Our 2011 Trip to England
AMAZING to relate but nonetheless true: our annual trip to England (#13) started with a couple unbelievably halcyon days! It was actually HOT. That is, don't you know--not COLD, wet and blustery. It normalized later, of course, but upon our arrival, it was HOT. Packing, we did it wrong. T-shirts and sandals called for--we had none.However, as I said, it didn't last, and our woolies came into play as expected.
As always, we took a TON of pictures. Click here to see some.
| We arrived on Thursday night,collapsed in a hotel near the airport, and the next day set off for Canterbury and our dear friends the Druots. John greeted us with a charming lunch involving an agreeable rosé and some simply stunning cheeses brought back from their recent holiday in France. |  |
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After lunch, we set off for a splendid walk, through the green fields from ancient church to ancient pub, under a flawless sky of perfect blue. It was actually, well, HOT. The last pub we decided would be just the place for dinner, and Jane joined us there. A lovely dinner, a splendid visit! Many thanks to the Drouots! |
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John wrote out a splendid route for us to take to Rustington, but alas, we got lost almost immediately owing to my inability to find any street signs, or interpret them if I did find them. Exacerbated by my poor eyesight, coupled with not knowing where a sign might be expected to be. Perhaps it would have been better had I NOT taken the anti-cold pill that morning, which affected me like a blow to the head--I was close to catatonic for most of the day. NOT a good condition for sight seeing, really. By the way, check out this SPLENDID site which features (among other things) pictures of artistic signs in Kentish villages. Showing, for instance, that beauty often takes precedence over the tedious job of, well, imparting information. |
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But of course, eventually we found our way and there was our little cottage on Mariner's Walk, with the grey Atlantic gleaming at the end of the street.We had a pleasant week of family visiting-- lunch on Sunday at the Norfolk Arms, where Lawrence's dad lived as a child; Tuesday a quick train ride to London for a ladies' lunch; Wednesday, a pretty drive to Hayward's Heath for a lunch with one of Lawrence's old mates from school. Meanwhile, Lawrence was feasting on pork pies whenever he had a chance. |
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Then we said goodbye and drove up to London for a visit with Joy and Dave. We met at the Victoria and Albert Museum, my favorite museum in the world, I think. There was a fabulous show going on called Power of Making which was crammed with splendid curiosities--this bear, for instance, made of crocheted yarn ("Crochetdermy"). There was a chain link fence that looked like lacework, and a surfboard made with cardboard scaffolding under the fiberglass. The first exhibit was a simple dry stone wall, always astonishing in the way the rough stones fit together like puzzle pieces, and yet, they have not been shaped at all. And there were simply elegant examples of leather work--a sleek racing saddle, or this L-shaped suitcase. |
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After the museum we retired to Daphne's for refreshment, and thence to a pleasant pub for more refreshment, where our nephew Daniel joined us. The next day after a charming brunch in Kew, we made our way back to Heathrow and home. Pictures here. |
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