Greetings from Brussels

It is very strange to have set off from Barry yesterday to go to Shanghai and to be mooching round Brussels today!

We had the most amazing send off yesterday starting with Charlie, Miche, Ellie, Emily and Ed taking us to Southampton where we all had bacon rolls for breakfast and Ed could hardly contain himself as the trains came and went. He nearly exploded when three trains came in at once and Tone had to run to keep up with him.

On the train to Bristol Parkway where my best friends Bridget and Ted met us to drive us down to Barry. Bridget and I go back a long way and totally true to form she said she wanted to come and wave us off and would provide a picnic for lunch.  When we walked to their car we saw that they had laid out a little table with lovely mugs and home made biscuits and they had a little gas ring and made really delicious coffee which was so much better that Costa on the motorway (sorry Costa but its true)

We drove down to Barry uneventfully and parked in the station car park. Bridget started to twitter about whether we should walk up to Romilly Road (where grandpa lived at the time he left for Shanghai.  She made a couple of phone calls out of our hearing and I began to wonder what was up.

What was up was that my sister Marie turned up shortly afterwards having left my brother in law walking the Pembroke Way to come and see us off too.

This just gets better and the sun was shining too.

We visited Dave who lives at 28 Romilly Road now and he showed us round the house. It is truly lovely and still has the floor tiles in the hall and the wall tiles in the porch that would have been the ones grandpa saw as he left.  Dave described how the house had been and it was great to meet him. Thank you Dave for being so patient with us.

At about this time John Rowley from the South West News Services arrived. He wanted some pics for First Great Western trains to publicise the fact that they gave us free first class tickets to travel up to London.

We recreated the picture of Grandpa and his dad and friends going to the station and it is in the gallery or will be once I upload it.

I then realised a long held ambition which many will know about.  I walked onto Barry Station and asked for two singles to Shanghai!

Tracy the ticket lady had been warned and as cool as a cucumber agreed and printed me off two tickets.  To Cardiff!  I hope it will make a good pic as John made us do it a few times.  Thanks Tracy

Once John had finished with us for the time being we returned to Bridget and Teds car where they had laid out a picnic to beat all picnics.

Tables and lace tablecloths, oysters and champagne, delicious chicken liver pate and wonderful white wine, smoked salmon sandwiches, scrummy cheeses and red wine. Really good beer for Tone as Ted thought it might be the last decent beer until we get home.

As we started the picnic our friends Ruth and Brian turned up. They had driven up from Plymouth!!

And then Aly and Tony England arrived with their little dogs Wesley and Willow and the party was complete.  Aly had brought flags to wave. More wine, champagne and beer and it was time to go onto the platform.  John was there to take more pics and then I panicked because I though we might be on the wrong platform. 

Bridget took me to one side and gave me a bit of a talking to!  Thanks Bridge. I have been calm ever since. I don't dare panic in case you get to hear about it!

Just before we left Bridget gave us a survival kit which included string, an olive pick (essential) salt pepper etc etc and a miniature of port and a little bottle of balsamic vinegar dressing. She is a classy lady

And then the train was coming. We got on and John came too. Tony England is taking pics and everyone is waving and shouting goodbye and it is really the most terrific send off we could have wished for.

To all of you who came you made our day. We cannot tell you how much it meant to us.

We got safely to London and that will be another story.