Cadbury World

Today's trip was to Cadbury World, which I have long wanted to see, ever since I read about a trip round the factory in one of the Chalet School books. Factory tours, as such, ended in 1970, but Cadbury World, which opened in the 1980s, goes a fair way to fill the gap. Your tickets are for a timed start, and we had to wait 40 minutes before going in, but that was all right as we had a cup of coffee, and the minute's silence for the victims of 7/7.  Then we had a quick look round the gift shop, and then it was time to go in. The first bit was a diorama showing how chocolate was grown and used by the Aztecs and the Mayans before Cortez landed in 1519.  The next bit had some very good CGI film sections showing how chocolate was brought to England. Then there was a bit of a bottleneck while two live actors talked about chocolate in London and the Cadbury family, and a short film introducing John Cadbury, who could not enter a profession as he was a Quaker, so he opened a grocery shop instead.

There then followed two short films, in separate cinemas, first giving the history of the company and then showing how chocolate is made. After which there was a shorter bit of film showing how various different chocs were made and wrapped. Then quite a long walk past the packaging area - one could not go in, but you looked in through the windows, rather like the cheese factory in Normandy we visited that time. After which came an exceedingly silly "ride", which neither of us could at all see the point of at all, but I suppose fun for the little ones. And finally a section where we saw chocolate being made the old-fashioned way, and we were each given a little cup of melted chocolate with our choice of toppings. The tour then led through a display of various different advertisements, and a place where you could pretend to grow a cocoa plant (even the SW enjoyed this).  This then led us back to the gift shop, and was the end of that part of the tour, but there was plenty more to see and do.

Outside there was a huge children's play area, and a "4D Cadbury Experience" which we didn't visit (no thank you!), and, in the back of the building, the "Bourneville Experience" which was a display about the Bourneville village built by the Cadbury family, with sports ground, school, swimming-baths, etc. There was a walk we could have gone on, but the heavens opened just as we came out, and we got soaked.  So we went to the nearest Tesco and bought a sandwich, and then found the Bourneville park to eat it in, and as the rain had stopped, we walked round the park and saw the sports ground and pavilion.

All in all, we very much enjoyed it, but I did slightly wonder who its target audience was. It was a very odd mix, although mostly it worked.

Then we went and bought a motor home.

Ludlow

We are in exile at the moment, as the corridors outside our flat are being varnished, and there is no daytime access, so we are staying with family in Shropshire, and yesterday we drove over Clee Hill to Ludlow for the afternoon. After a false start, we parked in Tesco's, which only charged us 50p for the privilege, and we could use their loos. So we walked through the town to the Castle, but decided not to go in as it was within half an hour of closing. There was a footpath that went all the way round it, so we walked round there and then back to the car. It is such a pretty town!

 Then, to be different, we drove back via the small town of Tenbury Wells, which is also very pretty, although we didn't stop.

Lemonade by the river

One of the things we said we'd do, come retirement, was get on a bus and see where it went to.  So today we decided to do just this.  We had planned to get a 37 to Putney and then a 337 on to Richmond, but just missed a 37, and the next bus due was a 35.  So we caught that and then waited for a 337 at Clapham Junction.  This had the big advantage that we were the first people on, so we could sit in the front upstairs.

It took about an hour to get to Richmond, the bus going via Wandsworth (I see the old Arndale Centre is now rather poshly called Southside!), Putney, Mortlake, East Sheen and finally turned off the South Circular to arrive in Richmond. We got out at the bus station, which was only about five minutes' walk to the river.  As suggested on the maps, we walked to the middle of the bridge to look at the view:

We were then both thirsty and uncomfortable, so we went down to a café on the bank beside the bridge, which sold us some incredibly delicious lemonade that was minty but not too sweet. 

And, when we had drunk it and made ourselves comfortable, we walked back up through Richmond to the station.  The old Dickens and Jones is now a House of Fraser - I was glad to see it is still a department store.  I remembered that there had been a wonderful children's bookshop in Richmond, but I have no idea where it was - I've just looked it up and found that although it closed some years ago, the owners have opened a new one, but we didn't see it.




We didn't have much time, as the Swan Whisperer wanted to be back in time for figure club, so we caught a train straight back.  We were lucky in that it was a semi-fast train, and didn't stop at places like East Sheen, Mortlake, Barnes or Wandsworth Town, but only at Putney and then Clapham Junction.  It came in on Platform 4, and there was an Overground sitting on platform 2, so the Swan Whisperer and I decided to race each other home - he went on the Overground to Clapham High Street and then walked, and I took a 35.  I am mortified to have to confess that he got there first, but only just - no windows were open when the bus went past the flats, but by the time I had got out and crossed the road, he had opened a few!  So it was judged too close to call!

