Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

 So sorry about the frequency or should that be infrequency of this blog...restarting again and playing catch up now before I return to New Zealand.....so with no further ado...

Christine arrived at Heathrow in early August, complete with her suitcase and off we headed into London on the tube to see the Queen etc.
It's amazing how the horses stand there all day with  all those foreigners snapping photos and getting too close for my comfort!
As you can see
Now I had a partner in crime, I was forced to eat this icecream just for the photo, with the London Eye in view at the back. We chose not to join the huge snake of a queue and headed around some of London's many attractions.
This was the side of a contemporary building off Oxford Street, certainly impressed me.

This is the view from inside the pub with beer in hand - pretty amazing I think.

There was I just walking along minding my own business, when I was accosted by this fine bunch of Brits, promoting Barclays Bank. (I seem to have shrunk at least a foot or 12 imperial inches)

We were house sitting in Southampton for the first week of Christine's UK experience and kindly had the use of a car, therefore we explored Hampshire, Dorset and Devon with a 2 day jaunt through some amazing countyside, and wonderful little old towns. Christine was particularly taken with the narrowness of the roads and the nearness of the houses to the road, as below. A little seaside village like this one in Porlock, on the north coast of Devon, has tour buses negotiating these roads and the locals will park on yellow lines while they go into a shop, which reminds me, the British love to park on the wrong side of the road. It really slows down the traffic and makes a short distance very long in time, as travelling 10 miles can take up to an hour, not including traffic jams. I think therefore sometimes it would be faster on a bike (barring accidents, of course).

So many Cathedrals, so little photographs, but the shadows are fantastic, as you can see below!
This is in Salisbury Cathedral, which is quite near Stonehenge and we didn't go

My Wife, beside just another one of those amazing walls that are all over Britain. Have you ever wondered how long it must have taken to build all these walls, I certainly have and the variety from region to region is also constantly changing.
The Devonshire Moors heading down to Sidmouth, which turned out to be a hectic place with a folk festival in full swing, about 10 buskers on the sea front and in the town live music all day and night in the various pubs, and we only had a couple of hours to spend there.
So after a week in the south we caught the Greyhound bus to London and the train to York where we were met by our British/Kiwi friend Julie at the station, a very impressive building.


Here we are in the wheatfields of Yorkshire,and all over England there are public walkways through farm fields. As an ex New Zealand farmer, I'm amazed that the general public can and do walk all over the land, the farmers even have to provide the paths through the crops.

This a mausoleum for the outsider of the family at an impressive place called Castle Howard.

 As you can see York and the York Minster is a very impressive place The highlight of our York trip was up in the bell tower, of the Church across the road from York Minster watching Julie ring dem bells, and with the explanations, all that more enjoyable. For those that know York, it's a bit of a Shambles - really!

We met this bunch of blokes biking from Land's End to John-O-Groats raising money for a child cancer charity. The bike was made by somebody in Holland and was a 7-seater with steering wheel.


With the huge help of our Yorkshire friends Mike and Julie we tracked down a vehicle at the local Rover agents who had a sweet little trade-in, a Rover 214si 1995 with only 53,000 miles on the clock and very tidy, and off we headed to find the Lake District and Scotland. I can remember that Londoner's advice as I started my ill-fated bike ride in Tooting Bec way back in May this year Go west young Man". Now we headed North, to wonder what will we find!

Blog #8 is already in the pipe line so stand back, I'm clearing a road blockage!

Cheers, Ciao, Hoots Mon....och aye!

Jimu

1 comment:

Heather said...

so pleased to see Christine has joined you and her good common sence has convinced you of the joys of motorised transport!!
At least there is SOME protection on those narrow roads. Your pix of York reminded me we ditched our car there! Roads even narrower in the lake district,. Please visit Beatrix Potter Museum and re-live your childhood! Its wonderful to see Peter, Benjamin and Jamima up close.
Best wishes to you both
Heather