Two Saturday Adventures

Today we went with the Ringers, Megan, Stephen and Ann to Portobello Road. The weather held and we had a lovely time. We broke up into smaller groups and spent most of the morning there. I found a great engraving of York and we purchased it . We had lunch sitting on a wall where we feasted on Bratwurst, our Portobello standard.

Ringers and Megan at the top of Portobello road

Beautiful fruit and vegetables in one of the Portobello stalls

Bratwurst time four, with mustard, grilled onions and sauerkraut

If you enlarge this photo you will see how genuinely pleased I am

The walk home along Westbourne Grove past
our favorite post-modern flower shop

In the afternoon, Stephen, Ann, Hank and Colette went to Kew Gardens and I went with the Ringers (Jeff, Amy, and Eliza) and Megan to St. Pancras/Kings Cross Stations and the British Library (Kris stayed in and did the wash). After that we walked down toward Bloomsbury and stopped at the Charles Dickens House. We didn't pay to go through it, we just walked back into the gift shop and saw half the house on the way in. We continued on to Russell Square and popped into the Hotel Russell, a fantastic Victorian building with extravagant terra-cotta decorations. Thence to the British Museum for Megan to have a a look at the new covered atrium. We kept on down Museum Street, which turns into Drury Lane, to Aldwich and Sommerset House. At that point Jeff and I broke off and the girls kept on trucking until everyone from all the various groups met at Wagamama for dinner.

Megan visits the phony Harry-Potter site - they must have
grown tired if people asking where platform 9 3/4 is and built
this nice little "platform" off in an out-of-the-way spot

The Russell Hotel, mentioned in the Heavy Side Layer from Cats

The fabulous covered courtyard at the British Museum

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera at dinner because I had drained the battery which is currently charging. With 220 volts, the battery recharges very quickly, but not quite quickly enough for tonights outing. After dinner we walked through Kensington Church Walk, which is a great little passageway leading to beautiful gardens and wonderful little shops and houses. It is always so fun to visit someplace new. We walked back toward home on beautiful Palace Gardens (millionaires row) which is romantically lit with gas lights. We finished off the evening with gelato at the shop near Queensway on Bayswater Road and then walked home down Queensway and along Moscow Road, dropping Stephen and Ann at the Bayswater station where they caught the Circle Line home to their flat. We now have to make the bed and get in it.

That's all for now. Church tomorrow, so there probably won't be anything unusual to post.

Good night all.

OXO

D.

A Rainy Day in Greenwich

Today we took a boat down the Thames to Greenwich. The boat ride is always fun and most of the journey today was great. It began to rain, however, and we went to the lower covered portion of the boat.

Arriving in Greenwich, we went for lunch. Some of us had fish and chips and some had pasties. We hiked up to the observatory in the rain and when we were finished there, we marched down in the rain and went in the Queen's House. By the time we finished there the rain was letting up. We crossed Romney Road to Wren's Naval Hospital where we visited the beautiful dining hall and chapel. We took the Docklands Lightrail home. It has become and extremely busy line. In the old days it seemed like more of a tourist trip. But the Docklands have exploded and there are TONS of commuters using the line.

The Taylor-Woodburys and the Dickies ready to sail to Greenwich

Boat riders; the students are all behind the photographer

Lovely in all kinds of weather

Rain and umbrellas at the prime meridian

Wren's Royal Naval Hospital/College, now the University of Greenwich

The dining hall at the Royal Hospital

View back to the Docklands development from the Royal Hospital

I don't know what tomorrow holds. Matt is in town and we will probably all go to dinner, but that's all that's planned for now.

Nice talking to you Emily. It is so sad you don't even recognize your father's voice.

OXO

D.

The Uncles Are Here

Sorry there was no post yesterday but we went to Loves Labor Lost at the Globe last night. It was evidently very good, but we couldn't see or hear from where we were sitting. The student groundlings did much better than we. Anyway, we got home very late and just went to bed.

The uncles and Megan have arrived in London. Yesterday after class we went walking to Holland Park and then we took the bus to Chelsea. Colette had some specific literary sites she wanted to see and so we ended up at Sloan Square. It was a nice afternoon even though I had been there rather recently.

The whole group in the Ringer's lounge prior to the afternoon's outing

The fish vendor on Notting Hill Gate - Tony painted it

Admiring the coy at the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park

Hank, Colette, Stephen, and Ann on the King's Road in Chelsea

More soon on our day at Greenwich.

OXO

D.

Blenheim and the Cotswolds

Yesterday, we went to Blenheim Palace, ancestral home of the Churchills and birthplace of Winston Churchill. In the afternoon we visited three villages in the Cotswolds, the hilly (wold is a hill) triangle between Stratford, Oxford, and Cheltenham. The area is filled with picturesque villages with stone houses with stone roofs. The area was historically a major center of raising sheep for wool. Today it is filled with tourists, including us.

Kris was pleased to see this bottle with her ancestral name
on it - she didn't drink a drop of it

Amy, Jeff, and Kris in front of Blenheim on a cool and breezy morning.

Kris posing with a familiar grotesque in the gardens at Blenheim

Kris and the Ringers (minus Hansen) at the
ancient market building in Chipping Camden

A volunteer spot of brightness, cheering passersby
from the wall of a home in Chipping Camden

Kris, Eliza, Amy, Erika Jackson, Bethany Pinnock,
and Emma Barton on the bridge at Bourton on the Water

The Santiagos, who leave for home today, in the beautiful village at Bibury

Amy and Eliza at Arlington Row in Bibury

Stephen and Ann, and Hank and Colette will be here at the Centre shortly and we will be off on some adventure, unknown right now, but which I will blog later. They all arrived yesterday.

