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Sojourn Britannia

August - October 2022
We'd plannedthis trip for September 2020, but the Covid_19 pandemic put paid to that, so we're trying again now in September 2022. Read more
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  • Sojourn Britannia
    1
    Day 9

    The British Museum

    September 4, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    I really wasn't sure what to expect. I knew the British Museum was famous, that it was good to visit, that I would probably become excited by something I saw in there, but dear reader, I was unprepared for this vast collection to have such a powerful impact. It utterly blew me away. The branding of the Museum says that 'it is a museum of the world, for the world'. I think it makes that grade admirably.

    We started our journey through its cavernous halls with its ancient China collection. Dragons, jewellery, jade, warrior uniforms, pagodas, Buddhas, some dating back to the time of Christ and Caesar, some even before that. I was stunned by just how beautiful some of these Chinese artifacts were.

    We had already decided not to try to see the whole Museum. You could not do it justice scooting through its halls in such a manner, so we purposed to see just a few things. Next was the ancient Persian exhibition, the forerunner of modern Iran. The size of the Persian Empire surprised me. It was vast.

    We skipped Egypt, as we had seen Egyptian antiquities before. From here we went into early Roman Britain and saw the Roman garrisons and towns in early Britain. An amazing set of artifacts.

    Then onto Anglo-Saxon Britain, the highlight of which was the Sutton Hoo collection. I used to teach Sutton Hoo to junior High Schoolers, so to see the famous Suton hoo mask with its dark bottomless eyes looking back at me was just stupendous. The mask is of course exactly like every picture I have ever seen of it; shiny, golden, foreboding, scary.

    Finally, our feet, apropos of their surroundings, declared 'satis est satis' and we decided to have a sit down and work out which of the many exhibitions we would finish off on. The decision was made; the Rosetta Stone (yes, they have it there), and the Elgin Marbles, although the Museum seems to have read the room on the taking of priceless artifacts from their indigenous coutries, as Lord Elgin did of the Parthenon steles from 1801 to 1812, and now calls them, the Parthenon Marbles.

    The Rosetta Stone, another piece of exciting hsitory I used to teach to junior High Schoolers, was there with lots of people standing in front of it. I waited patiently, wove myself in, and took the shot. I got it. The Rosetta Stone of course was the key to unlocking the secret to reading Egyptian hieroglyphics. It has an inscription on it written in three languages: hieroglyphics, Demotic, the vernacular of the ancient Egyptians, and ancient Greek. The scholars were able to use the Greek as a key to decipher the hieroglyphics opening up the whole discipline of Egyptology. What a story!

    Finally, the Parthenon Marbles. What can I say? They are the originals straight off both ends of the Parthenon, dating from the fifth century BCE. They are incredible. Depicting various scenes of the Greek gods as well as warriors, and even a set showing a fight between a human and a centaur. The Marbles collection is large. There's a lot to see. They have their own purpose-built wing.

    We couldn't help but take a quick look through the other ancient Greek and Hellenic wing where there were statues of the gods and giant columns and jewellery to excite the last curious school child. Fabulous stuff.

    We left the British Museum all the richer for our experience and thinking that if we ever get back here again, it would be worth another visit.

    By that time, hunger had hit, so it was off to a local pub, The Plough, which was frequented in times past by the Bloomsbury Group, poets, thinkers and writers all, including Virginia Woolf. Fish and Chips for me and a half pint of Camden's Lager to wash it all down.    Read more

  • Sojourn Britannia
    1
    Day 9

    Hyde Park

    September 4, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Our day finished up in Hyde Park. It is such a sprawling, huge park, that we really only got to experience about one third of it. Regardless, it is very beautiful, very peaceful, hundreds of trees and gardens, little squirrels doing their thing, and the lake, the Serpentine Lake upon which silly tourists hire paddle boats and go boating upon its calm goose and swan-ridden waters.

    Enter Stuart and Chris on paddle boat. We hired the sky blue beast for half an hour and set out in to the middle of the lake, pedalling our little hearts out and taking it in turns to hold the tiller. It really was a lot of fun and we traversed the breadth and most of the length before heading in, surrendering our paddler, and heading to the diner (I don't know what the British call them) at the end of the lake, there to have a fine repast of chips, another Camden's Lager and a lemonade for Chris. A tube home and some FindPenguins. A great day.    Read more

  • Sojourn Britannia
    Day 10

    Last Day in London

    September 5, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We wanted our last day in London to be as special as we could make it, but also to try to have it a bit more relaxed than the more frenetic delights of the city. So, we decided to head out to Hampstead for brekky and a look around this famous part of London.

