ELLEN TERRY AND RYE

The weather is still very ordinary and we decided to drive down to Kent and have a look at the Southern coast, and on the way to call in to visit the Ellen Terry cottage which is National Trust.

The 16th century cottage leans this way and that but I guess is remarkable in that it still stands! Inside there is a very good presentation of memorabilia from the Theatrical career of Ellen Terry who was the most famous actress in the late 19th century. She had owned the cottage for many years, principaly as a place of retreat, and I was surprised to learn that she could access London within two hours by the old steam train line which no longer exists. It would take two hours to drive to London today.!!

At the rear of the cottage is a converted Barn which is used as a Theatre by amateurs and professionals, and whilst fairly basic, is very popular with the "in" theatre crowd.

We stopped at a Pub en route to Rye and had an excellent Pub lunch in a very friendly environment and it din't cost an arm and a leg. Then we arrived at Rye which is one of the most charming towns we have visited. The Pay and Display carpark was on the blink and swallowed our money without producing a ticket which was not a good start. But we walked up the cobbled streets to the 13th Century church and strolled through the quaint streets lined with buildiings dating back for hundreds of years.
The town evokes the feeling of the island it once was surrounded by the Rivers Rother,Brede and Tillingham and looming above marshland and sea. The area is reminiscent of the Fens which we loved so much at Ramsey.

We took the coast road home skirting the Romney Marsh and stopped briefly at Dymchurch to peer over the seawall and find a long stretch of sandy beach - yes real sand.The wind was blowing a gale- so we gazed and got!
Then into Hythe and onto the M20 and a fast run home with Carol Schumaker at the wheel.

LONDON EYE,WESTMINSTER AND WAR CABINET ROOMS

The forecast for London was 21 degrees and we took off with high hopes. Arriving at Fenchurch Street we were a bit miffed to find a cold wind blowing from the South and decided we would walk to Westminster to get warm! Hardly anyone about as is usual for London early morning and we both enjoyed the brisk walk for the 2 miles or so along the Embankment to Westminster.

The first thing we noticed was the difference between this place and St Pauls. A truly magnificent structure and full of tombs and memorials of historical Royals and notables. No photographs alowed unfortunately. Poets corner is like visiting an encyclopedia of well known names - Wordsworth/Keats/Shelley/Burns -they are all here.A poignant tomb was that of the unknown soldier, decorated with Flanders poppies and a beautiful tribute "laid to rest with the famous of the land".The ceiling of the main part of the Abbey is incredibly structured and as we heard a guide tell his group "an amazing feat of engineering for the 15th century".

We had booked a champagne "flight" on the London Eye which cost an arm and a leg but gave us priority boarding, soomething we appreciated when we saw the size of the queues. Our capsule held 16 people in comfort and enabled us to move around and take in the extravagant veiws from all sides. The champagne was welcome but there is not much in one glass!! Our guide was well versed in the whereabouts of all the famous buildings and we were kept busy finding the various landmarks. A unique experience and an understanding of the awesome design and construction of this attraction. British Airways,who invested in the project, made a profit of 50 million pounds from the Eye last year and are said to have contemplated selling their aircraft and building more of these around the world!!!

Down to earth again and we went to the wharf where we had paid for a River cruise, only to find that the boat was almost full and the queue for the last few seats meant we would have to wait another hour for the next one.But the ticket man told us that if we hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river we could use our tickets for a sister ship which was leaving in 15 minutes. A hectic scramble through the throngs and we just made it.The legs at this stage were starting to tell me that there was a limit to all this pedestrian activity. Lovely trip on the catamaran however.Up to the Tower Bridge and back with a guide telling us about the various buildings en route.

Another brief walk and we arrived at the Wartime Underground Cabinet Rooms and the Churchill Museum. The rooms themselves have been restored to their original condition (the bedrooms even have poes under the bed!!) and in some rooms models have been consttructed to represent wartime activity. The bomb proofing of these rooms consists of oak beams and supports placed against the roof and walls. I don't think that a direct hit by a land mine would have failed to demolish the whole thing.

