Day 1

Friday, December 23, 2011 6:26 PM

Day 1

I confess to being very anxious this morning while packing the bags and locking the doors. The bus arrived within a minute of my getting to the bus stop – good omen. The front seat was empty and waiting for me – good omen. It was a quick easy ride to London and I taxied from the bus stop to the hotel. Check in over, I went to my room. It’s a bog standard Marriott hotel room which suits me fine. There is a big bed, a big telly, a mini bar and a perfectly usable bathroom en suite. The first bad omen reared its head when I tried to connect to the Internet. This is doable but they charge a small fortune for the connection; i.e. £6 per hour or £15 for the day. Maybe this isn’t steep but it’s the first time I have stayed somewhere where the connection isn’t free. That usually means you have to go to their Internet room but I wouldn’t mind that. Anyway, if I want to be in touch with all of you, I have to pay for the privilege.

After I checked in, I realized I was starving so I went for a quickie lunch in the bar. A lady of senior years (my age it turned out) invited me to sit with her and I thought it would be churlish to refuse. She is another virgin Just You member so we had one of those getting to know you conversations. She was widowed last March so, sad but not rejected. I was getting a tad bored when another virgin turned up. There are 96 people in the group, not all virgins. We all met later for a drink and a run down of the exciting activities to come. The meals will be buffet style which I’m pleased about because I can stuff myself with the better items. I met another virgin at the get together meeting but this one was male so I guess virgin is the wrong word. We talked about our divorces. I suppose when you get 96 people together who range in age from 50 to 80, they are bound to have past relationships that need airing. Oh well, tomorrow we are off to Somerset House (Courtauld Institute) and carols at the Royal Albert Hall. Games and quizzes in the evening and then it will be Christmas day.