Ka Pai Visits Hever Castle

Thursday July 29th

Well they finally got me out of Hemi and took me out for the day. I haven't had an outing for ages so it was about time. Turned out to be a great day for me.
It was a lovely fine summer day and Sue drove Mary and Alan off over the High Weald towards Hever Castle. This castle was the childhood home of Ann Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII . It is a compact little castle that would be fun to live in. No one is allowed to take video or photos in the house, so Mary bought the guide book and read it as they went around. There were lots of things to see and they spent a lot of time in the house.

Hever dates back more than 700 years and many notable people lived there. However it was a wealthy American, William Wardolf Astor who used his fortune to restore and extend the castle in the early 20th century. He assembled a magnificent collection of antique portraits, furniture and tapestries. The Astors turned the castle into a lavish but comfortable home where they entertained royalty and famous people.

Nancy Astor famously said to Churchill, “Winston if you were my husband , I’d poison your tea”. Churchill replied, “Nancy, if I were your husband, I’d drink it”.

The gardens, which were designed to display William Wardolf Astor’s collection of Italian Sculpture, cover 125 Acres. 1,000 men worked on the garden for four years to create it and it took 800 men to dig out the ornamental lake that cover 38 acres alone. There is a photo of the golden yew chess set in the garden.

There are two mazes, a traditional yew tree maze. You will see is photo of me after we all made it into the middle. The best one was a splashing water maze. You had to try to get into the centre up little stone tower without getting wet. There were heaps of kids (mainly boys) running around and trying to get wet. We all managed to get through carefully and keep dry. There were lots of wet kids, but it was a hot day and a great way to cool down. There is a little video to watch at the end of the page of the kids having fun in the water maze.

It was a busy full day out and we spent the whole day there enjoying the gardens and grounds and having a picnic lunch.

A Day of Two Halves

Wednesday July 28th

I am enjoying a well earned rest parked up in the drive where it is impossible to get out without moving other cars. Mary got into big trouble with Alan when she asked to borrow his key to get into my side door and broke it off in the lock. It was a dodgy key from the start, but he had been using it carefully. Fortunately it broke off where she had enough to pull the piece out. Then she managed to break the knob off the window opener on the driver’s side. Could be worse!

Patariki had a day out yesterday so he can tell his story.

It is really summery down here in Kent. Mary and Sue packed a picinic and with Alan, went to visit the Red House in Bexley Heath which was the home of William Morris. They had wisely rung ahead and booked a tour of the house for 12.30. Once again only a certain number of people are allowed into the house at any one time. This is also a National Trust property, so it was out with the Historic Places cards again.

This was great to see after having been to the Arts and Craft house in Blackwell where there had been a William Morris exhibition. This was the only house commissioned by Morris and has many of the original features and fixed items of furniture designed by him and his friend the Red House architect Philip Webb. The tour was interesting but the woman who took them around was irritating.

On the way there the Tom Tom took Sue down the tiniest lane that was very busy but only one lane wide with passing bays. A very large camper van had gone along it and was having to back up and shuffle past other cars. Even in a normal sized car like the one we were in it was like playing rubic cube. She had to gently squeeze past several cars to finally make it to the other end. Even Sue who drives these roads all the times was amazed at the difficulty getting through it and wondered why so many people were even attempting it. GPS perhaps???

After the tour they had lunch in the garden before returning home via Eylesford village. There were lots of children having fun with their families in a small stream alongside the village green. They nearly all had nets and were “pond skimming”. Apparently they were catching leeches and one child had put one on his leg to suck blood. Yuck!

At 4.30 the big people all set out for Croydon and left us little kiwis home to look after Hemi so Mary will have to tell you about the concert by the RAF Central Band at Fairfield Hall in Croydon.

The plan was to meet Hamish and Louise in Croydon for a meal at about 5.30 but on the way we got a text to say that had just arrived so it would be nearer 6.00 which was fine. We had allowed ourselves plenty time to get there and it paid off. Phil decided to drive right up on the forecourt of the concert hall and a kind man came over and said we could park there, right outside the front entrance and he would come and get the money in a minute. We were not sure what kind of money you had to pay for such a prime spot but decided to see if it was affordable. He said £4.50 for the whole evening and we said “Yes please!”

There was a very handy pub just across from the Hall so we went and booked a table for six. We had to go under the road and through the underground parking attached to the concert hall. We discovered that it was considerably more to park under there so felt very pleased with ourselves. We ordered Tapas ahead so that the food would be ready when Hamish and Louise arrived, as they were on a tight schedule. After they left we practiced speed eating desserts, and made it back over to the concert with 5 just minutes to spare.

This year is the 70th Anniversary since the Battle of Britain and the RAF are celebrating it with events throughout the year. The concert was part of the Royal Air Force Bands Anniversary Tour. The whole concert was themed with a narrator, lighting effects and audio clips of Winston Churchill, planes and guns firing. Hayely Westenra was the guest artist, and sang white Cliffs of Dover, Nightingale in Berkley Square, Oh Danny Boy, As Time Goes By, Pokarekare Ana, Abide With Me and We’ll Meet Again.

I had asked Hamish at dinner if he was doing anything special, and he said he might be, wait and see. It wasn’t a Squadronaires concert , but they did a tribute number to the Squads and Hamish popped up and played several trombone solos in it. Then the conductor walked off the stage, and the four trombones stood up, Hamish counted them in and they went off on a wild tangent that seemed to have nothing to do with the rest of the programme. It was never announced in any way, it just happened. It was called Trombones Number 5, an arrangement of Mambo No 5. They seemed to enjoy it and it went down well with the audience.

All the usual popular repertoire was in the programme as well, Battle of Britain March, Knightsbridge March, Pomp and Circumstance 4 and of course they finished with the RAF March Past at a cracking pace, that was so quick they could never have marched to it. (Perhaps they were in a hurry to get home) It all seemed to be over so soon, but not for Hamish and Louise who reminded us that they are in the middle of Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace this week so there is no sleeping in the next day.

Hamish popped out to say goodbye at the end.(If you have family in the audience you are relieved of packing up duties which he was only too happy to take advantage of) They also like a certain number of the band to interact with the audience at half time and at the end of the concert.

Down and Around to Kent

Tuesday July 27th
Another travelling day today so after coffee they packed me up and set off in the direction of Sevenoaks in Kent. The weather forecast was dreadful so Mary was expecting another day of slow driving and lots of spray but it stayed fine. It was motorway travel all the way and the Tom Tom gave clear directions and apart for a lunch stop, it was all very straightforward. The m25 seemed to go on forever,but Mary said it was all very familiar if a tad boring.

They arrived at the Day’s at about 4pm to find no one home. Mary managed to back me right down to the bottom of the drive so that all the other cars could come in after me. Parking on the road is impossible. They left me and went for a walk over Knole Park which is just across the road. It was too late in the day to actually go into the house and they have been in twice before. It is National Trust and was the home of the Sackville Family. There were a lots of young deer in the park.

In the evening it was time for a catch up and planning for the next two days. Sue has some good places planned for visits locally.

Now from the Brit PC file: Mary read this in the paper the other day.

Punch’s Stick gives way to Feather Duster
A Punch and Judy man has been ordered to tone down his act after organisers said the traditional show could be deemed offensive. Daniel Liversidge, 36, has been told his forthcoming Mr Marvels Punch and Judy performance at the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth cannot include any scenes with Punch hitting Judy with a stick. Mr Liversidge, who has been performing his act for 21 years said: “You have to move with the times. At the end of the day I am a children’s entertainer and my job is to keep children happy. Mr Punch is still a rascal and still has a variety of weapons in his arsenal but they are more appropriate, like a feather duster or a tickling stick.”
Mr Liveridge has also tweaked his script to give the 200 year old story a more modern tone and carry messages to the audience. Punch argues with Judy over his love for football and her shopping habits, while children are encouraged to call for the police when Punch is naughty. Paul Mahy, the commercial manager at the Spinnaker Tower said: “We have agreed that many of the aspects of the traditional script had to be omitted. For example, Judy was originally put through a mangle, obviously we cannot do this any more".


