Adventures Abroad

5/6/7 September, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

ronsan — Sun, 7 Sep 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Our last day in England - it seemed so far off when we first arrived, but has come all too quickly. Sam had a bit of a wobble in her back wheels (of the car, that is!) and so we went to a local Crowthorne place where they fixed the problem at a reasonable cost.

We suddenly remembered we hadn't bought any jellies! In England, jellies don't come in powdered form as they do in Australia, they are solid cubes and delicious to eat - we never actually make them up into a dessert jelly. Luckily one of the local shops had them so we bought some to take home to Di and Julie.

We finished off our packing, trying desparately to stay within our weight limits (Virgin Atlantic also weigh hand baggage). By culling and moving things around, we managed to do it.

As we had had a problem with our booking, we needed to get to the airport very early so, even though our flight wasn't until 10.30pm, we set off at 6.30pm for the 40 minute journey to the airport. We managed to get the seats we wanted and had time to spare. We had a cup of coffee at one of the airport cafes and then it was time to say goodbye to Sam, Jean and Chris.

Because we know we'll see Sam again at Christmas, it wasn't as bad as it could have been and we hope to see Chris and Jean in the not-too-distant future but nevertheless, a few tears slipped out.

We drifted through security and had a look around the duty free shops before boarding our plane.

The flight was uneventful apart from a bit of turbulence but the seats don't get any bigger! We managed to get a little sleep before reaching Hong Kong, but not much. It was great looking down on the ocean, dotted with lots of islands, as we homed in on the airport - when we last flew into Hong Kong (in 1971) it was very scary but the new airport seems much safer, although enormous. In fact, both London and Hong Kong make Sydney look miniscule.

We left Hong Kong and flew through the night, reaching Sydney early, at 6am. We were earlier than anticipated and so the pilot took us via the scenic route. It was fascinating watching the city wake up and the sunrise was awesome, an incredible orange. Di and Julie were meeting us and we were actually out of Customs and Quarantine before they arrived, which was good and meant a much cheaper stay in the car park.

It was so good to see everyone again, particularly our grandchildren - it seems so long since we saw them all.

It's really good to be home, no matter how much we enjoyed our holiday. We're off to Bundanoon tomorrow and then it's back to normal.

All finished, all done!

Hi, Ron here. I started off writing our journal more than three months ago, before I was demoted after a few days to the photographic department when Sandra took over the journal! Nevertheless I think she has done a tremendous job in keeping everybody up to date withour activities - a job well done! The purpose of this little addendum is to thank all our friends and relatives who have, without exception, made this holiday a once in a lifetime experience. Their generosity with their time and hospitality really made our holiday one to remember. I know I speak for both of us when I say that the whole trip lived up to, and in many many cases, exceeded our hopes and expectations. So once again please accept our sincere thanks and please keep in touch. If any of you are ever in our part of the world, please let us know as we would honestly love to be able to repay some of the kindness shown to us during the past three months.

4 September, Thursday

ronsan — Fri, 5 Sep 2008 08:45:00 GMT

Yesterday was our last sight-seeing day and, whilst it wasn't exactly a case of saving the best for last, it was nearly so!

We (Jean, Chris, Ron and I) drove to the station and caught the train to Waterloo, after which we took the Jubilee Tube line to Green Park. We walked through the park to Buckingham Palace where there was a great crowd awaiting the Changing of the Guard. What a good time to arrive! We managed to get a few pictures of the Guards in the red tunics and busbies and also of the Household Cavalry with their shiny brass helmets. Good stuff. It occurred to me that the British would be ill-advised to get rid of the Monarchy, it is a huge tourist revenue earner.

Chris had booked our tickets online and our first stop was the Queen's Gallery, a treasure house of paintings, drawings and objets d'art. The exhibition was entitled Amazing Rare Things and included several drawings, by Leonardo da Vinci, of plants, horses and other animals, showing his incredible eye for detail. There were also drawings by other artists of plants, birds, shells etc. whilst in two smaller rooms were examples of exquisite miniatures painted of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren, as well as eggs and other things by Faberge, jewellery and gold plate.

