You are the visitor to this site since 19th September 2000.

This essay mainly concerns means of travel and prices. If you want to look at pictures, please turn to http://www.sentex.net/~oficserv/Postcard.html

Here are a couple of interesting sites where you can look at panoramic views of Weymouth and area:-

www.weymouthpanorama.co.uk/
www.360vrtours.co.uk/

When I left for England, from Canada, I had really wanted to rent a cellphone - just for use when driving cross-country. However, I could find nothing. I searched the Internet and visited local stores. No-one had even heard of such a service. A couple of months later I heard about Rent Express and decided to Email them. This is the information I received in reply: Click here to read RntExprs.html and use BACK on your browser to return here.

Wednesday 30th August 2000.

This afternoon at 16:10 promptly the Red Car Service collected me and I was duly delivered to Pearson Airport by 17:30 on the dot. This hassle-free service cost $46. plus $2. gratuity. - and is worth every penny! Their Guelph number is 824-9344 or FAX 824-1701. Email: rcsrez@aol.com

I flew from Pearson International Airport, via Air Transat. It was an excellent flight. The weather was good and the flight was only about half an hour late leaving. We had to land at Montreal to pick up passengers. This took about an hour. Dinner was served on board at about 23:30 Toronto time .. so I was glad to have had a small meal at Swiss Chalet in Terminal 3 before going to the Gate. As we had to check in three hours early, this also helped pass the time. Then I bought a few gifts and went down to the Customs Office to get my Customs Receipts. .. Not that anyone would buy particular valuables in the U.K., but it's best to avoid possible hassles on return. Besides, the Customs Receipts will last the life of the items listed. I suppose I could have got my Customs Receipts at the local business office, but I know where the office is at Pearson (Toronto) International, so prefer to go there.

Previously I had always travelled tourist .. and had quite enough of that. The extra room to stretch my "bad knee" was well worth the cost of the ticket. ($1175 Cdn for Club Class). I booked through Carlson Wagonlit Travel. It seems that Air Transat, like the B.A. Concorde, does not accept Internet or direct customer bookings. Of course, there are other advantages to Club Class, but the extra room was what I wanted. In spite of being more comfortable, I didn't sleep much, but blearily watched the movie (the one about the two schoolfriends who grew up to become a priest and a rabbi). There is a site for Air Transat at www.airtransatholidays.com

Thursday 31st August 2000. We landed at Gatwick U.K. at about 10 a.m. local time, which is five hours ahead of Canadian time. Therefore this was 5 a.m. our time. The journey had taken nine hours, including the stop at Montreal.

When I collected my suitcase from the carousel I was pleasantly surprised to find masses of luggage carts freely available. The carts push so easily (but mine preferred to wheel diagonally). There is a new transit rail system now at Gatwick, much like the one at Florida. This also was a very pleasant surprise .. after the long walks which one had to undertake carrying one's luggage just a few years ago. By the time I reached the 'bus station I hadn't eaten for a while and began to feel the cold, so was glad to have a lightweight London Fog travel coat with me.

I had booked transit to the south with National Express Coachlines, with the assistance of my relatives in England. National Express' names for their services are: FlightLink, ExpressShuttle, NationalExpress, EuroLines and JetLink. They have a website (www.nationalexpress.co.uk/holidays) and you can book on the Internet or by telephone. Their address is: National Express Limited P.O. Box 8026, Birmingham B5 6ED. England U.K. or National Express Ltd., National Coach Station, Chorlton Street, Manchester M1 3JF. England U.K. Telephone 0161-228 6821. FAX 0161-236 6766. They offer a wide range of travel inclusive short breaks and holidays throughout Britain, Ireland and Europe including stopovers at many U.K. airports. My return ticket (Gatwick, Heathrow, Poole) would cost £26. However, I (wisely) decided to arrange a hotel stopover on the return, so that was £85 all included.

Unfortunately, the National Express coach took me from Gatwick to Heathrow! This added another 1½ hours to my overly long sleepless journey. By this time I was seriously regretting my decision to fly Club Class on Air Transat .. If I had travelled tourist, I could have landed at Exeter and shortened the road travel by numerous hours.

