Eleanor, Day 6

Everything was working fine this morning! Mind you, we did wake up rather late - we had had a disturbed night with thunderstorms and so on. But once we had had breakfast, we set out to explore the Cathedral of Le Mans, and I'm so glad we did. We drove up, and the town is really lovely, even with traffic.

 The Cathedral itself is where Geoffrey of Anjou married the Empress Matilda all those years ago, and we think he is buried there, although we weren't sure whether we actually found his tomb.

Eleanor and Henry were frequent visitors, of course, and are mentioned in the panels talking of the history of the place.  I wish I had enough data to upload photos, but they'll go on Facebook as soon as I find some WiFi.

Then it was time to move on, and we stopped at a place called La Flèche to shop and have lunch, and then to Angers. We looked round the Cathedral there, but it was not as nice as the one at Le Mans, and then walked to the Castle but, disappointingly, although the town is definitely associated with Eleanor, the Castle is 100 years later.

So we came away and drove to Juigné-sur-Loire, where we are seeing friends tomorrow, and we are parked up in a vineyard, with electricity, showers and loos, and have had a wine-tasting and bought some wonderful white and rosé.

Eleanor, Day 5

It is not a plan to park up where a lighthouse is sending its beams every few seconds! I slept badly because of that, but fell asleep eventually to wake to a very wet morning and no hot water.   Turns out it needs more battery than we had available. So we ran the engine for a bit before we could have our showers. I think we will have to replace the leisure battery sooner, rather than later, as it simply isn't holding its charge.

So we left Barfleur in the rain and drove down to Caen, where we stopped to do some shopping and to have lunch in McDonald's and use their WiFi to upload photos, etc. Then a long motorway journey to Le Mans, where we now are. I fell asleep.

The rain was away when we got here, so after using the service point, we went out for a walk. Heartened by meeting another British couple who are moving to Portugal in their van, which seems every bit as temperamental as ours - we thought the fridge wouldn't turn on to run on gas, but it had!

One always thinks of Le Mans in terms of the eponymous motor race, but of course it is an essential stop on any Eleanor tour. We were too late to go into the Cathedral, but we explored the old town, known as the Cité Plantagenet, and had a wonderful walk.   All dating back to Plantagenet times. There is even a street named for Queen Berengaria, and a museum about her,

but sadly not open until tomorrow afternoon, when we shall have moved on if we want to see anything of Angers.

And so back to the van and fresh ravioli and a cherry tomato, basil, garlic and parmesan sauce, very delicious. 

Eleanor, Day 4

By dint of conservative management, our batteries lasted until this morning, and then charged up quickly.

Today we managed to set off in reasonable time from Falaise,  and arrived in Cherbourg in time for lunch. There was supposed to be a guided walk from the Tourist Office at 14:30, but when we got there, no sign of anything, so I suppose we should have booked. And although there were services on the car park, the hose wouldn't fit on their tap. So we headed off, stopping at St-Père-l'Eglise to use their services, only to find they were out of use. Oh well, we think we've enough water to do us.

We arrived at Barfleur, and found the motor home park at the second try. Very nice, in front of the sea wall, with a view of the lighthouse.

After a cup of tea, the SW went for a walk, and I tried to read, but fell asleep instead!  We then walked into town along the sea wall, and found a restaurant was open that would give us supper. I had cod in a lovely sauce, followed by nougat glacé, my favourite, and he had a galette au tartiflette, followed by an ice. And we shared a pichet of very nice white wine.

What I had forgotten was that Barfleur was where the White Ship had embarked from, and it must have been wrecked about opposite where we are parked!

Then back to the van just as the rain started!

Eleanor, Day 3

We had a nasty shock last night - I was already in bed, having retired there shortly after dinner, but the Swan Whisperer was reading in the main section, when all the lights went out. For some reason, although we were on mains electricity, the batteries were not charging!  And when we set off this morning they did not appear to be charging either from the solar panel or from the engine. We stopped and the SW fiddled about a bit and that seems to have done the trick, but very annoying at the start of a holiday. I shan't be impressed if we have to drive 30 miles before I can have my shower - I had it in the camp site this morning, but not very enjoyable!

