Hope you all are having a magical time this Christmas and I wish you all the best for the New Year xxx


TRAINRIDE

"Are you sure, you told them the correct time?" Mr Carson asked his wife as he was checking his pocket watch nervously.

"I did!" Elsie replied defensively, but she was getting a bit worried their friends might have forgotten. "I said ten o'clock." She reassured him as well as herself.

"Did you pack my sun hat by the way?" He asked suddenly.

"I did."

"And my reading glasses?"

"You did."

"Are you sure?"

"I am" She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe it's time we load the suitcases." He pointed at the luggage carriage and headed towards it while Mrs Carson was impatiently looking in the direction of the station hoping to get a glimpse of the Masons.

"Thank you." She smiled at him when he came back.

"I'll give them another two minutes, and then we should start looking for our seats." Charles said as he was taking out his pocket watch again (for the fifth time now since they arrived!)

"Alright." She dismissed him, his edginess starting to get to her. "There they are!" She announced as she spotted them.

"Finally…" her husband muttered under his breath.

"Just in time!" Mr Mason greeted them. Both the Masons were very relaxed about their timings. This didn't bode well with Mr Carson; he gave them a very disapproving frown.

The two men swiftly grabbed the rest of the luggage while the women started to board the train; they found their seat and each sat on one side, by the window, opposite one another.

When their husbands joined them and they all finally settled in their seat, it did not take long until the train started moving.

"What in Father's name is all of this?" Mr Carson noticed the baskets on the table between them.

"Just a few snacks and drinks to keep us going, Mr Carson. Beryl prepared them." Mr Mason offered his wife an adoring smile.

"It's a four-hour train ride, not a climb up Ben Nevis." Charles chortled sarcastically, even though he predicted he'd happily soon devour it.

"That's very kind." Mrs Hughes joined. "What's in it?"

"Just some sandwiches, ham, turkey, pickles, horseradish, rolls, jam…" Mr Patmore was trying to remember the contents of the baskets. "…and some beer and cider." She added excitedly as she suspected that's what everyone was after. She took out four bottles of ale and handed them around.

"We should have brought more wine." Mr Carson said silently to his wife as he was inspecting the bottle with suspicion.

"We will get more when we get there." She reminded him what they agreed while they were packing.

"We wanted to thank you as well, Mrs Carson, for planning everything out on such short notice." Mr Mason wanted to repay their appreciation for the basket.

"I wouldn't thank me just yet, Mr Mason, if I were you, not everything is planned yet…" She admitted. "I was actually wondering if we could settle some things now."

Everybody just waited for her to continue with bated breath.

"So far, we've got the trains and three hotels booked but not much in terms of the daily programme apart from the Morrab library Mr Carson asked to see. We are starting with three nights in Brighton, then two nights in Dorset, and finally with two nights in Cornwall. There is a two-hour train ride between each destination." She explained. "I thought we could all share our ideas and then I can make a plan."

"I am ok with being spontaneous." Mr Patmore grinned, but her smile froze when she saw the butler's horrified look. She retrieved another four bottles of ale as some of the party were close to finished with their first.

"I'd be up for seeing a bit of nature, I would." Mr Mason chimed in. "I hear the seaside in the south is quite breath-taking."

"I've always wanted to see the Royal Brighton Pavilion up close." Mr Carson disclosed. "…and it's gardens."

Both the men kept sharing their ideas (The butler mainly focusing on old buildings and museums and the farmer on nature walks and parks) before they were interrupted by Mrs Patmore.

"I wouldn't mind doing some shopping," She said, daydreaming. "Maybe a bit of swimming and dancing when it comes to it."

"Swimming and dancing?!" At that notion, Mr Carson furrowed his brow and curled his upper lip in appal.

"Why not loosen up little, it's a holiday after all!" The cook tried to persuade him in vain – he kept glaring at her in disbelief.

"Yes, a holiday indeed, not a bacchanal!" Mr Carson thundered. It was his wife's chuckle that brough him back from his little Carsonesque outburst. "What would you like to do, Elsie?" He turned to her, suddenly using a completely different tone voice. She was the only one left who had not expressed any of her ideas or wishes yet.

"I have been looking forward to seeing the sea again, I'll be happy with that." She said humbly and concluded the conversation for now.

As the journey continued, the conversation quieted down. The Carsons fell asleep quite early on, looking very peaceful, their pinkies touching. Elsie was resting her head on her husband's shoulder.

Mr Mason nodded off not long after them, while Mrs Patmore occupied herself with a book, looking up at her friends from time to time and smiling soppily. She eventually passed out as well.

After more than two hours of the journey, Mr Carson woke up with a pain in his underbelly. His bladder was full of beer… When he came back from the lavatory, he unintentionally woke Elsie up. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a posh old lady passing by Mr Carson with a scornful "Hmph" turning her nose up.

"What happened, Charlie?" She whispered and her eyes widened even more when she saw how flustered he was, he was as red as a lobster.

"I had too many beers…" He explained plainly and she raised her eyebrows. "The male toilet in our carriage was occupied, so I went to the next carriage, and the door there was jammed." Mr Carson sounded mortified. He checked the Masons are still asleep before he continued. "I couldn't hold it in and longer and had to go to the ladies. That woman saw me coming out as she was heading back to first class!" He tilted his head in her direction.

"My, my."

"It's not funny, Elsie!" He scolded her when he noticed the grin on her face.

But Mr Hughes found the whole situation amusing. "Would you like another one then?" She attempted to hand him another bottle of ale which he gruffly refused.