Our Olympic Journey

Our Olympic Journey.

London 2012 well we have been part of the spectacle, we have attended 5 football matches, 3 days of canoe sprinting and 1 session of archery.  Much more than we anticipated given at one stage we had thought getting tickets would be impossible.

Saving the actual Olympics story for later I’ll pick up with the fact I last posted just before our visit to Flag Fen Bronze age centre near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire on the weekend they we have a Viking & Saxon Event.  The event contained various demonstrations including archery, hand to hand combat, board games, and we went on the free tour of the site which includes replica roundhouses and the main feature some remains of a Bronze Age Causeway built 3,300 years ago that stretches hundreds of metres through the fen.

We stopped in to see my brother as it was his birthday the next day, so gave him his present and went to dinner with them and spent the night parked up at the end of his street (Nicky’s allergy to cats prevents us from staying inside).

Nicky’s friend from her old job Krystle helped us out by accepting delivery of our Olympic tickets and after leaving Northampton we drove across London to pick them up before picnicking in Battersea Park with another of Nicky’s work friends Rachael.  Before heading off for the next day’s destination Swindon, where we unfortunately found it difficult to find a place to stop and after once deciding a spot was to in your face (residential) for us and once being moved on we ended up stopping with the trucks in a layby on a rather busy road for a less than restful sleep.

Swindon, our friend Emily’s hometown, unfortunately didn’t work out so great we found little of interesting when planning our visit and after some successful outlet shopping we tried to walk into town, which as we hadn’t been aware that the train tracks can only be passed in a couple of points created havoc both there and back, meaning a lot of walking under blazing sun (yes it happened a hot sunny day) and as the highlight of our visit to the city centre was stopping to watch them demolishing the old college suffice to say it was not worth the walk (one bright spot was seeing the older housing in the inner city originally built for the railways I think).  We left for Cardiff rather worn out but a little more planning this time meant we stopped with the Trucks again but this time just outside Cardiff and less than 10mins from the Park and Ride we were going to use in the morning.

So our Olympic journey begins in Cardiff, we were there at the opening whistle for GB vs NZ in the womens football the first action of the Olympics 2 days before the opening ceremony.  We met Matty, Amy, Sarah (Matt’s sister) and Matt (Sarah’s boyfriend) off the Train from London and, as we had already checked out the central city and wandered into the stands of Cardiff Arms Park, headed out to Cardiff Bay where we walked along the shorefront and had lunch in a lightship converted into a traditional basic tearoom.  Unfortunately our girls our undone by a free kick in their match going down 1-0 to GB.  We watched half of the Brazil vs Cameroon game before going as the last park and ride bus was 8.30.  It ended up 5-0 to Brazil.

Our Mascot that our friend Rachael lent us.

We had a few days until the Mens football in Manchester, so made our way up through Wales, we had been thinking of going around the coast but had a change of heart and headed into the Brecon Beacons visiting Blaenavon a world heritage site, due to its coal mining heritage.  Our campsite for the night was in just outside Talgarth in the North of the Brecon Beacons and we were given a hardstanding pitch which I thought might be for 2 units but the owner said no just one and it had the most magnificent view.

Next stop was Hay-on-Wye, on the England-Wales Border and supposed to be famous for second-hand books.  A good rummage ensued and we came away with half a dozen books for next to nothing.  Unfortunately we had rather used up our time in the South of Wales so the rest of the day was spent driving up the middle through Newton to Wrexham.  Then the next morning we continued into an area called the Wirral, which is on the other side of the Mersey from Liverpool.  We spent much of our time on the west side which looks across the Dee to Wales.  The tide was out so huge expanses of mud flats were exposed. 

Also checked out a place called New Brighton, thought it couldn’t hurt as it is also beachfront like in CHCH.  It afforded excellent views of Liverpool and that side of the Mersey generally and was nice enough in its own right.  During the day we came across advertising for the National exhibition of wildlife art so on our way back out of the Wirral we stopped to check it out for a half hour.  Predominately paintings, some very good indeed, a lot of which were birds but perhaps slightly surprising several of African wild dogs (various artists).

Next we our second stint of Olympics football and although impressive Manchester United’s ground Old Trafford must win the award for cramming the most seats into a stadium because although all 6 of us (as above from Cardiff) are fairly small we were cramped to say the least and after 2 matches we were very thankful to finally extract ourselves.  As before New Zealand were first vs Egypt and although we were fairly poor and were thoroughly outplayed we got the first goal and came away with a 1-1 draw.  This made our 1-0 loss to Belarus 2 days prior all the more disappointing.  In the second match Belarus threatened to upset the Brazil apple cart as they scored first totally against the run of play and they held on for some time, Brazil were generally in control and eventually drew level but it took some time for them to take the lead 2-1 and were not safe until deep in injury time when they made it 3-1.

