Mum Comes To Town
This is a bit out of sequence, but better late than never.
As I was in between jobs, and mum was about to finish up her job, we decided, at the very last minute (ie a weeks notice) that mum should come over here to London. Talk about living on the edge.
I guess we didn't really get off to a good start however, mainly because of my aversion to travelling in London - going out to the airport and returning would have lost me 5 hours of my time. So I said that I would meet mum at one of the local stations. What I didn't know was that mum was held up in a long immigration queue and then got stuck on the Picadilly line. I had waited about an hour by this time, and scooted up to Victoria station in case she got confused. Mum must have passed by on the way. So I made my way back to the station only to find a flustered mum borrowing the cellphone of a nice TFL worker. Ahh well, there is nothing like a bit of drama to finish a 28 hour trip to the other side of the world.
So, after Craig and I being relegated to the blow up mattress which would deflate throughout the course of the night, we all settled in to having 3 people in a small 1 bedroom flat (it was going to be this way for the next two months which at this time we were yet to find out).
The next day was the first of our bit of English touring - mum and I off to see the parade for the Trooping of the Colour. This is the event to mark the Queen's birthday which is always held in June (regardless of when the real birthday is) as the weather is more agreeable. We didn't see the actual event as you need to book for that way in advance and be somone from a Commonwealth country. But at least mum could say that she had been to London to see the Queen (yes we saw her and all of the others on the balcony).
The next day we were off to Hampton Court Palace which is absolutely wonderful for a picnic. Mum got to see the amazing gardens that are in a DVD that I gave her on gardens of the world. Hampton Court was home to Henry VIII, James I (of King James Bible fame), Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, William III, Mary II, George II and Queen Caroline (when they were Prince and Princess of Wales).
On the Monday, I hired a car to head down the South Coast of England to Dorset and then Devon. I apologise that I am slightly void of photographs - maybe coz I was doing a lot of driving. On the way, we got kind of lost and ended up at Southhampton. At least I know now where to go when we go to the Isle of Wight and on a European Cruise? We managed to find a Farmstay in Weymouth and treated ourselves to a lovely pub dinner - traditional roast of course. The next day we drove down to Dorchester and I went for a lovely horse ride all around the peninsula. This is really surprising that there is so much land available, but I guess it is to do with the Portland Stone quarries in the area which probably wouldn't make the land so stable.
Then we continued down to Seaton in Devon for another farm stay - but this one was working dairy farm. We went down for dinner at a place called Beer, a rather sleepy (or was that the Football World Cup effect) but quaint village right down on the shore line surrounded by farms. We got lost several times trying to get back out due to the many similar looking windy roads to get back home. We were lucky. A couple staying in the same farmstay tried to get there after dark - only to find that all the pubs had shut (ahh rural England) and they could not find their way home. I think they had to ring the farmhouse to get help.
On the way home the next day, we stopped at a beach near Lyme Regis to go hunting for Fossils on the Jurassic coast. Mum and I hunted around the rocks for a little while, and I managed to find some fossilised corral. Hard to believe that a few million years ago, we could have had a tropical holiday there!! I also cheated by buying a fossilised ?? which was polished from a local store. Well it was better than nothing, but next time, I am taking a hammer. It is pretty fun.
We also stopped at another garden and farm on the way back home just to satisfy one of Mum's favourite hobbies. After all, I did the horse-ride.
Back at London I then had a home day, to catch up on all of the things that I always never seem to be on top of. Although we did sneak out at saw Madame Tussaud's - from tickets that I got from the family for last years birthday. It was quite interesting, but very crowded, meaning it was hard to take photos, particularly the way the figures were placed. I was also a little scared to go up to some of the figures as I have heard that sometimes they get actors (not the real ones that are being portrayed) to stand there and move if someone comes up to them. Spooky.
On Saturday, Craig and I had already planned a day of paintballing as a last hurrah to our friend's Sam and Claire who were off back home to Australia after a years stint here. This was the first time I have done paintball, and I have to admit, I had a blast, despite me getting hit every time and not hitting anyone at all. Our team who was up in the top for most of the day. The last game left us with a handicap where the other team outnumbered us 35 to 24. They were anihilating us until the last minute of the game, when three of our mates (admittedly from the British Army), run out in martyrdom, knocking down the barrels in which the other team was hiding, spraying bullets around and taking all the hits themselves, with Sam running around to place the flag in the home zone within seconds of the game ending. For that effort, we won, which was a brilliant way to end the day (and a year in England).
Mum took a day trip to Oxford and the top of the Cotswolds which I think she enjoyed.
So back to Mum's trip, the next day, in case we hadn't had enough of castles and gardens, went to Kensington Palace, where William III, Mary II, George I, Queen Victoria, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, and more recently, Princess Diana lived. They had a lovely exhibition of her dresses and photos of her, which is all a bit eery since it wasn't so long ago that her death happened. Afternoon tea was at the Orangery, which was Queen Anne's garden house built in 1704. Ahh to be royalty and have all of this to yourself!!
So on Monday, mum's last day, and the first day of Wimbledon, Mum decided to give it a go to queue up for the days tickets. I decided to pass for fear of being too tired for the my first day of work the next day. This is just as well, as the weather was miserable, and I think Mum saw a whole hour of tennis, despite being gone for like 8-10 hours!! Ahh well, at least Mum can say she had been. Maybe the French open next year Mum?
So it was tearful goodbyes, for a very brief visit to England. And a hello to Andrew, a friend of Craigs for him to stay on the deflated blow up mattress for a little while, while he discovered his roots in England and in Italy. It never stops.
