Dorset to Glasgow and back
On Thursday, our eldest grandson flew to Glasgow for a business meeting. There was a severe weather warning in place, with Storm Eowyn expected to wreak havoc, but Callum had not been told of any alteration to plans. While he was waiting for people to arrive and the meeting to begin, a colleague said, ‘Right, I’m off home,’ and wished him farewell. The meeting had been cancelled, but no-one had thought to tell Callum!. Everyone was being advised to go home and stay there.
There being no point in him remaining, Callum decided he had better return home. All flights had been cancelled, so he had to arrange to travel by train. He would reach London Euston just before midnight. He could have stayed with middle daughter, Susannah, in London, but wanted to get home to his pregnant wife and little girl. Eldest daughter, his mother, Gillian, donned her taxi-driver’s hat and drove from Dorset to meet him and take him home.
We were watching Miss Marple, the adaptation with Julia McKenzie in the title role, when the dogs alerted to Alexa announcing, ‘motion detected on the drive.’ That’s nothing unusual, but a few seconds later the front door opened, followed by the porch door, and finally the sitting room door, and Gillian appeared.
Pandemonium ensued as two deliriously happy dogs mobbed her. She had decided to break her journey with us for a couple of hours and gee herself up with coffee before meeting Callum at Watford, the last stop before Euston. That was preferable to driving into London, and made for a shorter journey.
We tried to persuade her to come back to us for the night, but she was adamant that Callum wanted to get home, and we understood that.
It was so nice to see her, all the more so because it was unexpected. We knew she would not reach her home in Dorset much before 2:00 a.m. Consequently, I read until about 2:30, when I could be satisfied she had probably arrived home safely.
Eowyn didn’t do much in our area, but Herminia is threatening now, and many flights into Heathrow have been cancelled.
It has been a cold, wet and windy day, but at least there will be no ‘mercy dash’ by car to pick up a weary son/grandson.
On the other hand, son Gareth is supposed to be on his way to Austria today for a week’s skiing. I hope his time will not be spent in the airport lounge.
I do wish people would be more considerate and tell EVERYONE when a meeting is cancelled. I'm glad everyone made it home safely and hope the skiing son makes it to Austria.
ReplyDeleteIt's not as though he lived just round the corner!
DeleteYour poor Grandson! Fancy not bothering to tell him the meeting had been cancelled. It was very nice of your daughter to go fetch him.
ReplyDeleteThat's my daughter! She drove to Scotland on one occasion to pick up her daughter who was having problems with her pregnancy. She loves driving, which is fortunate.
DeleteTravel can be risky during storms but we like to get home.
ReplyDeleteHome always seems the safest place.
DeleteI was once not told of a cancellation and then not told of the rescheduling. Makes a guy feel wanted.
ReplyDeleteIt's so unnecessary, and it wasn't a local meeting for him.
DeleteWeather can be such an issue!
ReplyDeleteBrits don't cope very well with even slight changes in the weather. 😐
DeleteThat was some blunder. It affected several people quite a bit. I hope everyone is safe now.
ReplyDeleteIt was thoughtlessness. A zoom or Teams meeting would have been better.
DeletePoor communication is one of my pet peeves - it can have real, onerous repercussions, like the ones your grandson and thus your daughter had to contend with. Most of the time, there is literally no excuse for it, and even when there is a reason, an apology should be forthcoming by the responsible party. (Did grandson receive an apology?)
ReplyDeleteI expect they were apologetic in that shoulder-shrugging way some people have! 😐
DeleteAll's well that ends well? But very annoying
ReplyDeleteCallum was just relieved to reach home.
DeleteIt’s moments like these, even amidst a bit of chaos, that highlight the importance of family and support.
ReplyDeleteGillian's family are very close. She's an excellent mum.
DeleteThat must have been so annoying. Thank goodness there were family to fall back on, including you being able to host Gillian for a much needed break.
ReplyDeleteIt was so nice to see her, if only for a short while.
DeleteMy word those storms are chasing one another across your Isles. What a waste of Callum's time. In this age of digital meetings it's also a huge waste of money and resources to travel to meetings.
ReplyDeleteExactly! The meeting could have been conducted quite satisfactorily on Zoom or Teams, unless security was involved, which may well have been the case.
