I awoke this morning to the sound of my neighbors having a domestic! I packed up and again wondered why UK motels don't have laundries? Are we all mean’t to smell. It's not like they don't have facilities on site as I can see that they wash the sheets etc in a room at the end of the block. Fortunately I got my stuff washed at Dad’s though again I could not find a servant and had to do it myself.
By 10:00 I had made my way across to Dads and had breakfast and said goodbye to Gill and Peter. They will be back to Jersey soon, Gemma has been staying at Hilda's while Gill and Peter have been in the spare room. I find her up and ready so we are soon on the road.
We have a nice uneventful drive to Plymouth, but as we start into the town I realize that my memory for directions is not as complete as I thought. Either that or some of the landmarks have been moved around. Which might be the case though rather than being moved they have been hidden and disguised. The car park at Drakes circus has been encased in something so as you come up to it it looks like a very large work of art. One of the roundabouts has been turned into a T junction.
Drakes circus itself has been rebuilt into a large covered shopping arcade. Most if not all the shops that I knew there have gone. The top end is now all pedestrian precinct. I saw a Virgin Broadband stand in the entrance and had a look at their packages they would not talk to me unless I gave them my post code so I gave Dad’s. Almost signed him up for a years Internet which would have come as a surprise for him!
The UK is really getting into charity shops in a big way. They seem to be a growth industry, they are everywhere. The poor end of town is still the poor end of town. Bonus books has gone! Wow is I, the shop that I spent so long in as a student ferreting out the bargains etc has shut. According to the sign in the window I only just missed it as it had closed the previous month. How the memories of my youth are falling. The note said that he had to retire due to I'll health and could not sell the shop as a going concern.
We go looking for the pasty that I used to collect my lunch from and which made pastys different from any other place and whose taste and texture I associate only with student life. I am not sure if it has moved or is in the same place but they have upgraded the product. Oh noooos! Better contents different pastry damn another icon bites the dust. The food is nice but it's just not the same they have even repainted the shop! With the pedestriation of the shops many stores are putting tables outside in the continental fashion which is a change I definitely approve of. We go to Past Times but very little jumps off the shelves at us despite they having a sale on. In the end I buy a book of Eagle comic cutaways. Very interesting.
Then it's time to look at the Polly. Lots of new buildings here, the original buildings that I knew only form a core to the site now. There is an immense brown ugly building where the student car park used to be. However somebody has out some real money into this site it's quite impressive. We wander around, some of the things are the same. The SU is being rebuilt and though in the same place has been changed ( no glass pyramid ) and is no longer the same layout. However it's chaos inside so it's good to see something's never change. I wanted to but a t-shirt but only hoodies were available.
Then off to Saltram house. It's a NT place, quite interesting and this place still has its kitchen. It's 4 pm by now and our springs are running down. Onto the Novotel at the roundabout at the end of the A38. It's much better than the NZ Novatels less poor people and more tourist/business. 68 a night for a very decent room, though service in the restaurant was a bit odd thought as I write this I can't remember why?..
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