Cheers Everyone,
The time has arrived that we must think about packing and doing any last minute purchases. We had a relaxing morning reading the paper. I was also able to speak to Christopher on Skype for about an hour to catch up on his life in Japan, which was very nice. We also both gave him hell about not updating his blog; so hopefully those of you who have the link will be able to catch up with what is happening in his life. We then headed out to check out a Sainsbury's at Gloucester Rd. for a soup called Moroccan Lamb with Couscous. Alas none is available. Then we headed to Piccadilly Circus to get the tea for our tea granny's in the family, Mom, Colleen and Michelle as well as myself. Our last walk today was only a couple of hours over old stomping grounds back to the flat, then to do the dreaded packing. Somehow packing to go away always seems easier then coming back.
Tonight's supper mostly done by John but with a lot of Adrienne's help is Duck Lasagna, salad and home made Italian ice cream.
Hope you've all enjoyed following our adventures.
Cheerio,
Sandy & Fred
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Liverpool Football Match - Oct 18,2008
Greetings All,
Today we are off to an early start as John, Fred and I head north to Liverpool for a footie(soccer) match. I luck out on a ticket as Fred's cousin's wife had a baby boy on Wednesday so no game for him. The drive to Liverpool was fairly good with the only real slow down being near Stoke where there was a 4 car accident.
The routine for game day is the lad's meet at a pub for some pre-game brews. The pub we meet at this time (The Mersey Pride) is bright and has a great selection of food. Both John and I remark we should have had lunch here instead of where we stopped (McDonalds). We will know better next time. After three rounds we all walk up to the game. Brian's (Fred's cousin) son Barry comments that does not matter how cold it is everyone will be very hot by the time we get to the match. It is uphill all the way and I slowly start to fall behind as the guys all walk very briskly. Brian drops back and we chat on out way up, finally catching up and enter the ground.
Our seats are in the Kop. This used to be a section of the ground where the fans stood to watch the game. It now has seats and is one of the livelier parts of the stadium. We are part of the crowd that gets to pass the massive flag of the club around. I take only a couple of pictures as I am told by Fred you just don't do that in the Kop and John makes faces. Toughies I take my shots anyhow. The fans are a wild bunch at times and very vocal when things don't go the way they think it should. We had three in front of us who left a lot to be desired at times. The one guy did try to keep his friend in line though and kept apologizing. When Liverpool scored the winning goal pandemonium broke out. People where hugging each other, screaming, shouting, crying you would have thought they scored the goal. The guy in front of us turned around and grabbed Fred and John and hugged them tight. I must have given him the Sandy Look cause he quickly apologized. I guess I just don't get the team spirit to the extreme thing :). I really did enjoy the game and it was fun being in the Kop. The game ended on a high note as at the very end a rainbow broke out over the stand and looked like it started at the Team's Crest on the top of the roof. Sadly though, I don't think the picture I took turned out.
The drive back to London was uneventful and we had time to pick up Adrienne and head over to the White Swan for a nightcap. Sadly tomorrow is our last day .
Cheerio
Sandy & Fred
Today we are off to an early start as John, Fred and I head north to Liverpool for a footie(soccer) match. I luck out on a ticket as Fred's cousin's wife had a baby boy on Wednesday so no game for him. The drive to Liverpool was fairly good with the only real slow down being near Stoke where there was a 4 car accident.
The routine for game day is the lad's meet at a pub for some pre-game brews. The pub we meet at this time (The Mersey Pride) is bright and has a great selection of food. Both John and I remark we should have had lunch here instead of where we stopped (McDonalds). We will know better next time. After three rounds we all walk up to the game. Brian's (Fred's cousin) son Barry comments that does not matter how cold it is everyone will be very hot by the time we get to the match. It is uphill all the way and I slowly start to fall behind as the guys all walk very briskly. Brian drops back and we chat on out way up, finally catching up and enter the ground.
Our seats are in the Kop. This used to be a section of the ground where the fans stood to watch the game. It now has seats and is one of the livelier parts of the stadium. We are part of the crowd that gets to pass the massive flag of the club around. I take only a couple of pictures as I am told by Fred you just don't do that in the Kop and John makes faces. Toughies I take my shots anyhow. The fans are a wild bunch at times and very vocal when things don't go the way they think it should. We had three in front of us who left a lot to be desired at times. The one guy did try to keep his friend in line though and kept apologizing. When Liverpool scored the winning goal pandemonium broke out. People where hugging each other, screaming, shouting, crying you would have thought they scored the goal. The guy in front of us turned around and grabbed Fred and John and hugged them tight. I must have given him the Sandy Look cause he quickly apologized. I guess I just don't get the team spirit to the extreme thing :). I really did enjoy the game and it was fun being in the Kop. The game ended on a high note as at the very end a rainbow broke out over the stand and looked like it started at the Team's Crest on the top of the roof. Sadly though, I don't think the picture I took turned out.