OXO

D.

An Afternoon in Chelsea

This afternoon we went with the Ringers, Santiagos, and Bartons to Chelsea. We started at Sloan Square and walked along King's Road with all its fun shops. We walked through the grounds at the Chelsea Royal Hospital, but did not get in the building. We will have to try again. We continued up the Chelsea Embankment and along Cheyne Walk where Dante Gabrielle Rosetti lived. We came back to King's Road where mom found some fun presents for the grandbabies. It was a pleasant afternoon free, once more, from any rain. Boy have we been fortunate with the weather.

Amy's image of little school girls

In front of the Chelsea Royal Hospital

The walkers on the Chelsea Embankment -- Kris and Tessa were praying

The gang in front of one of the many fun shops on King's Road --
Tessa and Kris's prayer was answered: they scored

We will report later on our day trip tomorrow.

OXO

D.

A Fun Night Out

Lat night Kris and I went to the Prince of Wales Theatre to see Mamma Mia! It was a fun evening. The music, of course, was great. The clever thing is how they wove all the Abba songs into a fairly strong plot. It worked well and was very entertaining.

Emily, I think you would enjoy it very much if you have time and money when you get here.

Other than that, things are calm. Jeff and I spent the day yesterday cleaning the office and throwing away tons of stuff that had built up over the years. Each new director brings in some thing that they think is so fantastic and no one else uses it. So we chucked it all. There were 10 year old books of train schedules and gobs of floppy discs, which are all useless. It always feels good to purge.

Tomorrow we are off to Blenheim Palace and then to the Cotswolds. We'll let you know how it goes.

OXO

D.

So Sad

Our flat feels very empty. The Youngs departed for home this morning and left us feeling quite sad - you all know the feeling. Finn, who loves cars, trucks, trains, planes, double deckers, bendy buses, and anything that goes, had one more London-transportation wish: a ride in a London Taxi. And what a taxi it was: the brightest one I've ever seen! He was thrilled. They are off now to Paddington Station to catch the Heathrow Express and thence to Phoenix, non-stop. That would be dreamy; changing planes is no fun. We are excited to read Maren's blog and see her photos of the trip. Finn used the potty a couple of times in the last two days, so Maren will be seriously busy sorting out Finn's potty training, but hopefully not too busy to blog.

If you enlarge this you will see Finn's elation
at riding in such a splendid taxi

I guess you can always drown your sorrows
in three washing machines full of sheets and towels

We now look forward to Emily and Madeline's visit in a few days followed by Rob's parents, and then before you know it Katy will be here. Tempus fugit.

OXO

D.

Kew Gardens

This was the Youngs last full day in London and we went to Kew Gardens. It was a lovely day and we were free from rain once again. We made the full circle, pretty much, and enjoyed the beautiful landscape and all the unusual species of plants from all over the world.

The Santiagos are visiting the Ringers and we bumped into their group several times. The students seemed to enjoy the visit, and unlike previous groups were not in such a hurry to leave.

That's the pagoda in the background -- built in the 18th century

Gavin's great image of Finn and Pop Pop at Kew

Maren, Gavin, and the boys in front of Kew Palace

Gavin and Finn in the rock garden

Amy and the Santiagos at Kew

Gavin and Finn in front of the Palm House --
Henry Moore is also at Kew as you can see

The trip home on the District Line

The blogs will probably be just a little less frequent after Maren and Gavin leave. I don't think our pace will be quite as quick as it has been for the last two weeks. We need to get serious about school and get the office cleaned out. It is a mess with junk from an eternity of previous directors. That's all for today.

OXO

D.

Out and About

The Youngs were going to go to Windsor, but Gavin wrenched his back a bit and so they weren't quite up to hauling push-chairs up and down stairs. So they visited a few more places here in London and I went along. Kris watched Harry while he napped.

We crossed the Millennium Bridge from St. Pauls and they went for a tour of the rebuilt Globe Theatre and I went to the Tate Modern. We took the Jubilee Line to Westminster, which is my all-time-favorite tube station in London. It is so high-tech and futuristic -- I love it. They then took a quick turn around the Banqueting House, after which we took the bus home. Finn has wanted to ride a bendy bus (one of the very long one-story buses that bend in the middle and make absolutely no sense in London) so we took one to Piccadilly Circus and then caught the good old #94 bus home. Kris and I joined the Youngs for tea at the Kensington Palace Orangery.

Presently, Maren and Gavin are touring Kensington Palace and Kris and I brought Finn home. On the way we encountered a great old guy feeding the squirrels, which made Finn ecstatic.

The Youngs on the Millennium Bridge on their way to the Globe

Dickie and Maren headed toward the Tate Modern

Inside the Westminster Station

Up the escalators at Westminster station

The Youngs with the Westminster Palace clock tower
(AKA Big Ben) in the background

The Orangery at Kensington Palace -- the scones were yummy

The eaters enjoying tea at the Orangery

The squirrel guy made Finn very happy

The Youngs are going to Spamalot tonight and we will watch the boys. Tomorrow we are off to Kew Gardens with the students on their "London study day." That's all for now.

OXO

D.

The Happiness Hotel

You may remember this photo of our flat when we arrived a couple of weeks ago. Well, look at us now:

This place is very small with no storage whatsoever, so it is difficult to have it looking in tip-top shape when folks are staying here. Those little guys are enjoying the benefits of a padded floor

We love having it like this because it means those we love are with us.

So "there are bugs and there are mice, sure we have our little problems, but you'll never beat the price!"

P.S. I must go on record and say that it does get cleaned up each morning as best as is possible.

OXO

D.