Naturally our time in London included a visit to the Tower (as a place of historic significance a morning spent there allowed me to justify taking the girls out of school for six weeks).
I thought the most impressive view of the Tower of London was as we exited the tube station. You come up into daylight and there it is-big impact. The morning was showery, necessitating the purchase of a grossly overpriced ‘souvenir’ umbrella, but the rain held off long enough for us to join a guided tour, led by a beefeater with a great knowledge of history and a very dry sense of humour. His commentary (though I’m sure long rehearsed) felt spontaneous and his little asides about modern life at the Tower gave the place vivid colour.
After the tour we duly stood on a moving walkway and were conveyed past the crown jewels, which, to be honest, were not nearly as impressive as I had expected. The crowds we were warned against did not eventuate, which was a good thing seeing as how the dodgy weather encouraged those people who were there to stay inside.
During our time in London we also managed to stroll past the houses of parliament, admire big Ben, and not tour Westminster Abbey. This last was a decision of Boy Genius, who after walking around the outside flatly refused to enter and suggest the alternative ‘go home have afternoon tea’, and so we did.
Thus concluded our time in London, more or less.
There was a lovely, lazy day spent visiting my hero’s brothers, but I’ve decided not to go into the intimacies of family contact in this recount of the edited highlights of our trip.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Trip Report Part 3-The British Museum
On the holidays I went to the British Museum and I saw a Stone chopper from Tanzania and the Rosetta Stone and a Colossal bust of Ramesses the Great and the Assyrian Lion Hunt reliefs and the Parthenon sculptures and an Easter Island statue Hoa Hakananai’a and a turquoise serpent from South America and a Cloisonné jar with dragons and a Jade Terrapin from Allahabad and the Lewis Chessmen and the Sutton Hoo ship burial and a Mosaic of Christ and the Basse Yutz flagons and the Flood tablet and the Royal Game of Ur and the Mummy of Katebet and Samurai armour and loads of other stuff.
This may give a slight sense of me in the British Museum. I’d barely have time to appreciate one thing when the next would catch my eye and I was off. All ethical conflicts I felt prior to my visit melted away as my sense of wonder slipped into overdrive. I could have spent a week there rather than just the three hours I had.
If I ever return to London this museum will be the reason why.
This may give a slight sense of me in the British Museum. I’d barely have time to appreciate one thing when the next would catch my eye and I was off. All ethical conflicts I felt prior to my visit melted away as my sense of wonder slipped into overdrive. I could have spent a week there rather than just the three hours I had.
If I ever return to London this museum will be the reason why.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Trip Report Part 2-Hampton Court Palace
Our stay in London was short and our itinerary circumscribed by a combination of the girls’ interests and Boy Genius’s rather, mercurial, behaviour.
One of the first things we did was visit Hampton Court Palace. I must admit that I had no particular interest in hiking out to Hampton Court but a few people told me it was a great family day out and I do think it was worth the trip.
The architectural and decorative features of the palace are magnificent (I particularly liked the chimneys) and its history fascinating. In the morning we tagged along with a guided tour that looked at court life through servant’s eyes. We had hoped to do the complementary tour from a courtier’s perspective later in the day but Boy Genius found the king (or at least the actor with the huge codpiece playing Henry VIII) upsetting-I suspect it was the loud carrying voice-and so we retired to the gardens for a picnic.
The gardens were lovely, the roses being in full bloom, and the afternoon was warm enough that I was grateful for the shade of large trees. I think the children enjoyed the maze in spite of the school group that was also there racing about and squealing as school groups are wont to do. We returned to the palace and managed to get a quick glimpse at most of the state rooms before Boy Genius deemed it was time we left.
I would have to agree that it is a great family day out and I would consider returning there for a couple of hours without the entourage so as to get a decent look about.
One of the first things we did was visit Hampton Court Palace. I must admit that I had no particular interest in hiking out to Hampton Court but a few people told me it was a great family day out and I do think it was worth the trip.
The architectural and decorative features of the palace are magnificent (I particularly liked the chimneys) and its history fascinating. In the morning we tagged along with a guided tour that looked at court life through servant’s eyes. We had hoped to do the complementary tour from a courtier’s perspective later in the day but Boy Genius found the king (or at least the actor with the huge codpiece playing Henry VIII) upsetting-I suspect it was the loud carrying voice-and so we retired to the gardens for a picnic.
