PICTURES FROM ICELAND

BELTON HOUSE AND ISAAC NEWTON

Today we decided to drive up to Grantham where there is an excellent Saturday Market. We have been there before, and were looking forward to buying some meat from the character we had met last time. He is a real salesman - and we bought a bag of Lamb Chops plus a Leg of Lamb for L10 and the a bloody great bag of chicken breast for another tenner! Enough meat to last a month. Also some great meusli and herbs,vegetables and fruit, and then had a stand up lunch of Paella from a Spanish kiosk.

Then we went about the business of National Trusting and took off for Belton House, another country house set in magnificent park like grounds. In the entrance we were just in time to hear an introduction to the property by one of the volunteer guides. This is the first time that we have struck a presentation of a Trust property and it was fascinating. The House was built in the 17th century by a London lawyer Sir John Brownlow who, apparently was earning a sum of 6000 pounds a year in his job - a sum which translates into millions in todays terms. He wisely decided to buy some land and build a family home - and thus we have this magnificent country house which remained in the family until 1984 when the current Lord Brownlow gave the place to the National Trust.

The house is totally open to view and as the guide suggested, it does represent a very liveable family home, albeit of fairly generous proportions!! As is typical of these old country houses the bathroom facilities were limited, but, as personal hygiene was not a major daily consideration until the early 20th century, the lack of toilets and baths was to be expected.The gardens and parkland surrounding the house were more desirable features and truly beautiful.

We left Belton and drove off to find Woolsthorpe Manor which was the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton - the bloke who sat under the apple tree and discovered gravity. He was born here on Christmas Day in 1642. He was fortunate in having an Uncle who, recognising his intelligence, persuaded his mother to send him to Cambridge University -otherwise he would probably have finished up as another sheep farmer.He left Cambridge temporarily when the Plague hit that City and it was during the next two years while living at Woolsthorpe that his creative genius developed.He developed Calculus/reflective telescope/theory of gravity and laws of motion and thoeries on light over the next few years before returning to Cambridge to a teaching/research career.

The house itself is evidence of the fairly comfortable circumstances in which he lived, and is well maintained in as much originality as possible. Adjoining the house is an orchard where the actual apple tree still grows despite having grafted new limbs to an ancient trunk.There is also a Science Discovery building which houses a really super hands on array of exhibits portraying Newtons basic discoveries. The supervisor there (we were the only patrons) adopted us to demonstrate the various exhibits,but I have to confess that his explanation of calculus was "in one ear and t'other'!!But I did understand the experiment with light rays and found that by blocking one colour from white light the other colours appear -so there!

WADDESDON -THE ROTHSCHILD COLLECTION

We took advantage of our National Trust Membership this weekend to visit Waddesdon, an impressive country estate just outside Aylesbury about 70 miles away. We took Ed Jay our Canadian teacher who lives in Flat One with us.

The estate was created by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the 19th century and he filled the Renaissance style Chateau with the best collectio n of 18th century French art including paintings,furniture,carpets and curiosities in the world. It is an incredible display of wealth and makes one understand how the French Revolution occurred!!

Added to this is the beautiful garden and surrounds, with fountains and statuary abounding and an aviary which houses many exotic birds some of which are endangered species.

The whole place is open for sightseeing, and contains room after room of exhibits and memorabillia of the family which is most interesting.There is a wine cellar contining vintages from the Rothschild Estates in France, and the wines are for sale. Carol did not respond to my suggestion that we buy a bottle of 1978 Claret at L550 - the thought of popping the cork of something at $200 a glass was too much!

When we got back to Ramsey we found that it had been raining all day while a mere 70 miles away we were wandering around the magnificent gardens in sunshine.

LADY'S WOOD AND SUMMER!!