Anyway, I firmly told the Satnav that we did not want to go on motorways today, and it sent us on such a pretty route through some beautiful Norman villages ("Why, " asked the SW, "is there never any parking where one would like to stop, and plenty when one doesn't?") and across arable land, and orchards heavy with apples...

We arrived in Falaise and have parked up in what is technically a supermarket car park, but in fact is away from the actual supermarket, and in a little park, very pleasant. After lunch I did a quick shop and then had a nap while the SW went for a walk, then we both walked into the town to see the famous castle where William the Bastard was born and it all began.

We didn't pay to go in, but pottered about the outside, taking lots of photos of the keep and the walls and the gardens. Then we bought a postcard for the Boys (I must buy a stamp on Monday), and headed back, stopping to look at Holy Trinity Church, the oldest in the town, and to buy some clementines en route back to the van.

I have peeled potatoes before it got to dark to see, and soon we will have the end of yesterday's chicken with mash and courgettes.

Hope to find some WiFi soon to upload masses of photos from the last two days.

Eleanor, Day 2

Things that don't go as planned. I quite thought that we would be spending tonight in Rouen, in a car park by the banks of the Seine. But the Swan Whisperer said, could we visit the Château Gaillard, about 30 miles SW of Rouen. So I asked the Satnav to take us there.

But it was the first day of the holidays, and even though the SW has retired, he always gets sleepy, so after a long break for lunch at Baie de Somme (not very far, but we set off quite late and the van isn't the fastest vehicle on the road),

we had to have another an hour later, and by the time we got to Rouen it was nearly 4:30, and we got caught in rush hour traffic, and then the satnav and I had a misunderstanding about tolls, so what with one thing and another, we didn't get to the Château Gaillard until about 6:30.  But it was worth the journey.

Really spectacular.  And there was a camp site at the foot of the cliff, just by the river, so this is where we are spending the night. We may or may not go through Rouen on our way to Falaise, which is on tomorrow's agenda.

Meanwhile I have cooked chicken and rice for dinner, which was very nice, and there is wine. All good!

Eleanor, day 1

Yesterday started off as a normal day for me, doing Grandmother duty until after the school run. Then I headed straight home, expecting to find the Swan Whisperer and the van there, but on my way too late to go back and have the offered cup of tea or to let the Daughter work another half hour, I had a text from my mother saying he and the friends who'd gone with then has only just set off.

No real harm done, and we got away on time, although our clothes were piled on the bed and didn't get put away until we arrived in Folkestone. We didn't have long to wait for our crossing, and it only took a few minutes and one wrong turning to find the motorhome section of the Cité Europe car park.

Which is where we still are. Later, we will be starting the tour proper with a drive to Château Gaillard and Rouen.

The Eleanor of Aquitaine Tour

Some years ago now, we got hold of this book:

When he had read it, the Swan Whisperer proposed that we go on an Eleanor of Aquitaine tour round that part of France, and take three weeks or so about it.  We agreed that this would happen after retirement, and when we had bought our motor home.  Well, these two things have happened, and so our holiday is about to start.  We leave tomorrow evening, after supper, and have booked a late crossing on Eurotunnel, after which we plan to spend the night in the motor home area of the Cité Europe car park.  And head on next day.  The tour will include Rouen, Falaise, Barfleur, Cherbourg, Le Mans, Angers, Saumur, Chinon, Fontévraud, Poitiers, Limoges, Rocamadour, Cahors, Agen, Bordeaux, Angoulème, Saintes, Niort, Tours, Gisors and Wissant.  At least, that's the plan for now.... don't know how closely we'll stick to it!

I will try to update this daily, if only briefly, but will be mostly limited to data on my phone.  We do plan to eat out in Buffalo Grills sometimes to take advantage of their WiFi to upload photos, etc. 