( I take it this means that every Xbox game, video game, DS Nintendo, TV show, movie will need to be banned as well as they contain way more violence than poor old Punch and Judy. )

Pania Makes a Daring Climb up the Belfry

Monday July 26th

Today was another travelling day so they packed me up and set out for Walsall. Now the reason for going to Walsall was to visit John and Diane who had been on teacher exchange to NZ last year in Taranaki. They had visited Mary and Alan twice during the year and invited them back to stay with them. It was a lovely straightforward run along a busy motorway but easier than all those narrow one way lanes with dry stone walls to avoid.
They made good time and arrived in time for lunch and to meet the four French students that daughter Jenny was tutoring English to for two weeks.

After lunch, Mary tucked me in her pocket and John took them out walking locally. The first stop was at his local church where he is the bell tower captain. He had the most amazing set of keys to open the huge church door and then the door to the bell tower. They climbed the narrow stone spiral staircase up to level where the bell ropes are pulled by the ringers. John brought the ropes down and undid two of them so he could ring some bells. He let Alan have a go at ringing one as well. He then rang the biggest bell and this one lifted his feet off the ground. It was amazing to see him swinging on the rope. He had to be careful otherwise it would have taken him up so far he would have hit his head on the roof. The room was full of interesting plaques of bell ringing sessions that went on for 6 hours and recorded the number of peals and changes in the session.

They then climbed up another level to where the works of the tower clock are housed. It had originally been installed by the gas company in the 1800’s so that the gas men would know when to light the gas lamps. Up till ten years ago the gas company sent men up the tower once a week to wind the clock but it is now all automated.

Then it was up another level and the stone staircase seemed to be getting even narrower. I was in Mary’s jacket pocket but I was rubbing against the sides of the walls all the way up. John reminded them that there was no ACC in England. This was the level the bells were on and you could see them there in all different sizes and the wheels and pulleys. Then it was up another wooden ladder and we were looking down on the bells.

The final climb was the scariest. It was up a very narrow iron spiral staircase that they could just fit inside. I was too bulky in Mary’s pocket she had to hold me carefully to be able to get up the narrow stairs. There was a little door at the top that led outside to the top of the tower where there was just enough room to walk sideways and take in the view. You could see as far as Birmingham and all around the surrounding district.

Having made it to the top it was now time to come down and care was needed, but by taking it slowly we all made it down safely. John sprinted down without even holding the rope, and also told them how he climbed all around the bells to do the maintenance.

We then wandered into the town to the Art Gallery which was extensive and interesting. John filled in as much as could of the history of Walsall on the walk there and back.
Back home we met the tow Spanish students that were staying with the family for 3 weeks while they did a language course at the local university. It was a truly international household with the kiwis thrown in as well.

Between Bakewell and Buxton: Biggest Brightest Best Bargain Bookshop in Britain

Sunday July 25th
No action here for ages this morning. I don’t remember them ever sleeping in so late. It must have been all that walking yesterday. I heard them revising their plans. Because this campsite was so remote and had no facilities, seems they thought it would be a good idea to burn their bridges and not come back here for a second night.

Mary had found a pamphlet about a bookstore at Oakmere and wanted to stop off at it on the way to Buxton. Billed as the biggest, brightest and best bargain bookshop in Britain, 95% of the stock is on sale at half price or less. It was enormous and I was not surprised when they returned with a bag of books.

At Buxton it wasn’t easy getting a park in town, there were people and cars everywhere. Found out that the reason for that was the town was in the last day of a three week festival. They finally found a park and managed to scrape enough coins together to get four hours parking. Some very officious parking officers were slapping parking notices on people’s cars. They took at least three photos of each car and a photo of the sign saying a max of 4 hours parking so there would have been no disputing a ticket.

Mary noticed free WiFi at The Old Clubhouse which also had a Sunday roast buffet so they went in there and combined lunch with internet. After an enormous meal they went for a wander through the main part of Buxton which is full of elegant buildings. They inquired about looking through the famous Opera House but it wasn’t possible as they were in between shows. They would have gone to one, but had missed the 10.30 and the 5.00 would have been too late. Apparently it is amazing inside. It was closed for refurbishment when they had been here in 2001, and they were unable to make it the NZ Youth Band concert when Hamish played there in2003. Perhaps next time???

The pavilion and gardens were crowded with people and on further investigation they found there was a classic car rally, ( I can nearly qualify for that) craft fair and a brass band playing in the band stand. The pavilion was Victorian in a large octagonal shape and it was full of arts and crafts. It was a beautiful old building with a stage at one end and had also been restored. Outside they looked at the line up of cars and listened to the band playing Singing in the Rain, but today it was fine but overcast. It was not a top grade band, (Whaley Bridge) but they have heard worse and the people were enjoying listening to a well thought out programme for the occasion.

On the way out there was a man with an old fashioned organ grinder, so Ka Pai had his photo taken with him and Alan gave the man a donation.

They sorted out another campsite at Ashbourne which is in a handy direction for travelling to Walsall tomorrow. The man at the campsite pointed out to Alan that the computer already had them booked into another campsite, but he explained that they had to book two nights there in order to get one and that they wanted something a bit less remote and also with facilities. He unbooked them and booked them into here.

A Visit to a Very Stately Home

Saturday July 24th

Today the plan was to go to Chatsworth so I drove them in the right direction from the campsite. All went well until they saw a sign that said that no vehicle to access to Chatsworth, so they parked in the village and decided to walk there, only to find there was no pedestrian access either. Unbeknown they had come at it from the wrong the side. By this time they had locked me all up and paid for 3 hours parking. So they asked at the local shop and the girl said go over the little bridge and turn right and you will be in Chatsworth Park. Sounded easy, but Chatsworth park is huge covering 737 hectares. However it was a lovely walk. On the way they passed a huge campsite with hundreds of tents. Turned out it was the International Scout and Guide Jamboree held in Derbyshire every 5 years. There were over 6000 people camped there.

The walk took 25mins to reach the house which suddenly appeared out from behind the trees. It was absolutely magnificent, set in the most beautiful grounds.

Ka Pai sneaked into the house for free by hiding in a bag, as the backpacks had to be handed in at the gate, but they gave us a small plastic bag to carry our cameras and phones in.

The inside is beyond description and they were glad to have bought the guide book which really let them know what they were looking at. The Devonshire collection at Chatsworth has been handed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family from eldest son or the nearest male heir. The 11th Duke inherited 80% tax on all his land and possessions so wisely created the Chatsworth House Trust to protect Chatsworth and its collections for future generations of visitors. It was at this time that Hardwick hall was gifted to the state in lieu of tax and taken over by The National Trust. The 12th duke and his wife now pay rent to live at Chatsworth but are hands on and run it is a very smart business. The duke has been collecting contemporary sculptures to compliment and contrast with the existing works of art of which there are many. Mary and Alan could have done with twice as much time but the visit left a lasting impression.

Because they were tight for time they ate their lunch while walking back to Hemi. They then decided they had better go and see where they were going in Bakewell for the 60th birthday that evening. They found the place easily but it was obvious that there would be no parking anywhere close. They had to keep going quite a way down the road before being able to stop and reset the Tom Tom. They asked it to take them to the campsite that proved to be a bit more remote than they were expecting. It took them down some very tight country lanes and then down a narrow steep lane between some houses and they were sure it had them lost but finally they got “to our destination.”