    Hampstead, I understand, has more millionaires than anywhere else in London. It is very old, dominated by Georgian architecture with myriad laneways all looking Dickensian. The High street is narrow and has boutique retailers either side, with planter boxes of colourful flowers dangling from lightpoles, the whole thing looking like a movie set or a picture. Indeed, many movies have been set in Hampstead.

    Upon alighting the Tube, whose station is the deepest on the whole London line, we soon found a lovely cafe, Heath Street Bakehouse, to start the day off with pastries and coffee. The young man there made us excellent coffees and while Chris did a sketch, I read up about Hampstead. For example, I did not know that Sigmund Freud's final residence is there and is now a museum. Also, I did not know that Keats wrote 'Ode to a Nightingale' in Hampstead, presumably in his house.

    After breakfast, we walked the streets. There's nothing like being on foot to get to know a place. The Georgian architecture is really somthing else. Old brick is the order of the day, chimney pots everywhere, fancy doorways and stairs leading up to them. Therre 's nothing like that in my suburb back home. I can see why these residences are expensive. We stopped at a real estate agent just to check prices in the window, and yes, even for rent, some of these were going for $3000.00 per week.

    Our final journey in Hampstead was to take a short walk in Hampstead Heath. It is a really pretty woodland with lots of cheerful birds, holly, and oak trees. It felt like I would come across Miss Price or Captain Wentworth or Miss Bennett or Sir Walter Elliot, all characters from Jane Austen's novels, coming towards us in a merry party. Instead we got a stalker who followed us for a bit, so we hightailed it out pretty angry at his brazeness. Apart from him, the woods were very beautiful and we were enjoying them in a very relaxed way.

    On the way back to our apartment just for the fun of it, we stopped off in Knightsbridge to pop our heads into Harrods department store. It is over the top luxury from wall to wall with prices to match. But we did buy some Harrods chocolates.

    Late in the afternoon, we went to the the pub for a drink. The Rose is just down the road from us towards Lambeth. A nice way to end the day.

    London is a wonderful city. Because of the Underground, you can treat the whole giant thing, all 9.5 million people, like your own suburb. You can go anywhere in London in a matter of minutes, so people here get to live life in a vibrant, cosmopolitan, international city no matter where they actually live in it.

    It has won me over. I'll never forget it.    Read more

  • Sojourn Britannia
    Day 11

    Surrey and Sussex

    September 6, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today was a day of travel. I had hoped that things would be a bit more straighforward, but in truth, I found today quite challenging.

    Right now, I am relaxed after dinner, a lager and a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, sitting in the lounge of a 1640 dairy, now a 4.5 star guesthouse in West Sussex called Random Hall. Our host Richard, who has been to Newcastle NSW, is a most convivial fellow who made us feel very welcome. Now is good, but getting here, well that was not so easy.

    We said goodbye to London and our apartment in Vauxhall this morning, quite sad to be leaving. Our homw away from home kind of did become our home and we both found it emotionally difficult to leave. London worked itself into our bloodstream, so it was a sad farewell.

    The trip into Heathrow to pick up our car rental was uneventful, the Vicotria line to Green Park, then the Picadilly line to Heathrow, a fifty minute journey. We had coffee, organised our car and set off. Well at least, that was the grand plan.

    The car was upgraded from a small vehicle to a, SUV Citroen, a very nice car. We set the GPS to Shere in Surrey and a very British accent began to regale us with directions that were so complex and torturous that my stress levels were through the roof within the first five minutes. I always knew that getting our of Heathrow would be challenging, but my goodness, half an hour later, we were still stuck going around and around in various circles and slip roads. Dreadful!

    Chris hit upon the idea of disconnecting her and connecting up our Australian girl though his phone. Fabulous result. She told us clearly where to go, which lane to be in, and when you were going make a turn. Still, I had to drive through torrential rain in a car I did not know, on a road system I had never driven before. Sheesh!

    Arriving in Surrey, we drove through Shere, the origin area of the Edsers, to drive down the Ewhurst road to find our lodgings, High Edser. Unfortunately, when we arrrived, our hostess was at a funeral and not answering her phone. She had left nothing for us to enter, and despite the efforts of two fabulous gardeners to assist us, we were left to our own devices.

