Guest post: The re-interment of Richard III

My parents were fortunate enough to attend the re-interment of King Richard III, and I thought regular readers of this blog might be interested in my mother's account of the occasion.  Published with permission.

King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485. He is known to have had an undignified journey to Leicester, and to have been buried in the Grey Friars Church, long since disappeared and mostly built over. On 5^th September 2012 a skeleton with severe scoliosis and a battered skull was found in the social services car park in Leicester. The bones were taken to the university, where the careful process of identification began. Although Philippa Langley was convinced that they had found Richard, the scientists were more sceptical and wanted proof, which is where FitzRoy played a very small part.

Richard had no direct descendents, so in order to trace his Y chromosome DNA, the search had to go back up the male line to Edward III, and then down again via his son John of Gaunt, and his bastard son, later legitimised, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset. Five male Somersets were tracked down from different branches of the family, two from Australia, one from Scotland and two from England. All gave DNA samples, which provided a partial match, and two other families, descendents of Richard's sister Anne, provided mitochondrial, or maternal DNA, more reliable as maternity is a matter of fact, and paternity of speculation. This also provided a match, and taken along with the head wounds, the scoliosis and the position of the bones in the old church has made it 99.99% certain that the body is that of Richard. End of history lesson.

We drove to Leicester on Wednesday, and in the evening went to a press briefing, followed by a dinner given by professor Kevin Schurer, who had led the hunt for descendants of Richard, and also of those who had fought at Bosworth, either for Richard or Henry. He said this was a mammoth task as they weren’t documented as were the descendants. This was great fun, we met distant cousins who we had no idea existed, FitzRoy is a 5^th cousin 14 times removed from Richard, so there was a great deal of trying to work out how we all fitted in. The press were very friendly, and not at all obtrusive. After the press left, we sat down to a very good meal. We were at a table with a distant cousin, a Bosworth fighter descendant, two archaeologists involved in the dig, and two members of the university team. We were shown a fascinating film taken by one of the archaeologists who had to record everything at the dig as it happened, with him introducing each day’s progress. 

 

Thursday morning we took a taxi to the Cathedral, but so many roads were closed, that we had quite a long walk to reach the Guildhall, our meeting place. The streets round the Close were packed with sightseers, and security to get into the railed off area by the cathedral was very tight, passports and invitations to be shown.

Once in the Guildhall, passports and invitations once more, FitzRoy had to join his processional group, the DNA donors. There were nine different groups, so a lot to be sorted out. The hangers on like me were escorted to the Cathedral at 10.15, once again producing identification, and shown to our seats, to be joined by our spouses when they had processed in. We were very lucky to have seats in the second row just in front of a television monitor, so we could see all that was going on. Our seats were up level with the tomb, behind the side screen, and we could see through it to a certain extent. The service began at 11.30, but there was so much to look at that it didn’t seem too long.

I don’t really know what to say about the service. It was dignified, simple and moving, and the music lovely. The Archbishop of Leicester preached on reconciliation, and the Archbishop of Canterbury preached about Moses taking Jacob’s bones to Israel, not quite sure why! After it was over, those us lucky enough to be invited made our way to St Martin’s Hall where a buffet lunch was laid on. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were there, and also Princess Sophie of Wessex. We met lots more interesting people, including another cousin who was there because his ancestor had fought at Bosworth alongside King Richard. The treacherous Stanleys were also represented, brave of them to come!

Next stop was the King Richard III visitors centre. Quite the best part was in the new extension built out into the car park with a glass floor over the trench where he was found, the outline of the bones being cleverly projected in lights.

After that another long walk to the taxi, and back to the hotel quite exhausted. The whole experience was wonderful, the atmosphere buzzing, and two days that I will never forget.

May Holiday: Days 9 and 10 in the sun

The weather on the Sunday couldn't have been a greater contrast to the previous Sunday in Sens, where it had rained all day.  Today, we needed sunblock!  It was a lovely warm day.  I went out after breakfast to the Carrefour City, which is open on Sunday mornings, and stocked up on what we needed for picnic lunches for Sunday and Monday, and then we went out for a scenic drive to Lac de l'Orient, one of the five big artificial lakes in France used for flood control - and, of course, for sailing, fishing, etc. 

