September 29 the end of the day!
We did a catch up blog this mrning. This is what happened today. First of all Andromeda has a touch of travel sickness and her battery isn't charging and her power cord is touchy.
We did our blog at the tearoom and then went back to New Lanark. Visited the school house and saw what education was like. Very interesting. They had a huge globe with uncharted territory in Canada. Learned a lot more about Robert Owen. The big water wheel was working outside. After lunch we hiked up the river to see the two sets of waterfalls. Stunning views.
Stopped at the TI for information about getting to Edinburgh (we may go tomorrow) and we are back to the tea room.
Robert Owen was a mill owner who was way ahead of his time. He believed in socialism to a point. He started the first nursery for children under 3 so mothers could work at the mill. He also had sick benefits for workers to ill to work. The company store sold high quality goods cheaper than town and the profits went into health care and education. At New Lanark they credit him with starting the co-operative and union movements. When other workers found out what he was offering his workers they believed they should have the same opportunities. He became so dissolutioned with the legislation to help workers and fighting to get better conditions that he finally moved to the USA to try and set up an ideal town in Indiana.
Walking along the River Clyde is going to be one of the highlights of our trip. Beautiful walk on a well maintained trails with 3 falls to visit. It took about 2 hours to walk it and back, but unbelievable as it may seem, the sun came out and it was so nice. Closing the tea room so have to go. Hopefully will be on again soon.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
September 29, Carmichael
Feels more like January than September. They say there might be snow next week! According to locals everything stops when it snows so pray it waits until we are on our way home.
We are staying on the estate at Carmichael in Laundry Cottage (200 years old). Its all very Monarch of the Glennish! The phone line in our cottage is out so no internet. That internet is illusive and is so convenient when you travel. We really miss it. This morning we are at the tea room on the estate having coffee and eating scones and using their wi/fi.
We reluctantly left Burnbrae's Thairn cottage and came to our new abode. Will leave here Monday morning for Glasgow where we are staying at a Ramada near the airport. The car gets turned in Monday too.
The day we arrived here we visited New Lanark, a cotton mill, built in 1799. Robert Owen began a utopian type town there for his workers. Very progressive for the time. Yesterday we went to Stirling Castle and Bannock Burn Battle Site. Great historyBlogspot we will! It was a very good day. We are off to New Lanark today to visit the sites we missed the other day. We have written up blogs for the days we missed, and as soon as we figure out how to transfer them to the Tomorrow is still up in the air. Probabily won't have internet until we get to Glasglow now.
Feels more like January than September. They say there might be snow next week! According to locals everything stops when it snows so pray it waits until we are on our way home.
We are staying on the estate at Carmichael in Laundry Cottage (200 years old). Its all very Monarch of the Glennish! The phone line in our cottage is out so no internet. That internet is illusive and is so convenient when you travel. We really miss it. This morning we are at the tea room on the estate having coffee and eating scones and using their wi/fi.
We reluctantly left Burnbrae's Thairn cottage and came to our new abode. Will leave here Monday morning for Glasgow where we are staying at a Ramada near the airport. The car gets turned in Monday too.
The day we arrived here we visited New Lanark, a cotton mill, built in 1799. Robert Owen began a utopian type town there for his workers. Very progressive for the time. Yesterday we went to Stirling Castle and Bannock Burn Battle Site. Great historyBlogspot we will! It was a very good day. We are off to New Lanark today to visit the sites we missed the other day. We have written up blogs for the days we missed, and as soon as we figure out how to transfer them to the Tomorrow is still up in the air. Probabily won't have internet until we get to Glasglow now.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
September 26, Burnbrae
Woke to quiet! The wind wasn't blowing. Yesterday at Haddington the wind was blowing so hard it felt like it could blow our clothes off. It drove the rain right into our pants, brrr! It was a bit misty out when we got up but not bad. We got off to a leisurely start. Roy went for a stroll around the grounds while I finished getting ready. He visited Yvette to ask her to reconnect our wi/fi. They were setting up for a machine embroidery class. I went down to snoop but no one was around. Damn.
We went to Jedburough first. I really wanted a sweater. The shop in Kelso didn't have anything that was the right colour or size so we looked at the Jedburough Woolen Mill. We both got sweaters. It took awhile as they didn't have a full line either. The quality wasn't as good as the shop in Kelso but the price was much better. There was a quilt store across the street so we checked it out. Not much different from home. Prices about the same. Enough stores - we are off to Melrose,
The roads were dry but the rivers and streams (burns) are very full. We went straight to Abbotsford (Sir Walter Scotts home) but it is closed until next year for an update. We were so disappointed. There is a new visitor center with lots of information about the great writer but we have heard so much about his home that it was a real let down. The town of Melrose is very pretty and we had a mediocre lunch there. Found the Abbey but didn't feel it was worth $15.00 to see the ruins. We did visit the Melrose Roman Museum. It is small and the people associated with it are passionate about it. Most people don't know that the Romans were this far north of Hadrian's wall. There were 6 major forts and about two dozen minor forts. They arrived in this area in about 80 AD and stayed for about a 100 years. When they left it was very hard on the local people.
That was our nod to culture for the day. We hit the road for Galasheils and the Asda store. Yvette told Roy they have Fire Man Sam stuff and they did so we did some Christmas shopping! We are moving to a self catering place in the Lanark area tomorrow so we got some groceries and headed for Braeburn. Feel like we know the road now.
Back at the cottage we did some suitcase organizing and had chicken, steamed veggies, potatoes and salad. Fresh local strawberries and dark chocolate for dessert. A feast!
Off to bed
Woke to quiet! The wind wasn't blowing. Yesterday at Haddington the wind was blowing so hard it felt like it could blow our clothes off. It drove the rain right into our pants, brrr! It was a bit misty out when we got up but not bad. We got off to a leisurely start. Roy went for a stroll around the grounds while I finished getting ready. He visited Yvette to ask her to reconnect our wi/fi. They were setting up for a machine embroidery class. I went down to snoop but no one was around. Damn.
We went to Jedburough first. I really wanted a sweater. The shop in Kelso didn't have anything that was the right colour or size so we looked at the Jedburough Woolen Mill. We both got sweaters. It took awhile as they didn't have a full line either. The quality wasn't as good as the shop in Kelso but the price was much better. There was a quilt store across the street so we checked it out. Not much different from home. Prices about the same. Enough stores - we are off to Melrose,
The roads were dry but the rivers and streams (burns) are very full. We went straight to Abbotsford (Sir Walter Scotts home) but it is closed until next year for an update. We were so disappointed. There is a new visitor center with lots of information about the great writer but we have heard so much about his home that it was a real let down. The town of Melrose is very pretty and we had a mediocre lunch there. Found the Abbey but didn't feel it was worth $15.00 to see the ruins. We did visit the Melrose Roman Museum. It is small and the people associated with it are passionate about it. Most people don't know that the Romans were this far north of Hadrian's wall. There were 6 major forts and about two dozen minor forts. They arrived in this area in about 80 AD and stayed for about a 100 years. When they left it was very hard on the local people.
That was our nod to culture for the day. We hit the road for Galasheils and the Asda store. Yvette told Roy they have Fire Man Sam stuff and they did so we did some Christmas shopping! We are moving to a self catering place in the Lanark area tomorrow so we got some groceries and headed for Braeburn. Feel like we know the road now.
Back at the cottage we did some suitcase organizing and had chicken, steamed veggies, potatoes and salad. Fresh local strawberries and dark chocolate for dessert. A feast!
Off to bed
September 25, 2012 Tuesday
Woke up to more high winds and rain this morning. The storm continues. This is the worst September storm in 30 years. The storm is tropical mixing with the cold air over the UK. Apparently the clouds are 6 miles high, loaded with moisture and dumping it on the UK and remaining fairly stationary. The rain and wind let up around 10 and we decided to try an get to Haddington where my Grandfather was born and raised. Check with the landlady and she had not heard of any closures our way, so off we went. Yes we did see a spot of water around.
Most of the trip we had to slow down every few miles to travel through flooded roads. The good thing was that the water wasn't too deep, but it was a worry. When we got to Haddington the road over the bridge we were on was closed due to flooding. The sat nav (GPS) had trouble finding an alternate route, but we were able to follow some other cars into town. Once there we had lunch at a local, not the best we have had but okay. After lunch we went to the town hall to see if we could get upstairs. The security person was having lunch so we told him we would come
back after lunch. When we came back he was very helpful. He took us upstairs and told us what he knew about history of the town hall building. After we had finished the tour he found some papers in his office which gave more information about the buildings history. He told us we could go next door to the new library and make copies if we brought them back, so we did. The old library has closed and the new library is very modern, and the archive files have also been moved there. After wandering around for a while and visiting some shops we decided to try and see the Rossyln Chaple in Roslin. Uneventful trip, jus train and wind. The chapel was awesome. Much of what Brown wrote in the Da Vinc Code has been refuted but it is still amazing. The chapel is small but inside and outside are covered with carvings.
As we were walking around this gentleman, Ed Thomson asked if we needed any help. And he started to tell us all about the Templers and Masons and what the carvings mean. He had lots of stories and was very interesting. Anyway as he finished off, we talked more about the Templars and I mentioned about what happened to the Templars. They are still here and he is not only a Templar, but he is at the 33rd level and the grand master for southern Scotland. Anyway after he explained the leigh lines and how several intersect right in the middle of the church he left and disappeared. We then came joined a group who had an official guide with them. Again lots of interesting information and stories about the church. After the tour we asked some questions and got to talking to the guide and told us that Eddie has some views on the church which are different from the official version. A few items of information. There are green men all around the church giving the 4 different seasons. The story of Christ is written in stone around the walls as well as the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues. The guide said that since people couldn't read that churches used stone carvings to depict the bible. He thought this is where written in stone came from. It was hard to leave this ornate chapel. As we started for home we happen to catch a road condition sign saying the road we had come from was experiencing flooding. Fortunately there was an alternative, a little longer but not too far.
Over to Linda
That was a very full day!. We didn't start until late because it was so nasty outside so we crimmed a lot into a short time. Roy did so well driving through the flooded roads. The Scots were getting through so we did too but it was pretty tense at times, expecially the longest flooded area which was at least a 1/2 mile. When the big lorries passed us I wondered if we would start to float. Most of the time you could make out the broken line down the middle of the road but there were times when the water was too high. Poor sheep! The water was coming out through the gaps in a stone fence about 2 feet up. Morpeth was flooded - it flooded after we were there 4 years ago. We'd best stay away from therre! It was good that we were able to come home the A7 and though the roads were very narrow and twisty, they weren't flooded.
When we got to Rosslyn Chapel the computers were down and they couldn't sell us an admission ticket or tea - now cash registers. I started talking to the couple at the next table - they were about our age. (People our age always seem to like to talk, ) He, with a twinkle in his eye told me that the Countess of Rosslyn was in the room. I thought he was teasing but he wasn't. The couple lived just down the lane, on the corner. He pointed out one of the pictures of the St.Clairs on the wall (Dukes and Duchesses of Rosslyn). The man in the picture was a bit of a gambler and was "the man who broke the bank at Montecarlo" Really! It developed that my new friend was a retired fish biologist. We learned a got deal about fish lice. It was very interesting in spite of the fact that his wife was a bit embarrassed. She is on the vestery for the Chapel. The church members do not have to find money for the upkeep of the church - it is the responsiblility of the St Clair family. Since the Dan Brown novels they must have been raking it in. They have about 90 regular attendees. These people were very interesting, we were fortunate to meet them
It was so good to get home to Thairn Cottage. It is such a wonderful place. We will hate to leave!