The adjacent Churchill Museum is state of the art. Winston's whole life story is displayed with photographs, models and memorabilia. There are many recordings of Churchill's speeches including his famous tribute to THE FEW and his "We will fight them on the beaches".It is a really appropriate reminder of the role that he played in WW11 and it also highlights his many weaknesses such as Galipoli.

We spent nearly two hours here before catching a bus to Trafalgar Square where we had a drink before going on to Fenchurch Street station and catching a train home.Had a couple of loud mouthed mobile phone users in the carriage and some West Ham United football supporters carrying cans of beer - but they behaved OK.!!

MORE GARDENS OF ENGLAND

Another lovely day dawned on Saturday and, after Carol had gone to Basildon Hospital to give a blood sample we took off for Kent and East and West Sussex. Carol had the blood sample taken at the doctor's request. She had appeared to be losing weight (dresses and skirts were more loose fitting than before!) but when the Doc weighed her she was actually a bit heavier than when last checked in August!! Muscle has replaced the puppy fat!!

We had identified three National Trust Gardens to visit and of course this is the right time to go garden visiting. The first one was Standen which was the country house of the Beale family until given to the NT in 1972. The house is absolutely charming and gives a great feel of a place of family happiness. Very well maintained and with lots of orginal furniture,spacious and multi roomed, it is no wonder that there was a staff of 12 servants in its heyday. The garden affords views of the Upper Medway Valley and was designed by Margaret Beale with the help of landscape gardener G B Simpson. Meandering paths lead through rhododendrons and orchards. A most unusual item was a row of old apple trees which had been espaliered and gave two strong branches off left and right from a gnarled trunk. This resulted in a tree which was no more than six feet high - obviously assisting the apple pickers!

We lunched in the barn which was excellent and then drove off to Wakehurst.This enormous park is part of the famous Kew Gardens.Of particular interest was the Southern Hemisphere Garden, and it was quite nostagic to see beautiful gum trees,banksia and tea trees.There was also a specimen of the Wollemi Pine, a tree which had been extinct for some 2 million years and was discovered in a valley West of Sydney in the 1970's.Its exact location is kept a closely guarded secret. A specimen was acquired by Kew and is thriving in these gardens. A couple of fat pheasants sat quite unperturbed as we walked past and ducks lay quietly ignoring the passers by.

Then a final drive to Sheffield Park Garden. En route we stopped in at the Blue Bell Railway where steam trains operate along a preserved rail line. We obtained details of the timetable and plan to make a further visit when we have time to take a trip.
Our Australian National Trust membership card provoked the question of whether we were aware of the Australian connection to Sheffield. It is of course the Sheffield Shield. In 1891 the Earl of Sheffield sponsored a cricket team (including the famous W G Grace) on a visit to Australia, and donated L150 to promote "intercolonial cricket" to be know as the Sheffield Shield - now more commercially known as the Pura Cup!!

Another brilliant garden situated around four lakes. Designed by the famous Capability Brown in the 18th century and further dveloped in the 20th century by its owner Arthur G Soames there are masses of azalias and rhododendrons underpinned with daffodils and bluebells. The bottom photo above is a view across one of the lakes and I think is a great picture.

I think we have probably "done" the garden bit now, and for the long weekend ahead we are now going to visit London.

A WEEKEND OF GARDENS

Good news today - we have finally got our credit card problems sorted out with the Queensland Teachers Credit Union and now have access to our Aussie funds.And on Friday last I had my Steroid injection to try and sort out this bloody shoulder problem and fingers crossed it seems to be a bit easier.