RAF Northolt Open Day 2015

This was my - asked-for - birthday present from the Swan Whisperer.  At first we thought we wouldn't be able to go, as tickets were sold out, but they released more tickets if you went on public transport.  They said that Ruislip Gardens Tube Station was about 10 minutes' walk from the entrance.  Which, indeed, it was - but what they didn't say was that it was about twenty minutes' walk from the entrance to the actual site! 

And the weather didn't co-operate at all.  It wasn't really raining, not really, but there was very thick, low cloud, and most of the flying displays had to be cancelled.  We couldn't even have the Queen's birthday flypast, and, indeed, the news says that much of the flypast in central London had to be cancelled.  So although there was a Chinook helicopter

driving about, it couldn't go through its paces, and another aircraft landed and stayed that way.

And it was cold!  We decided to avoid the fast-food trucks and their queues, and instead bought rather delicious Portuguese ham and cheese rolls, and later went back to that stall and bought two strawberry tartlets, which were equally delicious, but rather sticky.  We wandered round the area, looking at a few aeroplanes (they said there would be 30 in the static display, but there so weren't - about five or six at most!) and vintage cars and fire-engines.

There was a modern fire-engine, too, and a queue of children waiting to make its siren sound.  There were also a set of pedal-cars in the shape of vintage planes which the children were very much enjoying - I couldn't take a photograph, for obvious reasons.

We found a bench and sat down to eat our strawberry tartlets, in front of the arena where the RAF band were playing, and very nice too:

There was an ancient bi-plane buzzing around while this was happening, but none of the shots I aimed at it came out!  Ah well.

After this, we decided to call it a show, and set off on the very long walk back to the bus stop (we regretted not having caught the bus up to the gates), but just as we did the sun came out, and the Sally B, the only Flying Fortress (B17) bomber still flying, was able to come and display:

We thought we'd just missed a bus, but luckily another came along so fast behind that we had to run for it!  And again, we almost had to run for our Central Line train, but it meant no waiting.  And by the time we got back to Brixton, the sun had come out - too late, alas, to rescue the day.  Which was enjoyable, but really, since what one goes for are the flying-displays, a little bit of a bust.  Oh well, what do you expect in the British summer?

UK Summer Motorhome and Caravan Show

As regular readers of this blog may or may not know, the Swan Whisperer and I are intending to buy a motor home and travel around Europe now that he has retired.  To this end, we have been visiting various dealers, looking on the web, and generally doing our homework to see what sort of machine we want.

Today, as part of that research, we visited the UK Summer Motorhome and Caravan Show at the Kent County Showground today.  It was fascinating - not only lots of new and used motorhomes and camper vans on sale, but also loads of accessories, and the kind of stall you only ever find at shows, whether game fairs, country shows or shows like this one.  I always enjoy pottering around and looking.

But today was fairly serious, and we have ended up with a variety of choices, although some are pretty much out of our price range.  But we know what we're looking for, which is the main thing.  Something like this, if we can find a nice one, would be perfect.  Or perhaps this, but they are too new to have any second-hand models yet, and it is just outside our budget as it is.  This one, the previous model in the Sunlight range, is available second-hand, but it is a bit longer - over 6 metres, rather than just under.

Well, we will eventually find the perfect one.  And if anybody knows of a French bed, half-dinette low-profile coachbuilt motor home for sale, let me know!

So we came away, and both of us went fast asleep as soon as we got home!

Rebranding the Railways

Today was going to be an interesting day in terms of railway history.  Three of the Lea Valley Lines out of Liverpool Street were being transferred to TfL, and the line from Shenfield has become a totally new entity, called TfL Rail.  This is a holding brand until Crossrail is finished in a couple of years, as they don't want to use that name yet, apparently.

While changing a TOC doesn't usually make much difference, in this case it will, as fares will be changed to be in line with those charged on the Underground, which in many cases means they will be cheaper.  Moreover, one can use Freedom Passes on TfL lines 24/7, and not have to wait until after 09:30 as you do with other TOCs, so if the Victoria Line should happen to fall over on a Thursday morning we'll still be able to get up to Walthamstow.  And the boys won't have to pay fares until they are 11, rather The Boy having to pay from July, when he turns 5.  So that is all good stuff.

So the Swan Whisperer and I decided to go to Liverpool Street and see if there was any sign of the change in TOC.  We just missed a 35, but caught a 355 into Brixton and then a 133 up to Liverpool Street. 