There was a pretty stone pier, so we walked out to the end and back again,

and then drove off to find somewhere quiet and attractive to have lunch, which we did. Unfortunately, after that I fell asleep, and missed most of the rest of the drive, and being able to add ideas of where to go.  We got back to Troyes in time for a cup of tea, before heading out for a final walk round the town, to look at the Cathedral,

and the Hôtel-Dieu (now part museum and part part of the university):

Neither of us was starving hungry, so a crepe and an omelette, respectively, in a café on the main square did us excellently, and so back to the hotel for the final night.

Next morning, I was actually allowed to drive, for once, and drove the first 120 km or so towards Soissons, which we had decided to look round before heading home.  We stopped at a hypermarket and bought some fruit, and ate our picnic lunch in the car before heading into town proper, which was very pretty, with the usual cathedral and market hall (closed, naturally, on a Monday - we were delighted to find we didn't have to pay for parking!).

 

We would have gone for a longer walk, but I started to get a blister and begged off, so we decided to drive to Calais via a small town with beautiful walls called Coucy-le-Chateau-Auffrique, which was lovely, and worth it, and then, a slight but minor mistake, to shop at the Cora outside Cambrai.  This turned out to be very slightly out of our way and, fatally, we spent ten minutes more than we should have doing our shopping, which meant that, although we were not going to be pushed for time to make our crossing, we were not going to have time to eat in the Buffalo Grill first.

So we drove straight to the Eurotunnel terminal, hoping to get an earlier crossing as we were 50 minutes early, only to find that there were "perturbations du service" due to a freight train's having broken down earlier.  It was gradually restoring itself to normal, but there was no hope of an earlier crossing, and we weren't at all sure whether we would get on at our booked time of 20:20.  So we went into the terminal building, now know as the Charles Dickens Terminal, and found, to our relief, there was another place that served food apart from the usual burger joint (which has been McDonald's and Quick over the years, and is now Burger King), and we had a pie, mash and peas, which was lovely, but shockingly under-seasoned, and I couldn't find the salt and pepper until I'd finished!  Nor, alas, could I find the coffee ices (Café Zero) that I knew they sold in W H Smith's there until after I'd bought and paid for my Solero!  Oh well, that was good, too, and then finally they called our crossing, and a couple of hours later we were home, having, on balance, had a lovely time. 

May holiday days 7 and 8: Bulles de Troyes

Yesterday morning, after breakfast, we went for a walk round the town, enjoying the sights and the half-timbered buildings.

Then we went back to the hotel to change into skating kit and have practice ice before a late lunch. After a short rest, it was time to get ready to go to the free champagne tasting, but the minibus was full so we got the address from the driver and went off with a carload of friends.  The satnav found the place very easily, but being France, it was a matter of "hurry up and wait".  However, we were let in at last and told all about how they make champagne, and finally we got to taste the delicious fluid.  However, after two samples, I had had enough, and the noise was getting to me, so I went and sat in the car and fell so sound asleep I was confused when I woke!  Meanwhile the draw was going on, and the SW drew us to skate last, which was great.

We went back to Troyes with our very tired friends, who had driven from Guildford that day, and ate a fairly quick meal with them in the local Hippopotamus, before a quiet evening.

This morning, after breakfast it was time to get ready for our competition, which went very well. I haven't been able to stress about it at all, and although we made a couple of silly mistakes, on the whole we skated well and were delighted with our Bronze medals. The rest of the day was spent watching our friends skate, and cheering on Team GB.

 

And then off to the gala dinner, which was delicious, but finished late!  And so to bed, with a whole day left before we head home.

May Holiday Day 6: And so to Troyes

We had to leave the hotel by 11:00, and the Ibis in Troyes wouldn't have wanted us before noon, so we didn't hurry, and, once we had packed, just read for a bit until it was time to go. A last trip to the supermarket, and a fill of petrol, and we were off, driving cross-country and avoiding the motorway.  The journey didn't take long, and the satnav delivered us to the hotel with no problems.

First order of the day was lunch, then I had a nap and the SW went out to see what he could see. Then he came back and we had a cup of tea, and then we discovered that neither of our laptops wanted to connect to the Internet here, although our tablets and phones didn't have a problem.  Oh well.  Quick email to my boss to explain, and then we went out; first to the rink - just round the corner - to register and pay, and the usual wondering why there were two skaters with the same name from the same club, and was this right?  It is right, and can be confusing although they shorten their names differently, so it's only a problem at comps.  Then a walk to look at some of the sights of the town, including the Seine, and a quick drop into Monoprix for some shower gel I wanted. The SW has seen a restaurant earlier that he thought looked nice and within our budget, so we went there and it was!

