Day Three: Hever Castle

CORRECTION!!!  I have just realized that Hever Castle was not the first place we visited on Day Three.  We first went to Winston Churchill's home, Chartwell.  But since I have already finished the writing about Hever Castle...I will do the Chartwell visit next.  I am just too lazy right now to write another post.

Day three:  This is the day we board the bus (coach) and begin our travels around England and a little bit of Scotland.  Our first stop is Hever Castle.  We left our packed bags in our rooms, ate our English Full Breakfast, and filed into the coach.  We found seats near the back.  Stephanie and Bruce  sat across from us.  During the trip we rotated seats each morning so that we ended up sitting in a variety of places throughout the trip.

I got this picture from on line: Essentially-England.com

This was the second time I had been to Hever Castle.  The first was when my sister, Linda, mother, Maxine and I came to visit my niece, Maggie while she was taking classes for a semester in London.
Linda is our genealogist and had traced our family back to John Cobham...our great, great....grandfather.  Not sure how many greats...but a lot.  Linda knows...so I will check with her.  Anyway...John Cobham had been the sheriff of Kent and lived in this castle and was buried in the nave of St. Peter's Church which is outside the grounds.  He sold this castle to the Boleyn family, so it has some interesting history to it.  They built on to make it a much larger castle.  This is where Anne Boleyn's family lived and Henry the VIII visited there many times.

 Linda, Maxine, Maggie and I decided to take the train from London and take the 'short' walk to the castle.  This was in 2002...Maxine was almost 83 years old, and beginning the signs of macular degeneration...but was determined to visit the castle.  We took the train to Edenbridge station, asked directions (just down the road a short distance), and began walking.   After an hour I began to wonder if this whole trek would be worth it.  I remembered driving and hiking miles in western USA to visit ghosts towns....only to find a shell of one building.  Was this going to happen to us in England?  Was Hever Castle going to be a lonely shell of a building?  We had been walking this narrow road in farm country with lots of sheep, but not many buildings.

We talked about turning back, but the thought of walking another hour without seeing the castle made us continue.  The terrain was hilly and we decided to walk up the next hill. It felt like the "Twilight Zone" in that we had seen very few cars during our walk...and no signs that there was any tourist attraction nearby.  As we walked over the crest of the hill we saw it...Hever Castle!  The parking lot was full of busses and cars...like an oasis in the fields of sheep.


Hever Castle from a Distance

I told that little story because I was amazed that Maxine, at almost 83 walked the three miles and then continued to tour the whole castle.  She was not about to miss any part of this trip.

Back to my tour with Ray, Stephanie and Bruce.  We did not have to hike the distance as I had before.  Our coach took us right to the parking lot.  The day was sunny with a bright blue sky.  The walkway to the castle was lined with topiaries.    


Walkway to Hever Castle




Topiaries

 

   The castle was full of Henry the VIII information.  We could take the narrow winding stairways to different levels.  The last room was near the top and where we found artifacts from the time of John Cobham.  I was prepared for this room as we were a bit taken aback when we first saw it in 2002.  The room was full of all types of equipment and devices that  a sheriff would have and or used.  It was all quite morbid with weapons and a variety of torture items.

It was a bit disappointing to think that an ancestor of ours could be part of torture and death.  But he did quit being a sheriff and opened a school....later buried at St. Peter's Church...so I hope the end of his life was spent helping people. 


St. Peter's Church where John Cobham is buried.

Looks like I slipped back to my trip in 2002.  I will let these pictures (We could not take pictures inside) tell the rest of the 2013 trip to Hever Castle.  It was not the largest or most impressive of the castles we saw during this tour...but Hever Castle is my favorite because of my small connection with it...and the memories it brings of how after walking three miles my mother toured the whole castle...even up the narrow stairs to the 'torture room' and throughout the gardens outside.

