OBSERVATIONS

No matter who you are or where you go there are opportunities for observation. There will be things that possibly only you see or that you may see or observe seemingly by chance. Some things may touch you deeply, make you smile, or even laugh out loud. Of course there are also those things that you wish you had not seen or that may be disturbing. Some observations can have profound affects on us that are long lasting and other observations may be forgotten quickly. 

The other day I realized a couple of things. I had wondered what it would be like when I arrived in England to have my modes of transportation be: on foot, train, tube or bus. No driving. I honestly really enjoy the change. Using these other modes of transport has allowed me to be more observant because I do not have to watch the road, look out for other cars and people, watch for traffic signs, deal with different weather conditions, pay attention to the dashboard and everything else around and outside the vehicle. Now I just need to pay attention to when it's my stop. I also realized that I have not had a headache since arriving here and I now wonder if driving, and the nuances entailed in that activity, have been a source of some of my headaches over the years. 

Riding the bus was not my first choice and avoided riding the bus for several weeks. I get car sick and claustrophobic so the thought of being packed like sardines on a bus was not appealing. My first bus ride was fairly short and during the off peak hours so not bad. Yesterday, Saturday, I decided to catch a morning bus and head to Twickenham to see a historic building, about a 30 min. bus ride away. There are not many people on the bus on a Saturday morning so that was a good choice. It was a double decker bus so I headed upstairs and found a seat up front which means spectacular views on all sides and literally no obstructions to the views. It was awesome, and I never thought I would say that about a bus ride.

A couple of random observations:
As a class we visited Coombe Conduit, which was once a main source of the water supply to Hampton Court. It isn't used anymore but there is still water in the cisterns.