    So, we drove into Cranleigh, there to enter the local pub, the Richard Onslow, to have a a drink, a wee, eat something and work out what we were going to do. I photographed Chris in the pub in the manner of a Vermeer painting.

    Not having paid anything to High Edser, we decided to give the hostess till 4.30pm to get back to us before we would look for something else. The weather was turning cold, it was raining lightly, and the sky was losing its daylight brightness. 4.30 came and by the magic of the internet, we found Random Hall in West Sussex and promtly drove there, to be warmly welcomed and helped by our host Richard.

    I am sorry we could not stay at High Edser. Our hostess did get back to us later via one of the gardeners but by then, we had already booked here at Random Hall. Oh well. You have to roll with the punches when you're travelling. There is no choice.

    We have had a glorious meal in the restaurant here, more settled and are happily ensconced in the lounge writing. Tomorrow brings some exciting developments.    Read more

  • Sojourn Britannia
    2
    Day 12

    West Sussex - Arundel Castle

    September 7, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    While we were quite ready for Surrey, West Sussex, which is south of Surrey, has been a complete surprise. Beautiful rolling green hills and pasturelands. Farmland, quaint little villages with the obligatory pub in each. I can understand why the pubs now. In times, past, the distances between these villages was significant, so a public house is a place for refreshment, a drink, a bite to eat and to rest up for a bit. Makes perfect sense. Different to the pubs in suburbia in Australia.

    Before I get to the Duke of Norfolk; did I mention the Duke of Norfolk? Oh, he lives in Castle Arundel. No, before I get to him and there, I want to say a world about the roads here. Aggghhhh! There I've said it. Oh, okay. They're winding, extremely narrow, slippery when wet, and you have to stop sometimes to let oncoming traffic through before you proceed. If you happen to reach each other in one of those narrow passes from a blind spot, then you have to stop, and one either has to reverse, not always possible, or you inch past each other as though your life depends on it. At least, the excess on a rental car depends on it.

    Surrey and West Sussex have been a dream. Random Hall where we are staying has been a delight and a balm after London. The little connective tissue roads between villages, not so much.

    So, now to the Duke of Norfolk. We didn't see him. Apart from the odd portrait in his castle, I probably would not recognise him if I bumped him in the Arundel corner store.

    The castle is immense. And by immense, I mean absolutely huge. Once in its depths and heights, Chris and I had no idea exactly where we were. It is very old, you can read the Wiki entry if you're interested, and it has been added onto over the years. It is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk, who by right of his title, is also called the Earl Chamberlain, whose duties are to organise coronations and I think maybe, royal funerals.

    The Norfolks all spring from the Howards, as in Catherine Howard, one of Henry VIII's wives. One of the Dukes, the fourth I think, was beheaded by Henry, who only outlived him by two weeks.

    The vast halls, dining rooms, feasting chambers, the library, the bedrooms, sitting rooms, are in truth, completely over the top, and if they were not in an ancient castle would be considered gaudy and bad taste. But in such a place, they work really well and look fabulous. Weirdly, the Norfolks are a Catholic family and managed to survive Henry and Elizabeth. There are pictures of cardinals and various Popes meeting with the Duke and Duchess over the years. The present Duke is the 18th and he and his family live in private apartments that we did not go near.

    The art collection placed upon the walls is magnificent. As a private collection, it has masterpieces on every wall and they are well-looked after by the guides who also double as security.

    Going up into the keep was a challenge for me. My legs got a little wobbly on one of the spiral stone staircases, but I managed to keep moving and get up there to see the views, and to cast aspersions on any French tourists below (Monty Python joke there). The gardens were gorgeous, vast and rambling and we had a relaxing time walking around in them even though it rained lightly while we did so.

    The British aristocracy is something else. It is ancient I know, but it is of another time and an anachronism in many ways in the modern world. I am so glad that Australia doesn't have class system built on an aristocratic elite and has always aspired to equality. Still, with its magnificence and splendour, Arundel Castle was fun to visit, but I wouldn't want to lilve there.    Read more

  • Sojourn Britannia
    Day 12

    Shere Delight

    September 7, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Dear reader, you may recall from yesterday's travails that our High Edser accommodation fell through. This was disappointing, but at least I got to see it. In reading up on it, I learned that Christabel Pankhurst, daughter of Emmeline famous suffragette, lived there for some time, herself a famous suffragette, and her mother would visit her there. That's something I did not know before I came to the UK. The Pankhursts at High Edser.

