Tuesday 28 February 2006

Male bonding North of the Border

More bus restoration: the Sydney Albion double decker at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Dunfermline, Fife.
This, David’s last great excursion was conducted First Class, by Great North Eastern Railway. It is such a classic rail journey that it would be a pity to compromise one’s enjoyment.
On the net I booked well ahead to get the best fare, avoiding the facing backwards option, and knowing I would be near the Dining Car for a pleasant lunch. From Wood Green to Kings Cross is a mere 15-20 mins in the warm and friendly tube--- I had a couple of bags because an emergency transfusion of Albion parts had reached me just in time. There had been the odd nail-bite here: Gwilym had despatched them from Sydney by Sea Mail before Christmas, and if they had not arrived in time we would be gone from the house, heaven forfend. But arrive they did, a week before---phew!
I had half an hour to kill at King’s Cross. Tom’s advice being to double any predicted journey time to allow for unforeseens, and he can’t be late for concert appearances, can he? I asked a man clutching a cup of railway concourse coffee if he regarded it as a good drop: No, he said in a soft Edinburgh accent, I’d be better to go across the road to McDonald’s. And so it proved, after a walk of no more than 50 yards across the lane beside the station.
The train arrived from Scotland at 10.20 AM, within 5 minutes it was emptied of passengers, being cleaned, provisioned and readied for departure at 10.30 AM. On board I was disgusted to find my seat had its back to the engine---but I sat nevertheless so as not to miss filming our departure on video, and rapid progress up the line through Finsbury Park, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace barely a kilometre from our little house in Wood Green, and suddenly one is in rural Hertfordshire north of London. Then I went in search of a conductor, said I hadn’t paid all that money to face backwards--- a little grudgingly he checked with his mate who very cheerfully found me a seat in the next car forward. Collecting my bags, I said to the nice man opposite that it wasn’t anything he’d said, (we had exchanged nothing more than ‘good morning’), but I’d found a forward facing seat: he was mightily amused and wished me a happy trip.
It was a lovely day and I had camcorder at the ready to capture the sights: the grandeur of York Station, the view of Durham Cathedral from the long curving viaduct above the city, the crossing of the Tyne at Newcastle with its many bridges, including a baby Sydney Harbour Bridge also built by Dorman, Long of nearby Middlesborough. (Have a look at any piece of steel on our Harbour Bridge one day).
After York came the call for second sitting in the dining car; I dashed forward to get a lovely single table. GNER is noted for its food and my mushroom roulade was no disappointment, with excellent fresh bread. With it I unwisely took a half bottle of Jacobs Creek red. Delicious at first sip, but it begins to have its effect rather rapidly when one is keyed up with the joys of travel.
Then the fast run right at the edge of the North Sea in Northumberland to Berwick and the crossing of the Tweed into Scotland. In 4 hrs 20 mins we were at Edinburgh Waverley station in the shadow of the castle, and I looked for my First Rail train to Dunfermline across the magnificent Firth of Forth Rail Bridge, built 1890.
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst1053.html via Inverkeithing, Rosyth and Cowdenbeath: this is a different country. At 3;50 precisely I was at Dunfermline Town station being met by Jasper Pettie. We repaired chez Pettie at Bowershall only a mile from the Museum.
After dinner of home-made soup with Jasper and Linda, I felt replete, but then came the main course, and lashings more red. A mental note not to dine so well in trains in future. After dinner Jasper and I watched some of my video efforts , including a journey in the Isle of Wight on a train of 1938 stock London UndergrounD cars, actually preserved in their London Transport colours and running as the islands day to day train service.
Saturday Sunday and Monday were to be serious work days---- clutch parts from Turramurra Stores came into play--- the clutch release and clutch brake mechanism was rebuilt, assembled to the gearbox and the whole mated to the engine. It took four of us, Paul Adams, Davie Philp John Rentoul and me to lift the gearbox onto a trolley jack. Albion used to build things solidly.
