Niece's timely arrival

Our niece "C" arrived early on a Thursday morning a week ago. Her flight was on time and she had an easy time at Terminal 5. She called at 6:15 am to say that she was on the Heathrow to Paddington Express.

I had promised to meet her there, so I had slept in my clothes in order to get out the door more quickly. I ran out of the flat and over to Hall Road to get the 187 bus that goes right to Paddington. As I approached the corner, I saw a #46 running along the route, so was heartened that the bus was running. Then I waited about 5 minutes for a 187. A taxi went past and looked at me enquiringly. No, I nodded my head, I did not need him. Then, I thought, I'd better look at the bus schedule posted near the bus shelter. Sure enough, the 187 didn't start until 7 am. I ran back over to Abbey Road and immediately caught a cab over to Paddington, a short 5 minute ride away.

Niece-C's train was not yet at the station, so I hung around a bit. There was not much action near the Heathrow Express area, but lots of commuters arriving from the suburban hinterlands served by Paddington. I went back to the taxi area, and there was Niece-C waiting for me underneath a HUGE backpack. I hardly recognized her.

We hopped into a cab and were back at the flat shortly after 7 am. I put her to bed in the guest accomodations (a cot in the living room) and went out to my "Stitchery" group that meets every Thursday. When I got back at 1 pm, I woke her and we went out for a stroll around the neighborhood, then down to Oxford Street so she could get the lay of the land.

Every day I get her up a little earlier so she can get on the right time while she is here. She is on her way to a semester in Jordan (studying International Relations). She was supposed to go via Jerusalem, but decided along with her parents that this was not a great time to visit that area.

We have been having a great time. She motivates me to get out to the gym more often than I would normally, and the other day we took the guided tour of Westminster together. She went down to Brighton to see some Univ. friends last week, then came back for a night before going off to Paris for a long weekend. Then, on Son's 21st birthday, she'll be off to Jordan and we won't see her until our trip to Massachusetts next June.