Oberstdorf and more 2022, 21 May

I overslept this morning! I woke, as I usually do, around 07:00, took my tablet (which has to be taken at least 30 minutes before a caffeinated drink) turned off the alarm which had been set for 07:30, did the various Wordle puzzles and started to look through Facebook - and the next thing I knew,  it was 09:00! I consoled myself with the knowledge that it was only 08:00 in the UK and it wouldn't matter if today's meals were on UK time rather than European time! 

As, indeed, they turned out to be. The Swan Whisperer booked himself on a tour of the mine for 11:00 - sooner him than me; I don't think you could pay me enough to go down one of those! This didn't finish until nearly 13:00, and then we needed to use the services before we set off. 

Our first port of call was a supermarket, naturally enough, and I was delighted to score some coloured eggs,

which I didn't think they sold in Belgium. I couldn't, however, find any fresh milk, although I did get some cream. Very strange. Thank goodness the Norma in Oberstdorf usually sells it. 

After lunch we set off to drive to this place, Kirchberg, where the aire is behind a motorhome rental place.  The electricity isn't working, so when the proprietor came home, he kindly brought out a cable for our use. We are right behind a large shopping centre, but it has a glorious view.

It was a pleasant drive, although I dozed most of the way. The roads were extraordinarily quiet by German standards. 

Oberstdorf and more 2022; 20 May

Today was always going to be a long and dreary drive across Belgium, and we were not disappointed! As is so often the case, endless traffic jams, road works, accidents (not, thankfully, involving us) and massive thunderstorms! 

While driving through Flanders, and we noticed endless poppies growing on the central reservation, which was not exactly a field, but... 

And eventually we arrived at Blegny Mines,

which is an excellent aire in the car park of a former mine, now a museum. The SW went for a walk and got wet but I had a nap. I am tired today after the excitements of the past week! Germany tomorrow. 

Oberstdorf and more 2022, 19 May

It is three years since the international Adult competition was last held in Oberstdorf, and it has been much missed. But at last it is happening again, and we are on the way. 

We were up early this morning as, we wanted to be away around 09:00. First thing that happened was a text from my brother to ask whether we were going to want the motor home, as there was scaffolding round its garage and he would need to move a pole. Which he did and the Swan Whisperer was able to get the van out with no difficulty. 

He started to load the car and I rushed out to Lidl as soon as it opened as this week's coupons were great and I wanted to redeem them, and it was about 09:15 when we set off. And promptly had to turn round and go back as I had forgotten to put my teeth in! But we were away properly by 09:30, and arrived in Sussex at about 11:15 in good time to load everything into the van and have most of it put away before lunch, which was a delicious venison cottage pie (ghillie's pie?) made by my mother, with vegetables, a followed by strawberries. 

They were to meet the Archdeacon at church at 14:30 (we went past him in the street) so we set off about 14:10. We stopped at Clackett Lane services, and as the SW felt sleepy, he had a nap and a cup of coffee. Even so, we arrived at the terminal in time to get the shuttle before ours (and incidentally saw that there is a disabled lane in the car section, and which I wish we had seen last time).

There was a Spitfire and a biplane flying around for some reason; I did try to get a photograph, but didn't succeed. All the same, but I do rather like the gull on the lamp post! 

The crossing was uneventful, as was the short drive up here to Beaubourg, where we are spending the night. 

The new Northern Line platforms

 I had a dentist appointment in Clapham at 4:00 pm, so, we thought, when we learnt that the Bank branch of the Northern Line was reopening today, we would be able to go up and have a look at it and then come down to Clapham in time for my appointment.  Of course, they thwarted us by opening the branch the previous evenings, so the likes of IanVisits and Geoff Marshall got there first!  We did quite seriously consider going up as soon as we learnt it was open, but it was getting late and I was still very tired, so we decided to stick to plan A.  

So we walked up to Clapham North and got the Bank branch from there.  We only visited the new platforms, as the new links to the Central Line and the DLR have yet to open, and the final part of the upgrade, the shiny new entrance on Cannon Street, won't open until the winter.  But the major part of the work, the creation of a whole new running tunnel for the Southbound branch, and turning what used to be the Southbound platforms into a large corridor, have now finished.

The new corridor/crush hall, where the old Southbound tunnel was.  The tracks were, I think, on the left, and the platform on the right.