With just one spare day before our morning at Lord’s Cricket Ground for the Olympic Archery we stopped in Northwich to visit the Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse and Sandbach to see their ancient stone crosses (both towns in Cheshire).  Then made the long drive to London.

In the morning we took the tube into Lords from Watford (outer NW London) which worked out pretty well and we saw Mens and Womens individual knockout matches, they used a set play system.  Although it had rained earlier any rain during the session was light so we were comfortable.  Initially there were some areas of the stand that were a bit sparse since you could no longer get a ticket but it appeared some of the Asian fans came a little later as they were on a little later but still many seats were never occupied throughout the session.  Not sure what it has looked like to people on TV??  After the session finished we headed into Kings Cross to go to Kiwi House where the NZ Olympics people have set up a place/bar to go and watch the NZ Sky coverage, which was great, we saw equestrian, sailing, swimming and the womens football NZ beating Cameroon to qualify for the ¼ finals so that was good.  Also managed to get on Prime TV as crazy crowd people (the producer had to signal us when to go because we were seeing a Sky Channel so have no idea what we looked like) behind Steve McIvor unfortunately we think it was about 3-4am in NZ.

With a few days before our Canoe Sprint tickets at Eton Dorney we stayed close to London in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.  We did the Natural History Museum at Tring which is connected to the Natural History Museum in London but is different because it is typically Victorian which means it is basically wall to wall stuffed animals.  We visited a National Trust site called Ascott House which is still a family home in the de Rothschild family, famous from the Rothschild Bank.  

The following days saw us visit Whipsnade Tree Cathedral which was planted in the 1930’s to resemble a Cathedral quite funky really and a nice change from the conventional Cathedrals we have been to.  Other visits included Wrest Park (French Chateux Style), Audley End (two huge stately homes and gardens).  

Tree Cathedral

Wrest Park

Audley End

Annoying our next stop Priors Hall Barn, a 14^th century aisled barn, with original interior was locked when it was supposed to be open which was annoying as the only point is to see the inside and we couldn’t see anything (the exterior is modern).  Then to compound frustration the Cecil Rhodes museum in Bishop’s Stortford was also closed when it has a sign saying open till 5pm only to find on the internet is closed at 4 on Saturday for some reason.  So we went to Waltham Abbey (Ruins) as this is in a park and they couldn’t close that.The next day we went to St Albans, where we checked out their town centre and local museum.  At the end of the day we headed to Slough to be ready for our 3 days of Canoe Sprinting at Eton Dorney.  On the Monday we had Canoe Sprinting in the morning and women’s football semi-final (France vs Japan) at Wembley in the evening.  Eton Dorney was well run and there was a lot of staff, the bag screening was being run by some of the Army that have been brought in to fill shortfall in security, they were the Irish Guards.  

Our view on Day 1 at Eton Dorney

  Ben Fouhy in his heat

Women's K4 500

Wembley before the match

Crowd really filled out in the cheap seats.  about 66,000 from memory

The two teams, France in white, Japan in blue

Annoying thing about Eton Dorney was that you can’t park at the venue, you have to go to one of the various shuttle bus points, like at Slough train station where we went.  So you get the shuttle which takes about 20mins but it doesn’t take you into Eton Dorney it takes you to Windsor Racecourse next door and you have to walk about 15 mins to security then about another 10 to the stands.  It was all fairly painless just time consuming really.  On the first day we saw Ben Fouhy, Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald.  Unfortunately neither really set the world on fire, the pair made the A final just but Ben Fouhy unfortunately couldn’t make the A final.

On the Tuesday we saw our girls, Teneale Hatton in K1 500 and Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor K2-500.  This time the K2 performed pretty well and got into the A final but unfortunately Teneale Hatton didn’t quite have enough and it was B final for her.

The Wednesday was the first finals day, which meant we saw much less racing only 7 races in fact.  We saw Ben Fouhy, Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald.  Unfortunately the K2 although giving us a little to shout about during the race came in 7 of 8 in the A final and Ben was only in the B final and struggled.  The racing was more competitive but there were only really 4 significant races all morning.  One thing we didn’t like was that some of the Men that were (200m) sprint specialists were allowed to go in the 1000m events and they would burst off the line and sprint 100m or so to practice then just paddle slowly down the rest of the course.  They did this in the heats, semis and B finals, which was particularly disappointing to watch in the B final’s (they didn’t even bother taking their jackets off).  There was a Great Britain athlete that did this and he still got a big cheer from the crowd every time he paddled past.  I said to Nicky I wouldn’t have been able to bring myself to cheer for a Kiwi doing such a thing.