With National Trust sites now in full swing we decided on visit to Kent and a couple of Gardens, taking a picnic lunch with us to enjoy in the sunshine. We drove to Sissinghurst Castle Garden, one of the world's most celebrated gardens created by V ita Sackville West and her husband Sir Harold Nicolson around the remains of an Elizabethan mansion. The Trust employs 6 gardeners to maintain this beautiful creation and the colours are quite dramatic. Greens swards,immaculate avenues of privet hedges,a moat with trout quite visible,blossom trees and more. We had our picnic beside the car enjoying the onion pie and salad washed down with a can of beer, before returning to make sure we had visited all parts of the garden.A climb up to the top of the prospect tower (remaining part of the original mansion) afforded a magical view of the area. Quite superb.

Then we drove on to Scotney Castle and Garden.This property was developed in the 1830's by Edward Hussey 111. The vista from the Bastion just below the "new" Scotney Castle sweeps down to the ruins of a 14th century moated castle and is a truly breathtaking scene. The ruin is reasonably intact and is a most unusual architectural style but most attractive. Masses of bluebells and other Spring flowers provide a colourful background to the panorama, and the distant fields of hops, sheep grazing and undulating country insisted on a quiet contemplation of just how beautiful English countryside is.

Have booked the Eurostar for a weekend trip to Brussells over the May long weekend and a flight to Berlin for the half terms break at the end of May. It's all go!!

KNOLE AND IGTHAM MOTE

Now that we are into April, the National Trust sites are open once more. There are a large number of places to visit in Kent and Sussex, counties which are easily accessible to us from Basildon.

It was a perfect day -unbelievably 24 degrees - found the sunscreen and took off to visit a couple of places. The first one, Knole is one of Englands great show houses set in a magnificent deer park.It's connection with Henry V111 as well as literay connections with Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West (the Sackvilles still occupy part of the house) provide an interesting history. The name comes from the nearby Knoll in the park (Henry was not a good speller!) and there are 13 rooms presented in much the same way as they were in the 18th century.There is a wonderful collection of Royal Stuart furniture, and paintings by Van Dyke,Reynolds and Gainsborough. There is an ongoing preservation of many of the ancient fabrics,which, with the onset of age have deteriorated badly. There were lots of families picnicking in the park -a bit off putting with the sight of barechested Poms flaunting themselves in the sunshine.

Not far away is the magnificent 14th century moated manor house of Igtham Mote. Set in a sunken valley and dating from 1320, this wonderful old building was acquired by an American Charles Robinson in the 1920's for a few pounds when it was threatened with destruction. He embarked on an extensive restoration programme and modernised some of the features to make the property habitable. He gave it to the National Trust together with an endowment when he died and further restoration has since taken place. Another fine example of preserving the Heritage for fututre generations.

PrROVENCE -PART THREE

Tuesday morning we took off for Monaco and Nice. Carol happily raced along the Motorway at 130 kms and it did not take long to get to the outskirts of Monaco BUT then we were in a long queue of vehicles for the descent into the city. On the way down we were flagged over by a pretty looking Policewoman who requested the car papers (fortunately Jeanette had given those to us) and then our passports, details of everything being written down before we were alllowed to proceed. Jeanette told me afterwards that had we not had the car papers with us, we would not have been allowed to drive off -Heaven knows what we would have done!

We eventually got within the city boundary and picked the first carpark that we saw and with directions from a passerby, we walked down into the city proper. On the way down we spotted a Japanese restaraunt and dropped in for an excellent meal.The salad had the same dressing that we had experienced in Sydney and the waitress gave Carol the ingredients for future reference. With hunger assuaged we walked downhill to the base of the Castle complex and then up to see where Royalty lived. In the Chapel we saw the tombs of Rainier and Grace. The coastline is beautiful, and backdrop of high cliffs makes a perfect setting for this millionaires playground. The marinas were full of exotic boats, the streets abounded with Bentleys/Ferraris and Maseratis -but it did not appeal to me as a placce to live. Bit like HongKong but hillier!!

Len was feeling his 76 years so we decided to catch a bus up to our carpark and it was a couple of euros well spent.

