An Interesting Night

After laying up all of the other components of our wing, and getting them in vacuum bags and in the oven or autoclave, we were done a little earlier than usual.  Luckily for me it was just in time to catch the early bus, which is much less crowded.  I took advantage of the extra time and ventured down towards the rail station and "The Hub".  I stopped in the Wetherspoon's to have dinner and get a bit of studying done.  The place has an odd reputation, of being the place for young kids to go get drunk cheaply.  I guess I was there a the right time, as it was nothing of the sort.  The cask ale was cheap, but very good selection, and the food was good, affordable, and they had a good variety of choices.  I'd say I was more impressed than expected after what I had read online.

For dinner I had British beef casserole, basically thick beef stew.  My first real English meal actually.  On the way back I needed to pick up some fruits and vegetables for the next few days, so I stopped by the Sainsbury's.  The best part however was as I was walking in, across the street a random (I assume) fireworks show started.  It went on for a solid 10 minutes.  And very impressive at that, a good mix, honestly it looked professional and better than some of the shows I've seen back home at things like Bull's games.  No clue who did it or why though.

A final thought - A lot of English people do not like Milton Keynes.  I think mainly because it is not very traditional.  It was all built in the 60's and 70's and so therefore has very little history like most English towns do.  I however think it isn't quite so bad.  I can go to the Centre for just about any shopping I want, The Hub for nightlife and higher end dining, and if I want traditional English towns, they are a bus ride away.  Basically it is a good compromise for me between the conveniences I'm used to and the traditional English town.  Maybe I'm completely wrong, but I think it will work for me.   If only the buses were a little more convenient and better scheduled for getting to campus...