And then back to the hotel and we are watching "The Great Escape" on French TV before the election results (no, we are not going to sit up all night).

May holiday day 5: Sens in the sunshine

Dinner last night was appallingly mediocre, hopelessly under-seasoned. I don't think the cook had ever heard of salt and pepper, never mind anything else! The puds were nice, though.

It was cold but clear, this morning, so we went into Sens to visit the market hall, which was faintly disappointing, as there were very few merchants there. I expect it is fuller at weekends.  Nevertheless, we bought a very nice melon, some Tomme de Savoie cheese and two quiches, which were delicious when we had them for lunch a bit later!

We then went for another walk around the town, enjoying the quiet streets, but saddened by the number of empty shops - it looks as if France hasn't recovered from the recession the way the UK has.  One of the things we saw was the house of Jean Cousin, a sculptor and painter who had been responsible for much of the Cathedral.

 There is a statue of him in the park which looks at first glance as if he is doing something Very Rude Indeed, but on closer inspection, he is just holding a paintbrush.

 We headed back to the hotel via the supermarket for a delicious lunch of quiche and salad, melon and the end of the strawberries.  Followed by a nap, at least for me - I don't know about the Swan Whisperer! Then I did some work, and after a cup of tea we set out again.

We drove up to Bray-sur-Seine, and then the SW said he fancied seeing Provins, so we started off in that direction, but ended up going to Coulommiers, in the hope of finding a factory making the eponymous cheese, which we love. Far from it - we didn't even see a cow! We thought the latter might be abundant in Brie, where we were, but not a bit of it. We did see some Charolais, but they are mostly beef. And for the most part it was arable, with oil wells!  And rainbows! So what do they make the cheese from?

We discussed heading into Paris for the evening, but decided it would be an expensive drive and an even more expensive dinner, so we didn't, but drove back to Provins, and then to Montereau-Faute-Yonne, where we had dinner. We wished we'd eaten in Provins, where there was a plethora of restaurants, and in Montereau there seemed not to be many, but we found a Chinese, which was lovely. And so back to the hotel for a final night.

May Holiday day 4: Fontainebleau in mixed weather!

The weather today has been very varied; the one constant is that it has been windy!  We decided to go to Fontainebleau, although we learnt that it would not be open for visiting today, being Tuesday, but we thought we might be able to look round the grounds and so on.  So we drove there, stopping at a random E Leclerc to get rid of breakfast coffee and to buy some strawberries, fresh milk and cherry tomatoes, and then again at Pont-sur-Yonne to look at the eponymous bridge.  Unfortunately the SW braked rather hard and I hit my finger against the door handle, which hurt and hurt!  It's okay now, but it was very stiff and sore for some hours, and I badly wanted an ice-pack for it.

The satnav, for once, let us down and stranded us in the middle of nowhere, but we finally found our way to Fontainebleau, and parked to see what we could see.  Unfortunately, I hadn't taken a cardigan with me, and although I had my coat, I got really chilled.  Plus two long walks in as many days meant I really didn't want another one, so I sadly went back to the car after taking a few photos, and let the Swan Whisperer get on with it. 

We drove around the town, seeing the Chateau from several different angles, and then moved on.  Google had recommended we visit the Loing valley, so we decided to do just that, and went to the town of Moret-sur-Loing, which was very pretty indeed.  And we saw where the Loing joined the Seine - the two rivers were different colours, which was interesting.

After which we drove down beside the river to Montigny-sur-Loing, stopping en route at a nature reserve where we had some lunch and where the Swan Whisperer went for a walk (again).  I read for a bit, and when he came back, so did he.  We then decided to drive down to Nemours and Montargis before heading home, and I'm sure it was a lovely drive, only I fell asleep and didn't wake up until it was time to reset the satnav at Montargis to take us back to the hotel.  But what I saw of it was lovely - a very pretty town.  Most French towns are pretty; it's such a shame they tend to have the hideous commercial centres on their outskirts (although very useful for a cheap meal or the loo, to say nothing of shopping). 

We are now back at the hotel, and plan to eat here later.  I had some work to do, although we decided not to hold our regular Tuesday meeting as two of us with slow Internets makes Skyping impossible!  So the SW has gone out for another walk.  We are not far from a TGV line, and it is rather fun to watch the trains.  One of the towns we went through had a huge goods yard, of the kind you simply don't see it in the UK any more, and we thought how much our Boy would have liked it!  Maybe when he is older, if he still loves trains....