The gardens were lovely, the roses being in full bloom, and the afternoon was warm enough that I was grateful for the shade of large trees. I think the children enjoyed the maze in spite of the school group that was also there racing about and squealing as school groups are wont to do. We returned to the palace and managed to get a quick glimpse at most of the state rooms before Boy Genius deemed it was time we left.
I would have to agree that it is a great family day out and I would consider returning there for a couple of hours without the entourage so as to get a decent look about.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Trip Report Part 1
I shall not start the recount of my grand journey at the beginning, though it could be argued that wherever one begins a tale that is, by virtue of its placement, its beginning. But with all due respect to the title of this blog, the details of the train trip and connecting bus ride out to the airport are of such mundanity as to be unworthy of mention, unless it is to comment upon their very ordinariness. (Which I have now duly done.) Suffice to say I found the airport bus to be a cheap, convenient and fast way to get to the airport. Likewise uneventful was the 3 hours spent skulking around the airport lounge before our flight (a time frame insisted on by the airlines that seems a little excessive to me-but it’s their plane so it’s their rules).
Upon check-in QANTAS acknowledged my, as yet untold, greatness by upgrading us all to premium economy. This meant more leg room, wider seats, bigger TV screens, larger tables and champagne on boarding. Having since travelled long haul in economy (and don’t worry you’ll be hearing all about it later), I, for one, am sold on the premium seats and will be booking them for all my future long haul flights.
The flight was comfortable and enabled me to catch up on a couple of movies I’d missed (Yes Man and The Changeling). I ate well, drank moderately and slept minimally.
We walked straight through customs at Heathrow without slowing down and were met by a nice man with our name on a card that drove us to our flat in Earl’s Court. Our accommodation at The Mansions in Earl’s Court was excellent and much better than I had expected for the price. The two bedroom flat had a kitchen complete with dishwasher and washer/drier and great water pressure in the shower-particularly considering we were 5 floors up. It really was only a 5 minute walk to Earl’s Court tube station and not much further to a large Sainsbury’s (which immediately become boy genius’s supermarket of choice-no Tesco for him!).
We were in London for five days, six if you count the morning and night of our day in Paris, seven if you count the morning we flew out to Belfast. This served the twofold purpose of allowing us to acclimatise to local time before we descended on family and to justify taking the children out of school for six weeks by marching them around some of the historical sites of the city. And let’s be honest I had a bit of a wish list of things to see too.
Our Adventures in the Great City of London to follow….
Upon check-in QANTAS acknowledged my, as yet untold, greatness by upgrading us all to premium economy. This meant more leg room, wider seats, bigger TV screens, larger tables and champagne on boarding. Having since travelled long haul in economy (and don’t worry you’ll be hearing all about it later), I, for one, am sold on the premium seats and will be booking them for all my future long haul flights.
The flight was comfortable and enabled me to catch up on a couple of movies I’d missed (Yes Man and The Changeling). I ate well, drank moderately and slept minimally.
We walked straight through customs at Heathrow without slowing down and were met by a nice man with our name on a card that drove us to our flat in Earl’s Court. Our accommodation at The Mansions in Earl’s Court was excellent and much better than I had expected for the price. The two bedroom flat had a kitchen complete with dishwasher and washer/drier and great water pressure in the shower-particularly considering we were 5 floors up. It really was only a 5 minute walk to Earl’s Court tube station and not much further to a large Sainsbury’s (which immediately become boy genius’s supermarket of choice-no Tesco for him!).
We were in London for five days, six if you count the morning and night of our day in Paris, seven if you count the morning we flew out to Belfast. This served the twofold purpose of allowing us to acclimatise to local time before we descended on family and to justify taking the children out of school for six weeks by marching them around some of the historical sites of the city. And let’s be honest I had a bit of a wish list of things to see too.
Our Adventures in the Great City of London to follow….
Sunday, July 12, 2009
I'm Baaack
And I'm knee deep in washing.
Details to follow once I get myself sorted.
About the trip that is, not the washing.
Details to follow once I get myself sorted.