Friday last was summer.24 degrees and a number of my senior golfing mates were there with white legs bravely displayed in shorts! Saturday was also "mild" so Carol and I went for a walk at Upwood and visited Lady's Wood which we had been to before when the winter scene was on. What a transformation - all the trees fully clothed in their leaves, crab apples with glorious white blossom and best of all - a carpet of bluebells. The country has burst into life and we are now waiting to hear a cuckoo although Arthur "The Thatcher" tells me that they have been noticeable for their absence in the past few years. But we have seen a number of swifts and house martins (at the old Houghton Mill) and not as I had expected building their nests on the walls of the Abbey Stables Flats where we live.

TO SEE THE QUEEN

Over the Bank holiday (May Day) we took the opportunity to go down to London. One of Carol's colleagues had told her about a good place to park all day for free near to the City centre. This had always deterred our thinking about going down by car as the normal parking is very expensive. So we took off early in the now trusty Vectra and in an hour and a half we were in St Johns Wood where (as promised) we found a quiet street with parking meters which did not operate on Sundays!!
Bought a day pass for London Transport and took the underground to Green Park from where we walked to B uckingham Palace.It was only 8.30am and we decided not to wake the Queen up.There were hardly any people about (Poms don't rise early we have found) and from there we walked around for a while and then caught a tube to South Kensington where the museums reside. Had a quick brekky at Maccas and then into the Science Museum where we just caught a showing of the HiMax theatre.Quite an experience, wearing 3D glasses and witnessing an amazing film of wild life in Africa.
Then a stroll through the incredible displays of the museum for an hour until we both admitted to "museum wipeout"and headed for the Embankment by tube. Walking along the Thames is always full of interest, and more so when we passed a fellow who had just finished the London Marathon a week after he had started! BUT he had been wearing a full suit of armour and pulling a Model Dragon behind him. He looked totally stuffed!
Had lunch in a Pub - the food was excellent but the surly Landlord was n ot. The couple next to us (Canadians) had ordered one meal only -the bloke was not very hungry- but when he asked for another plate to share his wife's meal he was refused.Coudn't even get an extra knife and fork!
Caught a bus to Trafalgar Square where there was an Indian festival underway -thousands of the buggers -but it was not very appealing so we wandered up to Piccadily and Oxford Street to stare at the things in shops which cold not afford to buy.The street was packed and hardly an English word could be heard! And so back by tube to St Johns, into the car and home by 6.30. Agreat day.
The previous Friday night we had attended an Arts Quiz at the George Hotel which was being run by the Ramsey Arts Festival Committee - the chairman is one of my golfing mates.We went with Pam and Maurice -Pam being one of Carol's colleagues.We were in trepidation about the quiz for the subjects were Poetry/Films/Music/Painting etc subjects on which we all acknowledged but a slender interest.We finished 7th out of 8!!but had a thoroughly e njoyable evening.
Monday Carol spent time searching the internet for airfares to Stavanger in Norway and finally conceded that there was no cheap way to get there -so we booked to leave on the 27th May and back on the 2nd June. David Goss and Nancy Young (neighbours from Toowoomba are coming here on Sunday 4th) and we are looking forward to seeing them and having a game of golf. Carol spent the afternoon doing school reports so I took myself off to get some photos around the place, and they are of the Houghton Mill, a National Trust property, a landscape showing the fields of yellow rape,and a typical country lane - just for the memory book.NB
I have had trouble uploading the photos -only Houghton Mill appears -sorry!