The drive back to London was uneventful and we had time to pick up Adrienne and head over to the White Swan for a nightcap. Sadly tomorrow is our last day .
Cheerio
Sandy & Fred
Friday, October 17, 2008
Clapham Common - Oct 17, 2008
Greetings All,
Well we're suckers for punishment. We walked again today for 4 hours today and at a more leisurely pace due to the fact I was kind of dragging my ass. We took the tube to Clapham South. We walked up to the Common (just a park really) and around. Nothing much to see and the only points of note was the Church of the Holy Trinity where William Wilberforce in 1807 campaigned successfully for the abolition of slavery. The homes here appear small but there is a lot of renovating being done plus lots of places for sale and let.
From here we decide to walk back to the flat. So we walk on and on and it was a great day for it. A bit overcast by now but a good view of the south west part of London. We eventually find our way back to Battersea Park area; some old stomping grounds. Down along the river bank which is quite high. I decide to take a couple of pictures and Fred asks what do I think I am doing. I am trying creative photography. OMG he says we are in trouble now. The man has no sense of creativity. A two stop day at Pub's; the first at Battersea The Victoria as I needed to use the facilities and the second by John's, the Gallery. Here I chatted with a young man who took our picture for us about London and Italy.
John and Adrienne are once yet again treating us to a sumptuous dinner. Braised pork chops with tomatoes and sage Modena style, mushrooms and rosti potatoes.
Tonight I discover that John and I have another thing in common; the love of music. Music not only the love of listening to great music of all sorts but singing as well. Who would have thought as Fred is tone deaf. John is very kind as he says there is no such thing, but then he has not heard my Mom sing (the secret cowboy voice at Church). Mom you know where this is coming from. John and I both competed in Kwanis as kids in our school choirs and won. So ends a great day.
Cheerio All,
Sandy & Fred
Well we're suckers for punishment. We walked again today for 4 hours today and at a more leisurely pace due to the fact I was kind of dragging my ass. We took the tube to Clapham South. We walked up to the Common (just a park really) and around. Nothing much to see and the only points of note was the Church of the Holy Trinity where William Wilberforce in 1807 campaigned successfully for the abolition of slavery. The homes here appear small but there is a lot of renovating being done plus lots of places for sale and let.
From here we decide to walk back to the flat. So we walk on and on and it was a great day for it. A bit overcast by now but a good view of the south west part of London. We eventually find our way back to Battersea Park area; some old stomping grounds. Down along the river bank which is quite high. I decide to take a couple of pictures and Fred asks what do I think I am doing. I am trying creative photography. OMG he says we are in trouble now. The man has no sense of creativity. A two stop day at Pub's; the first at Battersea The Victoria as I needed to use the facilities and the second by John's, the Gallery. Here I chatted with a young man who took our picture for us about London and Italy.
John and Adrienne are once yet again treating us to a sumptuous dinner. Braised pork chops with tomatoes and sage Modena style, mushrooms and rosti potatoes.
Tonight I discover that John and I have another thing in common; the love of music. Music not only the love of listening to great music of all sorts but singing as well. Who would have thought as Fred is tone deaf. John is very kind as he says there is no such thing, but then he has not heard my Mom sing (the secret cowboy voice at Church). Mom you know where this is coming from. John and I both competed in Kwanis as kids in our school choirs and won. So ends a great day.
Cheerio All,
Sandy & Fred
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Whirl Wind Tour London - Oct 16, 2008
Greetings All,
Today we hooked up with Meaghan our daughter-in-law at St Paul's Tube Station. She is in London for 5 days for her friends wedding on Saturday. We basically hit all the highlights of London in 8 hours.
The majority of this was done by walking from one point of interest to the next, except Harrods which at the end of the day we took the tube to. St Paul's Cathedral, London Stone, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Borough Market, St George's Pub,Westminster Abbey, Parliament Buildings, London Eye, Thames Path (River Walk), Deans Yard, Buckingham Palace, St James's Park, Green Park, The Horse Guards and Trafalgar Square. Supper was at John and Adrienne's and she finally got to meet them both. A very long but successful day with just a taste of London.
