'Up Over'- The madness continues.
Tuesday 14th August:Our next stop was Lessonhall...(where?), for a visit with our friend, Anne. All three of us headed out for the day along the Cumbrian coast. Our first stop was Silloth, once a thriving Victorian seaside resort but now a sleepy backwater. We wandered along the prom and then headed off for lunch at The Gincase. We hardly passed anyone on the narrow country lanes but arrived at The Gincase to find the carpark full except for one last spot. It was such a shock to see all these cars in the middle of nowhere. Where had all these people come from? We went into the packed tearoom and could see there was no rom for us but we waited to ask the busy owner."Heck!" I said, when he finally got a chance to speak to us, "your car parks full! Looks we've come at the wrong time." He looked at his note book and scanned the room."Wait just a minute," he said, "and you can have that table there," he said pointing to table with a 'reserved' sign on it."But that says 'reserved'." I said."It's reserved for you." He smiled.We had a lovely lunch but we were bothered by wasps which almost ruined it. In the end I managed to trap one in my glass of Dandelion and Burdock with the menu and I carried it outside and released it.After lunch we went for a wander a short bracing walk on the beach at Allonby and then drove to Maryport and had an ice-cream at the harbour.
In the evening Anne made us a wonderful dinner and we caught up with Joyce and Margaret too.Wednesday 15th August : We returned from Anne's and in the afternoon took Mum to the hospital for an appointment before heading out in the evening for a meal and catch-up with friends from Wigton Infant School.Thursday 16th August - Tuesday 21st August: London.On Thursday 16th we caught an afternoon train down to London and arrived at Euston just after 7.00 pm. We caught a bus to Stoke Newington and Josh and Helena had a delicious dinner waiting for us.On the Friday Josh and Helena were at work but Will and I walked down to Liverpool Street to meet up with a friend of mine, Dave, who I taught with in Germany in 1993. We stopped off on the way for breakfast at The Towpath Café by the Regent Canal. We met Dave at Liverpool Street Station and went to Spitalfields market for drinks and lunch.
After catching up with Dave we walked back to Josh and Helena's. Helena told us that someone had nicked her bike saddle while she was in the gym that morning. In the evening we met Helena's parents for the first time with Josh and Helena again making a lovely dinner. Josh even made pitta breads from scratch! After Helena's parents had gone Josh looked out of the window and said;" We have a man down."We looked out and saw a chap lying on his back on the footpath across the road. His rucksack and a plastic bag lay beside him. We couldn't see if he was breathing or not. Josh and Helena went down to check if he was ok and when closer heard him snoring. We were still unsure what to do as someone could easily come along and steal his bags. As we were wondering what to do a couple came along and woke him up and he wandered off down the street.On the Saturday we headed into the city with Josh and Helena. We found a cheese shop in Covent Garden for Will and then walked to the National Portrait Gallery to see the entries in this years BP Portrait Award. We had a drink in crypt of St Martin's in the Field than walked to Westminster Abbey. The queue was too long to go inside so we wandered along the river and back along the South Bank. We met Helena's parents in Soho for drinks and a meal before going to the theatre. We had drinks at Bar Americain at Brasserie Zedel. The price of 6 drinks was over 70 pounds. We had dinner at Hix Soho were we had 3 delicious courses. At 7.30 we went to the Apollo Theatre to see 'Everyone's Talking About Jamie'. It was absolutely brilliant and everyone in the audience was on their feet at the end.On Sunday we met Helena's parents for Brunch and went to 'Andi's' in Stoke Newington. Andi Oliver is one of the judges on The Great British Menu, again the food was very good. Helena's parents were heading home so we said our goodbyes and we headed into the city with Josh and Helena. We wandered through Green Park and into Hyde Park.We were booked to go into Buckingham Palace at 2.00 pm and got there at about 1.50 pm. I had to collect the tickets and was directed to join a huge queue. It took us 20 minutes to finally get our tickets and I feared we would be too late for our entry time but when we got to the entrance we were just waved in.We had to go through airport-like security, having our bags x-rayed and metal detectors. I noticed at one of the x-ray machines one of the security guards had picked out something suspicious on one of the x-rays. He called someone else to look at it too but by the time they went to retrieve the suspect bag it had already been collected form the belt and gone. They just let it go and I hoped it was nothing really suspicious.We collected personal audio guides and began our tour of the State Rooms. It was all pretty jaw dropping and the gilded ceilings were amazing. Prince Charles had curated an exhibition in one of the rooms of artefacts and art created by people involved in three charitable enterprises he had set up around the World. The tour finished at the back of the Palace and we wandered back out through the garden.
On Monday Josh and Helena were back at work. Will and I headed off to Hampton Court. Our tube train stopped just outside King's Cross Station with the driver telling us that there was a medical emergency on the train ahead. Our train was packed and it started to get very warm and I was feeling a little claustrophobic. We were delayed about 10 minutes before our train set off once again. We arrived at the overground station at Vauxhall to see the train we wanted pulling out of the station. The next one was another 30 minute wait but then the trains started to be delayed and even cancelled because of a signalling failure down the line. In the end we waited about another 50 minutes before the train we needed arrived.Hampton Court is huge. There was so much to see. It was initially started by Cardinal Wolsey before he gifted it to Henry VIII, later on it was developed further by William III. and later still the Hanoverians. There were people wandering around in costume to add to the experience. Wandering the rooms took us a few hours and then there were the huge, spectacular gardens to explore. We had arrived just before 11am and we got back to Josh and Helena's after 6.00 pm. We spent our last evening with Josh and Helena and saw a city fox running down the middle of the street before bed.We returned to Carlisle on Tuesday 21st.Wednesday 22nd August: We did our washing and sorted out Mum's phone for her. Nathan came over for dinner with us.Thursday 23rd August: Mum and I went to look at carpet steamers in the morning as she wanted one but we returned without one wondering if it might be better to hire one instead. In the afternoon we met up with some of Will's teaching colleagues from Crosby School then in the evening Will and I went to the Sands Centre to see The League of Gentlemen Live.Friday 24th August: Will and I drove down to Ullswater to see my brother James and his family who are spending most of the summer camping at the Ullswater Yacht Club were they have a boat on the Lake. It was a miserable, wet day but we managed a walk to Pooley Bridge for an ice-cream.
