Family
Sydenham, where Jacqui and Tom live, is a restored inner southeast suburb, densely populated and very multicultural. I was amazed how quiet it was (for the number of people) and the lack of graffiti or rubbish. It was cleaner than Caringbah. My cousin Keith, living nearby, tells me there is
Family
A walk in Europe is never boring if you know (or look for) a little history or natural history. Today Jacqui and Tom took us to Tonbridge in Kent--famous for it's oast houses (no pic unfortunately) for a purposeful walk for two hours or more, by the
Europe 2013
Friday night Michael joined us at Jacqui and Tom's (Mr and Mrs. Housden )for a very nice meal. By convenient coincidence, only a 20 minute walk separates Jacqui and Tom from my cousin Keith and his Australian wife, Petrea, in Forest Hill, so I visited them first thing
Europe 2013
In the near heartland of London we find parks-astonishing that so much land remains for the public good, resisting the pressure from developers . We rejoined Jacqui and Tom today and they took us to the famous Crystal Palace Broadcasting tower, the trees and the dinosaur park and a small,
Europe 2013
A plaque reminds us that croquet was first established in this splendid house--the best example of pure Jacobean architecture in Britain! Built in the early 1600's, the owners and subsequent generations were neither nobility nor wealthy, so the house never got altered, or attacked in the Cromwell
Europe 2013
Some pics from her stay in Penrith and their boat trip.
Europe 2013
While Mary attended her college reunion in Penrith, I drove to Croxley, near Watford, where friends Rilla and Shirlaw live, near the Grand Union Canal and some lovely woodlands. I met with Marion, we were at the same school 50 years ago. I insisted she be pictured with her BMW
Europe 2013
Some of you may not realise that these blogs go back to 2008 and you may appear in a previous entry. If you type your name or a place in the search box, you may find an entry from some years ago. You can also use the comments page to
Family
In good weather we (Mary Myself, Tony and Hilary) set out in a Volvo, from Underbarrow to do the walk around Tarn Hows, passing some magnificent trees in the grounds of Monk Coniston Hall, a breed of cows called 'belted Galloways' for self-evident reasons, as wellas '
Europe 2013
The journey up the M5 was broken at Eccleshall, a surprisingly 'chic' midlands village, at a 17th C Coaching Inn. The weather had been terrible,as you can see, so the next morning we had the full English breakfast, including fried bread then set off. On arrival we
Europe 2013
First a pic from our doorway towards other cottages, which I thought somewhat artistic. I include a photo of the lady who owned it in 1895 standing outside the same door! Incredible. Salcombe is the very essence of the genteel English riverside town that wants to say 'British and
Europe 2013
Yesterday was gloriously sunny and we walked to South Milton Sands to meet Sally and Robin at the 'Beach House' Milton Sands, for lunch. The beach was set up for a 'big activity day' run partly by the National Trust. There was kayaking and paddleboarding and