THE YORKSHIRE DALES 2

Bolton Abbey gives it's name to a pretty hamlet which is the home of the Duke of Devonshire. The remains of a 12th century Priory Church are the ccentrepiece of a beautiful piece of countryside and the river Wharfe which winds throughout. Pictures immediately above.As seems to be the norm, the Priory was partially demolished in the reign of Hentry VIII but some parts were saved, and ultimately a place of worship continued and has been used for over 800 years. Carol bought me a new Pommie cap from the shop here - very smart.
We then drove through some lovely country lanes and ended up at Grassington where we managed to park the car in one of the narrow streets. Carol had a local paper and saw an advertisment for the local b utcher selling Yorkshire beef - so of course we had to find his shop and inspect the goods. The steak looked great, so we bought two sirloins to have that night. I also bought a pork pie to supplement my packaged Ploughmans lunch, and it was the bst pork pie I have ever tasted.
Next was a visit to Fountains Abbey a National Trust site. In the 12th century a group of dissident Benedictine monks left York wishing to pursue a life of greater austerity! They were led to a wild wasteland in the narrow valley of the River Skell. After much hardship considerable wealth was provided by great Northern families and the Fountains became one of the most powerful religious houses in the north of England.
Subsequently the abbey and all it's possessions were surrendered to the King and the place fell into disrepair - a familiar story.But the National Trust have maintained the Studley Royal Water Garden which is a pleasant walk from the old ruins, and presents a delightful setting of formal lakes with classical statues and temples in the surrounding gardens. And so home to our steaks which were superb.
The last day involved driving to Malham and after driving up Malham Tarn - a narrow road up to the top at 370 metres- we parked the car and walked to Malham Cover. This cove is a limestone cliff face which originally was a mighty waterfall. On the way to the site we stopped at a group of bird watchers, who, complete with telescopes, were inviting people to observe birds. Out of eyesight, but caught by the telescope we saw a small owl happily resting in a tree and then a magnificent Kestrel sitting on a rock oblivious to the observation. The top photos sow the Cove and the surrounding hillside with the everpresent stone walls.

We drove home through miles of stone fences and fields with dozens of sheep and newborn lambs and stopped at Settle to have lunch at the Royal Hotel - a lovely old hotel which served excellent salads at a most reasonable price.

THE YORKSHIRE DALES

An early start saw us arrive in York by mid morning and an innovative car park at the Castle where we paid for parking by telephone!! The Castle is, as can be seen by the accompanying photo, a landmark in the city. A walk through the old town towards the Minster which is the largest medieval cathedral in Northern Europe takes you through the Shambles, a street that is so narrow that projecting first floors al most touch overhead.
The Minster itself is mind boggling. Daily services are held there and Stations of the Cross were perrformed while we were there (it being in the Easter week). The sheer size of the building begs the question of how this was built in the days before mechanisation and the octagonal chapter house where bishops metfor conferences for years ,s a masterpiece of decoration. Photo top left shows the dome.
Before leaving York we spent some time in the Castle Museum which was a journey through time brilliantly displaying how we lived in the past 2 centuries. Refrigerators were not common in England until well into the 1970's!
And so we proceeded to our rented cottage at C ononely a small village some 3 miles west of Skipton. The owner, who lived in the upstairs part of the house was most welcoming, and insisted on planning an itinerary for us so that we could fully explore the Dales, and she did a great job. We had dinner at the local pub ,The New Inn, and it was excellent.Their Steak and Kidney pie was as good as it gets, and fortified with a couple of glasses of Pino, we were more than happy to retire.
We took a train into Skipton the next morning - a whole $6 return -it was only a5 minute trip -and got some good advice from a fellow traveller about walking along the canal banks. The main attraction was Skipton Castle which was started in the 14th century and subsequently modified by Henry VIII and in the 17th century. It was partially demolished by that bloody Cromwell fellow after a 3 year seige which failed to break the defences. Talking to the custodian however, and asking the question of "how did they have enough tucker to last three years?" it seems that during the seige,other battles were fought nearby, and both the seigers and seigees were free to take part as a sort of gentlemans agreement!! Meanwhile the local supportive villagers raced in with refreshments.
This was an area which relied on wool production, and everywhere there are old textile mills once the centre of employment for towns and villages alike. A feed of "The best Fish'n Chips in the World" satisfied the hunger buds and predicated a very light evening meal.
When we got back to Cononley we decided to go to the Bronte Museum at Haworth, and although I was a bit lukewarm about the idea, found the exhibition quite fascinating and very educational. The history of the family was well presented and it was possible to feel the circumstances in which the tragedy (and success) of these young ladies took place. And Carol, of course, just loved it.

