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2011 England

16 January-6 February 2011: London/Chiswick

16 January 2011 – London, England

Up early this morning as we want to visit the Borough Markets in the morning and get in before the crowds.  It is also not raining.  So we decide to walk to Borough Markets which is about an hour away – we get there only to find it is only Thursday to Saturday, luckily we weren’t the only people walking around totally puzzled and bewildered/.  There are so many different websites it is difficult to know what is on etc without being connected to the itnernet or finding a tourist Information counter which doesn’t seem to be located in many places and do lack qualified staff that can help or even understand English, but I suppose that is the way of the world, gone are the days of actually speaking to someone who is knowledgeable about the area.  So we walked back to the apartment before heading off to the Natural History Museum which has the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.  We had to queue for about 45 minutes just to get into the Museum and it is packed inside.  Anyway we are only going to the exhibition so head there and get our tickets.  Wow and awesome, there are fantastic pictures.  Although I wasn’t convinced about the winner, he did take a fantastic selection of photos and his winning photo certainly stood out from the rest.  There are some photos there taken by children which I would be happy just to take on off in my life.  It was certainly worth going and I hope to get the chance to go back before it closes on another day that isn’t so busy.

We then headed around the corner to the Science Museum (literally) to meet the Strahans who are enjoying their last few days in London before heading back to Perth.  We spend a few hours wandering through the exhibits.  It is a very hands on museum and great for kids as there are loads of things to do and everything is laid out and explained well.  Strangely enough we spent a lot of time in the computer and “nerdy” sections which just gave me a headache and made my head spin.  Scott of course loved it.  We said goodbye with plans to catch up over the next few days.  We headed slowly back to Holborn.  It is only 3:30 but getting dark and has decided to rain yet again.

17 -20 January 2011:  Holborn, London, England

I am back into the London Office from today, so Scott and I head off for the 1 – 1 ½ hour tube journey.  Scott then walks/jogs home through some of the sights i.e. Hyde Park etc in the usual rain and busy streets.  He does get to see heaps of sights and also has managed to find some fantastic statues and local art.  From today I am going to start making some enquiries into getting an apartment closer to the office.  It has been great in central London, but we want our own space and also somewhere that I don’t have to spend 2 hours a day travelling for, beside Robert and Kevin are fairly booked up with people staying, so time to say adieu is fast approaching.  So the hunt begins and it is phenomenal, there is a lack of short term accommodation that isn’t a flea bitten expensive kennel.  The rest of our week is similar, but we are heading out for dinners and some wandering around the streets.  It is good to be able to get out so easily without the hassles of a car and parking.  On the downside is the fact that Scott and I are apparently invisible and everyone must walk through us – sometimes I make a real effort and put my head down and just plough on, but am driven back.  Finally on Tuesday I manage to contact an estate agent that deals with short term furnished rentals (under three months) and I go and see an apartment that is 7 (yes 7) minutes walk from the office.  It was more expensive than we had originally budgeted (rents here are huge (GBP350-450 per week, which makes us wish we had charged more rent for our complete house with garden back in Australia), but due to location, availability (rare as hens teeth – and having hens this is a good saying) and the fact we would save on travel fares etc, I make the executive decision to rent the apartment and set the wheels in motion to move in by the end of the week. 

Scott has also been and caught up with the Strahans to visit the Hunterian Museum (at the Royal College of Surgeons) and have a farewell pint.  Scott was fascinated by this museum and the amount of displays and information that is here.  He is going to see them off at the airport, but will be sad for them to leave.  I know Scott loves having them so close, even if we don’t see them a lot, he has always had them in his life and heart and the kids are just fantastic, so interesting and as they get older have such diverse personalities, they are great to listen and talk to.

The Strahans
The Strahans

 

 

Of course today is also a nightmare day as I have checked my visa statement to find someone has kindly used my credit card to book flights in China.  So now get to spend my spare time trying to get some form of assistance from ANZ back in Australia – who are incompetent.  Anyway after faxing the form to three different numbers and speaking to four different people, they have cancelled my card and are going to courier a replacement card in the next 5-8 working days.  In the meantime I have had to register for International Services so I can pay the rent and deposit from the bank account.  Who said banking overseas was easy, certainly not with ANZ.  Particularly with the supposed fraud software they use, which seems to be useless considering I told them very specifically what countries I would be going to and the time period.

Anyway on 20th January 2011, we got the all clear to move into the apartment tomorrow morning, so I race home to Holbourn and we do a very quick pack – it isn’t like we have a lot ofstuff and then head out for dinner and Kevin and Robert are both out, so we decide to go for a walk and see the area for the last time.

