Feb 1, 1979 I arrived the previous day in New York City at the end of a three day bus ride from South Dakota. I took the subway to the Laker office to buy my $100 one way flight to London that departed that night. Buying the seats for the one way flight was on a first come/first serve basis. After securing the ticket, I killed time in the city until returning to the airline office in the evening. The other passengers and I took a bus to the airport for our scheduled departure.
The Laker flight from New York was delayed two hours due to a major safety inspection that seemed necessary. The plane, originating in California, was struck by lightning as it took off from Los Angeles. Despite the incident, the cross country flight was not aborted in California.
We left at 1 AM and arrived at Gatwick Airport outside London at 2 PM. Getting through customs was easy. After assembling my belongings, I took the train to London's Victoria Station. From there the London Underground took me to my destination, the Holland House Youth Hostel. The Underground is a busy, efficient subway system of which the British are quite proud.
Photo: Garbage in Leicester Square
Feb 2, 1979 I rode a double decker bus downtown where I first checked at the Post Office for a message from Robin and Phil, but nothing. Robin and Phil, Australian teachers I had met in 1978, were also on an extended vacation and we had planned to meet in London.
It was a cloudy day, made more dreary by the widespread garbage strike. In particular, Leicester Square had garbage bags stacked 6 feet high. Britons, however, didn't seem to care about the strike, they just carried on with their business. At the Hostel, each guest was given a volunteer task. Mine was to collect and take out the garbage. In the mornings I threw the bags of garbage on top of a huge pile of uncollected garbage in back of the Hostel.
I walked by Birmingham Palace and saw the Queens Gallery, but thought the small art gallery was a ripoff. The only thing of interest to me was the armor of Henry the VIII which emphasized how portly he was.
That evening I went to a pub with a some architecture students from Newcastle. The British serve beer cool, but not cold as in the US.
Photo: Albert Hall in London
Feb 3, 1979 Today the punk rocker Sid Vicious, formally of the Sex Pistols, died. It was big news, especially in typical British newpapers that resemble the National Enquirer. Punk kids are everywhere, both sexes sport very short haircuts and rings in ears and nostrils. Some would string a chain from ear to nostril and I occasionally saw large safety pins in cheeks. They had an intimidating look.
In south London, I went to a soccer game and watched Chelsea defeat Birmingham 2-1. I stood in the visitors section with the other Birmingham fans. The section is surrounded by a high chain link fence, isolating us from the vocal Chelsea hometown fans. The rowdiest fans are those Chelsea fans who sneaked into the visitors section.
Map of Southeast England
