... and not yet up to date. Well I'm changing that right now. Where last I left off I was in London having a curry with Pooneh. I have since gone back to add website links to those entries. It will make it easier for those of you who are interested in knowing more about the places I visited.
For those of you who did not know or who may have forgotten, I was in England and Scotland 2 years ago. On that trip I visited almost every major tourist site and several secondary ones in London during a total of 5 1/2 days there. The only thing I wanted to do but was unable to get to due to lack of time was St. Paul's Cathedral. Well I did go to it as my first activity upon arrival and spend about 2 1/2 hours there before I was booted out with the throng at closing. It was mostly being restored so the outside and half the interior are covered with scaffloding and pigeon-net. When Michelle and I toured Europe in 1985 or 86 (I can never remember which) one of the prime themes of all our travels and photos was the scaffolding and pigeon netting everywhere we went. We called it our "scaffolding tour of Europe." Well England and Ireland are now under the same sort of restoration so I could call this trip my "scaffolding tour of England and Ireland."
All of that to say that I did not spend much time in the city of London except in the evening when I returned for the night. That is also when Pooneh and I were able to visit with each other. She is just finishing up her end of year work-terms and has/had many reports, papers, etc. to be completed while working her assigned job and her evening waitress job in "Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club." This meant that daytime and some evenings we were both busy.
The weather in London was as expected... cool, damp with drizzle interspersed with sunny bits and some all out rain showers. When the sun came out it was too warm for a jacket and Londoners were running about in short sleeves and summer clothes. I was wearing long-sleeves and a jacket that was too warm in the sun but that I needed under clouds.
I was off on a day-away to Leeds Castle (http://www.leeds-castle.com/) where I saw birds I may never see again like the all white (possibly Albino) peacock. He was an extremely friendly fellow... I think he is trying to get attention. It can't be easy to attract a peahen with his colourless tail feathers. He boldly approaches everyone and prances around posing for photos and loves any one who pays him any attention. There are a few colourful peacocks and peahens (although they haven't the tail they still have the body colouring) around the extensive grounds. There are many black swans with their bright red beaks including a family of five (3 youngsters) who posed for pics. Swans. geese and a huge variety of ducks everywhere. There's an exotic bird enclosure and several exotic birds roam free.
The Castle itself is very impressive. Think of what it is like to tread the same hallways as Henry VIII and his wives (although he owned it he seldom visited the castle) and his most famous daughter Elizabeth I (my personal favourite). Cromwell, the lords and ladies of the court and every King or Queen of England along with Mary Queen of Scots all visited or lived here. I was quite impressed by the whole place but the castle is a beautiful example of excellent conservation, restoration and antiquities displaythat does not allow the modern additions (for everyones comfort) of toilets, restaurants, lifts and other modern facilities to interfere with or obstruct the beauty of the original structures, gardens and grounds. The gardens are amoungst the worlds most magnificent. Only a personal visit can make you truly appreciate them. The rose trees and gigantic peonies were in full bloom and scent.
The weather the day I went to Leeds Castle was ideal... warm, sunny with a slight breeze occassionally. Nary a cloud in the sky and in the sun-traps of the gardens and maze it was quite warm, even hot. I was over-dressed.
Another day trip was to the Isle of Wight (http://www.iwight.com/). I took the train and ferry there. The island has its own train system built from the cast-offs of the London Underground system. So I trained around the Island including a trip to the central part of the island on the Steam Train (http://www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk/). I took a train to the end of the line to a town called Shanklin (http://www.iwight.gov.uk/just_visiting/towns/shanklin.asp) which is supposed to be a pretty place to walk about. The Historic Village dates back to the 800s and earlier and has within it the Shanklin Chine, a forrest conservation area. For me this was not a pleasant visit... it was pouring rain most of the day and drizzling the rest. Though I had an umbrella with me I had decided that the jacket had been much too warm for the past few days and left it at Pooneh's. That's what did it. So I was cold and damp and generally uncomfortable all day except when in a train or other protected environment. My visit to the historic village in Shanklin consisted of a short 20 minute walk that led me to a lovely little pub where the barman poured me a double brandy and I sat in a nice cozy corner to consume it.
It was a long walk back to the train but at least the rain had started to let up a bit. Along the way I ducked into a crafting shop where I bought a cross-stitch kit that has served to keep my hands busy (as they wont to be) ever since. I haven't done cross-stitch since grade 8 "home economics" class. I won an award or two for it back then.
When I returned to London I was supposed to meet Pooneh and her roommate Stephanie at the Jazz Club where they both work. I started getting ready as soon as I got in at about 9:30pm but decided I needed a short refresher nap before going out as I was exhausted and chilled from my day. I set the alarm to wake me at 10:15pm but the next thing I new the fire alarm was sounding at about 3:15 am. Pooneh had warned me about the children studying to be doctors and how they think it's funny to set off the fire alarms when they are drunk (which is every weekend) with nothing else to entertain their tiny little minds. Well when I awoke, Pooneh and Stephanie were not yet home, I joined the very sleepy and angry looking crowd in the courtyard (luckily I was mostly dressed already) and waiting for the fire fighters to arrive to turn off the alarm. They looked very annoyed as this is a regular occurance for them.
The alarms sounded again about 20-30 minutes later and the whole routine pplayed out again. I no longer felt like going anywhere but was unable to get back to sleep because of my aggravation levels. So when P & S arrived home a bit after 4am I was lying on my mattress on the floor reading. I had slept through my alarm sounding at 10:15 and it goes on annoyingly for about 5 minutes.
The next day was Saturday and Pooneh and I were heading out to her parents' home in Henley-on-Thames (http://www.henley-on-thames.com/) for the weekend. We were late arriving in mid-afternoon but went out to her fathers' 3 1/2 acre orchard to help him with his planting and weeding. This is a regular weekend visit for Pooneh and I was glad for the opportunity to meet her parents and see her home. Her parents are lovely people who were very kind and welcoming towards me. Whenever I offerred to help in the kitchen I was shooed away. I slept on the hide-away bed in the sitting room which was very comfortable. I slept like the dead... or maybe I was just too exhausted to sleep any other way.
The next morning was somewhat liesurely as it had rained heavily overnight and we were unable to go to the orchard to work. So Pooneh and I took a long walk into town where she showed me around the sights of Henley. We stopped for a quiet, peaceful lunch at a tea room and then walked back to her parents to pack up our stuff. We were heading to a party, an Aussie Bar-B-Q, at the home of one of her work colleagues from the Club. Of course, as we started into town to meet up with Stephanie and a group of other friends it began to rain, then pour. We huddled together under an awning with umbrellas then made our way to the river's edge to await our pick-up. Our host, Sean, has a home on a tiny island on the river Thames. His home and property are gorgeous. Once we were well underway with the party the rain stopped and the sun came out to make it a perfect day. I met dozens of lovely people there and had a great time.
The next morning I had to get up very early. Not easy after all that wine and the late night trip home. So at 6:30 am I was up and gone to the train station. Off I headed for Ireland.
I'm taking a break here but will continue later.
Posted by gailene at June 20, 2003 09:43 AM