Davie Philp and David riverting the new friction lining on the clutch throwout housing.
Some uncertainty now entered the rosy picture. Brought from my collection in Sydney last September had been a newly-relined clutch disc with 1/4” thick linings, on the assumption that a sixty year old bus would have had its flywheel facing and its clutch pressure plate re-surfaced several times, necessitating an oversize clutch disc. Instead they were unusable, full of heat stress cracks, so replacements had been found in Scotland, amongst Davie’s truck parts. Would there be room for these full-thickness parts and an over thick clutch disc in the range of adjustment available? Only one way to find out, although some rough measurements were taken to establish that it was not out of the question.
With engine and gearbox re-united and everything adjusted to suit, there was a millimetre or so of internal clearance of clutch finger pivot studs from the external clutch housing. Final adjustment must await the refitting of the engine to the bus and connecting up of the clutch pedal.
John Rentoul and David make final adjustments to the clutch.
Sunday night. I was the guest of Graeme and Pat Fraser in Dundee, an elegant city on the Firth of Tay. Dinner was preceded by a couple of pints of Sharp’s Doom Bar Ale (from Cornwall) and Deuchar’s IPA (from Scotland and now one of my preferred drops) at the Speedwell. Graeme knows it as some other name which I missed: help please, Graeme. A memorable dinner of steak and a well-matured Koonunga Hill Shiraz was accompanied by stimulating conversation; Pat knows the subtle fact that most people’s favourite topic of conversation is themselves, and I was in fine voice. Thankyou Pat: I hope I gave as good as I got.
Next day, Paul carried on dismantling two radiators to see how one good one can be made. Earnest consultation with David Wilson in Moss Vale, examination of the Albion CX19 Parts Book, and reference to Greg Travers’ “City to Suburb” elicited the fact that 1877 was delivered with a radiator of an early pattern with screw top filler, and vitreous enamel badge, so that the use of that radiator would break no code of historical accuracy. Davie cleaned and assembled the nearside front wheel hub and brakes, and John did the same with the water pump, which proved to be a ruin internally: leaking and worn beyond repair. Monday lunchtime Davie scouted around his spare engines at the farm, found a pump which had actually been reconditioned and never used. A bit rusty on the outside, it cleaned up a treat, got a coat of paint and was fitted, with new rubbers to couple it to its drive shaft.
That afternoon I took time off to get some more film coverage of the museum collection with Jasper as my tour guide. The previous day I had covered some of the collection with David Heathcote, another of the museum trustees. So the footage comes with commentary in gentle Scottish brogue which I hope covers some of its other shortcomings such as poor light.
AND Jasper rounded up a 12 volt CAV brand wiper motor for me: a rare beast given the fact that all buses from the late 30s onward have had 24 volt electrical systems. But my TD4 with its odd 12v/24v system requires a 12 volt wiper, something missing when it reached me. for restoration.
After a busy weekend and hefty lunches of haggis pie, steak Bridie and other such high calorie/cholesterol stuff (what the hell: this is an Albion bus we’re talking about), Monday night was to be spent at John’s place in Bridge of Allan with an outing to the Hollybank Hotel for a farewell dinner. Jim Dochertie and Edith from Auchterarder turned up, as did Iain McKerracher. A welcome sight, clutching as he was a nearside headlamp bracket for a Leyland TD4, genuine. This is one item which has eluded me for the restoration of my Leyland in Sydney, until now. Thankyou Iain.
Next morning John took me to my train in Dunfermline by an interesting route which involved crossing the River Forth to the south near Stirling, then recrossing it to the North by Kincardine Bridge, the only major road bridge over the Forth until the Forth Road Bridge of 1964.
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst101.html
And so back to London by the 11AM from Dunfermline and the 12.13PM from Edinburgh Waverley arriving King’s Cross 4.35PM. The cost? £96 return, about $220, not bad given the speed, comfort and scenery en route, and really no slower than a plane after getting to and from one’s airport and somehow transferring to Dunfermline.

