Christmas Newsletter 2011

2011 has been another busy year for Anne and Alan and, at long last we made it to Australia. It was well worth the wait!

Excursions

There have been plenty of excursions this year, which have included the Forest of Dean, the Isle of Wight and our annual visit to Buxton for the Gilbert and Sullivan festival. With Pat and Tony we arranged this year’s summer outing to Chatham Dockyard. Full of interest, we were able to visit the rope-making factory and explore a submarine and destroyer. Our guide gave us an excellent insight into life aboard the submarine but there is so much to see in the dockyard that two days are needed to take in the lot. Shows included the Riverdance 3D film (the 3D aspect was disappointing) and the stage play ‘Private Lives’ (excellent). The preserved paddle steamer ‘Waverley’ made its annual trip around the coast of the UK and Alan was able to take a trip down the River Thames from Tower Bridge to Gravesend.

Paddle steamer ‘Waverley’ on the River Thames.

Other entertainment included a night of jazz with Kenny Ball, Chris Barber and Acker Bilk, and another when the Russian Ballet came to Croydon. Sadly our ‘Boutique’ cinema succumbed to council budget cuts this year, but not before we had seen the classic film ‘On the Waterfront’ starring Marlon Brando. A complete contrast was a rendition by our local amateur dramatics company of the bawdy Canterbury Tales, performed outdoors in July in typical wet weather! A visit to our friend John in Cheltenham resulted in an excellent choral evening in the church in the ancient Cotswold town of Winchcombe. Finally, to celebrate May’s 80^th birthday, we went for Sunday lunch on the Bluebell Railway’s ‘Golden Arrow’ Pullman train and enjoyed a tasty three-course meal whilst ambling up and down the line with a steam engine puffing away at the head of the train.

The submarine at Chatham.

Redecorations

After about seven months since the house redecoration started the work is complete and we are very pleased with the lounge makeover, which now has Norwegian reclining settees and beautiful German wall units. It all looks very modern.

Germany

In March Alan went on another railway enthusiast trip to Germany to sample the delights of steam trains in what used to be called East Germany. The trip was based in Dresden, the city that was so badly destroyed at the end of World War II. The focus of the trip was the Dresden Steam Festival, that had many locomotives on display and in action and there were a number of main line steam excursions and a couple of narrow gauge lines, one in particular climbing up a steep river gorge. There was plenty of noise and smoke from all the engines in this hilly region.

It was very interesting to see how Dresden had progressed since I was last there ten years ago. The rather gloomy atmosphere under Eastern Bloc control has now been superseded by bright lights, superb shopping centres and the whole place was buzzing. The old city centre has been faithfully restored to its pre-war elegance but we have one thing to be grateful for and that is that the Communist regime did not dispose of its steam railways for many years, so much has been preserved.

Dresden - this church was virtually destroyed during the war.

Dresden - the restored showpiece city.

And then Percy arrived!


During a particularly stressful week in the summer we were setting off for a day’s work and, as we reversed the car out of our parking space, noticed a pigeon wandering around under the adjacent car. Fearful of running it over we got out to move him on but he resolutely stayed put, so off we went.

On returning home there was no sign of the pigeon so with relief we walked into the garden, only to find him perched on a chair, from which he refused to budge. On closer inspection (and we could get within a few inches of him) we found that he was quite fluffy and therefore presumed he was a young bird and perhaps not well versed in the art of flying. It seemed we had some problems and the first was what to call him, so we called him Percy. Food was promptly provided and, although not consumed, he must have had something to eat, judging by his output and the growing mound of droppings on the patio floor and the chair. Unable to think of what to do next we left him to it and by bedtime he was still on his perch.

Come next morning he was still sitting there in the rain. But after an hour there was a stretching of wings and then an attempt to fly! He seemed to take a deep breath and launched himself to the top of the nearby fence. The flight ended in disaster. Clearly unused to landing he made a right pig’s ear of it, caught his feet on the top of the fence and fell over the other side to land heavily on the ground below. Shaken but not stirred, we were relieved to see him moving about and before long he was perched on our neighbour’s birdbath, into which he then proceeded to add another plentiful supply of his own outpourings (Alan expects he would have done the same if he had just fallen off a fence!). We alerted the neighbours and we all kept an eye on him for the rest of the morning, wondering what it would be like to have a pigeon for a pet. About lunchtime another take off was attempted and we saw him climb into the air and over the next garden, never to be seen again. We were quite sad to see him go as we were by now on speaking terms, but it was a relief to know that he was at last safe.

Here’s Percy in his favourite spot, contemplating breakfast.

Tea with Tigers

Alan’s birthday treat was to visit Paradise Wildlife Park in Essex. Although it has a wide variety of animals, it concentrates especially on the conservation of big cats so we saw lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars and a beautiful snow leopard at close quarters. The highlight was an informative keeper-led tour, which ended with afternoon tea being served in a tree house overlooking the tiger enclosure, complete with tiger that was enviously eyeing up our sandwiches and cakes!