Moat at Hever Castle



This gate looks like something from the John Cobham time. :-)



Courtyard at Hever Castle



This is where Henry the VIII slept while at Hever Castle

Moat around Hever Castle



Here I am standing in front of our ancestor's home. :-)




Video of St. Peter's Church

 

 

Video of walk up to Hever Castle

 

Video of Hever Castle and Moat





Day Two: London

Our second day in London was really our first whole day there.  We awoke early and went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.  This was probably the best breakfast on our whole tour in that it was a buffet with lots of choices...and there was an omelet chef.  A full English breakfast consists of baked beans, baked tomato slices, big sautéed mushrooms, sausage (link type), bacon (not crispy and more like Canadian bacon), and fried or scrambled eggs.  That is why I opted for the cheese omelet...as I didn't like the rest.  There was also a variety of cold cereals and good pastries, fruit, cold cheeses, cold meats, toast and oatmeal (porridge).  I also liked this buffet because I did not feel rushed or crowded.  There never seemed to  be a line since they had the food stations in a variety of places.

Lobby of Thistle Marble Arch Hotel

Stairs at the hotel.  There was an escalator going up to the right, or you could take the elevator to the street.

After breakfast we boarded a bus (coach) to take a tour of London's West End where we saw, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square.  We did not tour these places...but walked around a lot taking pictures.  A realized another positive about taking a tour is that our guide took us to the Methodist Central Hall where they had free bathrooms (WC... water closets).  There was a small café there where we got something to drink.  Other times I have been in London and other European cities I often had to pay to go to the public bathrooms.

Ray and I in front of Big Ben holding the Columbus Dispatch  Travel Section

Stephanie and Bruce in front of Big Ben holding the Columbus Dispatch Travel Section

Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace

Changing of  the Guard, Buckingham Palace

After our stop at the Methodist Central Hall we headed to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards.  It was CROWDED....and being short I can never see over shoulders.  I managed to worm my way to the front where there was a small gap, and I did not budge...even with the child being held by his mother who kept kicking me in the back because he wanted down.  Here is a video of part the changing of the guard.

We headed back to the hotel to regroup and meet our tour director.  Stephanie and Bruce came up to our room and we mapped out our afternoon.  We planned to take the Underground (or Tube) to the London Eye, visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, walk across the Millennium Bridge and have an early dinner by the Thames.  But first, let's meet John McAllister, our tour director.  The four of us sat in some comfy chairs in the hotel lobby with John to discuss expectations and to sign up for any of the optional activities.  This is when Stephanie got quiet...something was wrong.

"I must have left my billfold in my room."  She left and we waited, chatting about the tour...waited... and chatted some more.  She returned with no billfold.  "I know I had it in the zipper of this new bag."  I heard the panic in her voice.

"Were you anywhere today where there might have been pickpockets?" was John's reply.

We figured the last place she paid for something as at the café at the Methodist Central Hall.  After that we had gone to see the Changing of the Guards.  Stephanie returned to her room to do another more thorough search.  We all had a sinking feeling that somewhere in that packed crowd a pickpocket had found a way to pilfer her billfold that also contained all of her credit cards.  After listening to John explain how crafty these pickpockets are...I decided to help Stephanie search...maybe a new set of eyes would help.

When I got to her room I felt the despair.  What had once been neatly packed suitcases was now a scene of clothes tossed on chairs and beds.  Sitting in the middle was Stephanie...almost in tears.  Soon Bruce and Ray arrived and we went into problem solving mode.  Bruce was on the phone calling the Methodist Central Hall to see if anyone had found a billfold.  I found the number and address of the police since we knew we had to report this for insurance.  Ray went up to our room to get something...not sure what.

Methodist Central Hall called....but no billfold.  We knew then that it would be best to report this to the credit card companies.  At this time I had a flash...even faster than a flash...I could barely grab the thought...but caught the tail of it and reined it in.  Could she have dropped her billfold while they were in our room?  I sent Ray a text to check as I headed up to our room. (We were on the 7th floor and they were on the 4th).  Ray met me at the door...holding Stephanie's billfold!  I called their room, Stephanie came up to get it...and yes...we, Stephanie and I (not Ray and Bruce), hugged each other and cried.  Ray had found it under the chair where Stephanie had been sitting.  We learned a good lesson though, and were extra vigilant in keeping our bags safe from any pickpockets....just in case.

The London Underground (Tube) Subway

We were soon off to the subway to go to the London Eye.  It was crowded, but we were getting used to that.  The train came and there was a big rush to get on.  I said, "Are we ready?...Let's go"...and then realized that Bruce and Ray had been polite and let some people in front of them.  Stephanie jumped on the train, I looked back to let Bruce and Ray know we needed to get on.  The door closed and the last we saw of Stephanie was her staring out the window, hands pushing on the closed door...mouthing she would see us at St. Paul's Station.  We reunited at St. Paul's laughing at how we must look like quite the tourists.