Woke up to more high winds and rain this morning. The storm continues. This is the worst September storm in 30 years. The storm is tropical mixing with the cold air over the UK. Apparently the clouds are 6 miles high, loaded with moisture and dumping it on the UK and remaining fairly stationary. The rain and wind let up around 10 and we decided to try an get to Haddington where my Grandfather was born and raised. Check with the landlady and she had not heard of any closures our way, so off we went. Yes we did see a spot of water around.
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| A68 |
back after lunch. When we came back he was very helpful. He took us upstairs and told us what he knew about history of the town hall building. After we had finished the tour he found some papers in his office which gave more information about the buildings history. He told us we could go next door to the new library and make copies if we brought them back, so we did. The old library has closed and the new library is very modern, and the archive files have also been moved there. After wandering around for a while and visiting some shops we decided to try and see the Rossyln Chaple in Roslin. Uneventful trip, jus train and wind. The chapel was awesome. Much of what Brown wrote in the Da Vinc Code has been refuted but it is still amazing. The chapel is small but inside and outside are covered with carvings.
Over to Linda
That was a very full day!. We didn't start until late because it was so nasty outside so we crimmed a lot into a short time. Roy did so well driving through the flooded roads. The Scots were getting through so we did too but it was pretty tense at times, expecially the longest flooded area which was at least a 1/2 mile. When the big lorries passed us I wondered if we would start to float. Most of the time you could make out the broken line down the middle of the road but there were times when the water was too high. Poor sheep! The water was coming out through the gaps in a stone fence about 2 feet up. Morpeth was flooded - it flooded after we were there 4 years ago. We'd best stay away from therre! It was good that we were able to come home the A7 and though the roads were very narrow and twisty, they weren't flooded.
When we got to Rosslyn Chapel the computers were down and they couldn't sell us an admission ticket or tea - now cash registers. I started talking to the couple at the next table - they were about our age. (People our age always seem to like to talk, ) He, with a twinkle in his eye told me that the Countess of Rosslyn was in the room. I thought he was teasing but he wasn't. The couple lived just down the lane, on the corner. He pointed out one of the pictures of the St.Clairs on the wall (Dukes and Duchesses of Rosslyn). The man in the picture was a bit of a gambler and was "the man who broke the bank at Montecarlo" Really! It developed that my new friend was a retired fish biologist. We learned a got deal about fish lice. It was very interesting in spite of the fact that his wife was a bit embarrassed. She is on the vestery for the Chapel. The church members do not have to find money for the upkeep of the church - it is the responsiblility of the St Clair family. Since the Dan Brown novels they must have been raking it in. They have about 90 regular attendees. These people were very interesting, we were fortunate to meet them
It was so good to get home to Thairn Cottage. It is such a wonderful place. We will hate to leave!
Monday, September 24, 2012
September 24, 2012 monday
What a change in weather. Part of a tropical storm from the America's has reached Britain. High winds and rain. Today winds gusting to 30 mph were attained and tonight gusting to 60 mph are expected. In some parts as much as 3" of rain is expected today and tonight which is just below the usual rainfall for all of September. The extremes are not expected where we are, most are on the west coast and Ireland. Today we took off from touring. Instead we did some domestic chores. I spent almost an hour with Chris, the new landlord trying to get the WiFi working and Linda did some washing. The problem turned out to be not our computer, but the router and extender had to be reset. Fortunately for us there is a washer and drier here we can use and its nice not to have to wash things in the sink. After doing our blog for yesterday we headed off to Kelso. Hey parking is free in Kelso, what a novel concept. We pulled into a parking lot and couldn't find the place to pay and were wondering if it was a private lot. Linda asked and was told its free. Off we went to tour Kelso, about 4 streets each about 2 blocks long. Stopped at the information and found out where the Hoot and Cat cafe, woolen stores, and Robertson the cobler is. Since we hadn't had lunch we started at the Hoot and Cat cafe. Carol and Harry had met some people there and wanted us to take some information on Moose Jaw airbase during the war. Had a lunch, the soup was great. There is a ruined Abby in Kelso and and that was our next stop. There wasn't much left, but as others it is impressive. The massive amount of stone and the height they built to makes one think about the time and effort which went into these structures. After that it was strolling the streets, window shopping and just taking it easy. We did go into A. Robertson which is a cobbler and Carol's research came up with the fact that our grandfather's uncle owned this shop until about 40 years ago. Its cold here, so we did some shopping for sweaters. Didn't buy but there are some possibilities, so may go back.
We returned to Burnbrae and even though it was a bit chilly we sat in our own private conservatory and had a glass of wine. The cows didn't seem to mind the strong wind! We are going to have a fire in our fireplace and a relaxing evening. Had the last of the meat pies from Alnwick market with some steamed veggies for dinner. We bought meat pies from 2 stalls - now, if we were to go back we'd know which stall to go to for a good pie.
God Bless
What a change in weather. Part of a tropical storm from the America's has reached Britain. High winds and rain. Today winds gusting to 30 mph were attained and tonight gusting to 60 mph are expected. In some parts as much as 3" of rain is expected today and tonight which is just below the usual rainfall for all of September. The extremes are not expected where we are, most are on the west coast and Ireland. Today we took off from touring. Instead we did some domestic chores. I spent almost an hour with Chris, the new landlord trying to get the WiFi working and Linda did some washing. The problem turned out to be not our computer, but the router and extender had to be reset. Fortunately for us there is a washer and drier here we can use and its nice not to have to wash things in the sink. After doing our blog for yesterday we headed off to Kelso. Hey parking is free in Kelso, what a novel concept. We pulled into a parking lot and couldn't find the place to pay and were wondering if it was a private lot. Linda asked and was told its free. Off we went to tour Kelso, about 4 streets each about 2 blocks long. Stopped at the information and found out where the Hoot and Cat cafe, woolen stores, and Robertson the cobler is. Since we hadn't had lunch we started at the Hoot and Cat cafe. Carol and Harry had met some people there and wanted us to take some information on Moose Jaw airbase during the war. Had a lunch, the soup was great. There is a ruined Abby in Kelso and and that was our next stop. There wasn't much left, but as others it is impressive. The massive amount of stone and the height they built to makes one think about the time and effort which went into these structures. After that it was strolling the streets, window shopping and just taking it easy. We did go into A. Robertson which is a cobbler and Carol's research came up with the fact that our grandfather's uncle owned this shop until about 40 years ago. Its cold here, so we did some shopping for sweaters. Didn't buy but there are some possibilities, so may go back.
We returned to Burnbrae and even though it was a bit chilly we sat in our own private conservatory and had a glass of wine. The cows didn't seem to mind the strong wind! We are going to have a fire in our fireplace and a relaxing evening. Had the last of the meat pies from Alnwick market with some steamed veggies for dinner. We bought meat pies from 2 stalls - now, if we were to go back we'd know which stall to go to for a good pie.
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| Kelso Abby |
September 23, 2012 Sunday
Today the sun was shining when we got up and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Cottingburn House has received a breakfast award, which they claim is due to the saugage and bacon they receive from the local butcher. The bacon was very good, but the saugage was not quite to our taste. After breakfast we loaded upand headed to Alnwick about a 40 minute drive. No trouble finding the place or finding a parking lot near the market square. The square was busy setting up a food market for the day. We walked around and picked out some meat pies etc which we could buy on the way back. It was a short walk to the castle grounds. The grounds consist of the Castle and the Gardens. The area is huge. By the time we reached the castle grounds the sky had clouded over a bit and the wind had picked up. We were beginning to wish we had brought our coats from the car. Our hands were getting so cold as soon as we bought our tickets we went inside and brought ourselves some hot chocolate. Warmed up a little we headed off to the castle owned by the Percy family since the 1300's. The bought it from some Norman family, and we missed the story so don't have the details
Upon entering the castle we were asked if we wanted to join a free tour of the cellars. With the price right we naturally said yes, and were given tickets to the 12:20 tour. The apartments weren't open until 11:00 so we started off exploring the other parts of the castle such as the outer and inner bailey where Harry Potter learned to fly on his broom. Inside there is a courtyard where kids can learn to fly brooms, learn jousting, wear period clothing and just have fun. As we wandered back a tour of the castle was just starting so we joined in. Sally our guide was excellent and very informative.
The castle was purchased in the 1300's and has been in constant renovation ever since. It was built orginally as a defensive works to provide protection from the Scots. The square towers are Norman design and come from the 14th century, the round towers were much later and replaced many of the orginal towers. In many areas there is evidence of stone work of the 14th century, with stones from the 15th century on top and more stones of the 18th century built on top of that. The castle was so well built defensively that it has never fallen in battle. It was twice abandoned to seige armies, the inhabitants getting out secret doors before the seiges had begun. The castle is surrounded on 3 sides by the river which prevents attackers from coming on all sides.
The castle area is huge and the building s impressive. Down through the ages the Percy lineage has remained. If there is no heir, only a heiress, the husband changes his name to Percy. Once the tour was over we hurred back for the cellars tour. It was a bit hoaky but funny. It was suppose to be scary, with actors playing the parts of evil people who take you through the area with props etc. Overall it was okay, but would not mind missing it either. After the cellar tour, I went over to the archery area and took the opportunity to try my had at it. The target was
only 30 feet away and I had a light bow, and I managed to shoot 69 0ut of 80.
It was a lot of fun. Good thing the bow was a light pull, my arm was wandering around the last few. My last arrow was the best, a bulls eye in the 1" centre. The apartments were open so it was finally time to go inside, and hopefully warm up. The poor outside attendents were freezing as well as the tourist. In dise was marginally warmer but out of the wind. The collection of antiques and paintings were amazing. The entrance room walls are fillwith pistols and swords that Lord Percy had purchase for his own private volunteers during the threat of invasion by Napoleon. As you go up the stairs each wall is covered in paintings. Talking to one of the people who works in the gardens he told us the paintings have an estimated value of over 500 million pounds. There are many Gainsboroughs, Van Dykes and Titains on the wall as well as hunreds of other paintings. One of the Percys who travelled extensively brought Italian carvers in to do the shutters and doors. Each piece took months to complete, and one marquitry table took 4 ten years to complete and depicted the 5 senses. It was amazing to see and the guide/seurity pointed many things in the table which were difficult to see until you looked closely. Unfortunatley no pictures were allowed, they even have sensors to detect picture taking. There are two cabinets about 7 feet high which were bought from Versailles when they were changing decor in the 18th century and they are similar to marquitry only done in stone. They are believe to be the onlyu two left in the world. One of the gentleman who changed his name to Percy was Smithson. He had an eligitimate son who he refuse to acknowledge. The son who was very intelligent became very bitter and changed his name to Smithson and became very wealthy. He died without an heir and part of his will was to give a grant to the USA ti start a science and technology centre. The USA did not want to accept the money and finally did and the Smithsonian Instute was born. When we left the castle we were so cold we decided to go back to the car and get our coats. First we stopped at the market and bought supper and some Alnwick beer. Back at the gardens with our coats on made the expierence much more comfortable. As you enter through the pavilion, the first thing that strikes you is a huge cascading fountain.