CORNWALL 2

Still can't get these pictures in the right place - butthat's life! The ones above and below are of Tintagel Castle on the North Cornish coast - the legendary home of King Arthur. Amazing ruins and a test of fitness to climb up the many steps to get ot the top. The coast line here all tall rocky cliffs and while the sea was fairly quiet while we were there one can easily imagine the dangers to ships during storms - lots of shipwrecks around here. On the way over to Tintagel we called into Launceston which funnily enough is on the River Tamar. We wanted to have a look at the castle there, b ut had trouble getting a parking spot, and then Carol spotted a sign which advertised the Tamar Otter Farm and indicated that the otters were fed each day at 12 noon. So we high tailed it to the farm and spent a most interesting hour or so hearing about the life of Otters and seeing several Asisan otters and British otters in their pens. Feeding time allowed us to get a better view of these lovely little creatures, which although friendly looking,were, according to the keeper, not to be petted as they would quickly bite of a finger! I managed to get a good shot of devouring apiece of raw fish - it disappeared in seconds - the fish I mean!
At the park there were also a n umber of Peacocks/geese and wallabies roaming around.
Wednesday was spent visiting Fowey/Polperro and Looe -all charming fishing villages with incredibly narrow streets. I drove down one with some trepidation uncertain as to whether it was one way or not, and stopped to ask a bloke if it was OK to go down - he said "Yes mate - but hurry as there is no one coming ujp at the moment"
The last day was spent in Falmouth where there is an excellent marine museum. Highlight of the museum was a special exhibition of "survivors at sea" including a first class film of Tony Bullimore's dramatic antartic rescure by the Australian Navy. All types of marine craft are on display including a Flying Dutchman, the type of yatch which Ben and I tried to restore some years back. The accompanying description stated that when the Dutchmas was first introduced into competitive sailing races, there was an attempt to ban it because ot was "dangerous to crew and fellow competitors !"
After lunch at the museum we went on to Pendennis castle which overlooks the Fal estuary and complements the St Mawes Castle on the opposite side of the estuary. It was used extensively during WWII equipped with modern weaponry.

CORNWALL 1

Above is a shot of the cottage that we rented -very tiny but superbly equipped.Right is a typical Cornish village street and under that is a three master in Charlestown inner harbour being converted (temporarily) into a Man O War for a film that Mel Gibson is to star in soon!!


We drove from Peter's place down to Sidmouth and a B and B. Had a look around the seaside town -shingle beach and high cliffs.Nice dinner at the Ships'Inn.

Sunday we drove across Dartmoor stopping at Princetown which is where the prison is. Excellent information centre on the area. Then on to Buckland Abbey bbuilt in the 13th century and later home to Sir Francis Drake. Good museum about Francis attached and interesting facts that we did not learn at scchool. Frank's early career was highlighted b y the capture of several Spanish treasure ships near South America.His return home with this treasure for Queen Elizabeth made him her favourite (You bet!).His fame was gained by defeating the Spanish Armada in the English Channel, but it seems that he was bit lucky in this with wind and tides both in his favour rather than success through a brilliant strategy. His subsequent forays at sea were quite unsuccessful and the Queen ditched him like any sensible woman! He died at sea.The cafe at the museum had great Cornish Pasties!!
And so to Charlestown and our Cobblers Cottage. Two rooms - one up and one down\.Down was the sitting room/dining/kitchen and up was the bed/bath/laundry/loo. Very compact and absolutey perfect for us being right opposite the Rashleigh Arms Hotel.

Next day we visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan. At the end of the 19th century the Tremayne family, who had lived on the estate for over 400 years, had a vast garden of more than 200 acres at it's zenith. Within a few years bramble and ivy had taken over because of neglect, and years followed where the continuing neglect should have consigned the Gardens to history. Instead entusiasts decided to restore the gardens in the 1990's and continue to develop the project to this day. The overgrowth that had to be cleared away was unbelievably jungled, and as parts were cleared more and more discov eries of past treasures were made.
From Heligan to Mevigissey - a little fishing port and our first experience of driving through squeezed streets. The coast here is very tidal, and fishing boats and yachts lie marooned on the harbourbed during low tide. The village is surrounded by cliffs with houses built into them and nearly all painted white.unch on the harbourside and then off to St Mawes Castle on the eastern side of the channel leading to the River Fal and the town of Falmouth.The castle is the most beautiful of Henry V111's coastal fortresses. It is opposite Pendennis Castle on the Western side which enabled their respective cannon to completely cover the channel entrance. They are both in remarkable condition considering the age ,and were used as defense posts during WW!!.

