Tea on the River

Today, 31 March 2022, was our 43rd wedding anniversary.  For Christmas, my mother and sister gave the Swan Whisperer a voucher for an afternoon tea river cruise, and what better day to use it?  The Swan Whisperer added an upgrade package which meant that we would have a guaranteed window seat, a glass of champagne and a bottle of sparkling water.  

The cruise departed from Tower Pier, so we went by Tube to Tower Hill station, rather alarmed by announcements that the District Line "Was operating with severe delays"; however, we decided that we would go to the platform and see, and if there really was a problem, there are always taxis.  Anyway, when we got there a Circle Line train was due, so that was all right.  I hate changing at Victoria nowadays; back in the day it was just up an escalator and then up a flight of steps; they've stopped you going that way now and you have to walk miles and then up two flights of steps!  There is, I believe, a lift, but we didn't see it - and I seem to remember searching for it ages ago and it was an even longer walk!  Victoria station is now stair-free, if you need that, but very far from step-free!  

Anyway, we got there at last, and then although we did take a lift at Tower Hill, in fact I think it was a mistake as the first thing we had to do was to go down a lot of stairs and into a subway (very wide, well-lit and not smelling of pee!) to get across the road.  The pier was well-signposted, although I think it took a bit longer to walk than the 5 minutes Citymapper suggested it would (but then, I do walk rather slowly these days).  We were greeted by someone who said that if we were on the afternoon tea package, they would start checking you in at about 10 past 3, and it was then about 3, so we wandered round the Tower of London gift shop for a few minutes, and then checked in.  It was very easy, we just gave our names and they found us on the list, no need to show barcodes or anything.  We were shown to our table, and they poured out our champagne and water, and the boat set off at 15:30.  

The tea was as you would expect - sandwiches, little cakes, scones with cream and jam - and very good it was, too! 

They were able to bring me lemon for my tea, which is always a plus, and later they bought us a little cake to celebrate our anniversary - they got the digits the wrong way round, and put 34 instead of 43, but hey, who cares?  It was very nice of them, anyway.

The cruise itself was terrific, if a bit rough - the tide and the wind were fighting each other and downstream got very choppy and made the boat squeak.  The boat went up to almost the Houses of Parliament, then turned round with the tide to go downstream as far as Canary Wharf, and back up to the Tower, taking about 90 minutes, all told.  Such lovely views of London!  Last time we went on the river, it was on Christmas Day a few years ago, and without its buses, London had looked very grey, but this time the sun was out most of the time (it did keep trying to snow and the sky kept looking rather ominous, but mostly we were in sunshine) and it looked quite different.  We both took lots of photos of London, old,

 new,

and in between

(more photos on my Facebook page).

When we disembarked, we decided that as it was going to be too late for the Swan Whisperer to go to dance club, we would walk along the river to London Bridge and get a bus home from there.  This was good, but a very long way up to the bridge roadway, although I made it at last!  Then a 133 bus arrived, so we got on that and changed in Brixton, and I popped into Lidl for a couple of things, and then home, whereupon I flaked out on the sofa for a couple of hours!  It was a lovely trip.

A Valentine's Day Excursion

 Actually,  Valentine's Day had really nothing to do with it - I just couldn't think what to call it.

Over the past few days, I'd read posts from Ian Visits and Londonist about a new electric bus that is being introduced on to route 63, with various experimental features that may or may not be included if and when they get funds to renew their fleet.  So I wanted to go on it, of course, and the Swan Whisperer was, if not keen, willing to accompany me.

The sensible thing was to go to King's Cross by Tube and catch it at the start of its route.  Getting to King's Cross was fine,

but we took a long time to find the correct bus stop, crossing the Euston Road several times and eventually ending up almost beside the Tube exit we'd come out of!  Then, of course, the next two 63s that came were the old buses - I gather the entire fleet will have been replaced by "spring", but at the moment less than half has.  However, eventually a new bus came along, and we got on.

I didn't really get a chance to look round the inside, but upstairs was very grand!  

There is a skylight, which I gather is tinted to stop it being too hot in summer, and, as you can see, there are windows that can be opened, although the bus is air-conditioned.  