On arrival at Heathrow I had another 3/4 hr to wait for the connecting Express coach to Poole. At least this gave me time to have a wash in the apparently new and clean rooms available. The toilets are conveniently large enough that the luggage carts can be constantly watched (a very necessary precaution at such large airports). A cup of coffee seemed like a good idea. I thought Starbucks would be the best place. I paid £1.45 (that's $3.03 Canadian) for a truly awful cup of coffee! It tasted like smelly rubber fittings and stale coffee. I think the staff could not have been instructed to clean the coffee-makers. I'm sure Starbucks Inc. would not be too pleased if they had inspectors going to this particular franchise. If I hadn't had a coach to catch I'd have gone back to tell them what I thought about it. Perhaps I'll write to Starbucks. (I did write to Starbucks and received a courteous email from them. They do care and I'm grateful for that).

The coach pick-up was right on time and (taking 2½ hrs) duly delivered me to Poole. The hostess served tea, coffee, cold drinks and fresh sandwiches en route - I had ham with lettuce, cucumber and tomato and a bottle of water. This order cost £2.50 (approx. $5.25 Cdn). It's surprising how fast time goes when one is travelling and watching for buses and carting luggage around. All at once one realizes that one hasn't eaten or had a drink of water for about six hours! (By the way, all the coaches had passenger seat belts - an excellent idea for those who are falling out of their seats half asleep from long overnight flights). In June 2002 I received an email from a reader concerning the train services. I have included this at the end of this essay.

My relatives collected me from the Poole Bus Station and we went into the adjacent shopping centre to their favourite restaurant - where I drank my fill of water at last and had an orange. By this time I had been awake for more than thirty-two hours and travelling for about twenty-four hours. (Before I left I had mown my three lawns in the heat and humidity of a Canadian summer day). When we reached Weymouth I slept for at least fourteen hours and awoke totally disoriented in the middle of the following day.

Friday 1st September 2000. This day was pretty much a write-off. I knew that two days of my "vacation" would be taken up by the journey and getting over the jet-lag.

I had some doubts whether my relatives would be able to find room for me. On the Internet I could not find economical accommodation in Weymouth, Dorset, advertised. Eventually I wrote a couple of addresses. The only hotel which replied was:- Kimberley, Guest House, Family Run. 11 bedrooms car parking, free TVs, complimentary tea/coffee making facilities. Mrs. A and Mr. K. Jones, 16 Kirtleton Avenue, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 7PT Tel: (01305)78333. Bed, breakfast and evening meal Standard: £22.50 En-Suite £24.50. Other prices provided with brochure or you can Email me at oficserv@sentex.net. I have not seen this guest house myself.

Saturday 2nd September 2000. My relatives had pre-booked tickets (£5 seniors - through Goulds of Dorchester) for the Dorchester Show. (Dorchester has a webside at www.dorchester-town.co.uk). This is a huge outdoor Fall Fair. It was really delightful .. far better than I remembered. From the clean facilities to the well organized events, I enjoyed it very much. I was particularly amused by the terrier races and ferret races. The horses were magnificent. The weather (always dicey at this Fair) co-operated .. although threatening, it produced no more than a sprinkle of rain once. Our cars were parked on vast fields, which had been cleared and tamped down. It was a little muddy in spots, but we were dressed and suitably shod in anticipation of much worse than that. We bought a few things from Lakeland. This is a very popular Company in England, similar to Sharper Image or Martha Stewart. They have www page, but I just can't be bothered to find it right now.

I had watched the temperatures for London for weeks before. The temperature throughout my visit was approximately 18 to 23ºC and very humid. I had taken a linen/cotton travel set, cord trousers, jeans and a light padded "London Fog" travel coat. These clothes were very suitable for the entire trip.

We had taken a picnic, as all foods and drinks in England are really expensive. In fact, although the exchange was about $2.19 to the £1, when one comes to buy something, the value one gets is usually $1.00 = £1! For example, a coffee in Canada = $1. in England £1. Pair of shoes from an outlet, which I had bought in the USA was US$25.00. I had to buy a very similar pair in England from Marks & Spencer. They were £25.00. I checked the cost of houses and apartments. A house worth $152,000.Cdn. would cost £152,000.(but it wouldn't have air-conditioning, a full basement, or insulation comparable to Canadian). I don't know how they manage!

Sunday 3rd September 2000. Most of the morning was again taken up with trying to adjust my appalling jet-lag.

My relative had wanted me to watch the model aircraft flying. Eventually when he returned with the miserable news: his beautiful model which he had finally finished after many months of work, had flown beautifully. However, the test "pilot" cut the engine on short-final and the model nosed-in. It was smashed to smithereens. I'm glad I didn't see this happen. It sounded to me as though the test man didn't know the stall characteristics of my brother's aircraft.

