September 6, 2012 - Jonathan Returns - Imperial War Museum

Greetings All,

Jonathan returned from Paris today and was due in around 1:00 p.m. However, the train was delayed because some nob had left their luggage on the platform and they had to evacuate for safety reasons.  Better safe than sorry but still flustering for him all the same.  After he'd arrived and we'd had lunch we all headed off to the Imperial War Museum which is a nice little walk from the flat.

The IWM is a British National Museum with five locations through out England, three of which are in London.  Founded in 1914 it was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice by Britain and its Empire during the first world war.  It has since expanded to cover all conflicts right up to the current conflict in Afghanistan.  The museum's collection includes personal memoirs, official documents, photographs, film and video materials, recordings of soldiers personal experiences, a library and art collection and finally examples of military vehicles and aircraft, equipment and other artefacts.  The picture on the
right is of a section of an Avro Lancaster I - Old Fred 1943-1944.  We explored the
museum for a couple of hours and for Fred and I we noticed that some major changes had taken place since our last visit a couple of years ago.

They have taken away the displays that kids could climb all over which I personally think is a good thing.  Respect for the tragedy that accompanies war and the sacrifices of the men and women should be shown rather than having a play area for kids. The museum itself is free and is funded by government grants, charitable donations and the sale of books and other commercial items on site.

We headed back to the flat for supper and a somewhat early night for all.

Cheerio,

Sandy & Fred

September 5, 2012 - Jersey Boys

Greetings All,

Today Fred and I spent a mostly relaxing day but did get in a walk along the South Bank.  The picture on the right is a sculpture made out of fabric outside the Arts gallery.  The sculptures are changed on a regular basis.  We walked along to Blackfriars Bridge, cross over and walk back to the flat along the North Bank.  Celebration of the Olympics was very evident as the Unilever Building was covered in flags.  We covered 2.87 miles on our walk and stopped for a quick pint and 1/2 pint on our way back.

We took the tube to Leicester Square and searched out a place for a meal before the show.  We settled on the Angus steakhouse.  Fred had steak and a baked potato and I had roast chicken and fries or chips as they are called in England.  We had a nice bottle of red wine to accompany our meals and coffee to finish.  The theatre was a short walk from the square and we were still early so we visited a pub the Coach and Horses as seen on the right.  It was very busy with a somewhat young crowd, but a nice little pub.  I stuck with wine while Fred enjoyed a pint of bitter called Hopspur.  The show itself was awesome. The person who played Frankie Valli was amazing and truly sounded like him.  Jersey Boy's tells the story of Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, the trials and tribulations of 4 boys from Jersey (the 4 Seasons) and how Frankie Valli came into being a star in his own right.  The music brought back some good memories and was great music for those who just love music.  We would highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.  It was a beautiful night so we decided to walk back to the flat a 2.6 mile walk.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

September 4, 2012 - City of London Revisited

Cheers All, 

Today Fred and I headed out to revisit The City of London for some sites we had previously seen 3 years ago and some new sites not previously visited.  Picnic lunch in hand, we took the tube to Monument Station to start our explorations.  Monument station is named as that is where the monument to the Great Fire of London Fire of 1666 is located.  Our first stop was Leadenhall Market as seen in the upper right hand corner.  The market dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest markets in London.  It also stands on the site that was once the centre of Roman London. Originally a meat, game and poultry market it is now home to some cheese mongers, pubs, restaurants and other specialty retail stores.  Designed in 1881 by the architect Sir Horace Jones.  The ornate design makes it the tourist attraction that it is.  It underwent redecoration in 1990-91 which enhanced it's period features.  The market was used in Harry Potter films as a representation of Diagon  Alley and the Leaky Cauldron.  This may also look familiar to anyone who watched the London 2012 Olympic marathon as the runners ran through the market.

The streets around the Market are really tiny alleyways and after a few twists and turns we came upon the Jamaica Wine House established in 1652 as London's first coffee house.

The picture on the left is of an old pub the The George & Vulture 1660 and the Olde Pickwickian Hostelrie.  The front is very narrow, however, once you go through a small alcove at the back of the building, it is a normal sized building.  We continued our walk back to Guildhall as the weather was much nicer than on our previous visit with our son Jonathan. The first documented reference to the London Guildhall is 1128 but the current building was begun in 1411 and is the only stone structure not belonging to the Church to survive the Great Fire of London of 1666.  It was used as a town hall for several hundred years and is now used as function rooms, a library and art gallery.  The whole hall is also opened yearly to the public during the London Open House Weekend.  The building roof was damaged during the blitz in the Second World War and was replaced in 1954.

