Disclaimer – This is a narration of my perspective and may not be subscribed by the others who traveled with me.  


It was an optional trip that a bunch of us decided to take, to visit the University of Northampton (with whom we are doing our Masters in Special and Inclusive Education). The seed for this trip was sown many months before. Slowly the roots started growing in terms of the plans on the duration and the visit itself. Watered, with the schedule we will have in the working days of the week, the manure was added, thru the plans for the evenings and the weekend that we would spend in London. By the time, it was April we had a beautifully growing plant with many colorful buds ready to bloom in a few weeks. We were careful not to change plans too much, lest the plant withers, while at the same time excited to see it in its full bloom which would be in the second week of May.


Just as the growth of a plant is not without challenges, we too had our share of them. Some who confirmed had to withdraw later by some as they had their own happenings back home which did not allow them to travel. Some who were not really sure of traveling confirmed their coming, as things became clearer for them, on their home front. We needed to confirm our dates of travel and duration of our stay at the University, for our schedule to be chalked out to the last detail by our tutors. A very valuable help indeed!! We were sure that this schedule will be followed by them and by us, meticulously. Some evenings were also planned for, while some were left to us. 


A whats app group that was created for this trip was in full swing and emails were also going back and forth. Well, there are days when if we did not check our mobiles there would be number of messages in the group and reading all of them and replying was a task.. Added to it, there were times when emails will go unanswered by many of us and this was a challenge by itself, that certainly came in the way of planning. There are days when we would send a mail with details on what could be planned and top it up with a message on the group, alerting everyone to respond to the mail. This was a bit of a pain as it involved a two time communication but as it was a ‘must do’, it had to be done – feel the pleasure in the pain :-). Airlines, fares, discount offers looked at, to ensure most of us, if not all of us, travel together. 


The visa to be applied for, was certainly another aspect that went thru a roller coaster. What visa to apply for? What to say in the application form? What documents to attach? Will they grant the visa, without much ado? After all these questions and a visit to the visa office to complete formalities, it was time to chew nails while waiting for the passport to arrive, with the visa granted. “When is your interview? What did they ask? What documents did you give? Oh you got the visa? How many days did it take for you? I did not my visa yet. Why is it taking so long? I hope I will get it” –  all these were what we were asking one another while chewing our nails and waiting for the visa to arrive. 


Accommodation of our stay there gave some panic moments, especially when it came to the payments which needed to be made in pounds. Payments that was declined rattled even further. Time zone calculations to be done, make calls at the right time and sort the payment aspect, talk slowly so that the person at the other end of the line understands. Too much to keep in mind!! When the payment was finally made and accommodation confirmed, it was time to breathe a big sigh of relief. 


Working week in Northampton was planned for, with space on some evenings to do what we wanted to do; but what about the weekend that we had decided to spend in London? The thinking wheel kept churning in us. Hotels had to be looked at keeping safety, security and economy rates in mind, payments to be made for the trips that we would undertake on the weekend, communication with all the stakeholders, wire transfers to be done – this is just to name a few. 


More questions we kept asking – Are the rates too expensive? Should we look at other hotels? Should we look at serviced apartments? What are the places that we need to visit? What are the places that we could afford to miss? What are the places we need to definitely see, using our time optimally too? What about Forex – pounds, euros or dollars? Card or cash or both? Sim card? Which one? What plans? Nail biting confusion it was, answering these questions amidst the excitement of the ‘to be’ visit. If whats app groups and emails were not enough, we thought we should also meet to freeze on all this. And we met too. Amidst a lot of giggling and chatting, we also took many decisions. Productive meetings, as they say in corporates 🙂


While all the planning on the travel and stay was being made, it was also time to think of what to carry. A nice and good peek into the wardrobe to see what was there and what needed to be bought. With people warning us of the unpredictable English weather, it was time to take out the wollens, the windcheaters, jackets, thermals, stoles, scarves and of course a suitcase that will carry all this and have place to also carry back what we would buy there too :-). Oh well, the suitcase needed to be weighed too, to ensure we did not carry excess baggage (I actually took my suitcase to the nearby old newspaper mart to weigh it, after packing all my things. I walked back happily seeing a much lower baggage weight than we were allowed to carry :-)). 


As for me, I also decided not to eat outside, a few days before the departure date. Wanted to keep myself free of any preventable health hazards :-). It now sounds whacky but it sounded a sensible thing to do at that time. 


As the days neared the departure date, excitement and nervousness grew in me. Checklist made, checklist ticked, to do list stuck at visible locations in the house and those were also ticked as they were done. 


Did I drive people around me up the wall, with all my nervousness and excitement? Perhaps I did, as some would say, if they were asked 🙂


The day of travel dawned and I barely slept a couple of hours lest I overslept and missed my flight. Reached the airport, met all those travelling together, walked around trying to find something to drink or eat in the wee hours of the morning and finally boarded the flight. A nine and half hour non stop flight? Whew!!! That’s a long time!! Movies to watch, books to read, music to listen to, food that keeps getting served, walks that are taken to ease the stiffness of sitting for a few hours at a stretch, looking thru the window to see what’s outside and last but not the least waiting for the flight to land :-). Well, a lot actually got done in those nine and half hours. Certainly a lot of me and my time!


These images that my mobile captured from the window (“Keep your mobile in airplane mode please, and then take pictures”, was the permission that was given to me by one of the crew) was an icing on the cake..


The flight landed and it was time to leave for Northampton from London. 


If you want to know what happened during the trip, you need to wait for a few more days, while I collect my thoughts and post it in my blogpost, in the next few days. Enjoy these images and visualize the growing plant with its buds ready to open and blossom, while you wait..