The lady at the site told them they could get a bus in to Bakewell and they left at 20 to the hour every hour, but it was a mile into the village. So they got tidy and set out for the bus. Took just over 20 min to walk to the village where they consulted the bus timetable and it seemed there was no bus at 16.40. Askedat the pub and the publican assured them the bus came at the time. When it hadn’t come at 16.50, Mary checked again and discovered at it was due at 17.01. Much relief when it turned up at 17.08. So they got into Bakewell and then found the supermarket to stock up with supplies for the party.

They had a great time with Ann’s friends and family. At 9.30 thought it might be a good idea to try and make it back to the camp before it got pitch dark, so Tom drove us back and said he didn’t need the Tom Tom just the map, because he was Tom. Before he left he offered to take us all on his narrow boat for a weekend in October it they can fit it in. Sounds like fun to us guys but Hemi will probably sulk when he gets left behind that weekend!

From the Lake District to the Peak District.

Friday 23 July

Today was a travelling day so they packed me up and set off to the Peaks. They stopped at Halfords to see if they could buy some chocks, as the campsite they are hoping to go to at Bakewell has very little level ground and recommends you bring chocks. The only ones they had looked like toy ones so they forgot about it.

Alan set the Tom Tom and the lady seemed pretty happy and Mary did as she was told. It works like this. Alan holds the Tom Tom in his hand. When the lady talks he holds it to his ear so he can hear it and then he relays the message to Mary. It is a bit hard to hear otherwise, not that I am noisy of course!

Mary knew that the Moto at Lancaster services had free Wifi so they timed their morning tea to take advantage of this. She had a great session over a cup of coffee, checking email, checking the bank accounts and posting the blog.

Then it was back on the road again and I got to go quite fast and actually passed a truck. Then we got into the slow traffic and it was first and second gear for ages and lots of stopping and starting. It gave me time to read a few things on other vehicles. One was Graduate Cleaners Wanted. Do you actually need a degree to clean now? The other one was on a TK Maxx truck and it said, “does my chassis look big in this?” Further down the road I saw a sign to Last Drop Village. What could that mean? Speaking of last drops, Alan is keeping me satisfied with liquids. He checks on my oil and water daily, but it is the spirits that I am really fond of and he keeps me well topped with these.

The Tom Tom lady confused them once with her directions when she said to keep right which they did and then a 5th lane suddenly appeared in the middle that they were meant to take. She replanned the route and successfully turned them around at the next roundabout.

Mary was hopeful that they would get to Hardwick Hall, but time was going by and it was now the middle of the afternoon. However when they reached the turn off to the campsite where they were planning to go for the night, they saw the signs to the Hall and followed them. It was a short distance down the road and they thought they had time to squeeze a visit in. Had it not been National Trust they would have been very reluctant to pay the asking price £10 50 each an hour before closing time. The drive in took nearly five minutes. To say the property is secluded is an understatement. It is certainly are not “overlooked”.

The little kiwis weren’t really interested in bunch of old furniture and tapestries, so they stayed and kept me company while Mary and Alan went into the house and Mary will write about it.

Hardwick was the home of Bess Hardwick built in the 1590’s when she was in her 70’s and had already seen off four husbands. There is a stunning collection of rich tapestries hanging floor to ceiling in every room; some of the finest tapestries in Europe. There is also amazing plaster work throughout the house. It is very light and airy described as having more glass than wall. The whole place is quite beyond description, the scale is enormous. The tapestries are complimented by one of the finest collections of Elizabethan furniture in England. We managed to get through the house before it closed at 4.30 and then spent some time in the immediate garden but didn’t have time to explore the extensive grounds which were several acres.

Back in the van they turned the Tom Tom on to find the campsite at Teversal. It was amazingly close but down a narrow lane with passing bays. On arrival we wondered if we would get in as they were turning another couple away. Seems you have to stay two nights in the high season if you book ahead. However they are prepared to fill up any vacant spots late in the day with casuals, so we got in.

The vans are big and flash here and so are the cars that pull the caravans which are also very luxurious. The ablutions block is 5 star. We have never seen anything like it. Each shower has its own toilet and hand basin. The showers are automatic, you just stand under them to make them work. The floor tiles have under floor heating. It is all brand new and no expense has been spared.

We talked to the custodian about finding a campsite in Bakewell and he pointed out that the clubsite has no showers and toilets. He kindly printed a list of all the campsites in the area and Mary started ringing and found them all full. As they really need to stay in or around Bakewell tomorrow night they started to despair. In the end she rang the club site and they had a space, with no ablutions, so they took it, but had to take it for two nights as that is the condition of pre booking in the high season. So they are going to have to make the most of these beautiful facilities before they move on. They have a 60th birthday party to go to in Bakewell on Saturday evening and can catch a bus from the campsite which is good.

Patariki Gets to Meet Peter Rabbit and Friends

Thursday July 22nd

Today was always going to be a “Beatrix Potter” Day. I heard them planning it and deciding which way to take me. In the end they drove me to Lake Windermere to catch the Ferry across to Sawrey and Hawkeshead. It was an easy drive in the direction of the ferry and when they got to the ferry there was no queue and got straight on. It cost £4 and five min later they were there. It was just a short rest for me but something different. Over the other side the roads were narrow and had stone walls up the sides. I had a few frights where branches seemed to leap out at me and walls seemed awfully close. We had to squeeze carefully past a few vans and cars. When they got near Hill Top there were no parking signs everywhere and the only place you were allowed to park was in the National Trust car park which was nearly full by the time we got there. They squeezed me into a park and locked and left me while visiting the house.


Patariki got to go on the tour of the house.
Being members of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust lets you into all the National Trust properties for free. Usually they take the card and look at it closely and then say, “Oh yes. Okay”. Not here though, they recognised the card as being from NZ before Alan got it out of his wallet and said, “Welcome to visitors from NZ”. They must get a lot of them here. We had to walk through the village and through a wonderful cottage garden to reach Hilltop Farm.

Hilltop was the property that Beatrice Potter bought and lived in until she married William Heelis. This was the inspiration for many of her stories. Because the house is small and many visitors come each day to visit it, tickets are timed so that there are not too many people in the house at once. Our time was 11.15. Inside the coal stove had an open fire burning and the smell of burning coal drifted through the house.
It also helped light what was a dark panelled room. In every room there was one of her little books open at a specific page to show how she had used things in and around the room in her illustrations. The house was small but full of fine things. The tale of Tom kitten is one of the stories that clearly takes place in the house and garden at Hill Top. When Beatrice Potter died she left an enormous amount of property in the Lakes to the National Trust; most to be let at a reasonable rate. Hill Top was not to be let to anyone and the rooms and furnishings in it “should be kept in their present condition”. It is a collection of her most treasured possessions.

We walked around the beautiful cottage gardens which are kept planted the way she would have had them. You could almost see the characters hiding in it and I had my photo taken in Peter Rabbits garden.
As we walked back to the village Alan photographed the various scenes on the guide that were used in several of her books including the Ginger and Pickles shop.
Back into Hemi and down some more very narrow lanes to the delightful village of Hawkeshead. This was a real find. This is primarily a tourist town, but so neat and clean and with hanging baskets everywhere. This village was where Willie Heelis had his law practice and when he died he gifted the building to the National Trust as well. It now houses the Beatrix Potter Gallery with many of the original sketches and watercolours of her work. It is a changing exhibition as they have so much, but this year is the celebration of 100 years since the publication of the tale of Mrs Tittlemouse so the featured exhibition is “Keeping House with Mrs Tittlemouse”.
Both Mary and Alan headed for a bargain book sale and had to be sensible even though there were some wonderful books at amazing prices. They were heavy and would have quickly cut out the weight allowance going home. But Mary did find the Making of Miss Potter on sale for £1 and it had been £8 in the posh shops selling souvenirs.

