Flight to London from Kuala Lumpur very long... albeit, I shouldn’t complain – Aust to London even longer!
Arrived Heathrow Airport 5.30am British time. Charles holding a sign “John and Linda Bickmore” – very sweet. It was 6 degrees, raining, grey and windy. All the Brits tried to say this was unusual!!! yeah, right.. it was as we expected! Charles drove us to his beautiful home - “Picton House, Strand-on-the-Green, Chiswick – has got to be one of the quaintest most beautiful parts of London. The house is over 200 years old and fronts the Thames. Just a beautiful view out the sitting room windows - Canadian geese, swans (owned by the Queen), Mallard ducks, cormorants and herons. Charles gave us a tour of the house, Marks and Spencer, and Fullers Brewery – a very old beautiful looking local brewery which has been in the same family for many generations (the local beer which John has been enjoying). Charles, John and I had lunch at City Barge (2 mins walk from Charles home) which was built in 1640. Of course, all the English things.. Yorkshire pudding etc. Charles and John had a few English beers (cold ones!!).
Tues 29 May 2007
Charles is friends of Kew Gardens - the Royal Botanic Gardens. So we all made the 10 min walk from Charles along the Thames to the gardens. They are just divine, stunning, and I just love big old English trees. Of course, they have an Australian Garden complete with a Wollemi Pine (looks crap compared to the English and tropical gardens (in the Palm House – all heated and humid) in my opinion but they haven’t completed it I hope!)
King George III (1760 – 1820) and Queen Charlotte and their 13 children all lived at Kew Palace in the gardens (built 1616) during the family and constitutional crisis “the madness of King George”. The king's apparent insanity is now recognised as the metabolic disorder porphyria.
Wed 30 May 2007
Charles is good friends with Leopold Abse (a famous retired progressive MP – abolished capital punishment, decriminalised homosexuality, softened abortion and divorce laws etc and was also a famous criminal lawyer) a very interesting man – he is 91 and his 2nd wife Ania is 41 - artist – and never a better marriage did one see. He joked to us last night that she married him for the sex, and he married her for the money !! they are extremely happy and never stop laughing – so much for the stuffy English ! He said a man must have a younger partner and never retire… he wrote 'The Bi-Sexuality of Daniel Defoe – A psychoanalytic survey of the man and his works', 'Wotan, My Enemy – Can Britain live with the Germans in the European Union?', 'Margaret, daughter of Beatrice – A politician’s psycho-biography of Margaret Thatcher','The man behind the smile – Tony Blair and the Politics of Perversion' and the one I have just finished 'Fallatio, Masochism, Politics and Love'. Ania took us to Piccadilly Circus, and to very English Shoppes eg one of my favs Laura Ashley.
Thurs 31 May 2007
Charles has pictures of our family on the wall – Robert Trappes of Bermondsey – Warden of the Goldsmiths Company – 1477-1560, and his wife Joan Trappes from the Portrait at Gonville and Caius College. London is truly amazing - the antiquity of everything and the sheer beauty (just like your coffee table English Gardens book – best roses in England that I have ever seen).
Visited Tate Britain (old Tate) – containing some of Britain’s art over the last 500 years. We saw Mark Wallinger's "What are the Principles of Free Expression?" which is a replica of the real original demonstration against the War in Iraq opposite Westminster (which we also saw). Saw Francis Bacon's famous triptych which shocked audiences in the 40s (we've obviously been desensitised!!), Lady of Shalott (1888) by Waterhouse, The Saltonstall Family (1637) David des Grange's life size family portrait, as well as Sculpture. Ania took us to her friend Pat Hopewell's exhibition of silk and metal at the Holborn Artists Studios, then dinner in Soho. Ania has an allotment in Chiswick which we walked through - very lovely.
Saturday 2 June 2007
Portobello Road Antique Markets - not John's thing but he was very loving and patient with my slowness! Lots of very good buskers - funky doods!! Leo and Ania's for dinner which was lovely.
Sunday 3 June 2007
Danny McAvoy came to Charles and we all went to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. John and Danny drank London Pride beer on the Thames - very common!! hee hee
Monday 4 June 2007
Walked from Westminster (very beautiful and imposing house of parliament) past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (Othello showing so watch this space!) to the Tower Bridge and back around the Thames. John took lots of photos.
Tues 5 June 2007
John visited the Science and Natural History Museum.
Wed 6 June 2007
We joined "The Historic Palaces" and the cost goes to charity. Visited the Tower of London - William the Conqueror's mighty white tower completed by 1100 and marks the start of the Tower of London's history as a palace and a fortress. Now holds the royal armouries collection including Henry VIII's armour. Saw the chopping block where Anne Berlin, amongst others, were beheaded!, Charles II's ravens, the Queen's coronation, the crown jewels and had the Yeoman (beefeater) tour.
Double decker bus home.
Thursday 7 June 2007
Thames Historic Walk - from Charles to Richmond and back all along the Thames. Drink at a very old pub "the Apprentice".
Friday 8 June 2007
Drove a hire car to Todmorden to look at a VW van that John has found. This way we got to see a majority of England in 4-5 days. England is not really that big - but maybe this is just because we are used to Australia which is so vast! Stayed in a hotel in Burnley.
Sat 9 June 2007
Drove to Preston and drove ourselves bonkers looking at motor home after VW van. Drove to Grasmere Cumbria in the Lakes District (only about 1 hour from Scotland) - where William Wordsworth (poet) grew up and died (saw his family plot). Stayed the night at a YHA. Drove through Windermere where Beatrix Potter grew up and was inspired to write and paint her books and drawings, and Ambleside. John was very happy here - very beautiful country which attracts walkers, and outdoorsy types. The countryside is rugged, beautiful, very green, treeless with jagged hills, and stone walls abound. Cottages and towns just so quaint and asthetic to the eyes. John says the only place quite as beautiful in Australia is Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains, and bits of Tasmania.
Sun 10 June 2007
Bought our HOME ON WHEELS from Campbell's in Preson from Jody - she is a 93 model diesel VW, completed 101,000 miles, (9,500 pounds, approx. A$23,000). She has a king size bed, lots of storage space, dining table and comfy benches - which convert to another bed, plenty of space (for a motor home) and can stand up in her, and, a shower and toilet (necessities in my opinion when you are living in a confined space and together 24/7 for 12 months!) We compromised - John would rather eurorail passes, packs and camping or a more human sized Westfalia VW with no shower or toilet (very small but economical - fuel is double the price in Europe compared to Australia - eg 1 pound for 1 litre of fuel so thats A$2.40 per litre). Alas..... I went for the Marilyn Monroe Fat American Style Cruise mobile French brand Talbot motor truck with fluffy carpet, ensuite and separate living areas!!!! Think rock star on tour!! minus the rock star! Cost a bomb to move!!!! We were very civilised in our bargaining together and check out what we got!!! :-)
Stayed in Blackpool on the English North Western Coast at a B&B called "The Canberra"!!
Monday 11 June 2007
Drove to Bath - lives up to its reputation as England's most beautiful city (pop. 90,100). Certainly the most beautiful city I have ever seen. There is a university here, was home to Jane Austin "Pride and Prejudice" etc, and the Roman Baths are 2000 years old. John and I reckoned we could live here quite happily - the Avon River runs through the town of cobblestoned streets (so chooky could go kiyaking). People live in barges alone the river just like along the Thames. Drove to Charles in Chiswick.