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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 1652212" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>The time for our trip to the UK for our grandson’s passing out parade to mark the end of his basic training and the beginning of his new career as a professional soldier was soon upon us. We were all going to meet up at our hotel in Woking the day before except, of course, our grandson who would be polishing his boots and brasses, cleaning his rifle and pressing his uniform. His Dad, our youngest son, flew over from Palm Springs, our eldest son took the TGV and the Eurostar from his new home in France, and Jackie and I drove up from Luxembourg.</p><p></p><p>I can’t say that the journey, in either direction was an unalloyed pleasure. The traffic slowed us down within 20 minutes of leaving home. It’s always heavy during the rush hour but this day it seemed particularly bad. But no sooner had we begun to speed up we were brought to a crawl again by an accident ahead. I had been considering leaving the motorway at the next exit, but that was exactly where the accident had occurred. There were several police cars at the side of the motorway and various heavily damaged cars scattered around on the right lane, the slip road and on the exit itself.</p><p></p><p>Once we had left the bumper cars behind we were able to pick up speed again, finally crossing the border into Belgium about 15 minutes later. It took us over an hour to get from our home to Belgium - a drive that usually takes us just under 30 minutes.</p><p></p><p>We were further delayed by a series of road works throughout Belgium, to such an extent that we began to think we would miss the ferry we were booked on. But we needn’t have worried - when we pulled up at check in we were told that our ferry had been cancelled due to storms in the Channel. We had a wait of a couple of hours but boarded without further problems.</p><p></p><p>The Channel was indeed rough, but we had booked into the Club Lounge which is generally quieter and more comfortable. We settled ourselves down, were served with a pot of tea and biscuits and immersed ourselves in our iPads. A while later we ordered a sandwich apiece as lunchtime had passed quite a while ago.</p><p></p><p>The sea was pretty rough with hefty-looking waves smacking into us regularly. The good point about these ferries is that they are well stabilised so the effects of the storm were muted on board. And believe me, as a regular sufferer from seasickness, I know when a boat is stabilised.</p><p></p><p>Despite the weather the crossing was pretty quick and before we knew it we were cruising alongside the white cliffs towards Dover harbour.</p><p></p><p>Once off the ferry we drove through Dover to the M20, then onto the M25 and subsequently towards Woking. We received a phone call from our two sons who were sitting in the bar of the hotel and waiting for us to show up. We gave them an estimated time of arrival from the GPS and were there within an hour. I checked in while Jackie greeted the boys (read men). I received the key cards, took the bags up to the room and came back down to join my family. We had a good reunion, enjoyed a couple of drinks together and caught up with everybody’s news. We worked out a timetable for the next day and then left our sons to freshen up.</p><p></p><p>We assembled in the bar an hour or so later and then, after an aperitif, moved into the restaurant for dinner. We stretched the meal out until I began to feel exhaustion creeping up on me and after reconfirming the next morning’s timetable, went up to our room where I unpacked my clothes for the next morning and flopped into bed.</p><p></p><p>Breakfast was a surprisingly good meal with freshly fried eggs, bacon, sausages and the usual dishes that make up the great British breakfast. Our sons had decided to go for breakfast to a nearby cafe for a full English so we didn’t see them until they returned, by which time we had checked out of the hotel and were waiting for them in the lobby.</p><p></p><p>From there it was a short drive to Pirbright where our grandson had just completed his basic training. We joined the short line of cars being checked in and I was impressed by the efficiency of the system, but then I remembered the efficiency I observed during my military service in the Royal Air Force and I thought that this was one of the things that hadn’t been lost to the austerity forced on the services by successive governments.</p><p></p><p>We drove along roads inside the military establishment, all carefully signposted, and were directed onto a parade square to park. From there we made our way to a building where we waited until it was close to starting time. Coffee, tea and water was available and it became quite crowded as more and more families of the recruits arrived.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the time we had all waited for came when we were directed outside and led to the grandstand overlooking the parade square. The sky was almost clear of clouds and the sun was shining directly into the grandstand, so we climbed to the next to last row so that we were neither blinded by the sun nor unable to take photos in the glare.</p><p></p><p>After a short wait for everybody to get seated a military band marched in, halted on the far side of the square and after a few minutes started to play. While this was being played we saw a squad of 30 soldiers, rifles at the slope, march towards us on the road leading to the square. They came to a halt while another squad marched on and halted behind them, then a third squad marched towards us and halted. The band ended their piece and, after waiting a few seconds, struck up a march and the first squad began to march onto the square, followed shortly afterwards by the second squad, and then the third.</p><p></p><p>Everyone in the stand was avidly trying to spot their family member in the ranks, but with all of them in uniform it was difficult to pick out your soldier.They marched around the square, giving us the chance to spot our grandson in the first squad.</p><p></p><p>When they had traversed the four sides of the square they came to a halt. Each squad was then inspected by the brigadier who was the senior officer present. There was also a representative of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.</p><p></p><p>When the inspection was completed the squads once again marched around the square while the families cheered them on. Then they marched off and we made our way back to the reception area where the former recruits would arrive after stowing their weapons.</p><p></p><p>Tea, coffee and soft drinks were available while we waited and before long the young trainees began arriving to greet their families.</p><p></p><p>We were so surprised to see our grandson in his full uniform, looking every inch a good soldier. He had worked hard to get into the army, including losing 4 kilos, and getting into physical trim to pass the medical. The army is a lot choosier now that it used to be.</p><p></p><p>We told him how proud we were of him and the commitment he had shown to his chosen career. I slipped him a handful of notes, remembering how welcome cash gifts were when I was in the RAF.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, all too soon we had to leave as I wanted to traverse the M25 before the rush hour began. But we were going to meet up with him the next day in London.