They drove through more tricky lanes back to Bowness hoping to find a free WiFi cafe to sit and have coffee while working online but there didn’t seem to be an obvious one. The weather had packed it in again, so they went to The World of Beatrice Potter, which the Japanese and American’s flock to and is primarily for kids. But the two movies that were shown joined all the dots from the previous properties and finished the Beatrice Potter day off nicely. I enjoyed seeing all the characters in their settings and wandering around Peter Rabbit’s garden.

On the way back to the van Mary spied a book sale in the local hall. So in they went, and she came out very happy. She managed to get the last novel in the Poldark saga for £1. This is the book she bought in Hay on Wye in 1993 and loaned to someone and never got it back. Then she found it in a second hand book sale in 2007 somewhere in England but it was in a box that got stolen and didn’t make it home. So perhaps this is third time lucky and she will get to keep this one.

Back at the campsite they planned the next few days and realised that this was the last campsite for a few days with washing machines and driers so hastily got the washing together and done.

For dinner they bought New Zealand lamb chops more cheaply than they could in NZ. How can that be?

Mary is making a scrapbook to compliment this blog, so she was busy with glu sticks and scissors until bedtime. No time for TV off the hard drive tonight.

Pania Discovers Wordsworth Country

Wednesday July 21st

The plan today was to go to the Wordswoth properties at Grassmere. The first stop was Dove Cottage which had a pay and display car park attached. There was a slight discount for the combined tour of the house and Dove Cottage on presentation of the parking ticket. We made it in time for the 10 30 tour. The group of about 10 all huddled into the room that would have been the main living room where there was a coal fire burning in the grate. The fire provided both warmth and light as it was a very dark room all panelled, and it is not over warm here yet even though it is supposed to be the height of summer. The tour guide was excellent giving an insight into the family life at the time when the Wordsworth family lived here. Wordsworth only lived there 10 years, but they were the golden years when most of his significant writing took place. The tour of the house was followed by a look around the garden which was small but steep and had some views of Grassmere.

The ticket also gave us entrance to the Wordsworth museum which was just a few steps away. A very informative DVD set the scene and provided a background into the lives of William Worsdsworth and the other romantic poets living in the Lakes at the same time. There was a wealth of diaries, letters, poetry books and manuscripts, all handwritten and impossible to read. Wordsworth’s wife, sister and his wife’s sister all scribed for him as he composed his poetry aloud often while pacing around.

When the family became too large to remain at Dove Cottage, they rented a much grander house a short way up the road, so after morning tea in the adjacent cafe, we jumped in Hemi and drove further on to Rydal Mount. This was Wordsworth’s best loved family home where he lived until his death in1850 aged 80. It was never owned by Wordsworth, but is now owned by his direct descendants, who visit it on frequent occasions. It is not a museum. The gardens are extensive; four acres designed by Wordsworth himself who was a keen gardener. There are views of Lake Windermere from several places in the garden.
Hemi was parked on a slope in a narrow road and Mary refused to play rubic cube amongst the cars so Alan jumped in manoeuvred him out and up the hill to a wider spot where it was safe to turn around. Mary got back in and they drove on to Ambleside where they found a pay and display carpark with a parking ticket machine that was out of order. Yeah free parking and no rushing to get back.

Ambleside is famous for the little house on the bridge, and it is little. It is said that a family brought up at least 7 children in the two tiny rooms one on top of each other. Although entry is free, it was locked so they were unable to see inside. It was a lovely little town to wander through, full of people starting or finishing walks. Shops that sell all the essentials for the outdoors are everywhere, many having their annual sales. An interesting headline in the local paper stated that “Rescuers Slam Hikers in Ugg Boots on the Fells”

Mary found something very special for Hemi in a little craft shop next door to where they had lunch. It was down a little lane in really out of the way place.
It was a magnet that was also a bottle opener and it has a blue VW camper on it. It is quite special as it is sewn out of cloth.

They drove further on to Kendal, where they strolled through the town in the sunshine! They parked in the local supermarket car park which had a cash back on the parking if you spent £5 in their store; not hard to do. So they stocked up and then set the Tom Tom to take them to the campsite at Kendal. Mary disobeyed some impossible instructions and made the lady in the Tom Tom have to reprogramme the route several times, but they got there in the end. It is a smaller campsite beside a very fast flowing river that is not in danger of flooding. They will stop here two nights and get some much needed washing done.

Mary met some people from the New Forest who live in Lymington and are both retired teachers who took early retirement, so they had heaps to talk about.

Three Little Kiwis Have a Special Treat

Tuesday July 20th

They tell me the bed is fantastic. Using the mattress from the top bunk, downstairs, was inspired. Apart from the problem with the fridge, everything is fine. When they arrived in London in the middle of a heat wave, Mary foolishly thought it was summer and nearly refused Mo’s offer of a duvet. In the end she took it. Is she pleased now? It was very cosy and comfortable last night.
After Breakfast they drove me out to the village car park in Ravenglass. Raqvenglass is the only coastal village in the National Park and was for a busy port for 400 years. They left me parked and took all three little kiwis for special treat. Ka Pai is going to tell the story today.

Today we all went on the Ravneglass Eskdale Railway. After buying return tickets for the cute little train, they took me right up to the engine and put me near the funnel and took my photo. A man jumped out of the train to photograph me as well; he said it was an opportunity not to miss. Whatever did he mean? He must have seen my rugby jersey and ball as he started going on about the All Blacks blowing the South Africans away in their last two games. I got back into the carriage with the big people and my other two little friends and soon we were off racing through the country side in little carriages pulled by a little steam engine called “River Irt” made in 1894.

This railway was originally built in the 1870s to carry iron ore from the workings above the village of Boot down to the coast at Ravenglass. It is now England’s oldest and most scenic 15 inch heritage railway. It ends up at the foot of England’s highest mountains; the Scafell Range. (They are hills really)

When we got to the station, (the trip took about 40 minutes) the big people bought a pamphlet with walks from the station. We all felt pretty good about this, knowing we would be carried the whole way in the backpack. After coffee they set out to walk to the Eskdale Corn Mill in Boot. This is one of the oldest water corn mills in England, dating back to before the earliest records in the area of 1294 and now the last remaining working mill in the Lake District. Besides being a fully working mill, (the miller was present) it is a museum. It is very quaint. All the signs are hand written, many on pieces of cardboard box, or off cuts of wood. One very amusing sign was resting on a piece of machinery. It said, “W hat does this do?” PTO. Mary turned the sign over and it said “Blessed are the Cheesemakers”, Please turn back. It was a cheese press.
Outside the mill was a sign, Beware of the Cat! (Stanley). We never got to see Stanley so we couldn’t beware.

Behind the mill were some mighty noisy crashing waterfalls called the Whillan Beck Falls. It has been raining heaps around here so they were a raging torrent. Mary took lots of video and Alan took photos. Alan then said he wanted to walk further up the road to see some even better falls. So off they set up a big hill. By this time the rain had finally stopped and the sun had come out and it got really hot. They seemed to be getting no closer to anything and it was all uphill when Alan pointed out some falls on a hill miles away and said may be that is them. Mary grabbed the map and pointed out that the falls by the mill were the only ones in this vicinity and that the other “magnificent waterfall“ was at least 7 miles in another direction. She was not impressed. We kept our little heads low in the bag and enjoyed the rest. The climb up the hill had provided them with a marvellous view, so they had their cut lunch up there before walking down.

They did do a further walk to a very small church in a very unlikely place; St Catherines’ Church Eskdale. It dates back to the early 12th Century with a very old font.

We all went back to the station to wait for the next train. We got our photo taken in a Thomas the Tank engine ride. (See Rosemary we did get to meet Thomas the Tank Engine) then it was back to Ravenglass . We sat in the very back carriage so that Mary could get snatches of video of the engine as it went around the bend in front. This time our train was pulled by Northern Rock made in 1976. We walked back to get into Hemi and thankfully he was safe and unharmed. We all set out towards Keswick.