From the Gallery we went into the Royal Mews, where all the carriages and cars are kept. These were particularly interesting - especially (for us) The Australian Coach, which was designed and built in 1988 by Australian craftsmen and which is the first Coach to have been built since 1907. It is a real work of art and, unlike the older coaches, has wonderful suspension, central heating (powered by its own generator) and electric windows. The other coaches we saw were the Glass Coach, used by Royal brides, the Irish State Coach which is often used by The Queen to travel to the State Opening of Parliament and, of course, the amazing Gold State Coach, which hs been used at every coronation since that of George IV in 1821. It is quite remarkable and very large and apparently doesn't have any suspension at all, so you can imagine how uncomfortable it is! We also had a look through the stables but there were only two horses in residence, a Windsor Grey ("Verdi") and a Cleveland Bay (can't remember his name). They must be about the most pampered horses on the planet.

After lunch, we went into Buckingham Palance for our tour - talk about security, it was worse than the airport. The terrorists have certainly made sure nothing is simple any more.

We were quite overwhelmed by the State apartments in the Palace, they are simply magnificent and an absolute delight to wander around. It's especially interesting to think that it is a working Palace and that these rooms are regularly used. The piece de resistance was the Ballroom, where an enormous horseshoe shaped table (well tables in a horseshoe formation would be more correct) was set as for a State Banquet. It was an amazing sight, with wonderful flower arrangements and it was nice having a little imagine about actually participating in such a banquet. What was remarkable, we thought, was the information that after the meal, all the crockery, cutlery etc. is handwashed - it's too precious to trust to a dishwasher Imagine having to do that - plus the responsibility. Seven florists are engaged to create the 31 floral arrangements and a band of Guardsmen plays in a small gallery during the meal.

After we had finished inside, we went out into the gardens, which are very extensive and it was hard to believe we were in the middle of one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. We had a cup of coffee in the Palace cafe and then sat down for a while. A very cute little Indian boy was having his photo taken by his parents - he was dressed in a tiny Guardsman's outfit, obviously purchased from the Palace shop. We asked his parents if we could take a photo, and they agreed.

We reluctantly left the Palace grounds and had a walk down Pall Mall, ending up at Trafalgar Square where we started to look for somewhere to eat. We found a lovely Italian restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely meal, talking and laughing until it was quite dark. We then walked down to the Embankment where everything was lit up, looking quite different from the daytime.

We strolled along, stopping every so often to take photos, and eventually caught our train home, at Waterlo Station.

Not long after we got home, Sam arrived and we all went to bed. Yesterday was a fitting end to a quite remarkable holiday, one in which we have never had a moment's boredom and one in which we have seen and done all the things we wanted to do, and spent time with all the people we wanted to see.

Tonight we say goodbye to our trusty Rover and Tom Tom, which have served us so well and to Sam, Jean and Chris plus (mentally) to all the people who have helped make our holiday so very special. We have been blessed by their kindness, love and hospitality and look forward to welcoming some of them to Australia if ever they are able to pay us a visit.

One more journal entry to go - when we have returned to Sydney.

Gallery: Last Day in London

ronsan — Thu, 4 Sep 2008 18:58:00 GMT

3 September, Wednesday

ronsan — Wed, 3 Sep 2008 10:50:00 GMT

Happy birthday, Wayne on this 69th anniversary of the start of World War II.

Well, the weather did permit and so Jean, Ron and I motored to Old Sarum, about an hour and half's drive from Crowthorne. We didn't know what to expect, except that this was the site of the original Salisbury Cathedral, and that it was in itself almost a city, on a hill surrounded by fortifications.

As you can see by the first few photographs, Sarum was well placed to defend itself. It was here that William the Conqueror paid off his army in 1070, after a bitter campaign in northern England and, in August 1086, he called together the land-holders of England so that they could swear allegiance to him.