</p><p></p><p>So we took off to negotiate the largest car park in Britain to our hotel in Greenwich, where we would be spending the next two nights.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 1652212, member: 9985"] The time for our trip to the UK for our grandson’s passing out parade to mark the end of his basic training and the beginning of his new career as a professional soldier was soon upon us. We were all going to meet up at our hotel in Woking the day before except, of course, our grandson who would be polishing his boots and brasses, cleaning his rifle and pressing his uniform. His Dad, our youngest son, flew over from Palm Springs, our eldest son took the TGV and the Eurostar from his new home in France, and Jackie and I drove up from Luxembourg. I can’t say that the journey, in either direction was an unalloyed pleasure. The traffic slowed us down within 20 minutes of leaving home. It’s always heavy during the rush hour but this day it seemed particularly bad. But no sooner had we begun to speed up we were brought to a crawl again by an accident ahead. I had been considering leaving the motorway at the next exit, but that was exactly where the accident had occurred. There were several police cars at the side of the motorway and various heavily damaged cars scattered around on the right lane, the slip road and on the exit itself. Once we had left the bumper cars behind we were able to pick up speed again, finally crossing the border into Belgium about 15 minutes later. It took us over an hour to get from our home to Belgium - a drive that usually takes us just under 30 minutes. We were further delayed by a series of road works throughout Belgium, to such an extent that we began to think we would miss the ferry we were booked on. But we needn’t have worried - when we pulled up at check in we were told that our ferry had been cancelled due to storms in the Channel. We had a wait of a couple of hours but boarded without further problems. The Channel was indeed rough, but we had booked into the Club Lounge which is generally quieter and more comfortable. We settled ourselves down, were served with a pot of tea and biscuits and immersed ourselves in our iPads. A while later we ordered a sandwich apiece as lunchtime had passed quite a while ago. The sea was pretty rough with hefty-looking waves smacking into us regularly. The good point about these ferries is that they are well stabilised so the effects of the storm were muted on board. And believe me, as a regular sufferer from seasickness, I know when a boat is stabilised. Despite the weather the crossing was pretty quick and before we knew it we were cruising alongside the white cliffs towards Dover harbour. Once off the ferry we drove through Dover to the M20, then onto the M25 and subsequently towards Woking. We received a phone call from our two sons who were sitting in the bar of the hotel and waiting for us to show up. We gave them an estimated time of arrival from the GPS and were there within an hour. I checked in while Jackie greeted the boys (read men). I received the key cards, took the bags up to the room and came back down to join my family. We had a good reunion, enjoyed a couple of drinks together and caught up with everybody’s news. We worked out a timetable for the next day and then left our sons to freshen up. We assembled in the bar an hour or so later and then, after an aperitif, moved into the restaurant for dinner. We stretched the meal out until I began to feel exhaustion creeping up on me and after reconfirming the next morning’s timetable, went up to our room where I unpacked my clothes for the next morning and flopped into bed. Breakfast was a surprisingly good meal with freshly fried eggs, bacon, sausages and the usual dishes that make up the great British breakfast. Our sons had decided to go for breakfast to a nearby cafe for a full English so we didn’t see them until they returned, by which time we had checked out of the hotel and were waiting for them in the lobby. From there it was a short drive to Pirbright where our grandson had just completed his basic training. We joined the short line of cars being checked in and I was impressed by the efficiency of the system, but then I remembered the efficiency I observed during my military service in the Royal Air Force and I thought that this was one of the things that hadn’t been lost to the austerity forced on the services by successive governments. We drove along roads inside the military establishment, all carefully signposted, and were directed onto a parade square to park. From there we made our way to a building where we waited until it was close to starting time. Coffee, tea and water was available and it became quite crowded as more and more families of the recruits arrived. Finally, the time we had all waited for came when we were directed outside and led to the grandstand overlooking the parade square. The sky was almost clear of clouds and the sun was shining directly into the grandstand, so we climbed to the next to last row so that we were neither blinded by the sun nor unable to take photos in the glare. After a short wait for everybody to get seated a military band marched in, halted on the far side of the square and after a few minutes started to play. While this was being played we saw a squad of 30 soldiers, rifles at the slope, march towards us on the road leading to the square. They came to a halt while another squad marched on and halted behind them, then a third squad marched towards us and halted. The band ended their piece and, after waiting a few seconds, struck up a march and the first squad began to march onto the square, followed shortly afterwards by the second squad, and then the third. Everyone in the stand was avidly trying to spot their family member in the ranks, but with all of them in uniform it was difficult to pick out your soldier.They marched around the square, giving us the chance to spot our grandson in the first squad. When they had traversed the four sides of the square they came to a halt. Each squad was then inspected by the brigadier who was the senior officer present. There was also a representative of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. When the inspection was completed the squads once again marched around the square while the families cheered them on. Then they marched off and we made our way back to the reception area where the former recruits would arrive after stowing their weapons. Tea, coffee and soft drinks were available while we waited and before long the young trainees began arriving to greet their families. We were so surprised to see our grandson in his full uniform, looking every inch a good soldier. He had worked hard to get into the army, including losing 4 kilos, and getting into physical trim to pass the medical. The army is a lot choosier now that it used to be. We told him how proud we were of him and the commitment he had shown to his chosen career. I slipped him a handful of notes, remembering how welcome cash gifts were when I was in the RAF. Unfortunately, all too soon we had to leave as I wanted to traverse the M25 before the rush hour began. But we were going to meet up with him the next day in London. So we took off to negotiate the largest car park in Britain to our hotel in Greenwich, where we would be spending the next two nights. [/QUOTE]
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