Heading out of Monaco was a lot easier than getting in! We turned north off the Motorway and headed for Vence having decided that a visit to Nice could be avoided as it was an enormous city. Almost missed seeing Vence - the roaad signs here were a bit lacking in detail, and we finished up in the Medieval Village of Tourette sur Loup. It was getting late and a quick look at the fabulous old village convinced us that we should spend the night nearby and make a more detailed inspection the next day. We found an excellent hotel just out of the village which was only 60 euros bed and breakfast with a comfortable room and first class dining rooom. My fish dish was simply superb, and the Crepe which followed was a mountainous concoction of cream ice cream and butterscotch sauce-Wow!

Back to the village in the morning and a wander through the narrow alleyways of this old settlement.It goes back to the 13th century and has been lovingly restored to give a perfect picture of it's original style. Set on a hill (aren't they all?) the village was formed in a pattern of an outer and inner wall to help in defending against all manner of invaders including Visigoths,Huns,Franks and Lombards.It is an artists complex, and here Carol bought a ceramic door sign for her father. The artist was happy to create it in the style that Carol wanted and even arranged to post it securely.

Then off towards Sigalous - a long drive over the most winding road I have ever travelled, through Grasse which is known as a centre for perfumes. As my aftershave botle had spilt into my toilet bag, and Carol's jumper was packed nearby, she smelt very nicely of Eau Savage which deterred her from any desire to investigate other perfumes! I had seen a brochure advertising WW11 museum at Le Muy and we headed there, only to find on arrival that the museum only opened on Sundays. And then we found that no one in Le Muy wants to provide lunch so we hightailed it with empty stomachs until we came to a town with a supermarket where we managed to buy a sandwich and a beer.

Thursday we went into Pierrefeu and bought some fish which Carol was cookiing for dinner that night, and then after lunch we drove to Collobrieres a little village tucked away in the hills not far from Sigalous. It is the chestnut centre for the region and with a pretty stream running through the centre which on crosses on a 13th century bridge was most attractive. There was a general store which was like an old fashioned emporium, stacked with every conceivable sort of item.We bought a bottle stopper in the shape of a grape vine,, and a jar of chestnut puree before returning home.

Friday - the last day, Jeanette took us over to Heyere's The Big Shop to visit a store where they sell weather stations. At Jeanette's we had admired the wall mounted weather station which gave details of the insidde and outside temperatures,barometric pressures and weather forecast. It opeates from a wireless sensor mounted ooutside the house. So we had to have one!

Then the usual no nonsense booking in at Heyere airport, and back to England courtesy of Ryanair. A wonderful 10 days.

PROVENCE - PART 2

Friday was the day that Jeanette Alain and Morgan were off to England to visit my brother for three days leaving us as masters of our own destiny and in charge of the chateau!

We drove northwards to a village oalled Cette which boasted an old Abbey. Found it OK but the abbey was closed and we could only walk around it. Called innto the Touriste Bureau and saw a brilliant diorama of early village life.There were toilets outside the Abbey which proved to be very vintage -that is to say they were holes in the ground!!Authentic though!

From here we went on to Besse which is another ancient village with a 14th century church and a maze of narrow streets bounded on both sides with three stories of dwellings. As they are all shuttered it is a somewhat eerie feeling walking through them, and then one comes across the inevitable display of washing hanging from the opened window. The butchers shop here was most inviting, and we bought some Pate de pays,a few home made sausages and a large slice of sirloin. A little old lady emerged from one of the house on her way to the shops and stopped to talk to us (Carol) and told us of the Lake behind the church which we would have missed without her showing us the way. All of the people here were extremely friendly with everyone saying "Bon Jour" as you passed. I think one of my favourite pastimes in these villages is to sit in a sidewalk cafe and have an ice cold beer and watch the passing parade. There is a very special ambience about these sorts of places.