Jackie, Stephanie and Bruce walking away from St. Paul's Cathedral toward the Millennium Bridge 

Bruce on the Millennium Bridge

Jackie and Stephanie on the Millennium Bridge

  We walked past St. Paul's Cathedral, crossed the Millennium Bridge  checked out The Globe Theatre (it was not open because of  a play taking place).

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

Next we walked along the Thames to The London Eye which  is a huge Ferris wheel that has big glass pods instead of the typical seats.  From the Eye we took lots of pictures of London...even though the lighting was not that great...it was somewhat of a misty day.

London Eye

London Eye

London Eye

Stephanie, Ray and Bruce inside Eye Pod

Bruce taking pictures from the pod.

Stephanie taking pictures.

Ray leaning on door taking pictures. (note sign: Do Not Lean on Doors)

Ray in Eye Pod

Looking at another pod from ours.

Sy enjoying ride on the London Eye.

This is us inside the London Eye Pod

It had been a long full day and we were hungry.  Fortunately there are lots of pubs in London and we found a place, The Founders Arms Pub, right on the Thames.  We sat outside people watching the boats go by.  Ray got fish and chips that also came with mushy peas.  I stuck with chicken and I can't remember what Stephanie and Bruce got.

Fish and Chips with mushy peas.

Dinner at the pub with a nice view.

We took the Underground back to Marble Arch Station which was just a block from our hotel.  It was going to be an early  morning, so we went to our rooms and packed...and watched the news about the poor mummified child.

OOPS...Ray just read this and said it was not in chronological order.  We ate before we went on the London Eye!   He also thanked me for qualifying that he had Bruce did not hug and cry when Stephanie's billfold was found.

Our First Day on Elegance of Britain Trip

Ray and Jackie

We have been home from our visit to the United Kingdom for about three weeks now and I am finally over (hopefully) the cold that caught me while riding the London Tube.  At least, that is what I am blaming.  We traveled and visited so many places in England and Edinburgh, Scotland that I will divide our adventures in a number of posts.  I had visited London three other times, but never ventured far from the city, so was excited to see the rest of the country.  Ray had never been to England...so this was all new for him.

Bruce and Stephanie

We traveled with our friends, Stephanie Stephens and Bruce Thompson.  When we began planning this trip we thought that renting a car would be the best way to see everything on our lists....but then memories of another trip in Las Vegas, where three were calling out directions to the driver (me) on the strip during rush hour (which seems to be all of the time).  That was the first and only time I have ever stopped a car, gotten out, and offered the wheel to anyone willing to drive.  We laugh now, but the tension  was not fun.  Thoughts of driving on the left side of the road in unfamiliar territory...and knowing that each of us think we 'know' the correct route even though we have no clue was reason to find a tour that would take us to most of the places on our lists.

I had doubts about this decision as I had never been on this type of tour.  When traveling overseas my sister and I did rent a car in Ireland and all other times I have used public transportation...and liked the flexibility.  (Driving a stick shift in Ireland was a bit unnerving with two young children in the back seat crying that we were going to wreck.  We finally figured that if I, the passenger, would work the shift with my right hand...then the driver could work the pedals.  Ah...but that is another trip and the children are adults now...so back to this trip.)  After traveling on this tour, I think I am ready to try it again.  We took the Elegance of Britain offered by Insight Tours.  We not only had no hassle with driving (and getting lost), we had no worries about parking.  But the best, was that we became friends with a lot of fellow travelers.

Departure was from Detroit Metro Airport.  Ray and I were waiting to meet Stephanie and Bruce at Detroit Metro when I decided to exchange some of our British currency to a few British pounds so that we could use them for tips when we arrived in England.  I only had bills and needed the pound coins.  The young man was surprised that I wanted to exchange the bills for some coins and did not even charge me a fee because he 'wanted to get rid of the coins.'  So I exchanged a 20 pound note for 20 pound coins.  When Stephanie heard what I did she decided to get some coins too....but returned empty handed.  She was told that some lady came earlier and took all of the coins. :-)  I was kind enough to share the coins with her.