21 January 2011, Chiswick, London, England

Up early to finish packing and tidying up our room.  Saying goodbye to Robert who we are forever thankful to for putting up with us for a few weeks, it isn’t easy to let people stay for so long.   We board the tube with our luggage and head off to Chiswick.  This is where it all goes wrong.  I am directing and we arrive at Kew Gardens, to find it is the wrong train station, we needed to get off at Kew Bridge which is an overland station.  So we get out of the train station and finally find a taxi driver who takes us to where we should be.   Not my fault, Scott should just take over with directions – it shouldn’t come as a surprise to him I got it wrong!  We arrived at our new address and moved into our apartment.  It isn’t huge, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room and balcony.  However it is quiet and close to lots of places.  We unpack what we can and make a list of definite must haves before walking up to Chiswick High Street to the local Sainsburys to buy some staples.  The street is full of nice little shops and pubs and market stalls. 

We walk back towards the river Thames (which we are one street away) and find a lovely pub (Bulls Head) on Strand on the Green and decide to venture in for a drink and some lunch.  It has a great view of the river and you sit there and watch the rowers going up and down.  There is also loads of birdlife to see, this part of the river is literally up to the pubs door with all the birds and swans being able to either swim or walk.  Being suitably refreshed we continue along the river front past another couple of pubs before making it back to the apartment for some unpacking and some lovely quiet time, before going for a walk up the river to have a sticky beak in the barges and canal boats that people are living in.  Why anyone would want to live on a boat is beyond me, but I presume Scott would think of it as perfect.

Thames and houseboats - stones throw from our apartment
Thames and houseboats - stones throw from our apartment
 

22-23 January 2011, Chiswick, London, England

We have decided to venture up and down the river and get our bearings.  So first up is a trip back to Borough Markets to get some pantry items .  This market is constantly packed – on the days that it is open of course.  So we buy some cheese and meats – after suitably trying as many products as possible.  although I did get one lecture from one of the cheese sellers about cheese not being suitable for vegetarians and I just kept thinking that he was sucking all the fun out of cheese and I don’t have a lot of excitement in my food choices as it is.  We then negotiated the maze that is called London Transport on a weekend where it seems that most of the tubes and public transport options are closed or amended for repair works, it is almost impossible to get anywhere you require without walking from one end of London to the other – bad luck if you can’t do that.  We eventually get back to Chiswick and head to another local pub on the river – The City Barge, this is one of the oldest in the area, but is about to undergo some major refurbishment, so I can only presume it will become like a lot of the other pubs and put its prices up as well. 

On Sunday we get up earliesh and decide to walk along the river to Richmond.  This is the Thames Path and is packed full of joggers and cyclists, you feel like you are in the way.  However, we hang in there and continue on watching the rowers go by – we are surrounded by rowing clubs and it is busy at weekends.  Considering how cold it is – and I can only provide a guideline with it is frigging cold and probably colder or similar to Nepal, it must make you a fairly committed rower to get up every week. 

We made it to Richmond and then walked back past the Royal Botanical Gardens.  This looks like a lovely park but is extoritionately expensive, we didn’t go in, but peer longingly through the gates and any other opportunities to look inside.  We did decide to go home, have a shower and head back to a local pub we walked past for Sunday lunch.   We were lucky, we hadn’t booked a table at the Rose and Crown, but managed to find a table and have our fill of food, before going on another walk up the Chiswick High Street.  Yes it is Sunday, but the shops are open, so we spent a while browsing through a few shops, including a bookstore, where I finally couldn’t resist and bought a nice big pile to read.  I know I have an eReader, but I love sitting there with a new book.  We stopped at the Barley Mow which was having an early Australia Day.  So   Scott was able to have a beer, watch rugby and listen to Australian music.  I think he thought he was in heaven.

24-30 January 2011

Quiet week planned as we are still getting acquainted with our new home and location.  We did venture out on 25th January for Burns Night to the local, but wasn’t very busy, so we had a quiet meal and a few drinks at the Rose & Crown.  The 26th is Australia Day, but it was too cold to really go anywhere, so we celebrated at home.  The main thing of the week was to cook at home with the fresh produce from the market stalls near to our apartment and actually take some time to do some planning on what we want to do over the next month.

Friday (28/1/2011) Today we found ourselves at the Bulls Head for lunch (the second Friday in a row, almost becoming regulars).  We just like the atmosphere and sitting there watching the world go by.  Yes I know I should be reading for www.ourbookclub.net.au, but after a busy week at work, this was the perfect antidote.  We watched the wonderful wildlife paddle up and down the river and adapt to the urban surroundings.  Again we remind ourselves to come and take some photos on a day that is sunny – probably limiting outselves with that requirement, as it is never sunny.

In the evening we have tickets to the Natural History Museum’s Great Science Debate, so set off for that, having no idea what to expect.  We got there and the entrance had been transformed from last week, there were loads of tables with candles, a jazz band and several other bands in different areas of the museum. 

The debate itself was lively and fun and definitely recommend going.  When we came out of the debate, the museum was just great, it has a real fun feel to it.  