Over to Linda
Going back to the morning. Our B&B was very comfy. Duvets again. Only once have we had a banket. I am definitely not a duvet kind of gal. Our breakfast was nice but not near as nice as the landlady warned us it would be. Funny, it never pays to build people up - expectations are hard to meet. Do wish we could have enjoyed the place a bit longer though.
Alnwick Castle and gardens were fabulous. I do think it would have been no fun to work there as a servant. We were very lucky to get in on the guided tour. It lasted an hour and was very comprehensive. The guide seemed to get to know us and when we saw her later in the castle she spent extra time explaining the things we were seeing. So much wealth - VanDyke paintings, Turners, and an Italian name Canaletto. The dishes, the porcelian, the doors, everything is so valuable. The current Duke and Duchess live there most of the year now, though they aren't short of places to go - they have homes all over the place. They do have a private suite at Alnwick though they seem to live in the areas we toured too. There was a very adequate bar set up in the library. A wedding picture of Elizabeth and Phillip, signed by both of them. Charley has a snap shot too as well as many family photos strewn about the place.
As Roy said, it was freezing bloody cold. When we went back to the car park for our coats we stopped at the market (very high on my list of things to do) we bought bread, meat pies, a bottle of Alnwick beer. The pop I had at Beamish was there Dandelion and Burdock (not elderflower) but was a cordial and you had to dilute it. It was too much for us to use so had to forgo the pleasure.
The gardens are wonderful. I was ready to skip them. I was tired and cold and didn't give a hoot about anything but getting warm. Good thing we went as they were lovely to walk around and the poison garden was a must. An elderly gentleman took us round and in a suitably ominous voice told the hazzards of various plants. Just as a little boy reached out to touch a plant he said,"don't touch that you will get a severe rash that would reappear everytime he went out in the sun for 3 months. A good many would kill you. Surprising how common they are!
Off to Kelso. Found our new home with Carol and Andromeda's directions. It is so nice. We could live here year round. It is vary spacious and has every thing we could possibly need and more. Yvette and Chris have taken over from Yvette's parents Sam and Pat. Sam and Pat turned a row of cattle. barns into a pretty row of cottages. They have done a very good job but after 15 years of renting the cottages have retired. Chris and Yvette have been here for a year.
The weather has turned nasty today. High winds and lots of rain so we took the morning off touring. Nice to have a bit of a rest. Once we were able to get on the internet we have been typing up this diary. It is hard to get behind as you forget to much and it is a bit time consuming. I am doing some laundry (and learning how to work a spin washer and dryer that are totally alien to me). In a few minutes we will go to Kelso and have a poke around. Hopefully we will find the Hootin Cat.
Today the sun was shining when we got up and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Cottingburn House has received a breakfast award, which they claim is due to the saugage and bacon they receive from the local butcher. The bacon was very good, but the saugage was not quite to our taste. After breakfast we loaded upand headed to Alnwick about a 40 minute drive. No trouble finding the place or finding a parking lot near the market square. The square was busy setting up a food market for the day. We walked around and picked out some meat pies etc which we could buy on the way back. It was a short walk to the castle grounds. The grounds consist of the Castle and the Gardens. The area is huge. By the time we reached the castle grounds the sky had clouded over a bit and the wind had picked up. We were beginning to wish we had brought our coats from the car. Our hands were getting so cold as soon as we bought our tickets we went inside and brought ourselves some hot chocolate. Warmed up a little we headed off to the castle owned by the Percy family since the 1300's. The bought it from some Norman family, and we missed the story so don't have the details
The castle was purchased in the 1300's and has been in constant renovation ever since. It was built orginally as a defensive works to provide protection from the Scots. The square towers are Norman design and come from the 14th century, the round towers were much later and replaced many of the orginal towers. In many areas there is evidence of stone work of the 14th century, with stones from the 15th century on top and more stones of the 18th century built on top of that. The castle was so well built defensively that it has never fallen in battle. It was twice abandoned to seige armies, the inhabitants getting out secret doors before the seiges had begun. The castle is surrounded on 3 sides by the river which prevents attackers from coming on all sides.
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| Inner Bailey |
only 30 feet away and I had a light bow, and I managed to shoot 69 0ut of 80.
Over to Linda
Going back to the morning. Our B&B was very comfy. Duvets again. Only once have we had a banket. I am definitely not a duvet kind of gal. Our breakfast was nice but not near as nice as the landlady warned us it would be. Funny, it never pays to build people up - expectations are hard to meet. Do wish we could have enjoyed the place a bit longer though.
Alnwick Castle and gardens were fabulous. I do think it would have been no fun to work there as a servant. We were very lucky to get in on the guided tour. It lasted an hour and was very comprehensive. The guide seemed to get to know us and when we saw her later in the castle she spent extra time explaining the things we were seeing. So much wealth - VanDyke paintings, Turners, and an Italian name Canaletto. The dishes, the porcelian, the doors, everything is so valuable. The current Duke and Duchess live there most of the year now, though they aren't short of places to go - they have homes all over the place. They do have a private suite at Alnwick though they seem to live in the areas we toured too. There was a very adequate bar set up in the library. A wedding picture of Elizabeth and Phillip, signed by both of them. Charley has a snap shot too as well as many family photos strewn about the place.
As Roy said, it was freezing bloody cold. When we went back to the car park for our coats we stopped at the market (very high on my list of things to do) we bought bread, meat pies, a bottle of Alnwick beer. The pop I had at Beamish was there Dandelion and Burdock (not elderflower) but was a cordial and you had to dilute it. It was too much for us to use so had to forgo the pleasure.
The gardens are wonderful. I was ready to skip them. I was tired and cold and didn't give a hoot about anything but getting warm. Good thing we went as they were lovely to walk around and the poison garden was a must. An elderly gentleman took us round and in a suitably ominous voice told the hazzards of various plants. Just as a little boy reached out to touch a plant he said,"don't touch that you will get a severe rash that would reappear everytime he went out in the sun for 3 months. A good many would kill you. Surprising how common they are!
Off to Kelso. Found our new home with Carol and Andromeda's directions. It is so nice. We could live here year round. It is vary spacious and has every thing we could possibly need and more. Yvette and Chris have taken over from Yvette's parents Sam and Pat. Sam and Pat turned a row of cattle. barns into a pretty row of cottages. They have done a very good job but after 15 years of renting the cottages have retired. Chris and Yvette have been here for a year.
The weather has turned nasty today. High winds and lots of rain so we took the morning off touring. Nice to have a bit of a rest. Once we were able to get on the internet we have been typing up this diary. It is hard to get behind as you forget to much and it is a bit time consuming. I am doing some laundry (and learning how to work a spin washer and dryer that are totally alien to me). In a few minutes we will go to Kelso and have a poke around. Hopefully we will find the Hootin Cat.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
September 22 Durham to Morpeth
We enjoyed a good sleep at the Three Horseshoes as well as a delicious breakfast. The owners son and daughter in law had stepped in to help them renovate the place. The land lady said they were pretty much on their knees. I think that meant they needed help. The kids have done a wonderful job on our room and have one room left to do as well as the hall ways. A bit like Monarch of the Glen. The son comes back to save the family estate sort of thing.
There was frost on the car but it had melted in the sunshine before we were ready to set off for Beamish Museum. We arrived just at opening and still had to stand in line for tickets. What a deal - concession tickets were 13 pounds. The girl wanted to know if we'd like a one year membership. Well, no. The memberships was the same price as entry for a day, so if any of our older friends are coming this way....
Beamish is a living museum. You can walk around in most of the displays. It is set up as a coal mining village. There are 3 main areas - the colliery, the farm and the village. Trams and buses drive you from one site to another. There is a variety of buses and it would have been neat to ride on them all as some were doing but very time consuming. The grandchildren would all love the place. Some had their bikes and there were some strider bikes too. We've seen a lot of strider bikes on this trip.
First stop was the Colliery. The school teacher was in the school even though it was Saturday and the students were not there. There were up to 90 students, ages 6 to 12 in the room st times. ONE teacher, poor soul.
We enjoyed a good sleep at the Three Horseshoes as well as a delicious breakfast. The owners son and daughter in law had stepped in to help them renovate the place. The land lady said they were pretty much on their knees. I think that meant they needed help. The kids have done a wonderful job on our room and have one room left to do as well as the hall ways. A bit like Monarch of the Glen. The son comes back to save the family estate sort of thing.
There was frost on the car but it had melted in the sunshine before we were ready to set off for Beamish Museum. We arrived just at opening and still had to stand in line for tickets. What a deal - concession tickets were 13 pounds. The girl wanted to know if we'd like a one year membership. Well, no. The memberships was the same price as entry for a day, so if any of our older friends are coming this way....
Beamish is a living museum. You can walk around in most of the displays. It is set up as a coal mining village. There are 3 main areas - the colliery, the farm and the village. Trams and buses drive you from one site to another. There is a variety of buses and it would have been neat to ride on them all as some were doing but very time consuming. The grandchildren would all love the place. Some had their bikes and there were some strider bikes too. We've seen a lot of strider bikes on this trip.
First stop was the Colliery. The school teacher was in the school even though it was Saturday and the students were not there. There were up to 90 students, ages 6 to 12 in the room st times. ONE teacher, poor soul.
R
Linda, the dilegent student. Roy, was naughty.
Linda, the dilegent student. Roy, was naughty.
Next we visited the chapel. There were ladies making lace at the back of the church. It is fascinating to watch them work. All those bobbins to keep untangled. There also was a lady making a whole cloth quilt. Of course I had to spend a little time there. The whole cloth quilts were wedding quilts only. Other quilts were made of scraps.
You are able to go into a mine shaft and see how it was for the miners. We donned hard hats and went down into the mahogany drift. Good thing we had those hard hats. I banged my head once. They are very low. I cannot imagine spending long days down there mining the coal or hauling it out. All the things I have read about coal mining are true. You couldn't exagerate how bad it must have been. next, over to the spot were the coal is brought up. The lifts are steam operated where we saw the only cable winch operated by steam in the world. The lift operators job was considered to be a highly skilled job and was a plum job because they never went down in the mine. The position would pass from father to son. The lift operator was so important that he was not allowed to leave his post. There was a comode fitted into his chair so he could take care of everything without leaving his post. A good lift operator could get the cage within 1/4 inch of each level.
The cottages are set up just as they were and you are free to wander through most. Some have people baking or cooking and one had a lady making a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. Naturally Linda had to have a look. She invited me to sit and sew awhile but we had miles to go before we slept.
Sausage rolls and a pop for lunch. Sounds bad but tasted pretty good! The best pop I have ever had. Elderflower and dandelion.