Well that brought our Olympic Journey to an end.

Finally, in a strange twist of fate we are now heading back up to Hadrian's Wall to work for about a month at the campsite where we were last year as they called today and have been caught short.

Once again thank you for making it to the end and i hope you are well and feel free to dro me a line on your goings on.

Scotland

So best laid plans and all that it has been another fortnight since I’ve written (Smack on hand).  More big changes It’s just Nicky and I again, we cut my parents loose to find their own way J I kid we saw them off in Inverness Bus Station at the start of their long journey home, Inverness to Glasgow by bus and flights Glasgow to Heathrow to New Zealand.  By all accounts this all went without major incident.  So for the purpose of my story they were still with us until Inverness.

I left you when we were due to reconnect with my parents in Falkirk after their visit to Edinburgh.  Before we needed to meet at the Train Station we went to Callendar Park to view CallendarHouse, short walk and a few quick snaps.  After a successful rendezvous at the station we went to the FalkirkWheel, which lifts boats about 30 metres from one Canal to another.  Mum and Dad took the tourist boat ride while Nicky and I took a short walk to see Rough Castle and the Antonine Wall and viewed the action of the Falkirk Wheel from shore.

Next stop was the Bannockburn Heritage Centre (Robert the Bruce defeating the English 1314) just outside Stirling, quite interesting and I got to dress up.  After checking in at Nicky’s favourite campsite Witches Craig we sent Mum and Dad off to walk up to the Wallace Monument as it was only a mile or so and Nicky and I had been on our Highlands tour from Edinburgh last year.  Then after shopping it was time for one of the best things yet the Harness Racing at Corbiewood.  They race American style with all races one mile mobile starts but their track is tiny it is like a training track in New Zealand.  They raced thick and fast every 15 minutes (usually 30mins in NZ) but with no TV schedule to worry about they were 30 minutes late by the end.  So locals told us about one meeting last season where it got so dark in the last race they could only see the horses when they passed the finish line, which they do 3 times the track is so small.  The bookie system was interesting very different from what I’m used to but had it worked out after a few races and decided to place my one and only bet of the night, unfortunately a dud.  A good night was had by all and we didn’t even begrudge the £8 each entry fee.  Given I think Cup and Show Days are the only times I’ve ever paid to go to racing is interesting given if Corbiewood was in New Zealand I’m confident it would rate as the poorest track and facilities in the country and this is one of the UK’s main tracks (it holds the most meetings per year by far).

The next day we sent Mum and Dad into Stirling on the bus as Nicky and I wanted to attend to some jobs and take advantage of the camps Wifi.  Next stop was Loch Lomond where we climbed Duncryne Hill to get views of the Loch, then stopped off along the shore before settling for the night at Tyndrum.  The next day we really started to get into the Highlands and we visited the Glencoe museum and visitor centre and the West Highland Museum in Fort William.  One further brief stop for photos at Eilean Doonan Castle and then it was onto the Isle of Skye.  After a pint at the pub we cooked our own dinner on the waterfront at Broadford.  On Skye we visited Dunvegan Castle and took Dad to Talisker Distillery as he wanted to tour a distillery.  A bit of Nessy hunting at Loch ness followed, I think I’ve got some pretty compelling photos!! J.  We did something called the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition which was an entirely Audio Visual thing not exactly my cup of tea and I struggled to see my value for money on that one.  Culloden Battlefield near Inverness was our next stop where the Jacobite Rebels were heavily defeated and from which they never recovered and the Stuarts were never a serious threat to the crown again.  Our final site with my parents was the Inverness Floral Hall, a good value display of plants in various indoor and outdoor settings.  This final night was the first time we ever had trouble finding somewhere to stay, our preferred choice campsite in town was full so we had to drive a few miles out of town.

I think you'll agree my photos clearly prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster

Dunvegan Castle on Isle of Skye

Glen Coe in the Highlands

 Some Highland Cattle Calves

 Part of Inverness Floral Hall

Mum and Dad left on the bus the next morning and Nicky and I spent some of the day browsing the city centre and very fortunately came across a competition to win tickets to the Scottish Open.  It was a closest to the pin competition on a golf simulator.  Just for participating they gave us 2 tickets to the Pro-Am the next day and later that day we heard that we had also won 2 tickets for any day of our choice of the actual tournament (all up we got £100 value).  We finished Inverness with a visit to their Museum before a bit of attempted birdwatching at Nairn.  We looked for waders at the beach but no luck.