Bishop Osmund's cathedral at Old Sarum had been consecrated in 1092 but tragically, five days later it was struck by lightning and badly damaged. It was quite small and between 1110 and 1135 Bishop Rogr doubled its size by enlarging the transepts and adding a huge new eastern extension, where more elaborate ceremonies could be held. Fifty years later, Bishop Joselyn de Bohun added a new west front with large corner towers.

Old Sarum cathedral was demolished in favour of a new one at Salisbury which was begun in 1220, but it wasn't until 1834 that people noticed marks in the grass that showed where the old cathedral had stood. Excavations in 1912-14 revealed the foundations seen today.

Sadly, many of the information boards, indicating what particular parts of the ruins represented, had been vandalised and it was difficult to determine what was where, especially as there wasn't a pamphlet available. However, a very helpful young lady in the ticket office/shop showed us some photos of the orignal excavations and these were very interesting.

After leaving Sarum, which had been incredibly interesting, we drove into Salisbury (New Sarum)itself, having lunch at the local bakery before descending on the Cathedral. The first sight of this beautiful building is amazing - its wonderful spire appears to stretch up to the sky and it makes you dizzy just looking up at it. Ron had brought his binoculars and it was possible to see, right up near the top, a door above which were several rungs. Apparently, when any work needs to be done to the top of the spire, the workman climbs up inside, comes out of the door, and then climbs the rest of the way up the rungs - what a job! But then again, what a view.The spire is 123m high; it was added between 1310 and 1330 and is the tallest spire in Brtain.

Inside, the cathedral does not appear as ornate as some but it has many very interesting features. One of these is the Medieval Clock, reputedly the oldest working clock in Eurpe, dating back to at least 1386. Further on are the old colours, or flags, of the former Wiltshire Regiment - they are all very tattered and torn, which makes them even more poignant.

Since the spire was added, the extra 6,500 tons of stone have caused the columns of Purbeck Marble to "bend" and it's possible to see this effect by standing beside one of the four columns supporting it inside the cathedral, and looking up. Because of this additional weight, the top of the spire has moved 75cm out of the vertical to the south-west - maybe a future leaning tower of Pisarum!!

Whilst we were in the cathedral, one of the lay preachers, Bill Camp, climbed up into the pulpit and asked those present to join him in prayer, which we did and afterwards we had a very interesting talk with him about the cathedral.

In the Morning Chapel is a screen which used to divide the Quire from the Nave and in the central arch of this screen is a memorial of Rex Whistler (no, not the one with the Mother, that was James McNeill Whistler!). The memorial is in the form of a glass prism, engraved by his younger brother Laurence and shows views of the cathedral. Also in this Chapel are two chairs on which carvings of the Green Man may be seen. Another is incorporated into one of the bosses in the ceiling, with others dotted around although we were unable to find them.

Also held at Salisbury Cathedral is the finest of only four surviving original (1215) Magna Carta, although we didn't realise this until we had left, unfortunately. Mind you, there is one copy in Parliament House, Canberra and we have seen that.

In the Trinity Chapel, behind the High Altar, is a beautiful stained glass window of mostly blue glass and above it is a Prisoners of Conscience Window, made of ceramic glass, whatever that is it is very beautiful.

This cathedral was very high on our list of "must do" and we were not disappointed; however, it was also the last of the cathedrals we have visited and that's a bit sad. We were very aware, on our way back to Crowthorne, that this had also been our last rural foray before heading back to Australia.

Tomorrow we're off to London for a tour of Buckingham Palace and that really will be our last hurrah.

Gallery: Sarum and Salisbury

ronsan — Wed, 3 Sep 2008 05:53:00 GMT

2 September, Tuesday

ronsan — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 23:45:00 GMT

Toddled off to Windsor today, with Jean - poor Chris is still working! We just wanted to re-visit some shops and generally have a wander around. Bought a few nice things, had some pancakes with strawberries and cream (decadent!) and did a bit of sightseeing, although we had already been to Windsor twice so had seen most things. Two things we hadn't seen before - a blue postbox, standing next to the usual red one. The blue one had GR on the front (George Rex) instead of ER (Elizabeth Regina) and a handy note told us that it had originally been used, in the 1930s, solely for airmail letters. Just down the road we came upon a dark green postbox (a sort of Harrods green, you might say), with the initials VR (Victoria Regina) but no handy note! Interesting though, we thought. Naturally, Ron took a photo.