We started off sitting right in the front, but then the Swan Whisperer's phone needed charged, so we moved back a seat to get access to the charging points and phone holders: 

The actual route was new to us, too - from King's Cross the bus goes down Clerkenwell Road, past Farringdon Station and under Holborn Viaduct (such lovely lamp-standards):

We crossed over Blackfriars Bridge, and so on to St George's Circus and the Elephant.  I suggested leaving the bus there, and getting a 35 home, but the Swan Whisperer said that we would stay on until the end.  However, after it stopped for about 15 minutes in the middle of nowhere (somewhere near Burgess Park) "to regulate the service", and then again at Peckham Bus Garage to change drivers, I firmly said I had had enough and would go to Morrison's and then get a 37 home.  So that's what we did - I wanted fresh pasta for supper.  

It was a fun outing, covering a large triangle of London.  Rather pointless, really, but I'm glad to have experienced these new buses.  We both liked the "wooden" flooring but I regret to say I didn't notice the modern passenger information screens - I have a feeling that our one wasn't working.  They have them on the P5, though - as, indeed, they have power sockets - so I have seen them.  I do hope TfL gets proper funding so it can roll out these buses, or very similar ones, over the whole network.  

In search of Sevilles

I have spent the past few days looking for the Seville oranges that are in season at this time of year and bring brightness to dull January days.  However, Lidl never sells them, Sainsbury's in Clapham didn't have any and nor did Tesco in Brixton or in Streatham (the Swan Whisperer very kindly looked after skating).  I had thought of going to Tulse Hill Sainsbury's, but they probably wouldn't have had them.  

I thought that, if anywhere would have them, it would be the massive Sainsbury's in Nine Elms, but it is a serious trek to get there.  However, one could make a proper Expotition of it.  I thought at first I'd go up there on the 196, then take the Tube from Nine Elms Station to Battersea Power Station Station and the P5 home, but it is rather minor roads between Battersea Power Station Station and the P5 terminus, and it would be dark by the time I got there (I'd been watching the Men's Short at the Europeans, so hadn't been out earlier).  So I thought I'd postpone the excursion to tomorrow, and just pop out to Lidl for today's necessities.  But just as I got to the bus stop, there was a P5, so I thought I'd do the trip the other way round.  

So first I got the P5 to Thessaly Road, and walked under the eponymous bridge (which calls itself Thessaly Road Bridge, but as it is patently a railway bridge, that is a bit of a misnomer) to Battersea Power Station Station.

The trains aren't very frequent from there, so I had to wait 6 minutes, but of course the train was in the station so I could sit down, very comfortable.  It is only a couple of minutes to Nine Elms, which I'd been through before, but never got in or out at.  I love the inside-out "Underground" logo that you see as you approach the exit:

Sainsbury's is just next door

and I was delighted to find they did have the Sevilles in stock, so from that point of view it was a most successful Expotition.  

On the way back, I decided to change buses at Stockwell Bus Garage, catching a 196 from opposite Sainsbury's and changing to a P5.  Big mistake - normally, when I do that, both buses arrive at the stop within seconds of each other, but this time I must have just missed the P5 and had to wait for a quarter of an hour for the next one - which was just in front of the next 196!  Ah well, I got home at last, in time for a much-needed cup of tea - as I hadn't expected to be out for more than a few minutes, I hadn't bothered to bring my water with me, and missed it rather badly!

The Roald Dahl Museum, Great Missenden

This trip had originally been scheduled for the end of the summer holidays, when The Boy was to have his first full day at secondary school, and was to have been Boy Two's birthday present from his grandfather.  However, the boys both came down with Covid-19 (fortunately not badly - Boy Two was almost asymptomatic) so the trip had to be cancelled - and both the museum and Chiltern Railways were very good about refunding tickets.

So the trip was postponed until half-term, and The Boy honoured us with his company, too.  The Daughter is now working in Marylebone Road, so the Swan Whisperer and I went up to Baker Street Station to meet them at her offices.  We then found a bus would take us back along the road to Marylebone Station, which was nice of it, and were in good time for our train to Great Missenden with Chiltern Railways. 

Unfortunately, it was not a pleasant journey.  The lights had not been switched on in our carriage, and a lot of the first part of the run is in a tunnel!  And when I went to the loo, I can't begin to tell you how indescribably filthy it was.  Not a pleasant experience, and I warned the others off it!

We arrived at Great Missenden at last, and it was only a short walk to the museum.  Which was lovely if you like Roald Dahl, which the boys do.  A lot of information about his life and, towards the end, a creative sort of room where you could make up sentences with fridge magnets, and various other crafts.

