on the move

I don't recall having ever been to King's Cross Station before, I'm sure I would have remembered that ceiling. I set off from there three and a half hours ago and I am still travelling. I am eagerly awaiting my hotel bed. The journey has been quite pleasant, although I finished my book last night so I have resorted to iplayer downloads to keep me entertained. I have so far watched Only Connect, University Challenge, Have I Got News for You, a brilliant documentary about Poets of the First World War, and am currently trying to resist shouting out the answers to the few questions I know on Mastermind. It has been an educational few hours!

I realise that I have resorted to technology to pass the time but the view from the window is simply endless darkness and those around me do not appear available for conversation. Not that I mind, it has been good to have the luxury of a few hours of escapism. I particularly enjoyed the documentary, I would never normally sit and watch something like that at home and it was very interesting. I have always enjoyed poetry but there is something particularly moving about seeing it in context, and the programme showed brilliantly the history and geography surrounding the texts.

We have just pulled up at a station and I am watching a reunion on the platform of a young man and woman through the window. It was not a dramatic greeting, she looked tired from travelling, a weariness I well recognise. There was a long hug, both seeming to visibly relax as they embraced. It conveyed to me a sense that for them order had been restored, that gently, life was righting itself to the status quo. Suddenly home feels very distant, and Friday (when I finally get back) seems far too far away.