Sunday, 28 May. Via Rail

The bed was comfortable last night but once it was down there was even less space than on the Ghan. You could stand but it took some manoeuvring to turn round. Getting changed was a challenge but tonight I’ll put the bed down myself after I get changed.

I think the driver is trying to get back on schedule so our stops have been shorter than expected and I haven’t hopped off. Maybe tonight in Winnipeg. We are definitely seeing the prairies now with huge ploughed paddocks, silos and very few animals. There are lots of lakes, ponds and swampy areas and I’ve counted at least 14 beaver lodges.

As today is a slow news day I thought I’d give you my comments on the toilet in my Vancouver hotel. It was some sort of space age contraption with a whole control panel at the side. As soon as your rear hit the seat there was a pffft sound and I think some kind of disinfectant was sprayed. There was a card with bum washing, drying and probably ironing instructions but I was intimidated and restricted myself to the normal flush. However, for about 5 minutes after the dismount, the wretched thing continued to buzz. Most annoying when you were back in bed trying to sleep.

Later… As we were still running very late we didn’t reach Winnipeg until somewhere after 1 a.m. so most of us were well and truly tucked up in bed. The whole crew changed in Winnipeg so new staff the next morning.