When we got to the campsite at Keswick it was obviously flooded. The man from the campsite came out to speak to us and said he wasn’t taking anyone else in as he had 85 sites under water and there was rain forecast again for tonight and he may have to evacuate people during the night. He kindly gave Alan very good directions to another site about 4miles away. They found it easily. It is Scotgate holiday Park at Braithwaite. It is very modern and very flash. It has the best camp shop ever. No matter what you forgot to bring they have got it. Nice Cafe Restaurant as well.

Pania Visits an Arts and Crafts House

Monday July 19th

Surprisingly Mary found she could still connect to Peter’s wireless internet connection even though she was in the house next door. This was remarkable as both places are built of dry stone walls that are at least two feet (60cm ) thick. She was able to publish her blog, check her email and read some NZ news before getting up.

After a very comfortable night staying at Tommy’s, Mary and Alan went and had breakfast next door at Peter’s and also managed to have a chat to Mary’s mum on Skype. Peter was pleased to actually see Lois and she enjoyed being able to see him as the last time they had actually seen each other was when she stayed with him in 1993.

They set out in Peter’s car to visit Blackwell, an Arts and Crafts house built as a holiday for a prosperous brewer in Manchester. It is built overlooking Lake Windermere. The house is considered to be Ballie Scott’s finest surviving work in England and it is a stunning example of this type of property. Many examples of arts and crafts in the house were from leading designers and craftsmen of the day. In several of the rooms upstairs there was a temporary exhibition featuring William Morris.

Peter then took them for quite a drive around the local area and they drove up through Bowness and Ambleside. It was still raining steadily so they didn’t get out of the car. They drove past Coniston Water but it was still raining and misty. They made a stop to get a few food supplies and some take away sandwiches for lunch and then set off back to Lowick Green to eat lunch and pack up.

Hemi Finally Goes Camping

Mary made Alan back me off the side the road he had parked me on as it was so wet she was afraid I might get stuck. Alan programmed the Tom Tom to take them to Ravenglass. It was a very straightforward journey, but the “Lakes” were on the road. There has been so much rain here that there is water everywhere. It is running across the roads like rivers and there are huge puddles like fords to drive through creating a lot of splash and spray. Everyone on the road was, thankfully, driving to the conditions. The trip took them longer than the Tom Tom said it would but that was understandable.

The campsite was easy to find and they booked me in into a nice piece of hard standing so I won’t get stuck. It is quite large and everyone has big white vans that look new and expensive. I have had a few funny looks. Alan plugged me in and the power works which they seemed to be relieved about. At the moment they don’t seem to be able to get my fridge going on either electricity or gas. They may need to get that looked at. The gas hob goes so they were able to cook okay.
These people need to get tidy fast. They already have too much stuff and just haven’t got their act together with using my many storage compartments efficiently yet. Because of that they can never find anything.
Mary has decided that her best ever purchase was her Net book. Last night they got out the travelling hard drive that contains all the entertainment that Craig had put on it before they left. They will need to be away several years to be able to watch it all. It is better than having TV. There is an amazing menu to choose from and no breaks and no ads. They settled down, with it still pouring outside, and watched an episode of James May’s Toy Stories about Airfix.

The netbook connects to the internet, deals with the photos and video and now provides the entertainment. They have to carry a technology bag with them with all the hard drives, chargers, adapters plugs etc for all the cameras, phones, GPS, computer etc. Honestly they could put a man on the moon with the computing power they have in that bag! Mary did go over to the camp office to ask about connecting to WiFi. It is not working properly. They are waiting for someone to come and sort it out. She didn’t think that would be today.

Hopefully it will stop raining soon! But the good news is, I don’t let the rain in so they made the bed up and settled down to listen to the rain on the roof.

A Wet Ride Up to The Lakes

Sunday July 18th
Hello to all the children in Room One. I see you are now back at school and following my adventures. Hope you all had a great holiday and are now enjoying being back at school and are working hard for Mrs Little. Don’t forget to leave me some comments.

This morning it was time to pack me up and get on the road again to head North West to the Lakes. Joyce had invited her friend Pam for breakfast to see Mary and Alan whom she had met on a visit to NZ with Joyce last year. It was a good opportunity for Mary to Skype her mum in NZ so that everyone could have a chat together online.

The Tom Tom gave us great directions, but the journey took longer than it had calculated due to extremely heavy rain and the need for caution associated with the conditions. Mary found the spray on the road caused a huge mist and the sheer volume of traffic made the driving quite tricky. These are conditions they never see in NZ as there is never this much traffic on the road kicking up so much water all at once. However, being Sunday there were a few less trucks on the road than during the week.

After a stop at a very busy wayside Costa Moto, it was only a short way to Lowick Green near Ulverston in the Lake District. They have come up here to visit Peter Bell, one of the cousins Mary’s mum has kept in touch with. After a cup of tea and a chat, Peter took them next door to meet Tommy where they are staying as Peter has a tiny one bedroom cottage. In spite of its size, apparently in the past a family had brought up seven children in it, and that was before the kitchen and a room above that had been added on! The cottage probably dates from the 17th century and has very thick stone walls and a slate roof. The first picture is of Peter's cottage; Ivy Cottage, the second one is of Tommy's Lowick Farm.

Tommy was very keen to take Alan to see the local lodge room, so he took Alan out and Peter took Mary out. Even though it was still raining, both got a look around the local area and some history of the place. Ulverston was where Stan Laurel (Laurel and Hardy) was born and there are lots of references to him in the town and a bronze statue of them both outside the local theatre, known as Coronation Hall.
Alan tried to back me up the drive at Tommy’s but the ground is too wet so I am parked just outside the gate on the edge of the village green. I am all locked up and alarmed so I should be safe over night.

In the evening Peter drove us all to a local pub called the Royal Oak where we had a lovely meal. Plans were made for an outing tomorrow before they drive me on to a campsite at Ravenglass. Seems they are going camping at last.

Patariki has a Busy Day Sightseeing in Cheshire

Saturday July 17th
After a leisurely breakfast Joyce took us out for the day. We started with a visit to the staircase locks on the canal at Bunbury. There were canal boats in the double lock waiting to go down to the lower levels. I have been on a canal boat before so I know all about shutting and opening gates and using the windlass. We took a short stroll down the tow path to look at the boats moored alongside the canal. Some were privately owned but a lot were being serviced ready to be hired out later in the day.

From there we went to a lovely quintessential English pub for lunch called the Dysart Arms. It was full of little rooms and nocks and crannies. It had a lovely view out over the garden and the village houses. Alan wanted to take photos but all his batteries were flat, so we made a quick trip up the village to buy some.
On the wall of the pub was a quaint hand written notice and the section about the picnic really amused Mary.


Rules Unity Church Choir
The annual picnic shall be held on a date chosen at the general meeting;

Members unable through work to go on Saturday may make application for a Wednesday picnic and the matter will be considered by the church committee.

Members will have been in the choir for 2 months to be eligible for the picnic.

Members shall make at least 80% attendance at practises and 50% at services to be eligible for the picnic.

We then went into the village church. St Boniface was a huge church for such a small village. It was very light and airy. Would you believe it, the font was full of rubber ducks, so I had my photo taken with some friends nearer my size.
This church is listed in the book England’s Thousand Best Churches. Features listed as worth seeing are the alabaster effigy of a giant and the “bulging udder” woman.
There are parts of an old parclose screen with crude paintings on the walls in the nave. The Ridley Chapel has a stonescreen with paintings on the dado with surviving colour from the 1300s. In the back of the church is a statue of a woman who was the wife of a local dancing master and has “bulging udders” that offended the local 18th century vicar so he ordered it be buried. In 1882 it was rediscovered and put back in the church.