Then it was nearly lunchtime and, at The Boy's request we went back to a café called "Matilda's" nearer the station - he said he had been attracted by a picture of the "freakshake"-type milkshake outside, but when push came to shove, they were "off" as the ice-cream machine had broken.  The café was extremely busy and it took a good half hour for our food to arrive.  At first we sat outside, but the boys got very cold so when a table came free inside, we took it.  I had chosen poached egg on avocado toast, which was lovely but very filling (two of them!), and with feta cheese underneath.  The Swan Whisperer had an All Day Breakfast; Boy Two had a burger he couldn't quite finish, and the Boy had a "mixed shish", with chicken and lamb, which came on a bed of rice, with salad.  He managed most of it - pre-teen boys appear to have hollow legs!  

After this, there was a bit over an hour before our train back, so the menfolk went on the nearby "countryside trail", which was about an hour's walk.  I wasn't up for that, so I decided to finish the "village trail" which was mostly along the village street, but then a diversion up to the church, which was a lot father than I thought it was going to be!

  But worth the walk.  I didn't go and find Dahl's grave, but spent a while looking round the church and sitting quietly, and then I walked back into the village and got a cup of tea I didn't really want at the museum café where I'd arranged to meet the others.  They finished my tea between them on the walk back to the station.

The train for London was much better than the one out, as the lights were working!  I didn't try the loo, though. I felt rather sorry for Boy Two, though, as he is not considered old enough to have a phone, and at one stage on the journey, the Swan Whisperer, The Boy and I were all engrossed on ours!  I said as much, but he just laughed.

And then a bus two stops along Marylebone Road, and we returned the boys to their mother before heading home ourselves.  I have been asleep more or less ever since, having done >10k steps today!

The Northern Line Extension

Well, we had to, didn't we?  After all, it's not every day a new Tube extension is opened.  I decided not to try to get the very first train along the new branch, as that would have meant somehow getting to Battersea Power Station for 5:30 am and I wasn't too sure how I could do that.  But as I was going to Walthamstow anyway for grandmother duty, I thought right, I could explore on the way home.

The Swan Whisperer decided to come with me, and so we went off together to pick Boy 2 up from school and encourage him to practice the piano and get changed into football kit ready for training later.  The Boy, meanwhile, is now at secondary school and stayed late to try out for the football team, which he was - and we were all - delighted he was selected for!  So we are very proud grandparents, as well as nerdish!

And then it was time to go home, and the Daughter dropped us off near the Tube station, and we went normally as far as Warren Street, where we changed for the southbound Northern Line.  When we got there, this was the signage for the next few trains:

But, as you see, a train pulled in just then, and I realised it couldn't be the Kennington one and, sure enough, it was going to Battersea Power Station, so we got on.  

I don't often seem to go down the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line, for some reason, but it was fairly familiar, until we got to Kennington.  There may be trouble ahead but today everything went smoothly.  I don't know how many people were going just to say they had, as we were, but the train was still quite full when it arrived at Nine Elms.  There is an island platform there, but if you are thinking of Clapham North and Clapham Common, don't.  It's about the same size as Canary Wharf, and looks very like it, only no platform edge doors.

We didn't get out, although we were tempted, but carried on until we got to Battersea Power Station; again, huge wide island platforms, then a short-ish escalator leading up to a mezzanine floor where tickets could be bought, I think there may be a public toilet (but wouldn't swear to it), etc.  Then a longer escalator to the surface -  and a fairly amazing view of the new station with the eponymous power station in the background.  

And only a short walk to the terminus of the P5 bus, which took us home nicely in time for the supper that was waiting for us in the slow cooker!

Bank Holiday Excursion

 Last week, we had noticed the 452 bus that went, we discovered, from Vauxhall to Kensal Rise, and we agreed that on our next Expotition we would take it and see where it went.  Well, to Kensal Rise, obvs, but where was Kensal Rise and how did the bus get there?

We started off by getting a P5 into Brixton and then a 2 up to Vauxhall - I had thought we might take the Tube, but a bus was coming.  It is a very grey and dull day, but not raining.

At Vauxhall bus station there wasn't long to wait for a 452. 