Sunday 26 February 2006

London... again!

My ‘Must Do’ list is getting shorter…

Today I took myself into the City and did a search for the Old Curiosity Shop made famous by Charles Dickens; I have a Lilliput Lane model of the building at home. It was a bit disappointing really :-( the building is much smaller than I thought and I don’t like the green much…didn’t go inside, it was a funky shoe shop that didn’t appeal to me at all. I had in my mind, from visits to London in the late 60’s, that the Old Curiosity Shop was a very large black and white building in a very busy part of London on a main road in fact and selling books… it’s in a very quiet back street surrounded by large modern buildings… so I must have spotted a similar looking building all those years ago… I wonder where that one is??

Walking down Kingsway, around Aldwych to the Strand you pass some pretty posh hotels and theatres, and then down the steps at Waterloo Bridge and you are on Victoria Embankment walking along the River Thames towards Westminster Bridge… I never get over that feeling of awe in this beautiful city the river may be muddy with plenty of floating rubbish but look at these photos and tell me you aren’t impressed!! I've put loads of photos up on Flicker so check out this link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobbin/
Cleopatra's Needle beside the River Thames.
The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey have always been on my ‘must do’ list every time I come to this country and once again I leave more impressed than I was the last time… I forgot how beautifully fine the buildings of the Houses of Parliament are and if it wasn’t for the 1,000’s of tourists milling around I would have taken even more photos. Westminster Tube Station was a surprise… look how modern and funky it is plus the platform is glassed in with the trains stopping exactly at the same spot the platform sliding doors open when the tube train’s doors are opening… clever!!
Westminster Tube Station
The Houses of Parliament
Westminster Abbey.

All Alone...

I am the only Aussie left in Noel Park, maybe even Wood Green!

David is still in Scotland and now Tom, Emma and Abigail Rose have left for three days in Yorkshire... they’ve gone to meet Abigail Rose’s brand new cousin Issac who was born last week to Emma’s brother Sam and his wife Lisa… they only got back from their trip to India via New York on Sunday night and since then have planned, booked and paid for their Australian trip which will see Tom leaving for Dubai the day after we leave for Turramurra… from Dubai he flies to Hong Kong then back to London via Dubai again where he will have one and a half days with Emma and Abigail before they leave for Hong Kong and a job in China. Tom leaves London for Hong Kong about the 19th then the three of them fly into Sydney on the morning of the 26th of March where they will stay put for more than 3 weeks?? This means our whole family… all 12 and 3/4’s of us will be in the same city for 5 whole nights…

Gwilym and Emily leave for Europe on the 31st of March but I ain't going no where for a very long time!!!!!!!

Cold Snap.

Just as we’ve been getting excited over a few daffodil buds coming up and hoping to see a bit of the beautiful British spring before we leave... London has been hit with a cold snap… not that we’re complaining Winter has been kind to us with days of a chilly but bearable and sunny 5c, even if the sun is only out for a couple of hours a day.

On Thursday we drove home from Surrey in 2c with sleet and snow all the way but none that stayed on the ground. Today is about 3c and sunny which is bearable but it’s that bitter bitter Arctic north wind that chills every inch of a person if they brave the outdoors.

David left for his last trip to Scotland on Friday morning, he was loaded down with spare parts for the Sydney Bus that the Scottish Bus Museum is restoring… David had the parts in his garage in Turramurra and they were posted to him by Gwilym… £30 Customs Duty had to be paid which is silly because these parts were made in Britain about 50 years ago and sent to Sydney in our Double Decker buses… it had something to do with the parcel coming from outside an EU country. David won’t be back in London till Tuesday night, I know how much fun he must be having.

Wednesday 22 February 2006

Harrods.

Judy and I spent a few hours window shopping in Harrods, we really enjoyed ourselves. Harrods doesn't open till Midday on Sundays so Judy and I did a little walk around the area ending up in Hans Place and this lovely little park with all these rules!! One has to laugh eh?? Also noticed on a wall this plaque about Jane Austen... I love all the plaques around London although most of the people I've noticed I haven't known... I did spot a John Lennon lived here plaque in Camden Markets though. I hope you can read all these rules and regulations just in case you thought a nice little sit in a park near Harrods was the go... Heaven forbid if you are a servant caught in the park without a child!! Jane Austen again... she got around a fair bit didn't she. We wanted to have lunch in Harrods but the cheapest thing we could find amongst all the eating places in the Food Hall was a toasted sandwich for £11.95 ($A27.55) now neither of us minded paying that for a good meal but for a Toasted Sandwich! Forget it! Anyway tucked in the back corner of the Food Hall is a Crispy Cream next to Harrods Hot Bread section so we bought a hot cheese and bacon roll each £1.50 and then Judy bought a coffee at CC and I bought a Diet Coke £1.30 then we stood at the CC Bar and ate our lunch!! LOL One Aussie and one Yorkshire cheapskate eh?? Of course we browsed in the Children's section laughing at the outrageous prices on simple things like a baby's T-shirt... admittedly it had a picture of a cute apple on the front and an apple core on the back but at £45 ($A103.75)... Lovely little Abigail Rose type dresses cost £119!! THEN!! I found a 250g tin of Caviar that cost £1,500.00 I daren't convert this one... ($A3,458.55) one friend converted that to $A100 per egg! I had to ask the girl serving in this section if she'd sold any recently... no she said but they are popular at Christmas!

