http://wayfarersall.net/2009/08/19/back-to-the-royal-oak/ On the road again... Mon, 14 Feb 2011 01:26:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://wayfarersall.net/2009/08/19/back-to-the-royal-oak/comment-page-1/#comment-82 Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese | Wayfarers All Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:06:39 +0000 http://wayfarersall.net/?p=347#comment-82 [...] He spoke movingly but not in the stoic way men of his generation had of a car left in the car park of the hotel where he used to work; a white BMW it remained unclaimed for many days after Pan Am 103 went down – although he never learned the fate of the car’s owner he was quite sure he had been a passenger on that tragic flight. He talked of the African man (”a good chap”) who lived down the hall from him and how they would sometimes get together in one of their rooms and watch Tottenham play football. He recalled the strikes that had reduced workweeks and altered forever England’s economy. A simple spoken man with an air of decency – although of course who knows on such a short time spent together – our Yorkshire acquaintance had the tired air of a man watching the world he knew drift away and trying very hard to adapt the new one left in its place. For all the difference in their ages, he reminded me of the young man who had served us in the pub at The Royal Oak. [...] [...] He spoke movingly but not in the stoic way men of his generation had of a car left in the car park of the hotel where he used to work; a white BMW it remained unclaimed for many days after Pan Am 103 went down – although he never learned the fate of the car’s owner he was quite sure he had been a passenger on that tragic flight. He talked of the African man (”a good chap”) who lived down the hall from him and how they would sometimes get together in one of their rooms and watch Tottenham play football. He recalled the strikes that had reduced workweeks and altered forever England’s economy. A simple spoken man with an air of decency – although of course who knows on such a short time spent together – our Yorkshire acquaintance had the tired air of a man watching the world he knew drift away and trying very hard to adapt the new one left in its place. For all the difference in their ages, he reminded me of the young man who had served us in the pub at The Royal Oak. [...]

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