At first, it followed the route of the 196 from Vauxhall, down past Nine Elms Sainsbury's and the new Tube Station, Springfield Church, and so on, but where the 196 turns left, it goes straight on, past Wandsworth Road station, and so to Cedars Road, where it turns right, and follows the route of the 137 across Chelsea Bridge, up Sloane Street (I was surprised to see cafés in the middle of Sloane Square) and into Knightsbridge (incredibly slow, as always). 

Then it turns up Kensington Gore, and goes past the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial,

and so on to Kensington High Street, turning right up Kensington Church Street, passing Notting Hill Gate and then Ladbroke Grove.  Just before the Regents Canal and the Westway it did a quick dive into a big Sainsbury's - how useful of it - and then came back on to the main road, and so up to Kensal Rise Station.

We got off the bus and went to look for a cup of tea.  In fact, most of the cafés, we discovered too late, too late, were on the other side of the road, and had we crossed, we would have had a wide choice.  As it was, we found a Gail's Bakery with benches outside, which was nice (we had jackets today!).  The Swan Whisperer had a cup of coffee and a granola bar, and I had a cup of Earl Grey - I don't know what the brand was, but it was delicious.  I would have liked something to eat, but decided it would spoil my supper if I did, so resisted temptation. 

After we had finished our drinks, we saw there was a southbound 452 coming, so we caught it and stayed on it as far as Sloane Square, where we got off and walked across the square to see how it had changed.  Peter Jones is covered in scaffolding and looked almost derelict, but I think it was open.  At the other end, the Royal Court Theatre is still there.  I took a picture of the cafés.  

And then we caught a 137 all the way home!  I had been farsighted, for once, and made a pork and bean casserole, which I put into the slow cooker section of the Instant Pot.  Unfortunately, I think I should have cooked it on high rather than medium, as the potatoes and carrots are still crunchy, but nothing that 5 minutes or so in the pressure cooker function won't cure. 

Reconnaissance

 Next month, apparently on 19 September, the new branch of the Northern Line opens to Battersea Power Station station.  Now, it so happens that I'm preaching that day in a church not far from the new Nine Elms station (which is next door to the enormous Sainsbury's at Nine Elms).  So obviously, the thing to do will be to get a bus to Battersea Power Station station and get a tube up to Nine Elms (and, if necessary, a bus back one stop to the church), and then after the service we'll go up to Nine Elms again (perhaps having a coffee in Sainsbury's while we are there) and then on the Tube again one stop - a very long stop, apparently, the longest in Zone 1 after the Drain - to Kennington, and then change and come back to Clapham North.  Well, we shall see.

But although we knew where Nine Elms station is going to be, I had no real idea where the Battersea Power Station station will be.  However, the Swan Whisperer said he'd often gone past the site on his runs, so today we decided to go and explore.

We had been going to get a 137 up to Battersea Park and take it from there, but just missed one, and there wasn't another one signalled, so we thought we would cross the road and get a P5 to the end of its route, which turned out to be just opposite the new station. 

I was rather amused by the legend "Thessaly Road Bridge" on what was patently a railway bridge,

but we agreed it must be the bridge across Thessaly Road!  Anyway, I had half expected to walk straight to the 137 stop, which is a bit further away, but we decided to explore a bit.  The Swan Whisperer says that every time he comes, the roads he can use are slightly different, as the whole place is a vast building site, with huge blocks of flats springing up here, there and everywhere, including in the former power station.  I know the American Embassy is somewhere round there, but not sure where.

Anyway, the place was very obviously turning into a "district" with shops and bars and restaurants all over the place, and a lovely terrace by the river.

  We might have eaten out, but it was a bit early, and neither of us had jackets (we did have macs, but no other coats or jerseys) and we thought we might get cold sitting out - and I, for one, am not prepared to sit indoors in a crowded restaurant yet.  

So we walked under Grosvenor Bridge, and then there was a lift up to street level - we made rather fools of ourselves as we kept pressing the wrong button and staying put rather than going up, but we got there in the end.  And then it said the bus would be in 7 minutes, but actually, it came at once.  We stopped at the nicer vegan café when we got off the bus, and thought of eating there, but the same objections applied as by the river, so came home and have had beer and now the SW is cooking sausages and mash.  More photos on Facebook.

The "sinkhole"

 "Ooh," said the Swan Whisperer this morning, "There is a sinkhole on Clapham Common, and Northside is closed!"