In the evening Anne made us a wonderful dinner and we caught up with Joyce and Margaret too.Wednesday 15th August : We returned from Anne's and in the afternoon took Mum to the hospital for an appointment before heading out in the evening for a meal and catch-up with friends from Wigton Infant School.Thursday 16th August - Tuesday 21st August: London.On Thursday 16th we caught an afternoon train down to London and arrived at Euston just after 7.00 pm. We caught a bus to Stoke Newington and Josh and Helena had a delicious dinner waiting for us.On the Friday Josh and Helena were at work but Will and I walked down to Liverpool Street to meet up with a friend of mine, Dave, who I taught with in Germany in 1993. We stopped off on the way for breakfast at The Towpath Café by the Regent Canal. We met Dave at Liverpool Street Station and went to Spitalfields market for drinks and lunch.After catching up with Dave we walked back to Josh and Helena's. Helena told us that someone had nicked her bike saddle while she was in the gym that morning. In the evening we met Helena's parents for the first time with Josh and Helena again making a lovely dinner. Josh even made pitta breads from scratch! After Helena's parents had gone Josh looked out of the window and said;" We have a man down."We looked out and saw a chap lying on his back on the footpath across the road. His rucksack and a plastic bag lay beside him. We couldn't see if he was breathing or not. Josh and Helena went down to check if he was ok and when closer heard him snoring. We were still unsure what to do as someone could easily come along and steal his bags. As we were wondering what to do a couple came along and woke him up and he wandered off down the street.On the Saturday we headed into the city with Josh and Helena. We found a cheese shop in Covent Garden for Will and then walked to the National Portrait Gallery to see the entries in this years BP Portrait Award. We had a drink in crypt of St Martin's in the Field than walked to Westminster Abbey. The queue was too long to go inside so we wandered along the river and back along the South Bank. We met Helena's parents in Soho for drinks and a meal before going to the theatre. We had drinks at Bar Americain at Brasserie Zedel. The price of 6 drinks was over 70 pounds. We had dinner at Hix Soho were we had 3 delicious courses. At 7.30 we went to the Apollo Theatre to see 'Everyone's Talking About Jamie'. It was absolutely brilliant and everyone in the audience was on their feet at the end.On Sunday we met Helena's parents for Brunch and went to 'Andi's' in Stoke Newington. Andi Oliver is one of the judges on The Great British Menu, again the food was very good. Helena's parents were heading home so we said our goodbyes and we headed into the city with Josh and Helena. We wandered through Green Park and into Hyde Park.We were booked to go into Buckingham Palace at 2.00 pm and got there at about 1.50 pm. I had to collect the tickets and was directed to join a huge queue. It took us 20 minutes to finally get our tickets and I feared we would be too late for our entry time but when we got to the entrance we were just waved in.We had to go through airport-like security, having our bags x-rayed and metal detectors. I noticed at one of the x-ray machines one of the security guards had picked out something suspicious on one of the x-rays. He called someone else to look at it too but by the time they went to retrieve the suspect bag it had already been collected form the belt and gone. They just let it go and I hoped it was nothing really suspicious.We collected personal audio guides and began our tour of the State Rooms. It was all pretty jaw dropping and the gilded ceilings were amazing. Prince Charles had curated an exhibition in one of the rooms of artefacts and art created by people involved in three charitable enterprises he had set up around the World. The tour finished at the back of the Palace and we wandered back out through the garden.On Monday Josh and Helena were back at work. Will and I headed off to Hampton Court. Our tube train stopped just outside King's Cross Station with the driver telling us that there was a medical emergency on the train ahead. Our train was packed and it started to get very warm and I was feeling a little claustrophobic. We were delayed about 10 minutes before our train set off once again. We arrived at the overground station at Vauxhall to see the train we wanted pulling out of the station. The next one was another 30 minute wait but then the trains started to be delayed and even cancelled because of a signalling failure down the line. In the end we waited about another 50 minutes before the train we needed arrived.Hampton Court is huge. There was so much to see. It was initially started by Cardinal Wolsey before he gifted it to Henry VIII, later on it was developed further by William III. and later still the Hanoverians. There were people wandering around in costume to add to the experience. Wandering the rooms took us a few hours and then there were the huge, spectacular gardens to explore. We had arrived just before 11am and we got back to Josh and Helena's after 6.00 pm. We spent our last evening with Josh and Helena and saw a city fox running down the middle of the street before bed.We returned to Carlisle on Tuesday 21st.Wednesday 22nd August: We did our washing and sorted out Mum's phone for her. Nathan came over for dinner with us.Thursday 23rd August: Mum and I went to look at carpet steamers in the morning as she wanted one but we returned without one wondering if it might be better to hire one instead. In the afternoon we met up with some of Will's teaching colleagues from Crosby School then in the evening Will and I went to the Sands Centre to see The League of Gentlemen Live.Friday 24th August: Will and I drove down to Ullswater to see my brother James and his family who are spending most of the summer camping at the Ullswater Yacht Club were they have a boat on the Lake. It was a miserable, wet day but we managed a walk to Pooley Bridge for an ice-cream.