Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'
Due to adverse weather conditions, all flights to the Scilly Isles have been cancelled.
Please leave your luggage in the car before entering'
.
We didn't have any luggage, or a car, so we entered.
The building was heaving with people, yet there was an eerie silence in the room.
Elderly tourists, idly waiting to see if the fog would clear, occupied row upon row of seats.
Wehadcometoseekouttheoriginofthesmellandweshambledourwayclumsilythrough
the crowds towards what looked like a café. This was to be our first request for food and
we both became increasingly nervous. If we failed, we knew it would be a struggle from
then on.
There were two elderly ladies at the counter ordering their cream teas, so we hung back
until they had finished. If we were going to crash and burn, we didn't want an audience.
'Hi,' said Ben with a awkward smile. 'My friend George and I are on our way to John
O'Groats. We started this morning at Land's End in a pair of boxer shorts and we have to
get the entire way without spending a single penny.'
'Ok?' replied the man behind the counter.
'And we were wondering... ' continued Ben, 'if you had any food that you were about
to throw out that we could perhaps have?' There was an uneasy pause as he looked around
to see if he had any senior staff to check with. The kitchen was empty.
'How does a coffee and a bacon sandwich sound?' he asked.
It was as simple as that. We had got our first free meal. We were expecting some half-
chewed bread at best, or maybe an old lettuce, but we were soon presented with a huge
steaming bacon bap and a mug of freshly brewed coffee.
It transpired that John - the man behind the counter - was a pilot and had been forced to
help out in the kitchen because of the flight cancellations.
Ben and I sat in silence as we ate. John's food had filled us both with a feeling of con-
tentment and there was no need to talk. He offered to top up our coffees, and, as a way of
delaying going back outside, we gladly accepted.
As we sat, satisfied, we were approached by one of the passengers from the waiting
room. She had been checking out Ben's legs whilst we ate. She was about 70 and asked
why we were dressed like we were.
'We're cycling to John O'Groats,' replied Ben.
'Oh, do you want some grapes?' she asked, and pulled a bunch from her bag. Remark-
ably, at this point, other people in the waiting room started coming towards us with offer-
ings; chocolate bars, crisps, flapjack, apples, fruit juice and more grapes. Nobody really
understood why we were dressed like we were, or where we were heading, but it was ob-
viously clear that we were needy. Their kindness, which was completely unprovoked, gave
us a renewed sense of enthusiasm for our adventure.
'You'll get there, no problem,' said one of them.
'A couple of nice guys like you. Just keep smiling and you'll be fine,' said another.
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