So two days of Golf ensued, you were only allowed to take photos on the Pro-Am day so all photos are from that.  I little damp and miserable on the first day but the rain just managed to stay away in the second, although the spectator areas were very wet from earlier rain.  Despite some reservations Nicky found that see really enjoyed watching the golf (there is hope yet then), in fact it was me that ended up calling time at 5.30 after almost 9.5 hours on the second day.  Players we watched included, Luke Donald (photo above), Colin Montgomerie, Angel Cabrera, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Thomas Bjorn, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Jose Maria Olazabel, Anders Hansen, Francesco Molinari, Sandy Lyle & Thomas Levet.

Not satisfied with two days of walking a golf course we then climbed a hill called Ben Rinnes, for two reasons because Nicky wanted to walk up a mountain and I wanted to try and see a Ptarmigan (a bird a local birder said probably less than 5% of Scots have seen).  We mission accomplished hill climbed and Ptarmigan found with 2 chicks no less, suffice to say I was a little excited.

Ptarmigan

Aberdeenshire was next where we visited Fyvie Castle & Pitmedden Garden before watching a 3^rd grade Shinty match at Aberdeen University vs Lovat, along with about half a dozen other people.  Our last stop of the day ended up being Fowlsheugh RSPB reserve, almost by accident as Nicky spotted the reserve symbol in our 1993 readers digest touring guide.  This is a coastal cliff teeming with nesting seabirds.  Very cool, NZ should be just like that but the introduced predators have wrecked it.

Fyvie Castle

Shinty

The raucous crowd could hardly be contained.

Based on a tip from some Australians last year we went to Dunnottar Castle, which we found to be good but not spectacular.  We felt perhaps the Aussies hadn’t visited that many castles and that we might be suffering a bit of castle fatigue.  Next stop was J M Barries Birthplace (author of Peter Pan) in Kirriemuir, then on to Loch Kinnordy to try and see Osprey’s, and after a while one did oblige although my photographic evidence of poor at best J.  We did attempt to visit the Angus Folk Museum at Glamis but arrived about 20mins before closing and as no one else was there the attendant was trying to close early so we missed out on that one.

Rainbow over Dunnottar Castle

Osprey at Loch Kinnordy

Our plans had had to change due to the cancellation of the Stonehaven Highland games on the Sunday.  So on the Monday we went to the Burnt Island Highland games.  Burnt Island is across the firth from Edinburgh, we got a good view but it just didn’t work for photos.  I have many pictures and video clips from the Highland Games which I will attempt to make a coherent video out of at some stage.  We spent the night at East Lomond which provided incredible views of Fife, this time with the photos to prove it.

A thorough trip around Falkland Palace followed with quick photo stops at Clackmannan tower, Menstrie Castle and Alloa Tower.  We were particularly disappointed to arrive at Alloa Tower to find that the guide book has a mis-print and they are actually closed Tuesday-Wednesday.  We got to stay at Nicky’s favourite campsite Witches Craig again J.

The morning greeted us with torrential rain and the camp was gradually taking on the appearance of a lake as we packed to leave.  The weather had been generally atrocious throughout Scotland, especially considering it is mid July the height of summer, but it was just ridiculous.  Incredibly as it had teemed almost all the way when we parked up in Glasgow at the Kelvingrove Museum it wasn’t actually raining and throughout our short visit we managed to stay dry ish, although the sky was threatening the unload again at any moment.  So we saw the Museum, Tenement House and walked down some of Sauciehall Street.  That evening through more torrential rain we drove to Hadrians Wall Camping and Caravan site to visit Graham and Sue again.  Unfortunately the terrible weather is having a big effect on visitor numbers to the camp.  It proceeded to tip it down most of the night before coming out in reasonable day in the morning.  We rather lapped up the bits of sun, we took all morning before heading off for Whitby Abbey.

Goathland (Village used to film Heartbeat) followed Whitby Abbey.  This gave us an opportunity to see the North Yorkshire moors and for the GPS to send us the long way round on a small steep road instead of the much easier and shorter road we left on!  We finished the day back on the coast at Robin Hoods Bay which is very beautiful and was great for an evening stroll.