About the trip that is, not the washing.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Packing It
With only a few hours to go until we fly out the mood here is semi-controlled chaos.
I'm down to my last three lists of things to do before we leave and now I'm just wondering if they have kitchen sinks in the UK. Not to worry, I'm sure I have one here in the bottom of my handbag somewhere, just in case.
I'm down to my last three lists of things to do before we leave and now I'm just wondering if they have kitchen sinks in the UK. Not to worry, I'm sure I have one here in the bottom of my handbag somewhere, just in case.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Bright Idea
It has been very foggy here this last week. In fact, it is almost 11 o’clock in the morning and I can only now see the house on the other side of the street. The trees beyond are still dark shapes shrouded in mist.
Somebody has foreseen trouble on these foggy mornings with traffic in the area around Southland shopping centre. This is a very busy place at the best of times. I hate to imagine what it must be like during a dark and foggy morning peak. And foreseeing trouble somebody has done something about it.
Just as you approach the junction of the Nepean Highway and Cheltenham road they have set up a road side sign. It is only of moderate size but makes up for it with flashing yellow lights that spell out the words:
PAY ATTENTION
Alternating with:
HIGH COLLISION INTERSECTION
I can only assume that this is supposed to promote road safety. But I wonder how a flashing yellow sign, placed right on the intersection isn’t a distraction. When visibility is poor I need to concentrate on the road not on new eye catching signs looming up at me out of the fog.
I have visions of early morning drivers being distracted by the flashing yellow lights and concentrating more on figuring out what the sign says than on the road in front of them.
Well done for effort but I’m not convinced that this will prevent more accidents than it causes.
Somebody has foreseen trouble on these foggy mornings with traffic in the area around Southland shopping centre. This is a very busy place at the best of times. I hate to imagine what it must be like during a dark and foggy morning peak. And foreseeing trouble somebody has done something about it.
Just as you approach the junction of the Nepean Highway and Cheltenham road they have set up a road side sign. It is only of moderate size but makes up for it with flashing yellow lights that spell out the words:
PAY ATTENTION
Alternating with:
HIGH COLLISION INTERSECTION
I can only assume that this is supposed to promote road safety. But I wonder how a flashing yellow sign, placed right on the intersection isn’t a distraction. When visibility is poor I need to concentrate on the road not on new eye catching signs looming up at me out of the fog.
I have visions of early morning drivers being distracted by the flashing yellow lights and concentrating more on figuring out what the sign says than on the road in front of them.
Well done for effort but I’m not convinced that this will prevent more accidents than it causes.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Dark Mark
Last week my back passage was brown, now it’s frozen.
No that’s not a euphemism. Frozen, as it happens, is a very pale mint green colour. I thought it would be a white tint but it is most definitely, unmistakably green.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
It was just unexpected.
But let me go back to the beginning.
My hero is once again on enforced holidays (what I have come to think of as recession leave) and as any of you who have met him might have guessed, he is not a man who is happy to veg out in front of the telly for any amount of time.
He was pacing around the house like a caged animal so I pointed out the sad state of the rear hallway, told him it needed a bit of freshening up (which it did but straight men don’t seem to be able to pick these things) and sent him to the shed in search of paint.
Over the years our shed has accumulated a wide range of partly used paint tins in assorted colours. I told him any colour would do so long as there was enough paint to cover the walls.
He returned with almost four litres of frozen. I have no idea how frozen ended up in our shed. It is not a colour that I can remember using nor can I picture myself choosing it. But it’s inoffensive and so onto the walls it went.
It took only two coats and the brown was gone and in its place is frozen-fresh and bright.
But as the paint dried it became apparent that he had missed a spot. It was a very small spot, only around half a centimetre big, at around hip height. Looks a bit like a smudge where somebody has accidentally touched the still wet paint. Not a problem, he dabbed over it and the spot was covered.
But then as the paint dried the spot reappeared. That’s okay though, another tiny touch up and the spot was covered. But then as the paint dried…
Seven coats later we can still see the strange dark mark.
It has become our house’s version of the indelible blood stain at the foot of the stairs.
My hero refuses to accept defeat. He wants to sand it back completely, gouge out the plaster, refill the hole then paint over the patch.
Maybe that would work. But I’m afraid to let him try. What if it doesn’t?
