Day 41 - Monday, June 4th

Beautiful Blenheim Palace






























This morning we waved good-bye to Michael as he went to work, and then Roy, Diane and I picked up the bus to the town of Woodstock and to Bleinheim Palace which was the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

It was a beautiful building and had some wonderful stone sculptures around the outside of the building. Once inside there was an animated video tour that took you through some of the stories about incidents within the palace. It helped for us to get a better handle on our British history.

There was one area where they had framed photos displayed much as we do in our homes. Diane and I were looking at the pictures of people that we didn’t know and she commented that “for all I know, they could be the photos that came with the frames!!”

We had lunch at the café and I enjoyed a Tomato/Basil soup, while Diane had Carrot/Coriander. Roy picked up a packaged sandwich and asked about mayonaise. After they looked, they apologetically said that they couldn’t find any more small packets. Roy said OK and went back to his sandwich. A moment later, one of the women YELLED “Who needed mayonaise”. Roy reluctantly raised his hand and they brought a huge bowl of it to our table..... we told Roy that he had to eat ALL of it!!!!

We enjoyed going through a special exhibition about the life of Winston Churchill. It was filled with letters between he and his father. There was also one from the Head Mistress of his school to his Dad, saying that “he has only scraped through his exams”. Another letter from his Nanny said that Winston had been hunting and had killed 5 rabbits and frightened 50. Finally, one from the school nurse saying that “Winston has fallen from his tricycle and suffered a mild concussion of Brain”.

One interesting one from Winston to his father said “I will take your advise about the cigars and I don’t think I shall often smoke more than one or two a day – and very rarely that.” It was also interesting to note that he wrote home to request money from his family.....just like a teenager.

There were various election posters and paraphernalia from his political career. I was interested in seeing the sheet music to a song entitled “The Man With the Big Cigar”.

I hadn’t realized that Winston was a fairly prolific painter and we really enjoyed his pictures. Apparently, many of them were reproduced for his wife’s Christmas cards by Hallmark Cards. The founder of Hallmark (Mr. Hall) and Winston were very good friends.

There was a newspaper article about his death that reported that the town where his body was lying in state was closed to cars because of the congestion. So, people simply left their cars along the roads and walked into the town to pay their respects, some walking over 2 miles each way.

We took a brief walk through the beautiful gardens, but opted for a warm bus rather than a cool, windy garden.

The bus was pulling up just as we were walking to the bus stop, so we made a run for it and caught the bus before it left. Since it was a double-decker bus, we decided to go on up to the top level for the trip. It was interesting to sit in the left-hand side seats and have the tree branches hit the front window and then scrap along the side windows!!! We were able to really see the countryside and enjoy the 15 minute journey.

We came back to the house and then immediately headed out to the “Eagle & Child” pub which we had been to before. Michael and Diane had a wonderful fish and chips platter, while I had a steak and grilled onion sandwich. Roy had a dish called Hunters Chicken which was chicken, bacon and cheese cooked with a barbeque sauce. Both of the fish platters had a glob of mushy peas which were still there when we left.

I left the group early and went to Oxford Brookes University for the Oxford Quilt Group Meeting. It was fun to see some of the ladies that I had met last month along with a bunch of new ones. I put out 15 Fat-Quarters of US fabric and told each of them to pick one out.....it was great fun to watch them try to decide which one to accept.

All in all....another wonderful day!!!!!

Day 40 - Sunday, May 3rd

The Storybook Tree


















The opening act











Fancy Dress!!


















A Cute Twirler!!!!













"Wellie Wanging" at its best... note the Wellie at the top of the photo, wanging its way toward me!!!






After a fairly slow start to the morning, we hopped on a bus and headed to the “Headington Festival”, held in the small town of Headington which is just East of Oxford. Diane had seen a listing for this fair in some local guide of things to do and we decided that it sounded like a fun afternoon.

The fair opened at 1:00, however the over-anxious American’s arrived about 30 minutes early. We had a wonderful chat with the two ladies at the front gate who told us that the proceeds from the day went to support one of the local hospitals. She also pointed out various events that we must not miss, including “Wellie Wanging”....more about that later!!

There was a huge sculpture in the middle of the park called the “Storybook Tree”. It had various creatures from J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis’ work, including Smaug (the dragon from “The Hobbit”), Aslan (From “Chronicals of Nargia”), and the Horse from (“The Horse and His Boy”). It was very impressive.

