The weekend arrived and it was time for more adventure! This time believe it or not it wasn’t back to London, rather we were heading east, toward the Norfolk coast for a change of scenery. To the beach! In England! Who would have thought! But it was also the locale to catch up with some more of Kate’s family which was as good an excuse as any to head to the coast.

Rather than head all the way over in the one day, our destination was the small township of Ely. Ely is famous for a couple of things. Firstly, it has a very well renowned cathedral, that whenever I mentioned to anyone here at Warwick that we were heading to Ely, they always said “to see the cathedral?”. They also added Ely’s second somewhat famous attraction “… and Oliver Cromwell’s house?”.

Off we headed, with our trusty GPS Emily to lead us on our way. No, we didn’t name the GPS, rather, she was set to the “Emily” setting for voice, so Emily she came to be known. As Kate was doing all the driving (being the only named driver), I formulated my own quite fun game with Emily which was for me to use our UK map book to try and work out which way she was going to lead us (I know I know… I am speaking about her like she was a real person in the car… well part of the fun/joke was that we started to speak about her as if she was in the car with us). I probably got much more enjoyment out of this game than any normal person would and Kate was just spending half the trip laughing at me as I would get firstly exasperated at her choice of route, and then resigned to the fact that it probably was the best way after all.

Anyway in just a couple of hours we arrived at bustling Ely. It seems lots of folk like it as a destination on a weekend as the town was busy with people wandering the centre of town. The first of the (in)famous sites we saw was Oliver Cromwell’s house. Apparently he lived here for a bit in the mid-1600’s.

 

The house looked quaint enough. With a somewhat pricey entrance fee, we were not convinced it was really worth too much of a look. We found it much more interesting to just take some cheesy photos outside and that was going to do us.

In just a few minutes walk we came across the very impressive Ely Cathedral. The cathedral towered above everyone, but we decided to leave that until later and wander the farmers market for a makeshift lunch to kick things off. With our nice selection of local bread, cheese, fruit, and brownies, we found a nice shady spot in the cathedral gardens and enjoyed some lunch. Mmm… sometimes simplest is the best. Cheese tastes best when it has come straight from the cow (well, maybe with 18 months of aging in between) and the brownie has come straight from the oven.

Rather than head back into the cathedral, the sunny weather was too good to be indoors, so a general wander of the town was in order. We headed for the waterfront… no, we were not yet at the beach, rather Ely is on the River Great Ouse, and it seemed everyone was happy to be perched on the banks, enjoying the music in the park. The music was OK, but our leftover brownie was even better.

So with a wander via some antique shopping for Kate, we made our way back to the cathedral. I have seen quite a few now in my time travelling Europe, but this one was pretty impressive. It was begun to be built 1000 years ago, taking several centuries to finish. But that time shows, as for a small town, it is a VERY impressive cathedral. Inside the stained glass was amazing, and just the sheer size of it was pretty incredible.

 

I always fixate on the roofs and the intricate work on them. It begged the question with Kate, “how on earth do they get up there and clean it?!”.

While wandering around I came across the resting place of this dude. I should have taken a closer look at who he was, but I couldn’t resist taking a photo. He looked very comfy resting there. I guess if you are going to be there for eternity, why not perch yourself all comfortable like to say hello to everyone.

Before we knew it the cathedral was close to closing up for the day and we decided to head to our lodgings for the evening, in the even smaller township of Little Downham, and the local hotel The Anchor. It was pleasant, and we spent our night relaxing with a sneaky cider.

Next morning after brekky, it was time to head further north-east-ish to hit the Norfolk coast. Our first stop was the small town of Holkham, where there was a beach (a real beach!) and a historic house called Holkham Hall. But given it was so nice, we decided to head to the beach first for a wander.

It seemed that was the thing to do, as there was steady streams of people making the walk down to the beach. Being low tide it seemed to take forever to reach the water, but when we did it was quite lovely. Certainly not the same beach vibe as back home (or most places for that matter), even though it was warm, it seemed being at the beach was more about sitting on the beach, or playing with your dogs, or walking, than swimming. In fact there was only a handful of brave souls in the water. Which was surprising, as the water was quite pleasant in.