On a quaint old bus for a ride to the village. The stores are set up as they were in the day and there were quite a few for the miners to spend their wages in. Dry goods store (sold Hudson's soap), auto and bicycle dealer, dentist, candy store, etc. It was fun to look around. We got an ice cream (I had a flake in mine. It's a stick of what seemed like grated chocolate loosely made into a stick) and headed to the train station. Roy saw the steam train go by while I bought the ice cream. That was about it for action at the trains.
The tram took us back to the entrance and we picked up the car and faced it toward Housteads fort on Hadrians wall. It was later than we had intended as Rick Steeves said to allow 3 hours for Beamish. Now where near enough! We will always add time to his estimates in future.
Arrived at Housesteads in sunshine and warm weather. Direct opposite to our visit 4 years ago. Then it was driving rain and wind. From the entrance at the road you follow a path down into a sheep filled valley, across a stream, through a gate, up a very, very steep sheep filled hill to get to the fort. It's a hike! It was much more enjoyable to visit the fort this time as you weren't being blown into Roman latrines and the pictures will turn out as the camera lens isn't covered in water. We re toured the ruins. Amazing people those Romans and then did an sort of no no (we weren't alone). We climbed up on the wall at the edge of the fort. Cool. But people were on the wall further to the east where it was much wider. How to get there. We climbed a fence and went down a very steep hill, found our way through an extremely muddy area, went up another hill and it was an easy climb, even for me, up onto the wall. Got our pictures taken and everything. Now we have been on the Great Wall of China and Hadrian's Wall. We felt like World Travellers. Up the steep, steep hill to the fort, climb the fence and we are back in the fort. It is amazing how the building foundations have endured. There is so much more for them to excavte. Feeling we are content with our visit we head back down the hill. The sheep are all at one side now as while we were in the fort we saw a sheep dog move them to one area. Wether it was supposed to happen or some visitors dog couldn't resist we don't know. We did the hike in resverse and back at the car tried to program Andromeda to go to the White Swan a pub we visited when were were here efore. Frustration reached a high point before we finally got there. She can be so stubborn about the route she wants to take.
The Swan, what can I say. The best meal we ate in all of Britain was at the Swan. Would it be as good this time. Yup! It has received several awards from us. Best carvery in the world, best sticky toffee pudding in the world. Wow, they should be famous. We left, stuffed with food and happy.
Morpeth was only a short drive away and we were there in no time. Finding our lodging was a diffent matter. Andromeda didni't tell us to turn when we should have . We had to driv on and find a place to turn. When we were back on the correct road she took us down a narrow lane. So narrow that you had to pull the side mirrors in. Any way we found Ctingburn House. Very nice and old. Our hosts were very welcoming. Tim had a hip replacement 10 days ago. His other hip was done 4 1/2 months ago. He was happy to talk about it and we were happy to listen. His wife is originally from Russia but says she is English and crosses herself as she says God save the Queen. She told us the history of the house as she aquainted us with our room and the breakfast room. She brings our luggage in through the kitchen because there are no stairs that way. We cannot go in the kitche - health rules - but the dog lives there.???
I will have my dog rant later.
God Blesss
.
Friday, September 21, 2012
September 20, 2012
Well this is actually being written a day later. We have been without the internet until today so we wrote our blog in word, but still do not know how to transfer them over. So we will resume from yesterday.
Today is the day to explore Scarborough. We had a leisurely breakfast before heading off. We decided to walk into the town even though it was showery. It didn't look too far and in fact it only took us a half hour or so. We thought we could use the WiFi at the library to update our blogs. When we got to the library the librarian told us the WiFi wasn't working and we could have 1/2 hour free on their computers and then we had to start paying. We elected to just take the free time. Somehow we just didn't feel like sitting in the library. After the library it was lunch time and we found a bakery type resturant which was fine except very noisy. After lunch we walked around on the no traffic streets looking at a few shops, but not buying anything. The south bay looked interesting, although it was a long steep walk to the beach. What a neat place. There half a dozen casino type operations with slots, bingo and those grab the toy with the crane gameswhich never work. Suprisingly, there were a lot of people in these establishments. This is where the fishing boats come in so there were sea food stores and marine equipment establishments. And of course dozens of souvenier and places to buy beach toys. After walking around and buying an icecream it was time to head back. Descretion is the better part of valor and so we took a tram back up into the city. As we walked back we stopped at another bakery and bought a couple of meat pies for dinner. Next door was an art galley and it had some post card prints which we liked so we picked a few of them up as well. In no time we were home, too early for supper. We set off to the Ivanhoe pub just down from where were staying. We were told that the food wasn't as good there anymore so it was good that we had dinner at home. While we're sitting there 4 guys came in for a drink and decided to play pool. They were a hoot to listen to. They even sang the song "put your right foot in" etc. They were having a blast. On the way home, as we walked by the golf course we played on we found a golf ball in the hedge by hole # 17, so I got a souvenir.
Roy has said he is done so I will have a turn.
As he said the South Beach was interesting and to think we almost didn't bother to go! Starting with the place called Coney Island there must have been 10 arcades. All pretty much the same. It really lives up to being a holiday by the sea town. Scarborourgh was the first seaside holiday place in the British Isles. You can just imagine the bathing beauties in their old fashioned suits. Michael and Shirley said that when they were younger there were so many places to rent for vacations and almost every house took in holiday goers as lodgers. Different towns would have their weekly holiday and trains would bring in load after load of people for their week of vacation. How times change.
We repacked in the evening. It had been nice to unpack for a few days. Also nice to eat in and not have to go out for every meal. The Browne's were wonderful, what a lovely couple. Such a close family. It was interesting to hear them talk about the area and its history.
Pine Lodge was a good place to stay, unique in some ways but excellent value for money. One morning when I showered I forgot to close the kitchen blind and as the shower was in the kitchen that was not a good thing. We learned how to put the 1 pound coin in the slot to keep the electricity flowing and managed on the same coin the whole time we were there. The tv was a little different too but we got the hang of it. I had planned to go to the laundry while there but managed to hand wash everything we needed so didn't have to sit and wait for clothes to wash and dry.
The road was familiar as far as Whitbey the next morning and Andromeda was a good guide to help us get to Durham. We found the 3 Horseshoes Inn. It is about 5 miles outside of Durham on the A181. We arrived at 11:20 and check in wasn't until noon. There was no one around so we continued on into Durham. Rick Steeves said we could park at the Prince Bishops shopping mall but we couldn't find it in the GPS or on the map. Luckily we drove right to it, parked and off we went exploring.
After lunch we walked up to the castle and cathedral. First we toured the castle with the best tour guide we have ever met. The young man is studying for his PhD in History and is obviously in the correct field. His love of his subject was evident in every word. He also added a little levity to his narrative and that made it even more interesting. The castle has been added on to many times over the centuries as each Bishop prince had to outdo the previous one. The last stop on the tour was the World Heritage site chapel. It is the original Norman chapel built around 1068. The designs on the pillars make it unique and because of that difficult to date.
The cathedral is awesome. It is so beautiful. It was built to house the bones of St. Cuthbert and is Norman (Romanesque). The Venerable Bede is entombed here. We met him at ( learned about him) at the Abbey in Whitbey on Tuesday. He is an 8th century scholar who wrote the first history of England. Once again I enjoyed the designs in the tile floor in the choir. They are always a quilt design (or so I think). We couldn't take pictures, unfortunately.
After we finished in the Cathedral we walked along the old city wall to the river for a beautiful view of the castle and cathedral
On the way up the hill to the Cathedral we saw the "Shakespear Pub" It had been in that spot forever and according to the sign, was haunted. We decided to stop in on our way back. It was loaded with character. Exactly what an old English pub should be. The fellows at the next table started talking to us and we were there for quite awhile. A good choice.
Back to the Three Horseshoes. It is 5:30 and there is still no one around. Oh, no! Have they gone broke? There is absouletly nothing around it. It stands alone in the countryside. Roy rang the bell a few times and finally a man appeared and let us in. The pub doesn't open until 6:00. He shows us upstairs to our room, #1. The carpet on the stairs is very dirty, again I'm thinking - damn Booking.com. (Are they one of Hudson's .com companies?) . Well our room is a gem! Clean, new feeling and it smells divine! Oh, yes! Settled in and went downstairs to the pub for dinner. It too is sparkly clean. The menus feel and look as though they just went into use today. Food is great, as is the service. We both hate to go back to our room we are so comfortable. Eventually we have to go and here we are in our lovely room.
Time for bed
God bless.
Well this is actually being written a day later. We have been without the internet until today so we wrote our blog in word, but still do not know how to transfer them over. So we will resume from yesterday.
Today is the day to explore Scarborough. We had a leisurely breakfast before heading off. We decided to walk into the town even though it was showery. It didn't look too far and in fact it only took us a half hour or so. We thought we could use the WiFi at the library to update our blogs. When we got to the library the librarian told us the WiFi wasn't working and we could have 1/2 hour free on their computers and then we had to start paying. We elected to just take the free time. Somehow we just didn't feel like sitting in the library. After the library it was lunch time and we found a bakery type resturant which was fine except very noisy. After lunch we walked around on the no traffic streets looking at a few shops, but not buying anything. The south bay looked interesting, although it was a long steep walk to the beach. What a neat place. There half a dozen casino type operations with slots, bingo and those grab the toy with the crane gameswhich never work. Suprisingly, there were a lot of people in these establishments. This is where the fishing boats come in so there were sea food stores and marine equipment establishments. And of course dozens of souvenier and places to buy beach toys. After walking around and buying an icecream it was time to head back. Descretion is the better part of valor and so we took a tram back up into the city. As we walked back we stopped at another bakery and bought a couple of meat pies for dinner. Next door was an art galley and it had some post card prints which we liked so we picked a few of them up as well. In no time we were home, too early for supper. We set off to the Ivanhoe pub just down from where were staying. We were told that the food wasn't as good there anymore so it was good that we had dinner at home. While we're sitting there 4 guys came in for a drink and decided to play pool. They were a hoot to listen to. They even sang the song "put your right foot in" etc. They were having a blast. On the way home, as we walked by the golf course we played on we found a golf ball in the hedge by hole # 17, so I got a souvenir.
Roy has said he is done so I will have a turn.
As he said the South Beach was interesting and to think we almost didn't bother to go! Starting with the place called Coney Island there must have been 10 arcades. All pretty much the same. It really lives up to being a holiday by the sea town. Scarborourgh was the first seaside holiday place in the British Isles. You can just imagine the bathing beauties in their old fashioned suits. Michael and Shirley said that when they were younger there were so many places to rent for vacations and almost every house took in holiday goers as lodgers. Different towns would have their weekly holiday and trains would bring in load after load of people for their week of vacation. How times change.
We repacked in the evening. It had been nice to unpack for a few days. Also nice to eat in and not have to go out for every meal. The Browne's were wonderful, what a lovely couple. Such a close family. It was interesting to hear them talk about the area and its history.
Pine Lodge was a good place to stay, unique in some ways but excellent value for money. One morning when I showered I forgot to close the kitchen blind and as the shower was in the kitchen that was not a good thing. We learned how to put the 1 pound coin in the slot to keep the electricity flowing and managed on the same coin the whole time we were there. The tv was a little different too but we got the hang of it. I had planned to go to the laundry while there but managed to hand wash everything we needed so didn't have to sit and wait for clothes to wash and dry.