DeleteI did not realize you get bad storms in the winter months, and am happy to hear the canceled trip ended well with everyone home safe plus you had the unexpected visitor. ditto what Tiggers Mum said about the waste of time and money flying to meetings these days especailly during bad weather.
ReplyDeleteAll done now, until the next time!
DeleteWild weather for your grandson to be out in. How nice that someone in the family can pick him up and drive him all the way home when they finally reached him. But what a worry with the storms. Thankfully ours have calmed down for this week and warming up a tad. It is such a worry.
ReplyDeleteBad weather creates many problems, but UK doesn't suffer as greatly as many other countries.
DeleteIt's interesting to hear about your rather large family. I was inclined to ask how you keep up with them all, but then I do so with my large family. Well, I remember their names at least.
ReplyDeleteRemembering their names is commendable. It's more than Barry usually manages. 🤣😂
DeleteThat must have been frustrating to have traveled all that way and to find out that the meeting had been cancelled.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't best pleased.
DeleteWhy do we have to have foreign storm names such as Eowyn or Herminia, why not good old English names like Storm Janice or Storm Barry - each devastating in their own right.
ReplyDeleteThey usually have two syllable names, though Bert and Wren are named for 2024-2025. I agree, Janice and Barry sound pretty cataclysmic, but I fear they would be more of a bang and a whimper.
DeleteThat was a nice unexpected get together! I am so glad that my air travel days are over, way too many hours spent in airports.
ReplyDeleteThat's my husband's cry. He spent so much time travelling for business and got heartily sick of airports.
DeleteHow lovely for you. It’s always good to have an unexpected caller!
ReplyDeleteThis bad weather always worries me when my children have to travel. Last night was terrible here in South Devon and, unlike my husband, I didn’t sleep a wink! And then I lay there worrying about my son who travels to Exeter University at around 7am. I looked at the travel news and both main roads to Exeter were blocked with snow, ice and accidents! Luckily, he had seen the news too and so he had decided to work from home rather than sit for hours in traffic. So that eased my worries!
Let’s hope that the weather improves as the week progresses! I need my sleep! 😴
Mothers never stop worrying, no matter how old their children.
DeleteWe live near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and sometimes have had to contend with serious storms during hurricane season, but traveling in such a storm would be a whole other matter. It's good to know that all your family are safe.
ReplyDeleteThe storms you encounter must be very severe.
DeleteLove how you organized this with a surprise twist.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I too miss my adult kids.
Only sometimes? 😂🤣
DeleteWhat a wonderful surprise. Do mothers' ever stop staying up late waiting for their babies to arrive home safely. My mother would have insisted on a 'home' text.
ReplyDeleteNo. Mothers always like to know their chicks are safely home. We did receive a text to say they'd reached home safely. 😀
DeleteWell if I were Callum I'd be plenty annoyed having flown to Glasgow for nothing! That sounds like a nightmarishly long day of travel. Glad you got a visit from Gillian, at least. :)
ReplyDeleteWe've had wind and rain here today -- is that Herminia? I had no idea.
Herminia seems to be hanging around, or is it just normal winter inconsistency?
DeleteTravel has become a nightmare even without bad weather. Terrible that they didn't advise of the cancellation; good that family was able to provide a rescue.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's no fun to travel these days.
DeleteThat is so inconsiderate not to let your Grandson know the meeting had been cancelled.
ReplyDeleteWell done to your daughter for driving up to pick him up and how lovely that she unexpectedly stopped by to see you.
I was out later in the day, today Monday, and fortunately missed most of the heavy rain and hail ... but goodness me it was windy!
All the best Jan
There seems to be more of the same today. It changes so quickly.
DeleteHow utterly inconsiderate that Callum wasn't informed :-(
ReplyDeleteBut it's always lovely to have an unexpected family visit! xxx
It certainly cheered us up. 😀
ReplyDeleteIt was very thoughtless of people not to let your grandson know that the meeting had been cancelled especially as he had to travel a long way to get there.
ReplyDeleteI worry about both my grown up children when they are out travelling in bad weather and feel relieved when I know they are safe. Definitely a mum thing .