Scarborough was next on the list and we had a good find at the Sports Direct, New Zealand flags for £2 each so we have one each now ready for the Olympics.  One is currently “flying” in the van.  Visited Scarborough Castle which provided great panoramic views of Scarborough, which although more big city and not a picturesque as Whitby still appeared to be a desirable location.  We also stopped at Anne Bronte’s grave in Scarborough.  The Humber bridge had been in our minds for some time and that was our next stop before we finished the day with Thornton Abbey and Gatehouse, where an archaeological dig was in full swing.

Yesterday we went to Lincoln, which I had wanted to do but not for any particular reason, and we were really rather impressed.  We did the Cathedral, Medival Bishops Palace, visited the markets and historical shopping area called Steep Hill which lived up to its name.  We also had our first experience of the Walkabout bars a chain of Aussie themed bars throughout the UK and we were pleased with the cheap food, free wifi and cricket on the TV.  I dragged myself away or was dragged, anyway we left and went to the Museum of Lincolnshire Life and the Ellis windmill.  At the end of the day we went for a run in the woodland and we saw a deer.  Then we tried having a shower in the van for the first time which was reasonably successful which was good.

Today – Sunday- now that I am finally finished writing we are heading off to Flag Fen Bronze Age centre near Peterborough.

Bring on the Olympics.

Some promised shots from the Farne Islands. Artic Tern chicks and Puffins

Touring Again

Once again I have let far too much time pass between updates and again so much has happened.  When I last wrote Nicky and I were gainfully employed in London but we’ve tossed in our jobs moved out of our houseshare and hit the road again in our campervan.

When I left you last I was working at Hireright doing pre-employment screening for the financial services industry and Nicky was in her role as sole chef at the Roastery Café.  With the London lifestyle not appealing to us we decided to pack it in and travel again this summer.  The added consideration being that my Parents were coming over and we could spend some time with them on their holiday.

So mid June we packed up our stuff, left most of it with my brother and put the bare essentials in the van, and picked up my parents from Heathrow.  We got straight into it visited Hampton Court Palace before showing them where we lived in London and getting them to Victoria Station to go and visit Gunam and Sunita in Chichester.

I had arranged their train tickets to go to Chichester, West Sussex then to Dawlish, Devon and then to Bristol, where Nicky and I would meet up with them again.  This gave Nicky and I a couple of days on our own and we did a few things in the south, Lullingstone Roman Villa, Darwins House, Chartwell (Winston Churchill’s House), Salisbury (including Mompesson House and Old Sarum), Stonehenge.  We were wild camping in the van again during this period and reused a spot just outside Winchester that we had found last year.  The second night we stopped in a little Somerset village called Wellow as they had a large discretely located carpark/field.

 Mozaic at Lullingston

 Darwins House

Salisbury Cathedral

Stonehenge

The next day we rendezvoused with my parents at Bristol Temple Meads and since they were due in 20mins and we were on 20 mins free parking it was just enough time for us to literally run around to 2 english heritage sites and return to find their train was delayed 10 to 15 mins.  So with Nicky protecting our now illegally parked van from a conspicuous parking warden I anxiously waited.  First stop for Mum and Dad was SS Great Britain (Brunels Steamship), while Nicky and I took a walk around the riverside, then we all walked to get a view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  The afternoon was spent in Bath with visits the Roman Baths, Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum, the circus (a street), the Royal Cresent (another street), unfortunately I had hoped to go to Prior Park for the view but by the time we got up there it was closed, so we finished the day with a drink and a stroll in a picture postcard village called Castle Coombe reputed to be the most beautiful in England before heading to a campsite near the Cotswalds town of Bourton on the Water.

 Roman Baths

Castle Coombe Village

The morning saw us in Bourton on the Water to stroll through the town and visit the Cotswalds Motoring Museum.  We had planned to visit Hidcote but on arrival we found a stream of cars queued out the drive and the few cars coming the other way were suggesting best give up as the car park was chocker, so unfortunately for Mum but fortunately for Dad we retired to a pub another National Trust site the Fleece Inn for Lunch.  We got back on schedule by heading to Stratford Upon Avon to visit Anne Hathaway’s cottage and Shakespeare’s Birthplace.  It turned out there are 5 Shakespeare related sites in and around the city and for the less than the individual entry of the 2 above you can go to all 5.  So the next morning back into town we went for, Hall’s Croft, his eldest daughter’s home with her husband Dr Hall and then the site of Shakespeares former home which unfortunately a previous owner who resented paying taxes on the house had it demolished.  They are currently in the final year of a few seasons of archaeological digs on the site and Nicky and I were able to see it in action and spend 20 mins or so speaking to the archaeologist overseeing the project which was very enjoyable.  Charlecote Park followed, a grand rural resident but due to the day of the week the house was closed, no bother as it was the grounds we had come to see anyway.  Next stop Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Castle, unfortunately we were very pressed for time because this was the day we were taking Dad to the Jaguar Heritage Museum and he was confident he would need 2 hours there.  So quick whizz around and view over the garden and we were off to Coventry and after driving straight past the Jag Museum we got there in the end, it was a rather innocuous building which was being completely detracted from the swathes of advertising banners and flags for the new housing estate next door. Turns out the museum is not nearly as expansive as Dad had imagined as we were all out within the hour and Dad managed to stretch it to almost 1.5 hours but he had looked in every nook and cranny.  I got the impression he was a little disappointed in the number of vehicles on display, about 30 perhaps.  A planned stroll through Coombe Country Park had to be abandoned due the traditional English summer weather (the torrential downpour).