May holiday day 3: Villeneuve-sur-Yonne in the sun

I suppose because most of the French had gone back to work today, the weather was absolutely glorious, a complete change from yesterday!  Bright sunshine and warm enough just to wear a t-shirt with no other layers.

We set off about 9:30, and our first stop was Carrefour again, this time to buy tissues (I have really bad hay fever this year, or maybe it's a cold, but I think hay fever), some plastic bags to nick food from breakfast in, and a 3-way adapter so we can have more than one thing at a time.  That done, we set off for a little village called Véron, just outside Sens, and home to FranceMotorhomeHire, a company which does exactly what it says on the tin, run by English people.  Who couldn't have been more friendly and helpful.  We explained that the Swan Whisperer had just retired and that we were looking to buy a motor home sooner or later, and they were very helpful as we discussed the pros and cons of having one registered in France and keeping it there, or in the UK and keeping it there.....  and what sort of vehicle we might want.  I like their basic vehicle, but would feel very daunted driving one.  We might hire one of theirs sometime to see what it is like.

Anyway, after that we drove down to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, which was absolutely lovely - an old walled town by the (rather flooded) Yonne.  We stopped at the tourist office to ask about parking, and they kindly gave us a brochure about the town which described the best route to go and see the sights.  But I do wish we'd taken one in French - the English version had obviously been done by Google translate, and was, in parts,  utterly incomprehensible!  Which, I suppose, in some ways added to the enjoyment! 

We had a lovely walk round the town, and by the time we'd finished it was nearly lunchtime, so I suggested we drove up into the hills above the town, on the very minor roads shown on the atlas, where it looked as though there might be some nice places to stop.  And, indeed, there were.  The only snag was, when we found a nice parking space,  at the entrance to one of the forests the French are so good at, we also found we'd forgotten the bread!  So Plan B was put into action and we drove sadly back down into the town of Joigny to an Intermarché we had passed en route to buy bread, but as there was a bistro there, we decided to have lunch there, and to have a picnic meal this evening.  So we ate - I had an omelette, and stupidly ordered chips with it when I could have had salad or green beans, as the omelette itself had potato in it, and I couldn't finish the chips.  But it was very nice!  Potato and bacon, I think.  Anyway, we bought some bread, and some  yoghurt for supper pudding, and then had a very pleasant drive around the minor roads in the area, which is very hilly.  The main crops appear to be oilseed rape, barley and wheat, but there were vines on the hills above Joigny and Villeneuve-sur-Yonne.  And so back to the hotel, where I did some work, but the Internet connection is a bit flaky.  The Swan Whisperer has gone out for a walk, and I am catching up!

I have uploaded pictures to Facebook (having got a WiFi code for my phone to do so), but Google is being slow about knowing they are there, so I'm not posting any on here today.  

May holiday day 2: Sens in the rain.

Yesterday was a very wet day. It rained. All day. Until bedtime, when the skies cleared and there was a beautiful full moon.

However, we are not made of sugar, so after a late breakfast, we set out to see what we could see.  First of all, we went to the local Carrefour, which is open on Sunday mornings, to stock up on bread, cheese and sausage for lunch, and then we went off into the town. It was quite difficult to find a parking space, as most of the usual ones are taken up by the Fair, which I shall come to in a minute, but we finally found one just outside the Cathedral gardens, which were lovely (my phone isn't connected to WiFi just now, so I can't show you the photos; they will upload when next it is), and we wandered round them and round the Cathedral, and then went to explore the Fair, which was being held over the Bank Holiday weekend. If you look at a map of Sens, you will see that it had a ring road on the line of the old city walls, much of which appears to be a car park normally.  This was all covered with the Fair, which reminded me of the Ideal Home Show, but not so well organised into areas. Everything was on offer, from sweets to bathroom suites, via quad bikes, cranes and beauty creams!  Great fun, and a funfair round the north side.

We finally found the car again, and then came back to the hotel for a late lunch and, I regret to say, slept and read our way through the afternoon. We found a creperie in town to have supper at (very nice!), And then back for a relatively early night. With, as I said, clear skies and a full moon.