The road was familiar as far as Whitbey the next morning and Andromeda was a good guide to help us get to Durham. We found the 3 Horseshoes Inn. It is about 5 miles outside of Durham on the A181. We arrived at 11:20 and check in wasn't until noon. There was no one around so we continued on into Durham. Rick Steeves said we could park at the Prince Bishops shopping mall but we couldn't find it in the GPS or on the map. Luckily we drove right to it, parked and off we went exploring.
After lunch we walked up to the castle and cathedral. First we toured the castle with the best tour guide we have ever met. The young man is studying for his PhD in History and is obviously in the correct field. His love of his subject was evident in every word. He also added a little levity to his narrative and that made it even more interesting. The castle has been added on to many times over the centuries as each Bishop prince had to outdo the previous one. The last stop on the tour was the World Heritage site chapel. It is the original Norman chapel built around 1068. The designs on the pillars make it unique and because of that difficult to date.
The cathedral is awesome. It is so beautiful. It was built to house the bones of St. Cuthbert and is Norman (Romanesque). The Venerable Bede is entombed here. We met him at ( learned about him) at the Abbey in Whitbey on Tuesday. He is an 8th century scholar who wrote the first history of England. Once again I enjoyed the designs in the tile floor in the choir. They are always a quilt design (or so I think). We couldn't take pictures, unfortunately.
Back to the Three Horseshoes. It is 5:30 and there is still no one around. Oh, no! Have they gone broke? There is absouletly nothing around it. It stands alone in the countryside. Roy rang the bell a few times and finally a man appeared and let us in. The pub doesn't open until 6:00. He shows us upstairs to our room, #1. The carpet on the stairs is very dirty, again I'm thinking - damn Booking.com. (Are they one of Hudson's .com companies?) . Well our room is a gem! Clean, new feeling and it smells divine! Oh, yes! Settled in and went downstairs to the pub for dinner. It too is sparkly clean. The menus feel and look as though they just went into use today. Food is great, as is the service. We both hate to go back to our room we are so comfortable. Eventually we have to go and here we are in our lovely room.
Time for bed
God bless.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Friday September 14, 2012
Today we are York all day. After breakfast we walked into town. The old part of town is surrounded by a wall parts of it were built in the years following the Norman invasion of 1066. From where we are we have to walk along the wall, cross over the river Ouse and pass through where the south gate use to be. When the walls were felt no longer necessary, the city decided to tear them down. Just after they started a Bishop sued the city and won, so most of the wall remains. Once inside of the city there is The Clifford Tower, built for William the Conquer to help with the subjugation of the north when he ordered all people and livestock be killed and all fields and houses burned (nice guy). In this tower in the year 1190 150 Jews took refuged and committed sucide rather than face capture by a large angry mob of Christians.
In the same area is the York Castle Museum. The castle was a prison from the 1600s to the end of 1930. The prison help everyone from debtors to murderers. Dick Turpin was one of the more notable felons. He was hanged for robbery, but he also committed murder. A Doctor Kirk has amased an amazing collection of artifacts and he donated all of to the museum to get it started. He had 400 year old weapon, like a blunderbuss used on ships, in like new condition. I talked to one of the staff and he said everything was authentic, there are no repoductions in the museum. One of the exhibits is a street which they named Kirkgate. In York a gate is a street thanks to the vikings.We spent over 3 hours there and could have spent a lot longer. The man must have had money to aquire these artifacts. Another interesting section was toys from hundreds of years ago to toys of today. We would go along and say I had on of those, like a meccano which mine came in a similar box. They also have some clocks which are similar to my grandmothers we have on the mantel which was quite cool.
After we left the Museum we walked to the Quilt museum which featured two quilters which have done fantastic work. I will let Linda take over from here.
Linden Lodge seems to be working out okay. After a nice breakfast we set out for the city of York. It is so neat to see the old buildings. Everything is so new at home and here they take the Medival buildings for granted. We saw a part of a pillar that dates back to the 4th century. the 4th century - imagine!
Roy left you at the Quilt Museum. The main exhibition is of a quilt artist named Pauline Burbidge. Her quilts are art not anything you'd use to keep warm. She uses so many techniques and truly creates works of art. My regret was that we were not allowed to take pictures. There must have been 20 quilts. In a small room they had 3 wall hangings done by the local quild. Again, I wanted to take a picture. The amazing quilt in the room was a Canadian Red Cross Quilt made in the war for the Red Cross by an annonymous Canadian quilter. The quilts were distributed to families who had lost their homes in the bombing. It was so nice to see it displayed.
The last room was my favorite. It was filled with whole cloth quilts by Amy Emms. died 1998). There was a beautiful robe, a bishops cope (cloak), and several quilts. She was awarded the MBE for her contribution to quilting in Britain. She was responsible in part for getting women quilting in England again after interested declined after WW2. She quilted her daughters wedding dress. It was amazing and when pictures of it appeared in the paper women wanted to take up the needle and try their hand at quilting. He patterns were beautiful and the stitching was to be envied.
When we left I stopped in the shop and bought a Guild Pin. There was a fabulous pictoral quilt hanging on the wall. It depicted many people, past and present in York. Some people are so talented.
By this time we were hungry and more than a little weary. Across the street was a pub called the Black Swan. It dated back to the Lord Mayor of York living there in 1414. General Wolfe lived there as a boy. Food was good and we got a rest!
After lunch we walked up through the Shambles to the Minster for a tour. It's great to be over 60 here, you get concessions on the price all over the place.
The Minster is the largest Gothic church north of the alps. The nave was begun in1291 and the Chapter house is over 700 years old. I am not going to put all the information about it here as it is easier to go online and read about it. We were there for Evensong last night.The Chapter House was beautiful and had amazing carved heads all around the perimeter of the octaganal shaped room. There 189 heads, all different. Roy pointed out that a big deal is made out of the Terra Cotta Warriors in China being all different but it wasn't mentioned here.
By the time we finished the tour we were to pooped to pop. We went and found a pub and each had a half. After that we wandered back to the Shambles to an Italian restaurant we had seen earlier. It turned out that the early bird special was from 6 to 7 and everything on the menu was 6.95 pounds. A nice surprise and a very tasty meal. We returned to our lodging but on the way climbed the old medival wall and walked along it for a ways.
Tomorrow we are off to Scarbough and Pine Lodge. Harry and Carols' friend Michael Browne has been kind enough to reserve it for us and he and his wife are having us for dinner tomorrow night. We met them on Skype but it will be nicer to meet them in person.
Good night, God Bless
Today we are York all day. After breakfast we walked into town. The old part of town is surrounded by a wall parts of it were built in the years following the Norman invasion of 1066. From where we are we have to walk along the wall, cross over the river Ouse and pass through where the south gate use to be. When the walls were felt no longer necessary, the city decided to tear them down. Just after they started a Bishop sued the city and won, so most of the wall remains. Once inside of the city there is The Clifford Tower, built for William the Conquer to help with the subjugation of the north when he ordered all people and livestock be killed and all fields and houses burned (nice guy). In this tower in the year 1190 150 Jews took refuged and committed sucide rather than face capture by a large angry mob of Christians.
 |
| Cliffords Tower |
 |
| Kirkgate Street |
Linden Lodge seems to be working out okay. After a nice breakfast we set out for the city of York. It is so neat to see the old buildings. Everything is so new at home and here they take the Medival buildings for granted. We saw a part of a pillar that dates back to the 4th century. the 4th century - imagine!
Roy left you at the Quilt Museum. The main exhibition is of a quilt artist named Pauline Burbidge. Her quilts are art not anything you'd use to keep warm. She uses so many techniques and truly creates works of art. My regret was that we were not allowed to take pictures. There must have been 20 quilts. In a small room they had 3 wall hangings done by the local quild. Again, I wanted to take a picture. The amazing quilt in the room was a Canadian Red Cross Quilt made in the war for the Red Cross by an annonymous Canadian quilter. The quilts were distributed to families who had lost their homes in the bombing. It was so nice to see it displayed.
The last room was my favorite. It was filled with whole cloth quilts by Amy Emms. died 1998). There was a beautiful robe, a bishops cope (cloak), and several quilts. She was awarded the MBE for her contribution to quilting in Britain. She was responsible in part for getting women quilting in England again after interested declined after WW2. She quilted her daughters wedding dress. It was amazing and when pictures of it appeared in the paper women wanted to take up the needle and try their hand at quilting. He patterns were beautiful and the stitching was to be envied.
When we left I stopped in the shop and bought a Guild Pin. There was a fabulous pictoral quilt hanging on the wall. It depicted many people, past and present in York. Some people are so talented.
By this time we were hungry and more than a little weary. Across the street was a pub called the Black Swan. It dated back to the Lord Mayor of York living there in 1414. General Wolfe lived there as a boy. Food was good and we got a rest!
After lunch we walked up through the Shambles to the Minster for a tour. It's great to be over 60 here, you get concessions on the price all over the place.
The Minster is the largest Gothic church north of the alps. The nave was begun in1291 and the Chapter house is over 700 years old. I am not going to put all the information about it here as it is easier to go online and read about it. We were there for Evensong last night.The Chapter House was beautiful and had amazing carved heads all around the perimeter of the octaganal shaped room. There 189 heads, all different. Roy pointed out that a big deal is made out of the Terra Cotta Warriors in China being all different but it wasn't mentioned here.
By the time we finished the tour we were to pooped to pop. We went and found a pub and each had a half. After that we wandered back to the Shambles to an Italian restaurant we had seen earlier. It turned out that the early bird special was from 6 to 7 and everything on the menu was 6.95 pounds. A nice surprise and a very tasty meal. We returned to our lodging but on the way climbed the old medival wall and walked along it for a ways.
Tomorrow we are off to Scarbough and Pine Lodge. Harry and Carols' friend Michael Browne has been kind enough to reserve it for us and he and his wife are having us for dinner tomorrow night. We met them on Skype but it will be nicer to meet them in person.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
September 15, York
oh the grand old duke of York
he had ten thousand men
he marched them up to the top of the hill
and he marched them down again
and when they were up they were up
and when they were down they were down
and when they were only half way up they
were neither up nor down.
Up bright and early for our breakfast in the Hall.
We are so glad that we decided to stay at a college. It has been a neat experience. Had breakfast with a man who has just come to Oxford to get his PhD in Risk Management.
As we decided to leave early rather than at noon we thought it best to call Alamo and make sure they had a car for us. Nope, no Alamo in the phone book. The porter at the lodge opened a brand new yellow pages for me but it wasn't there. He did find it on line. Europcar (Alamo is run by Europcar in Britain). They had a car, the porter called a cab for us and off we went. The cabbie, Asian descent, was upset with people from Eastern European countries for taking all the jobs. Bit of irony there.