Anne Hathaways Cottage

The next 3 nights we stayed with my brother Mark and his fiancée Dana, Mum and Dad in the spare room and Nicky and I on the street in the van.  We visited Silverstone to see Marks workshop and the track, then Bletchley Park (Britain’s WWII code breaking centre).  The next day I took all the women to Oxford and the Ashmolean Museum while Mark took Dad to Duxford Imperial War Museum (trainspotters of our Blog will know that Nicky and I went last year), the aircraft one.

After leaving Marks we stopped in the oldest pub in England for a beverage, it is Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and is built into a rock crag in central Nottingham.  Newstead Abbey, home of Lord Byron, was next followed by Bolsover Castle, Bakewell in the Peak District to pick up some tarts, then onto our destination Much Wenlock, where we watched England get knocked out of the Euro 2012 in a local pub.

In the morning we visited the historic Ironbridge Gorge area before starting our canal boat holiday in the afternoon.  So for the next few days the pace totally went out of our holiday as we cruised leisurely along the Llangollen Canal, visiting Chirk, Langollen and Ellesmere (you travel slower than walking speed).  This was very enjoyable and we all felt it very worthwhile.

Canal Boating

We returned the boat early on Friday morning a set off on our long trip around North Wales, stopping at Porthmeirion, Caenarvon Castle and Abergele only before camping just outside Rhyl.  The next day we walked around Rhyl, Chester and Holmfirth (Last of the Summer Wine) and then drove a couple hours North and stayed at Scotch Corner.

Beamish Museum took up the vast majority of the next day with just enough time for a quick visit to Corbridge Roman town before we stayed at Hadrian’s Wall Camping and Caravan Site, the site Nicky and worked at for 10 weeks last year.  Our old bosses Graeme and Sue were very kind and put on a big dinner for us all.

I took Mum and Dad out to the Farne Islands to see the nesting seabirds, including Puffins and we stayed in Berwick upon Tweed the extreme North of England.  From here we shipped my parents off to Edinburgh for a couple of nights and Nicky and I visited Berwick Ramparts and Barracks, Bamburgh Castle and a few sites (Flodden Battlefield, Heatherslaw Corn Mill, Etal Castle and Village) in an area called Ford and Etal Estates (Northumberland) before driving to Falkirk to meet back with my parents which we will do in the morning.

Well if you lasted this long thank you I appreciate your interest J.  I’ll endeavour to update more regularly as we are on the road again.

Winter into Spring in London

Hello Again Everyone, 3 months since my last update and the things to write about are mounting up.  I hope everyone is doing well back home and your individual earthquake recoveries are progressing.

So for a few more weeks into this year I continued to work for Fortnum and Mason until I was finally released from my sentence with one days’ notice about the beginning of March.  I hope this experience remains the most shambolic experience of my working life!  To catch anyone up that doesn’t know, Fortnum and Mason had major problems with implementation of a new computer system resulting in major problems for customer and hence major problems for us in the customer service department.

Anyway moving swiftly on from that chapter, about a week later I started a new role as a background screening analyst role for a company called Hireright in Wapping, East London.  Another fairly meaningless stopgap role, but it serves a purpose.

Weather wise we finally did get some snow but it was pretty much just once, and despite it getting very cold for long periods of February winter was still mild overall.  The warming weather of spring has allowed us to get out a bit more.  Recently the drought warnings have increased and a hosepipe ban was put in place, so right on cue this week there has been a lot of rain.

We have increased sightseeing, in particular by meeting up in town after work on a Friday night.  So the list I can come up with for the past 3 months are.