The fair was officially begun with a brass band who played for about 30 minutes. This was followed by story-telling, and a fancy-dress (costume) parade and contest. We had a great time looking at the kids dressed as nurses, Mary Poppins, a Shepherd (holding a toy sheep and a toy dog on a leash, and carrying a stick that he proceeded to use to hit, inadvertently, the other kids), an Indian Princess, several Fairy Princesses and a Rose Bush (I am NOT kidding).

There were approximately 25 stalls set up with most of these being charities or non-profit groups. Several had craft booths, some had “jumble sales” (yard sales), and others had “Tombolo”. It is a form of gambling where prizes have a certain number on them and you pay your 20 pence to dip into a huge vat of numbers and pull one out. If your number matches one of the items then you get to keep that item. I meant to try this, but forgot to go back to it.....I probably would have won a birdcage or some other large thing that I couldn’t have brought back!!!

There were tons of activities for kids, with a couple of hands-on science areas and games such as beanbag toss. There was one area named “Teapot Tinies” and had games, songs and stories for the under 4's. As I mentioned earlier, there was “Wellie Wanging” which Michael HAD to try. A “Wellie” is a wellington boot and “Wanging” is throwing. You had to throw the boot as far as you could and the top winners at the end of the day won a prize. Michael’s first throw was overhand and it didn’t go very far. He then switched to an underhand throw and it went a bit further. He tried a side-arm throw for the final try and it went straight at ME as I was standing outside of the course taking photos. We all had a laugh that this was the longest throw, although not inside the game!!!

The last event that we watched was the “Strawberry Fayre Majorettes and Cheerleaders”. They were very good, but we were most enamored by two very small girls who kept up amazingly well!!

They had a small carnival area with bumper cars (3 pounds - $6 per ride), a Carousel (Merry-Go-Round) and other typical carnival fare. We ate hot dogs with fried onions and had soft ice cream for desert. The ice cream is wonderful and creamy and the consistence is a cross between whipped cream and ice cream.

We returned to the house and got ready to go to Chapel and then Michael and I went to High Table again. The menu was wonderful and consisted of Pate for appetizer, Trout with Caper and Lemon sauce for the fish course, Sliced Beef with new potatoes, asparagus and zucchini for the man course and Apple Crumble with Clotted Cream for desert. The Clotted Cream was a very different consistency from the first that we had and I was told that this was “Devonshire” Clotted Cream and it was always thicker....almost a margarine consistency. As usual, we met some very nice people and had a wonderful night.

Day 39 - Saturday, June 2nd

At the Tower of London














Pirates!!!











KIDNAPPED!!!!




























A last view of the Tower Bridge










Michael was off today, so we all headed back to London for the day. The train was really full so Michael and I ended up standing for the trip. We had a good place to stand and enjoyed talking and swaying!!!

We first headed back to the Tower of London. Our tour guide was a different person this time, so we were able to hear about the tower from a different point of view.

After lunch, we decided to walk over the Tower Bridge. As we were approaching the bridge, Michael pointed out a “Clipper Ship” that was coming into the harbor and that the drawbridge was opening to let it through. We watched as it entered the harbor and then walked out onto the bridge once it had closed. While we were enjoying the view from the bridge, we noticed that there were a bunch of twenty-somethings dressed in Pirate clothes. They were having a great time and went around yelling “Argh!!” at each other . We asked one girl what they were doing and she said that a bunch of people had just decided to dress up as pirates for the day. When we pointed out the “pirate” ship and asked if there was a connection, she said “no, the ship is random!!”


We watched another guy and girl who were obviously enjoying being pirates for the day and I asked if I could take their picture. They said that I HAD to be in the photo and “kidnapped” me until a photo had been taken. The guy then offered us a “Slug of Rum” from the bottle that he was carrying. When we asked them about why they were there, the girl answered “we be pirates, that be a pirate ship, make the connection”!!!

Obviously you can NEVER get a straight answer from a pirate!!!!

Diane, however, ran into a woman who knew what was going on and was fairly affronted that we did not know about it. She said that the ship was a reproduction of a Swedish ship that had sunk in these waters some time ago.....we liked the pirate versions better.