Across the River Fal by chain ferry and a short visit to Trelissick Gardens - a National Trust garden with acres of rhodedendron and flowering magnolias. It would be a magnificent sight in a few more weeks.

ICELAND 2

Above is a picture of an Iceland Horse -while looking like a Shetland, this breed is home grown and a remarkably strong animal. It can easily carry two people (as long as their legs are not too long!) and they survive the climate becaue of their long thick shaggy coats.
Next to it is another photo of the Gulfoss waterfall which although partly frozen is still a most spectacular sight. At the right is a picture of the Horses Main waterfall and you can see that a salmon ladder has been constructed at the left hand side of the falls. This was the first attempt to build such a structure and it was unsuccessful for two reasons. It did not have the right inclination for one and there were no salmon in the river either!! Carol was unfortunately sick in the bus shortly after this which was a bit embarrassing for her, but the driver was up to the task and cleaned everything up with no fuss. Not sure what caused this, but while she felt it was the carrot cake she had eaten at Gulfoss, our lovey guesthouse lady told us later that a virus was going around which seemed to only last for 4 hours -and certainly Carol had no ill effects the next day.

So on Sunday we picked up a hire car - left hand drive Renault station wagon at a cost of $160 for the day! We had arranged to go dog sledding on a glacier which was 180kms from town. After giving Carol several very bad moments by nearly sideswiping parked cars, and mounting the footpath on her side of the road, I finally got the hang of it and we drove with no further mishaps.

We eventually arrived at the track which led from the main road up to the glacier - and when I say track I mean goat track. But by being very careful we manage to avoid the larger rocks, crossed a couple of ice and snow patches and finally (and thankfully) arrived at the site. There were dozens of 4wds parked there with trailers carrying snowmobiles which seemed to be the most popular sport.After as short wait we saw a teams of dogs pulling a sled hurtling down the hill towards us so we knew were in the right place.

Having been kitted out with zipper overalls and introduced to the dog team, and the leader "Gandi" in particular, we took our seat on the sled and the "Musher" shouted out and we were off. The dogs are not Huskies, which the musher assured us were the racehorses of dogs. Ours were Greenland sled dogs bred by the army in Greenland as pure working dogs and capable of sustained power. We went up quite a few slopes, and while the dogs only walked they kept us moving. Going downhill was exhilirating and the musher put ropes under the sled to act as brakes so that we didn't run up the dog'd bums!!At the top of the glacier we had a break to take in the panoramic views of mountains and out across the Atlantic ocean which shimmered in the background. Too expansive to attempt to photograph. While resting we were encouraged to pat and fuss with the dogs who acted like great big sooks. Then it was back on board and off to the base. In all we had about an hour on the trip and it was a once in a lifetime experience. At the base we had to again fuss over the dogs as a way of thanking them for their efforts.

When finally got back to Sunna our host booked a table for us at a fish restaraunt that she recommended. It was superb, and although Carol was a bit tired and couldn't eat all her meal, yours truly wolfed the lot after his exhaustiing driving experie nce!!

The next morning I had to return the car and had been advised to fill it with petrol rather than pay the hire compa nys extortionate price. In some trepidation I drove off looking for a servo and took a wrong turn finishing up on the main highway going out of town! Of course I hadn't taken a map with me and became more than a little stressed as it was peak hour. Thankfully our guesthoouse was next door to the Cathedral and I spotted it's tower and headed on all sorts of streets until I arrived back at Sunna. Then I started out again determined to make straight for the hire company and bugger the expense. I was also a bit worried because we had managed to shed a wheel trim somewhere somehow(hitting the footpath Len?). Blow me down when I got there I told them I had not filled up - so they asked me if I would like a driver to take me back to the guesthouse and fill up with petrol on the way!!Sheer heaven - and they didn't even check out the car!!