I, of course, feel a foot shorter as this was our longest non-stop walk yet. Some pictures will be posted later but mainly as these were sites we have done Meaghan used Fred's camera to get a record of her visit.
Cheers,
Sandy & Fred
Today we hooked up with Meaghan our daughter-in-law at St Paul's Tube Station. She is in London for 5 days for her friends wedding on Saturday. We basically hit all the highlights of London in 8 hours.
The majority of this was done by walking from one point of interest to the next, except Harrods which at the end of the day we took the tube to. St Paul's Cathedral, London Stone, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Borough Market, St George's Pub,Westminster Abbey, Parliament Buildings, London Eye, Thames Path (River Walk), Deans Yard, Buckingham Palace, St James's Park, Green Park, The Horse Guards and Trafalgar Square. Supper was at John and Adrienne's and she finally got to meet them both. A very long but successful day with just a taste of London.
I, of course, feel a foot shorter as this was our longest non-stop walk yet. Some pictures will be posted later but mainly as these were sites we have done Meaghan used Fred's camera to get a record of her visit.
Cheers,
Sandy & Fred
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Britisih Imperial War Museum (BIWM) - Oct 15, 2008
Greetings All,
No pictures today and really not much to tell. We walked to the BIWM after lunch and spent 2 1/2 hours in the exhibit In Memorial which is all about WWI. It was really fascinating and also amazing the material that they had as mementos and writing from soldiers of the time. The tragedy of war is always hard to comprehend but the conditions then and the weapons of the time sure give you some moments of reflection. We also looked at pictures artists of the time were not allowed to have shown as they were thought to reflect negatively for Britain and the war effort at the time.
Last but not least a display by Jewish artists whose paintings reflected WWII and the Holocaust. This was very interesting as it spanned artists who were survivors, family members of survivors and a generation that really only heard stories of the war but are removed from it by two generations of the terror of that horrific time in our history.
As this is a short update I thought I would once again relate things I have missed in previous Blogs. Yesterday I did not mention that the Heath had three ponds dedicated to swimming. One strictly for men, one strictly for women and a third for mixed swimming. In this day and age, I guess only the Brits can pull that one off. Also on the Heath, in one of our detours we came across a group of young school girls chatting (well teenagers). They were chatting about their teacher who happens to play rugby and has a nice bum when he tenses his muscles. I wonder what the students say about Christopher? I really don't think I want too know!!! Last but not least I really need a camera that has no lens cap and basically does almost everything for you. I cannot tell you the number of times I have explained to Fred "The Camera is Broken" only to find the lens cover is still on. Missed some damn good shots because of that if I do say so myself.
Well that is all for today. Have a great evening all,
Cheerio,
Sandy & Fred
No pictures today and really not much to tell. We walked to the BIWM after lunch and spent 2 1/2 hours in the exhibit In Memorial which is all about WWI. It was really fascinating and also amazing the material that they had as mementos and writing from soldiers of the time. The tragedy of war is always hard to comprehend but the conditions then and the weapons of the time sure give you some moments of reflection. We also looked at pictures artists of the time were not allowed to have shown as they were thought to reflect negatively for Britain and the war effort at the time.
Last but not least a display by Jewish artists whose paintings reflected WWII and the Holocaust. This was very interesting as it spanned artists who were survivors, family members of survivors and a generation that really only heard stories of the war but are removed from it by two generations of the terror of that horrific time in our history.
As this is a short update I thought I would once again relate things I have missed in previous Blogs. Yesterday I did not mention that the Heath had three ponds dedicated to swimming. One strictly for men, one strictly for women and a third for mixed swimming. In this day and age, I guess only the Brits can pull that one off. Also on the Heath, in one of our detours we came across a group of young school girls chatting (well teenagers). They were chatting about their teacher who happens to play rugby and has a nice bum when he tenses his muscles. I wonder what the students say about Christopher? I really don't think I want too know!!! Last but not least I really need a camera that has no lens cap and basically does almost everything for you. I cannot tell you the number of times I have explained to Fred "The Camera is Broken" only to find the lens cover is still on. Missed some damn good shots because of that if I do say so myself.