The moment of truth, would the car rental take Roy's temporary license. " No, sorry, can't be done, it is against policy. Do you have a license maam. " Well yes, but I said it would be much better and safer if Roy drove. They were sorry but their hands were tied. Damn! Then, though I knew I could do it, I really didn't want to drive. One of the fellows went off with his cell phone and I thought, "well he's had enough of us" We had explained what happened and that the license was a temporary one. The plastic one would be with us in 3 days. " We need a plastic license". They were very nice but the rules were rules. The man with the cell phone came back and said he had talked to their boss and it was okay. I was ready to kiss them. Maybe Roy was too but he stayed cooler than me. Maybe it was good that I was a little over the top - we did get the desired result. If I had just said, "okay, I'll drive" that's what I'd have been doing.
We got an orientation on the car. It is a tiny, silver hybrid Toyota Auris. The boot is so little it won't hold our luggage. I bought a black blanket at a service stop on the M1 to cover the bag that has to live on the back seat. It is about 1 inch too long. After the orientation we pulled a few feet away from Europar's door and went over everything, got out the GPS (Andromeda) and the map. Off we went, I missed the exit on the first Rotary (roundabout) so we went around again and got going toward the North. It was a long drive but Roy was great and so was Andromeda. It's a long way from Oxford to York. 193 miles and about 4 hours. We stopped half way at a route service stop and had a pee, a bite to eat and bought a fleece security blanket for the duffle bag on the back seat.
Andromeda took us the long way to our B&B - Linden Lodge, 6 Nunthorpe Ave. We both had decided that we were miles from York and had been taken in by the internet. Nope, we're a 5 - 10 minute walk to the city. It is a walled city and it is only about a 2 mile walk around the perimeter of the wall. We headed straight to York Minster for the evensong service. It was disappointing last night when Keble College Chapel was closed and there was no service. We were a bit early so one of the ministers or priests entertained us with facts about the place.
Evensong was beautiful, very moving. The choir voices made you tingle. The acoustics were so good you could understand every word and the sound was amazingly wonderful. They sang the 69 and 70th Psalms as well as other things. How they keep those little boys interested and quiet is beyond me. Some of them looked Vanessa's age. How do they read the words, let alone the music. It is very high church so there is a lot of ritual. They know what to do and when to do it. The front rows are all young boys and the back rows are grown men (probably been doing it all their lives). They have a service every day. Hope they have more than one choir.
I have been rattling on and haven't left much for Roy so I will shut up now.
The evensong was a very moving experience. Glad we able to get here for the service. After the service we went to the oldest Pub in York for supper. It was very nice but I liked the ones in Oxford better. We went for a stroll through the older part of the city and that was really cool. All the old buildings and short streets, like a maze. The best thing was that the streets were empty. Tomorrow we will have to go back and see them in the daylight. Its quite a bit cooler now and some showers are in the area, but not on us yet.
oh the grand old duke of York
he had ten thousand men
he marched them up to the top of the hill
and he marched them down again
and when they were up they were up
and when they were down they were down
and when they were only half way up they
were neither up nor down.
 |
| street in York |
We are so glad that we decided to stay at a college. It has been a neat experience. Had breakfast with a man who has just come to Oxford to get his PhD in Risk Management.
As we decided to leave early rather than at noon we thought it best to call Alamo and make sure they had a car for us. Nope, no Alamo in the phone book. The porter at the lodge opened a brand new yellow pages for me but it wasn't there. He did find it on line. Europcar (Alamo is run by Europcar in Britain). They had a car, the porter called a cab for us and off we went. The cabbie, Asian descent, was upset with people from Eastern European countries for taking all the jobs. Bit of irony there.
The moment of truth, would the car rental take Roy's temporary license. " No, sorry, can't be done, it is against policy. Do you have a license maam. " Well yes, but I said it would be much better and safer if Roy drove. They were sorry but their hands were tied. Damn! Then, though I knew I could do it, I really didn't want to drive. One of the fellows went off with his cell phone and I thought, "well he's had enough of us" We had explained what happened and that the license was a temporary one. The plastic one would be with us in 3 days. " We need a plastic license". They were very nice but the rules were rules. The man with the cell phone came back and said he had talked to their boss and it was okay. I was ready to kiss them. Maybe Roy was too but he stayed cooler than me. Maybe it was good that I was a little over the top - we did get the desired result. If I had just said, "okay, I'll drive" that's what I'd have been doing.
 |
| The car |
Andromeda took us the long way to our B&B - Linden Lodge, 6 Nunthorpe Ave. We both had decided that we were miles from York and had been taken in by the internet. Nope, we're a 5 - 10 minute walk to the city. It is a walled city and it is only about a 2 mile walk around the perimeter of the wall. We headed straight to York Minster for the evensong service. It was disappointing last night when Keble College Chapel was closed and there was no service. We were a bit early so one of the ministers or priests entertained us with facts about the place.
Evensong was beautiful, very moving. The choir voices made you tingle. The acoustics were so good you could understand every word and the sound was amazingly wonderful. They sang the 69 and 70th Psalms as well as other things. How they keep those little boys interested and quiet is beyond me. Some of them looked Vanessa's age. How do they read the words, let alone the music. It is very high church so there is a lot of ritual. They know what to do and when to do it. The front rows are all young boys and the back rows are grown men (probably been doing it all their lives). They have a service every day. Hope they have more than one choir.
I have been rattling on and haven't left much for Roy so I will shut up now.
The evensong was a very moving experience. Glad we able to get here for the service. After the service we went to the oldest Pub in York for supper. It was very nice but I liked the ones in Oxford better. We went for a stroll through the older part of the city and that was really cool. All the old buildings and short streets, like a maze. The best thing was that the streets were empty. Tomorrow we will have to go back and see them in the daylight. Its quite a bit cooler now and some showers are in the area, but not on us yet.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
September 12, Oxford
The day began with breakfast in the college's Hall. You go up a flight of stairs (34 steps) to the Hall.
3 tables are set the length of the long hall, with benches on either side. There are vases of flowers about every six place settings. Pitchers of juice, condiments,etc every four place settings. On either side of the room there are cold breakfast stations with cereal, cold meats, cheese, crossaints or buns and fruit. At the table there is a hot menu for you to choose from. There are lots of servers about to be of assistance. We barely got our bums on the bench before a server came to take our order. As we have had continental breakfasts thus far we ordered the hot breakfast. I didn't think to say that I didn't want the sausage, beans or potatoes - just the poached egg, ham and toast and coffee. Roy managed to manfully eat the lot. 2 bananas found their way into our pockets on the way out. It was quite the experience. As the students are not in session until October there are no staff eating there either. Tomorrow we may eat at the head table. Just like Dumbledore in Harry Potter. Presumptuous of us!
The walls are covered with portraits of the founder and various Wardens or leaders. It is like being in a movie.
It has suddenly begun to belt down rain. The first we've experienced since we arrived. It is 7:30 in the evening (19:30 if you're European).
I am attempting to make a pot of tea. So far haven't got the kettle switch in the right position and if it is right the switch for the outlet is wrong. I'll have earned my cuppa!
We had breakfast at 8:00 and then set out to explore. We visited Oxford Castle which served as a prison for many years complete with debtors prison area where people had cooking facilities because they might be there for a very long time (suppose their families had to steal food to bring them to cook) and a dungeon for the very bad people.
It's really pouring down rain outside. Kettle still isn't boiling.
The wall that protected Oxford has been exposed in part. It was built in 1090 (approx).
We poked around and explored some more and even found a department store that sells Fireman Sam toys! I know two little boys who would like that. Their selection was very limited though and we didn't buy anything.
I haven't mentioned it yet and Roy has heard it waay to many times. European women dress so well - in dresses and skirts. Every store window that displays dresses has me drooling. Kim would look so good in them - I want to buy a batch of them. I saw a sweater that I liked and would have bought but the colours were not to my taste. Years, and I mean many years ago, I had Dalkeith sweaters. I loved them and eventually so did the moths. If I see one, it's mine.
Finally we wound our way to the Tourist Information where our tour began. It was a 2 hour walking tour of Oxford. We visited Jesus College, Bodelian Divinity college and Merton College.We had hoped for the Bodelian library but you have to have a reader's card to get in. The guide shared lots of information and tidbits that I will let Roy tell you (cop out) We saw Oriele college but didn't go in. Cecil Rhodes attended here and endowed it with bags of money. Lester B. Pearson, Turner, Bill Clinton and Chris Kristofferson all are Rhodes scholars. Also saw Braesnose College where the author (whose name escapes me at the moment) got inspiration for The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Roy took pictures of the inspirational sites
.
Tummies full we headed off for Christ Church. Many Harry Potter scenes came from here. Charles Dodgson (alias enjoyed C.S. Lewis) attended and taught here. He was an Oxford don and telling children stories. The stories he told Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church, and her sisters were written down at the Alice insisted he should do so. Alice In Wonderland. There are places in the Hall at Christ Church that inspired bits of the stories. Again, we have pictures. Hope Alex and Vanessa will enjoy the story with a female heroine.
Tea is made. Roy found the switch on the kettle which was hidden under the handle so that a mere mortal such as I couldn't find it.
I will pass this to him as I have rambled enough.
I will fill in some usless information hope to fire your imagination about some of the things we saw
The Divinity Church part of the Bodlrelian library is used for students who graduate to process through to the Sheldonian Theatre where they receive thir degrees. Not used for much else. Used in Harry Potter films as the hospital and dance hall. The doors were designed by Christopher Wren so students had a easy walk through to the hall. All parts of the program are done in latin so almost no one understands it. Once a student is accepted to one of the 38 colleges here they are not yet officially part of Oxford until they go through a procession similar to graduation, again all in latin
This is All Souls college. You have to have your Fellowship to enter. You cannot apply, they select and contact you. There is an interview and you may or may not be selected. People like Steven Hawkins get to go there.
There is more but that is enough for tonight.
The end
The day began with breakfast in the college's Hall. You go up a flight of stairs (34 steps) to the Hall.
3 tables are set the length of the long hall, with benches on either side. There are vases of flowers about every six place settings. Pitchers of juice, condiments,etc every four place settings. On either side of the room there are cold breakfast stations with cereal, cold meats, cheese, crossaints or buns and fruit. At the table there is a hot menu for you to choose from. There are lots of servers about to be of assistance. We barely got our bums on the bench before a server came to take our order. As we have had continental breakfasts thus far we ordered the hot breakfast. I didn't think to say that I didn't want the sausage, beans or potatoes - just the poached egg, ham and toast and coffee. Roy managed to manfully eat the lot. 2 bananas found their way into our pockets on the way out. It was quite the experience. As the students are not in session until October there are no staff eating there either. Tomorrow we may eat at the head table. Just like Dumbledore in Harry Potter. Presumptuous of us!
It has suddenly begun to belt down rain. The first we've experienced since we arrived. It is 7:30 in the evening (19:30 if you're European).
I am attempting to make a pot of tea. So far haven't got the kettle switch in the right position and if it is right the switch for the outlet is wrong. I'll have earned my cuppa!
We had breakfast at 8:00 and then set out to explore. We visited Oxford Castle which served as a prison for many years complete with debtors prison area where people had cooking facilities because they might be there for a very long time (suppose their families had to steal food to bring them to cook) and a dungeon for the very bad people.
It's really pouring down rain outside. Kettle still isn't boiling.
The wall that protected Oxford has been exposed in part. It was built in 1090 (approx).