"Ooh," said I.  "Let's go and have a look, shall we, and see how the buses are being diverted!"

So, about 5:30, we set off and caught a bus towards Clapham Junction to relish the diversion, which was rather underwhelming - the buses just turned right up Rookery Road instead, and then left again when  they got back to the A3.  So we got off, and walked back down to the so-called sinkhole, which turned out to be nothing of the sort, but a burst water main.  Nothing was happening - "You'd think," said the Swan Whisperer, "that they would be working 24/7 to mend it!" - but a rather pretty fountain effect.  I suppose they are having to find out exactly where the pipe has broken before they can mend it.

After which, I went to Sainsbury's, because I was there, and the Swan Whisperer went straight home.  But it was rather fun, if not as exciting as we'd hoped!

Dulwich Park, revisited

 The Swan Whisperer said he was going for a walk, but when I asked where he was going, it was too far for me.  And I wanted a walk, so we went to Dulwich Park.  It was not a long walk, but very pretty.  

 We walked round the lake, admiring goslings

and trees

and then we finished with a drink in the café, while watching the end of the Giro on my phone (not video, but live coverage nevertheless).

A walk in the park

 

This was the tracked part of today's walk, but it was longer than that, as you will see.  The Swan Whisperer and The Boy have gone off on a hike somewhere, to include the Parkland Walk and  perhaps a little more of the London Loop, so I arranged to meet the Daughter and Boy Too at Green Park Station.  This made me go on the Tube - had we met at Victoria, as originally planned, I'd probably have bottled it and gone on the bus.  I've been using buses all along, but have been on no other form of public transport since February 2020!

Anyway, I had to walk into Brixton, as I had mistimed the buses and it was quicker to walk than to wait.  Tube duly mastered, helped by Shostakovich on the headphones and the new Jodi Taylor on the Kindle, we met at scheduled.  We walked down through Green Park, pausing outside Buckingham Palace to pay our respects (and being amused by the sea of press vans - why, when the funeral will be at Windsor and there is simply nothing to see at Buckingham Palace except the Union flag flying at half-mast?), and then into St James' Park.  Boy Too had been longing to see the pelicans, and we were not disappointed! 

There were plenty of other birds, too, and we walked the length of the lake identifying them.  And so into Horse Guards, and then we walked along Whitehall, turned the corner into Victoria Street and walked up until we came to a Pret a Manger, where we chose our various lunch options.  I don't know whether it's because of the pandemic, but they don't have the range of sandwiches and cakes they used.  What they do have is delicious, though, but not a wide choice.  

I had a high protein salad, which was smoked salmon, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, spinach and edamame, and very good it was too.  And a grape and elderflower drink, which was lush.  The Daughter had an egg mayonnaise sandwich and crisps, and an apple drink, and Boy Too had a half-baguette with ham and gherkins, a rather solemn (or "worthy" said the daughter) cookie and an iced tea.  We took them  back across the road to the little park in Victoria Street to eat them (that's the wiggly bit on the map!), and sat in the sun until the sky clouded over rather ominously and it got a bit cold.  Whereupon we decided to call it a walk, and walked up Victoria Street where the Daughter and Boy Too went to get the Tube home and I decided to get a No 2 bus.  And then there was a 35, so I got that, deciding I couldn't be bothered to look in Tesco's to see if they had any British asparagus (Lidl didn't - I did have a quick look in there; asparagus, yes, but not yet British), and so home. And look - this doesn't happen often: 

London Transport Museum Depot. Acton

 We decided we wouldn't carry on with the Treasure Trail, it was too long and had got boring.  It was also a bit too old for Boy Two, and even The Boy had to have help with most of them.  Even us adults did, on a couple of them....

So the question was, what to do today, which is the last day we could all get together before school restarts next week.  I looked on IanVisits and found that the Transport Museum's Acton depot was, exceptionally, open for a few weeks this summer.  Normally it only opens for two weekends a year.  I had never been - I did buy us tickets to go one year, and forgot to put them in the diary, to discover them ten days after the event..... 

