O’DAY’S TRAVEL WOES #33: ATTEMPTING TO ADAPT IN LONDON

December 1994 (London, continued):

After my interrupted nap, I walked the ten minutes to JFM, in order to meet some of the people and see where the seminar would be held the next day.

Until recently, the station had been called Jazz FM. JFM offered a unique mix of the blues, R&B, soul, and jazz.

When I prepared to walk back to my hotel, JFM graciously lent me a radio boom box so I would be able to hear the station in my room. (I know quite a few American radio people who always raise a ruckus when there is no radio in their hotel rooms.)

They also loaned me a power strip, which I needed because my hotel room had a total of one electrical outlet…into which was plugged the television.

It was 4 o’clock when I left JFM, and already it was getting dark. Relying on my keen sense of direction, I immediately became hopelessly lost. Forty-five minutes later, I completed the 10-minute walk to the hotel (lugging the boom box all the way).

Once at the hotel, I attached the power strip (which provides for multiple inputs from electrical devices) and unpacked my faithful Powerbook. Ah, but don’t the British use a different voltage than the Americans? Yes, but the Powerbook can accept any voltage level, anywhere in the world.

Ah, but isn’t the electrical plug itself very different in England? Yes, but I had brought with me an adaptor that simply slips onto the American plug to fit the British outlets.

Or so I thought.

The adaptor I meant to bring with me.

Apparently I brought the wrong adaptor. At first I found this hard to believe, but I convinced myself by trying to force it to fit and breaking off one of the metal prongs.

Great. Now it was 5 o’clock, and instead of spending the evening working on my computer, I was faced with the task of finding an international adaptor.

I began by asking the Front Desk, “Do you know where I could find an international electrical adaptor to use in my room?”

They directed me to a store a few blocks away. I was delighted to discover they did have in stock an international adaptor called “The Visitor.”

I brought it back to my room and, indeed, it did adapt standard American plugs for British use. Due to its design, however, it did not accept the box-like plug that is common to computers.

I returned to the Front Desk and this time was directed to Selfridges, the huge department store that was only a ten minute walk from the hotel. Their directions were something like, “Go across the street, walk around the park, turn right, turn left, turn right and then turn left again.”

It was simple, they said.

Well, it was a bit confusing to follow their directions, but eventually I reached Selfridges. Did they have an international adaptor?

“We certainly do, sir. It’s called ‘The Visitor.’”

In fact, I found several stores that carried international adaptors. All of which were “The Visitor.”

This all happened on a Friday evening, two weeks before Christmas. Which means the sidewalks and stores were filled with holiday shoppers. After three hours and countless stores, I gave up and turned back toward the hotel. A scant 30 minutes later — after asking directions from two security guards and two passersby — I completed the 10-minute walk to the hotel.

It was only after again stumbling upon George Street (where the hotel was located) that I realized the hotel’s directions could have been simply, “Go outside. Turn right, walk two blocks. Turn left. Keep walking until you see Selfridges.”

Obviously, however, the hotel sized me up as an adventurer and knew I would be bored by such a quick & easy route.

Re-entering the hotel, I was frustrated and very tired. As I retrieved my key (one of the old-fashioned kinds, attached to a hunk of metal) from the bellman, I remarked, “You know, given the number of international guests who stay here, I’m surprise you don’t keep electrical adaptors on hand to lend to guests who need them.”

“Oh, but we do, sir,” he replied.

Unfortunately, no one had bothered to tell the Front Desk.

Next Week: I’m introduced to what would become my favorite TV show.