We continued our walk back through the financial district stopping to take pictures of many of the  buildings.  The picture on the right is of the Royal Exchange.  This is the third Royal Exchange to be built on this site.  The first was opened by Queen Elizabeth I on January 23, 1571 was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.  The second opened in 1669 was also destroyed by fire on January 10 1838.  The Exchange was designed by Edward L'Anson in 1837 and was opened by Queen Victoria on October 28, 1844.  Today it is a luxurious shopping centre something I was not aware of as Fred kept it a secret as it is all very high end stores.

We stopped and had our lunch in the gardens of St Paul's Cathedral, joining hoards of other mostly business people.  Once refreshed, we went along to the Silver Vaults, a place my sister-in-law Adrienne thought I would enjoy as I love sterling silver jewelery.  The Vaults are really a series of 22 stores down in a basement.  There are individual vaults for each store that are loaded with silver in all shapes and forms.  Some amazing antique pieces with price tags to match.  As well there is jewellery that I would say were estate pieces.  I did make a small purchase two silver charms for 40 pounds, a crown and a ship in a bottle.  Once we finished exploring the Vaults we headed to Leicester Square to see what shows were available on discounted tickets.  There were a number of ticket sellers all advertising half price tickets or reduced tickets for the shows currently on, but Fred has a preferred

ticket seller in the middle of the square as any profits they make goes to support the theatre rather than line some one elses pockets.  He purchased us tickets to see Jersey Boys on Wednesday night.  The picture on the left is of a clock in the square that was part of the commemoration of Swiss 700 year anniversary.  The bells chime out tunes on the hour and the figures rotate around.  We now meandered our way back to the flat having covered 7.34 miles.  We stopped at the Cask for some much needed refreshment before heading into the flat.

Ta ra for now,

Sandy & Fred

September 3, 2012 - A Day at the Parks

Greetings All, 

The past three days have been kind of regular days for us as Jonathan had met up with his friend Adam and they have done their own thing.  Sunday Fred headed back to Liverpool for another footie match which was a disaster and today Jonathan and his mate are off to Paris to meet up with another friend and spend three days seeing the sights.

Fred and I decided to take ourselves out to Regent Park a regular site we visit when in London. We took the tube to Regent's Park and then proceeded to walk from there.  This time we did the Hub of the park which takes us to a area we have not previously been to.  There were some wood carvings along this route and it was very serene away from the main trail.  You can easily forget that you are in a major city.  Our next stop in the park is Queen Mary's Garden.  As we exited this area to head to the gardens we came across six dogs whose leads are hooked over the fence as seen in the photo in the upper right corner.  They were of various breeds and sizes all patiently waiting for walkies we assume as no one seemed to be around them.

As we entered the gardens of the park you can smell the lovely aroma of the rose beds. Sadly they are at the end of their season but one can still see some lovely blooms.  The picture on the left is a flower sculpture a new fixture this year.  We continued along and the exit the garden in search of lunch.

We finally pick a pub, the Henry Holland named after a famous London architect.  Lunch was very disappointing, my ploughman's lunch consisted of a large wedge of cheddar cheese a small baguette and branston pickle. No ham, apple or pickled onion. Fred's welsh rarebit looked very unappetizing and was heavy on the worcestershire sauce.  On our return to the flat Fred googled the pub and the reviews were less than satisfactory.
But it satisfied our hunger and we carried on our walking, heading next to
Hyde Park.  We meandered down the main
roadway in the park under the shade of the trees.  They are already preparing the park for "The Proms in the Park" concert which is a open air concert that will be happening on Saturday.  Exiting the park we walked along Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace.  Our last park of the day is another favourite St James's Park.  Another oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city.  Here we saw a man feeding the swans a loaf of bread.  Not good for the birds at all as we learned on one of our visits to a National Trust Site.  Surprisingly they have not posted any signs to let people know that bread is harmful to water fowl.  The only sign posted is "Do Not Feed The Pelicans".  We had to take a slight detour in the park as everywhere they were preparing for the paralympic marathon this weekend.  We covered 9.16 miles today and we stopped at the Morpeth Arms for some much needed liquid refreshment before heading back to the flat. More pictures are available on my facebook page.

