Wonderful Chat with Adris En Route to Woking

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Woking is a town about an hour southwest of London.  I was glad to have a business meeting there on Wednesday, January 22nd.  My client graciously arranged for his driver to pick me up at Radisson Blu Portman, and in fact my overall itinerary was perfect: check out of the hotel, meet and lunch at Woking, then ride back to Heathrow for my flight home.  I was home by evening time in Chicago.

I had a very pleasant chat with the driver - Adris (sp?) was his name - as he was quite a gentleman, knowledgeable, articulate and friendly.  We talked about how green the landscape was, even though it was the dead of winter.  The trees were bare, mind you, but the grasses looked as though it was spring.  So I loved the drive through narrow highways toward Woking.  

He shared a story that explained why the British rode on the left side of the street, opposite to that of Americans.  Drivers of horse-drawn carriages naturally whipped the horse to prompt it to walk.  Unfortunately the whip would get tangled in the trees, so they learned to ride on the left side: whip on the right hand, the trees on the left side.  

I learned that a British driver could drive to other countries, where cars and traffic were similar to those in the US, without obtaining any special license or permission.  Of course they were tasked with navigating the roads capably and safely.  Adris said that he and his wife traveled to Paris on car.  They spent two hours by boat to cross the channel, car and all, then drove a leisurely four hours to Paris from there.  

Apparently he's driven to the northern tip of Norway, where in the summer the sun hardly sets.  I told him about an old friend in Stockholm, who helped me realize that in the summer it was daylight virtually 24 hours a day.  Altogether he made me want to drive not so much in London per se, but outside the city, and to a select destination I shall determine later on.  

Adris also told me about a mosque that is about 300 years old, built by an Indian emperor - Sharjahan (sp?).  The mosque was for students who were studying in the United Kingdom, a subject I don't quite remember.  

Woking was a lovely town.  My client and I walked out for a sandwich, amid cobblestone pavements and small to medium size buildings.  I loved it all, and I was thankful for my client.