are you feeling?

  • Not Your Ordinary Commute

    I have been very lucky when it comes to commuting to work. Before I moved to the UK I was lucky enough to to drive to and from work with views of the Pacific Ocean. I always made sure I never took that commute for granted. Fourteen years later and I still have the privilege to enjoy views that not many Americans can claim. This morning, for example, I arrived in Paddington Station, got in the taxi and within five minutes I was skirting the edges of Hyde Park, next came the Wellington Arch, quickly followed by Green Park on the left and Buckingham Palace on the right and the expanse of The Mall in front of me. Another 3 minutes and we pass Horse Guards Parade on the left heading straight ahead to cross Bridge Street passing Westminster Palace on the right. On the left as we cross the bridge The London Eye was reaching up into the sky as we near my destination at Waterloo Station. Wow, was that a commute or a grand tour of one of the most incredible cities in the world? I told you I was lucky.

  • What an Incredible Summer

    It is just past 6:00 A.M. and I’m on the train heading into London, the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky. Even the most traditional Brits will have a hard time complaining about this summer. We have had fantastic weather and it is true when people say “if the weather was like this every summer no one would go abroad.” The temps are set to rise even more by Friday giving us our hottest day yet of 30C or 86F! We will be hotter here than in Grand Canaria! The only downside to today is the fact that I am working and having to wear a suit. No worries, at this time of year we will have sun until nearly 10:00 so there will be time to still enjoy the evening in our garden.
    This past Sunday I celebrated the 14th anniversary of arriving in the UK and I still love it! I hope the sun is shining for you today.

  • On My Way Home

    I am just completing 10 day whirlwind trip to the US and Canada. I fly home tonight at 9:00 and I cannot wait to get on that plane! My trip has not been bad by any means, as a matter of fact, it has been very good. The opportunity to spend the weekend with my incredible friends in Atlanta was time I am so grateful to have had. On the business side it has been good as well even when I was not predicting the Canada leg to be good at all. You are probably wondering why I am so anxious to get on the plane home. Well I guess that is it really…home, getting home, being home. When your partner is as wonderful as mine and your life is as full as mine, home is what it is all about. On my many travels get to see a lot of people in a lot of different places and the number of truly happy ones I encounter is woefully small. We all have so much going on in our lives that we forget that a kind word or acknowledgement is all it would take to make someone’s day. I challenge you to make it a priority tomorrow to make someone’s day! Let me know how you get on.

  • “E” for excitement

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    20140331-214222.jpg
    The letter “E” is significant in the English language but recently it has taken on a whole new dimension. Just over three years ago we welcomed our granddaughter Ellie into the world. Today the power of “E” has increased as we now welcome the newest addition to the Wilks/Matthews Clan..Erin. “E” now stands for so much more! I have not been able to see Erin yet as I am away on business but I intend to make up for this that is for sure.
    This ever expanding family is phenomenal. We cross two seas (Atlantic and Irish) and multiple countries. As if the arrival of our newest member was not enough to rejoice we also have the pleasure of welcoming another new family member, by marriage, Amanda. Two new family members in as many days…wow, how lucky are we?

    Congratulations to Matt, Sarah and Ellie and to Mark and Amanda! Thank you for writing the preface of the next chapters of our family history.

  • Simple Pleasures

    If you follow this blog you know that I travel quite often for business. Normally I have such brief stays in ant one location that it is not uncommon for me to only travel to the customer site and the hotel before going back to the airport. However, when time permits I love to take in the local culture usually through its cuisine. This week I am in lovely Milan, unfortunately I brought our UK weather with me once again. On the bright side my colleague and I have the opportunity to enjoy our first evening’s meal in a wonderful local restaurant. It was so good that we had to return for the second night in a row. The food and the staff are incredible! At the end of our meal we were enjoying the last of our wine and suddenly the waiter appears with a small plate of tiny pastries sprinkled with powdered sugar and a bottle, yes, not glass of, Lemoncello. I was immediately throw back to my childhood, (which is getting to be a much longer throw), I said to my colleague “strovalli”, he looked at me and said “what?” I said “I’m sure my grandmother used to make these for us and we called them strovalli”. Our Italian side of the family had names for things that you couldn’t always trace back to its Italian roots. I popped one in my mouth and I knew I was right. So when the waiter whizzed by I said “can you tell me what you call these”, pointing to the plate. He said “we call them strovalli”. Score!!! I knew it.

    Almost 50 years on and one taste sparked a flood of childhood memories. The only difference I told the waiter was that my grandmother used to drizzle honey over them. He said “ah yes, that is the way we have them at home”. I guess sticky honey could be quite messy in a restaurant setting. So here I am 4+ decades and more than 4,000 miles from my home town and I rediscover one of life’s simple pleasures. Grandma, here’s to you “salute!”

  • Today’s Installment of Life on the Train

    Today's Installment of Life on the Train.

  • Okay, I’m impressed…

    I had to travel to a new client in Kent this week. I didn’t fancy the drive down on Tuesday morning after the holiday so I checked what the trains looked like. Much to my amazement the journey times looked fantastic and with only the one change at St Pancras. Just in case the journey times were too good to be true I decided to go on Monday night. The trip from Kettering to St Pancras is always easy and takes just under an hour. I arrive on time into St Pancras and it was an easy 5 minute walk (and that is 5 minutes for me mind you), to the Southeastern Trains platform. The train is already there waiting so I hop on. I look around me and notice how nice the train is and believe it or not even trains have a “new train” smell like cars do. The carriage was lovely with loads of leg room and an electrical socket. Apparently this is not only a new train but a new high-speed line from London to Dover. 38 enjoyable minutes later I arrive at my stop. Since I always share my travel experiences and many have been negative I just had to shout about this very impressive service. I’m sure the upcoming Olympic Games were a driver for this new line and London can be proud of this piece of the rail network…don’t get me started on the rest of it!

  • Feeling silly

    I have just done something that I have never done before and I’m feeling a bit silly.  I went shopping this morning and found a lovely joint of meat, free range and on offer for a brilliant price.  I got home and was unloading my groceries and when I’ve put everything away I realise I am missing the joint of meat!  I go back and look in the car but was sure there was nothing else in the boot.  Nope, not there.  Back into the house and take another look in the obviously empty bags.  No meat to be found!  So, I have to admit to myself that I must have left it at the checkout.  I dig the receipt out and yes, the first item on the list is my lovely, great priced joint.  How embarrassing!  Now that I have admitted that I left it at the shop I have one other issue.  I bought it while in Oakham this morning so I’m 20 miles away.  I pluck up the courage to call the shop and see if they can hold it for me.  When I ring it is an 0845 number so I know I’m going to have to talk to the call centre not just the shop.  Oh this is going to be fun.  I keep thinking how stupid I was and how could I have done it.  When the call centre answers and their recorded message starts to give the menu options,  much to my surprise Option 2 is for people who have left groceries in the shop!  Are there really that many people who do this that it gets its own option on the phone menu?  When the Customer Service lady answers the phone and I tell her about my missing joint of meat she says “oh I do it all the time, I have even left cash back before”.  I have to admit that made me feel a bit better.  She contacts the shop and they say they have my wayward joint and will hold it for me.  So now I have to plan another trip 20 miles back to Oakham.  So much for me buying local meat with a low-carbon footprint…I just blew that away driving 40 miles to go back and pick it up.