On the plane ready to go.

We arrived at Heathrow Airport in the late morning and managed to get to our hotel by early afternoon.  We stayed at the Thistle Marble Arch for two nights, a beautiful hotel near Selfridges, Hyde Park and an Underground station.  Stephanie and Bruce had a room overlooking Oxford Street.  Our room overlooked a "courtyard" full of air conditioning units and a small patio with multi-colored chairs.

Cy looking out the window at Thistle Marble Arch Hotel

We liked our room though...the beds were comfortable and we had lots of room with a nice desk....and free Wi-Fi.   We did find out that in many hotels do not have face cloths.  There were plenty of bath and hand towels, but no face cloths...(or as some in Britain call...'flannels').

This was what we got when we requested a double bed.

The rest of the first day we spent getting acclimated to the time change and our surroundings.  We found a pub, Three Tuns, nearby where we had dinner.  Ray, Stephanie and Bruce opted for fish and chips.  Any of you who know me know I would never put fish in my mouth...so I got a chicken sandwich.  Everyone liked the food.  The place was quite crowded but we found a table tucked in the back corner.

Three Tuns when not so busy

We returned to the hotel and settled for a good night's rest because the next day was a busy one.  There was a ring at our door and there was Bruce with some face cloths for us.  He and Stephanie had gone out again to find a store that carried face cloths and were kind enough to get us some too.
The rest of the evening was uneventful except a horrid news story on the telly.  Some poor 18 month old child...they called it the mummified child...had been found in his mother's apartment.  I won't go into the details, but we heart this same story almost every day.  The news there seems to be just as sensationalized as it is here in the states.

We turned off the telly and lights and had a nice night's sleep hoping that jet lag would not be too severe.  Tomorrow was going to be a fun day!

Flying over Great Britain

Jackie walking along Oxford St.

Dogged Determination

It's been a long time since my last post and I have many excuses...but that is just what they are. I am sure I could have made time to write something, but it just did not happen.  So, I will write a short post about this picture that I found of my mother, Maxine.

  I do wish that the photographer had not chopped part of the head off.  I am sure that my father did not take this picture because (unlike Henry the VIII) he would never chop off part of Maxine's head.  In fact, this was taken many years after his death.  Mother was past her 70th birthday.
A little background would help here.  My parents were quite active in their church, Monroe Street United Methodist.  Every year, all the Sunday School classes would put on skits as a money maker...and of course, there was quite the competition to have the best skit.  Once her class decided on the skit Mother was in her glory sewing her costume...a puppy dog.
The skit goes like this.
On the stage there are two desks.  One has a type writer on it.  The other has one sitting with a stack of papers that are to be forms for employment.  There is a door to the side where one by one people come in to be interviewed for a secretarial job.  Each person is rejected for some failing...either typing, spelling, phone answering...etc.  Finally, there is just one more applicant left.  The employer is getting frustrated as no one has all the needed requirements for the job.
In walks the last applicant....the puppy dog...on all fours....ears flopping.  The employer is a bit taken aback but continues with the interview which the puppy dog passes with ease.  Typing was no problem, phone etiquette was perfect.  There was one last question that the employer knew the puppy dog would fail.
"We are looking for a bilingual secretary.  Can you speak a second language?"
With that...Maxine (the puppy) cocked and scratched her head...and then said with confidence..." MEOW."
The audience loved the skit, but were even more impressed when Maxine took off the puppy's head and they realized that the puppy was not some young grandchild but a 70 something woman.  Oh how I hope I am as nimble as my mother as I get older.  And, yes, they did win the competition!

Our Childhood Visiting Our Grandparents by Linda Haworth Anderson

In the summer Jackie and I spent a lot if time in Keokuk, Iowa. We were pretty much free to roam even from an early age. We could walk the mile or so downtown to "spend" our two-totters, little plastic handles that hooked two quarts of milk together in the grocery.  These could be exchanged for two cents at the Kresge's store .  We would take our bag of two-totters that my grandmother had saved for us  to the back of the store where they did lay-aways...  and we would get a voucher. Jackie and I each got our own voucher and then wandered through the store seeing what we might buy. They were also  good at the soda fountain at Kresge's, though we could usually count on Aunt Marge to treat us to a sundae on her  break. She worked at Kresge's so all the sales clerks knew us.