When we got home, Jenny (who is staying at her mum and dad's during the week, whilst working locally for BA) had cooked a delicious dinner - a mouthwatering steak and ale pie, which we scoffed with delight. After dinner we walked into the village to take part in a Quiz Night (Trivia Night to all you Aussies). It was great fun, although at first there were huge breaks between the questions. We didn't win, but didn't disgrace ourselves either!

Tomorrow we're off to Salisbury Cathedral, the last Cathedral on my list, and Sarum (I'd recommend Edward Rutherfurd's book of the same name - it's really fascinating).

1 September, Monday

ronsan — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Welcome Spring - in Australia, and Autumn in England!

Chris had to work again today, and so Jean, Ron and I opted to catch the train into London. We left it up to the weather to decide what we should do - an open-top bus tour, or a tour of Buckingham Palace. As it started off well, with blue sky and lots of sunshine, we decided to take the bus tour.

After arriving at Waterloo Station we bought some supplies for lunch, which we ate on the Embankment, and then we walked down to the London Eye near to which was the office selling the bus tour tickets. At 24 pounds each ($48) they weren't cheap but still, it is our last week.

The bus arrived, we went upstairs and off we went - unfortunately, the driver (Ali) was a would-be Formula 1 driver and so we whizzed along rather too quickly for our liking, particularly as we wanted to take photos. The commentary was given by a very poshly spoken gentleman who really did know his stuff and who was give to hamming it up with Shakespearean quotes and bursts of song.

Our route took us over Waterloo Bridge down to The Strand, past the Royal Courts of Justice, then along Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill, past St Paul's Cathedral. Past the Monument which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren before he designed the present St Paul's Cathedral (which had been destroyed in the Fire) after the Great Fire of London and which supposedly stands on the site of the bakery in Pudding Lane, where the fire began. It destroyed 95% of the London of the time. After passing the Mansion House, home of the Lord Mayor of London, we carried on across London Bridge, back across Tower Bridge, past the Tower of London and along the North Embankment until we came to the Houses of Parliament, then across Westminster Bridge and around past the Florence Nightingale Mujseum, across Lambeth Bridge, past Westminster Abbey (and again the H of P)and on towards Buckingham Palace and into Belgravia - probably the most expensive part of London. We changed buses (from Red to Blue, although both were yellow!) and travelled through Knightsbridge, alighting at Harrods for another look around that shop of shops.

After some window shopping, some actual shopping and some wishful thinking, we again caught the Blue bus and carried on our merry way. By this time the weather was back to normal - cold and blustery, with nary a hint of sun.

Our tour took us past the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science and Natural History Museums, down past Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace then a longish trek to Marble Arch and Speakers' Corner (at Hyde Park). On to Grosvenor Square and Berkley Square then up and around past the Sherlock Holmes Museum (Baker Street) and Madame Tussaud's to Regent's Park, then down to Oxford Circus (past Hamleys Toy Store) to Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square. We then got off the bus and walked to Admiralty Arch and Horse Guards Parade (see photo), up to Downing Street which is, of course, now fenced off from the public, although we could just see No. 10 up the road (Jean was hoping we'd see Gordon Brown so she could squirt him with water on behalf of the people of Britain, such is his popularity as PM). We walked over Westminster Bridge and on to Waterloo Station, caught the train back to Martins Heron station and home. We all thought the whole experience was rather like playing life-sized Monopoly!

It was a nice trip but, as I said earlier, all a little too quick to get any really good photographs although on previous trips into London we had managed to get a fair few good ones.