The old and the new - the existing Northbound platforms, and the new connection.

Not everything is open yet, nor will be for some time.

The very large new Southbound platforms, such a pleasure after the ghastly overcrowding that was Bank!

And I got back down to Clapham Common in good time for the dentist!

The Metro Marauder - Farewell to Class 455

 

The Class 455s are reaching the end of their natural lives, having entered service in the early 1980s, and transported commuters with greater or lesser efficiency ever since, under Network SouthEast, Connex, SouthCentral and now Southern.  South Western Railway is keeping them in service for a few more months, but today, being the final day before the summer timetable kicks in, is their last day of service under Southern.  And to celebrate, they organised a rail tour, in conjunction with the Branch Line Society . 

It was not an expensive tour, as these things go, but then, they offered no food, and the 455s really only offer rather upright seats, in a 3+2 configuration, with no amenities such as plug sockets, window blinds (we could have done with them at one stage), air-conditioning or even loos!  They did warn us not to drink too much and to be careful how much fluid we took in!  

The tour left Victoria Station at 09:02; we took care to be there in good time, so we could buy a cup of coffee and, if necessary, get rid of it before we went.  There was a huge queue to get through the gateline, so they basically only checked that we actually had tickets (electronic ones) and came through on the train once we were off to check the tickets and issue wrist bands, programmes for the day and souvenir tickets.

The trip was extremely convoluted, with endless changes of direction.  Here is the plan for the day on the back of the programme: 

We first went south from Victoria to Billingshurst, where we were able to get out and stretch our legs for a few minutes, and then, reversing direction, went up the mid-Sussex line to Three Bridges,

where we reversed direction yet again and went to Hove, and then to Brighton, where we had a long break and the Swan Whisperer and I walked down to look at the sea.

  We did take a bus back - it's uphill, and I'm not very good at hills - and then bought sandwiches to eat on the train which went back to Hove, then back to Brighton - this was because they had to be on a different platform at Brighton to get to what I think is the East Causeway line to Lewes.  At Lewes, we reversed again, and went fast to Charing Cross, where there was another pee-break.  Then it did the oddest wiggle from Charing Cross, back over to Clapham Junction, and then round again to Blackfriars, where we again had a 15-minute break.  I got out of the train, but there were seats on the platform, so it was just nice to sit in the fresh air for a bit.  

From Blackfriars, we went down one line to Sevenoaks, where we reversed again, and then back to Victoria.

There was a raffle in aid of Mind in Croydon, and an auction of collectibles.  The SW and I both bought raffle tickets, and, very extraordinary, we both won.  He won a bottle of Cava - Asda's best, but none the worse for that, but I won the 2nd prize which was an hour's simulator experience to "drive a 2000 tonne freight train hauled by a GTRf class 66 locomotive on GBRf's state of the art class 66 Simulator".  Sounds great - although it took ages for the raffle organiser to get the voucher and then the person he gave it to gave it to the wrong person and had to run after her to apologise!  However, I got it in the end, and no harm done.

We had both had more than enough of trains by the time we got back to Victoria, so we took the bus home, and I am very nearly asleep!  All the same, I'm glad we went.  It wasn't the most comfortable railtour, and very far from the luxurious one we are looking forward to as my birthday treat, but it was a grand day out!  And the raffle prizes were the icing on the cake.

A trip to France

We are staying with my mother for a few days while my sister is away, and, when we were planning our visit, I suggested we went to France for the day. My mother leapt at the idea, and so it was arranged.

We set off at 07:00 as we wanted to take plenty of time on the journey. We tried to stop at Clackett Lane services, but the petrol station, which my sister had said was the easiest place to go to the loo, but this was a bust as it was closed due to occupation by Extinction Rebellion or Insulate Britain, or one of those, so we had to stop at Maidstone Services, instead.  This was irritating because for some reason they don't let you go  back on to the motorway southbound from there, but you have to go back up to J7 and turn round there. Quite why, when there are several hundred meters after the exit before Operation Brock begins and you are directed on to the contraflow. This wasn't too bad, although we were limited to 50 mph for about 11 miles. There were very few lorries in their area then, although it was a lot fuller on the way back.