They were selling timed tickets, but the 11:00 am slot was already sold out.  The noon slot was warning "Last few tickets", but they managed to sell me 3 adult and 2 child tickets, so we arranged to meet outside the depot at 11:55 this morning.  The Daughter said she was going to drive, since that was easiest and avoided using public transport, and the Swan Whisperer insisted that we would, too.  I had nightmares about it and was very worried about finding parking in the area, even though we knew that the local CPZs were in operation only 09:00-10:00 and 15:00-16:00, presumably to stop people parking all day and going into work on the Tube from Acton Town station.  In any event, I need not have worried as we found a parking space at the first time of trying, within a couple of minutes' walk from the Museum.  So we ended up spending 20 minutes in the car as it was too early to go in!

It was all very easy, and most enjoyable.  We could only see the bus collection and the Tube train collection (I felt we were slightly ripped off, as the tickets were full price, and there was much of the depot that was, understandably, closed off - we couldn't see the ticket machines, or the little huts that the collectors used to sit it, other than from a distance, and the upstairs galleries were closed).  The daughter, Boy Too and I wandered on, but The Boy and the SW were far more engrossed in the technical details of the buses, wondering how you accessed the engines in these ones for maintenance, 

 and generally being nerdish.  They had fun!  We spent hours in the Museum shop (the Daughter said she never had enough time to browse, usually) and the SW bought her her birthday present there.  Then we wandered on through the various Tube trains and out the other end, where they presented the boys with a pack of things to do at home (mostly make a bus-driver's cap), and we had a drink and a snack in the café area, and then a ride on the miniature railway, before heading back to the car.

As I said, most enjoyable, but I do think they could have reduced the price slightly as not all of the Museum was, or could be, open to the public.

Kingston Christmas Markets

The Swan Whisperer noticed, earlier in the week, that he was no longer taking one day a week to go for a long walk, or anything similar.  Meanwhile, I ordered something off the Amazon Treasure Truck, and the easiest place for me to pick this up is at Clapham Junction Station.  And a conversation with a Facebook friend reminded me of this article I'd read on Londonist.  So I suggested we took ourselves to the Christmas market in Kingston-upon-Thames. 

At first we weren't quite sure whether we could get there because of the strike on South West Trains, or whatever they call themselves these days (I am VERY not pleased with them, not about the strike, but because I bought my train tickets off their website and now they are making a fuss about refunding them - had I bought them on Southern, I would have had the refund within minutes of knowing the event I'd been going to wasn't happening.  Very unimpressed, and will not be using their site again).  Anyway, keeping an eye on live departures, etc, soon reassured us that trains were running quite happily, and as it was within the limits of our Freedom Pass, we set off at about 14:30 (Christmas markets are always better in the dark!), and arrived at twilight.

The market wasn't as wonderful as the Londonist article makes it sound.  It was in two parts - the Alpine Village in the churchyard,

and then another area in what I think is called the Ancient Market.  The latter was bigger, and a great many food stalls - the big problem about visiting at that time of day is that it isn't a mealtime! We pottered around and bought one or two stocking-fillers, and looked for some others, and then, because neither of us had been in Kingston before, we went to see the Coronation Stone.  This was oddly impressive, I thought. 

From there, it was only a few steps to a bus stop from where we could catch a bus to the very impressive Modernist Surbiton station, and a train back to Clapham Junction came a very few minutes later.

On balance, although the market was nothing like as impressive as the one in Strasbourg we hope to visit next week, it was fun, and a pleasant afternoon out.  And we treated ourselves to a ready-meal from M&S as a reward for not having succumbed to the lure of bratwurst and gluehwein!

RAF Hendon, revisited

I was meeting my friend MrsRev for lunch today, and suggested the RAF Museum at Hendon as being the sort of place we both like, and quite near where she needed to be before and after.  We spent most of the time in the restaurant putting the world to rights and catching up with each other's gossip.  I had the salad plate again, but although I ordered a small plate, it was far too much and I was nowhere near finishing it.  With hindsight, I'd have done better with a jacket potato with beans.... ah well. 

Anyway, after MrsRev had gone, I went round to the hangars that I hadn't been able to see last time when I had Boy 2 in tow.  I was glad I did - loads of 2nd World War planes, Spitfires and Hurricanes and so on, and you got the feeling of the size of them. 

There were a lot more than that, but those were the only decent photos I took!  There was also a film about the Battle of Britain - Germany would probably have won if they hadn't kept changing their minds about what to target - first, the radar network.  This could have been disastrous, but then they decided to go after the various RAF airfields instead - and then a bomb fell on Berlin which destroyed a garden shed and injured two people, and Hitler was furious so unleashed the Blitz in all its fury.  But that gave the RAF time to breathe and recoup, and so the Battle of Britain was finally won and there was no invasion.