We spent the afternoon in the garden.

Monday 3rd September 2000. I had several appointments in Dorchester. These took such a long time that my relative had to go back to Weymouth without me. I decided to rent a car, for three days, to check my driving with a standard shift - on the "other" side of the road. Fortunately the latter appointment was able and kind enough to check three companies for me. I can't read his writing very well, but think the following information is correct:

Avis - tel:822488 Clio Pick-up yourself Automatic £136.84 pay on credit card £750 excess

UDrive - tel:251995 Fiat or Renault £74.25 Automatic

(but I think he said the pick-up would have to be Poole or Bournemouth and availability was doubtful)

Dorset Vehicle Rentals - Tel:814444 ask for Simon, or George. (On the Dorchester Road at the Texaco Station). Vauxhall Corsa (brand new). 3 days=£90 £250 excess. £50 deposit (don't forget to get your deposit returned!) Agreed to pick me up.

Full addresses etc: DORSET VEHICLE RENTALS, 3A Railway Triangle, Poundbury Road, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2PJ. Tel: 01305 257330 FAX:01305 257234. Also branches at Weymouth: Tel:(01305)814444, Bridport Tel: (01308)458888 and Yeovil Tel:(01935)411211

I settled on the Dorset Vehicle Rentals. It was expensive, but I needed to check my driving and to be able to get around on my own. The Vauxhall Corsa is an excellent economical little car. It does approx. 64 m.p.g. Although it only has three cylinders, I found it very responsive and either I did very well with the gears or it has a silky smooth gear box! (I do have many thousands of hours driving in England, but hadn't driven a stick shift for about nine years). They rented the car "empty to empty". George warned me not to buy more than £10. of petrol (at .81 per litre at that time). However, in the very heavy and slow British traffic, I had difficulty getting out of second and third gear. Therefore, I decided it would certainly be using more gas! Not true. Anyway, I bought another £10. This little car is so economical that by the time I returned it to George it still had £20 of gas in it. (The indicator measures in Litres). Needless to say - George was very pleased. I was less impressed with myself. The hire had been quite sufficiently expensive, without my adding to it.

After my appointments it began to rain quite heavily. That was when I had to buy an umbrella and the shoes from Marks & Spencer, because I had worn smart woven leather sandals.

Then it was time for lunch. I went to the restaurant above Peaches in the little arcade. This had been Judge Jeffries dreaded courtroom. He was called the "hanging judge" for obvious reasons. That restaurant was too busy so I wandered around and eventually had lunch at the famous Judge Jeffries Restaurant on the High West Street. Two delicious coffees £1.90, an excellent spicy chicken tortilla £6.95. (Once again, about the same in Pounds as we would pay in Canadian Dollars). As an Anglo-Canadian I now have an appreciation for the very old buildings and the history of the place, which I did not have when I lived there. The restaurant is obviously an historic site.

My appointment had advised me to go to visit the beautiful old Dorchester Council Chambers, on High West Street just across from the Three Gongs, but I did not take my camera, so will have to wait for another trip.

I caught the local 'bus back to Weymouth. This runs every half-hour. (A bit different to years ago, when it only went twice a day!) Fortunately I only had four minutes to wait. This cost £1.20 (I think). All the way back to Weymouth I concentrated and forced myself to physically change into the appropriate gear every time the 'bus driver did .. to try to make my hands and feet remember the rhythm required. .. must have looked very strange to anyone who noticed, but it worked. By the time I reached Weymouth I felt much happier about the stick-shift.

After supper Simon came to collect me with the Corsa. It was brand new. I told George I wouldn't hire it if my handling of the stick-shift didn't meet with my own criteria .. so he drove round the parking lot with me a few times. It was perfect .. as though I had never stopped using a standard. .. Thank goodness - I really dislike not having wheels.

Tuesday 4th September 2000. On the way out of Weymouth I had my first indication of the British petrol blockade .. there was no gas at the station where I stopped.

I had decided to visit Monkey World, Ape Rescue Centre. (I think this cost £4. senior). It is about 2½ miles north of Wool. It's quite well signposted. I enjoyed this visit very much. The creatures are obviously clean and well cared for, seem to be very happy in their spacious woodland environment. They have toys, swings, blankets, clean bedding for their nests. I stayed for about four hours, wandering around and listening to the guides. Again, it rained a little. It is not like the heavy rain of Canada, more a fine occasional spray.

