As you may know, my visa waiver was due to expire on 17th November, and so at the end of the concert at Springfield, Illinois, on Wednesday 10th December I said my (temporary) farewells tothe kids as I was due to fly out the following day.

The weather was cool and rainy - just like being back home already! A short 45 minute flight from Springfield to Chicago, then onto a 767 bound for Manchester UK. As I took my seat at the rear of the plane, the woman next to me remarked in a broad Bolton accent;
"Eeee, we're in the boot back here!"

Manchester was also grey and overcast, but warm; 11C (54F) at 7.00am
It was good to get back and see family and friends, but the house felt "strange", although being able to relax in a bath (many American homes just have showers) and sleep in MY OWN BED!

Sunday afternoon saw me on a train bound for London, for my visa interview at the American Embassy the following day. The interview was a long process of about 5 hours, mainly waiting the two "interviews" took less than a couple of minutes each, including having my finger prints taken. At the end it was confirmed that the visa was approved.

I was one of over 500 people applying for a visa that day. It took nearly an hour to get onto the pavement outside the Embassy, due to the huge queue, the armed police and the security checks. An interview costs £60 ($100) plus the cost of the phone call to arrange it (Premium rate number at £1.30 ($2.30) a minute) plus the cost of travel.
 

A couple of days after arriving back in Yorkshire it snowed, not much around my house, an inch in Sowerby and 3-4 inches on the moor tops.

I took advantage of a sunny Saturday afternoon to go for a walk on Blackstone Edge with Michelle, Ross & Jamie. It had been very cold up there as the paths were covered with sheet ice and theice was up to an inch thick on the ponds.

It was enjoyable being back home, great to spend lots of time with friends and family, to go to my church again and not have anything to do but relax, although as time wore on I began to feel like a loose cog - the driving force had been removed and I couldn't wait to get back. 

It was easier this time to to leave this time, to fly back to Springfield where I had left from 3 weeks previously. The first flight was from Manchester to Chicago, the aerial photographs were taken about one hour from Chicago and are probably the eastern coast of USA or Canada. From Chicago a short flight to Springfield where I was met by Lyle who gave me accomodation, a tour round the town and transport to the Amtrak station where I caught a train bound for Dallas.
 

Amtrak, America's version of British passenger railway service. However the railways in Britain are run for passengers, with freight being low priority, whereas in the US the track network is owned by the freight companies and therefore freight has priority. The passenger trains are, however very comfortable, although slow - it took 18 hours to cover the 750 miles to Dallas. The trains are double deck cars and the seats have lots of leg room. The cost is very reasonable compared with home and if you have a sleeper berth all meals are included in the price.

We were an hour ahead of time when we arrived at Marshall, Texas - obviously a large amount of time is built into the timetable to allow for delays, but we were over an hour late into Dallas, caused mainly by delays due to freight and a signalling problem.

I was met at the station by Pastor Klaus who drove me the 160 miles to his church at Brownwood, Texas, where I rejoined the choir.