May 31- Central London

Today we had a marvelous visit in Central London with Ian Grover. He was right in front at exactly 10:00 and Michael, Jim and I were off to see the sights. Bill was at the Chinese Embassy getting a visa for a July program that Jack is doing in Beijing and planned to meet us as soon as he could.

We first drove through Regents Park ordered built by King George IV whose father was King George III who was the ruler at the time of the American Revolution. The buildings and the parks were so lovely. All through the day we kept commenting on the lovely buildings and the large amount of green space in the city.

We drove by the Horse Guard Barracks. We drove around Buckingham Palace as the crowds were gathering for the Changing of the Guards. Immediately Ian knew that Elizabeth was not in the Palace because her standard was not flying and there were only two guards in the guard houses.

Traffic was wild but the roadway in and the arches around were beautiful. We did learn part of the reason for the traffic is the new Mayor decreed that bike lanes be created. The lanes were big, wide, newly paved AND empty. Even road signs pointed the way to destinations.

 We kept texting Bill and finally connected outside Selfridges Department Store. Was fun to see that enormous store after having watched the series “Mr. Selfridge. Michael went into the back seat of the Land Rover we were using and we were off again.

Shops, big office buildings and lots of happy shoppers and workers filled the sidewalks and vehicles of all sizes filled the streets.

Around the area of Parliament we saw the clock tower lovingly called “Big Ben” when in fact the tower is named the Elizabeth Tower recently named that to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of her reign. Big Ben is actually the bell inside the Elizabeth Tower and is named for a BIG boxer. The bell is so big that at the time of its arrival there was a very large boxer named Ben something and “Big Ben” was the sort of common expression for anything that was really big. Thus the world see “Big Ben” but most have no idea why the name.

We passed by a large field being set-up with bleachers as they prepared for the Queen’s Birthday. This field has served as a jousting field in the time of Henry VIII, Beach Volleyball during the 2012 Olympics and many other events..

In the medical art of town we stopped at the former home and office of the doctor who works with King Edward VI, Elizabeth’s father, who stuttered when he spoke. Overcoming that was the subject of the movie “The King’s Speech.”

We headed to lunch at The Grenadier Pub, built in 1720 as the Officer’s Mess for The First Royal Foot Guards. It became a licensed premise in 1818 to serve as The Guardsman Public House. Food was yummy and service was slow. The place is suppose to be haunted by the ghost of a guardsman Cedric who cheated at cards and was “savagely beaten to death.” We wondered how else you would beat someone to death…gently, kindly, or what???? The ceiling was covered in money- mostly $1.00 bills left by customers to go toward Cedirc’s debt.

We drove through Covent Gardens, around Piccadilly and into Trafalgar Square. Then we headed back over the river Thames to pass by St. Paul’s Cathedral. Learned that the church neat Westminster is St. Peter’s Collegiate Church. When St. Paul’s was being built the were short of money but St. Peter’s had a great deal of funds so they “robbed Peter to pay for Paul” a phrase we had heard our whole lives but had no idea where it 

came from.

We rode by the headquarters of Britain's "not so secret" Secret Service MI6 made popular by James Bond books and movies. 

We saw the lovely Michelin building with its lovely art deco facade. It is now a restaurant and bar. 

Once again we had a great day of looking, seeing, listening and learning.

Great Relaxing Day!

Today is Tuesday, May 30^th and Ethan and Jack were up and off to school by 7:40. Jim and I slept gloriously late. We read, worked on photos and chatted with Michael, Bill and Katherine.  So good to just have some time to relax and visit.

We had a big conversation this afternoon about the Royals and when change might happen. I was reminded that Ian said yesterday that after the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, Queen Elizabeth had to make some changes. We were here in 1994 when for the first time ever Buckingham Palace was open to the public to help pay for the cost for repairs to Windsor. The Queen herself was away from the palace but the tour was VERY interesting and impressive. At that same time the Queen actually had to begin paying income taxes. Before that the people paid taxes to the Monarch but now the people were paying for the repairs of the Monarch’s castle so taxes seemed a fair contribution. 

Ian said he bet she wishes she had decided to just pay for the repairs since she is worth a great deal and her taxes must be very high.

Bill left for an Optometrist appointment and Katherine went for a farewell luncheon with some of her close friends. Michael studied and Jim and I napped. Great afternoon.  Like Stella, we sat and watched the buses go by the window. What a life!

In the afternoon Bill and Ethan treated us to a flute guitar  

concert. They played several duets from a book that Kathryn, the daughter, and Bill used many years ago to play duets for friends, church and family. Oh the memories came flooding back and I wiped away a tear or two. Ethan is taking flute from a teacher in Cornelius using FaceTime for his lessons. The world connectivity makes all sorts of things possible.

Going to order delivery of burgers for supper and go to bed early for our big day tomorrow in Central London.

May 29th- Fun Touring

Monday, May 29^TH was a Bank Holiday so we had a wonderful day together touring in the English Countryside…all 7 of us with a terrific guide, Ian Grover. The tour was put together by a company, British Heritage Chauffeur Tours and was perfect for us.

