When I was at the train station, I boarded the train by first tapping my card at the gates expecting that that would enable me to travel, although I quickly discovered that I needed to purchase an extra ticket to get outside of London. Luckily the ticket inspector on the train was nice and lenient enough to let me purchase one on the train rather than giving me a fine.
Meeting Laura and Mike
When I arrived at Godalming station around 11 am, Laura picked me up and drove me to her home. The area around the home seemed rather nice with many rather grand English estates surrounded by nice trees. To be honest, I was feeling kind of nervous to meet overseas family for the first time, especially doing so alone. But was quickly reassured and made comfortable by the kindness of Laura and Mike who welcomed me to their hometown, and their family home for some tea. We sat in their living room for a while and chatted, while Laura showed me some photos of when my mother and father had visited many years ago.
We went for lunch at a pub in the area. The pub seemed quite nice, and like the pubs that we have back home in Melbourne. I tried one of the local craft beers recommended by Mike, and for lunch had fish and chips again. This fish and chips were much better than the one I had the previous day and came with a pea mash and homemade tartare sauce that was delicious. I had a pudding after the meal which was delicious but too big for me to finish.
After the meal, we went back to their home and sat and chatted in their living room for a few more hours until it was time for me to go back on the train. Laura showed me some photos that she had of family members, and we discussed the family tree quite broadly. It was great to meet Laura and Mike – they were friendly and welcoming, and it was nice of them to take me for lunch at the pub and show me around the area. Sadly, eventually, it came time for me to say goodbye as I was going to the Isle of Wight to meet Amanda and Brad.
Meeting Amanda and Brad
Laura drove me to the train station when it was time and helped me by letting me know the train, I needed to catch would leave in 10 minutes. I mistakenly got on the wrong train, so I ended up having to change a few stations later to get on the faster train to make it to Portsmouth in time to catch the ferry to Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Luckily, I was able to figure it out and get on the right train which allowed me to get the ferry to the island. Amanda picked me up from the pier in Ryde – it was great to meet her as well. Due to all the rain, there had unfortunately been some landslips on the island and so as a result many of the roads on the island were closed.
Amanda drove me to her home, where I met Brad. After having dinner together, Amanda showed me the family tree that has been constructed on the Ancestry website. We went over it for a while looking at many of our shared family members. It was interesting to see visually how it all pieces together. I also contributed by correcting a few things such as my birthdate on the tree.
After chatting for a while, we went to bed around 1 am. Amanda and Brad were nice enough to let me stay for two nights at their home.