Platforms 1-4 are now dedicated to the Overground, although the Stansted Express seems to use them as well, and those parts of the Lea Valley Lines that have remained with Abellio Greater Anglia.  But they are branded as Overground and Abellio, and lots of Overground staff were around in case people had queries.  At the moment, obviously, the trains are exactly as they were yesterday, but they will probably have new logos, etc, applied.  New trains aren't set to come into service until 2017 or thereabouts.

Then TfL Rail have taken over platforms 14-16.  We walked the length of the station to have a look.  Once again, the platforms had already been rebranded, and there were plenty of staff, one of whom asked if we needed help.  We said we didn't, but chatted to him for a bit, and he was very helpful and knowledgeable.  He said the trains would be rebranded, but the new trains wouldn't be along until Crossrail came in, again probably in 2017. 

We debated going somewhere on one of the trains, but there wasn't much point, really, as the trains themselves hadn't changed.  But I was impressed that not only the signage was in place, with new notice boards pointing to the relevant platforms and so on, but also the recorded announcements had been changed, and the station itself looked as if these TOCs had been running trains forever. 

We were less impressed, though, with the maps.  There was an up-to-date map in the Underground station, incorporating the new lines, but the pocket maps provided had not yet been updated, and, moreover, were not available on the main line platforms.  The Swan Whisperer picked up a leaflet to read on the bus about the modernisation of the Underground, only to find that it dated from 2013.  You can't win them all, I suppose!  So we came away and caught a 35 bus home.  But definitely 9/10 to TfL for the work they've done.  On Thursday I'll see how and whether they've changed the branding at Walthamstow Central.

Dinosaurs in the rain

There are only two places in London to see dinosaurs, as far as I know - please correct me if I'm wrong - and one of them is the Natural History Museum.  The other, of course, is Crystal Palace Park, and that is where we headed off to this rather wet half-term Friday - "We" being the Swan Whisperer, the Boy and me.

We met the Boy and his father at Victoria station.  The Boy felt, I think, slightly abandoned, but quickly cheered up when I said I'd found a shop that sold cheese and pickle rolls, and would he like one for his lunch.  He would, and also a bottle of freshly-squeezed orange juice, which he made last!  We caught a Southern train from Victoria to Crystal Palace, and, after a bit of confusion where we couldn't find the loos (but the kind station master, or whatever they are called these days, let us use the disabled/baby change one), we set out in the drizzle.  First stop was lunch - we found a relatively dry place to sit under some trees and eat our rolls, and then we walked round the lake, which is called the Tidal Pool (why?  It isn't!)

until we got to the café, where the Swan Whisperer insisted on drinking hot chocolate, and he and I both added an extra layer under our rather thin summer macs.  Then we set off again, and this time we found the dinosaurs!  The Boy was thrilled with them, racing from one set to the next and pointing!

 

When we were just about to leave the dinosaurs, we met an elderly gentleman who said that in his youth, one had been able to climb on the dinosaurs.  I knew I hadn't been dreaming - I'm sure that in the days when we used to take the daughter there, they had been randomly scattered around the place, and one could climb on them.  In this setting, they are more impressive, but less friendly.  And the Swan Whisperer is convinced that the mini-farm, our next port of call, used to be in the middle of the lake where is now a picnic area.

So, to the farm.  We were prepared to pay an admission fee for two pensioners and a child, but discovered that admission was free (although we did contribute to their donation box at the end).  This was a lovely place, and we saw all sorts of animals, including goats ("Are they for feeding the trolls?" asked the Boy, quite seriously)

and in the Exotic room there was a dragon, which we were invited to stroke.  "Will it eat me?" asked the Boy, anxiously, but was reassured that it wouldn't.  All the same, he was not too keen on stroking it!

The farm overlooked the railway line, so we kept stopping for the Boy to look at the Overground and Southern trains that ran in and out of the station.  He wanted to go on the Overground, and as we still had plenty of time before meeting his father at Clapham Junction, we decided to go up to Surrey Quays and then change.  The Boy made a friend on the journey - I don't know what they were talking about, but they were deep in conversation all the way!

Clapham Junction, of course, is Boy Heaven - all those trains! 

He spent ages just watching out of the window to see the trains go by.  Then we went down to the café on Platform 9 to wait for his father, but the latter had been rather badly held up, so in the end (after half a very large chocolate custard muffin and some milk) we came back to the flat, and I quickly made some Gran's extra-special macaroni cheese for his (and later our) tea, and he was still eating that when his father arrived to take a now very sleepy little boy home!