We got to the terminal in time to get a crossing 30 minutes earlier than booked, but also time to pay a quick visit to the terminal, which I haven't done for ages. Don't usually bother when we are in the motor home, but as the SW wanted coffee and was tempted by a bacon roll, as was I, and I got some orange juice, too, it was a good idea. The crossing was uneventful, although it felt odd to have nothing to do but read (I'd brought my Kindle, but the other two had nothing to read and were bored), as we are used to unpacking or packing or even getting ready for bed during the crossing when we are in the motor home.

In France, we went straight to Cité Europe. As we had my mother with us, we could park in the disabled bays near the entrance, and she and I wandered round Carrefour - she had her walker and I had the trolley. The Swan Whisperer, meanwhile, swept out the car, which he should have done before we left but hadn't, and then he cleverly reprogrammed my car  key fob, which had stopped  working. And went to look at the restaurants to see where we could have lunch. He decreed that we should eat tartes flambées, so we walked the entire length of the shopping centre to get to the restaurant he had chosen.

The tartes were delicious, but very filling, and neither my mother nor I could finish ours, but we scraped off the toppings and ate then - and, of course, we tasted each other's!  Mum had a glass of wine, I had fizzy water (I so wanted beer, but I'm on strong antibiotics and can't) and the SW had Coke.

We had about 45 minutes before we had to head back, so drove into Calais and visited the Burghers,

and then back to the terminal via Coquelles. We discovered that at Calais there is a special disabled lane (if there is one at Folkestone we didn't see it) which meant we got to board first! Sadly, this was not to be for awhile, as there was a disruption of some kind (not unusual) so we were half an hour later than planned.

The drive home was non-stop and uneventful. I think both Mum and I slept most of the way until we came off the motorway!

A long way to go to visit a supermarket, but worth it! A most enjoyable day. 

"Why come ye not to court?"

 You don't go on the river for three years, and then two cruises come along at once!  This one was very different from our afternoon tea cruise.  This one was a short cruise between Kingston and Hampton Court, on board the Yarmouth Belle, which, built in 1892 is the oldest surviving passenger vessel on the Thames.  

We started off, however, by going up to Vauxhall to meet the Boys, and then up to Vauxhall Station, where we had just missed a train to Kingston, but they are every 10-15 minutes, so we didn't have long to wait.  The journey to Kingston takes about 30 minutes; the train said it was going to Strawberry Hill, as, indeed, it was, but it then looped round to come back via Hampton and Richmond, so the destination signs on the train said Waterloo, very confusing!  

The Boys had both said they weren't feeling very well, but soon cheered up at the thought of lunch at Five Guys, a favourite of theirs (and given the amount they ate, there can't be much wrong with either of them).  The Swan Whisperer and I had never been to this particular chain, but our expert grandsons showed us the ropes!  I chose a grilled veggie sandwich with cheese,

and very good it was, too, if rather difficult to eat!  The Boys both had burgers - one with bacon and cheese and the other with just cheese - and the most revolting-looking milkshakes topped with whipped cream, which they seemed to enjoy.  The Swan Whisperer ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with onions, and then we ordered a large chips to share between the four of us, which was just a nice amount.  

When we had finished eating, and topping up our water bottles with the free ice cubes provided, it was time to walk down to the river - not the loveliest walk in the world - and await our ship.  I had booked in advance, but in fact, hadn't really needed to, as there were only two other families on the boat with us.  

It is not a long distance between Kingston and Hampton Court, but long enough to be enjoyable.  The weather was rather irritating, as it was too hot with a coat on and not quite warm enough with it off!  The Boys spent some of their time in the interior, and went down the spiral staircase into the lounge - "Very old-fashioned," they told me.  I didn't go down, it looked rather steep for coming up again.  The Swan Whisperer spent all his time on deck, and I spent most of mine, as there was so much to see, from swans to be whispered at, 

St Raphael's Catholic church

Hampton Court park

and, of course, Hampton Court Palace itself.

"Why come ye not to court? To which court? The King's Court, or Hampton Court?"

The Boys were rather tired - I think they may have overdone it playing football the previous day - and so was I, so we didn't linger; we walked across the bridge to Hampton Court station (thus, for the Boys, and later for the Swan Whisperer, who took them home, meaning that they had gone under the river, on the river and over the river all on the same day!) and so a train to Clapham Junction and back to ours for a most welcome cup of tea.  

There are more photos on Facebook, if you are interested.