Europe on 5-10 Nervous Breakdowns a Day (36)
DAYS 39–41 – MONDAY–WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3–5, 1974 – ON THE ROAD AGAIN
On Monday, we were in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I did some research on the British restoration movement. Other than that, the most exciting thing that happened on day 39 was a game of Rook (Angie won).
On Tuesday, we left Scotland and traveled to Liverpool. It’s about 1¼ million people, third largest city in England. I mainly remember it because of our find-a-place-to-stay episode.
As usual, Debbie and I set forth, leaving the others and our luggage at the station. But the first direction we went had little to choose from. The only hotel that appeared to be in our price range wanted £3.00 for each of us. That would be $37.50 for nothing special.
We headed the other direction. On the other side of the station, we came across a row of scruffy-looking hotels. Interesting dialogues took place inside. Some examples:
Me (after going upstairs to inspect the rooms): “How much?”
Woman, mumbled something about £2.75 each, but then said, “I’ll have ask my husband.”
She calls her husband who is upstairs. When he comes down, she repeats the question.
Man: “£3.00 each.”
Me: “That’s too much. We have already seen rooms twice as good for £3.00.”
I start to leave, but the man looks like he is willing to negotiate. So I say, “We generally pay £2.00 to £2.50 each.”
Woman (horrified look on her face): “I couldn’t even serve breakfast for that price!”
Another place: I had decided to ask prices before I walked upstairs to look at rooms. Me: “How much?”
Old woman: “Eh?”
Me: “HOW MUCH?”
Woman: “Have you asked anywhere else? . . . How much did they ask?”
Me: “£3.00 . . . BUT THAT WAS TOO MUCH.”
Woman (horrified): “No one along here will put you up for less than £5.50!”
Man standing behind the woman: “HE MEANS APIECE.”
Woman begins to ramble on about how great her rooms are. She totters upstairs with us and shows us a small room with a double bed and a twin bed (the latter unmade). She starts talking business: “You can stay for £2.50 each, including breakfast. That’s £12.50 . . . . On second thought, I won’t charge for the little girl. That’s £10.00 . . . but you will have to pay the V.A.T . . . . No, I’ll pay that myself. £10.00 straight!”
Me: “sounds pretty good, but before I decide, I’d like to see the other room.”
Woman: “What other room?”
I finally did business in another hotel with a slovenly women, probably in her late 40s or early 50s who looked like hard nights had caught up with her. She was unbelievably vague. At one point she said £2.50 for each and at another point wondered whether she should charge for the little girl. Finally, she gave us keys to go up and check the rooms (she didn’t go; said she was bushed). When I came down, I said, “And that will be £10.00?” She looked surprised but nodded and said, “All right.”
It had taken Deb and me more than an hour to find over-night accommodations. All this time our poor family was waiting at the station wondering if we had been shanghaied.
That evening, we went to a movie. This was the first family movie we had found near where we were staying: The Great Race (a “U” rating in Great Britain).
Wednesday morning, my contact in Liverpool, Raymond Hill, met me to take me to places related to the British restoration movement. He is a man in his 50s, distinguished looking with a cultured British voice. He had been a teacher and administrator in a technical college until he went into full-time church work ten years earlier. After lunch at the Hills, Raymond took us to the train station to catch the 3:20 to Birmingham.
As we were getting on the train, a porter ducked under my guard and grabbed my luggage. He helped us find a 2nd class compartment, which I appreciated, so, as he left, I slipped a 10p piece (25¢) into his palm. Except that, after he was gone, Jo asked why I had given him a 50p piece ($1.25!). Sigh.
We got into Birmingham at 5:00ish. My contact was Alan Daniell whom I met at the ACC lectures. When he picked us up, he said I was scheduled to speak to their teachers at 6:30 (first I had heard about it). I spoke on visual aids to seven or eight teachers.
After the session with the teachers, Alan took us to where we would be staying. A nice motel in the northern part of the city. Biggest problem was that it was not near anything we could walk to: shops, train station, etc. But it would do until we left for London. Counting that night, we had slept in eight different cities in nine nights! To say that our family was tired of traveling is an understatement.