And so our day of departure. We had booked a tour which took us to the Blue Lagoon where we were to have a couple of hours relaxing iin the Lagoon before being picked up again and taken to the airport. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal pool with milky blue warm water and a sandy bottom extending over a considerable area. After we had changed into our bathers, we did a quick dash from the change rooms into the pool and stayed there basking in the warm water. Carol applied the silica mud to her face and her complexion has never looked better!

Then it was the airport where, suprisingly we had the best value meal of our stay -most unlike an airport. A fitting finale to a truly wonderful visit.

Sorry about the photos all being up at the top of this blog - I can't seem to get them into places that would be more appropriate.

ICELAND

There is so much to write about Iceland that I will probably have a couple of goes.The church abov e is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen.The windows are all plain glass and from standing at the back of the church looking towards the altar, the view through the windows behind the altar are stupendous taking in the snow covered mountains which backdrop Reykjavik.We stayed in a guest house Sunna which was great and the family who run it could not have been more hospitable making bookings for us in Icelandic- a language which is absolutely foreign!
The Viking ship picture above is a replica of one which was discovered buried for hundreds of years, and a crew of Icelanders actually sailed it to USA a few years back taking 103 days for the voyage.As it is an open boat one can only admire their courage.

The flight across took nearly 3 hours and we arrived at 10.50 at night and b oarded the commuter bus only to find that the airport was 50 kms from the city.The driver had little or no English and did not understand Guesthouse Sunna -but Carol was confident she would find it.We did indeed after some trying moments and an eventual taxi ride to find the lady at Sunna patiently waiting up for us at 1 am!!

Good fortuune was with us as the weather during our entire visit was perfect even though a little cold.Sun and blue skies are a blessing for tourists. The town of Reykjavik has 130,000 residents and canvasses an area equivalent to that of Rome- so there is plenty of space around and we both felt totally comfortable wandering around the city visiting two of the museums to get a handle on the culture and history. It is an expensive place however, a reasonable meal costs $40 or more. We booked a full day tour for day2 which cost aboout $90 (no meals included).

The tour was in two parts.In the morning we went to the Reykjanes peninsula and were the only people in the bus.This peninsula is made entirely of lava which gives a moon like appearance of the landscape.We stopped at the division between the Continent of North America and Europe where the tectonic plates had separated.The division was some 30 metres and we saw another such division later that day where the separation was much much more pronounced. The sign in the photo above displays the site of the rift. We saw vast jets of steam coming out of the ground just to remind us that this whole area is a mass of hot lava below the ground. The fishing village of Grindavik was remote facing out to the Atlantic Ocean where there are extensive fishing grounds. Back to Reykjavik to join our afternoon tour this time with several other people including 7 Australians!!

We saw the beautiful waterfalls at Gullfoss partly frozen and accompanied by a strong bitterly cold wind which inhibited long time viewing! Had a bite of lunch and a beer and then on to the spouting hot springs of Geyser and Strokkur. You could see the pressure of the hot water building up in the spouthole, and then it would suddenly shoot up 30 or 40 metres into the air.It paid to stand on the lee side!

THE FENS - A POTTED HISTORY

This amazing area covers some 600 square miles and was originally a complete swamp with a few scattered areas where the land was high enough to support a settlement. Ely and Ramsey were both islands in the distant past . The photo above left is of the Holme Fen Posts -this pole was buried in1851 so that it's top was level with the ground at the time.This is now 13 feet above the ground caused by the gradual subsidence of the land due to the extensive drainage of the Fens and the shrinkage of the peat when it dried out. The photo above right is of a tyical canal or drain which supports the total system of draining water to the sea. Surrounding land is usually lower than the canal or other waterwat levels which means that water has to be pumped up from the land into these waterways when flooding occurs.