Then there was another film about the Dam Busters, which I rather wanted to see as we had seen the dams just a couple of months ago.   Unfortunately, I fell asleep during it, and didn't quite like to put it on again when it had finished, as there was someone else there!  Oh well.

Then I came away, and found out the hard way that if you want to change at Euston, you need to be on the Bank branch of the Northern Line, which is a cross-platform change.  It's not miles if you're on the Charing Cross branch, which I was, but it's not cross-platform!  But I would have had to have waited for several trains at Colindale before there was a Bank branch one, so swings and roundabouts....

Pompeii, revisited

A family funeral in Oxford earlier in the week.  My cousin told me that there was an exhibition at the Ashmolean entitled "Last Supper in Pompeii", and, considering we had just been there, we should certainly go and see it; she recommended it.

So, as there was a little time, we decided to visit it. I'm so glad we did; the exhibition showed us a lot of finds from Pompeii, which we could visualise "in situ" as it were.  It was mainly concerned with eating and drinking, both in Pompeii itself and, contemporaneously in Roman Britain.  There were lots of cooking and serving vessels.

A figurine of a piglet, that may have been offered to the gods instead of the real thing (though I would have thought the real thing would have been cheaper, but what do I know?)

and even a Roman muffin tin:

and carving-knife:

There are plenty more photos on the website, so do have a look - or, better still, go and visit the exhibition if you are anywhere in the Oxford area.  It is on until January.

Geekery gone wrong

So yesterday, after grandmother duty, I decided to be a total geek and go home by bus, as the 48 was being withdrawn from service. They have already removed the numbers from the bus stops.

With hindsight, I should have decided honour had been satisfied when we got to Hackney, and got on the Overground to Highbury and Islington and then the Victoria Line home. 

However, I didn't. And I don't know what went wrong but the bus suddenly decided to terminate at Shoreditch. And, of course, I don't know where the bus stops are there

Again, I could have got the Overground but I couldn't see the station. I eventually found the bus stop, but the 35 didn't come and didn't come and didn't come. Eventually a 26 came, who said he was going to Waterloo, but was not stopping at Liverpool Street but was going straight to Bank. 

 So I thought better than nothing and got on. Soon enough I saw Aldgate East Station and decided to get the District Line to Victoria and then the Victoria Line home. This was a big mistake as the heavens opened just as I got off the bus and although it was only about 25 yards to the entrance, I was soaked!

And what have they done at Victoria? Instead of a short flight of stairs, a very short corridor and an escalator to change lines, you now have to walk about a mile along corridors you have no idea where they are going. Okay, they now have lifts, but what's the point if you have to walk miles to find them? I was not impressed. 

I didn't quite like to ask the driver of the 35 that met me at Brixton where he had started from - I bet it wasn't Shoreditch, though.

 

And now we are off again, to Italy this time. Only as far as Watten tonight, so I'll start that blog properly tomorrow. 

Going bats

Windmill Gardens is only ten minutes' walk from where I live, but it really isn't somewhere I go very often, these days.  Last time I went was to the Bread and Beer festival in May 2018.  But tonight there was a bat walk!

It's been on my bucket list for years, doing a bat walk, but somehow I never seem to be in the right place at the right time.  I've missed a couple in Windmill Gardens simply because we were away when they happened.  There was a last-minute panic when I was asked to do grandmother duty today instead of tomorrow (which I couldn't have done anyway, but the Swan Whisperer would have done it), but luckily the Boy had football training at 17:30, which meant I was able to be home by 18:15 in time to have a snack and go straight out again.

There were already a dozen or so people gathered in the Gardens when I arrived - it is only a very small park - but more arrived as time went on, and I think there were probably 40 people or so when the evening commenced.  Three of them were children, about the age of our grandsons, but these ones were all girls. The Swan Whisperer was there for the talk, but he had a meeting so couldn't stay.  It began with a talk by Dr Iain Boulton, who is Lambeth's Environmental Compliance Officer, which basically means he is responsible for knowing what wildlife exists in Lambeth, and making sure it is encouraged to stay there (I did want to ask him whether he could help with the foxes creating unwanted havoc in the garden here, but didn't get a chance).  He explained about bats.  Bats, of course, are the only truly flying mammal, with their hands adapted to make wings.  But they are really mammals - warm-blooded, and give birth to live young, which they suckle.  There are many species of bats in this country, but the ones they'd expected to see most often in Windmill Gardens are pipistrelles.  All British bats are insectivores, and they hibernate in winter.  September is a brilliant time to see them, since they are active at sunset and sunrise, rather than in the depths of the night.  Each bat eats about 1,000 insects a night, so a healthy bat population means a healthy insect population.