May holiday, day 1

As you will know if you are friends with me on Facebook or LiveJournal, the Swan Whisperer retired on Thursday, after over 37 years with the same company.  We had been going to go away next Thursday anyway, so I thought we had better go at once, and we are spending a few days in Sens before moving on to Troyes on Thursday. We set off at 11:00 am, and had a really quite easy journey, although it took a long time.  A picnic lunch on the train, and one stop for a leg-stretch, and we arrived at the hotel at about 19:25 local time, after a run that took us to the outskirts of Paris and round "Le Francilien" outer ring. The hotel restaurant isn't open at weekends, so we got back in the car and drove into Sens, and found a Buffalo Grill for dinner. And now back and full of steak and wine! Yum!

Up the A24

I had some shopping to do, including a trip to Lakeland, so decided to head to Wimbledon and shop my way back up the A24.  As Lakeland is in the Centre Court shopping centre, it ought to have made sense to go by train, but they were running slow due to an earlier incident, so it took me half an hour longer than it should have done to get there.  However, I arrived in the end, and my errand was swiftly done.

It's a long time since I have caught a bus from Wimbledon station to Merton Abbey Sainsbury's, but it hasn't changed!  Again, my shopping there was swiftly done, and I caught another bus up the road to Tooting Broadway to finish my shopping in Primark there.  When I'd done that, I found I had just missed both a 355 and a 155, so decided to have some lunch.  A random Indian restaurants (they are legion in that part of London) yielded a delicious mixed vegetable curry, a naan bread (I could only manage half) and a side salad for just over £5.00, well worth it (the curry tasted as good as it looked, and it looked delicious). 

Then I arrived at the bus stop just in time for a 155, which took me as far as Clapham Common.  I was very amused to notice that as we passed Tooting Bec and Balham, the shops got progressively posher and posher as we moved towards Clapham!  Even the chains, from Primark and Wilco in Tooting Broadway, to the huge Waitrose in Balham.....it was so noticeable as to be funny.  Clapham itself is full of restaurants, of course, and not many shops except Sainsbury's and the usual chains, but Clapham South is definitely Nappy Valley!

Scooters and buses and trains, oh my!

Today was nearly the last day of the Easter Holidays, so I said I would take the Boy out and we would have some fun together. 

I picked him up at 8:30 am from Brixton Station - well, as Brixton is rather impossible in the mornings these days, from across the road.  Our first port of call was Lidl, to pick up croissants, a pain au chocolat for Granda (aka the Swan Whisperer) and orange juice for a second breakfast.  Well, it was my first breakfast, but the Boy's second.  He then played here for awhile, and we set out about 10:30, just in time to see the Scissor Lift on its progression round the building to wherever it was wanted today - a very splendid machine.  "But it doesn't move very fast!"

Then we got a bus to Herne Hill Station and just caught a Thameslink train by the skin of our teeth, which took us to City Thameslink, where we got out.  We walked down Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street, until we got to the entrance to the Temple Inns of Court, which we explored a bit.  We couldn't look into the Church, because it was closed due to the Globe Theatre's production of King John there, but we enjoyed the Fountain:

We explored a little further and then ended up in the Gardens, by the eponymous Tube station, where I was intrigued by this plaque, and wondered whether Lady Henry Somerset was any kind of relation (only vaguely):

There is an exhibition about hospital troopships in World War I on HMS Wellington, moored opposite, but further exploration showed us it was only open on Sundays and Mondays so we came away and decided to look for Shaun the Sheep instead.  But we missed him, somehow, and as we were getting hungry, we went into the Prets by Waterloo Bridge to have lunch.  Then we used the facilities in Somerset House, and on the way out, we saw a no 1 bus at the stop, and decided to go wherever it took us.  This proved to be to Canada Water. 

The Boy nearly gave me a heart-attack by insisting on walking along a wall that got higher and higher, and I said he couldn't possibly get down on his own.  "Well, I'll try my easiest!" he said, but I lifted him down anyway, and have adopted that expression for my own use.  We were intrigued by an exhibition of tents, which led us into Decathlon, and I bought myself some T-shirts, and - er - accidentally bought The Boy a new scooter.  Well, it was only £13.99, it would have been rude not to!  And he has outgrown his mini-micro, and now he can ride a bike ("I'm nearly five!" he says, although his birthday isn't until the very end of the summer term) he was having no trouble at all with even the adult-sized scooters in the shop! 