Ramsey Forty Foot is just a few minutes away from Ramsey and the name comes from the fact that the drain at this point is 40 foot wide!.

Picture at right shows a typical road and canal which goes straight for several miles and is typical of the scenery in the area.

The Romans came to the Fens in 43 AD and established forts in the area. They did some work on drainage building canals,embankments and sea defences.But they left England in 410AD and by the 4th century all traces of Roman occupation had disappeared and the Fens reverted to floods and marshes.

Then there were the Viking invasions in the 8th century,the introduction of religious orders (and the commencement of building abbeys) and the Norman invasion of the 11th century.It was during this latter period that the building of Ely and Norwich Cathedrals was commenced.

In 1621 a dutchman Cornelius Vermuyden was brought to England with the brief to rehabilitate the Fens which he commenced to do by employing hundreds of labourers to dig massive canals, and to straighten the watercourses of several rivers with the aim of directing water flow more rapidly to the sea. In1637 the project was adjudged complete. However nature was not be so easily defeated, and severe rain and snow soon proved his plan needed more work.So in 1649 work started again with the extension of cuts and drains and the creation of the Ouse Washes a 4700 acre storage resevoir designed to hold flood waters until it was safe to release them into the river system.This was completed in1656 and the drainage of the Fens again declared finished. Not to be -the floods returned with a vengeance and it became apparent that Vermuyden had overlooked the nature of the land. The area that had been drained was 100% peat and peat is 90% water,and the draining had caused the peat to shrink and hence the land sank.

Windmills were introduced to pump the flood waters up to the now elevated waterways, but with limited success, and it was not until firstly, diesel powered and subsequently electric pumping capacity was introduced that things gradually improved. Even so there were catastrophic floods in the 20th century and millions of pounds were spent on Flood Control Strategy to reach the present day position. Even now there are still risks of flooding (there were major floods in1998-2003) and that, together with the continuing shrinkage of the land, poses ongoing problems for the Fens. In some places farmers are now ploughing into the clay subsoil where erosion has stripped the topsoil.

But a fascinating place to have lived in.

ODD'S N SODS

Having now been here for a bit over 6 months, we have become entitled to register with our local medical clinic and obtain a National Health Membership. The NHS wrote to Carol asking whether she was the same Carol Walker who had an NHS number from 1974 when she lived and worked in London!! They wrote to me saying that they were having trouble finding me and asking where I had lived in UK before (1952 for Gods sake) and whether I had served in the armed forces.Told them my old army number 22144588 L/Cpl Royal Engineers and hope that suffices,
I also saw a pamphlet recently advising a deadline date for claiming the Winter Fuel allowance for over 70's. I rang them up and they sent me an application form which required proof of age and a National Insurance number. I had to go to Job Cente in Huntingdon where the photocopied my passport and driving license to prove age, and then incredibly they searched their computer records and asked me whether I had ever lived in Boscombe and if so in what street. As I could remember Gloucester Road as the address it threw up my NI number from 1952!! Now I am waiting to hear that I have been granted the allowance of L200 ($500) which will be most welcome as the last gas bill was L180!!
As I am over 70 I also get free medicine from doctor's prescriptions and of course we both get free consultations under the NHS scheme. There are some benefits in being here - but I think the Poms arre in front!!!

COLCHESTER AND CONSTABLE COUNTRY

We had an email from Nancy Young a neighbour in Toowoomba wih the suggestion that we might visit Colchester and Constable country where her sister Sue (pictured above with Carol)lives in a small village called Langham. We had met Sue when she visited Toowoomba,so I gave her a call and she was more than pleased for us to call on her. The drive down was all major highway and took us past Stanstead Airport which was useful as we are flying out from there for Iceland next week. Colchester is the oldest Roman settlement in England and we could easily spend a day touring around there. We did visit the magnificent 11th century castle which is in remarkable condition for it's age. Colchester itself has survived a Norman invasion, a siege during the English civil war (Oliver Cromwell and that lot) and an earthquake in the 19th century. We also visited the ruined Priory buildings an original monastery from the 12th century - which although a real ruin was well depicted in it's original form with imaginative illustrations at the site.