Dr Boulton then handed out bat detectors, and explained how to use them.  You pointed them at trees rather than into the sky or towards the ground.   All this time, the sun was setting, and although at first we pointed our detectors in vain, after about 5 minutes they burst into a cacophony of clicks and, when you knew where to look, you could follow the bats swooping round the park, between the trees.  As the evening wore on, they came more and more out into the open - I could swear one passed within inches of my face.  I've seen bats before, of course - they come over the lake in Sussex, and I've seen them around Villard-de-Lans - but in inner London?  I really hadn't expected we'd see so many, and of course it's not possible to tell whether these were the same  bats doing the rounds or several different ones, but there must have been a minimum of four or five. 

We are now wondering whether we can borrow a detector to see if there are any in the church gardens - bet there are! 

I didn't take any photos - the light was too poor, and anyway, the bats moved too fast - so here's a photo of the Oaks Bottom in Sussex, where we had tea yesterday.  Bet they have lots of bats there.....

Another day, another RAF Museum

I set the alarm this morning for 07:15, leapt out of bed and showered, and returned to the bedroom to find that we had put the wrong time in our diaries and the train was actually the 10:23, not the 09:23 that we had thought.  So we had an extra hour to enjoy our breakfasts!

We were headed to Cosford, the RAF station and associated museum of that name, where we were to meet the Swan Whisperer's sister and her family as part of her significant birthday celebrations.  She - and we - would have loved us to have made a weekend of it, as the SW's other siblings had done, but sadly, this was not possible for a variety of reasons, not least that I am Planned to preach tomorrow morning!  So we just made a day of it by train.

We thought, at first, that we would miss our connection at Birmingham, since the emergency alarm went off and it transpired that a passenger had been taken ill.  So the train moved on to Coventry, the next station, where paramedics were waiting and we were about 12 minutes late by the time we set off.  Had our connection not been cross-platform, we wouldn't have made it, but we tumbled in just as the doors were closing and relaxed!  My sister-in-law and her husband met us at Cosford and drove us the few hundred yards to the museum (we were not sorry, as it was raining), where we had a sandwich and/or coffee, and then had an hour to look round the Museum.

Unlike Colindale, there was a very good educational corner which I think the Boys would have enjoyed, but I don't know what they would have made of the rest of the museum, which was mainly a display of aircraft from various eras, including Japanese and German ones from WWII.  And flying bombs and a V2 rocket.  The most interesting, though, was a Cold War display which did go into the various causes of the Cold War, and had some very informative panels contrasting life behind and in front of the Iron Curtain.

And there were also some interesting prototype planes, and a display I should have liked to have seen about the agents who were parachuted into France (often fed by my Aunt Barbara before and/or after).   However, time, and my energy levels, were running out so I went back to the visitor centre and we then drove round to the far side of the base where there was a garden centre that specialised in roses and afternoon teas.

We had a lovely tea - absolutely masses of sandwiches and scones, and a rather nasty-looking display of cakes.  I did eat a macaron, which was nice, but then there was a chocolate cup that I thought would be a truffle, but it was filled with something really nasty, not sure what!  So I ate my sister-in-law's cucumber sandwich, which she didn't want, to take the taste away!

All my s-i-l's brothers were there, with their wives, and all her descendants except for one son-in-law, who was indisposed.  But of course there were masses of photos.  I found it all very noisy and confusing, and wished I'd been sensible enough to follow the example of another sister-in-law, who has worn hearing aids for years and now knows when not to!

Anyway, we were dropped back at Cosford just in time to catch the train to Wolverhampton, and decided to risk getting a train 2 hours earlier than the one we'd booked on.  Nobody checked our tickets the entire journey, so that was all right!  And then home, two hours early, which was nice as I, for one, am very tired.  But it was a lovely day.