Home to "our" chateau and a lovely French meal of salade/pate and sausages,cheese and a bottle of the Sigalous red to wash it down- Alain had thoughtfully left 4 bottles out for our consumption in their absence! Loumie, the family's aged Alsatian accepted us as part of the family and passed her time sleeping on the stairs leaading to the bedrooms.

Saturday we went to Brignoles a provincial town of great antiquity dating from the 6th century. It is situated on the ancient Aurelia way which goes from Spain to Italy. It has not been maintained as welll as a lot of other similar areas, although therre was evidence of work being carried out. It gave a rather tatty appearance. We had a baguette in the city square, a pleasant space with plane trees yet to blossom. There was a marked number of Algrerian people in this town, which Jeanette explained was most likely due to the lower cost of property in the town as compared to coastal areas.

On to Saint Maximin where a Basilica was built on the site of a religious Merovingian site.The basilica is the only example of Gothic style construction in Provence and is quite outstanding. Adjoining the Basilica is the Royal Convent, another lovely old building now occupied as a hotel. The town square contains all of the traditional French attributes,plane trees/restaraunts and sidewalk cafes. Yes - we had a beer here!

Sunday was a day of rest. Carol worked on the English translation of the Sigalous Brochure, while I read on the terrace. Then Pierre (Alain's 28year old son) arrived with a friend to explain that they were having some cousins in for lunch and we were welcome to join them.Pierre speaks a little English but none of the others had more than a few words so, as Carol was busy and my French does not stand up to casual conversation, we declined their kind offer and decided to take a quiet drive in the country.

Monday we went into Pierrefeu, the local village perched on top of a hill,posted some cards and did some shopping at ACTA the supermarket.Home for lunch and then into Heyere which is where the Toulon airport is.Despite being Easter Monday, the market was in full swing and we wandered the streets admiring the many stalls. Carol bought a tablecloth for Sarah and a great big slab of cheese ($18)which we are still enjoying!

The old town is most attractive and we walked up to the lookout from where we had a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside and out to the Mediterranean. We saw the Ryanair plane landing at the airport and realised that this waas the one on which Jeanette and family were returning. A quiet beer at the cafe and then back to Sigalous where we learned that the family had had a great reunion in England and that the weather had allowed them to have a lunch at Jill's house in the garden!

PROVENCE- PART 1

We flew into Toulon courtesy of Ryanair and had a better landing than the last time - that is to say we actually landed at the first attempt. Jeanette was there with Morgan to meet us and we were soon at Sigalou. It was amazing to see the vines without any leaves at all (photo above) but Jeanette assured us they would have greenery before we left! Mr Moutte (Jeanette's Pa in Law) keeps daily records of the developement of the vines and it seems that some years ago the grapes were harvested in Otober, but that now the harvesting takes place in August - Global Warming?

The next day we drove off in the little Peugot 206 along the coast towards the East with Cavalier sur Mer as our destination where there was a market day. Found it with not much hassle, and Carol spent a lovely couple of hours wandering around and bought a cardigan while I bought a pair of shoes. The food stalls were tempting -cheeses/olives/pate/rabbits/pastries - too much. Had lunch at the waterfront and took off for Grimaud, a little village inland with the ruins of a castle. These French villages are fascinating.We discovered that lunch is a serious business in France and everything closes up for a couple of hours so that digestion is not disturbed.

In the centre of the village we spotted a tourist train which went by road to Port Grimaud. This port was created in the 1960's by a French architect from swampland and is today a security enclave of canals/marinas and super looking houses and apartments. A bit like an enlarged Sanctuary Cove. The parked yachts/launches etc are mind boggling and there is a pervading air of money money money!

Back to Sigalous and dinner. Carol and Morgan engaged in conversation which, as Jeanette Alain and Morgan are planning to come out to Australia later this year, was mainly centred on Australian animals.Morgan is a very intelligent litle man and his knowledge of animals is quite amazing.

