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.

October holiday, 1 November

Cité de l'Europe

Today, being All Saints' Day, is a public holiday through much of Europe. So, in true Bank Holiday spirit, it rained all day!

We drove to the Strépy-Thieux boat lift, but sadly I was too asleep to really be aware of it. Then we stopped for lunch at a services - just a sandwich, but very nice.

Then we were stopped by French Customs - I don't know whether they were unaware that Brexit hadn't happened, or what - but they  kept asking where we had been, and why, and what we did for a living, and what was the retirement age in the UK, etc, while one of them with his dirty great feet peered all round the motor home and looked into all our cupboards and so on. Not nice, and I feel violated. This van is as much my home as my flat is, and I don't want customs officials all over the flat, either!

Haven't taken any photos today, so here is one from a happier border crossing! 

October holiday, 31 October

Blégny-Mine, Belgium.

If you count Vatican City and San Marino as separate countries, which we most definitely do, this is the 7th new country this holiday!

The day started with the Swan Whisperer going for a run. It was a bitterly cold morning, and we were glad I had a pair of knitted gloves with me that he could borrow. After breakfast I went for a walk down to the Rhine,

rather glad I'd tucked a woolly hat into my bag. How many holidays do you need both a sunhat and a woolly hat?

It was a simply glorious morning for a walk, though. I was interested to read the plaques about Lord Byron - apparently the romantic poetry he wrote after visiting the area made Rhine tourism a thing and they pulled down the city walls and built hotels instead!

Sadly the local folk museum was only open in the afternoons, or I'd have visited it.

I wanted to do a Last Shop in Germany, as tomorrow is All Saints Day so the shops will be shut everywhere. Its just possible the Carrefour at Cité Europe will be open, but I'm not relying on it.

So we drove down to Niederdollendorf, the next commune along, and I went to Kik (knitting cotton), ReWe (groceries) and DM (drugstore) in that order.

By then it was lunch time, so we crossed the Rhine on the nearest ferry and then stopped for lunch before driving to Blégny for the penultimate night of the holiday. 

October holiday, 30 October

Königswinter, Germany.

A long drive today; too long, really, as we won't have so far to go tomorrow, but Germany, even from the motorways, is so lovely at this time of year. The autumn colours are spectacular, but I keep never managing to take photos of them, so today's only photo is from my bed.

We've been to this site in Königswinter a couple of times before, but this time, to our surprise, it is full of British cars and caravans!  Don't know who whey are or what they are doing here, but it is rare to see other British tourists in Germany!

It is bitterly cold - only last week it was blissful in Southern Italy, and now there is a frost! 

October holiday, 29 October

Ochsenfurt, Germany

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, and then after breakfast we both went for a walk round Ingoldstadt,

calling in at a DM and an Edeka, and then on our way back there was a wool shop so I sent the SW back to the van to get his coffee while I investigated. There was nothing I wanted in the actual wool shop, except possibly some cotton, but I found some acrylic in the colours I wanted in the shop next door. So a win.  The SW said these flowers, in the main square, looked more like cabbages than flowers! I have to agree! 

After coffee and the services, we headed off towards Würzburg, this aire being on the Main a few kilometres short of it. Smooth journey, except we almost didn't find somewhere to stop for lunch and had to come off the road into some random village! Don't know where, but it was near Emskirchen.