The next stop was Beeston Castle, a ruin on a bare crag 500ft above the plain .It is a ruin but a very dramatic one. It is now in the care of English Heritage. There was quite a climb up the hill to reach it, but once up there we had magnificent views all over the Cheshire plains.

We then had afternoon tea at the Pheasant at Burwardsley, followed by a visit to a candle factory. Lots of unusual candles and things to buy but no sale today. After a stop at an amazing farm shop that was very upmarket we returned home for a lovely dinner and an early night.

I Make My First Long Journey

Friday July 16th

Today everyone was up bright and early and everything was packed into me and I was off. Alan checked my oil and water, which was a wise thing to do. Alan and Mary said goodbye to Kathy and Mike and they headed out onto the A 14. The little kiwis all sat together on the back seat as they are taking a rest today and it is my turn to write the story.

The trucks were everywhere as this is the road that runs down and back from the port in Felixstowe. It is the second largest port in Europe and basically all the ships that supply the UK come in there. The freight is moved by trucks and there are plenty of them. They act like they own the road and change lanes constantly and try to overtake each other. One of them pulled in so close in front of me that I don’t know how it didn’t scrape my headlights. Suddenly a man in a car in the other lane popped out the passenger window nearly up to his waist, like a Jack- in- the- box waving his arms in anger at the truck driver. Not sure if he was doing it on my behalf, but it looked an impressive but rather dangerous display of road rage.

Alan had programmed the Tom Tom for the fastest route this time. It was so noisy on the road he had to hold it up to his ear to hear the lady who lives inside it talking and then relay the message to Mary. All along the A14 they have installed a series of big new electronic signs. They aren’t working yet. Under every single sign is a yellow sign which reads “sign not yet in use”. If it is not going wouldn’t that be obvious?

Mary has noticed that some people do have personalised plates over here, but they are unimaginative. They have not seen a clever one yet that says anything. They keep commenting about this. The only way you can tell that they are personalised over here is that they don’t fit the pattern. With seven spaces just imagine all the creative combinations you could come up with. Must ask her to think of a good one for me.

As well as the big trucks, people in lovely little open top sports cars weave in and out the lanes as well. It is trying to rain today so you do wonder why they are so keen to have the hood down especially with the amount of exhaust fumes on the motorways.

Mary looked at the petrol gauge and decided I needed refreshments, so they pulled into a highway BP. They looked after me, but found it impossible to get a park so drove on a lot further and finally found a place where they could stop and have coffee. This was a huge place where all the coaches call, called Cambridge Services. They parked me up by all the flash caravans and campers. Mary remembered the little girl in her class at New Milton, whose family stopped at a place like this for a meal and when they came back their caravan had gone. The dad had not bothered to get the wheel clamp out and they lost their caravan and all their stuff in it forever. Mary did notice that some sensible people had put their wheel clamps on, but others hadn’t. They are very good at putting the lock on my steering wheel and the alarm on, but they have to be as it is a condition of the insurance.

Back on the road again and still on the A14 which seems to go on forever. Alan thought he had programmed the Tom Tom to keep me off the M6 toll road, but no, I was suddenly on it and what a joy it was too, three lanes and nearly no trucks. We made really good progress and the weather was still pretty good. They pulled off at the last services before having to pay the toll to have lunch, which they had brought with them. Mary saw a RAC man selling memberships and suggested to Alan that it might be sensible to join just in case I broke down one day. If I was to feel a little unwell on the motorway, it costs a fortune for the “ambulance” to come, so they joined up for peace of mind.

Being a VW campervan on the road means you belong to a very special elite club and no other VW van will go past you without a wave, a toot or a flash of the lights, How cool is that. I got quite a few friendly gestures yesterday and expect to get a lot more. A group of young guys with a foreign plate came up behind me tooting and waving madly in quite a new flash number. They had all the bikes on the back and were heading north.

Once they had paid the £10 (costs £5 for a car) for the motorway toll, we were back on the old M6 and that is when it the weather got nasty and everything started going slowly. The big signs (these ones did work) had messages on them telling us of queues at specific junctions and slowing everyone down to 40mph. Not a problem for me; 55 is fast. There was lots of stopping and starting and cars and trucks weaving through lanes trying to get ahead, but in the end you just had to patient. By now it was pouring down and the road was very wet. The big signs had new messages telling people that there was spray and to take care. However the warning must have come too late for some as there were a few nose to tail crashes, and cars waiting to be towed away. This is what was causing the delays. It made the last part of the trip very slow, but after eventually after finding a superstore to get a few things, we arrived at our destination around 5pm.

They are still taking bags into people’s houses and sleeping inside! No sign of a campsite or sleeping in me yet! This time they are staying with Joyce Hooper ( a relative) who they have visited several times before and who has been to NZ to see them as well. So they left me parked in the drive and headed inside for drinks, dinner and lots of chat.

Pania Goes Shopping in Ipswich

Thursday 15th July

Today Mary and Alan caught the bus into Ipswich to check out their old haunts. I was pleased to go with them cause I like the bus ride around the houses. Mary knew exactly where she wanted to go and suggested to Alan that they meet for lunch and do their own thing. After a sandwich lunch at O’Briens they set out together to find Alan a jacket to wear to Buckingham Palace. After trying on a few rather nice but ill fitting and still quite pricey numbers in TK Maxx, Alan said he had seen a few in charity shops. So they headed to the other end of town and found a perfectly fitting sports jacket for £5. The intention was to drop it off at another charity shop later to save bringing it home, but as it is pure fine wool and made in England, not China, Alan thinks he might keep it.

For once Alan seemed to be the shopper. When they met he had bags full of stuff including the whole series of only Fools and Horses on DVD. Mary had seen a rather nice leather bag in Clarks so raced back to get it without feeling guilty at all. After buying a couple of cheap towels for camping, they headed back to the bus stop to catch the Route 66 bus to Martlesham Heath.

Kathy and Mary went over to Kirton to an afternoon tea party for Ann who used to teach at Maidstone Infants as well. There they met up with several others who have now retired and had a wonderful time catching up.

Alan got the Tom Tom out to plan the route for tomorrow and it is going to take over 4 hours so they decided to get an early night before heading out in the morning.

Mrs Dean Gives Me a Mean Spring Clean

Wednesday July 14th
Wow am I clean and tidy now. Today Mary and Alan took everything out of me and cleaned my interior. They just had to know what was hiding in all my secret compartments. They were quite surprised to find how well equipped I was. There were two small tents, self inflating airbeds, plates, mugs, cutlery etc. All the plates and cutlery had a trip to the dishwasher and Mary wiped out all my cupboards. She scrubbed my floor and now I am bright and shiny on the inside. Alan made a list of things they didn’t find so he could buy them when out later in the day. There is going to plenty of room to store things now I am all sorted out.

Kathy had made a picnic lunch and they all set off to the seaside at Felixstowe. They parked down on the promenade and met up with the children and staff of the Maidstone Infant School where Kathy used to teach and Mary taught in 2001. Mary was pleased to catch up with the few staff who are still teaching there. Most of the staff that were there at the time when she was, are now also retired. It was a grey overcast day and when it started to spit they headed for the car. Mary and Alan went shopping for some nice things for me. They bought new covers for my front seats and some nice padded covers to go over the top as well. Mary had been complaining that she could feel the springs coming through the seat. They have bought a lovely red throw to go over my back seat and two smart navy cushions so my tired upholstery is all covered up and I look great inside.
Mike had a great gadget for checking all my tyre pressures and a pump that ran off my motor so he got all my tyres pumped up.