We drove out to Langham, Navigator Carol doing another superb bit of work with the occasional blast at the driver -"I said take the second left you ******* ignoramus -get a bloody hearing aid" All in good fun of course!!

Sue lives in a lovely house set on an expansive garden block just off the motorway. We had a drink and Sue rang David and Nancy to have a brief chat. That's when we found out that David's planned itinerary for their visit in May/June included a visit to us at Ramsey during the time that we plan to be in Norway! The school half term is the only time we can get to Norway to see Sarah and Baard so we are waiting to hear what alternative plan can be made.

Langham is in the centre of the district know as Constable country. The famous Landscape artist was born here and painted his memorable works around this area .We drove to Dedham a glorious village where we visited the church which was a lot larger than the usual village church due to the village having been the home of a large weaving industry. The photos above are of Flemish weavers cottages which have been maintained and still comfortably habitable. After a pint of ale in the old pub we took off for Flatford.

This is a National Trust project commemorating Constable's life, and needs really to be visited in dryer weather as walking is de rigeur. However we managed toget a very good idea of this beautiful part of England.The top left photo is of Willy Lott's house a farmhouse built about 1600 and part of the National trust.

Back to Sue's for a delicious late lunch. While feeding ourselves it started to snow and actually just settled onto the ground before stopping thank heavens - driving on snowy roads is something my navigator is reluctant to trust me with!

Sue gave us directions for a quicker route home and we made it back in excellent time having had a most enjoyable day.

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STRATFORD ON AVON

We decided to get an early start on Sunday and go across to Stratford on Avon which is 93 miles west of here. AS usual Carol navigated with consummate skill and we made the trip in just 2 hours. With lots of good signage we soon found Anne Hathaway's cottage and paid 26 quid for a ticket which gave us access to the five major sites celebrating William Shakespeare.

The cottage (picture top right) was in incredible condition for a 16th century building, and a guide their gave an interesting account of the lives if Bill and Anne. Bill was only 18 when he married Anne (who was 26 and 3 months pregnant!) so he was not just a good writer!. The two storey cottage contained several original items of furniture and was set in a superb garden.

Next stop was in the City centre, with plenty of parking available. We visited Shakespeare's birthplace and the exhibition of his liffe and works, all very well presented and most interesting.

The city itself was picturesque and very tourist orientated. We went down to the River Avon and watched a canal boat go through the lock which reminded us of our Murray River houseboat adventure some years ago. The wind was very cold here and we wandered about trying to decide where to have lunch,but finally got the car and drov e to the Arden cottage and farm which was about 4 miles from Stratford. We had a light lunch here and then went to see the very old house that Shakespeares mother had lived in until she moved to Stratford and married Bill's father.Until five years ago it had been assumed that the larger cottage (pictured bottom right above) had been their home, but an investigation turned up evidence that the actual cottage was a little further away on the farm property. The cottage had been inhabited by one family (not Ardens) for many years and was lived in until the 1970's!!

The larger cottage is, as can be seen, in a pretty decrepit condition, but can be inspected inside and one casn only goggle at the massive old wooden beams that supported the roof.The floors are very unevendue to sagging here and there, but again quite remarkable for being 500 years old. The farm itself is interesting and includes a falconry. We were lucky enough to be in time for a flying displpay by a European Owl (photo above). This was one of several owls,falcons,hawks and kestrels which are kept there. The young lady who was running the show was full of interesting infomation and told us that most of the birds had been bred in captivity.

The other fascinating building was a dovecote, a large rotunda shaped building inside which the walls contained hundreds of recessess in which the doves lived. Apart from suppplementing the diet, these birds droppings were regularly scraped up and used as fertilizer.

And so we turned for home,this time managing to geta bit lost and ending up going through Warwick and almost into Leicester due to missing an exit on the Motorway - it didn't make much differencce however. It was still daylight when we stopped at the Admiral's Arms at Holme for a much needed pint for me a mulled wine for the navigator. A great day.