We ended up strolling for a couple of hours, and in the end decided not to visit Holkham Hall. Rather we wandered back to the car and headed to the nearby Blakeney Hotel for a catch up with some more of Kate’s family.

Again, it was a lovely way to spend the day… catching up with family that we don’t get to see very often. The afternoon was spent chatting away, and having some drinks to keep cool.

In the blink of an eye the day was drawing to a close. With a few us needing to drive a few hours, it was time to say farewell fr the time being, and head back to Warwick. On the way Emily and I battled our best routes. But as always, she won.

One thing about being here in the UK is that you can just say “Hey! It’s Friday! How about we go hang about a castle and then head to the pub?”.

So that’s what we did last Friday night. Kenilworth Castle (that had a brief appearance in a previous blog entry) is just down the road, so when it was time to knock off work for the week, we jumped in the car and 10 minutes later were wandering around the grounds of Kenilworth Castle.

Built in the 12th century, the castle is in a bit of a state of ruin, but is still pretty cool to wander around. To think that parts are 800 years old is always a bit of a spin out. Even more when you think it is just down the road and you can have a casual wander around after work.

There is also a pretty cool Elizabethan garden that Kate rates pretty highly, which on a glorious English Friday evening, was not too bad to hang about in. Kate certainly looked the part hanging about there too.

But just across the road, there was a place just as good to hang about on the sunny evening… a different castle… called the Queen and Castle! There they had a few more mod cons, like cider and food. So all in all, not a bad set of castle visits for the evening 🙂

Hi all! A midweek post (of sorts) for you all.

I have been busy working away this week. A few projects are making good headway, and I even did a research seminar for the Computer Science folks which went over really well. So kicking research goals this week!

Anyway, even though I have been busy busy with work, my lovely hosts have still been finding some time to get me out and about. So on Wednesday, Jane’s husband organised a trip down to London for a walking expedition. He has spent some time following the rivers that used to flow down into the Thames and had the pans to follow the River Fleet that used to flow from Hampstead Heath, down to Blackfriars. You can actually read about the path on this detailed description here. We weren’t to see any water (it is all deep underground now) but was going to be a pleasant walk on another glorious London day. The plan was to end at the Royal Albert Hall for some BBC Proms. A very full day!

So we all met at Jane and Ian’s house, and made our way in the car to the top of the Northern Line, and hopped on the tube down to Hampstead. After arriving at Hampstead Heath and meeting up with the rest of the walking crew, it was time to walk!

The start at Hampstead Heath gave us an amazing view towards London. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy, but we could clearly make out St Pauls in the distance, which was our rough direction to head. We also saw all the locals bathing in the pond in the parkland. Sadly I forgot my Speedo, so alas, no swimming for me!

Off we went, wandering the streets. Ian would guide our path, even though for the most part it was fairly straight forward… i.e look for the lowest point and head toward it. In no time at all, we arrived at Camden, and decided to settle in at the markets for some lunch.

After hanging our feet over the canal for a bit, it was time to walk again. On our way we came across St Pancras Old Church. That was a nice place to again take a seat and just relax for a bit.

But no rest for the wicked! We were off again and before we knew it we were upon Fleet Street and then the Thames. Now for the moment of truth… would we see the outlet of the Fleet into the Thames?

Of course Ian had timed our run to perfection and we could see the small outflow drain just under Blackfriars Bridge. It may not look that impressive (if you can even see it there in the shadows) but for us it was the perfect end to a fun walk down through London. For me it was any excuse to hit the streets of London and get more familiar.

We had some time before we had to head to the Royal Albert Hall, so our posse decided to go and have an afternoon tea at the nearby Tate Modern. One of my favourite places in all of London, the Tate Modern is a great place to hang out. The views over the Thames towards St Pauls is not too shabby either.