For now we must suffer the presence of the dark smudge.
No that’s not a euphemism. Frozen, as it happens, is a very pale mint green colour. I thought it would be a white tint but it is most definitely, unmistakably green.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
It was just unexpected.
But let me go back to the beginning.
My hero is once again on enforced holidays (what I have come to think of as recession leave) and as any of you who have met him might have guessed, he is not a man who is happy to veg out in front of the telly for any amount of time.
He was pacing around the house like a caged animal so I pointed out the sad state of the rear hallway, told him it needed a bit of freshening up (which it did but straight men don’t seem to be able to pick these things) and sent him to the shed in search of paint.
Over the years our shed has accumulated a wide range of partly used paint tins in assorted colours. I told him any colour would do so long as there was enough paint to cover the walls.
He returned with almost four litres of frozen. I have no idea how frozen ended up in our shed. It is not a colour that I can remember using nor can I picture myself choosing it. But it’s inoffensive and so onto the walls it went.
It took only two coats and the brown was gone and in its place is frozen-fresh and bright.
But as the paint dried it became apparent that he had missed a spot. It was a very small spot, only around half a centimetre big, at around hip height. Looks a bit like a smudge where somebody has accidentally touched the still wet paint. Not a problem, he dabbed over it and the spot was covered.
But then as the paint dried the spot reappeared. That’s okay though, another tiny touch up and the spot was covered. But then as the paint dried…
Seven coats later we can still see the strange dark mark.
It has become our house’s version of the indelible blood stain at the foot of the stairs.
My hero refuses to accept defeat. He wants to sand it back completely, gouge out the plaster, refill the hole then paint over the patch.
Maybe that would work. But I’m afraid to let him try. What if it doesn’t?
For now we must suffer the presence of the dark smudge.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The $850,000 question
Apparently I have WON the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY!!!
Extraordinary. Particularly considering I’ve never even heard of the Online Sweepstakes International program, let alone bought a ticket.
But that’s a minor detail. All I have to do to claim my winnings is send my personal details to some stranger and they’ll send me a check for 850,000 pounds sterling.
I’m usually a little wary of giving out that kind of information over the internet but Mr. Emmanuel Loiseau is obviously a man of honour. After all he went to a lot of trouble to track me down via hotmail, especially considering that I never even bothered to buy a ticket in his lottery. And it must have been difficult to find me since my hotmail address bears no relation to my actual name at all.
So how to spend my new found wealth.
I want to put this windfall to the best use possible but there are so many deserving charities and let’s not forget family and friends.
The decision has been a hard one but I’ve decided that nice prince from the displaced Nigerian Royal Family needs it more than anybody else.
So Emmanuel, if could forward my cheque onto him that would be brilliant.
In the meantime, there’s a lot of lotteries out there I haven’t entered, I’m going to sit back here and rake in the big bucks.
Extraordinary. Particularly considering I’ve never even heard of the Online Sweepstakes International program, let alone bought a ticket.
But that’s a minor detail. All I have to do to claim my winnings is send my personal details to some stranger and they’ll send me a check for 850,000 pounds sterling.
I’m usually a little wary of giving out that kind of information over the internet but Mr. Emmanuel Loiseau is obviously a man of honour. After all he went to a lot of trouble to track me down via hotmail, especially considering that I never even bothered to buy a ticket in his lottery. And it must have been difficult to find me since my hotmail address bears no relation to my actual name at all.
So how to spend my new found wealth.
I want to put this windfall to the best use possible but there are so many deserving charities and let’s not forget family and friends.
The decision has been a hard one but I’ve decided that nice prince from the displaced Nigerian Royal Family needs it more than anybody else.
So Emmanuel, if could forward my cheque onto him that would be brilliant.
In the meantime, there’s a lot of lotteries out there I haven’t entered, I’m going to sit back here and rake in the big bucks.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Potpourri
I know, I know, it’s been quite a while since my last post. I wish I could say I’ve been busy with Important Things but the truth is that I’ve been preoccupied with a whole lot of nothing much. That is, after all, what life in the suburbs amounts to: a string of mundane, repetitive tasks occasionally punctuated by an Event. And my life, of late, has been blessedly devoid of Events.
