Been there, done that and now back Part Uno

Well then, now that I'm back from a fortnights hols back home, it's time to record this for prosterity, or at least so I can remember 5 years from now what I did.

It started with a flight from San Antonio to Houston and the fun and games that are involved with airline security checks, long lines and all the other nonsense that takes place.

From Houston it was an 8 hour or so flight to Londonium and Heathrow Airport. Getting off the plane in order to go through Customs and Immigration is always a chore but this time I was surprised. The usual 30 minute wait to clear through Immigration Control wasn't to bad wich was followed by finding luggage that has been stowed within the plane for the journey. Bags were located without much fuss due to having a distinctive looking bag which made it easy to spot.

Next came the part that a lot of peopple dread adn that's going through HM Customs. The last time I did this trip was two years ago and me being the (ahem) law abiding that I is, went into the "Nothing to Declare" line as I had nothing to declare. As I was walking along minding my own business wanting to get out and get home I was accosted by a strange young woman which came as a shock as I'm never accosted by any woman but that's another story.

Anyway, this young person turns out to be a member of HM Customs and wondered if she might look into my bags which I of course obliged her.

She then proceeded to pull the contents out, commenting on the heavy leather jacket and asking i I wouldn't mind if they x-rayed my crash helmet. I naturally agreed to that request as I was curious to know if there were any cracks in it that might be of concern.

A few minutes later I was given the go ahead to depart and enjoy my stay in the UK.

Back to the present time and I was expecting the same experience, but no, there was only one of these protectors of the UK and this person had already fixed their sights on a victim and it was clear saailing for the Bodger out into the airport concourse to look for my sister who was to be there to provide transportation home.

Slight problem, the palne arrived 30 minutes early and she hadn't arrived herself. Not a problem though, as a few minutes later as herself and her hubby arrived. The next bit is the leaving Londonium for the Midlands and home.

Traffic out of the airport as well as in  is a nightmare to behold. You can get lost without even trying. But all was well as we all made it out and home safely within an hour where a pot of tea was brewed and waiting.

After getting home and settling in, it was time for a walkabout to see what if anything had changed. Things looked  pretty much normal except the roads all seemed to be smaller, probably due to the number of cars that were now parked everywhere.

The next day brought a trip into Banbury to have a nosey about and to buy two very important items, A-Zs for Banbury/Brackley/Bicester and one for Birmingham. The B/B/B one was to make a trip to Bicester in order to patronize a Starbucks to get some coffee thaat I'm partial to as well as to pick up something for a co-worker.

The Birmingham map was so I had clear directions to the National Motorcycle Museum in the Solihull area and I wanted to make sure that I ahd no problems getting there.

The next day, Monday, saw the obtaining of a rental car and the trip to Bicester. After driving around Bicester for eons, the Starbucks was  found.

I know you're wondering, so what happened to the map book that you had just gotten the day before ya Wozzick and why didn't ya use it? Good question and the answer is that I had forgotten the bloody thing..

 Any road, the coffee was bought, drank and enjoyed as well as the gift for the co-worker so it turned out OK.

The next day brought a farther excursion done to the Newbury area. Following the A34 from Banbury towards Oxford is relatively easy enough, and then follow it south to Newbury by following the signs. All went well until arriving in Kidlington which is part on Oxford which meant I had gone to far towards Oxford.

So after getting directions, it began to go to plan. While ging towards the target destination, the plan was to exit near Wantage and then proceed towards a remote military base in the country where I haad enjoyed four years of my early military life.

So towards Wantage I went and arrived there without a hitch. However, I had either missed a sign, some thug had stolen it, it got misplaced or some ohteer explanation exists, but after leaving Wantage, the short 15 minute trip to the base turned into a Magical Mystery Tour of epic proportions involving a unscheduled tour of the Berkshire countryside. But finally by chance did I get to where I needed to be.

I expected things to change a little over 30 years and they had....where there used to be a small little sentry gate shack at the top of a small hill, there was now a larger building with massive gates, there were new buildings and a telephone to call for access to the base, which I had to use.

Talked to a nice MOD chappie and explained what I was up and after a ten minute wait, he comes out to tell me that there wasn't anyone to sho me around the base. Didn't need that as the base itself isn't that big, can be walked around in less tha ten minutes. But it was a no go. If I left my particulars with them, they might be able to arrange somehing for a later time. Decided to pass on it.

So the it was a trip off into Newbury. The town changed a little, the surrounding area alot due to new roads being put in over the years. So after a couple of hours there, it was back to home base.

On the Friday I took a wee trip over to Daventry to take some pictures over to Sue who is the widpw of Cliff or "Pooh" who I mentioned in an obit posting a few months back. I had a few pictures of a BMW K100 that belonged to Pooh which he loaned ot me to use on my last trip back. As she didn't have any of that bike, she asked if I could get her some which was not a problem.

Also helped her drain the tank on his BMW R80 called "Wobble". It's been parked up in the shed since Pooh died and had some fuel in the tank which needed to be drained so the inside wouldn't rust.

After all that it was time to head home after making a trip into Banbury for some grub at the local chippy. A nice helping of steak and kidney pie and chips was called for as it had been drizzling all day.

In the next installment, a trip to Solihull and the NMM. Stay tuned.