With our rest done, it was time to bit adieu to the rest of our walking party and head towards the Royal Albert Hall. While symphony is not really my cup of tea, it was for everyone else, and I was in reality just keen to see the inside of the Royal Albert, given I knew of quite a few shows that had taken place there. The outside is incredible, but inside is something else.

Of all the venues I have been in to around the world, it would now have to be one of my favourites. First of all it is just amazingly beautiful inside, but along with that, the design means the audience almost envelops the orchestra, giving a completely different feel to it.

It looked great rather than seeing a orchestra sitting up front, it seemed they were surrounded and that the audience was really a strong part of the experience.

So how was it? It was OK. We heard pieces by Shostakovich, Bartók & Tavener, and for me the Shostakovich was much better than the other two. But ultimately I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to symphony… I just know what I like. And for the most part the Shostakovich was pretty good. It seemed to be the consensus amongst the four of us that it was the clear winner.

With that, it was time to head back north to Edgware, and drive back to Coventry. Kate was a trooper, doing all the driving. Nice and late, we arrived back at the flat. We were super tired but in all the best ways from another great day out in London.

I love me a good Spinal Tap reference!

Anyway, when we left you last we had witnessed the penultimate Monty Python show and were spending the weekend with Kate’s aunt and uncle. Sunday morning we were treated to a brunch with Kate’s family before we had to motor off to Heathrow. Heathrow again?! This time it was nothing to do with departures or arrivals, rather it was the most convenient place to pick up our hire car. So off we went, found our vehicle, and job done!

Well, not quite. Rather than head straight back to Coventry, since we were to the west of London, we decided to visit a classic landmark that neither of us had seen in years… one that people fall in love with, or ask “why did I bother to come and see a bunch of rocks?!”. Yep, Stonehenge.

Thanks to our trusty sat-nav, we arrived in relatively no time, although the traffic got pretty bad as we approached. We had our fingers crossed, as typically you need to pre-buy timed tickets to see the site, however since we had no idea what time we would arrive, we just had to wing it. Thankfully things were on our side (for the moment) and in we were able to go!

The new visitors centre is actually a mile or so from the site, so it was on to one of the shuttle buses to head out. Above us a few clouds looked a bit ominous, but that didn’t deter us… we just grabbed our rain jackets and went. On the bus some rain started to fall, but not enough to stop intrepid travellers like us to get out there. So once we arrived we jacketed up and went to the stones.

It was at that precise moment that somewhere some druids took umbrage with our arrival and called on the rain gods, as the clouds went black and the rain bucketed down. Hard. Within a minute we were soaked! But that didn’t worry us too much, as laying eyes on Stonehenge, we were actually pretty excited.

We both remembered being further away, so to get within a few metres was very cool. We made our way around, in the driving rain. Trying to take pics actually became pretty comical as clothes were soaked, cameras drenched, and umbrellas turned inside-out. Crazy! But like the handful of others still out at the site, we figured we were already soaked and had no idea when we would be back, so took it all in.

Getting the selfie was quite tough… keeping a camera relatively dry was hard work in those conditions! But as you can see, we thought it was quite hysterical that to this point in the day it was balmy and warm and sunny, and that the second we arrived it was torrential. That’s England for you I guess.

So with Stonehenge visited, we thought it was best to get back to the Visitors Centre and dry out a little. As things would have it, we were back for all of 5 minutes when the rain stopped and sun started to peek through the clouds. Aaarrrgghh! But we just thought it was pretty funny. Kate suggested heading back to the site to see it properly and take our time. After a little deliberation, it was back on the bus out to the stones.

It ended up being a great decision. There was not another drop of rain and it gave us a chance to dry out a little. We had time to be casual, and listen to the audio guide to hear all about the druids, the astronomy, and all the history. Sadly Spinal Tap were not mentioned at all (not even in the gift shop either!). What a wasted opportunity.