However, time ticks away and even in my inconsequential household history is being written, albeit a rather dull history, though no less noble for its insignificance. But please, judge for yourself.
My Hero had some recession induced holidays during which time I finally got him to paint the lounge room ceiling-a job he’s been promising to do for quite a while. Cough-2 years-cough.
The girls introduced him to the joys of you tube. They quickly realised their mistake when he spent the next three hours getting drunk while singing along with video clips of the Dubliners. (I know what you’re thinking and it’s too late: we’ve already bred.) Fortunately for all concerned he’s computer illiterate and can’t remember how to access the site making an encore performance unlikely.
The Professor of Pedantics turned 14. She opted for a low key event. We were joined by four giggling girls at a local Mexican restaurant, where cheese allergies were accommodated and a good time was had by all.
The Master of the Bleeding Obvious has started high school and is coping well in spite of the fact that all the teachers hate her, the uniform blazer has shoulder pads and her best friend isn’t in her class. Truly her bravery knows no bounds.
Both are very excited about their upcoming trip to Ireland and quite taken with the idea that they have cousins. Cousins being exotic personages that other people talk about but of which my girls have little personal experience to speak of.
Boy Genius continues to improve slowly but surely. We’ve been experimenting with medication regimes and have finally struck upon something that seems to work for him. He’s still not quite back to normal but is much closer than he was a few months ago. Violence and aggression are practically a thing of the past. Though he still requires a lot of behavioural management, which can be exhausting, I am cautiously optimistic.
So optimistic in fact that in the last couple of weeks I’ve actually begun to believe that he and I will be able to accompany the rest of the family over to the UK in June. Something I really didn’t believe would be the case back in March. Fingers crossed.
As for myself to those of you who have noticed my absence and were concerned enough for my well being to get in touch, thank you. When I’m at my lowest and loneliest (and I have been living there of late) it’s always nice to be reminded that I do have friends. (And in the back of my mind I sigh in relief to think that should I die somebody would notice me missing before I was completely consumed by a ravenous cat.) From now on I promise to make more of an effort to post regularly. Whether I have anything to say, or not.
Yes, I will.
Stop laughing.
However, time ticks away and even in my inconsequential household history is being written, albeit a rather dull history, though no less noble for its insignificance. But please, judge for yourself.
My Hero had some recession induced holidays during which time I finally got him to paint the lounge room ceiling-a job he’s been promising to do for quite a while. Cough-2 years-cough.
The girls introduced him to the joys of you tube. They quickly realised their mistake when he spent the next three hours getting drunk while singing along with video clips of the Dubliners. (I know what you’re thinking and it’s too late: we’ve already bred.) Fortunately for all concerned he’s computer illiterate and can’t remember how to access the site making an encore performance unlikely.
The Professor of Pedantics turned 14. She opted for a low key event. We were joined by four giggling girls at a local Mexican restaurant, where cheese allergies were accommodated and a good time was had by all.
The Master of the Bleeding Obvious has started high school and is coping well in spite of the fact that all the teachers hate her, the uniform blazer has shoulder pads and her best friend isn’t in her class. Truly her bravery knows no bounds.
Both are very excited about their upcoming trip to Ireland and quite taken with the idea that they have cousins. Cousins being exotic personages that other people talk about but of which my girls have little personal experience to speak of.
Boy Genius continues to improve slowly but surely. We’ve been experimenting with medication regimes and have finally struck upon something that seems to work for him. He’s still not quite back to normal but is much closer than he was a few months ago. Violence and aggression are practically a thing of the past. Though he still requires a lot of behavioural management, which can be exhausting, I am cautiously optimistic.
So optimistic in fact that in the last couple of weeks I’ve actually begun to believe that he and I will be able to accompany the rest of the family over to the UK in June. Something I really didn’t believe would be the case back in March. Fingers crossed.
As for myself to those of you who have noticed my absence and were concerned enough for my well being to get in touch, thank you. When I’m at my lowest and loneliest (and I have been living there of late) it’s always nice to be reminded that I do have friends. (And in the back of my mind I sigh in relief to think that should I die somebody would notice me missing before I was completely consumed by a ravenous cat.) From now on I promise to make more of an effort to post regularly. Whether I have anything to say, or not.
Yes, I will.
Stop laughing.
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