Mrs. Teabody Takes to the Rails




Good Morning from arguably one of the most enchanted-looking locations in the UK St. Ives, County Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Lady Glass and Mrs. Teabody boarded the 8:57 train at Paddington and three (shared!) martinis and five hours later arrived at this most charming of seaside towns. En route Lady Glass had the chance to realize a long-held dream of a train ride through the English countryside, and Mrs. Teabody is happy to report that Mother Nature, First Great Western and the English countryside all conspired to deliver the dream in spades. One could not have hoped for lusher trees and fields, more sparkling streams and lakes, a more generous sprinkling of stately homes and proud cottages, a better distribution of sheep, cows, horses and fowl or a smarter set of place names be it Leylant Saltings, Slough, Dawlish Warren, or Torbay. Fewer billboards touting Vodaphone, perhaps, and more chalk horses against mountainsides above bucolic villages such as Westbury, but these are small quibbles, indeed. Lady Glass was all eager traveler taking delight in the ever-changing landscape from her comfortable post next to a huge, clean, unobstructed view of it all.

Mrs. Teabody adores mass transit. Perhaps it was the egalitarian nature of her upraising that wants great cities and charming hamlets to be easily accessible to everyone. What keen satisfaction to walk into a great train station such as Paddington and to realize that all of England is just the purchase of a ticket away. How wonderful it is to look at a map of the Underground, the “Tube,” and plot one’s short journey to remarkable places such as Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the Tate Modern, the Royal Albert Hall or just somewhere exotic-sounding like Elephant and Castle without having to own a motor car. Of course, all of America is in love with their personal motor cars, but perhaps like Mrs.Teabody you are one that takes little delight in setting out on a journey constantly at the mercy of the drivers of eighteen-wheelers or daredevils not entirely certain which lane they wish to drive in but cocksure that finding that lane will be at your particular discomfort. When it comes to getting from Point A to Point B, Mrs. Teabody will opt for the least perilous of means.

Today marked the beginning of the use of the BritRail passes Lady Glass and Mrs. Teabody purchased in the wintry clutches of February. What happens in the next few days as those rail passes enjoy employment may be far-fetched, whimsical, even a bit mad, but each rail journey will be a reminder of what rail travel can be and how much more fun any journey can be when one does not have a steering wheel in one’s hands.
Ta for now!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mrs. Teabody Reflects on Hallowe'en and Asks Forbearance for Rushing the Seasons

Image
Yesterday morning I woke to pouring rain and chose for my morning walk a turtleneck, jeans, and an insulated vest, along with scarf, hat and gloves. By one o'clock I was in short sleeves and Mr. Teabody was "catching some rays" inside the secret garden. Crazy October and as we slide into its finale of Hallowe'en, I can't help recalling a day inside my classroom with an administrator and the topic of devil worship. Like most female teachers, I paid homage to the seasons and holidays by way of door decorations and bulletin boards and as this was in the days just prior to political correctness, angels and the Christ child showed up for a few weeks before Christmas with the same regularity as colorful baskets of eggs and bunnies alongside a glowing cross for a few weeks before Easter. And what teacher (like myself) was going to let Hallowe'en go by with all its cool imagery and not take advantage of the chance to decorate? I had the gamut of images bought a
Read more

Mrs. Teabody Reflects on a Trip and Kindness

Image
I am wide awake looking at the moon and stars in the June sky through a window while I am lying in a comfortable bed inside a rental house in Penzance, Cornwall, England. I can count on one hand the times in my life I have been able to see a starry starry sky as sleep finds me. It's a doozy. I want to tell you about our first day here--Saturday-- before I lose the feeling.  Saturday morning started in tension: My three companions pictured above at Saint Michael's Mound had to make the 7:00 A.M. train from London  Paddington-- all four of us with all our luggage -- and we also had to meet up with two other friends inside huge Paddington Station because I had their tickets. All that went off without a hitch and the six of us managed to get on the train  in our assigned seats, our many pieces of luggage stowed on the main rack at the end of the car.  So far so good.  Great Western Rail have a scheme on weekends where you can upgrade to first class for twenty-
Read more

Mrs. Teabody Celebrates Her Father

Image
Back row: Richard Henry, Reed Henry, Pete Henry, Raymond Henry Front row: John Henry, Sally Henry, Wendell Henry Tomorrow is Father's Day. My father passed in May of 2006 so quite a few June Sundays dedicated to honoring fathers have passed without someone on the receiving end of a funny card, a poke of RedMan, a singing bass to hang on the wall and my life is poorer for it. I grew up in a home with three brothers and three sisters, a stay-at-home mom, a work away father, and I have always known what it means to be born a Henry but it is only in my very late years that I have come to fully appreciate the great gift of my heritage. Pictured above are some of the biggest influences on my early life. This photograph was taken in 1966 at a Henry gathering in Clear Ridge, less than a mile from where the folks in the photograph grew up--the five handsome and witty uncles, the beautiful and vivacious aunt and all of them so very happy in each other's company. With them came the
Read more