Cheers,
Sandy & Fred

                                                                                                                                    

August 30 - 31, 2012 - All By Myself

Hi All,   

This will be a rather short blog as the boys had headed to Liverpool after breakfast for the game tonight and will not be returning until Friday.  I had the place to myself once the housekeeper finished her chores.  I decided to head over to the White Swan for supper and had a rather bad choice for food; wings, chips and a glass of red wine as they do not sell cider by the 1/2 pint or pint only bottles and one is too much for me.  While at the pub I met some Texans who are in town for a couple of days before heading off on a cruise to Ireland and Iceland.  They had asked me if I knew if the fish had its skin on in the fish and chips.  I thought it did but told them ask at the bar as they would tell you.  We then chatted a bit, they asking me where I was from and how I came to be in the UK.  Once answered I left them to their meals and headed back to the flat.

I was up early on Friday and headed off the Borough Market.  I took the tube and once I got off the tube I managed to get turned around as I took the wrong exit.  I asked a young lady dressed up in goth clothing advertising some dungeon attraction where the market was and she pointed me in the right direction.  I don't need fancy gadget's to find my way, I have a tongue in my head and know how to use it.  The market was the least busy I have ever seen it, and then I realized it was just 10:30 a.m. and usually we were there later in the day on our previous visits, usually around the business lunch time.  Neal's Yard Dairy, a cheese shop, only had four customers and I was one of them.  I purchased a Montgomery Cheddar on of my favourites, an apple Cheshire and a Parmesan cheese they had never previously carried as previously they only carried British cheeses.  The picture on the left is wild rabbits hanging at a butchers.  I continued my exploring purchasing veggies for tonight's supper when the boys return and looking to see if they sell any gluten free bread.  Sadly, they don't but I did purchase a lovely artisan loaf, a farm style loaf for Fred and myself.  Once shopping was done I decided to walk back to the flat.  In hindsight I did this backwards as I should have walked to the market and then taken the tube back to the flat as I was carrying parcels.

The weather was perfect for walking with a nice breeze off the river.  The picture on the right is Pirate Wenlock he was sitting right by the Golden Hind.  The promenade was very busy as it was now lunch time.  I meandered my way back stopping for photo's of various Wenlock's, one of  London's Mascots for the 2012 Olympics and land sights on the riverbank. On Southbank near the London Eye I heard an elderly lady asking her spouse how far do they think they can walk along the promenade. I stopped and let them know they could walk a fair piece if they so desired.  They were from Edmonton and we had a lovely chat before we headed on our separate ways.  The walk took me one hour and 10 minutes at my pace and it is a walk I enjoy as there is always something happening and new stuff to see.

Cheerio for now,

Sandy

August 29, 2012 - London Museum

Greetings All,

Today we started a little earlier as we hoped to visit a couple of museums with Jonathan.  I have packed lunches for all of us so there will be no worries about trying to find gluten free sandwiches.  We took the tube to St. Paul's and then it was a short walk to the Museum of London.  This is a museum that is dedicated to telling the story of London's past.  The museum is located in the City of London, whose boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the middle ages.  London today is comprised of 2 cities (City of London and City of Westminster) and 32 boroughs.  The exhibits trace London's past from the end of the ice age, then the bronze age through to Roman times, Dark Ages, Medieval,Victorian right through to modern times.  The picture on the left is a replica of a horned helmet from 150-50 BC that was found at Waterloo Bridge and the shield from 300-100 BC was found at Battersea. The originals are located at the British Museum.  Many of the artifacts are well preserved because of the environment of the Thames (due to the water) which was surprising to me.  The museum is laid out so that you explore the different time frames you go deeper down into the museum.  The Victorian section was very interesting as it was set up as a typical street with shops and you can actually smell tobacco at the Tobacconist.

The picture on the right is the Ceremonial Carriage for the Lord Mayor of the City of London.  It is very ornate and is drawn by a number of horses.  The whole display including life sized horses took up a large room at the end of the exhibits.

We had our lunch in the cafe area of the museum and Jonathan questioned the fact that we were not eating food bought from the cafe.  We let him know it is the British way.  We are not sitting at the cafe's tables but on a bench in the general area of the cafe, where several other people were doing as we were.  After lunch we headed out as plans had changed somewhat.  A friend from Toronto had contacted Jonathan as we headed out in the morning to see if he was available to meet as today would be the only day they would be available.  So the plan was to now meet up with her and her sister at the Tower of London.

