Please excuse the mangled photo! My brother and I at Hyde Park, London, circa 2000.
This post has been written for the theme “26 Places, 26 Memories” for the #AtoZChallenge.
E FOR ENGLAND:
This diminutive country in the British Isles is best known for colonising a significant part of the modern world. The world, thus, adopted its language, customs and mores. Its bustling capital, London is a large melting pot of cultures; and its beautiful countryside has caught the imagination of many poets and writers. England has always been at the forefront of industry, arts, and business, and is one of the rare monarchies to survive the modern world.
I’ve visited England many times, even pursuing studies at the University of London. I’ve seen the regal University towns of Oxford and Cambridge; the picturesque villages and sandy beaches of Yorkshire; the castles of Windsor and Hampton Court; and the rich neighbourhood of the Ascot races. However, one memory really stands out.
EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS IN ENGLAND:
I first visited England in the summer of 2000, as a 12-year-old. Our group consisted of my maternal grandfather, my parents, my younger brother and I. After a week in London, we hired a dinky Renault hatchback, and followed the great British Atlas through the famed Lake District. We stopped at many villages and towns, spending the nights at local ‘BnB’ Inns (Bed & Breakfasts).
At one quaint place, my grandfather and my brother shared the double bed, while I occupied an extra bed in the same room. The space was well-lit and comfortable, with a typical Tudoresque floral décor. On the first night there, we slept off as soon as we hit the bed, tired from the days travels. My brother woke the next morning with his blanket thrown on the floor, which he didn’t remember discarding. We gave the incident no thought till the next morning, when I awoke with two blankets on me, my brother’s thrown in a pile over my own, all the way across the room in my bed. Neither of us knew how his blanket reached there, nor did we have any memory of waking in the night.
You can imagine how alarming this was to two children with overactive imaginations. We endlessly discussed the incident.
Could my brother have sleep-walked and put it on me?
Could he have discarded the blanket as he was too hot, and I have picked it up because I was too cold?
Could my grandfather have mistakenly thought I’d thrown my blanket off instead of my brother, and put it on me at night?
Or, could it have been some paranormal activity?!
Fortunately, we moved on to the next place before we could discover the answer. This extraordinary episode taught us that the wondrous sights and sounds of travel fade away, but the unique experiences we share with our loved ones stay on forever. My brother and I discuss this strange mystery till today, and of course I still blame him 😉
Come back tomorrow for the letter F and another story!
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A for Amritsar, B for Bhopal, C for Cambodia, D for Delhi