As I was in between jobs, and mum was about to finish up her job, we decided, at the very last minute (ie a weeks notice) that mum should come over here to London. Talk about living on the edge.
I guess we didn't really get off to a good start however, mainly because of my aversion to travelling in London - going out to the airport and returning would have lost me 5 hours of my time. So I said that I would meet mum at one of the local stations. What I didn't know was that mum was held up in a long immigration queue and then got stuck on the Picadilly line. I had waited about an hour by this time, and scooted up to Victoria station in case she got confused. Mum must have passed by on the way. So I made my way back to the station only to find a flustered mum borrowing the cellphone of a nice TFL worker. Ahh well, there is nothing like a bit of drama to finish a 28 hour trip to the other side of the world.
So, after Craig and I being relegated to the blow up mattress which would deflate throughout the course of the night, we all settled in to having 3 people in a small 1 bedroom flat (it was going to be this way for the next two months which at this time we were yet to find out).
The next day was the first of our bit of English touring - mum and I off to see the parade for the Trooping of the Colour. This is the event to mark the Queen's birthday which is always held in June (regardless of when the real birthday is) as the weather is more agreeable. We didn't see the actual event as you need to book for that way in advance and be somone from a Commonwealth country. But at least mum could say that she had been to London to see the Queen (yes we saw her and all of the others on the balcony).
The next day we were off to Hampton Court Palace which is absolutely wonderful for a picnic. Mum got to see the amazing gardens that are in a DVD that I gave her on gardens of the world. Hampton Court was home to Henry VIII, James I (of King James Bible fame), Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, William III, Mary II, George II and Queen Caroline (when they were Prince and Princess of Wales).
On the Monday, I hired a car to head down the South Coast of England to Dorset and then Devon. I apologise that I am slightly void of photographs - maybe coz I was doing a lot of driving. On the way, we got kind of lost and ended up at Southhampton. At least I know now where to go when we go to the Isle of Wight and on a European Cruise? We managed to find a Farmstay in Weymouth and treated ourselves to a lovely pub dinner - traditional roast of course. The next day we drove down to Dorchester and I went for a lovely horse ride all around the peninsula. This is really surprising that there is so much land available, but I guess it is to do with the Portland Stone quarries in the area which probably wouldn't make the land so stable.
Then we continued down to Seaton in Devon for another farm stay - but this one was working dairy farm. We went down for dinner at a place called Beer, a rather sleepy (or was that the Football World Cup effect) but quaint village right down on the shore line surrounded by farms. We got lost several times trying to get back out due to the many similar looking windy roads to get back home. We were lucky. A couple staying in the same farmstay tried to get there after dark - only to find that all the pubs had shut (ahh rural England) and they could not find their way home. I think they had to ring the farmhouse to get help.
On the way home the next day, we stopped at a beach near Lyme Regis to go hunting for Fossils on the Jurassic coast. Mum and I hunted around the rocks for a little while, and I managed to find some fossilised corral. Hard to believe that a few million years ago, we could have had a tropical holiday there!! I also cheated by buying a fossilised ?? which was polished from a local store. Well it was better than nothing, but next time, I am taking a hammer. It is pretty fun.
We also stopped at another garden and farm on the way back home just to satisfy one of Mum's favourite hobbies. After all, I did the horse-ride.
Back at London I then had a home day, to catch up on all of the things that I always never seem to be on top of. Although we did sneak out at saw Madame Tussaud's - from tickets that I got from the family for last years birthday. It was quite interesting, but very crowded, meaning it was hard to take photos, particularly the way the figures were placed. I was also a little scared to go up to some of the figures as I have heard that sometimes they get actors (not the real ones that are being portrayed) to stand there and move if someone comes up to them. Spooky.
On Saturday, Craig and I had already planned a day of paintballing as a last hurrah to our friend's Sam and Claire who were off back home to Australia after a years stint here. This was the first time I have done paintball, and I have to admit, I had a blast, despite me getting hit every time and not hitting anyone at all. Our team who was up in the top for most of the day. The last game left us with a handicap where the other team outnumbered us 35 to 24. They were anihilating us until the last minute of the game, when three of our mates (admittedly from the British Army), run out in martyrdom, knocking down the barrels in which the other team was hiding, spraying bullets around and taking all the hits themselves, with Sam running around to place the flag in the home zone within seconds of the game ending. For that effort, we won, which was a brilliant way to end the day (and a year in England).
Mum took a day trip to Oxford and the top of the Cotswolds which I think she enjoyed.
So back to Mum's trip, the next day, in case we hadn't had enough of castles and gardens, went to Kensington Palace, where William III, Mary II, George I, Queen Victoria, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, and more recently, Princess Diana lived. They had a lovely exhibition of her dresses and photos of her, which is all a bit eery since it wasn't so long ago that her death happened. Afternoon tea was at the Orangery, which was Queen Anne's garden house built in 1704. Ahh to be royalty and have all of this to yourself!!
So on Monday, mum's last day, and the first day of Wimbledon, Mum decided to give it a go to queue up for the days tickets. I decided to pass for fear of being too tired for the my first day of work the next day. This is just as well, as the weather was miserable, and I think Mum saw a whole hour of tennis, despite being gone for like 8-10 hours!! Ahh well, at least Mum can say she had been. Maybe the French open next year Mum?
So it was tearful goodbyes, for a very brief visit to England. And a hello to Andrew, a friend of Craigs for him to stay on the deflated blow up mattress for a little while, while he discovered his roots in England and in Italy. It never stops.
posted by CarenT at
5:26 pm
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