Main Street, Keokuk 2010

 One year there was a drawing for a bike. I was so sure it  was mine. We got a  call one day at Nana and Papa's house for me to come to the store to claim my prize!  When I went, they called third place and it was another child, then second prize and it was me......a badminton set....we had fun with it, but it was not the bike.

Another thing we would do to amuse ourselves during the summer visits was plan somewhat elaborate silly hoaxes. One was to take our camera and wander the downtown getting people to pose for us. We explained we were' intern cub reporters' for the local paper and that there was going to be a "clean city" or "adorable pet" picture page.  We would have the person pose by a trash can tossing in some wad of paper or pose with their dog in the park. We could convince most anyone to cooperate... and what was the worst that could happen? Mother was very annoyed with us, but Nana thought it was funny. Another time we created Beatles posters advertising a concert in the local park. We assumed no one would take them seriously, but believe it or not, a half dozen or so people  showed up at the band shell on the advertised night!  We wandered by to overhear their conversations.

The house Nana and Papa lived in was  once the house of his parents. They had immigrated from Sweden in  1889, with their four children, Amanda, Sevrin, Clara, and Ertle, with my Papa Frank on the way. He was born in America a few months after they arrived so was the first natural born US citizen in the family.

Papa had a workshop/ studio down a little path from he back door. There was also a shed to the left of the path where Nana stored boxes and jars. On the far left a bit farther down the path was the garage where papa's fishing boat was stored and last was a sandbox area for us just before Papa's shop.

Jackie on left, Linda on right in sandbox area.
 

On the other side of the path was Nana's vegetable garden. She always planted tomatoes, peppers, green beans, radishes, carrots and turnips. Behind the shop was a deep ravine where we tossed all sorts of things. It was thick with trees and always felt cool and damp. Once I found a tiny gravestone shaped like a heart sticking out of the grass a few feet down the ravine. I was sure it was a secret grave of some long ago relative.  It turned out to be a "mistake" as Nana explained it: someone had ordered a tombstone and Papa had written the name down wrong! Not much to be done with a tombstone inscribed incorrectly!

Papa often would spend long hours in his shop, and it was not a place you just walked in, but he sometimes invited you. He might be using his lathe to make something, painting a landscape, or smoking his pipe. You never knew what you might find. It always smelled like turpentine and sawdust with a touch of cherry tobacco. There were graduated table vices you could clamp to hold scraps of wood. He always had old Currier And Ives calendars tacked to the wall and the windows were dense with the soot and grease from his stove and pipes. He had set up a buzzer system to the house so Nana could let him know when to come in for lunch or dinner.

Prayer time at Nana and Papa's
 

One summer when we were quite small we were left with Nana and Papa for several weeks. I had long hair that was always getting tangled and  messy. Nana did not enjoy trying to comb the hair of a fidgety child, so she asked me if I wanted  a permanent. I knew what that was, as I had spent many hours in the blue and white kitchen while my mom gave permanents to Nana, Marge and assorted relatives. The family stories  and gossip ( most of which I did not understand) they shared made it very exciting. I agreed that I wanted my hair short  and curly.

Linda with short curly hair, age 5.

Nana obliged. She also let me play in the sandbox dressed only in my shorts. By the end of my visit, when mom and dad came to collect us I was all but unrecognizable - my curly brown had bleached out in the sun and my skin was brown as could be. Papa had coached me to say when asked my name: "my name is Linda Lee Carlson and I live at1516 Park Street!" Needless to say, my mother was NOT amused with my metamorphosis! Nor was she happy that Jackie and I were not attired in our matching "outfits". Mother would pack our identical suitcases with identical or "coordinated" outfits for us to wear. We were to wear the matching outfits each day.

Here we are in our Maxine outfits...not quite matching, but coordinated.

Once Jackie so hated the puffy legged rompers with wide sashes that needed to be tied in the back, that she wore hers backward and inside out.

This is a little blurry, but you can see the puffy rompers.  This was in front of Nana and Papa's house.

The only matching sets we liked were the cow girl outfits decorated with embroidery and fringe and topped with felt cowboy hats.

Our mother, Maxine, Nana, Papa and Aunt Marge