Gallery: London Bus Tour

ronsan — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 08:53:00 GMT

31 August, Sunday

ronsan — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Another fairly lazy day! It was good spending time with Laura and Rob (and their two dogs, Stirling and Paddy). Whilst they and Jean went to Costco to do some bulk shopping, Sam and I went to do some not-so-bulk shopping. Ron elected to stay home and finish the Sunday papers. It was, once again, pouring with rain so it was just as well we hadn't made any plans touristy plans.

Sam left around 5pm but will be back on Thursday night. Laura, Rob, Alex and the dogs left later, after a delicious roast dinner and then Jean, Chris, Ron and I settled down for a relaxing evening either reading or watching TV. It was awful to hear about Gustav, the hurricane scheduled to hit the US south coast today - those poor people, it's only three years since the last one.

We're off to London again tomorrow, this time with Jean (Chris will be working). If the weather permits, we'll have an open-to bus tour, if it rains we'll just play it by ear and maybe visit Buckingham Palace.

30 August, Saturday

ronsan — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:50:00 GMT

A lovely, relaxed day today - we decided to stay "home" and veg. out. I did a pile of washing, then Ron and I attempted to sort out the things we had bought and to work out the best way to distribute them amongst our baggage! Not an easy task.

Chris was working, Laura and Rob went into Reading for some shopping and Alex was playing with his friend, Olivia. Jean was at home and we all did what we needed to do, interspersed with cups of tea and lunch.

Sam arrived around 5pm, to stay overnight and, when Chris got home from work around 7.30pm we had a great barbecue and a lovely evening in the back garden - probably the balmiest night we have had since we arrived and, as anyone who has been to Europe would be aware, the evenings are much lighter later than at home.

As it is Rob's birthday next week, we had a cake and sang Happy Birthday, much to Alex and Olivia's delight and then around 9.45pm Chris needed to go to bed as he has to leave for work just after 4.30am tomorrow.

We ended the evening idly chatting, finishing off a really lovely family day.

Gallery: Windsor Castle

ronsan — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:16:00 GMT

29 August, Friday

ronsan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Chris was off today, so we all (Chris, Jean, Alex, Ron and I) decided it was high time we visited Stonehenge, about an hour and a quarter's drive away. The drive was very picturesque and Wiltshire is a really beautiful county, famous for crop circles and Neolithic sites.

At first sight, Stonehenge was a bit of a disappointment as it wasn't nearly as big as I had imagined although the others had been before (including Ron, in 1980) and knew its size. However, after walking around the henge, and listening to the audio, its mystique became apparent. Whilst there is now a rope barrier preventing people from getting too close to the stones, it's still possible to feel quite close and they really are an amazing phenomenon. It is apparently the most outstanding prehistoric monument in the British Isles and is a World Heritage Site. In the area surrounding it are several burial mounds and it is the centre of one of the world's earliest cultures. The larger stones are Sarsens, which were brought from the Marlborough Downs 30km away and the smaller stones, known as the Bluestones, are from the mystical Preseli Mountains in Wales, 385km away. Also on site were three Druids, two dressed in the traditional white robes and on in red; however, the effect was spoilt somewhat as they were lounging in chairs, smoking cigarettes!

It's believed that the circular ditch and bank surrounding the henge was constructed 5,050 years ago, a wooden structure in the centre was consructed 4,600 years ago and the stone monument (what everyone knows as Stonehenge) 3,500-4,500 years ago.

Another interesting phenomenon was a hugh flock of thousands of starlings, that wheeled around in the air and then settled on top of the stones - apparently there are often many more of the birds and they always make a beeline for the top of Stonehenge!!

After walking around and listening to the commentary, we crossed back across the road and went to look at some archeological diggings in the field there - these are on the site of what is believed to be the road leading up to Stonehenge, and along which the stones were transported. All in all, it was well worth the visit.

From Stonehenge we made our way to Avebury, not as well known as Stonehenge but, in its own way, just as amazing. The entire village is surrounded by a ring of standing stones, some very tall and others smaller. The village itself exudes an air of tranquility and friendliness and was a really lovely place to visit. We had lunch at the Red Lion, a thatched roofed pub where a very gregarious young boy named Arthur came up to have a chat with us, asking if we were visiting the area and then proceeded to ask Alex if he wanted to play - he was all of 8 years old! His father came to see where he was but apparently deemed it safe to leave his son with us and the two boys had a good time together.

