Welcome to Cindy and David's 2014 Adventures
Note 01 - England - London
After a very pleasant but exceedingly long flight, we were met by good friends Lindy and Ted at Heathrow Terminal 5 and spent some time with them at home catching up on all the news. They kindly dropped us at our hotel to unpack and relax. We walked the area a bit as it is a little away from the busy city life with country lanes etc tucked away, before finding a pub for dinner.
The garden in the back of 11 Beaulieu Drive where Dennis lives
London walking tour of the Hampstead Village with David (see below), a most knowledgeable and entertaining guide
London walking tour of the Hampstead Village with David (see below), a most knowledgeable and entertaining guide
The suburb of Hampstead where many famous people have lived (and still do).
It is high up and escaped the serious fogs of yesteryear. It was also a suburb that escaped a lot of the Great Plague in bygone years because being on a hill it caught the clear breezes.
It is high up and escaped the serious fogs of yesteryear. It was also a suburb that escaped a lot of the Great Plague in bygone years because being on a hill it caught the clear breezes.
Walk-about in London along the Thames
Statue to Nelson Mandella
Visited the Churchill War Room where directors of the 2nd world war made all the important decisions
Cindy settled in at the Hilton Hotel in Watford
We spent two days with Lindy and Ted which turned out to be a real bonus as not long afterwards, my dear friend was back in hospital and there we were visiting her in Euston Square instead of Pinner. We wish her well again very soon.
Thai dinner with Arun, cousin Neil, AJ, Dennis and us.
We met up with brother Dennis at this dinner and joined him at his house the next day. Dennis unfortunately broke his shoulder the week previous which of course was causing him great pain.
We met up with brother Dennis at this dinner and joined him at his house the next day. Dennis unfortunately broke his shoulder the week previous which of course was causing him great pain.
An entertainer under London Bridge.
Above is Lady Churchill's bunker bedroom.
This page generally shows our various activities during the days we spent in the London area, ie at my brother's house. I must mention the chimney photo is the ancient chimney attached to the Hampstead Hospital that was used to burn all the body parts removed during operations. One in our walking group mentioned that he had lived in this area as a child and his appendix ended up in there! This caused huge hilarity in the party!
We spent a lovely day at Kew Gardens. We unfortunately had missed the spring shrubs and flowers but it was still worth the visit. Lots of ducks and ducklings and swans and cygnets. Gorgeous!
During our walk through London we came across a massive cycling event and watched the start as hundreds cycled off to great approbation from the crowd as it was in aid of charity (never did discover which one).
Towards the end of our stay we managed to meet up with Sylvia and Michael Maurice whom I met in South Africa during my first year there. We remained friends for many years, having and raising our families. Since we all left to go our separate ways, we have only managed to meet up once in Pinner (just me) and now David, 35 years later, finally met them again. It was a lovely lunch and we all picked up as though there was no gap in our friendship. Such a pity to be so far apart.
I should mention at this point regarding my brother's garden, above, David spent many happy hours mowing and clipping the lawn and hedges as Dennis of course was totally incapacitated by his horrible accident. After our challenging garden in Thornleigh, David seemed to quite enjoy pottering in a "normal" garden.
We spent a lovely day at Kew Gardens. We unfortunately had missed the spring shrubs and flowers but it was still worth the visit. Lots of ducks and ducklings and swans and cygnets. Gorgeous!
During our walk through London we came across a massive cycling event and watched the start as hundreds cycled off to great approbation from the crowd as it was in aid of charity (never did discover which one).
Towards the end of our stay we managed to meet up with Sylvia and Michael Maurice whom I met in South Africa during my first year there. We remained friends for many years, having and raising our families. Since we all left to go our separate ways, we have only managed to meet up once in Pinner (just me) and now David, 35 years later, finally met them again. It was a lovely lunch and we all picked up as though there was no gap in our friendship. Such a pity to be so far apart.
I should mention at this point regarding my brother's garden, above, David spent many happy hours mowing and clipping the lawn and hedges as Dennis of course was totally incapacitated by his horrible accident. After our challenging garden in Thornleigh, David seemed to quite enjoy pottering in a "normal" garden.