We then got on a 188 to go back to his mother's offices at Senate House, but because of the disruption at Kingsway it terminated at Aldwych, and although we got on a 59, it took aaaaaages and aaaaaages to go round the diversion, and even the Boy's notorious love of buses was tried to the limit!  So when we got to Senate House, I needed a cup of tea with the Daughter before getting back on a 59 to get home.  I'd planned on getting off at Waterloo and going to IKnit, but it was getting late, and I was tired.  So it was fish and chips for supper.....

London's Canal Museum

We'd been to the canal museum before, of course, but there was, I discovered, an exhibition about the use of canals on the Western Front, which is what we mainly went to see, as it finished that day.

It was a fascinating exhibition; the Canal du Nord hadn't yet been finished, and it was used as a highway for troops.  The allies, as well as the enemy, made use of the canals, to bring food to a starving Belgium, and to move men and matériel.  And there were hospital barges, and all sorts.  The Royal Engineers played a huge, huge part in keeping the canals going - or sabotaging them, where necessary - and building temporary bridges where these had been destroyed and so on.  There was even a secret port built, called Richborough, near Sandwich in Kent, from which barges could be sent across the Channel.

We saw the rest of the museum fairly briefly, and then went to explore the new King's Cross station, pausing for the obligatory shot of Platform 9 3/4:

and the roof of the new entrance area!  The Swan Whisperer hadn't really been aware of the refurbishment, so it was all new to him.

The Ideal Home Show

I seem to have been hibernating rather, but the clocks have gone forward and Spring is just about here, so it's time to be up and about again.  And today I decided to take myself to the Ideal Home Show, one of my favourite events in the calendar.  I don't go every year these days - can't afford to - but I do love going when I can.

Because of the demise of Earl's Court, it's at Olympia this year; just one stop further on the Overground.  I think it's actually nearer public transport than Earl's Court was - it always felt like miles and miles from West Brompton into any of the shows there, whereas this was only a couple of steps.  I still am not used to asking for a concessionary ticket, but remembered to do so, and saved £5 on the normal entry.  I could - perhaps should - have booked my ticket on-line but there is a booking fee, and by the time you've paid that, you might as well pay on the door.  No queue, at 3:00 on a Monday afternoon, and security was minimal - they just glanced into my handbag.

I am not particularly bothered by the show homes or gardens, or by the swathes of furniture and home improvements (although I did go and look at the Insinkerator taps we've ordered for our new kitchen so we won't need a kettle).  I do, however, love the general shopping, fashion and beauty and homewares section, and the food section a bit less, but also a must-visit.  This year was all about bamboo pillows, at least two different brands.  I don't know what is so special about them - I felt one, and it just felt like an ordinary memory foam pillow to me.  My present pillow will soon need replacing, maybe next year I might buy one.  I did succumb to one or two bits and pieces, including some of my favourite-ever bronzer, and favourite-ever moisturiser, and I also bought a carpet (and other surface) cleaner as our bathroom carpet is Not What It Was.  But mostly I wandered around, enjoying the various demonstrations and slightly wishing we already had our new kitchen so I could legitimately indulge in new knives/saucepans/frying pans/a soup maker/other gadgets I don't need.... and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I should have liked a cup of tea, but the café concessions dotted about the place were very expensive, and only used polystyrene cups, which I hate tea out of, so I didn't buy one. And came away, very tired but having had a lovely afternoon!

Best-laid plans....

It was going to be such a lovely weekend!  The Swan Whisperer's niece was getting married on Valentine's Day, and her father (one of the SW's three younger brothers) turned 60 on the Monday, so there was a massive family celebration all weekend.  Then we were going to visit the Titanic exhibition in Belfast before meeting a friend for lunch and our flight home on Tuesday afternoon.

It started so well.  We flew from London City, which we had not done before, and although the flight was very slightly late, we were able to pick up the hire car and drive to the b&b we had booked in Portrush.  The satnav took us slightly round the houses, but not unpleasantly so, and we arrived about 15 minutes before the SW's youngest brother whose wife, sadly, had felt too unwell to join us at the weekend.  Once he arrived, we went out for dinner - I'd done some research, and found a restaurant that sounded, and proved to be, very  nice.

Sadly, in the small hours of the morning what I'd thought to be merely digestive discomfort from having eaten rather too much turned into something rather more ominous, and I was in for a bout of the gastric flu that's going round.  There was to be no wedding for me - I was lying in bed wondering how to keep down a sip of water when the vows were being exchanged!  The SW went, of course, and there were plenty of pictures on Facebook, but so not the same.....

