England and Youngmis new passport

Stefs allotment in Accrington with Zennon and Caroline

Great flight New York, Zurich to Manchester. Flying from Zurich we could see the snowy Alps including the Matterhorn.

Manchester looked great in the bright sun. Collected our hire car at the airport. I have booked a VW Polo. Or similar says the man. Here is a skoda. That is not similar. After much complaining from Dave we took the Skodia Fabia and it was very good. Manual car but easy to drive.

Good Old Accrington

First stop Fell and Mountain shop in a red hot Accrington.Hello Keith. Dinner carvery at the Game Cock pub, $6 and very good with a pint of Thwaites beer. Called in on brother Ray to see everything is still perfect then to Keith and Junes house. Accrington heat wave for first week. Lunch with Marshall and Freda and one night we cooked dinner for the Ossie Dawsons. Keith and June, two daughters and their partners and five grandchildren. Elijah told Youngmi her starter was first class.

Friends in Yorkshire

Saturday morning to Bingley and lunch in Edwina and Kents national trust type garden. Stroll to Bingley five locks then drive on to Ackworth and Steve and Liz. Barbecue in their sunny garden. We are spoiled.

Around Norwich

Sunday morning and the drive to Norwich. Cold and grey there as we look at University of East Englia where Dave was a student 39 years ago!!!

Happily Brian and Penny Dave's neighbours from when he lived in Norwich are home in Ethel Road. We have a lovely time with them then visit Dave's old house where their son David and Julia are living. They are rebuilding the house to a palace standard. They said about six months after they bought the house they came home to find the bathroom ceiling in the bath!
Out to Potter Heigham and the warmth of Lindsay and Jo. Happily all their great daughters were at home with boyfriends for a barbie. Great to see them all.

Monday visit Cromer, Sheringham and Blakeney but it is a bit cold and grey. Steam train in Sheringham looks good and Dave feels young as there are hundreds of pensioners about. The UK free bus pass gets the over 60s out.

Visit Norwich cathedral then meet Gerard, Catherine and Charlotte in Weatherspoons Norwich. Charlotte has now grown up and Gerard and Catherine meet for the first time since a party 20 years ago. Another great dinner with Jo and Lindsay and we try to give them a bottle of malt whisky but they dont drink whisky.

Around Ipswich

Tuesday to Southwold and a cold walk. Dunwich the sun is coming out and we sit on the pebble beach trying to imagine the medievel city that is now under the sea. Leiston abbey is magnificent in the sun, Sizwell nuclear power station looks harmless and a fit looking guy tells us he swims in the sea near it. Thorpeness cream tea by the mere and then into Ipswich. Met Strutty and Karl in Isaacz bar on the waterfront for a reminisce. The lads are in fine form.


Easy drive to London to reach the formula one hotel in Barking about 11pm. Hotel is cheap but very basic and Youngmi is not happy with the bathrooms. It does have parking. Next morning tube to central London.

From London

After weeks of getting documents including a korean birth certificate, translation, driving licence, new citizenship certificate, registered post from Ecuador to Australia, lots of work by our friend Peter in Melbourne, phone calls to the citizenship office and registered post from Australia to the Fell and Mountain shop  we arrived at the Australian embassy. First good sign lots of chairs, only three in Lima embassy.Very helpful guy and two days later we collected the new passport. Two other people waiting at the embassy had had their passports stolen in London.

London

First day we saw Billy Elliot at the theatre.We also visited Victoria and Albert musuem and Everest exhibition at Royal Geographic Society. This had photos by Alfred Gregory who I had met in Melbourne. Alfred had an exhibtion in St Kilda of Everest and Blackpool photos when he was about 93.

Moved to Ibis styles hotel in Leyton and Youngmi was happy agin. It was much better and still had parking.Tate modern gallery was good but even better was a free concert by Tom Jones outside.


Met old university mates Ian and Pete at Weatherspoons then joined Lynne, Sally, John and Kathy at Pizza express for dinner. The retired looked well and relaxed, the working looked well and not so relaxed.

With the new passport safely in hand we drove to Dorset to visit John and Margaret in Briants Puddle. I met John when we started at school at the age of 4. A fifty three year friendship and it seems like a few years.

Dorset with the fish eye

Johns action packed Dorset tour included the windy sea side in the picture above, Dorchester with its Roman amphitheatre and Thomas Hardy museum, and a cafe run by spider man which pruced the request 'spiderman can we have more hot water please'. Prince Charles new town was a bonus as we headed to the Briants Puddle summer fayre. We drank tea and listened to the brass band before chatting to the vicar. Very midsummer murders.
Sunday we were off again to Durdle door watching chinese tourists on an adventure trip swimming through rough seas to submerged rocks. Lulworth cove was pretty and Dave tried to show off by chatting to german cyclists at the cream tea place.
John showed us the windy headland where he wants his ashes scattering but it is near a pay and display car park. A ferry to Poole and then a great dinner in a restaurant run by a venezuelan guy.Te gusta Hugo Chavez asked Youngmi and we still got a great dinner.
The thatched roofs of Briants Puddle looked perfect as we returned. Just down the road is Tolpuddle home of the martyrs who were deported to Australia in 18something.
A lovely night with John and Margaret in front of there log fire followed with John insisting Dave take the bottle of whisky. Dave always turns up with a bottle of whisky looking increasingly dependent on it.