After the ship had passed again through the draw bridge, we were standing and looking at our map and trying to figure out where to head next. One of the pirates stopped and looked with us and suggested that we go “pub crawling” with his group. We declined, but are all afraid that we missed out on a fun opportunity.

Instead, we crossed over the bridge and followed along the banks of the Thames river, stopping for ice cream and shopping (what could be better). We came back across the Thames via London Bridge and Michael and I headed back to the train station and to Oxford while Roy and Diane continued their sightseeing with a trip to Harrods Department Store.

Dinner consisted of Ke-babs that we bought from a street vendor....much thanks to Jimmy for alerting us to these delightful meals!!!

Day 38 - Friday, June 1st

Changing of the Guard



















Frances and her special friend












Big Ben












I watched this guy move to one side a pull his red "hair" out of a notch in the helmet. I guess that you just have to get out of character sometimes!!!
















Michael very sweetly stayed at home to work and waited for Roy & Diane’s suitcases to arrive, while the three of us headed back to London for the day. We started off at Buckingham Palace with the “Changing of the Guard”. The crowds were worse than when I had been there previously, and we were not able to get up close to the fence. However, we got there about 30 minutes earlier and were able to see the band marching in and also 2 sets of troops, one on horseback, enter the palace grounds.

We also noticed that there were flags and banners hung EVERYWHERE, and that there were barriers along the roads leading up to the Palace. We asked a guard what was going on and were told that tomorrow (Saturday) was a practice for the “Trooping of the Colours”. This will be a part of the Queens Birthday celebration that will take place on June 16th. Her birthday is actually in April, but is celebrated in June. They have 3 full dress rehearsals before the final performance for the Queen.

We visited the “lone palace guard” that I have seen twice before and took photos with him. Unfortunately he was not dressed in the traditional fuzzy black hat, but had on a normal black uniform.

We moved to Westminster Abbey and spent time there. I saw many things that I had missed when visiting with Jenny & Jimmy. One of the inscriptions that we liked was for Brigadier General Hope which said “To those who knew him, His name alone conveys the idea of all that is amiable in the human character. Distinguished by splendor of family, a cultivated taste for letters and superior elegance of manner”.

We found our way into the Poet’s Corner and saw graves or memorials for Geoffrey Chaucer, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, George Elliot, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, D.H. Lawrence, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, George Handel and Noel Coward. It was fun to finally see names that we recognized, and not just those of British monarchy and people who were important in British history.

We returned to Oxford on the LONGEST and SLOWEST train ever seen. I don’t know what the trouble was, but it never came up to full speed. Plus, it made 15 or 16 stops during the trip so we thought that we would never get back home. We stopped at a Fish & Chips shop and picked up dinner for all of us and finished our day in the comfort of our house.

Day 37 - Thursday, May 31st

Since the house was clean, I decided to take a few photos!!!!














































Michael left early this morning to pick up our friends (Roy and Diane Carroll) from the Heathrow Airport. I stayed at home and did a bit of house cleaning and financial updates. They arrived without any problems, however their luggage did NOT make it, so we spent a bit of time this afternoon buying them some clean clothes and helping them to get settled in.

They were welcomed to Oxford by more celebrations from the “Last Exam” students. These kids were particularly rowdy, and we spent a fair amount of time standing at the window and watching them revel. The police finally showed up and dispersed the crowd.

We went for a walk around Merton College before dinner and spent the rest of the day relaxing and trying to keep Roy and Diane from going to sleep!!!!

Day 36 - Wednesday, May 30th

Flowers at Kennsington Palace. I have these same flowers in my yard, but they dont quite look this good!!!!















The pond at Kennsington













Trafalgar Square ... note the ominous weather!!!







This was another London day as Michael was giving a talk at University College. He didn’t have to be there until 1:00, so we decided to run an errand and also see a few things before he went to work.

We first caught the train to Richmond (then on to Kew) and delivered a package to our hosts from last week. When we got back to the tube station and started to buy our tickets, we were told that if we waited 10 minutes we could get the ticket for half the cost because it would no longer be considered “peak” travel times. Well, we couldn’t resist a bargain, so we walked down the street and had “morning tea” at a local Starbucks and then purchased our cheaper ticket for the day.

Michael had been interested in seeing the Tate Modern Art gallery, so we headed back that direction. We decided that it must be “all of France tours England day”, because there were tons of French tourists around!!!!