I was still in bed on Sunday, wondering whether I'd ever be able to eat anything again.  My daughter texted me to say her husband had now gone down with it and they'd had a nightmare journey home.  The SW spent the afternoon with his family, and they all seem to have had a pleasant, fairly quiet day.  But on Monday morning it was his turn to feel rotten, and although he took me to the party for his brother, he discovered the hard way that he had reached the stage of not being able to keep fluids down.... fortunately, once this had happened he felt a bit better, and was able to sit and watch the rest of us eat with equanimity.  I didn't eat more than a bite or two, but enjoyed seeing my in-laws and catching up with their news.

The people at the b&b were very kind and let him sleep in his youngest brother's still unmade-up room (youngest brother having moved on by then), and he felt much better in the morning.  As did I, although neither of us had much energy.  I enjoyed a boiled egg with my breakfast, but he stuck with toast.  We were told we didn't at all have to leave at 11:00, but to stay on as long as we liked.  We decided, though, that the Titanic would be pushing it, and we probably ought not to go into public more than we could help, anyway, so we decided to drive to the airport along the causeway coastal route, which is a scenic route, and absolutely beautiful.  We stopped in Cushendun and had a short walk exploring the minuscule harbour and wondering where a track that went under a cliff went to.  One could, if one had had keys to the gates, obviously drive through, although from and to where was unclear. 

Once you "turn the corner" around the north-east corner of the island, the Irish sea is a lot less rough than the Atlantic!  The road quite literally follows the seashore for miles, through little town after little town, mostly deserted in mid-February (I should not care to do this drive in mid-July!) down to Larne.  We didn't go into Larne, as you can never see anything at ports, they are always disappointing because of the security.  The SW said he'd never been to Carrickfergus, which is the next town on from Larne, so we went there (it was nothing very special, but quite pretty) and then it was straight past Belfast and up to the big Tesco near the airport to fill up with petrol before returning the hire car.

We had about an hour to wait for our flight home, rather annoyed at having to go home just as we felt better!  And I had bought a new dress specially for the wedding..... fortunately there is another family party in a few weeks, and I can wear it there.  But so not the weekend we'd planned!

Travelling to Stratford

I sometimes have occasion to visit Westfield Stratford City, and today was one of those days.  I was meeting the Daughter and Boy Too for coffee and lunch, and our annual visit to the sales - I needed a wedding garment, and was delighted to score one in Monsoon at half price; it would have been rude not to, really.

Anyway, I decided, just for fun, to catch a Javelin train to St Pancras to start me on my way home.  These go from Stratford International, as opposed to Stratford City, which is the main rail hub, and are not covered by my Freedom Pass, alas (but they do benefit from a Senior Railcard deduction). 

When I got to St Pancras, I decided to come home on the Thameslink to Loughborough Junction, as it's simply ages since I went that way, and then a 35 bus. 

That started me thinking of all the sensible ways I can go between home and Stratford.  I am not counting going on the northbound Overground from Clapham Common, as really, that isn't reasonable (it is fun, though), or any other completely ridiculous way.  But there are plenty of sensible ways.

The quickest, according to Citymapper, is to go from Clapham North to Bank on the Northern Line and then change to the Central Line.  I don't like that route, as it seems to have an inordinate number of steps, although I expect there are slightly less step-ridden ways.  I prefer to change at London Bridge on to the Jubilee line - today I found the step-free route to do that, which is a plus. 

One can also change at Bank on to the DLR, and then change again at Poplar (or at Canning Town, but that is two sides of a triangle).

Avoiding the Northern Line, one can go by bus - 35 or 133 - to Liverpool Street and then catch either the Central Line or a "proper train".  I've done that in my time.

You could go on the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus and then the Central Line.

Or you could go on the Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale and then a "proper train", which is a lovely route, but a bit two sides of a triangle.

Or you could go on the Victoria Line to King's Cross St Pancras, and then get a Javelin train (cost £5.00 or £3.50 with a Railcard). 

Or you could get a 59 bus to St Pancras, ditto.

Or the Thameslink from Loughborough Junction or Herne Hill, although as trains are only every half an hour to 20 minutes, you would need to time that one.  Also it needs a bus to the station.

Or you could get the Overground from Clapham High Street and change at Canada Water to the Jubilee Line.

It's amazing how many different ways of travelling to/from there are!  Yet to go to my daughter's, only a few miles from Stratford, the only realistic options are the Victoria Line, or, failing that, to go to Liverpool Street and get a Chingford Line train.