We poked around and explored some more and even found a department store that sells Fireman Sam toys! I know two little boys who would like that. Their selection was very limited though and we didn't buy anything.
I haven't mentioned it yet and Roy has heard it waay to many times. European women dress so well - in dresses and skirts. Every store window that displays dresses has me drooling. Kim would look so good in them - I want to buy a batch of them. I saw a sweater that I liked and would have bought but the colours were not to my taste. Years, and I mean many years ago, I had Dalkeith sweaters. I loved them and eventually so did the moths. If I see one, it's mine.
Finally we wound our way to the Tourist Information where our tour began. It was a 2 hour walking tour of Oxford. We visited Jesus College, Bodelian Divinity college and Merton College.We had hoped for the Bodelian library but you have to have a reader's card to get in. The guide shared lots of information and tidbits that I will let Roy tell you (cop out) We saw Oriele college but didn't go in. Cecil Rhodes attended here and endowed it with bags of money. Lester B. Pearson, Turner, Bill Clinton and Chris Kristofferson all are Rhodes scholars. Also saw Braesnose College where the author (whose name escapes me at the moment) got inspiration for The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Roy took pictures of the inspirational sites
 |
| Divity Church |
.
Tummies full we headed off for Christ Church. Many Harry Potter scenes came from here. Charles Dodgson (alias enjoyed C.S. Lewis) attended and taught here. He was an Oxford don and telling children stories. The stories he told Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church, and her sisters were written down at the Alice insisted he should do so. Alice In Wonderland. There are places in the Hall at Christ Church that inspired bits of the stories. Again, we have pictures. Hope Alex and Vanessa will enjoy the story with a female heroine.
Tea is made. Roy found the switch on the kettle which was hidden under the handle so that a mere mortal such as I couldn't find it.
I will pass this to him as I have rambled enough.
I will fill in some usless information hope to fire your imagination about some of the things we saw
Christ Church was very interesting. At one time they had 101 students who all had to be inside by 21:00. The bell called Great Tom would ring 101 times at 21:05, and still does today. Traditions die hard here. The cathedrals are a bit of a "T" shape. The Jesus College plan to build a Catherdak in the shape of the cross but ran out of money. Only the top and cross of the T was completed so they stopped and sold the land for the bottom of the cross (long part). Other colleges had the same problems and it became an accepted style.
This cathedral looked quite large to me, but our guide told us it was one of the 5 smallest in Britain
There is more but that is enough for tonight.
The end
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
September 11, 2012
Well a faxed copy of my interim drivers license arrived just before midnight last night, thanks to Harry and Carol. The fax came in 10 minutes before the desk clerk was to go home and the desk is unmanned until 6 am. It was a relief to get it, and I only hope the rental company will accept it.
We are off to Oxford today, and cannot check in until 2 PM so had to kill some time in London before we caught the train. We decided to take a walk in Hyde Park which is only 5 minutes away. As a side note, the underground runs near the border of Kennsington and Hyde park and when it is quiet at night we can hear the trains going when we are in bed. Back to Hyde Park. I still have not mastered the maps and road system in London. I keep thinking I know what I am doing, but I still manage to end up somewhere other than what I intended. I don't know if its all the maps fault, it could be the person reading it, but there are streets, lanes etc not on the map. Also a lot of corners still have no signage, I guess you just have to know where you are going. And lastly some streets keep changing names and all the names are not always on the map. In Oxford today we started up a street, it shortly changed its name for one block and then had a third name. Not the easiest to find your way around. Where was I? Oh yes we went for a walk in Hyde Park to speakers corner and ended up somewhere else. It was either go back and almost start again or go somewhere else. So we took option "B". We walked over to the Albert Memorial and Albert Hall. When the Queen decided to make a memorial to her husband she didn't fool around. It is spectacular. After walking around and taking pictures we decided to get a coffee and just sit and enjoy the monument and the hall.
There are 4 statues, one at each corner which are marked with the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. There is a golden statue of Albert and a lot of guilding and very ornate.
After coffee it was time to continue on to Kensington palace. There wasn't time to go in and spend the time needed to enjoy it so instead we just wandered around the outside and enjoyed the gardens. The only garden we saw that was something to write home about was the sunken gardens out back between the palace and the "round pond"
From there back across Kensington Park and Hyde Park to our hotel where we picked up our bags and headed for Paddington station. One of the good things about our hotel was its location, It is only about a 10 minute walk to Paddington Train station. I didn't think we could catch the 12:20 train but lo and behold we got to the station before 12, got our tickets and were waiting for boarding instructions. We wanted the 12:20 train because it was about an hour to Oxford. Some of the trains are almost 2 hours and a bunch with stops in between. It was a quick trip to Oxford and once there we had a lunch snack, bought a map and headed out. It is just over 2 km from the train station to Keble College so it wasn't a long walk, but the roads and sidewalks are sure rough and hard on the little wheels of our suitcase.
Over to Linda
My turn. I am just back from the laundrette. Not the most efficient laundry machines but sure better than doing it all by hand.
Roy mentioned the gardens out back at Kennsington Palace. Wow, can he understate. They were fabulous. The flowers were gorgeous, with the water feature in the centre. The hedge around it opened every few feet so you could enjoy it. I'd go for that out back at home.
I enjoyed London and would go back in a heart beat. There is so much to see and do. the underground gets you everywhere - great. I saw a pregnant gal in the underground with a pin on her shirt that said "Baby on board" "underground" and thought that would be a cute think for Rose. I asked the young man at our corner store about it and he very gently explained that it was for pregnant ladies (he didn't say I didn't need it but I got the message). I explained that my daughter-in-law was expecting. I could almost see him sigh with relief. Anyway we checked at Paddington this morning and they are given to pregnant women so that people know to give them a seat on the train. Very nice. I felt old and Roy must have too as people were constantly offering us their seats. Old, wrinklies are well treated.
Sitting at this desk, in this chair, in Keble College, I feel that I should write something scholarly. Wish Pete was here, I think he would enjoy it. Anyway, I will have to be content with trying to spell the words correctly.
Oxford is made up of 18 different colleges. the town is one big university. Book stores and libraries everywhere. The college founders wanted to create a High Church Seminary but today students study a wide range of subjects. They have 435 under grads and 226 graduate students.
We went for a walk after we checked in and visited the outside of a good many churches and colleges as well as the Bodeliean Library. World's oldest library with over 3 million books. It receives a copy of each new book printed. We are going on a two hour walking tour tomorrow that includes the library. I hope they have a criteria. Wouldn't it be awful if they included Harlequin Romances. They must pump half a million a year of those things.
The best pub dinner yet. Best dinner yet for me. The White Horse serves a delicious salad with crab, smoked salmon and prawns. Yum. They had pictures of Morse and Lewis and Lewis and Hathaway on the wall. They must have been drinking there at some time. We could have taken the "Morse" tour if we'd been here Saturday, Monday or Friday. alas we are not.
A portion of Keble College
Our room is pretty much what you'd expect. A bed that doesn't look too comfy, a big desk with a comfortable chair, an arm chair, lots of cupboard and a closet that has a rail for hangers about 7 feet off the floor. You must need to be very tall to study here.
All for now
God Bless
Well a faxed copy of my interim drivers license arrived just before midnight last night, thanks to Harry and Carol. The fax came in 10 minutes before the desk clerk was to go home and the desk is unmanned until 6 am. It was a relief to get it, and I only hope the rental company will accept it.
 |
| Albert Memorial |
 |
| Albert Memorial |
After coffee it was time to continue on to Kensington palace. There wasn't time to go in and spend the time needed to enjoy it so instead we just wandered around the outside and enjoyed the gardens. The only garden we saw that was something to write home about was the sunken gardens out back between the palace and the "round pond"
 |
| Kensington Palace sunken garden
|
Over to Linda
My turn. I am just back from the laundrette. Not the most efficient laundry machines but sure better than doing it all by hand.
Roy mentioned the gardens out back at Kennsington Palace. Wow, can he understate. They were fabulous. The flowers were gorgeous, with the water feature in the centre. The hedge around it opened every few feet so you could enjoy it. I'd go for that out back at home.
I enjoyed London and would go back in a heart beat. There is so much to see and do. the underground gets you everywhere - great. I saw a pregnant gal in the underground with a pin on her shirt that said "Baby on board" "underground" and thought that would be a cute think for Rose. I asked the young man at our corner store about it and he very gently explained that it was for pregnant ladies (he didn't say I didn't need it but I got the message). I explained that my daughter-in-law was expecting. I could almost see him sigh with relief. Anyway we checked at Paddington this morning and they are given to pregnant women so that people know to give them a seat on the train. Very nice. I felt old and Roy must have too as people were constantly offering us their seats. Old, wrinklies are well treated.
Sitting at this desk, in this chair, in Keble College, I feel that I should write something scholarly. Wish Pete was here, I think he would enjoy it. Anyway, I will have to be content with trying to spell the words correctly.
Oxford is made up of 18 different colleges. the town is one big university. Book stores and libraries everywhere. The college founders wanted to create a High Church Seminary but today students study a wide range of subjects. They have 435 under grads and 226 graduate students.
We went for a walk after we checked in and visited the outside of a good many churches and colleges as well as the Bodeliean Library. World's oldest library with over 3 million books. It receives a copy of each new book printed. We are going on a two hour walking tour tomorrow that includes the library. I hope they have a criteria. Wouldn't it be awful if they included Harlequin Romances. They must pump half a million a year of those things.
The best pub dinner yet. Best dinner yet for me. The White Horse serves a delicious salad with crab, smoked salmon and prawns. Yum. They had pictures of Morse and Lewis and Lewis and Hathaway on the wall. They must have been drinking there at some time. We could have taken the "Morse" tour if we'd been here Saturday, Monday or Friday. alas we are not.
A portion of Keble College
All for now
God Bless
Monday, September 10, 2012
Minday September 10, 2012
Well it cooled off nicely today. Definitely not hot but not too cool either. We started out with our fleeces on but after walking a short distance we both were too hot so we took them off. We got an earlier start to the day than we have been getting lately because where we first wanted to go had no opening times. We went to 21 Saint James Gardens to visit Jean and Lionel. For those who don't know this is the townhouse they use for outside shots for "As Time Goes By" when filming. Our favourite British show which we watch faithfully each Thursday night. Linda happen to mention it would be neat to see where the townhouse is, so I looked it up on the internet and low and behold it was there. Not earth shattering but we're glad we went. They weren't home. Oh well, we got to stroll the neighbourhood of Holland Park.
We left Holland Park on the subway deciding to see the British Museum and avoid the crowds of the Olympic Games parade of pride. London was closing a large area to allow a parade of all their athelets and they expected a 100K plus of spectators. Just outside the Museum gates we stopped at a small coffee shop which was nice, clean, and not too expensive. Enjoyed our coffee and muffin. We were at the museum in 1973 and it is still impressive. We uses Rick Steves guide book to hit the hightlights of the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek exhibits. We spent about 3 hours there and and just touched on the 3 areas. It would take weeks or months to see everything. The rosetta stone at the beginning of the Egyptian exhibit is a do not miss and we were fortunate because just after we viewed it people were viewing 3 and 4 deep. It is had to believe that there are ceramic cups with there handles still on that are over 3000 years old. We have trouble keeping cups for a life time let alone a few thousand years.