Totally Thames

This week we have been on two outings, both of which involved the river Thames.  On Wednesday, there was a flotilla of boats to celebrate the Queen's becoming the longest reigning British monarch ever, or, to put it bluntly, not being dead yet.  Tower Bridge was due to open at noon as a mark of respect, so we went up there on the Northern Line, and decided to watch from the middle of London Bridge.  This proved not very practical, as HMS Belfast had a friend visiting, so you actually got a better view from the far side of the bridge.

The Bridge duly opened and the flotilla - not a very impressive one - passed under it, and then under London Bridge. 

We were amazed how busy London River is these days - time was, you scarcely saw a boat on it, but this time, the flotilla was almost lost in the stream of barges, tourist boats and others that were going up and down stream.

After lunch in the nearest Prets (I do like their coffee!), we headed home on the bus.

Today's excursion was rather more exciting; it was organised by the Zoological Society of London, and was called "Thames Alive".  I'd seen this advertised on-line, and thought it looked interesting, so booked tickets for it.  These were free, it was basically a matter of signing up so they knew how many people to expect, and could limit numbers, if necessary.  I had received about three emails from them saying Not To Be Late, and we were a bit panicky as we needed to be there for 9:30 and Strand on the Green is quite some distance from here!  Citymapper suggested we pick up the train from Queenstown Road Station, which we hadn't done before (and I don't actually care if I don't do it again, as the platforms are very narrow, and even sitting down I felt slightly off-balance), and it turned out to be nearer the station than we'd thought, so we were there in plenty of time to put on wellies (me) or walking boots (the Swan Whisperer - he does own wellies but his, and my best pair, are in the motor home!) and gather on the Thames foreshore. 

The first thing was dipping, rather like pond dipping, to find out what sort of invertebrates there were - mostly freshwater shrimps, but also a couple of estuarine prawns, some leeches, etc, and probably loads of algae, etc. 

After this, some of the ZSL people went out in a boat to put out a seine net to see what sort of fish they would catch. 

These proved to be two or three varieties of rather small fish - apparently, it does depend on the time of year, and, of course, whether you are where it is more maritime or more fresh water.  But it was interesting.  The ZSL were disappointed not to have caught a flounder, as we had seen a cormorant eating one earlier, but as they had to trawl slightly further upstream than they'd anticipated, due to a fallen tree blocking the place they'd wanted, it's perhaps not too surprising. 

I'm not too sure what the purpose of the day was, other than to educate the interested public; there was no attempt to catalogue or count the specimens, which were just returned to their natural habitat.  I rather suspect it was to get volunteers for future surveys - apparently there is a lot of volunteer work to be done with the society.

So anyway, that was the end of that, and we came away to have a good wash and a coffee and croissant at the local Café Rouge - it proved more cost-effective to have their coffee-and-croissant option than to have either separately - before getting the train back from Kew Bridge.

Making Mistakes

Last weekend we spent four nights in the van - we didn't actually go anywhere, as we were helping my parents move house, so we basically parked up in their front drive, hooked up to the electrical outlet in their garage, and used it to sleep in and have breakfast in - we showered, etc, in their downstairs bathroom, and pooled resources for meals other than breakfast.

Anyway, the point is, I made one or two mistakes getting ready to go, and wanted to document them so that I would remember why what I thought was a good idea turned out not to be!

Firstly, I packed my clothes into a bag that folds right down into its own pocket.  Which seemed like a good idea, but meant there was nowhere to put dirty clothes once I'd worn them.  A large cloth shopping bag or two works much better!  And if you're showering elsewhere, you also need a shopping bag to carry your clothes, towel, etc, over to where you are showering.  I think I'll also take a smaller bag to keep my socks in - they tend to roll all over the cupboard and then I can't find them.

Secondly, I forgot the thermos.  Now, that mightn't seem a big deal, and it really isn't - but it is so very useful to put the end of the kettle in it, and to kickstart that early morning cup of tea that I, for one, can't do without!  And especially if you're not turning on the hot water, as we didn't, you can keep what's left in the kettle for use in washing-up later.