During the day Mo sent Mary a text to tell them they are going to need to follow a strict dress code for the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace on July 31st. Alan might have to visit a charity store as he did not bring a shirt and tie and suit or jacket. Mary will be fine as she has a tidy skirt and blouse. Mo is able to get his family tickets to be inside the fence rather than pressed against the railings on the outside, so they cannot be casual tourists with rucksacks on that day. In the evening Michael is going to be the bugler for the ceremony of the keys at the Tower of London. You need to have tickets in advance for this and Michael has offered to get them some as numbers are limited.

In the evening Mary and Alan were picked up by some friends in Ipswich that they met when they went on a Christmas in Austria trip in 2001. Margaret and Richard have kept in touch and even been out to NZ to see them. They are talking about coming again. They had a lovely evening catching up at the Victoria Pub in Felixstowe overlooking Bawdsey. The sea was quite rough and the weather is not as good as it was.

Pania and Patariki come "Home"

Tuesday July 13th
Today was the start of the travels. Finally I got to be taken out on the open road. Everything was gathered up and packed. Alan set the Tom Tom, for the shortest route, not the fastest! Not a great move as it turned out. I expected to get to the M25 pretty quickly, but no, we were taken on an inner road, the north circular, that was full of road works and one almighty tailback. Ka Pai was sitting up on the dashboard and he had plenty of time to look around. It wasn’t the flashest part of London to be driving through either. Some of the houses looked ready for demolition.

The plan was to head for Ipswich, but to visit Paycocks, a national Trust property in Coggeshall on the way. Once on the motorway it was pretty straightforward and they turned off Whitam and went into the village. A kind man leaving the car park gave them a parking ticket that still had time left on it. They locked me and left me and headed into the village to find coffee.

Ka Pai continues...
What a lovely little place this was. Silly big people forgot to grab their cameras so had to walk back to Hemi and get them. There was a lovely building with 1300AD on the front so they photographed that before returning to Hemi to carry on in the direction of Coggeshall. Mary has been trying to visit Paycocks since 1993. I heard her comment to Alan that it would probably be closed and that they should have checked the National Trust website. After negotiating some tight turns and narrow streets full of lovely colourful 16th and 17th century houses they finally got to pull up closely enough for Alan to get out and read the opening times to discover it is open Wed to Sun and today is Tuesday. So having failed to get there in 1993, 2001, 2003, 2007 she can add 2010 to the list. (Alan did get there in 2001 so he wasn’t worried)

So it was back onto the A12 and some very confident driving without the need of the Tom Tom to Martlesham Heath. Pania and Patariki were getting quite excited by this time as they were going “home”. In 2001 Mary, Alan Pania and Patariki lived in Ipswich for the year and the next few days are going to spent with Mike and Kathy Brierley, the couple they exchanged houses with.

Mike and Kathy were their usual welcoming selves happy to just let everything go with the flow. A bit of rest and sorting out will be needed over the next two days. Tomorrow Mary and Alan are going to investigate all the things sorted in cupboards and on shelves in Hemi and see what needs to be stored or bought for camping.

Mary has finally got a prepaid mobile phone up and running, so she spent some time updating all her phone numbers and then went off to bed for a much needed early night.

Oranges and Lemons say the Bells of St Clements

Monday July 12th
Parked up, I am, on the side of the road so they can go to London again! Apparently this is why they came over here this time, to go and hear Mo play with his brass quintet at the church. So they drove me to a quiet private road just off the base and near the house they had been staying in and set off to catch the train to London. Patariki has jumped into the bag so he will have to be today’s reporter. Hopefully I will be safe with my steering lock bar on.

Patariki’s Day out in London

These oyster cards burn through the money fast, so it was straight off to the top up machine before getting on the train. Summer is over, it lasted about a week. It is still warm but trying to rain today; rain jackets and umbrella weather. They decided to get off at Piccadilly Circus although Mary was a bit confused as she wanted to go to Weatherspoons to get the free WiFi. So a short walk was needed to Leicester Square but it is always an interesting one. There she found a nice leather couch and settled down to update her blog and check the emails.

They set out towards St Clement Danes on the Strand (oranges and lemons) in plenty of time to set up the video camera for the concert. They got a seat near the front with an unobscured view. By 1.10 the church had filled with people, which was a nice surprise for the boys, as these free lunch time concerts are hit and miss. A class of children arrived with two teachers as well and although they had quite a long wait they were exceptionally well behaved.

The programme was ambitious and diverse. And it was loud! They stared by placing themselves in five different places across the front to play Music from L’Orfeo by Monteverdi. The effect was amazing and I could see Mo waving his trombone around trying to be a conductor as well as a player.

They then came and sat in their seats and played Henry Purcell’s Sonata for Two Trumpets. The others were allowed to play as well. They have a French horn, tuba, trombone and two trumpets. Now the next one was a really big blow and you usually hear this one on the organ. I knew this tune; everyone has heard this tune somewhere, because Paul who plays French Horn said so. It was Passacaille Toccata and Fugue by Bach. It was loud and fast and high and low and very exciting. Mo’s friend Michael who is also from NZ got up and did lots of talking. I reckon he was giving the boys a chance to recover after such a big blow. He did explain though that they were going to play a piece that had been especially written for them in a jazz style called Humouresque by Simon Whiteside. Mo had pinched another plunger from somewhere, and used it to play a wow wow jazz solo on his trombone. ( Every plunger ever bought to unblock drains ended up in his trombone case when he lived back in NZ, but this one is beautiful red and shiny so probably came from the music store not Mitre 10 Mega)

Mo in his spare time had put together an arrangement of famous air force tunes for the quintet to play. If you listened carefully, snatches of all the great tunes associated with the air force are there including the Dam Busters, 633 Squadron , RAF March Past and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. I liked the bit when Mo turned his trombone into plane and it sounded like a spitfire was flying inside the church. Apparently some older gentleman didn’t like the Readers Digest version of the great RAF tunes and muttered the Ron Goodwin would be turning over his grave right now listening to this. Mo’s mum and dad who got mentioned in dispatches as having travelled the furthest to the concert today, thought it was pretty good.


And then it was nearly over, but Michael suddenly leapt up and played a screamer of a solo; Amazing Grace. It was a great way to end the concert and the audience would have loved more, but the guys were looking hot and exhausted. Everyone was invited for tea and coffee in the crypt and then it was off to the NZ pub called The Down Under where they sell Speights and Steinlager. The guys call Mo, Hamo, so that is how he became Mo. Hamish, Hamo, Mo.

Mary and Alan didn’t have time to sit in NZ pub for the afternoon and got back on the tube to check out the largest shopping centre in Europe at Shepherds Bush. It is huge and has large spacious areas for sitting in very comfortable furniture, so it is very man friendly. Here they bought some up to date road maps of Britain and Europe. The Tom Tom is fine but it is useful to be able to actually plan where you are going.

There are two interesting shops there called All Saints; one for men’s clothing, one for women’s. Stacked up floor to ceiling in all the windows are dozens of old sewing machines, mainly singers. They look amazing. Inside they have fittings from old sewing factories and it is done out to look like a warehouse/sewing factory. Endless shops selling clothes and shoes and handbags, mostly on sale, and people seemed to be spending but not these people.
So after a quick bite to eat at one of the many eating places along the boulevard, it was back on the train to Ruislip Gardens and off to pick up Hemi and drive him back on the base because tonight they are sleeping in Mo’s room again.







_

Ka Pai has a day out in London

Sunday July 11th
Would you believe it, they get me road worthy and then go off on a train. As soon as I saw those oyster cards I knew any idea of a big day out on Sunday didn’t include me. I was so hopeful when they started putting bags into me. But the call of a day in London was too great. The tube station is really close so with Ka Pai tucked in the bag they headed for the station around 10am.