The picture on the left is what remains of the original Roman walls of the City of London.  We were quite shocked when we headed outside. The temperature had dropped and the heavens opened. None of us were really dressed for the lower temperatures or had raincoats, although we did have umbrellas, the cold and wind was unexpected.  We took the tube back to the flat rather than walk to the Tower and left Jonathan to meet up with his friends.  With the plans having changed I did not cook supper, instead Fred and I went to Pizza Express for supper and enjoyed their new menu that has pizzas that are just 500 calories.  The crust is super thin and the middle is missing and replaced with a nice light salad. We treated ourselves to dessert which are also downsized and coffee.

We have had another full day partly shared with our son and partly just the two of us enjoying ourselves.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

August 28, 2012 - London First Full Day with Jonathan

Hi All,  

Our eldest son Jonathan arrived for a much needed vacation.  Our first full day with him started a bit late as we were lazy and slept late according to him.  His time clock was all screwed up with an eight hour time difference from Vancouver.  We headed off for a day of walking, firstly to the Parliament Buildings then off to Horse Guards.  We lucked out as we reached Horse Guards as they were changing the Guard.  This was the first time we had seen it and I got a video which can be seen on my facebook page.  From there we headed for Trafalgar Square then headed down the Mall.  They were working on the mall so we were blocked from continuing along it to the Palace.  Instead we took a detour and I finally got to check out a monument we have passed many times on previous visits but never knew who the person was up top, so the question is now answered, it was a monument to Frederick Duke of York.  Due to the detour Fred and I got to explore an area we had not previously been to.  The picture on the right is of stone work on a building we passed while in the area.  We continued on and ended up in front of the residence of Charles and Camilla.  Again we were in luck as they were changing the guard, which can be seen in the picture to the left.

We continued on until we finally reached Buckingham Palace.  The picture on the right is Jonathan pointing out the Canada Gate (don't know whether or not that the official title, it's the gates to Green Park near the Mall) and British Columbia's Provincial Emblem, he just can't escape from home. With photo taken we headed through Green Park up to Piccadilly and then to Regent Street to walk along the shopping District. We did not plan the day very well.  With Jonathan on a gluten free diet, we had bought gluten free bread and lunch meats and should have packed a lunch. We had a hard time finding places that sold sandwiches made from gluten free bread, and the ones that did were vegetarian or some other yucky stuff.

The picture on the left is Piccadilly Wenlock.  Wenlock and Mandeville are the two Olympic Mascots and they are dotted all over the city.
We stopped at Hamley's the amazing toy store for a quick tour and then headed to Oxford Street.  We finally got lunch at Marks and Spencers. Jonathan had sushi whle Fred and I had sandwiches.  Hunger pangs taken care of we walked down Park Lane and headed back to the flat.  It has been four hours of walking with me sometimes lagging behind like a little kid trailing their parents.  We stopped for some liquid refreshment at  the Cask which is just down the street from the flat.  Jonathan and I had cider, mine was Pheasant Plucker and Jonathan's was Bee Sting.  Fred had a 1/2 pint of beer called Swinging Harry.  As it was a very strong beer (12% ABV), he had only a half.  We covered 9.12 miles today and headed back to the flat so Jonathan can nap before we head off for supper.

Jonathan had researched places that serve gluten free foods and found a place in Herne Hill (Brixton) that serves gluten free fish and chips (including the malt vinegar and tartare sauce) every Tuesday. We took the tube to Brixton and then got on a train (Southeastern ) to Herne Hill.  Once Fred and Jonathan sorted out in which direction we needed to be going with their phones, it was a short walk to Ollie's.  Fred and I had starters, mine was calamari and Fred's was prawns which the waitress was quick to point out was not gluten free.  As we had no worries we advised her that Jonathan was the one that needed to be gluten free.  The fish and chips were very good.  They even had a gluten free beer, Celia from the Czech Republic so Jonathan was really happy to be able to enjoy a beer with his meal.  We took the Southeastern train to Victoria Station and walked from there to the flat.  Jonathan was exhausted and Fred and I were stiffening up from the days adventures.  It was early to bed as tomorrow we plan to visit some museums.

Cheerio ,

Sandy & Fred.