Thirdly, when we go in October, we will really need to take hot-water bottles.  Our duvets are lovely and warm, but one night I got very chilled before I went to bed - sitting by an open window in an inadequate cardigan will do that to a person - and it took me awhile to warm up, even with an extra blanket on for the first part of the night.

Fourthly, if you are not moving on that day, for heavens' sake be strict about tidying up, otherwise the living area very quickly becomes a mess!  At least when you're touring you have to tidy up or things fall on the floor!  Charging cables do need to be put in their bag, not left trailing over the table.

The camping saucepans really are far too thin, and far too old.  I have bought a lidded frying pan, a sauté pan and a saucepan to use instead, which will join the tiny milk pan and tiny frying pan (one egg size), plus a saucepan my mother gave me, which I may discard....  

And we need to buy a large bucket, in case we can't empty the grey water directly into the drain. 

Edited to add:  I also need to remember to take my bedside clock with me - it no longer functions as an alarm clock, but I have my phone to do that.  Only, when you wake up in the night, it is good to be able to see what time it is without having to get out of bed and find the phone.....  Also, pack a comb in one's beauty case - a hairbrush is grand, but you want a comb as well.

Shakedown Cruise

We finally took delivery of our new motorhome on Friday of last week, which was a pain as we should have gone to get it on Tuesday but "it wasn't ready".  So all our plans had to change, but we were eventually ready to set off on Saturday afternoon.  In the interim, I had made the discovery that it is easier to put the duvets in their covers before you take them out to the van!

We ended up spending the first night outside the Daughter's home in east London!  We did try to book into the Lee Valley campsite, but couldn't get an answer from them, and by the time we had filled it with water, installed the gas, discovered how to get hot water, brought the loo into use, and so on, we were exhausted.  So we pulled all the curtains and clambered into what proved to be an incredibly comfortable bed!

We could, of course, have showered in comfort in the Daughter's bathroom, but did she really think we would, the first morning?  Unfortunately, we had set the thermostat to 60 to flush out any lurking bugs, and because it took some fiddling about, we ran out of hot water half-way through my shower.  I was not impressed!  I have now ordered - and received - the kind of shower head which only actually runs the water when you press your thumb on it, so that turning it off while you lather up doesn't mean more fiddling around with the temperature.

The Boys appeared just as I was trying to make toast and eggs - and setting off the smoke alarm, which is positioned just above the door, rather too near the stove - and so we invited them to breakfast.  They sat and ate bread and honey and bananas (and then went back indoors and ate a huge bowl of cereal each) and drank milk, thoroughly enjoying the experience.

After washing up and making sure we had remembered to do all the things - plugs in the shower, wash-basin and sink to prevent nasty smells from the grey water tank, gas switched off, stool inside the van, fridge switched to 12 volt power - we set off to East Anglia to my sister's B&B, where we were to spend the next 24 hours.  My sister had invited us to lunch, and we spent the afternoon and evening with her and her family, watching the climax of the Tour de France and inspecting their delightful garden.  All the vegetables at lunch had been home-grown, and were absolutely delicious.

After dinner, we retired to the van for the night, but I must admit that I did take my sister up on her kind offer of a shower in comfort the next morning!  She runs a B&B, and the room most suitable for disabled guests is just inside the front door, so we were able to use that.  We also had a wonderful cooked breakfast before we headed off.  I usually make myself an egg of some kind, but this was egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes; all the ingredients of a "proper" Full English.

We had decided to go to a "proper" campsite for our final night, and had booked into a Caravan Club site in the Broads, near Ludham Bridge.  We stopped off at a camping accessories shop my sister knew of, but were not very impressed - they were incredibly expensive!  But we did buy a 10 metre EHU cable (this won't necessarily be long enough, but they suggest buying two shorter cables rather than one long one; we have a further 14 metres on order from Amazon), and were able to hook up to mains electricity for the first time.  And cook our first main meal in the van. 

