Paris to London eurostar/London/train North to Willington

Paris to London. Leaving our beautiful Paris apartment behind (it was very French) we headed for the Metro towing our bags. Here I would like to mention that we had done a sorte to Gaire de Nor railway station to check the feasability of getting there by Metro or by taxi - Metro had won. Also I would like to mention that the day before we left we had helped a very grateful man along the street and down the steps in the Metro with his brand new, boxed, 45inch Plasma TV. Today we arrived with 2 x 21kg trolley bags, 2 backpacks, 1 computer carry case and my trusty handbag and everyone walked either side of us, ignoring us as we struggled down flights of steps to the platform below. I am not complaining though - one has to take responsibility for ones own luggage - just pointing out the role of Karma. We got there in one piece and because we had done our sorte we knew exactly where to go and what to do for the Eurostar to London. Problem was we were there far too early and faced a 2 hour wait to check in. People watching was on the menu again and, literally finding the best and only seats at the station, we did just that until check in time. Waiting in the departure lounge we once again seemed to attract people - this time a little old lady attached herself to us. She was French but lived in London, had endured a very unhappy marriage - and still was - had been visiting her French mother, who was suffering from Alzheimers and was in a French home, which she did on a regular basis. Later on we would meet up with her again and Gary would invite her to join us for a drink in the bar where we were going to buy our Oyster cards for London. She would happily agree but insist we sit in the carriage joining area of the train on jockey seats where I would become horribly travel sick (not something I normally suffer from) and not recover for the rest of the trip whilst she happily finished off my glass of wine from which I had only taken a sip. Arriving at London St Pancras station we set about following Brenton's clear instructions on how to get to Baker Street Station and the Metropolitan Pub which was next door. We had timed the Eurostar to arrive roughly when he finished work so we could meet up somewhere, have dinner and then go home to Lewisham together. His instructions were perfect except for the last note which said the pub would be on our left as we came out of the station - it was actually on our right!!! Complaining bitterly later on about the lack of escalators in some underground stations such as Baker Street which meant we had to once again carry our heavy bags up and down numerous flights of stairs and really this did not cater for the tourist market in the least, he laughed his head off and said there were escalators in all underground stations. No not in Baker Street! Yes in Baker Street. There are, apparantly, two exits - one with stairs and one with escalators and it all depends whether you turn right or left as you leave which would have been why we turned right and not left to the Metropolitan!!!!! (We did not mention at this point that we had headed to the top of a long flight of stairs, carrying our bags, which led to a locked door marked "emergency exit only") Just too embarrasing. We spent a great week with Brenton in what was for me his new flat. Bless him he had given up his bed for us and slept on the couch. He had been shopping and filled the fridge and cupboards with goodies for us too - thinking about all the things we might like. He was working most of the time but we managed to have fun togther though. We went to see the show Wicked together, met up with Andrea and Chris from Nelson together, visited the Tate Gallery together, went to a London Market and generally had a lot of fun. He even cooked for us which is something I didn't know he could do so well. We were lucky to spend the time we had with him because he is a very busy person these days. I miss him a lot lately and appreciated the fact that he went out of his way to give us a good time. The time we were not with Brenton we spent a day on the hop on hop off bus touring the London sites, would invariably get on the train up to London sightseeing on a daily basis, went on a boat trip down the Thames, walked the Milennium Bridge and along the embankment, down all the little lanes that hold memories for me - Samuel Peeps, Allhallows, Three Barrels and Stew Lanes. Our Oyster cards paid dividends -  we could travel bus, train or underground for a week at the swipe of a card. We went to the Tower of London and Tower Hill underground station which was where I, as a 16year old, would head on a daily basis when I worked in London. The station is the same but it is now a huge tourist area so the surroundings are very, very different. We met up with Eddie, Gary's grandson, who is an actor in London and also works in a pub in Earls Court. We spent a good few hours with him catching up which made his Gandy very happy. It was the first time he and I had met and we got on really well. He is a very nice, confident young man. Some days in London were sunny some were overcast but to be honest the main reason for being in London for us was for Gary to catch up with Eddie and for me to spend time with my eldest son Brenton - everything else was a bonus. Saying goodbye to Brenton once again was very hard and our next stop was meeting up with Russell and Pam in Willington, Derbyshire for a week on the Mersey and Midland canals in Juliet. The day we were due to leave there was a traffic accident in Lewisham and traffic was backed up for miles including the buses so, once again, we were forced to walk with our bags this time to the train station at Lewisham. Though it took 35minutes we still beat the bus. Once again - steps!!!! Brenton had prebooked our train tickets to Willington so, back at St Pancras station, we hopped onto our train and headed for Derby - but not before setting off an alarm!!!! Struggling into a lift at the station with many others we heard this alarm bell ringing but the doors closed ok so thought no more of it even though it was extremely ear piercing until a loud voice rang in the elevator. "What is the nature of your emergency please - do you need immediate help?" This very nice elevator buddy lady quietly said "Do you think you may be leaning on the alarm button with your back pack?" and guess what - I was. Once again the voice rang out "State the nature of your emergency please". "No emergency the alarm button was pressed accidentally - sorry". With that the bells stopped ringing and Gary and I emerged red faced from the lift and in a great hurry. Our train went to Derby and there we changed for Willington. Over the speakers in the train "All passengers going to Willington please use first three carriages otherwise there will be no platform and you might break a leg".WHAT???? Off the train again, yes with all our luggage, we dash to the first three carriages and get on,  hoisting our luggage behind us. Willington is only 1 stop down and as the train slows we drag our luggage to the doorway in preparation. I notice this man smiling and he points to the doors on the opposite side. Ugh! "50 50 chance" I say smiling back. He was very nice though and asked if I would like some help with the luggage off the train. I was only too happy to accept his kind offer and when the train stopped he casually went to pick it up. "OOHH" he said "that's very heavy". "Kitchen sink" says Gary and they both step off the train with a case each. This is the only occassion that anyone has 'offered' to help me with the bag on the whole of this journey - apart from Gary of course. Well done whoever you were and thankyou from the bottom of my heart. So we are now in Willington and need to look for a taxi to take us to the marina. As we round a corner a lovely lady asks if we are Mr and Mrs Scott (not the right time to go into explanations that Gary is my never-to-be husband) and explains she has come to collect us. Wow what a surprise and how lovely. All aboard and off to the marina where we meet up with Russell and Pam going through a briefing and looking very confused and overwhelmed about the job ahead. More about that on the next blog though. Love to all Xxxxx