On Thursday we decided to try the western coastline and headed for Cassis. Mr Moutte was in the house when we mentioned this and said we should "prenez le bateau pour les Calanques". Which we did!!Cassis is a lovely little seaside resort with a harbour surrounded by cafes. There are lots of boats promoting trips to The Calanques and we opted for one that visited three of them. The Calanques are indentations in the coastline (a bit like junior Fjiords!)and incredibly beautiful.

Lunch was fresh grilled sardines a la provencale with a small carafe of white grape juice, which as Carol was driving mostly came my way.

The Cassis photos are at the top -can't seem to get this blogsite to put the pictures where I would like them.

Carol drove both ways today - my shoulder does not lend itself to the task, and she is doing a great job of hairing along the road on the wrong side and driving from the left front seat.

WANSFORD WEEKEND

It's time to catch up on some blogs having returned from our Easter break in France.
On March 31st we drove up to meet our good friends Tim and Ruth staying the night with them in their lovely house in the village of Wansford. When we arrived two of Tim's daughters were visiting, and it was great to meet Jemma and Lucy and the two exuberant Springer Spaniels belonging to Lucy.

We went off to take the dogs for a walk in a delightful 1000 year old forest, where the dogs had a ball and displayed a general lack of togetherness! On the way back to Wansford we called in to see Lucy's renovation project. She and her husband had bought a decrepit house some time back and were determined to restore it to a better than past glory. Parts of the property were 15th century, and one can only admire the perseverance and vision that has enabled them to create a wonderful new home. As a listed property, there would have been a lot of frustration in obtaining approval for the rebuilding.It's a good job that Lucy is a GP as the project would have been a virtual sink for money!!!

Jemma is a University student and was at the end of her course and preparing her Dissertation - she visibly relaxed as her preparation got closer to completion.

Sunday we drove to Rutland Water the largest man made lake in Europe. There was a large fleet of Toppers sailing - a dinghy much like a Moth - and they made a colourful sight.As the wind was quite strong (and cold) I didn't envy the sailors battling the choppy waters. There was a museum in the old church (photo above) and we watched a fascinating video of the successful efforts made to achieve a return of the Osprey to its natural habitat in the area. Over a period of years, a band of dedicated volunteers monitored and recorded these beautiful birds in their migration to and from Africa, their breeding and eventual successful establishment on the Damn.

We had lots of conversations about travel, as both Ruth and Tim are seasoned travellers to all parts of Europe and elsewhere, and we received some good advice about Venice in particular.

A lovely weekend.

REVISITS TO LEEDS AND CHATHAM

Sunday dawned late because we have gone to daylight saving.But the sun was shining and there was a lovely blue sky so we decided to take another trip across the river and visit the rest of the Chatham Dockyard. We packed a picnic (amazing what a bit of sunshine will do) and set off. At Chatham we did the 40 minute audio visual tour of the Wooden Wall shipbuilding diorama. An excellent display which went through the stages of building a Man of War in the 18th century. From the pattern floor, where the design was laid out, the saw pits where two fellows cut 8 inch planks from logs of oak, the caulkers,the carpenters - an amazing demonstration which showed how these great ships were built.

The we went into the Dockyard museum which traced the history of the yard from the days of Henry v111 right through to the Falklands conflict. This would be a wonderful history lesson for school kids, and it was filled with relics/descriptive paintings,models and everything needed to instill the importance of Englands reliance on it's navy. The Dockyards built hundreds of ships, including modern naval vessels and submarines. Sadly it was closed down late in the 20th century.

Leeds Castle we had previously visited in November last year, and as our entry tickets were valid for 12 months we took advantage of the largesse and had another look. The gardens there are superb and we started off by having our picnic with jackets and scarves tightly wrapped around!!!

A walk through the castle was enhanced by tremendous floral displays which had been created for the Spring Flower Festival. Each room had its own display prepared by various organisations, and although having been on show for nearly a week, still gave a wonderful touch.

We walked around the gardens and admired the black swan and her babes, then went to the Maze and the Falconry where a free flying display was to be held.