Their are two large restaurant areas. I had a ham, lettuce, cucumber and tomato sandwich on fresh wholewheat bread, with a coffee: £3.50.

For the past two days I had been quietly kicking myself for not bringing my adaptor plug to charge my cameras. Eventually I don't remember ever actually owning one! So, I returned home via Dorchester. I didn't actually expect to be able to buy an adaptor for conversion from Canadian to U.K., but was pleasantly surprised to eventually find exactly what I was looking for in Dorchester (Jewell & Norcombe?? something like that). It was about £3.00.

I had coffee at the Napper's Mite. My cousin used to own this little restaurant, in the days when cappuchino coffee had only just been introduced. It's a delightful little place and worth a visit.

On the drive home, as I reached Ridgeway Hill, the road seemed very crowded. I decided to take the back road and turned left onto the lovely hilltop road. This drive follows the line of the hill, past Came Down (and the Came Down Golf Club), then the woodlands. The next right turn goes down a narrow country road. The road divides into two. The left turn goes to Sutton Poyntz. The right fork goes through Coombe Valley farmland. I was so pleased that this still exists, as it did when I used to ride horseback cross- country.

Wednesday 5th September 2000. I think it was today I decided to visit the Newstead Road Technical College. This is where I began my Hotel Management, Catering and Business Training courses. (Following which I did another two years in the London School of Economics branch at Vincent Square .. I wonder if that is still there). Anyway, Newstead Road College Library has a computer section where one may check Email .. so that was helpful. Unfortunately the College will shortly be demolished and the site used for townhouses. The whole operation will be moving to the old Teacher Training College on the corner of Dorchester Road.

That evening I met an old school friend and followed, over new roads from Weymouth to Portland. My friend has a charming hillside cottage, nested among others, on the northern side of Portland. There is a really spectacular view of the famous Chessil Beach and the sunset - which that evening was really breathtakingly beautiful.

Before supper my friends drove me to several of my favourite places. (So, of course, I still did not have my cameras charged). Anyway, every time I visit Weymouth I always have to make the pilgrimage to Hardy's Monument and look again at the marvellous views in every direction. We walked through the sweetly scented pine woods and vistas of heather, broom and gorse. Just beautiful! Then we drove from Hardy's, West along the hills and down the back-road to Abbotsbury. There is a Swannery at Abbotsbury which no visitor should miss. After the Swannery the road winds around, I think it's called the Rodden Road. I always called it the "Rabbit Path" - as mum and dad would drive there in the afternoon to watch the masses of rabbits playing in the valley (much to the farmers' disgust, no doubt). That was before myxmatosis killed the rabbits in their millions. The Rodden Road leads back to the Weymouth/Chickerell road.

To my surprise and pleasure, my friends then took me out to Portland Bill .. another visitor's hot-spot. I would often go there by bus or on my Lambretta scooter. I find the huge seas and strong winds by the light-house really fascinating. The light-house tours were also very interesting. To see the giant crystals of the light, up close, is quite amazing.

After a very pleasant supper, I drove home to Weymouth about 9 p.m. Thank goodness my jet-lag was beginning to abate. I only adjust at about 1 hour each day.

Thursday 7th September 2000. Today my relatives had decided to take me to Bournemouth, which is about thirty miles East.

First we visited Tuckton, The Athelston Arms, which is the hotel where I was born. The interior has changed totally. It seems to be the fashion to open up all the bars into one large area. Although the signs outside said "open all day", we looked around and it didn't appear to be open. Eventually they opened at 12. We had coffee and cookies and I took some photographs.

Downtown Bournemouth has changed completely. The Square is now completely paved with interlocking brick. The Square and the roads leading to it are all for pedestrians only. My relatives parked at a multi-storey and we walked through Marks & Spencers, through the Square, over to Beales for lunch. The Buffet at Beales is huge. I had a delicious salmon and salad and two cups of excellent dcaf. One relative had eggs, bacon, sausage, French bread and butter, pot of T and ice cream. The other relative had a salad and pot of T. I'm not sure what the account was, but I think about £30.

The roads between Weymouth and Bournemouth have improved beyond my recognition. Where once I travelled easily without maps, now I have no idea where I am much of the time.

Friday 8th September 2000. Wow, this visit to the U.K. went so fast .. I hardly knew I was there before it was time to return to Canada!