Well that is all for today. Have a great evening all,
Cheerio,
Sandy & Fred
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Hampstead Heath - Oct 14, 2008
Greetings All,
After a breakfast of fried potatoes and egg (potatoes left over from the lamb dinner) and toast we head out by tube to Hampstead. Once again we are in the northern end of the city. The walk is a steady climb uphill again, just not as steep as yesterdays adventure. On our way to the heath which is really a huge park with wooded areas and numerous ponds we pass a modernist home built by Erno Goldfinger. For an architect the home really is nothing to look at. Ian Fleming of the James Bonds books fame and a resident of Hampstead hated the house so much that he named one of his villains after the architect. Thus Goldfinger came into being. We move to Keats Grove, where the poet John Keats lived and wrote from 1818 to 1820. This site is closed, however, as the Trust Society is refurbishing the home and cleaning up the paintings and furniture and it will not reopen until late 2009. We do learn here the value of spit. I am sure you all remember a time when your Mom or Dad would lick a Kleenex and wipe your face or hand of some dirt. Well it turns out that saliva and cotton swabs work wonders in restoring old oil paintings when it comes to removing dirt that has built up over the centuries.
We now enter the Heath and spend a good 4 hours walking along trails. We have packed a lunch and stop at the top of Parliament Hill to eat half our sandwich. This area overlooks the city both to the north and south and I see where we explored yesterday. It is still higher than we are currently. As it is an overcast day and the views to the south are hazy we don not bother to take any pictures. Fred must have tourist guide stamped on his forehead as he is approached by two old dears on what they can see there. We show them the card from our London Walks packet and they thank us and go on their merry way. After a short rest we carry on with our walk and take a few detours as we turn the wrong way. The heath itself does not have regular signs that tell you were you are so it is easy to get turned around. After what seems like hours and hours of walking (actually only two) we reach Kenwood House. This mansion was used as a convalescent home during WW I and is now a historic site that houses artwork, old furniture from the 1600 -1700's as well as jewellery and shoe buckles. The ceilings are constructed after the architecture that we saw in Italy. Unfortunately, picture taking is not allowed and they did not sell postcards that showed you what the inside looked like.
From here we wend our way out onto Hampstead Lane and locate the Spaniard's Inn, a pub built in the 1500's, for some refreshment. We then take a long walk to the Hampstead Tube Station and back to the flat. A long day of walking, in all 6 hours.
Cheerio for now,
Sandy & Fred
After a breakfast of fried potatoes and egg (potatoes left over from the lamb dinner) and toast we head out by tube to Hampstead. Once again we are in the northern end of the city. The walk is a steady climb uphill again, just not as steep as yesterdays adventure. On our way to the heath which is really a huge park with wooded areas and numerous ponds we pass a modernist home built by Erno Goldfinger. For an architect the home really is nothing to look at. Ian Fleming of the James Bonds books fame and a resident of Hampstead hated the house so much that he named one of his villains after the architect. Thus Goldfinger came into being. We move to Keats Grove, where the poet John Keats lived and wrote from 1818 to 1820. This site is closed, however, as the Trust Society is refurbishing the home and cleaning up the paintings and furniture and it will not reopen until late 2009. We do learn here the value of spit. I am sure you all remember a time when your Mom or Dad would lick a Kleenex and wipe your face or hand of some dirt. Well it turns out that saliva and cotton swabs work wonders in restoring old oil paintings when it comes to removing dirt that has built up over the centuries.
We now enter the Heath and spend a good 4 hours walking along trails. We have packed a lunch and stop at the top of Parliament Hill to eat half our sandwich. This area overlooks the city both to the north and south and I see where we explored yesterday. It is still higher than we are currently. As it is an overcast day and the views to the south are hazy we don not bother to take any pictures. Fred must have tourist guide stamped on his forehead as he is approached by two old dears on what they can see there. We show them the card from our London Walks packet and they thank us and go on their merry way. After a short rest we carry on with our walk and take a few detours as we turn the wrong way. The heath itself does not have regular signs that tell you were you are so it is easy to get turned around. After what seems like hours and hours of walking (actually only two) we reach Kenwood House. This mansion was used as a convalescent home during WW I and is now a historic site that houses artwork, old furniture from the 1600 -1700's as well as jewellery and shoe buckles. The ceilings are constructed after the architecture that we saw in Italy. Unfortunately, picture taking is not allowed and they did not sell postcards that showed you what the inside looked like.
From here we wend our way out onto Hampstead Lane and locate the Spaniard's Inn, a pub built in the 1500's, for some refreshment. We then take a long walk to the Hampstead Tube Station and back to the flat. A long day of walking, in all 6 hours.