The African Spotted Owl (photo above) was the first participant, and he flew around the enclosure performing to his trainers wishes. He came to sit on each fence post in the post and rail enclosure, and as you can see dropped in to the post right in front of me.The episode finished when he simply refused to cooperate with his trainer any more, and sat on a ledge totally ignoring the commands/pleas of his trainer who finally had to walk across and pick him up.

The next participant was a kestrel, which when released did a very fast fly past over the crowd and then flew off to sit on the weather vane of an adjoining building. From here he simply enjoyed the view and ignored the tempting titbits being offered from afar. He finally flew of out of sight!! All quite amusing.

And so back to Langdon Hills and the enjoyment of daylight extending through to 8pm.

CHATHAM DOCKYARD

There has been a bit of a pause in blogging while we have had the computer reformatted as we were sick of waiting 15 minutes for it to boot up. Of course the data which I thouht I had backed up didn't get done because we subsequently found that the CD rom drive was cactus.Ho bloody hum! Bought an external drive to remedy that situation and then found that the Wireless network card was corrupted and spent some time sorting that out. Computers are wonderful things for using up spare time.
And all this time the rotator cuff injury that your's truly suffered from the fall in Norway back at Christmas is not responding to physio and painful nights are the result.But as they say, press on regardless and forget about golf for a few more months!

And so to Chatham Dockyards, an excellent display of the 400 year old history of this site where ships have been built and serviced over the years. We started off in the Life Boat museum which was first class. There were many actual lifeboats on display all beautifully maintained by a volunteer group of people. The record of lives saved, and lost, was a dramatic reminder of the service that these volunteer crews perform day in and day out.

Then on to a 19th century gunboat which is almost completely restored, and with a wonderful audio guide invoked the history of British Colonial power of the time.Apart from the cramped conditions in which the crews lived, there was a real sense of England exerting its authority on the colonies demonstrated. It must have been a bit awesome to see this thing arriving at a troublespot with marines on board and big cannons bristling threatenly.

The next exhibit was the last remaining Naval destroyer from WW2 the HMS Cavalier. As it is the official monument of those magnificent ships and their men, it is allowed to fly the white ensign. Again, the audio gave a great summary of the conditions and history of this ship, and it was suprising to find that the bridge, from where the ship was commanded, was in fact open to the elements. As the ship's history included escorting convoys on the run to Russia, one can only admire the men who stood or sat there in freezing conditions, totally exposed to the elements and battling gale force Artic winds.

A quick stop for lunch was a disaster. The Bridge cafe can only be described as dreadful.After half an hour waiting for our ordered tomato soup, we finally received a bowl of turgid crap with tough pieces of bread. Other suckers had ordered toasted sandwiches which arrived looking like pieces of rock served with potato chips and which, like our meal, were mostly left untouched on the plates. We actually wrote out complaints about it when we left the Dockyards and found that this was no surprise to the Manager!!I need hardly add that it is a franchise operation!

An inspection of the Ropery was the final part of our visit, and luckily we were just in time for a guided tour which was particulalry well done by a costumed "Mill Girl" who educated us into the mechanics of rope production. This included an actual
manufacture of a piece of rope.

As we walked our way to the exit we came across the resident steam train which (driven by volunteers) was pushing a large crane along the lines round the docks. The crane had decided that it did not want to stay on the tracks on a gentle bend and had gone straight ahead and naturally become derailed. The poor old volunteers were trying to jack this bloody great crane up so that they could get it back on track, but we didn't have the heart or the time, to watch their endeavours!!

The entry tickets are valid for 12 months and we intend to return soon to finish off the tour by visiting the Marine Museum.

LAVENHAM - THE TUDOR VILLAGE

A lovely morning sunshine inspired us to get in the car and take off to explore. On the cruise on the Nile we had struck up conversation with Phil and Jan (both in education). They were inveterate travellers who expressed an ambition to follow our example of stepping into the wide world and seeing as much as possible. They told us of a place called Lavenham, which they described as a "lovely old village" and which we discovered was not too far from here.And it lived up to its description.