After lunch we walked around the circle of stones, then through the village and, after a coffee (very drinkable!) we went to visit St James' Church. There has been a Saxon stone church on the site since about 1000AD (before the Norman Conquest) and this was subsequently altered by the Normans. It is a lovely old church, altered over the years but stll containing the Norman Font, which is early 12th century.

After leaving Avebury, we drove to Silbury Hill - the largest man-made mound in England and a mystery as to why it was built in the first place. It is 30 metres high and 160 metres wide and was built about 4,400 years ago. Its construction is estimated to have involved roughly 4 million man-hours of work and 500,000 tonnes of material were used, mostly chalk which was quarried and cleared from the surrounding terraces and ditches. Myths and legends abound and, in one such legend Silbury is the burial mound of a mythical King Zel and his horse. The mound is also associated with pagan beliefs and earth mysteries. On 29 May 2000, a hole unexpectedly appeared on the top of the mound, opening a shaft to a depth of 14 metres and, despie attempts to safeguard it, in December 2000 the top collapsed, leaving a large crater and damaging important archeological deposits. This is being investigated at the moment.

After a really excellent day, we trundled home wearily and, just after we got in, Alex's parents, Laura and Rob arrived with their two dogs. Alex has to go back to school next Wednesday and so they will be taking him home on Sunday.

Gallery: Stonehenge and Wiltshire

ronsan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:26:00 GMT

28 August, Thursday

ronsan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:20:00 GMT

Off to Windsor again today. We had been on our first full day in the UK, way back when, but hadn't actually had a tour of the Castle. We drove to the town, which is only 45 minutes away from Jean and Chris's, and started off with a wander around the shops, followed by lunch at a French Bistro.

We then ambled up to the Castle, bought our tickets, picked up our audio whatjamacallit and off we went. The Castle was first built by William the Conqueror 900 years ago and it has been constantly improved and restored by various monarchs since then.

We started off by walking up a slight incline and through an arch, after which we could see into the quadrangle where a changing of the guards was taking place. We were quite taken aback at how sloppy they were (and how short - up until fairly recently Guardsmen had to be at least 6ft (about 180cm) tall). Not to worry - we walked down a circular driveway, in front of the big Round Tower - beautiful gardens there. After having a squizz at the Middleward Shop, we carried on to the North Terrace and into the room where Queen Mary's Dolls' House is. This was presented to her in 1923 and is not a toy. It is a fully functioning, small-scale model with electricity and functioning plumbing. It was fascinating - authors of the day had written books especially for the miniature library and painters had painted miniature pictures, everything to scale. The most beautiful object and really interesting to see.

After having had our fill of the Dolls' House and the display of dolls and their clothes (which had all been made by the most famous dress-designers of the day) we carried on for a tour of the State Apartments - these are breathtaking, fully furnished and still in regular use today. Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and is one of the official residences of The Queen, although during the month of August, the Royal Family is always at Balmoral, in Scotland.

The artworks on display in the State Apartments are incredible - drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and paintings by all of the world's most famous artists. There was also a display commemorating Prince Charle's 60th birthday (although he doesn't turn 60 until 14/11/08) and this contained a letter he had handwritten to his "Granny", the Queen Mother, when he was about 8 and some writing of his concerning the Battle of Hastings, again written when he was a child.

The most beautiful rooms are the Waterloo Room, where state banquets are held and St George's Hall (which was virtually destroyed by fire on 20 November 1992 but which was fully and immaculately restored in time to be re-opened exactly 5 years later on the Queen and Prince Phillip's 50th Wedding Anniversary), this is used as a Reception Room for visiting dignitaries.

We had been blown away by Versailles but Ron and I both agreed that Windsor was just as amazing. Whereas Versailles is hugely ornate and sumptuous, Windsor is a lot more subtle, and in someways classier. Both, in their own way, are magnificent.