Lords Cricket Ground and Museum

Eltham Palace

I went to the Oval Cricket Ground and watched some of Surrey vs Leeds/Bradford University MCCU 3 day match

Abbey Road

Banqueting Hall

 

Had a bit of an Art Gallery Month with

National Gallery

Tate Modern

Tate Britain

Dulwich Picture Gallery

I’m up to 4 visits to the Imperial War Museum now and still have more I could do. I took a day out to the Verulamium Museum in St Albans on weekend

Various other sites I’ve visited.

Museum of London

Lavender Pond wildlife refuge

Tibetan Peace Garden

Regents Park

Covent Garden

Somerset House

Tower Bridge

New photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/27524840@N06/ I had to take the link off my blog it stopped working, will try and get a new one.

Just one year left on the VISA’s now, time flies.

Bye – Dale and Nicky.

Winter in London

Hello Everyone

Due to the fact Nicky and I have both been working flat out since I last wrote (I just finished 11 days straight) we have a bit to catch up on.

On the work front my job with Fortnum and Mason and lasted longer than first expected.  I still have at least one more week.  All thanks to this LINK

On the positive they have posted a profit which I understand is rare for them LINK

On the home front, a new flatmate moved in about a week ago and we get another new couple about the end of the month.  So it will be pretty busy from February onwards.

Nicky and I did manage to get some time away around xmas.  We visited the North Kent coast from 25-28 December.  We stayed on the Isle of Sheppey and visited places such as, Herne Bay (characters from the tv show Game On are supposed to have grown up there J, Whitstable, Elmley Marshes, Reculver, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Gravesend (Pocahontas burial place). 

We had a day or two together around New Years as well, checking out a local football match at Dulwich Hamlet FC, Westminster Abbey, The Jewelled Tower and The Monument (for the Great Fire).

I should note the we have been very thankful for a extremely mild English winter to date, no snow yet YAY. Oh and very exciting at Herne Bay we saw Turnstones and I managed to get lots of photos.  I would say on balance now having lived and worked in both extremes remote rural Northumberland & Central London each have there own pros and cons but I can't say that I particularly desire one over the other.  

New pictures of all of these things can be seen in my Flickr Account LINK

Settling into London

Hello Everyone

Progress has been made I’ve started working at Fortnum andMason until Xmas.  This means shirt, tie and shave for me everyday.  Which you’ll all appreciate is a bit out of character J.  Not finding it as bad as I thought I would actually.  Anyway I’m working through an agency that supplies Fortnum’s temps for Xmas.  The work is easy if monotonous I’m entering corporate orders in the database.

Unfortunately this working carry on doesn’t seem to agree with me as I’ve only done 7 days and I’m already sick.  Unfortunately 5 of those 7 days I’ve been sitting next to people that were sick and there has been a lot of sickness through the office generally, so I’m a bit low this weekend.

We had a great night out last week at Nicky’s work Xmas function, met some interesting people.  Nicky has settled into her new job very well and as the weather has been okay she has been walking to work.

We’ve mainly been getting into the routine and getting things sorted out in the last couple of weeks but we did visit the Imperial War Museum with our last day off together till Xmas.

I had a disconcerting experience the other day when I came out of work and went to walk through Picadilly Circus and saw police everywhere and cordons and a helicopter.  I found out later some of the Occupy London protesters had got into a building and onto the roof.

Guess your all gearing up for Xmas.  Stay safe, all the best from Dale and Nicky.

November Update

The last couple of weeks have been very muddled to say the least.

After spending the weekend parked up outside Matty and Amy’s we decided to visit Winchester as we didn’t want to go too far away from Brighton where Nicky had just had a trial.  We visited a couple of properties Northington Grange and Hinton Ampner (pictured) in the countryside and City Mill, Great Hall and City Museum (very impressive roman mosaic floor) in the town.  Back in the countryside we took a woodland walk at Farley Mount Country Park and visited Flowerdown Barrows.  Late in the week we attended interviews at two hotels and visited Oxford.  In Oxford we bought a guide map and followed a recommended route around the town, deviating only to make a visit to the Natural History Museum.

Then back outside Matty and Amy’s for the weekend.

This time because we were going with Matty (+2 friends) and Greg to the Four Nations Rugby League double header at Wembley.  New Zealand beat Wales and Australia beat England.  The final is between England and Australia today.  Nicky had a trial at a café called the Roastery and subsequently accepted a job there.  However not until after a minor saga with the Coppid Beach Hotel.  We had interviewed together (for live in positions) and they had confirmed that I could have a bar position but there was a delay and a second interview required for Nicky to get a position as a leisure attendant in a Gym.  After being advised it was likely to take a minimum for 5 more days for a decision Nicky accepted the café role only for the hotel to ring and offer the job a couple of hours later.  Too slow too bad for them they miss out on us. However the week was not all about jobs we visited Hughendon Manor, Windsor Castle (pictured) and Cliveden.