    Today was really divided into two halves. The first half is the subject of this footprint. Our visit to Shere. Almost all of you reading this will not know that my forebears came from this part of Surrey, in fact the village and area of Shere. If you go back far enough, there is some linguistic speculation that the 'ser' in 'Edser' comes from the letters making up the location of 'Shere'.

    Certainly my great grandfather James Edser, who was tranpsorted to Australia grew up here in the village and region and was convicted in the local courts here, I know not the reason. He was only 28 and was sent to Australia for seven years in around 1848 and landed at Circular Quay on my birthday 9 June to be pardoned immediately. He was my grandfather's grandfather.

    Shere is very old. It goes back centuries. Chris and I searched the churchyard of St James for an Edser gravesite in vain. The church is surrounded by 19th century graves, and graves even older. It was raining lightly, so we split up and with umbrellas unfurled, we searched high and low for an Edser, any Edser. After a while with our feet getting wet in the long grass, we decided to cease out quest. I feel sure there is more than a good chance of an Edser buried in the graveyard, but I will have to follow that up when I get back to Australia.

    After St James, we headed for the equally old White Horse for a coffee. The Inn was built in 1425 and has some history attached about running illegal liquor. I wonder whether Great Grandfather James had anything to do with that.

    A walk around the village and into the woods and along the River Tillingbourne that runs right through the middle of the town followed, which was a delight.

    I may not have found the Edsers, but I felt their presence and feel I have a connection now to this tiny ancient village. I doubt whether I'll ever see it again, but I am glad that I came.    Read more

  • Sojourn Britannia
    Day 14

    Did Someone Say Robin Hood?

    September 9, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    DId someone say Robin Hood? Not this little black duck. We're here safely ensconced in Nottingham, and really, the last thing on my mind is Robin Hood or Sherwood Forest. I am not faintly interrested in doing any Robin Hood tourism, although there is some here.

    We had a long drive from West Sussex, up the M1 to get here. One stop about two hours in for a coffee and then unfortunately, a car accident somewhere way ahead and the motorway came a to a screaming halt. We turtled along for over half an hour. My left leg hasn't had to use a clutch for over a year now, so it was getting pretty if-y by the time we did eventually get past the vehicles with their whirling lights. And so many trucks on this road. Very intimidating. They do not mind coming right up behind you. Good grief!

    We met our gracious host Luke, who years before had read my book. We had tried to book his apartment back in 2020 before Covid killed off our trip. Even though his city apartment is no longer an Air B & B, he just offered to put us up for free regardless, vacating his own bedroom for us. He has invited me to speak to his group for an hour tonight which I am happy to do.

    Luke is a young man after my own heart. He has had a similar upbringing to me in religion (the JWs), is gay, and has abandoned the doctrines of his parents for something that is less dogmatic and more open to questioning and wonder. We have very similar approaches to theology. So, a bit of a kindred spirit for me.

    Last night, we met up with one of Chris' friends, Nicholson. He is charming, witty, intelligent, sexy and, in many ways, a bon vivant. A scrumtious Persian dinner with thim after a drink at the Lord Roberts and a walk through the city was a wonderful evening. We even had a look inside Britain's oldest pub, the Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem, or the Trip, built in 1189 into sandstone caves, full of nookes and crannies and not a straight line or right angle to be seen anywhere.

    Half way through the afternoon while talking to Luke, we heard that the Queen was under medical care, and I had already heard she had cancelled her monthly meeting with the Privy Council, her group of advisors. I had wondered in all honesty, "is this it?" Well of course, we all know now, that it was it. The Queen died that afternoon at the age of 96.

    I am still processing it. Like everyone else, she has been a mainstay throughout my entire life, always there, trying to run the family business through good times and bad. A large digital photograph of the Queen was placed on the corner of Nottingham railway station last night which we saw as we walked.

    Politically, it's important for me to say that I am a Republican. It makes no sense at all for Australia to have a British monarch as our Head of State. It is an anachronism, a left-over from times past. And I am glad that the Republican debate in Australia had already reignited before her death.

    The Queen herself was much loved here, but the Royal Family and the institution is problematic even for many Britons. However, due to the power of grief, today is not the day to wax decisively about the monarchy. I feel very very sorry for the close family. Having had my own parents in my life as mainstays right into my older adult life, I know how much of a wrench it is to lose them at such a stage in your own journey.

    Today, we will explore the city and relax. Britain has lost her Queen and has a new King.

    What a day.    Read more

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