Holiday Diary - Day 81

Today we went back to Waterloo Station and the Eye, but this time to go for a cruise on the river. I'm don't think I can name all the buildings and bridges so I'm not going to try.

Here are some of the photos we took today.

We start with a panorama taken from the pier.

We went a little way up river before turning back

Past the houses of parliament and the clock tower

Past a war memorial

This building is supposed to look like a train coming out of a tunnel

A gift from Egypt

This boat saw service in WWI

The dome St Pauls Cathedral

The pylons here used to support a rail bridge, one of the bases still does

London Bridge

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London

Back to the Eye

After the cruise we headed over to the Salvation Army Supplies because Sue wanted to pick up some music.

We're now settling in for our last night in England. Tomorrow we will be doing a load of washing before packing our bags and checking out. The next post will most likely be when we settle in to the motel in Bomaderry so don't look for one tomorrow.

Richard.

Holiday Diary - Days 79 & 80

Day 79

We started the day a little late and headed for Kidderminster to find the Severn Valley Railway. We were a bit too late for the first train so we had to wait for the second.

Here are some of the photos from this train trip.

On entry into the station I found this narrow gauge track
and a small gentleman who seems to have been waiting a while

The starting point for the train trip

We passed a zoo where we saw a rhino

and a couple of elephants

The first stop

We crossed a river

Second stop

Third stop

Fourth stop

The end of the line

One of the other steam trains running on this day

The engine that was pulling our train

We saw a model railway at one of the stations

This is the train that runs on the narrow gauge tracks at Kidderminster

After the train trip we went back to the motel to get ready for the evening outing to Bedworth City Hall where Lee Mead was appearing.

Us with Lee, backstage after the show

Day 80

Today we drove up to Leicester to check out a knitting museum but it wasn't going to be open until 2pm so we decided to head to the next motel which is at Heathrow. On the way we saw a sign directing us to Warner Bros Studios so we thought we would check it out. Unfortunately they don't generally let you in unless you already have tickets for the tour, but the guard let us drive past the front of the building where we saw a set of statues.

Statues at the front of Warner Bros Studios

We still had plenty of time to get to the motel so we thought we might have a look at Windsor Castle. When we got there there was a long queue to get in and no suitable parking so we took a couple of photos and set the GPS for the motel.

Queen Victoria

One side of the castle (part I)

... (part II)

Another side of the castle

We're now settled into our motel. This is the last motel we will be staying in on this side of the world. Tomorrow we go for a boat ride on the Thames and take a look at Salvation Army Headquarters. Sue also wants to visit the bookshop.

Richard.

Holiday Diary - Day 78

The start of  our last week of our holiday saw us once again doing laundry (it's got to be done), after which we went into town to meet up with Vic Minett who had a little surprise for us.

Vic had a little bit of a chat with us on air and played a little bit of an interview she prerecorded for today's show. In this exert Vic was talking to Lee Mead and he invited us backstage at tomorrow night's concert. I think Sue is excited.

We managed to get some photos today and here they are.

Us with Vic in the Orange Studio

A memorial not far from the BBC C&W studios

I was directly under a large sculpture

Another view of the sculpture

There is quite a lot to see around here and I doubt if we will actually see that much of it. Tomorrow we plan on checking out the Severn Valley Railway. I would also like to visit the Wigston Framework Knitters Museum in Leicester. Tomorrow night, of course, we will be at Lee Mead's concert. I don't know what time we will be getting back to the motel and whether I'll be up to doing a post but you will get to see whatever photos we have to show you some time.

Richard.

Holiday Diary - Day 77

Tomorrow marks the start of our last week of holiday, the end of the holiday being when we get back to Bomaderry.

Today we drove from Luton to Coventry. We had a bit of a look around Coventry to make sure we could find where we want to go tomorrow and we will have the camera available tomorrow (we bought a new cable for it and it is currently charging) so I hope we can find something to photograph.

Among the things we have planned for tomorrow is doing the washing, visiting Vic Minett in the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire studios, and maybe a visit to the Transport Museum.

Richard.

Holiday Diary - Day 76

Today we drove to Oxford to have a look around. It was a bit further away than I expected (about 90 minutes) but it was worth the effort. We found a place to park near a Chinese Restaurant, where we had lunch before find our way to the bus stop to catch the tourist bus for a tour of the city. We saw lots of old buildings, gardens and statues.

Here are some of the photos we took today.

The shop where Alice bought her sweets

One of many churches

Sue wanted to get a shot of all the heads

Looking at one of the gardens through the gate

When those on the faculty were allowed to live off campus
they built some rather large homes

Most of the places we saw belonged to the University as it takes up most of the city.

The camera ran out of battery while we were on the bus and we didn't have the backup with us, but now we can't find the cable we need to charge the battery so it looks like we will have to use the backup camera for all future photos, at least until we can find the cable or buy a replacement.

Tomorrow we drive up to Coventry. Sue has heard back from Vic Minett and we have been invited to join her in the studio on Friday afternoon.

That's it for today.

Richard.