Farewells.

I've managed to find a free Wireless connection down here in Guildford while we're doing our farewells with Christine, Peter and Maggie... we popped in to farewell Tremayne and Phyllis en route and we've had dinner with Peter and Sue, lunch with John and Leslie and spent a fun weekend with Emma's parents, Judy and Richard... David is off to Scotland on Friday for one last bus farewell then we will have the hardest of all farewells... although Tom, Emma and Abigail Rose will arrive in Sydney on the 25th of March just days before Gwilym and Emily leave for their exciting overseas adventures so we are in for a very emotional but exciting few weeks before our new grandchild arrives!
Peter and Sue
Judy and Richard
Phyllis and Tremayne
John and Leslie

Saturday 18 February 2006

Oh My... how he's grown!


Here is Jackson Harry watching telly on a recent visit to his Great Grandparents home... isn't he a good little boy but Oh MY look at those long legs, I can't wait for a good long cuddle.

Food Glorious Food!

Eating Out… We’ve eaten out at Pubs and Cafés quite a lot on our travels and have enjoyed mostly indifferent meals except for pubs in the Wetherspoons chain, there are 100’s of Wetherspoons but our favourite is the one in Turnpike Lane called the ‘Toll Gate’. The a-la-carte menu is excellent and reasonably priced but they also have special nights, Tuesday is Steak night $5.49 ($A12.94) for a choice of steak with salad or vegetables, chips or potatoes and a drink and they are the best steaks I’ve had here. Thursday night is Curry night £4.49 $A10.58, there is a choice of curries with rice, several poppadums and a drink… I’ve had the Chicken Korma and it was perfectly mild just as I like it. Sunday’s is Sunday Roast all day, £4.49 Beef, Chicken or Nut with an abundance of vegetables, potatoes, two big Yorkshire Puddings and lots of gravy.

The worst meal I have had was a Hamburger in Scotland… a few days before I'd one of the most delicious Hamburgers I'd ever eaten... so I was confident this Hamburger in the sweet little pub we'd decided to eat in would be similar but no, it was a deep fried patty of sausage meat on a dry stale bun with chips and no salad!! Yuck!

Supermarkets… are where we get most of our food and drinks, they are good for the basics like Supermarkets at home but the fruit, vegetables and meats are so so. Morrisons is good, as is Tescos but Sainsburys and Waitrose’s are the best. Marks and Spencer don’t have big Supermarkets but they do have excellent Food Halls with lot of very good foods and are way out in front as far as fruit goes… expensive but good, I even found some Nectarines there from Australia! There is nothing you can’t get in a Supermarket, they all sell Vegemite for example and I’ve noticed most of them have some of the Duchy range of goods which is from the Royal Farms… now they are good, the one at Windsor is well worth a visit.

Meat… We prefer, if we can to buy our meat at little Village Butcheries, which are hard to find when one lives in the middle of London so if we are out and about we seek them out and stock up… what we have bought has been excellent expensive but excellent. The butchers around us are mostly Halal and sell everything from a lamb or chicken and the meat is indifferent to say the least.

Fish… Fresh Fish Shops are not in abundance, there are a few but I don’t know the Northern Hemisphere fish very well so haven’t bought much…I did love that Monk Fish I had at Rick Steins though!! I buy salmon steaks from the Supermarkets and panfry them and they are good, grown from South America mostly. I’m waiting till I get home for crustaceans; there is not much here that is good, they sell King Prawns that are smaller than my small finger. Once I bought Tuna Steaks from Argentina and they were very good.