The tour of the State Apartments took about an hour and a half, after which we were rather tired! However, we still had St George's Chapel to see - the burial place of many monarchs including George VI and the Queen Mother, Henry VIII, Jane Seymour (the only wife to bear Henry a son), and several others whose names escape me.

The Chapel itself is a wonderful example of gothic architecture and it is here that the Ceremonies of the Order of the Garter take place. The Order of the Garter was founded by King Edward III in 1348 and is in the Sovereign's Personal Gift, i.e. only the reigning monarch can decide who should be awarded the Order. All senior members of the Royal Family have it and this year, in June, Prince William received his Garter (co-incidentally on the 60th anniversary of the day his grandparents, The Queen and Prince Phillip were installed in th Order). Because there had previously been 998 members, and in order that Prince William would be the 1000th, Lord Luce was invested first that day, as the 999th Knight! There are only ever 24 Knights and Ladies of the Garter, not including the Royal Knights and Ladies, and each has a special stall in the Quire of St George's Chapel.

We left the Castle grounds and had another walk around the town, before hiking to the car park to retrieve our car, then home for dinner.

27 August, Wednesday

ronsan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:40:00 GMT

Today we opted for a foray into London, partly because we had to complete some forms with The London Baggage Company, through which we were sending a large bag of personal effects back home, by sea, and partly because we had Things to Do!

We duly presented ourselves at the LBC and filled out seemingly endless forms - it took over an hour!! When we had finished, it was lunchtime so we had a sandwich at a nearby pub and carried on to the river (Thames that is). We decided to take a Thames Clipper cruise and enjoyed a nice float up the river, disembarking at Tower Bridge which, as luck would have it, was just opening up to let a big boat through.

We walked up from the pier to the Tower of London where we went on a tour - extremely interesting. We particularly enjoyed the White Tower, where the armoury but before that we went into a small chamber that displayed instruments of torture. These things are so barbaric, as we had seen at Warwick Castle and it makes your blood run cold just to imagine what the prisoners went through.

On a lighter note, upon visiting the Ladies, I saw on the wall in there two certificates, one which stated that they had been awarded Loo of the Year in 2001 and the other stating Attendant of the Year in 2001!! Did you even know there were such awards?

The Medieval Place was also very interesting, as was the Chapel Royal (and also our afternoon tea in the Armouries Cafe!)

After quite a few hours, we caught the Clipper back to Waterloo, where we boarded our train. Unfortunately (you'll be surprised to hear) we caught the wrong train. Not our fault (we hasten to add). It went from the right platform, at the right time but was not going where we wanted to go! Luckily Chris was able to meet us at Virginia Water, instead of Martins Heron so all was not lost. Mind you, the houses at Virginia Water have to be seen to be believed. Lots are owned by "celebreties" and are absolutely enormous - more like hotels and a real sight to see.

We finally arrived home and, after dinner had another evening of chatting and generally enjoying ourselves.

Off to Windsor tomorrow, this time we'll actually go into the Castle instead of just into the town.

Gallery: Thames and Tower

ronsan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:18:00 GMT

26 August, Tuesday

ronsan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:30:00 GMT

A welcome lay-day yesterday - we haven't had many of those! Just did a bit of shopping in the morning then, in the afternoon Jean and I played a few board games with Alex whilst Ron and Chris went for a long walk, followed by a drink in the local pub.

Jenny arrived (she stays at Jean and Chris's during the week whilst she's working in London) and later on Jean cooked us a fabulous turkey dinner. Afterwards, we all played a few games of Blockbuster (a sort of quiz game) and then to bed - rather earlier than last night! Altogether a nice, relaxing day in good company.

25 August - Monday

ronsan — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:44:00 GMT

Today was a Public Holiday and so we decided to take Sam and Stacey to the Cotswolds for the day.