 

We ended up spending quite a bit of time. Given the rain, and that it was getting late (7pm), there was hardly anyone about, meaning photos with no people were a possibility. We snapped away, and looking at the pics it seemed we had a lot of the same pictures of a bunch of rocks, but it was very cool nonetheless.

But by this time they were getting ready to shut up the site. So back on the bus yet again and we were at the visitors centre. We poked around the exhibition, but by this point we were done and it was time for the longish drive back. In the end those druids were looking out for us after all.

 

Another weekend, another trip to London! This was the big one, but we’ll get to that.

This weekend we were lucky enough to be able to catch up with Kate’s other aunt and uncle for the weekend. Straight after work on Friday, it was back on the train and down to London to catch up with them for a late supper and catch up. Like the other night, it was great to relax with Kate’s family and feel welcomed on the other side of the world.

After a warm nights sleep (England is in a heatwave, which while not a heat wave like we have, still pretty warm and humid), Kate and I hit the streets of London to wander and do some shopping. When on Regent St, it is always worth a pop in to Hamley’s to see what toys are on offer.

As you can see we got a chance to catch up with some of the Lego locals. Alas, little Prince George was not around. I did spy a Corgi though.

When trying to think of things to get up to, we thought we might pop in to Westminster Abbey, as it was something neither of us had done is quite a while. Alas, when we arrived there was a VERY long queue and we quickly decided against it. But as luck would have it, we wandered around the corner and realised there was something neither of us had ever done, and that it looked like we might have an opportunity. It seemed the Houses of Parliament were open for visiting!

We didn’t have tickets but chanced upon a couple that were just released, so after a little waiting, it was inside the hallowed halls!

Needless to say they were just a little bit more impressive than the ones in Canberra. Like many buildings here, artwork centuries old just casually hangs in the halls. If I worked there I would be scared I would break something that was a few centuries old. As it was I got told off for touching something I shouldn’t have!

Sadly photos were not allowed in most of the building. But it was a great way to spend a couple of hours, and we were glad we had the chance to see a lot of what the Parliament had to offer.

With that it was getting close to evening, and we had to make our way to the O2 Arena in Greenwich for the big one. MONTY PYTHON! We actually secured tickets for the show before I had my study leave approved. We were super lucky to score tickets one night they went on sale, and figured “ah, why not!”. In the end it turned out to be the second last time Python would perform together (so they tell us, although as the name of the show suggests “1 Down 5 to Go” is sadly probably pretty accurate).

The O2 had quite the buzz when we arrived. We were surprised to see so many restaurants and night spots there. But no doubt most were there to see the Python lads, given the amount of costumes and t-shirts wandering the arena.

We even came across a very large parrot. Clearly he was pining for the fjords.

In we went into the cavernous arena. It is a little bigger than Rod Laver, but with much steeper sides. As it turned out, our tickets were fantastic, given we elected to get tickets on the (relatively) cheaper side. Up on the top level, but at the front, and just side enough to be close but have good view. Kate’s mad ticket skills to thank for that!

And without further ado, the show was on! I won’t give a blow by blow summary, but what we got was 2.5 hours of classic sketches performed live, plenty of songs, some choreography between skits as well as some video to keep us laughing while the boys changed.

So was it funny? It was hilarious! Was it perfect? Far from it. Some skits didn’t translate as well, and there were some odd choices (the weird Ministry of Silly Walks dance remix thing was just horrible). There was also the strong nostalgia that went from very sweet to a little sad at times.

But overall, it was quite the thing to see Messrs Cleese, Gilliam, Idle, Jones, and Palin in the flesh (for me, especially Michael Palin). It was worth it just to witness Spam, Dead Parrot, and Nudge Nudge Wink Wink done by Monty Python live… something I never dreamed I would ever see.

Of course we got all the other classics… Spanish Inquisition, Australian Philosophers, and awesomely, the Lumberjack Song and Galaxy Song. It was all wrapped up with a big, emotional sing-a-long of Always Look On The Bright Side of Life (of course).

So was it just a big cash in? Quite probably. But did it matter in the end? Not at all. It was Monty Python.