Fruit… Good Fruit is something I really miss, the supermarkets sell indifferent flavourless stuff so the only thing I buy is bananas, it’s hard to muck up a banana but there again bruising is a problem probably because they come so far from where they are grown!! I discovered that Marks and Spencers food section has good fruit, mostly from Chilli and the Bing Cherries and Zee Grand Nectarines are wonderful, they probably cost a bomb but I don’t care! The problem with selling everything possible here is that it isn’t grown here so it’s picked too early and never ripens properly… well that’s my guess anyway, at home I only buy fruit and vegies when they are in season but nothing is in season here in the UK in Winter! Tim‘s brother Simon, a chef, said it all when he came to Australia for the first time last year… he was amazed how much flavour there was in the food which puzzled me till I got here LOL

Vegetables… I’m having problems with Potatoes, they aren’t the sort I know and when I try to bake them they don’t crisp up, when I try to fry them they don’t crisp up so the only thing I’ve success with is mash! I’ve tried several sorts of nameless potatoes, they don’t have the range we do at home and nor do they advise you on the best way of cooking them. Kumara and Parsnip are good, all the greens are good and I am yet to buy a carrot with flavour nor had much luck with Avocado or Tomatoes. One thing I do know and that is to avoid most things grown in Israel… no flavour at all. British grown are best with vegetables but not a lot is in season at this time of year.

Drink… What is happening to Diet Coke, my staple caffeine fix????? In some places in England they sell only Coke Light, which they tell you, is the same… I’m sorry… I don’t think so!!! In France that is all we’ve seen and I still don’t think it’s the same as Diet Coke, I think I will get David to blind fold me and test me to find out if it’s all in my head or they really are different!! We’ve discovered Scholer which is a delicious almost wine like fruit drink that isn’t alcoholic, I hope we can find that at home when we return.
Water… I don’t like the taste of most tap water except in Devon it was lovely there…I buy a 2 litre of Sparkling Water from Tesco’s that costs 17p, (A40c) so I mostly drink that; it has a nice fizz to it. Dublin Water was wonderful, the best we’ve tasted anywhere over here, worth bottling it is!

I mustn’t forget the little Portuguese Tarts that the Portuguese Deli on Lordship Lane sells, except they don’t call them that LOL I must ask them what they do call them… they are little light pastry tarts filled with custard… delicious.

Chocolate… I just read that two pieces of Dark Chocolate a day is good for your heart so of course I had to go on a tour of discovery… for my heart you understand… I’ve found Bourneville make a small block of a very nice dark chocolate so all is well with my world!!

Friday 17 February 2006

Dublin, Ireland.

Last night we returned from a 4 day trip to Dublin... I did three loads of washing, hung all the wet clothes around the central heating radiators and this morning I've come to Tom and Emma's to catch up on our emails and Blog and to wash our bed linen and dry it in their dryer... 188 doesn't come with a Clothes Dryer!!

Emma's parents are arriving from Yorkshire tomorrow lunch time and will stay at Tom and Emma's then we are expecting Tom, Emma and Abi back from India sometime on Sunday. I've only heard from them a couple of times but they did enjoy more than 24 inches (61 cms) of snow while in New York.

Early Monday morning we drove to Stansted Airport for our flight to Ireland, we were driving along the M11 in the still dark of the morning when all three lanes of traffic heading North just stopped... no crawling into one lane and no sight of what was wrong. We turned our engines off and sat for exactly 40 mins. Then with no idea why we were stopped the traffic started off again, no crawling, no moving into one lane, no sign of an accident or barricades and we still have no idea of what we were stopped for.

When David first checked our flight to Dublin with Ryan Air the fare was 99 pence ($2.28) but by the time he checked dates with me the fare had gone up to £1.21 plus taxes and charges of course but while we were in Dublin we saw adds for flights to the UK for zero... just pay the taxes and charges they said... no wonder both flights were chock a block full, not one empty seat and as the aircraft was unloading the next load of passengers where lining up to load for their flight... no seat numbers just find a seat and sit down as quickly as possible.... drinks and sandwiches cost Euros and we were offered Scratchies and Duty Free. The flight was good and less than one hour.

David and I loved Ireland, Dublin is booming but still has that look and feel of a city long forgotten by progress, we loved the Irish people... those that we could find that is, most people in the Hotel we stayed in were either Russian or Romanian. Dublin is full of young people well dressed and busy at work as well as students on their way to their colleges, the sky if full of cranes building new modern apartments some of which were near our hotel and looking spectacular, there are many many eating places, bars and clubs, the transport system is mystifying with a mix of trains, new trams and double decker buses and there is building everywhere. Anyone thinking of starting a business in Dublin need think no further than a Car Wash... we never saw a clean car, in fact all the buses and cars were filthy which is something I have never noticed in a city before.
Sitting by the Liffey with a Double Decker Bus going by...
The view of the River Liffey from the last photo.

