England 2016: 2018

http://joydarrenengland.blogspot.com.au

London

In September 2016 my son Darren was going to England on business and he suggested I join him. With just a couple of weeks notice it was all very exciting to contemplate just what I'd do while Darren was busy working. What a wonderful mother and son opportunity. In 1973, I went to England with my parents (who were tour leaders), in 1978 my husband Peter & I took our children, and in 2007 Peter and I spent 3 weeks travelling through England, mainly interested in family history and the villages our ancestors had lived in.

It did not take much for me to decide where I wanted to go and who to see.

Darren's office overlooked Trafalgar Square, so that was ideal easy walking distance down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards, Houses of Parliament & Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc. I love anything Royal! Then in the other direction was Picadilly Circus, Regent Street and Oxford Circus, Hyde Park, Harrods, etc. Darren & I went to St Paul's Cathedral, Old Bailey Court and Royal Courts of Justice. I celebrated my 73rd birthday with Darren at Windsor Castle and saw Les Miserables in the evening. As a keen tennis player I also visited Wimbledon.

I had cousins I wanted to visit:

Geoffrey & Jan Whitcombe in Rudgwick and Eleanor & Alec Andrews in Bridgnorth.

In 2014 I discovered that Peter's grandmother Doris had 2 step-sisters living in Worthing. Vera was 101 and Kath 95. What a wonderful opportunity to meet them and extended family.

We travelled Melbourne to England September 2016

Emirates/Qantas Lounge in Dubai

Flying into London I could see the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben,
Buckingham Palace and Queen Victoria Monument,
Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards, Westminster Abbey,
Hyde Park & Serpentine, Royal Albert Hall

London from the air

Underground from Heathrow Airport to London
The red case was mine, Darren travelled lightly

The first of many breakfasts at "Timberyard"
on the way to Darren's office

Darren leaving his office at 7 St Martin's Place
next door to St Martin-in-the-Fields Church
at Trafalgar Square

Darren's office was next door to
St Martin-in-the-Fields Church
opposite Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross

Having left Darren at his office, I set out to explore London. The thought was quite daunting at first but having been to London several times before I soon felt very comfortable and up for the challenge alone. Trafalgar Square was a good central location so firstly I headed off down the Mall to Buckingham Palace. I soon realised that the Guards were practising at nearby Wellington Barracks prior to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
The official residence of Britain's sovereign since 1837

Buckingham Palace Gates

Buckingham Palace

Afternoon Tea at Buckingham Palace
after taking a tour through the Palace
Iced coffee and vanilla slice were yummy
Unfortunately the Queen was not at home!

Her Majesty Joy!

Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace

Royal Mews

Royal Mews shop behind Buckingham Palace

Royal Mews Shop

Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh

The marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton
at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011

Queen Elizabeth with her 5 great grandchildren
and 2 youngest grandchildren at Windsor
to celebrate her 90th birthday in 2016.
James(8) & Louise (12), Mia (2), Savannah (5)
& Isla (4), George (4) & Charlotte (11 months)

Horse Guard's Parade

Clarence House where Prince Charles
& Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall live

Changing of the Guard at Clarence House

Big Ben

Houses of Parliament

Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square

Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square

Westminster Abbey the Coronation Church for
39 British Monarchs since 1066
and 17 Royal weddings

Side entrance of Westminster Abbey

Interior of St Margaret's Chapel
at rear of Westminster Abbey
Parliament's Parish Church since 1614

Methodist Central Hall
opposite Westminster Abbey

Interior Methodist Central Hall

Privy Court

No.10 Downing Street was well protected
The home and office of the British Prime Minister

Cenotaph War Memorial in Whitehall

Memorial in Whitehall
to Women of World War 11

King George VI (1895-1952)
& Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002) in the Mall

Piccadilly Circus
I went to most locations on the Monopoly board

Regent Street at Piccadilly Circus

Oxford Circus

Marble Arch at Hyde Park

The Serpentine in Hyde Park

Princess Diana's Memorial in Hyde Park
Opened by Queen Elizabeth on 6 July 2004
The water cascades, swirls and bubbles
before meeting in a calm pool at the bottom
to symbolise Princess Diana's openness qualities

Prince Albert's Memorial in Kensington Gardens
Commissioned by Queen Victoria

Royal Albert Hall opposite Kensington Gardens
Nana Jessie Wallis played her violin there when she was a young woman

William Shakespeare in Leicester Square

Darren & I attended Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral
Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece built in 1673

Old Bailey's Court

The Royal Courts of Justice

Australia House

Joy at Covert Gardens
where "My Fair Lady" was filmed

River Thames & London Eye

"The Anchor"
Built 1676 after the Great Fire of 1666

Charlotte, Dan and Darren at "The Anchor"

Lunch with Mike & Kath Bernstein at National Gallery
Spent a couple of hours at the National Gallery
I met Mike and Kath on my 2012 Blue Danube River cruise

"Sunflowers" by Vincent Van Gogh

National Gallery

Houses of Parliament from Trafalgar Square

I took many underground tube trips

One never had to wait long for the bus
We took the No.38 to get home to Islington

Our 2 bedroom apartment on corner
Marquess & Essex Roads, Islington (3 windows top right)
No.38 bus into London was convenient
1 mile walk to Highbury & Islington Station
or Angel station short bus trip away
Underground connected easily
to wherever we needed to go

Nearby was Holy Trinity Church in Dalston Hackney
where Clement Moss & Emily Swift were married in 1913

Celebrating the new Millennium at British Museum in 2000

Rosetta Stone in British Museum
Discovered by Napoleon's soldiers in 1799 in Egypt

Harrods

I visited Harrods and was in awe of its extravagance. Mohammed Al Fayed sold Harrods to Qatari Royal family in 2010. Probably the worlds largest and most famous department store.

My visit to Harrods

The orange juice was reasonably priced

China to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday
on 21 April 2016

Tea set to honour Queen Victoria

Fruit at Harrods

Deli at Harrods

Desserts at Harrods

Cheeses at Harrods

Chocolates at Harrods

Fish at Harrods

Dates, Nuts & Figs at Harrods

Diana & Dodi at Harrods with Mohammed Al Fayed looking on
Diana & Dodi died in Paris on 31 August 1997

Egyptian motifs in Harrods

Christmas at Harrods

Cashier at Harrods

Wimbledon

As a tennis player, I could not visit London without going to Wimbledon which included a tour of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, lunch and the Museum. The Museum was well worth a visit. Lots of memorabilia of interest.

Centre Court where the winners show off their trophies
at the completion of Wimbledon

Men's Singles Trophy
Won by Andy Murray in 2016

Ladies Singles Trophy
Won by Serena Williams in 2016

2016 Champions
Andy Murray & Serena Williams

Centre Court at Wimbledon.
The Finals scores were still on the score board
Andy Murray defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6, 7-6

Interview Room at Wimbledon

Rod Laver & Billie Jean King's racquets

Serena Williams,
Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer & Pat Cash outfits

Lew Hoad's tennis gear

Ladies tennis gear

Mens tennis gear

Exhibit in Museum
How fashions have changed

Windsor Castle

On 13 September 2016 we celebrated my 73rd birthday. Darren and I enjoyed a day at Windsor Castle. We saw the Changing of the Guards and Queen Mary's Doll's House built in 1924. Queen Mary was the wife of King George V, our present Queen Elizabeth's grandmother and mother of Kings Edward VIII and George VI. Queen Mary was born 1867 and died 1953. King George V died 1936 and King George VI died 1952.