Cheerio for now,
Sandy & Fred
Monday, October 13, 2008
Walking amongst the Dead - Oct 13, 2008
Greetings All,
Today after breakfast and a leisurely read of the morning papers we head out to do a walk among the Dead. We took the tube to Highgate which is in the northern part of London. On reaching Highgate our walk takes us past some very historic sites. A pub "The Flask" that was built in 1663 and St Michaels Church where the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge is buried. The roads in the neighbourhood are steep in places (a gentle climb according to the directions) that takes us to the Highgate Cemetery and Waterlow Park. Autumn has descended on London and we sit in the quiet of the park and have our lunch before heading into the cemetery.
There is a tour that you can take in the western portion of the cemetery which we decide to pass on after being greeted by an old snooty English women. We are reading the details about the area and she approaches and basically demands whether she can help us. Then carries on to inform us that we can't have big cameras as this is a cemetery and we need to show respect. Well, needless to say we walk away with comments to each other. As it turns, out as we leave the Eastern Cemetery guess who's conducting the tour of the Western Cemetery? Old Biddy herself. She should not be in that position but hey we are only the paying tourists.
Now I know some of you think we are getting really freaky walking among the dead. But I must say it was peaceful and historically informative. Also, like in Italy whole families are buried on the same site. Some of the more historical figures buried here are Donald Alexander Smith a baron who in 1885 was the Canadian High Commissioner for the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Karl Marx the father of Marxist philosophy and Richard Smith who devised the process for making hovis bread (brown bread). Just to name a few. The cemetery is still used as a burial site today and it was interesting to see recent burials intermixed amongst the old head stones. There were many of the older head stones that you could still read and they stated that the person went to sleep rather than they died. The head stones in some cases were over grown but still beautiful and serene. It is unfortunate that some have fallen over or are in a state of disrepair or are so old that you can no longer read the inscriptions on them.
The next spot is full of life. We walk across Waterlow Park. Here city workers are out trying to clean up the leaves. Can you imagine the never ending job that would be in a park, but they are like the squirrels in the area scurrying around gathering up the leaves to take away to god knows where. We continue our walk with some slight detours as we once again take a wrong turn. Finally we get on the tube and head back to Victoria Station were we get off as it is hot and crammed and walk back to the flat with a stop at the White Swan pub for a drink and snack as supper will be late. Adrienne is cooking Chinese tonight.
Cheerio for now,
Sandy & Fred
Today after breakfast and a leisurely read of the morning papers we head out to do a walk among the Dead. We took the tube to Highgate which is in the northern part of London. On reaching Highgate our walk takes us past some very historic sites. A pub "The Flask" that was built in 1663 and St Michaels Church where the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge is buried. The roads in the neighbourhood are steep in places (a gentle climb according to the directions) that takes us to the Highgate Cemetery and Waterlow Park. Autumn has descended on London and we sit in the quiet of the park and have our lunch before heading into the cemetery.
There is a tour that you can take in the western portion of the cemetery which we decide to pass on after being greeted by an old snooty English women. We are reading the details about the area and she approaches and basically demands whether she can help us. Then carries on to inform us that we can't have big cameras as this is a cemetery and we need to show respect. Well, needless to say we walk away with comments to each other. As it turns, out as we leave the Eastern Cemetery guess who's conducting the tour of the Western Cemetery? Old Biddy herself. She should not be in that position but hey we are only the paying tourists.
Now I know some of you think we are getting really freaky walking among the dead. But I must say it was peaceful and historically informative. Also, like in Italy whole families are buried on the same site. Some of the more historical figures buried here are Donald Alexander Smith a baron who in 1885 was the Canadian High Commissioner for the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Karl Marx the father of Marxist philosophy and Richard Smith who devised the process for making hovis bread (brown bread). Just to name a few. The cemetery is still used as a burial site today and it was interesting to see recent burials intermixed amongst the old head stones. There were many of the older head stones that you could still read and they stated that the person went to sleep rather than they died. The head stones in some cases were over grown but still beautiful and serene. It is unfortunate that some have fallen over or are in a state of disrepair or are so old that you can no longer read the inscriptions on them.
The next spot is full of life. We walk across Waterlow Park. Here city workers are out trying to clean up the leaves. Can you imagine the never ending job that would be in a park, but they are like the squirrels in the area scurrying around gathering up the leaves to take away to god knows where. We continue our walk with some slight detours as we once again take a wrong turn. Finally we get on the tube and head back to Victoria Station were we get off as it is hot and crammed and walk back to the flat with a stop at the White Swan pub for a drink and snack as supper will be late. Adrienne is cooking Chinese tonight.
Cheerio for now,
Sandy & Fred
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