Trinity College, The Dail (pronounced Doyle), St Stephen's Park, Birthplace of George Bernard Shaw, the Liffey, Temple Bar, O'Connell Street and much more... places and names we've known and heard forever have now come to life for us.
Birthplace of George Bernard Shaw.

In schools Irish Children must learn the Irish Language, they don't like it and hardly use it but if they don't pass Irish they don't pass the rest of their exams. All the signs are in Irish first then in English but Irish is a funny language which looks impossible to pronounce for example have you heard of that Irish comedian Daragh O'Briain, big bald bloke... well how does one pronounce his christian name?? It's pronounced Dara because the 'h' makes the 'g' silent... same as Laragh and so on! We have to admit to quite a few giggles in Ireland!
View of the Irish Sea from the train's window.
Tuesday we took the Train south along some beautiful coastline to meet a bus to take us to Avoca the little town on the Avon River that was the setting for the Television series 'Ballykissangel' our tour guide wasn't fond of the programe so our time was short in Avoca so we could spend more time at Kev's place, St Kevin was a monk born in the first century. mmmmm nuff said... I'd rather have had more time in Avoca exploring the town and the wonderful Woollen Mill there check out the sites at the end of this Blog.
Fitzgeralds Bar was especially named for the series but the owners liked it so kept it, probably brings in the tourists for them.
Isn't this cute, the Garda's car almost parked in the Garda parking spot.
You can just see the spire of church in the background.

The weeks are falling away with less than three to go before we head home... almost every day from now on is busy and we're going to make the most of every one of them.

Hand Weavers at Avoca. http://www.avoca.ie/pages.php?pageid=3
St Kevin. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintk02.htm
The Dail. http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/home.asp

Wednesday 8 February 2006

A bit of a Panic

I offered to mind Abigail Rose today... Tom and Emma needed to pack their bags for their 10 day trip to India... Via NEW YORK!! I knew they were leaving around 4pm so said, as Abi and I trotted off to Pennie and David's home for the day, 'Give me a call when you're ready and I'll bring her back.' So I cooked her some breakfast and we played in between her seeking out David and putting her little arms up to him so he could pick her up and sing her a Nursery Rhyme... she is David's little girl today.

Letters needed posting, we were out of money on our phone and a parcel needed picking up from the Parcel Office on the other side of the High Street so at about 11:30am the two of them set off together. Half an hour later Tom rang to say it was time to bring her around because the Taxi was coming at 12:30pm!!!!! Panic... I didn't know where Abi... and David were!! Tom gave me directions to the Parcel Office which is up towards Alexandra Palace so I jumped in the car and went looking.

Wood Green is a busy place similar to say... North Sydney on a good day, lots of people, cars, buses and traffic! I couldn't find the parcel office but knew I'd gone too far so turned around and went back the way I came very slowly and looking for a man in a bright blue jacket pushing a pram... then I found the Parcel Office, backed up, parked and jumped out thinking I would ask if they had seen a man pushing a pram collecting my parcel and there they were just coming out of the Office! I grabbed Abi and belted the two of us in the back seat while David folded the pram and put it in the boot and then drove us as quickly as possible to Maurice Avenue!

We made it with a couple of minutes to spare but the Taxi was late so we had time to take a breather before we remembered that someone had to stay in all day because the Gas Man was coming and we'd not been there the other two times he'd called so considered trouble! We made it home before the Gas Man... thankfully!

Tom, Emma and Abigail Rose have arrived in New York and are in New Jersey preparing for Tom's school friend Jacinta... and Paul's wedding then they are off to India for a big gig.

Farewell to Stone...

We've really enjoyed our stay in Stone, Frank and Janet's flat is wonderful and we'd love to come back if we had the time. Thank you so much, Janet and Frank.

Our flat was in the middle of this building, furtherest from camera... fabulous position.
View of the Allotments across the Canal from the balcony.

Last night we were treated to a gourmet dinner cooked by Tim's brother Simon (a chef) and his French wife Stephanie. First course was a... you will have to pardon my french because I just can't type it... First course was Marinated Duck STOMACH Salad, much nicer than it sounds. Second course, Fillets of Pork with three (or more) mushroom sauce and vegetables then for dessert Stephanie made us a beautiful Chocolate Cake. Steph doesn't cook so this was a special treat. Thanks Simon and Steph.