Well it cooled off nicely today. Definitely not hot but not too cool either. We started out with our fleeces on but after walking a short distance we both were too hot so we took them off. We got an earlier start to the day than we have been getting lately because where we first wanted to go had no opening times. We went to 21 Saint James Gardens to visit Jean and Lionel. For those who don't know this is the townhouse they use for outside shots for "As Time Goes By" when filming. Our favourite British show which we watch faithfully each Thursday night. Linda happen to mention it would be neat to see where the townhouse is, so I looked it up on the internet and low and behold it was there. Not earth shattering but we're glad we went. They weren't home. Oh well, we got to stroll the neighbourhood of Holland Park.
Roy has turned the computer over to me. It was a nice relaxing day. We had our breakfast in the breakfast room. No flip flop waffles here, it is pretty spartan. I learned to ask the breaky girl for toast which she goes off to the kitchen (ha ha they don't cook anything) and comes back with toast ( except for the day they ran out of bread). The girls are very pleasant and make a great piece of toast
The visit to the As Time Goes By address was nice. I really enjoyed seeing it and strolling through a quiet neighbourhood. Moms and Dads were taking their children to school. They all so happy to see each other and were making plans to meet for coffee. The little kids all ride push scooters. Old people like us ride them too. Little 3 year olds on their way to nursery school are riding them on the busy sidewalks. Some times they bang into people and fall off but jump up and are on their way again with mom or dad trying to keep up on foot.
We are getting quite good at riding the underground. We'd like to ride the buses more but haven't figured them out as well. Our Oyster pass has held out for the whole visit and we've done a lot of riding. They each had 30 pounds on them and still have money left. Our visits to the Ace Cafe and Grennwich cost a bit more as they were in zone three and that costs more than zones 1 and 2. Whatever is left over on the pass is refunded when you turn it in.
The British Museum is as amazing as it was years ago. What a treasure trove. I got a little over saturated with the Assyrians panels though they are very interesting. A snack and a drink fixed me up and I was ready for the Greeks. Thoroughly enjoyed it all. It is hard to believe you are looking at something thousands of years old. Tea cups! With their handles intact.
We left the museum and walked to Shaftsbury Ave. where we saw an umbrella store. It looked old and traditional so went in. There was a young woman buying an umbrella. The salesman was pointing out its qualities - ribbing was strong and how the ribbing was constructed, how the canopy was connected and the mechaninisms were made it such and such a way. I'm thinking this is like buying a car! She doesn't like the dull colours of the one he is showing her. It is rather a timeless design (I thought). The salesman thinks so too. He tries to tell her it will endure but she is not having it. When I hear how much it costs, well, she might just as well buy a car! I didn't get one. It showered later and we got 2 at Marks and Spencers, cheap, and when we went back out the rain had stopped and it didn't rain again.
Next we visited our favourite haunt in London, Covent Gardens. It feels comfy because we know our way around from our visits going to and returning from Kenya. Strolled around and had lunch. The waiter offered to carry me downstairs to the street if I had too much to drink at lunch. He was not there when we finished. Clever man! I didn't have too much to drink. Clever me!
Roy called home about his driving license but of course it hadn't come. It is 10:00 London time so guess it didn't arrive today. We are praying it arrives before we pick the car up. Everybody better pray if I have to drive!
Today is my day to want to go home. It took longer than usual to set in but we have been in 3 major cities and I am city weary. We spent the evening in our room hoping we'd hear from Carol and packing our bags. I got them all packed and realized there was a better way. Next time, I wasn't starting over.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
September 9 London
Well it's hard to beat chauffuer driven Rolls Royce and the Ace Cafe. The Ace Cafe was quite the experience. all those old mods and rockers and teddy boys. The women were pretty interesting too and bikes - oh my god! there were bikes of every description. I would never have dreamed there were so many different bikes. It was a lot of fun.
Today we went to Greenwich (Grenich) where the world is divided in two to form the Prime Meridian. Wish we had stayed in Greenwich and commuted to the city. So calm and quiet. We might have done better for hotel and prices. Anyway Greenwich was a fascinating place. We visited the Royal Naval Museum - really well done. You could spend days there and still not see it all.
Then we went to the Royal Observatory and wished we had gone there first. Again you could spend a long time - we were on the late side so didn't see it all. Roy and I lined up to have our picture taken on the prime meridian with many, many others. Must have taken 20 minutes to half an hour to get our turn. We were entertained in line by Mr Airy, alias Scary Airy. He is known for making the first spectacles, pea shooter, the meridian and he made the trains run on time.
We had lunch in a place suggested in Rick Steeves book, the Brewery. A great lunch in very pleasant surroundings. Good for people watching(and a little eavesdropping).
Back to our room around 8:00. We are sitting in the very hot lobby to do our blogging. I am turning into a sweat blob - probably lost 2 pounds just sitting here.
Good night and God bless and over to Roy
Not much to add. They had John Harrisons clocks which were the first clocks to work accurately in ships. Built in the 1700's they were amazing. He built 4 prototypes, each one better than the one before and each one took years to build. He was a joiner by trade and taught himself clock making when a 20K pound was offered to build a working ship clock. Up till then most were pendulum clocks. They made navigation of Longitude possible and save many a ship from running aground at night and in foul weather. The maritime museum had dozens of brass instruments and globes which are over 300 years old. Very intricate and its amazing they had the technology a nd ability to make such precise instruments for the day. We also got to see the largest working telescope in Britain. Its a 28 inch and still used today. Very interesting. Weather is finally starting to cool off, it will be welcome.
Well it's hard to beat chauffuer driven Rolls Royce and the Ace Cafe. The Ace Cafe was quite the experience. all those old mods and rockers and teddy boys. The women were pretty interesting too and bikes - oh my god! there were bikes of every description. I would never have dreamed there were so many different bikes. It was a lot of fun.
Today we went to Greenwich (Grenich) where the world is divided in two to form the Prime Meridian. Wish we had stayed in Greenwich and commuted to the city. So calm and quiet. We might have done better for hotel and prices. Anyway Greenwich was a fascinating place. We visited the Royal Naval Museum - really well done. You could spend days there and still not see it all.
Then we went to the Royal Observatory and wished we had gone there first. Again you could spend a long time - we were on the late side so didn't see it all. Roy and I lined up to have our picture taken on the prime meridian with many, many others. Must have taken 20 minutes to half an hour to get our turn. We were entertained in line by Mr Airy, alias Scary Airy. He is known for making the first spectacles, pea shooter, the meridian and he made the trains run on time.
We had lunch in a place suggested in Rick Steeves book, the Brewery. A great lunch in very pleasant surroundings. Good for people watching(and a little eavesdropping).
Back to our room around 8:00. We are sitting in the very hot lobby to do our blogging. I am turning into a sweat blob - probably lost 2 pounds just sitting here.
Good night and God bless and over to Roy
Not much to add. They had John Harrisons clocks which were the first clocks to work accurately in ships. Built in the 1700's they were amazing. He built 4 prototypes, each one better than the one before and each one took years to build. He was a joiner by trade and taught himself clock making when a 20K pound was offered to build a working ship clock. Up till then most were pendulum clocks. They made navigation of Longitude possible and save many a ship from running aground at night and in foul weather. The maritime museum had dozens of brass instruments and globes which are over 300 years old. Very intricate and its amazing they had the technology a nd ability to make such precise instruments for the day. We also got to see the largest working telescope in Britain. Its a 28 inch and still used today. Very interesting. Weather is finally starting to cool off, it will be welcome.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Saturday September 8, 2012
Very hot in London today, it played us out. The Underground was especially hot. We started our day going to the market at Portobello. Rick Steves talks about it in his guide book and made it sound interesting. We started to walk, but thought we should save ourselves so hopped onto one of the double decker buses. A little old lady was going there as well and told us where she thought the best stop was. We talked about it before going into the crowds and decided not to buy anything and that lasted about 5 minutes. On Saturday they block off the street , and there are the regular shops selling antiques, junk and souvenirs. On Saturday a whole bunch of small vendors set up and the place is a zoo. We got there early so the crowds were bearable, but by the time we left it was getting hard to move and more people streaming in all the time. Anyway within the 5 minutes, Linda bought a silver taxi charm, and I picked out a new wallet. I resisted for about another 10 minutes and went back and bought it. Price was good so even it it isn't what I will use all the time it is great for now.
Very hot in London today, it played us out. The Underground was especially hot. We started our day going to the market at Portobello. Rick Steves talks about it in his guide book and made it sound interesting. We started to walk, but thought we should save ourselves so hopped onto one of the double decker buses. A little old lady was going there as well and told us where she thought the best stop was. We talked about it before going into the crowds and decided not to buy anything and that lasted about 5 minutes. On Saturday they block off the street , and there are the regular shops selling antiques, junk and souvenirs. On Saturday a whole bunch of small vendors set up and the place is a zoo. We got there early so the crowds were bearable, but by the time we left it was getting hard to move and more people streaming in all the time. Anyway within the 5 minutes, Linda bought a silver taxi charm, and I picked out a new wallet. I resisted for about another 10 minutes and went back and bought it. Price was good so even it it isn't what I will use all the time it is great for now.
As we strolled along we came upon a clothing store with hundreds of sewing machines in the window and along shelves inside. Linda resisted buying anything but it sure made our eyes pop.
After leaving this store we stopped at a crepe vendor and had a ham and cheese crepe. I haven't had one of those since Paris in 1973 and it was delicious. We couldn't wait to get out and take our finds back to the hotel. After a few minutes rest we headed down to the underground to trafalgar square. I wanted to see the Churchill War Rooms and Linda thought it looked interesting. These are where Churchill and the military ran the war. In August 1945 the last person out shut the light and locked the door and it was left that way until 1970. Desks, tables and equipment were left just as if the person was returning after a weekend off. In one of the large rooms they have converted it to a Churchill museum. Both are very well done, both of us thought it was worthwhile to visit there.
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| Where Churchill met with Chiefs of Staff
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It was also hot down there. We decided we needed liquid so stopped at the Red Lion for a swift half. We were going to eat but there wasn't any place to sit down. By the time I got the drinks Linda had found a downstairs area where we could sit. We decided not to eat then, but after a short walk we thought we had better so stopped at another pub. Ordered drinks ( another half) and were then told it would be 45 minutes before we could get our meal. Had our drink and left. Back into the Underground and this time the destination was the ACE Cafe. For those who don't know it, this cafe has become a mecca for motorcyclists. It was the home of the Rockers in the 60's and has remained famous in the motorcycle world ever since. And guess what. Today is the annual motorcycle reunion, the busiest weekend of the year. There were hundreds of bikes and people most in black leathers or black shirts and a 60's rock band was performing loudly. We wandered around a bit taking pictures and decided to try and have supper there. Hard finding a spot at a table but we finally did. We each had cheese burgers and a drink and it was very reasonable. Cheaper than the pubs. It was really cool to be there on this day an see all that was going on. As we use to say it was a happening.
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