We enjoyed walking through the gallery again, although for some unknown reason, a number of the exhibits were closed off. Unfortunately, several of these were ones that Michael had especially wanted to see, so we were a bit disappointed. We did end up in a gallery that I had missed previously and saw a beautiful Monet “Water Lily”. We also saw an interesting piece by Jackson Pollock and a Matisse that was done when he was bed ridden. His assistants had painted heavy paper with bright colors and he had cut them out to design the work.

After looking at the other galleries, we headed back to the train station. As we were walking we saw a “subway sign pointing down a series of steps and thought “wow, we missed that exit earlier”. So, we walked down the stairs.....crossed about 20 feet and then came back up the stairs....on the other side of the street!!!! We learned that “subway” simply means an underground tunnel and has nothing to do with THE underground tube system!!! When we got to the station, we each headed to a different platform to continue our journeys. My train journey was interesting because I spent my time watching the people sitting across from me....there was a place for 4 people and it was the most interesting array of individuals. And, the scene changed about every 4 or 5 minutes as people joined and left the train. I also laughed about my train driver. If you are learning to drive a car in this country, you put a sign on your car with an “L” on it...for learner. I decided that this train driver needed an “L” plate on his train!!! It was not the smoothest journey that I have ever had!!!!

I headed to Kensington Palace....in the POURING rain. This palace is one that many of the Royals have lived in over the years, including Charles & Diana. There was a wonderful display of photos of Diana that were taken shortly before her death. They were commissioned by Vanity Fair magazine to advertise some gowns that Diana was auctioning off for charity. They were gorgeous pictures of her in the simplest of settings. She wore no jewelry, little make up and her hair had simply had a comb run through it. The photo shoot was done in a room with white walls and a white couch. The photos showed a laughing and relaxed Diana....not with all of the pomp or her royal times. The galleries that the photos were in had been designed to mirror the simplicity of the pictures. The walls, chairs and even blinds were specifically designed for the gallery. The exhibit then moved into a display of some of her gowns, with an audio commentary about each of them. There was also an area with chairs and couches and books about the royal family. Many people were enjoying looking through all of them.

The funny thing to me was that the tour ended up in the gift shop where you could buy (among other things) postcards of the royals. The selection included, one of the Queen, one of Prince Charles, one of Harry, one of William and TEN or more of Diana!!!!!

After enjoying the palace, I walked around the garden area and headed back toward the tube station. It was really raining by this time, and my jeans were soaked so I found a small café and sat for over an hour and had lunch and dried out!!!!

My last stop of the day was to the National Gallery. I was looking forward to seeing the Impressionist paintings, but unfortunately the galleries were closed for refurbishing!!! I wandered around the other galleries for a while a stumbled onto a really cool display called “Take One Picture”. It is a program that is run between the National Gallery and the primary schools in England, where the schools focus on one painting for an entire year and develop a portion of their curriculum around the painting. The painting for this past year was “Two Boys and a Girl Making Music” by Jan Molenaer (1629), and the exhibit showed many of the projects that had come from their work. The students had made music instruments, birdcages, birds, chairs, costumes and had written songs and poems about the painting. One group had even used clay-mation figures to make a movie about 3 kids playing. It was interesting to see what the teachers and students had been able to accomplish.

I briefly looked into the National Portrait Gallery, but didn’t have a lot of time before it closed. I did enjoy one portrait of Sir John Sulston, who is a geneticist......his portrait was his DNA suspended in agar jelly!!!!

I caught the tube back to Paddington Station and waited for Michael to join me once he had finished with his seminar. We sat and waited for the station board to show which platform the train is on.....the have a nasty habit of only displaying the platform about 5-10 minutes before the train leaves, and sometimes the platforms can be REALLY far away. This was what happened tonight and tons of people started running for the train. We simply joined the rushing throng and made our “train dash” to the platform.

Day 35 - Tuesday, May 29th

Today was a catch-up day with most of the time being spent buying groceries, washing clothes, and working on budget stuff....you still have to pay bills even when on vacation!!!!

We did make an uneventful trip to return the rental car, although we once again drove down a restricted area to do it!!!

I spent a couple of hours working on quilt blocks and greatly enjoying the time to be creative again.

Michael spent the day at the house, however he was working the entire time. He has started yet another book and has almost finished the first chapter.....I don’t know how he does it!!!