Here comes Christmas Again 又到聖誕

2023 went much more quickly than I had thought and Christmas had already arrived. This was the third Christmas since arriving in the UK and festive vibes were around Kingston since late November. The road in front of my doorstep leading to the shopping centre was always jam-packed during holidays, causing me having to wait even if I wanted to drive out.

As in previous years, the Kingston Old Market and the nearby Clarence Street were adorned with Christmas markets and decorations. According to the media, this is the fourth-largest market in London, but for the Brits who don’t seek extravagance, not much had changed in terms of decorations or market stalls. I didn’t go for a visit, and to be honest, people probably wouldn’t notice even if I posted some old pictures taken years ago!

2023 年過得比我想像快很多，無驚無險又到了聖誕。 這是到英國後的第三個聖誕，早在十一月尾節日氣氛已濃𦋐整個 Kingston，家門前通往商場的車路每逢假日都擠得水洩不通，我要開車出門也得等上數分鐘。

Kingston 舊市場 (Kingston Old Market) 及附近的 Clarence Street 亦一如往年，設置了大型聖誕市集及燈飾，據聞這是倫敦的第四大市集，但對於不講求奢華的英國人來說，無論是裝飾或市集攤檔，與過去多年差不多沒有甚麽改變，我亦沒有特別去參觀，即使貼上幾張前兩年的相片大家亦未必察覺！

This year, most of the shops only took a break on Christmas Day. However, quite a lot of eateries extended their closure for a few more days. Despite large supermarkets like Sainsbury’s opened after the holidays, they only offered leftover items from before, leaving my son and me with no choice but to have sandwiches at home for lunch on Boxing Day!

今年大多數商舖都只在聖誕正日休息，不過很多食店都多放幾天，即使大型超市在假期後有開門，但多只提供之前賣剩的食物，迫使我和兒子 Boxing Day 要回家食方包作午餐！

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With the long Christmas holidays, my wife would plan for a trip as usual, and this time our destination was Wales. After booking train tickets and hotel, we set off on the morning of the 28th. As expected, we didn’t work out any specific itinerary, embracing the idea of going for a relaxed getaway!

有長假期太太亦當然會安排旅行，今次目的地是 Wales。 訂了火車票及酒店後便在28號早上出發，與往常一樣，我們亦沒有作甚麽行程規劃，本着隨遇而安來個 hea 遊便算！

Upon arriving at Paddington Station, we noticed that the waiting hall was already full of passengers and the departure boards were all blanked. It turned out that there was an accident that a pedestrian was hit by a train near Reading causing all GWR trains had to come to a halt until the incident site was completely cleared..

抵達 Paddington 車站後便發覺候車大堂早已擠滿乘客，班次顯示完全空白，原來有列車在 Reading 附近撞倒行人，全線 GWR 列車需停駛直至意外現場清理完畢。

These kinds of sudden train stoppage are quite common in UK, and most passengers remained calm while waiting for updates. A mother next to me explained to her children that the train’s stoppage might affect their holiday or even lead to cancellations. The children didn’t shown any disappointment and continuous to play.

After about an hour or so, a train finally departed for Swansea. To quickly catch up the normal schedules, the train would only stopped at five stations and fortunately, we arrived at Cardiff Central Station before 1 p.m.

突發性的列車停駛在英國可謂是平常事，大部份乘客都悠閒地静待列車最新情况。 身傍一位母親向子女解釋列車停駛，可能會影響到他們的假期或甚至會取消，小朋友亦不覺有甚麽大問題，繼續嬉戲。 

擾攘了差不多一小時，終於有列車開往 Swansea。 由於要盡快回復正常班次，列車只停五個車站，我們亦幸運地在下午一點前到達 Cardiff Central Station。

It’s great the hotel we reserved was conveniently located next to the station. After dropping off our luggage and having a brief rest, we set-off to nearby attractions.

還好酒店就在車站傍，放低行李，稍作休息後大夥兒便走到附近景點逛逛。