Ka Pai’s Day out in London
The central line gives lots of options, but in the end Mary decided they would go all the way to Liverpool Street. She was on a secret agenda. Sunday has the Petticoat Lane Market near the station. So soon they were in the crowds all hunting for a bargain. Mary was remembering the time they had come with here with Kathleen and Greg and was surprised to see the same shorts that Kathleen had bought still on sale. This was in 2007 and they still had a rack at the same price. Do they ever sell anything? Rather than the touts of the Asian markets, here you have the market callers who have made up rhymes and ditties and seem to be on an endless loop. If you want to buy something they seem to be able to press pause and then resume once the sale is made. Alan was able to buy a new pair of shoes with minimum help and no pressure. They didn’t buy much but did find a useful phone charger for the phone Mo has given Mary.

A long walk into Shoreditch to find the Geffrye Museum proved very rewarding. This is another of London’s best kept secrets that Alan had found out about by doing endless research. Set amongst commercial buildings you suddenly happen upon a stand of leafy trees and the 18th century historic alms houses. The museum explores the home over the past 400 years from 1600 to the present day. The focus is on living rooms of the urban middle classes in London. The rooms show how they would have been used and furnished over this period.

Outside are beautiful gardens set out as rooms you can wander through. The new overland line roars right behind the garden. Of course there is the cafe and gift shop, but as admission was free the tired travellers were quite happy to have afternoon in their cafe and a chance to sit down and view the garden. While sitting resting, Mary started thinking about what to do next and decided that a bus, any bus would be fine. So they took the first one that came along and got the front seat upstairs. This is a great way to view London, and as this was a part that was previously unvisited there was plenty to see. Being Sunday, Mary suddenly wondered about Evensong at St Pauls and looked at the map and found they were in the right direction so they got off at the St Paul’s stop. After a short walk to the cathedral, they discovered choral evensong was at 3.15 but on closer looking find there is a free organ recital at 4.45 and it is now 4.40. So they go up the steps and into the cathedral where there is a crowd lining up to get into the seats under the dome. Some very bossy women ushered the crowd into their seats and let all the tourists know in uncertain terms that sightseeing was off the menu and you either sat down and listened to the organ recital or left. St Paul’s is not open for sightseeing on Sunday but you can attend services and recitals for free. On any other day it is £12.50 to get in.

The recital was magnificent. The young organist, Adam Brakel from the USA, is described in the programme notes as an absolute organ prodigy and one of the most outstanding talents in classical organ music to enter the scene. He has the technique most concert pianists could only dream of and has been nicknamed The Franz Liszt of the Organ. The grand organ in St Pauls dates back to 1697 with many refurbishments over the years. The sound was huge, with quite a delay and the sounds ringing around the dome with and overwhelming affect.

Mary was annoyed with the ignorant tourists who insisted on clapping between each movement rather than waiting for the complete work. The organist deliberately waited for the sound to disperse and have silence before starting the next movement. The clapping caused another wave of sound that needed to clear before he could carry on.
Out of the cathedral and back onto a bus in the direction of Trafalgar Square. What a colourful sight as this was world cup final day and Spanish and Dutch supporters were out in force all draped in flags and wearing their football shorts. The English flag was not evident but a few diehard England supporters were still wearing their England shirts but they were in the minority.

After a meal in a pub, Mary and Alan contacted Hamish and made a time to return to base. Unfortunately, they have not been given unescorted green passes to get onto the base. They have to be escorted at all times so are not free to come and go as they were at Uxbridge. Not wanting to ruin Hamish’s viewing of the game, they agreed to return at 9.30, only to arrive back when the game had gone into extra time. Hamish biked over to the gate to get them the key to the house and back into his room to pick up their stuff.
Hemi continues...
They drove me off the base over to the house, about a quarter of a mile. I was very good, I started first time, but Mary had forgotten where to find the lights. I am now parked outside the house and looking forward to starting my adventures on Tuesday. I know that they are off to London tomorrow to Hamish’s brass quartet recital at St Clement Danes. Mary is going to have a lot to say about that I’m sure.

I'm Taxed and Insured at Last

Saturday 10th July
Today I should get my tax disc if the Insurance email arrives. Yeah that will be great.
Mo is coming over to pick Mary and Alan up and bring them back to his room on base as someone else has the house booked tonight. So a repack and sort and a tidy up and they are off. The news is good; the email has arrived with the tax certificate. So they all head off into Uxbridge to have lunch and go to Smiths to do the tax. Mo remembers to reach into my glove box and get the documentation to say I have a current MOT. Everyone is feeling confident. They arrive at Smiths. The woman behind the glass screen looks closely at all the paper work and wants to know why the tax was not paid when it ran out in May. Mo tries to relay the saga to the best of his ability. She then says so you “sold it” to your parents. Yes, say’s Mo. Well it seems she needs to barcode off the change of ownership papers. These have been posted to Anglesey in Wales and have about a 5 -10 day turn around. They all stand stunned in the shop. Mo remembers that he has ripped only the important part off to post and kept the rest of the info and given it to Alan. But where has Alan put it? Mmm it was in a notebook in his backpack but he has had a sort out and it is back in Mo’s room at Northolt. They all go and have lunch. Mo will drive back and see if he can find the piece of paper. Mary can go shopping and Alan can buy a paper and do the crossword.

Mary decides to go to the bank to see if she can put a new PIN on her HSBC card as she hasn’t used it for so long she has forgotten it. Fortunately Alan knows his, so can money out of the account. A very helpful man explains that they need to post it out. This is not going to be easy. Gypsies don’t have a postal address. Mary asks if they have a machine they can put it into to reset it. Oh no, you have to request the original one on the card and have it posted to you. Furthermore you have to ring up via telephone banking to arrange this. Thankfully she knows how to do this. The problem is though once they get me on the road and start their travels where will they be within the time frame. They opt to send it to their friends in Kent, but can’t ring till Monday and then it will take 5 days at least. This option will be further investigated on Monday.

Mo sends a text to Alan’s phone. He has found the paper, driven back to Uxbridge, taxed me, and driven me to dump to get rid of the rubbish. I have been off the base and out on the real road. It feels great.

Mary and Alan decide to go Halfords to buy a Tom Tom. The shop seems deserted. They finally walk right to the back of the shop and persuade a very reluctant shop assistant that they would like to buy a Tom Tom. He can’t get anyone else to serve them so finally comes and does it himself. He does happen to mention that they can buy a carrying case and a home charger at a special price as long as they buy with the initial Tom Tom purchase. They still don’t have the budget model they were after so settle for a rather nice widescreen model with extra features. I hear them talking about taking this one back to NZ and downloading the maps there.

Mary is enjoying being back at her favourite shops in Uxbridge. She buys some good quality pure cotton sheets and a funky duvet cover to use when they sleep in me at a really good price in TK Maxx. Then she spies some walking sandals half price in Clarks. Perfect fit, but when she asks to try the other they can’t find it. Could she come back in 10 -15 mins? They finally find the other one and she buys them, after she has assured them that not having the box they came in is OK.

Mo and Lou pick them up and take them onto the base at Uxbridge for a BBQ with friends from the band. Hamish pulls out the pineapple lumps and is an instant hit. Miriam wants to get stuck into the black forest chocolate straight away, but it being left for Dave and Laura.
As they have all had a few drinks, Lou leaves her car over at Uxbridge and Mo orders a taxi back to Northolt. Taxis are very busy and will take 20 mins but take his number. No rush but within 5 mins they ring back to say they are at the gate. Apparently taxis are no longer allowed to drive over to the residential area and they have to treck across the camp to the gate. Mary and Alan arrive at Mo’s room and he goes to Lou’s. There is an early start for them tomorrow, as the band is off to Folkestone and will be away all day. Mary and Alan have bought Oyster Cards and are talking about going to London for the day.