Today we headed back to Wood Green... Tom and Emma leave for New York tomorrow.

Monday 6 February 2006

Ironbridge...


Isn't this a wonderful bridge! It's the first ever iron bridge built in the world.
Today we spent pottering around Telford and it's Museums all celebrating the Industrial Revolution, I really like Coalbrookdale furniture, such delicate and interesting pieces.

Sunday 5 February 2006

Wedgwood.

We are in the middle of Staffordshire in an area known as the Potteries and no wonder because we see so many I've lost count. Firstly we pick up Janet and Frank and head for the Wedgwood Factory which has a brilliant Visitor Centre with a History Film, a Museum and factory tour. Josiah Wedgwood was a truly incredible man, not only a clever designer but a great Humanitarian as well, he was also Charles Darwin's Grandfather. We spend many hours listening, reading, watching, lunching and browsing the very tempting shops then we are off for a tour of Stoke and the many many other Potteries... what an amazing place this must have been in it's heyday!!
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/wedgwood.htm

I was so busy absorbing information today I forgot to take photos but when I saw this Hexagon Cow at the Trentham Retail Village I had to get the camera out.

Saturday 4 February 2006

Tim's Family...

Today we drove to Barlaston near Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire only 3 hours drive North on the M1 from London. This is where Tim, our dear son-in-law's family comes from and we've come up here to meet everyone. We've already met Tim's Aunt Janet and his Uncle Frank when they came to Australia a couple of years ago so we make our way to their home just in time for a sandwich. Charlotte and 2 year old Harris are here so it's lovely to meet them for the first time, then we follow Frank and Janet to a little village called Stone and only 10 mins away where they have an Apartment that we can make our own while we're here. The Apartment is new and built on the site of an old Wharf on the Trent and Mersey Canal which was built in the late 1700's to bring in clay and coal for the Wedgwood Factory... it's very peaceful with views of paddocks and Allotments across the canal.

Frank comes back later in the afternoon to take David out for a pint at one of the local Pubs... just perfect for David eh?? Then we head back to Barlaston for an evening meal and to meet the family. Tim's Grandfather is a very spritely 83 and enjoys a joke or two, he and Doreen his 'Girlfriend' as she told me to call her make a delightful couple, then there's Tim's brother Simon whom we met in Australia just before we came away but it's lovely to meet his wife Stephanie and 5 year old son Matthew. Tim's cousin Charlotte, her partner Martin and young Harris are here as well. Dinner is delicious being a joint effort I think... Janet cooking up the majority of course.

It's so lovely to meet Tim's family after all these years, we didn't come to England when Tim and Nerys got married because life was just too hectic at home and when we come to England we like to stay here for months not weeks plus Tim and Nerys decided to live near us in Australia so we never got to meet his family... till now! We have a great, fun, family evening and when everyone has gone home we head too our little apartment on the Canal!
Janet and Frank
Simon, Matthew and Stephanie
Martin, Charlotte and Harris

Dirty Harry and Diamond Dor...


This is a photo of Tim's Grandfather Harry (hence Jackson Harry) and his girlfriend Doreen... Yes they are just as much fun as they look in this photo :-)

Friday 3 February 2006

The Naughty Finger...

This is a very naughty finger it's always poking buttons on the television or dish washer... today it deleted about 50 photos from my iphoto folder... lucky I still have them in the deleted basket and can get them out again Abigail Rose!!
Here is that smile when she sees my camera!! She's wearing really trendy Ug Boots that my tennis friends bought for her when she was born... they fit perfectly now girls!
Aaaaahhh look Mummy has a smile just like Abi's!!

Wednesday 1 February 2006

Grandchildren :-)))

There is a little boy in Sydney who, when feeling down tells his mummy, ‘I’ve lost Pennie... I’ve lost David’
Don’t worry Jackson Harry… you’ll find them again soon, in less than 5 weeks in fact.
Tim, Jack and Nerys on Christmas Day... doesn't it look hot!!
Presenting the Incredible Balancing Baby...
And there is a little girl in London who knows to smile when you get the camera out, she also knows to rush around behind the camera to see how she looks.

Gwilym and Emily


Don't they look happy minding '333' for us, Gwil is carving the Christmas Ham he smoked on the BBQ.