Ian was waiting outside the door at exactly 9:00 and we all managed to be outside too. We piled into his Mercedes big van. Bill, Michael, and Jack in the back seat; Katherine, Ethan and me in the middle seat and Jim in the front beside Ian. Traffic getting out of the city was not too bad since it was a holiday. We saw several of these Spidermen people advertising for Domino's pizza. 

We drove first to Oxford to see the many colleges that   

Exam Registration Tent

combine to make Oxford University. It was a busy place. There are 39 colleges as part of the university. None of them specialize in any field of study. You express a preference of the college you’d like to attend but somebody, somewhere assigns you to the college you’ll attend. There are about 29,000 students enrolled. The town was lovely and the downtown center was filled with people walking and riding bikes. We parked for a little time so we could wander the streets.

Clock in the Wall

Degree Presentation Place

We saw the large white tent where students go to register for exams. The tent is not up all the time but since this is exam time it was in the  Students must wear an academic robe and carry a carnation that indicates what kind of exam for which they are to register.  We saw the round Shelarian where degrees are awarded. The reading room was also a round building beside the library. You cannot take books out of the library but you can take them to the reading room to study.

We also leaned that the clock on the town in the wall strikes the hour 5 minutes after the time the rest of the world does….calling it Oxford time.

Ethan has said he’d like to go to college there so he really loved seeing around. The campus. Jim got coffee and the other Barnett’s stopped at a fudge shop and came back to the van with a big bag of fudge… and the munching began.

View from the Castle

Ian talked about why the British drive on the left. In the horse and carriage days the roads were filled with highway robbers and the travelers needed to be prepared with a sword in their right hand thus they rode on the left side of the road. This continued as cars entered the scene. 

We arrived in Warwick about the time that Ethan was overcome with motion sickness so we all gave thanks for the big fudge bag. We stopped and he got out of the van. Bill stood with him as he tried to feel better. A woman was sitting inside a window in her home. She noticed his discomfort and handed him a bottle of water our through the window. Nice people are all around. Bill, Michael and Ethan decided to walk to the 

Warwick Castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 and has been rebuilt many times since. The current castle , built in stone during the reign of Henry II, is on the same site as the earlier Norman motte  

Warwick Castle

- and bailey castle. The castle was owned by the Earls of Warwick until 1978 when it was bought y the Tussauds group. Bill’s crowd went into the castle and had a great time watching a Joisting event depicting the War of the Roses. They were in the white rose side from the House of York. The red rose was the House of Lancaster. They cheered and booed while someone told the story of the war. The story ultimately ends when people from the houses married each other. Katherine said “It was a history lesson with joisting thrown in.”

We went on the Stratford on Avon for a quick look and lunch. We had been there years ago and had no need or desire to join the long lines getting into Shakespeare’s Birthplace or Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. There were so many people wandering around. 

We had a lovely lunch at a pub, Lambs at 

Street. Lambs is located in on of the oldest buildings in Stratford dating from the early 16th century, probably during the reign of Henry the 8th.

Learned from Ian that there are six rivers in England with the name Avon and they are not connected at all. There is a Saxon word “afona” that means “river.”

Rain came down so we texted Ian when we were done and he appeared right outside the door. We headed back to Warwick, picked up the other Barnetts and began our journey back to London.  We arrived back at Flat 11 Douglas Court about 5:45.

We ordered in yummy Chinese dinner and watched about half of “From Russia With Love” and headed for bed. Was a great day.

The Barnett's Flat

Entrance Hall

Our home away from home is the flat where Bill, Katherine, Jack and Ethan Barnett live. Douglas Court Flat # 11

Michael in the Kitchen

 is located on West End Lane in the West Hampstead section of London . The entrance is through wooden double doors. Technically this is on the first floor- the British first floor- but to reach their front door you must climb 8 steps to the ground floor and 19 steps up to the first floor.

Ethan and Jack in Ethan's Room

The flat has lots of windows and is painted in light colors so I immediately had the feeling of bright happiness.  There is a lovely kitchen with lots of storage in white drawers and cabinets.  Ethan’s room has a bay window and plenty of room for his desk and a keyboard.

The Master Bedroom where we are sleeping is good sized and has an attached really large bathroom.

Jack's room with Stella visiting

Jack’s room is also bright and cheery.   It is a treat for us to be here with all three and the Barnett grandsons.

Michael's room

There is another bedroom being occupied for the moment by Michael who is visiting after his Junior year at Amherst. He is headed back to North Carolina for a week and then back to Amherst for a Math Fellowship for the summer.

The living room has two large windows with small balconies that overlook West End Lane. Stella the cat loves to sit out there and watch the world go by when she is not sitting in the kitchen hoping for food. 

Jack and Ethan in the Living Room

Bill and Ethan relaxing

   

Naturally in this Barnett household the large double bookcases came along filled with

many board games and books. Really a comfortable place to hangout.

I got up about 7:00. Breakfast began at about 8:00 when Bill joined  me in the kitchen. Next to arrive was Ethan. Then Jack, then  Katherine. People ate eggs or cereal depending on their choices or Bill’s offer to cook. Jim was up by 10: 30 and then Michael joined the family. Breakfast was over by 11:00. Now that is a lazy beginning to the day.

Seems like lunch followed almost immediately. 

It is wonderful to have this lazy Sunday to just hangout, talk, laugh, nap and eat together. 

Tomorrow is a BIG touring day.