The old camping saucepans have turned out to be very old indeed, and rather too thin, so we are going to replace them.  My "not-bubble" caught rather badly, alas, and the sausages did a bit, too.  I also have a tiny saucepan for boiling milk for the SW's coffee, and a tiny frying-pan for my egg, and my mother has since given me another small saucepan, which may or may not live in the van - we do have plenty of storage space; more, I think, than in our new kitchen!  But things rattle when on the move.... that's another reason for replacing our old camp saucepans, as the strap has perished, so they rattle terribly!  I shall go down to Halford's when I get a moment to replace them.

However it was all very good, and followed by an apple pie from Tesco's that had been looking at us when we went into the branch near Norwich to get milk....  Mind you, after lunch (bread and spreads), I did think a fruit cake would have been a plan!  Certainly if and when we go off for a longer trip than overnight, I shall make one.

In the morning we again showered in the van - I didn't wash my hair, and hoped it wouldn't be running over with small animal life by the end of the day - and took the opportunity to empty the loo and the grey water tank and so on.  And then we drove down to Sussex, crossing the Dartford Bridge, which we'd not done before (a gorgeous bridge in an unlovely area!)

and round rather a lot of the M25.  We let the Satnav direct us and it took us a way we hadn't expected, down the M23, but then coming off at Pease Pottage and joining the A24 at Broadbridge Heath (so we stopped off at the Tesco's there and bought more milk and some cookies as we planned to invite my parents to tea; I also bought some new cutlery for the van, as our old set, again I think dating back to our tenting days, felt cheap and nasty and didn't add to the eating experience.

We arrived in Sussex and showed my parents all around the van; they were very impressed, although my mother said bags her not sleep on the inside of the bed  because of needing to get up in the night!  We gave them a cup of tea, and put the stuff I have been rescuing from their house move (we've all been squirreling stuff, often childhood treasures) tidily in the van to stay there until we can come down in the car to collect it. 

You know what - this is going to be wonderful!  It is blissfully comfortable, and we will work out how best to live in it.  Our first major trip isn't until October, when we will be away for nearly three weeks.....

Warwick and Coventry

Today marked the last day of our exile (the corridor looks very splendid indeed - the Swan Whisperer felt obliged to take his shoes off when he brought in the luggage), so we set off about noon and drove to Warwick.  We didn't get to see much of the town - the Castle wanted us to pay £6 just for parking, which we thought was extortionate - but we did find a very pretty little shopping street full of independent shops, and had lunch in one of them - a bacon (him) or sausage (me) sandwich with a fried egg.  Tasted good, but just a touch dry, we thought.  And extremely good coffee, and the most deliciously fudgey brownies!  Yum.

Then we drove on to Coventry to visit the Cathedral there, and to meet the Canon Pastor, whose blog is called Good In Parts.  She was busy, so we spent a very happy half hour wandering around the Cathedral and taking pictures

There will be more pictures on my Facebook page, for those who are friends there - these are just a sample.

When the Canon was able to join us, we wandered round the Ruins (always capitalised!) of the old Cathedral, and she explained that the idea was that you looked at the Ruins first, and then walked down the steps into the modern Cathedral, only you can't just now as there are Works going on to damp-proof the subterranean chapels, which are not currently accessible.  But the Ruins themselves are wonderful, and very evocative.  You will know, of course, of the Cross of Nails, which was formed from three mediaeval nails found in the bombed Cathedral and replicas of which have been sent all around the world (notably to Berlin, where we saw it in the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis church)

 

You can't see the nails so well in the Coventry version, but what they do have, even more moving, is the Charred Cross, which was formed from two burned roof-beams that happened to fall in the shape of a Cross, and were kept that way.

  Originally this was in the Ruins, but now it has been moved into the Cathedral proper, and the one in the Ruins is a replica.

 

I love the way they have done this - with the Ruins there as a memorial and the Cathedral itself there to the greater glory of God,  It is a symbol of peace and reconciliation, and it does a great job!

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!