A job was one thing somewhere to live another.  Nicky accepted the job on Wednesday and started work on Saturday, so once again we parked outside Matty and Amy’s for the weekend.  Greg has been entrenched on the floor of Matty and Amy’s living room since he arrived about a month ago and last weekend we went and checked out the Lord Mayors show (most pictures on my Flickr at the moment are this) a big parade.  I think I saw enough military personal and hardware to take out New Zealand J.  Then we visited St Brides Church and the London Natural History Museum.

The past week has been spent searching for somewhere to live and a job from our base at Crystal Palace Caravan Site.  Several dodgy or unsuitable flat/house visits later we found a couple of suitable candidates.  I tried to get one with a couple in Mitcham, the location and price was good but for some reason my good looks must have put the guy off, his wife was like sure I think so but he wanted to see more people.  So we went with a room in Camberwell/Stockwell/North Brixton area 30c Lilford Road.  So on Friday I unloaded the van and hauled all our stuff up three floors of stairs.  Please take this nest comment in the spirit it is intended – the last few days in South London have been the first culture shock I have had over here as I think I have seen more black people than the rest of my life put together.  It has been the first time that I really felt as well as knew that I wasn’t at home, everywhere else could pass for New Zealand.

I’ve been putting in for all sorts of jobs this week, customer service, retail, reception while still looking for relevant environmental work.  Hopefully something will work soon.

Our flight south for the winter

So in recent times Nicky and I have flown south for the winter and we are pleased we have as we have finally been able to shed the thermals and raincoats required in the North.  Conditions improved after we visited Liverpool where we saw Anfield (home of Liverpool FC), the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the Cavern Club and a couple of museums.  While in the area we went to watch Preston North End play Sheffield Utd at Deepdale unfortunately Preston lost 2-4.

We have begun wildcamping in the van a bit since obtaining our porta potti near Southport.  We stayed very close to Royal Birkdale for any golfing enthusiasts. While in Southport we had a quick try in the amusements another English institution.

So continuing into Cheshire we began to dry out and defrost from our Summer in Northumberland.  It actually has been quite pleasant for a bit recently.  But I’m told normal service is due next week.

So anyway enough tangents in Cheshire we visited Chester which has probably the most intact city walls of any town in England, you can pretty much walk around the whole town on them (we did) and it is a very attractive city.  It has a quirky feature of also having first floor shop fronts with their own walkway in front, accessed at various points by stairs.

Cheshire is where we watched the All Blacks in the Final.  A pub called the yew tree inn near Bunbury.  They let us stop in the field next to the pub for two nights and I had a couple of beverages with the locals and a lovely breakfast for the Rugby (rather stressful).  Relief more than anything at the end, no time to dither though as we got back on the road shorty after as the itenary was full, with Moreton Corbet Castle, Wroxeter Roman City & Stokesay Castle having missed Much Wenlock and its’ priory due to a wayward GPS.

After stopping for the night at the base of the Shropshire Hills we took a short walk in the morning to get a feel for the countryside before visiting Shrewsbury the main town and Attingham Park, where we bought a readers digest touring guide to Britain from 1993 which is assisting us in our planning.  A stop at Much Wenlock en route to Hereford completed the day.

In Herefordshire we visited Goodrich Castle, Wye Valley butterfly zoo and St Briavels Castle before heading off to the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire to spend the night amongst the trees.  This had the unfortunate side effect of having conkers falling on the roof of the van during the night.  

After a slightly unsettled sleep I had to drive nearly 4 hours to Brighton because Nicky got a trial at a Café in Brighton.  We spent the night on the foreshore just along from the Pier.

Nicky’s trial was on a Friday so we decided to go into London for the weekend and catch up with Matty and Amy and Gunam and Sunita.  So Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights were spent parked up on the street in London.  Despite being well past peak hour the traffic in London was horrendous and we were 1.5 hours later than expected.  It was also the most difficult driving of my life.  Give me the M1 any day now.  I’m accustomed to the motorway driving now, it is the inner city or fiddly country lanes which cause much more stress these days.

We have just been in Winchester and are currently just outside Oxford but I’ll leave that for next time.

Once again don't forget my FLICKR and YOUTUBE

Thanks for listening, see ya later.