Friday
Isn't there a poem that drivels on about "Oh to be in England now that summertime is here..." What total loser wrote that I wonder? It was raining lightly when we arrived and for the rest of our trip it either had just stopped raining or it was just about to start. We'd flown from Dubai to London Heathrow on Virgin. The flight was fine and although the entertainment selection couldn't rank with that offered by Emirates, at least Virgin doesn't let passengers go hungry (see my post of July '06). There was a full lunch, a fruit and bikkies run mid-flight and then a light 'afternoon tea' type meal an hour or so before landing.
We picked up the rental car which was a Ford Focus not a Nissan Sunny thank heavens. Colin connected the GPS and we drove to Terry's place in Somerset which took about 2.5 hours, during which the rain varied between light showers and torrential downpours. Terry's place is in Somerset, out in the country at the foot of the Quantocks. The surrounding roads are mostly tiny lanes often only one car wide, with high hedges on both sides. Many of the houses in the local villages have thatched roofs.
Saturday
Headed to Goodwood for a day at the 'Festival of Speed' held in the grounds of Goodwood House. Petrol head heaven! Huge grounds with a hill climb from the entry gates up past the grand house and further up the hill to the "top paddock" which is bigger than a lot of country towns in NZ. Walked up to the rally section through the forest, though unfortunately it started to pour while we were up there.
The event was really well organised. To get people down from the top paddock there were tractor rides down the hill past the Dakkar race cars that were giving rides to some of the more thrillseeking punters. Down came more rain, resulting in thick mud that even made the tractor trailer slide sideways. After a fantastic day at Goodwood (and having seen a new HSV in the carpark) we drove down to Portsmouth. We stayed at the Marriott which was a huge rip off and also had the most annoying automatic lift voice in all creation. In the evening we had a drink at the Ship Anson an old pub on the Portsmouth waterfront next to the Naval Dockyard. My mother used to go there when she was a Wren during the war. We then walked along the road and had dinner at the Lady Hamilton another old pub.
Sunday
Went to see my Uncle Ted who's now in his 80s, then back down to Portsmouth for a quick trip round the historic dockyard. We went through the "Warrior" past the "Victory" and then to see the "Mary Rose". More rain. Dropped off the hire car then walked over to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry to Cherbourg in France. The announcer on the ferry advised us that it was going to be choppy. I thought of 'Cook Strait choppy' which means the boat would have been rearing up and then plunging down like the first scenes from "Warship". It wasn't anything like that at all, it was hard to stand up straight but nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. The announcements were given first in French and then in English. The announcer's English sounded like the policemen from "Allo Allo" and when as part of the announcement he said "Leezen carefully...." then was almost a cry of "I vill say theeese only once.......". Terry and Pauline picked us up from the ferry at the other end. Staying in small country cottage near the village of St Sauvier about 40 minutes drive from Cherbourg.
Monday
First stop today was the small town of St Mere Eglise which was the first town liberated as part of the D Day landings. On the morning of the landings before the main force landed, the Airborne Rangers parachuted in to secure the town. One of US soldiers was trapped when his parachute became entangled on the church spire. He hung there in the dark unable to free himself and was shot when the sun rose and he was spotted. A model of the soldier and his parachute now hangs from the spire as a memorial and its become quite a tourist attraction. On to Bayeaux to see the tapestry (1066 and all that), then headed for the nearest pattisere for coffee and croissants then a drive to the coast to Arromanches to see the D Day beaches. The remains of some of the equipment remains on the beaches even after 60 years and the hulks of the ships that were sunk off the beach to form the base for the wharf are still visible. The museum that overlooks the beach has a good model which explains how the artificial harbour was constructed and there's also a movie. After that we drove out to one of the WWII cemetries which has an excellent museum and presentation on the US involvement in the D Day landings. All the time it rained constantly.
Tuesday
Today Terry took us for a drive to the Atlantic Coast to Mont St Michel which is rocky island approx 1 kilometre off the coast. Up until recently it was joined to the mainland by a thin strip of land that appeared only at high tide. The abbey was consecrated in 708AD. It was deconsecrated following the French Revolution and then used as a prison. Its since returned to church control and has been almost fully restored. We then drove up the coast and then back to St Sauvier. In the evening we all had dinner at Donjon, a family run restaurant in Briquebec the nearest town to the cottage. On the way back to the cottage we visited the site of General Patton's camp used during the advance following the D Day invasion. There is a well preserved Sherman tank there but not much else. Il fait quel temps ?
D'habitude,il pleut.
Wednesday
Ferry back to Portsmouth then caught the train to London. Took a taxi to the hotel which was in the East End near Aldgate East tube station. Dinner in the Hoop and Grapes, the nearest pub. Colin had decent sausages so he was happy. Still raining.
Thursday
Bought a tube day pass. Did a bit of shopping in Oxford St including at Foyles the bookshop. It stopped raining, halle-bloody-lujah! Had lunch in Soho, back to the hotel to drop off the shopping. Tube to Westminster and a visit to Churchill's war cabinet rooms under the Government offices and the Churchill museum next door. Walked to the Houses of Parliament with a quick view of 10 Downing Street. Walked over the Thames on the Lambeth Bridge then along the South Bank to Westminster Bridge and back over the Thames. A quick visit to Westminster Abbey then caught the Tube to Tower Hill. Had dinner in the Minories, a pub which is built into an arch under a railway bridge. Then to Tower Hill station to go on the "Jack the Ripper" walking tour. This was interesting even though there really isn't anything to see as few of the old buildings from the time still exist, the East End having suffered greatly during the WWII bombings of London. Even some of the roads from the time have disappeared. Still it was all in the telling, and our guide Angela did a great job. Some of the people on the walk started out with an almost romanticised image of the Ripper but this was quickly dispelled as the morbid gruesomeness of the killings was described in great detail. That part of London has undergone huge change since I lived in London in the late 70s-early 80s. It used to be almost a 'no go'area back then but now its being gentrified and is a very popular area with lots of restaurants and pubs.
Friday
Off to the South Bank again to Shakepeare's Globe Theatre a faithful recreation of how an Elizabethan theatre would have looked though not specifically the Globe as all plans of the original theatre have been lost. Thatched roof, bench seating though you can hire cushions, and cheap tickets in the standing area in the pit directly in front of the stage. The people in the standing area are known by the same name as in Elizabethan times, "groundlings". We were lucky enough to see the actors in full costume rehearsing and also to hear a few pieces played by the musicians who provide the Tudor music during performances. From there up to St Pauls where I was surprised to find that God's servants now charge 9 pounds ($27 approx) to see His church, so we didn't go in. Wandered down to the London Wall area and went to the Museum of London which, unlike St Pauls, had free entry and was absolutely fascinating, wish I'd been able to spend longer there but it was time to head for the airport for the flight back to Dubai.
The next chapter should be called "Heathrow Hell" and it deserves its own blog entry.
The photos are here
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