Obviously, we hit a snag! About 15 minutes into our journey it was dead slow and stop – with the traffic ahead of us at a standstill. We assumed most of them were headed for Stratford-upon-Avon which is not far from Sam’s place. Anyway, Ron overrode the Tom Tom, made a quick left turn, and found a nice, quiet route into Stow-on-the-Wold. We had been before, but Sam and Stacey hadn’t – it’s a really lovely old town and the girls had great fun wandering around the shops. We finished up with a cup of coffee at the place which claimed to be able to make flat whites – and they can.

We then headed off for Bourton-on-the-Water, our favourite place in the Cotswolds. About a mile from there we again hit traffic and had to snail our way along. We knew from previous experience that most people bypass the first car park, hoping for a better spot in the centre of town, so Ron did a sneaky right turn and lo and behold! found a spot right away. We smugly walked into town and, oh my goodness, how many people were there! It has always been a very popular tourist spot but today there were literally thousands of people milling around (see photo), although this just seemed to add to the place. As it was 12.30pm, we decided to have lunch before everywhere became too crowded and so went to the Duke of Wellington inn, where we had a good feed.

Off then to explore – there was a market on the banks of the river (which runs through the middle of the town) and there was a lovely, happy atmosphere.

There were a lot of people sitting on the banks of the river and various activities such as skittles, were taking place. There was also a duck race (with little yellow, plastic ducks) and, at 4pm we stopped to watch a hilarious game of river soccer. The game consisted of two teams of 6 players each; there was a goalpost at each end (carried in by the players and secured to the river bed with stones – the river itself is only about 30cm deep). The game was really full on, with plenty of kicking the water – we were on a bridge so escaped, but the people sitting on the banks of the river ended up being soaked. It was great fun and we’re not sure who won in the end.

We then decided to head home before the crowds built up on the roads and anyway, Ron and I were heading off to Jean and Chris’s that evening.

After having a quick look at Stacey’s photos, taken on the recent holiday she had had in Greece with her friends, we left Sam’s around 6.30pm and set out for Crowthorne – naturally, being us, it wasn’t an uneventful journey. After about 45 minutes, we came to a roundabout from which Tom told us to take the third exit; however, there seems to have been a fourth exit added since Tom was born (he’s three years old) and so the third exit was not the right one (then again, I could have made a mistake in counting the exits), we discovered after we’d been on the wrong motorway for quite a while! Once again we came up against a brick wall in the form of a traffic jam, whilst Tom was frantically telling us to “Turn around when possible” – actually impossible to do on a motorway. Thankfully he re-calculated and decided to let us stay on the road. We eventually found out what was causing the traffic jam – there was a woman standing at the roadside, with a pile of possessions, some police officers and what was obviously her car – completely burnt out. Happily, she seemed unhurt.

We finally arrived in Crowthorne to a lovely welcome and then ended up chatting until 1.30am!

Gallery: Woodborough-Bourton

ronsan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:42:00 GMT

24 August, Sunday

ronsan — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:20:00 GMT

D-day - or Au Revoir day. We had persuaded Allan and Dot to go to their car boot sale and so we got up early to say goodbye. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but, nevertheless, several tears were shed! After they had gone, we got our things together but....we had left our car keys in Allan's car! Luckily we had a spare, so could at least open the car to put our things in but unfortunately we needed the remote to unlock the ignition. We rang Allan, who hot-footed it home with our keys. He couldn't find Dot at the huge car boot sale, so couldn't stop. What a palaver.

We set off for Barbara and Ian's, in Nottingham but, after a few miles, wondered where Tom Tom was taking us, then remembered that last time we used it, we had programmed it to miss motorways. Ron re-programmed it and we ended up going via Sheffield (in Yorkshire)! Then, when we finally reached the M1, it was closed because of two big cooling towers having been demolished nearby the day before. After an extremely long diversion, we were on track again and reached Barbara and Ian's without any further mishap.

We had a lovely lunch with them, then a nice leasurely stroll around Woodborough, where they live. They gave us a beautiful Nottingham lace tablecloth which we will treasure.

After another emotional farewell, we headed for Sam's, where we'll be until Monday evening, when we head for Jean and Chris's, in Crowthorne.