Was the tiger eyeing up the sandwiches or us for tea?

Welsh Highland Railway progress

The bit of track that Alan helped to build three years ago has finally come into service and, at Easter, he was able to travel the full 25 miles of the line through glorious Snowdonia in Wales. There is still a lot to be done in enlarging and improving the stations but the Welsh Highland Railway is fully open for business and has been inundated with travellers throughout the summer. If you are North Wales don’t miss it – it’s a great day out and the scenery is wonderful.

The Welsh Highland Railway cuts through the Aberglaslyn Pass, one of Snowdonia’s beauty spots.

Reunions

The older you get, the more reunions you go to, and this year Alan has met up with his TTC colleagues on a day trip to Bournemouth and another with colleagues dating back to the late sixties/early seventies when he worked at Victoria. Anne has met up with more old school friends and finds it fascinating to learn of the different directions that their lives have taken.

Hereford

In need of a break in April we set off to Hereford for four days. This was an area that we had not explored before and we visited two fascinating cathedrals at Hereford (home to the Mappa Mundi world map) and nearby Gloucester; also Gloucester Docks now a preserved and trendy visitor centre. We spent a lovely day on the Welsh border, straying into the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons and also visited the beautiful town of Ludlow and a superb owl sanctuary.

 Gloucester cathedral

The lovely old town of Ludlow.

South Wales

South Wales was again on the holiday list and we stayed at Laugharne (pronounced ‘Larn’) not far from Tenby in the south west. The beaches and countryside are superb so there was plenty of exercise and much to entertain us, in particular the motor museum at Pendine Sands, once the home of British land speed records, and the flying boat museum at Pembroke Dock, a major wartime base from which flying boats took off to protect the North Atlantic convoys.

We recalled a previous visit to the Gower Peninsular with its fantastic sands and how we had flown a kite on a very sunny day. Our visit this year was the complete opposite with storm clouds and blustery rain coming in from the Atlantic, yet still it was magnificent and in a brief moment of watery sunshine we got out of the car to admire the waves breaking fiercely onto the beach.

It was Anne’s birthday whilst we were there and this was celebrated on a sandy beach, where she opened her cards and presents.

One highlight was in a parking space next to a sandy beach where the driver of the vehicle parked next to us was peering into the boot of his car and making encouraging noises – presumably to a dog. To our amazement, four ducks climbed out and, following their owner across the road, continued to walk across the beach, all in line, and went for a swim in the sea!

The coastline near Stackpole Point, with one of many pretty sandy bays in Pembrokeshire.

Hellos and Goodbyes

Visitors from ‘overseas’ have included Sue from South Africa, John and Diane from Australia, Lesley and Tony from Tenerife and Penny and David from the Isle of Wight (well, the IOW is a five mile crossing from the mainland!).

We were sad to hear that Anne’s industry friend Bob Morris died in February. Bob was a very popular and generous character and the church for the funeral service was packed – even all the standing space was full. Doreen Francis and Joyce Roofthooft also passed away and will be much missed. Anne ran in the Race for Life (Cancer appeal) this year in memory of Bob and in support of our friend Carole, and raised £150 for cancer research.

Lord Mayor’s Show

In November we went to see the Lord Mayor’s Show in London and were lucky to have a mild and sunny morning in which to enjoy it. This is the first time we have ever attended, usually being put off by cold and misty weather at this time of year. But is was a fantastic show, the parade lasting nearly two hours and, in addition to all the floats, there were vintage cars, lorries and buses, magnificent horse-drawn carriages and, of course, military marching bands by the dozen!

We then went on to Docklands to see Greenpeace’s new ship ‘Rainbow Warrior III’ and were able to go on board, as well as finding out a lot more about this organisation’s work in ‘trying to save the planet’.

Then it was back to Blackfriars Bridge, along with several thousand others, to see the Lord Mayor’s fireworks display, all fired from a barge on the River Thames. It was an excellent display but sadly lasted for only ten minutes.

Australia

At long last we have been to Australia. We went in October for three weeks and the weather in Sydney (Australia’s springtime) had been promising, that is until we arrived! Jumpers and jackets were needed for the first 10 days – it was just like being at home! And, in many ways, it seemed a bit like home too, despite it being 12,000 miles away. However, the trip was full of highlights.

We visited three different regions, staying first of all with friends on the outskirts of Sydney and we had several trips into the city, which we liked very much. The city centre had great contrasts in building, the modern being interspersed with grand British-style older generation places. Being just 5 miles from the ocean, we were able to explore the coastline with its beach resorts and sandy bays, and visit national parks.

The main icons – the Harbour Bridge and Opera House - were great, but the whole city with its harbour and many inlets was very attractive and interesting, particularly the busy Circular Quay from which ferries operate to many of the suburbs. The zoo, in a lovely hillside location, had views across to the city and a large collection of Australian animals, some of which we had been unable to see elsewhere, especially the elusive Platypus (a small, furry creature with a broad duck-like bill, webbed feet and a wide tail that lives in rivers and on river banks). Side trips from Sydney included a day in the Blue Mountains and two days in Canberra, the capital of Australia - a fine city with wide avenues, a huge lake and surrounded by distant mountains and lovely countryside where we saw large numbers of kangaroos.

Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sydney Opera House, with Circular Quay and the city centre behind it.

This is the avenue of remembrance in Canberra, which commemorates all the military campaigns in which Australia has been involved. In the centre of the picture, on the far side of the lake is the old Parliament Building and behind it the new one.

Kangaroos in the bush near Canberra.

We then flew to Melbourne, another lively and interesting city. It’s built in American grid style and it has one of the most comprehensive tram systems in the world. Whilst there we visited Phillip Island and saw (and stroked) a koala.

Melbourne by night, looking over the Yarra River.

One of Melbourne's historic trams

Anne gets close up and personal with a koala.

We also saw dingos (tan and cream coloured dogs, a bit like Alsatians), a wombat (somewhat like a very large Guinea Pig) and hand-fed wallabies (small Kangaroos) before moving on to see the miniature (fairy) penguins coming ashore from the ocean at dusk.

The handsome dingos.

A friendly wombat.

Wallaby feeding time.

More than 600 of these Fairy Penguins come shore each evening but we only saw a dozen of them. They are about 12 inches high.

We also spent a day on the Puffing Billy railway where Alan was invited to travel on the footplate of the locomotive as it puffed its way through the forests and hills.

The warmest spot that day was on the engine!

We then flew to the heart of Australia, to Ayers Rock in the middle of the outback, a vast desert that covers a large part of the country. Here we warmed up as the temperatures soared to 31 degrees. A sacred place for the Aboriginals, Ayers Rock, now known by its ancient name of Uluru, and its nearby partner of Kata Tjuta stand proud in an otherwise flat-ish and very red landscape, which is enlivened by shrubs and trees of interesting grey/green hues. It’s easy to die there in an area that is sparsely populated, other than by creatures - some of which are harmful. The high temperatures require people to always carry water with them and they are advised to drink a litre an hour. However, the area is spectacular and Uluru glows bright red when there is a good sunset.

Uluru, illuminated by the setting sun.

We walked around the rock, visited an Aboriginal cultural centre and had dinner by starlight, out in the open desert with a spectacular star display. The best part of all was the ride in a camel train, which weaved its way silently though the low rocky dunes, the camels making leisurely progress and swaying gently from side to side. Our trip out to Kata Tjuta was rather disappointing as the terrain was difficult to walk on (this would definitely have been a bad place to break an ankle) and the heat finally beat us.

About 20 miles from Ayers Rock, the Kata Tjuta range dominates the desert.

A great way to see Uluru.

   Sunset in the outback

And then it was another 3-hour flight back to Sydney for a relaxing final three days, which included a seaplane ride up the ocean coast and back over Sydney, a visit to the famous Bondi Beach and to see a performance of ‘The Merry Widow’ at the Sydney Opera House.

The Beaver aircraft was first built in 1948 and many are still in use, especially in remote areas of Canada.

They still surf on Bondi Beach.

Last night in Sydney, with Diane. While we were in Sydney we stayed with Diane and John in their lovely home in one of the southern suburbs of the city.

Our host John in the Blue Mountains. John and Alan worked together in London before John emigrated to Australia in 1974.

Of special interest throughout the whole trip were the spectacular coloured flowers and birds, and there were brightly coloured parrots and cockatoos, even in the Sydney suburbs. And, while we are looking forward to having cats again at home (as we write, we are looking for suitable contenders), we are very tempted to go for a koala, wombat and platypus instead!

Suburban dweller.

The unusual duck-billed platypus.

A Senior Moment

November was a sad month as Alan’s faithful anorak, bought in London for £2.12 shillings for a trip to France and Spain back in 1966, set off on its final journey to that great home for anoraks in the sky. A last 'modelling' of the jacket, which seemed to have shrunk over the years – it won’t meet across my tummy, took place and was duly photographed.

The farewell was not without incident and resulted in a senior moment par excellence. Having done some shopping, I headed for our local recycling centre where I knew there was an old clothes bin. To my surprise I found another bin on the way, saving me around 500 yards walk and a good five minutes.  Without hesitation I opened the recycle bin, threw in the bag and, as I walked away, looked down in horror to see the anorak in the carrier bag I was still holding in my other hand! Full of euphoria about the time saved, I had thrown the shopping I had just bought into the recycle bin!

Once things are put in the recycle bin, it's impossible to get them back out and the air was blue.  The shopping had cost £4.36, twice the original value of the jacket and I then had to spend 40 minutes retracing my steps to buy more of the stuff I’d just chucked away!

I'm currently looking for a care home for stupid, old gits!

End of an era – the last time in the anorak.

So that’s our year. We send you best wishes for the festive season and good fortune in 2012.

Anne and Alan