Well, today was my last day .. so I visited a friend at work in Weymouth and then walked to St. Mary Street and the Black Dog, where I spent most of my early life. Apart from St. Mary and St. Thomas Streets becoming pedestrian areas, Weymouth hasn't changed much. The interior of the Black Dog has been opened up - much as the Athelstan was. I walked through from St. Mary Street and out of the back, onto the sea-front and beach. Everything looks so much smaller when one visits a place of one's earlier life. I passed too close to an old hobo on the sidewalk .. "lookin' for luv ducks? 'ows me chances?" he croaked .. nothing changes does it!

Later I took my relatives to the Trumpet Major in Dorchester for supper. This is another Eldridge Pope public house. They had a lot of choices on the menu , but we all decided on the fillet of plaice with fresh chips and peas. It was delicious. The bill came to about £25.00. - with two glasses of wine and one generous serving of excellent ice-cream, plus plenty of bread and butter.

Saturday 9th September 2000. The day of my departure came far too soon. My relatives took me back to Poole. We had coffee and cookies at the little restaurant in the mall again and I bought a fresh sandwich for my lunch.

The 'bus was right on time. To my surprise it was an Excelsior. This was a luxury coach, with tables. However, we had to change to the regular luxury airport bus at Ringwood (or was that Wimborne). Anyway, both ways there were not too many stops, (unlike the last time we used the bus to get to the airport).

On the return journey I had (thank goodness) taken the precaution of arranging an overnight stay at a Gatwick hotel - also through the bus company. So, the 'bus again took me to Heathrow, where I promptly connected with another 'bus to Gatwick. There, within three minutes, the hotel courtesy 'bus collected me for the Skylane Hotel. If you need a nice quiet hotel near Gatwick Airport - the addresses are: Skylane Hotel, Bonehurst Road, Horley, Surrey, RH6 8QG. U.K. Tel:(01293)786971. FAX: (01293)774475. Email: skylanehotel@freeuk.com The bus - return ticket and hotel stopover cost me £84.

Although the signs outside the Hotel advertised dinner buffet for about £6 the menu said £12. Anyway, I hadn't done much that day and couldn't justify the magnificent carvery and buffet. I settled for a large "stuffed jacket" potato and salad. This was about £5, including a small glass of house wine.

My room was clean and comfortable. There were two towels per person .. but you should remember that the British hotels do not provide face-cloths. There was a large screen television - but only two programs available, so far as I could tell. I watched a documentary about the Concorde .. apparently it had many problems with tyres bursting or being damaged, before the eventual fatal accident.

I spent a very quiet, comfortable night.

Next morning the breakfast buffet was included in my ticket. It was a "full English Breakfast". There were ample portions of everything you could possibly normally expect for an English breakfast. The coffee and tea were very good and everything was fresh and hot.

The obliging Receptionist called the recording number which Air Transat had given with my flight tickets .. just to check everything on schedule. I have had severe problems in the past through not checking and vow never to repeat that omission.

The Receptionist also called my room later, to let me know that my courtesy bus was running late. Would I like to take the earlier bus? You bet!

I arrived at the airport check-in right on time and they let me have the seat I wanted. Isn't it perfect that all flights are now non-smoking .. I used to dread being smoked out for nine or ten hours! One would arrive at the destination with choked-up lungs, a splitting headache and smokey stinking clothes .. as well as jet-lag.

As soon as my suitcase had been checked in I just sat and read my book for an hour or so. This time the coffee bar was serving truly delicious coffee. I can't think why Starbucks would have served such poor "stuff".

The flight back was right on time. The food was excellent. The hosts really charming .. they even let me go up to see the marvellous view at the front. It was a 1011. The pilot said his circuit speed would be 200 and landing speed 150 (I think) anyway, it's amazing and the whole idea of flying TransAtlantic at mach .8 is almost unbelievable.

As the return journey from the U.K. is always during the day, departing at about 12 local and arriving at about 17:30, I was able to take some pictures. No doubt I will be the only one to see them - as I was away from the window and had to take them using telephoto .. this always makes for unsteady sickening videos.

After writing this essay I received the following email from a reader:

Dear Sir/Madam,
In regards to the trip featured on this page to Weymouth in September 2000, the person in question would have been much better to get the train from Gatwick to Weymouth, than the millions of buses used. The trip would have traveled south instead of north to Heathrow, and would have had a much better frequency of services. I guess the trip would have taken about 3 hours in total, with a much more direct route.
Yours,
The English champion of lost Canadian tourists.
(I am married to a Canadian and have much experience organizing his family when they visit)