  

 

  

 

Fantastic way to get people into the Museum - wine, food and music
Fantastic way to get people into the Museum - wine, food and music

 

 

We then ventured to Darwin’s cocoon which lets you map the evolution or science research.  It is fantastic to saunter around the museum with a glass of wine and listening to music. 

We eventually finished at the museum at about 10pm and headed home on the tube. 

On Saturday (29/1/2011) we thought we would go to Acton Markets, what a disappointment and waste of time, except for the walk.  It seemed to be a depressing area and we can cross that off and not visit again.

Sunday (30/1/2011) was another long walk up the river past some more rowing clubs to have a good look at this side of the Thames Path before coming back home and heading to the Horse & Coaches for Sunday Lunch.  This was another local pub which is full of different age groups playing board games etc. 

31 January – 6 February 2011

Back to the work routine.  Scott is now jogging around the river paths to get in some more exercise.  The big night of the week for me, very sadly was Wednesday night when it was the final episode for Inspector Barnaby of Midsommer Murders , I can’t help it, I really like that show.  However, it isn’t the end of the show, just Barnaby, with his cousin John seeming to take over the position.

On Thursday (3/2/2011) we ventured to The Botanist in Kew, which is a pub I definately like the look of from the inside.  It has an interesting decor and the menu looked good.  On Thursday it was very quiet, but we enjoyed the wine and the people inside were interesting to watch and to listen to – I am a great lover of people watching, and trying not to get noticed while doing it.  They are advertising that they will be showing the Six Nations Rugby tomorrow night, so we may venture back and try out the food. 

Big day (4/2/2011), I am actually having a hair cut, the days of letting it dry naturally in curly knots has come to an end and it is driving me mad, so after finding the local hairdressers (Cascade in Chiswick) last week, I ventured back for my appointment with no idea what to expect.  First up was the colour, amazing, everything was discussed and then the colouring started and I was given a great little coffee plunger etc to keep me occupied.  After my colour was all done, next was the cut, where short I went – they were a great hairdresser, even recognising Scott when he popped in to see how long i would be before he headed off to the pub.  I will definately be back, which is high praise considering my usual ability to find crap hairdressers in the past.

I met Scott at the Bulls Head, our usual Friday afternoon drinking/eating spot, for a late lunch and drink.  We had our usual slow meal listening and watching all the comings and goings in the pub.  Just before we finished a couple (4) Australians came in, asking the most stupid questiona bout how many drinks you can have and be under the legal limit – same as Australia idiot!  Anyway we left after a while listening to them, as they made the average Australian seem like a rocket scientist.   

After some shopping we went home and got ready to head back to The Botanist.  We got there tonight and it was packed, we thought everyone was there to watch the rugby, but alas, Scott was the only person who wanted to see it, but they turned on the TV and put the sound up just for him, also got him a table and chairs right near the TV – you can’t say they didn’t go out of their way to get organised.  Scott is of course amazed that in a pub full of Englishman, he was the only person watching the rugby. 

Saturday (5/2/2011) was an up early and out day as we were off to Westfield Shepherds Bush, this is a huge, huge, huge shopping centre with every shop you can imagine under one roof and not just crap shops like in Perth, but Gucci, Prada, LV etc, I know my eyes were swivelling in my head.  Anyway I sat Scott down at the coffee bar with his iPhone and went shopping, coming back every now and then to drop bags off with him. Strangely enough he went shopping (yes Scott) and bought some running gear – not exactly my kind of shopping, but shopping all the same, hmm is he changing.  We walked most of the way back home seeing the different markets etc.

Sunday (6/2/2011) was a big day for us.  We are venturing into Chintatown for the New Years Day parades and dislays and catching up with some friends.  We seriously underestimated how many people would be there, I am sure the whole of London was the the Chinatown strees or surrounds.  we managed to see some of the displays and found Wong Kei.  Wong Kei is a restaurant I used to go to when I was about 20 as it was cheap and known for having the worlds rudest waiters.  we got there, just as Pete had managed to secure a table and surprised Sally with our visit.  I haven’t seen them for about 15 years, so it was fantastic to catch up and see James (their eldest, who was only 2 when I last saw him) and also Francesco who I had never met before.  They are both fantastic articulate kids who have very different personalities and great communication skills.  James has just been accepted to Oxford, so what parent wouldn’t be proud of that.  We had a great fast lunch – although it has certainly become a lot more commercial and expensive than our youth, there was still a huge queue.  We left there and headed to Abercrombie & Finch, which is Francesca’s epitomy of style.  I obviously enjoyed seeing the half naked male model at the entrance way – although he appeared to be very young (Kylie you would be in seventh heaven).  The store was very dark inside, with the sales staff dancing on the balconies, it was also super expensive, so we wandered around cramping Francesca’s shopping style before heading off in our different directions.

Scott and I walked back back towards Green Park station stopping at the some art to have a look and be amazed at how interesting they ere (near Marble Arch).  We made it to the station and eventually got home, exhausted but happy to have caught up with old friends.