Greater London, - an understatement - Part 3

With the Palace, Westminster and the Royals safely behind us we crossed Westminster Bridge to the sight we had caught only glimpses of, from St James Park and the streets past the Abbey, - The London Eye !
The sight of it was just stupendous and nothing as piffling as a lowly Southern Hemispherian would, in cavalier fashion, make it out to be.

At 135 metres high, the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel was overwhelming, not only for it's height, but for the fact that it's accessible to the people, to be uplifted and to see all of the heart of London from this giant loop in the sky. The 32 passenger capsules hang from the exterior of a huge spoked wheel which continues to rotate, albeit so slowly that it takes 15 minutes to arrive at it's zenith. Then, the view over the City is marvellous. To have missed the Queen's corgis was a pleasure, but to have missed riding on the London Eye would have been unforgivable !!!

I felt that Dive, Madame and I had achieved something memorable. We had come together as mates; an Australian tradition, a group of happy like-minded souls sharing common interests of blogging, of humour, of sightseeing. We had the desire to see some of the history of our own roots; a little of the land whence our forebears sprung. What we received from Dive was his depth of knowledge, his care and his wisdom. His time was our time and for all these things we are thrilled and we are so deeply grateful. (It was a bugger that we kept him so long, he missed his train back home to Norfolk and didn't arrive till after midnight. I think he had only a few hours sleep before starting out for work the next day !! )

To a wonderful, kind and thoughtful bloke, we say thanks, cobber ! You are a gem. We had a simply rip-snorting day with you in London, a day that we will cherish. Thank you Dive.

Greater London, - an understatement - Part 2

At this stage our gracious host informed Madame that the distance to be covered was about 5 miles. "Crikey", she thought, quite loudly to herself and to most of Greater London.
(The other day, Dive re-calibrated his reckonings and stated that it was actually seven miles. He's really a master of everything, especially his timing. )
After some spectacular storming of London's splendid sights and photographing Madame at the Ritz, we put on some speed in the direction of the 300 years old Fortnum and Mason department store in Piccadilly and it's magnificent food hall where loose-leaf tea was requested, a gift for her Godmother in Paris.

Knowing how British tour guides can work up hunger, we reminded Dive that it was becoming close to Sushi time whereupon we were lead to Dive's favourite shop. I hope he will comment and remind me of the name and the street, and the wonderful park where we ate our delicious sushi.

With thoughts of Dive's immense fondness of the Royal Family and it's lifestyle ! we headed on to the P.H, or Buckingham Palace and were thrilled to make a photographic record of his pleasure at being so close to his Sovereign.

He showed us St. James Park, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben before arriving at South Bank.

And this is where the next excitement began.......

Greater London, - an understatement - Part 1

The morning of 25 August saw us driving, again, excitedly from Tewkesbury to London for our eagerly anticipated meeting with fellow blogger, the outrageous, sweet, generous, urbane, wise, and diverse Dive from Small Glass Planet.
We hit the sack early after the evening police sirens subsided slightly while choosing to photograph some muggings and bag snatches in the colourful Victorian terraces below our fifth floor window.
Next morning at the "… er … The Imperial Hotel", as Dive so rightly calls it, there he was, large as life in the foyer, smiling from ear to ear as if I were a British mirror !!

Dive is the sort of bloke who is so endearing, witty and knowledgeable, I felt that I had always known him. The three of us hugged and laughed and joked and garbled on all at the same time as we made plans to storm around the entire sights of London in record time.
We hit the streets-a-running and we spun those cameras 'round,
as if to sink the Bismarck but that wasn't what we found.

We found the wonders of the (free) British Museum of human history and culture, right on our doorstep in Bloomsbury.

On the short walk to the Museum, naturally the cameras came out as Dive avoided being mugged by Madame in Russell Square, and when he met Frank at the mail box. Dive simply knows everyone in London ! (hint, - click and enlarge the photo).

There was a fair bit of confusion as to who was taller at one stage but the caryatid was probably standing on tip-toes!

We entered the Great Court, built in the 90's with it's excellent tessellated glass roof which covers an area "bigger than a football field" and from there Dive took us around to see the wonders of tomorrow's post.......

Home in body - but the spirit lingers longer - in lands far away.

After seven incredible weeks of meeting the most delightful and generous friends in seven countries we have finally arrived home, happy, exhausted and totally fulfilled.

The sensation of remaining awake for thirty hours whilst flying back, down-under has been an experience in itself - a reminder of how much we packed-in to our long trip, and the joy of meeting virtual friends who now are life-long bosom friends whom we hope to welcome to our home as soon as they can make it to Oz.
It's a superb feeling to have so suddenly expanded one's family and to have so many more loved ones, (and Christmas cards to send !)

Adelaide Daily Photo will resume when I have done justice to acknowledging the time and generosity of so many lovely people in England and France who are part of this wonderful blog family. I will also thank other friends in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Malaysia, all of whom played a part in the pleasure of this amazing trip.

Above all we will all see some of the fruits of Eric's inspiration and brilliance in conceiving Daily Photo Blogging and the happy and close-knit family that has resulted from his panache and talent.

I dedicate the next however-many days of posts to this man, himself, lit by the brilliance of the City of Light and Love, Paris, and to you all.






On arriving in Gloucestershire, the first beaming, welcoming smile was that of Lynn who was awaiting us at her favourite meeting place, Sue and Norman's Beckford Hotel just outside of Tewkesbury where Lynn lives.
True to form, Walter and Henry the dog were also there to meet us as we drove in from the Wirral where we had just attended my son's wedding.
Norman's Beckford Hotel was simply perfect and the meals delicious. A definite must for any traveller to Gloucestershire.
The following day, Lynn picked us up and showed us her lovely city including the site of the disastrous floods the year before.
It was super to meet the person who had given me so much encouragement to start blogging, and who was my first commenter. Naturally all these matters were giggled about when Lynn entertained us both at a sumptuous lunch at her lovely home.
Madame and Lynn struck me as sisters, they laughed and screamed and giggled so much together.
Thank you so much dear Lynn, we are so much in your debt; and for posting Adelaide DP in our absence.

Tomorrow: A bloke you all know - and you will if you don't !

Seins britanniques, - pas jamais vus en Australie

Croyez-vous, quelquefois, que vous portez trop de poids sur vos épaules ? Peut-être l'équivalent de quatre kilogrammes de sucre ? Ceci peut être un problème de santé très sérieux. Il vaudrait mieux d'aller au salon de beauté, et pour acheter certains de ces seins du latex-caoutchouc comme les petites filles britanniques aiment faire. Alors, tout le monde sera heureux, particulièrement le facteur, le mari et le vendeur en caoutchouc.
A quiet Saturday night; - in front of the TV.
Do you ever feel as if you are carrying too much weight on your shoulders ? Perhaps the equivalent of four kilogrammes of sugar ? This can be a very serious health problem. It would be better to go to the beauty salon, and purchase some of these latex-rubber breasts, as little British girls love to do. Then everybody will be happy, especially the postman, the husband and the rubber salesman.

Si vous cliquez, et agrandissez ces photos, vous devriez aller à l'église, demain.

We turn our attention to Gloucestershire, today

Today, and for the last few days, the people of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, have been suffering from heavy rains and most serious flooding. Poor Lynn, at Cheltenham Daily Photo has been experiencing the lack of water supply for her household daily needs and the magnificent Tewkesbury Abbey has been flooded. Businesses have been destroyed and families have had their lives washed away from under them.
Our hearts go out to all these poor people and we wish you every success in rebuilding your lives and re establishing your properties.