The village was originally a significant town of timber framed houses and home to a thriving cloth industry dating back to the 16th Century. So we had to adjust our historical clock away from the "4000 years ago of Egypt" to a mere 500 years!!

IN the 17th Century the bubble of economic success had burst and Lavenham became a backwater with its inhabitants unable to afford to rebuild their houses. It was not until some three centuries later with the coming of the railway that Lavenham became relatively affluent once more.

The Guildhall of Corpus Christi dates from around 1530 is one of the finest surviving examples of timber framed buidlings in England and is substantially preserved by the National Trust.It houses a museum which shows the history of both the cloth trade and the agricultural activity of the town.

The main street is full of well maintained original buidlings including the spectacular Crooked House which is now an art gallery. A very interesting place to visit- and Carol found a butcher's shop with excellent meat!!!

FAREWELL JACQUIE

Sad news from home. Our dear old dog Jacquie had to be put down as she was very poorly. She would have been 16 years old in May this year, and we had hoped that she might survive until we returned, but it was not to be.

We have wonderful memories of her though. She was a great lizard catcher, and we well remember the time she came out of the bush with Hedgehog spikes stuck in her mouth when she thought that she was a hedgehog hunter. And flatulence was one of her occasional contributions!

Known as the "Queen of Groom Street" her morning exercise was to wander up the street to determine who had invaded her territory overnight, cock her leg (this was a female dog?) and overmark the predators. In the early light of day her white bum always gave away where she was.

Lovely memories of you Jacquie and it is good to know that the last few months of your life were spent being loved by Greg and Jeannie and those other Crows Nest residents.

Farewell.

SARAH'S BIRTHDAY

Sarah came over from Norway for her 29th birthday. Baard had booked to come with her, but,surprisingly he was called over to Australia for a Centrebet Conference.

Sarah arrived on Sunday, and with Carol working, she and Dad spent Monday doing some shopping - bought some lovely warm boots for snow walking in Norway, and generally relaxed. Tuesday, Carol was unaccountably struck down with a mysterious stomach wog, and had to ring the school to say she would not be available. And then we al took off for a day in London.

Popped in to St Pauls Cathedral, tubed our way to Leiccester Square, which Len knew was the wrong station as we were really aiming for Picadilly where we knew there was an excellent Japanese restaraunt which was to be Sarah's birthday present. Finally found it and had a really super meal - amazing how much a growing girl can put away!

Went to see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and then took a bus towards the Tower of London so that we could catch the train home from Fenchurch Street. Lot's of puffing and huffing - but we made it.

Wednesday we were going to drive down and see Peter and Mary, but Len was suffering from a nasty cold and we did not think it wise to risk giving the infection to Mary who is still recovering from her second hip operation. So we pottered around. Sarah made a lovely casserole and a pleasant day was had.

Thursday morning we haad to get Sarah to Stansted to fly home -BUT when we woke up there had been a heavy fall of snow. We heard on the radio that Stansted was closed -and then that schools were closed -so Carol decided to accompany us to the airport which had predicted it would open later in the day.

Swept snow off the car - and tentatively drove the 40 odd miles to Statsted where we dropped Sarah off. When we got home there was a call from Sarah to tell us that her flight had been cancelled, and that Ryanair (her carrier) could only tell her that their next flight into Stavanger was on Sunday!!

Carol got onto the internet and after some exhaustive tooing and froing managed to book seats on British Airways from Heathrow to Oslo late that day and a Norwegian Air flight from Oslo to Stavanger early the next day! Poor old Sarah - she had to get the Express Coach from Stansted to Heathrow and wait there for 8 hours to get to Oslo, then she sat up in the airport at Oslo until late morning to get home. About 36 hours in transit.

So it was quite a birthday to remember.