Tea in Windsor

Ecclesiastes 2:24:
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

       
Before I begin this post, I wanted to make sure you all know that even though it’s in the first person from me, Brenda is greatly contributing to the blog. Every time I write up an entry, we then go back through it and she helps me get straight on the facts and often brings up the funny details that make it fun to read. She brought her Kindle Fire on the trip, and every evening she looks at the blog and reads all the comments from you. So if you make any comments, she will definitely see them.


OK, so here’s the rest of the day: After we left the castle at Windsor, we walked just a bit down the street and found the Crooked Tea House, a little 2-story building that took cash only (first thing they told you when you walked in).  We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea of scones, clotted cream, jam,  and grapes, tea sandwiches (cheddar & tomato on whole wheat bread; egg mayonnaise---egg salad, and some type of salmon or prawn sandwich). Actually I was so taken by the clotted cream (Does Kroger sell that? How many WW Points?) and scones that I barely noticed the sandwiches though they were delicious. We used the clotted cream like butter and slathered it on first and then put on the jam. But Brenda noticed in observing (she is very observant) that the locals put the clotted cream on top of the jam. (No one really gives you directions.)

They served us on a two-tiered platter. While we were sitting there, a couple, June and Mike Hudson, was seated next to us, whom we asked to take our photo. He took one photo with my camera and then told me it said, “Battery Exhausted.” Now Jeanetter had told me to bring an extra battery, but I didn’t get it figured out in time. I just bought this new camera Nikkon Coolpix with an EN-EL Lithium Ion battery. It seems to me it should have held up better, but anyway, Brenda took photos with her camera for the rest of the day. 

We ended up striking up a conversation with this couple. They were from Scotland where they run a bed and breakfast, and this was their first vacation in two years. They had come to see their daughter who lives near Windsor. Their B&B is Liscara, a combination of their daughter’s names. You can see it a www.liscara.co.uk. Maybe we’ll  stay there our next time overseas (smile). We sat for a long time and enjoyed cup after cup of tea with milk and sugar. At this restaurant, they had put out a bowl of sugar cubes (white and brown sugar), well not really cubes cuz they were not perfectly formed, they were like “lumps” maybe. Anyway at our table all the brown pieces were under the white ones and there were no tongs or anything like that, so Brenda carefully lifted up the white pieces with her knife so she could get to the brown. Mike said, “Just use your fingers!” No ServSafe® here! (That's for Joy!)

Before the Hudsons left, they gave us their bowl of sugar (it had more browns on top) and their pot of tea which they had not finished. That’s why we have 3 pots of tea and 2 bowls of sugar in the photo.  The way they make the tea is to pour hot water over loose tea and let it steep. Then you use this little strainer over your cup to pour the tea through. Brenda has one sitting in front of her.

When you look at the photos, you’ll see a window and right to the right of the window was the door and that’s as wide as the downstairs eating area was. There we just the three tables of us and we all got to meet each other!

When we got the bill, there was a 10% service fee added on (the menu told of this). There was another group who had been seated on the opposite side of us, and I leaned over and asked them if they knew if the 10% was considered an OK tip or if I should leave more. They were like “No! You don’t even have to pay that 10% if you don’t want to. We’re not like you Americans about tipping.” I had read that on the Internet before I left, but here was confirmation. They had just returned from a 3-week trip to the United States, and one man said, “I’m done with tipping. ‘Tipped out.’” These folks had gone to the West Coast and seen Los Angeles, Yosemite, and several other national parks, then also flown to Hawaii and also to Las Vegas. They liked every place except Las Vegas. I told them they had seen more places than most Americans. They said they get 3 or 4 weeks “holiday” every year and said “You Americans don’t get that much time, do you?”

We were finished eating for quite some time before the waiter brought us our check. In fact we had to ask him a couple of times. I wondered if there was some type of special code you had to give a waiter in England so they would know you were ready to leave. Eventually we got our bill and were on our way.  Brenda asked me to take a couple of photos of the front of the restaurant. I took a picture of the "words" on the sign. She it turned out wanted a photo of the "crookedness" of the restaurant. That kind of is an allegory for how we looked at things. I was reading the signs and she was seeing the big picture!

This is the one I took

I borrowed this one from the Internet

This Internet one might even show it better.

After we left the restaurant, we made our way back to Windsor station/then Slough station/then Paddington Station.  From Paddington, we took the tube to Sloane Square and stopped at a big store called Peter Jones. It is laid out like a downtown Macy’s (not sure if we have any of those downtown stores anymore in the U.S. ). It was big and bright and full of “stuff.”  They were eagerly getting ready to close, so Brenda picked up a few goodies and we were on our way out the door and walked home to our flat. Of course, we couldn’t actually go to our flat without making our nightly stop at Tesco. This time Brenda picked up milk for her tea! I bought a voucher to add minutes to my cell phone. The phone company (Orange) wouldn’t let me add minutes over the phone with an American credit card, but I was able to buy the “top off” voucher with a credit card at Tescos, and then use that to add minutes. (It’s all learning, isn’t it?)

Oh, by the way, Brenda’s credit card worked at Peter Jones. No declining here. We learned before leaving the U.S. that  whenever you go overseas and plan to use your credit card or ATM, you’re supposed to notify the bank and credit card company of your travels. Brenda had done this. When we got to the flat, Brenda called her credit card company and they said they had no record of it being declined and had no idea why that would happen.
                       
And guess what was in a corner on the floor under the chair my suitcase was on? Yeah, my travel card.

This was a full and productive day, very enjoyable, quite “lovely.”

Wonderful Windsor Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Psalms 37:4:
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

This was a joyous, fun-filled day! We were up and at ’em nice and early to take a journey by tube and train to Windsor Castle. I have Brenda to thank for choosing this location as I don’t think I would have ever thought to go here. She saw a PBS special on Windsor Castle and suggested this would be a fun place to go. It’s a royal residence where the queen spends much of her time. She basically “works” at Buckingham and “lives” at Windsor.

We got up early, ate breakfast, worked on the blog, straightened up a bit (well, Brenda straightened up a bit. Smile. She is a very neat person.) As we were leaving, I realized that I didn’t have my 7-day travel pass, the one we paid 29 pounds for that’s good on much of the transport around London, the one that was to SAVE ME MONEY. I looked in the 15 pockets and zippered compartments that are in the travel bag that Angie lent me, I looked in all my pants pockets, I looked under the bed, over the bed, in the closet, looked in coat pockets.  I did all this 3 or 4 times. So did Brenda. Oh well, it’s only money. So we left. 

We walked to Sloane Square tube station where I went to the ticket counter to buy a tube ticket to ride to Paddington Station where we would catch the train. I figured "Oh well, a couple of pounds and we’re off." EIGHT POUNDS FORTY PENCE for a one-day travel card. When the older gentleman behind the counter waited on me, he said, “Are you SURE you can’t find your travel pass?” I’m like “I can’t seem to.” I said, “Oh well, it’s only play money on holiday, right?” He said, “I’m sure your husband doesn’t feel that way.” I said, “Well, I don’t have a husband. The one with a husband did not lose hers!”  My penance paid, we got on the tube, the Circle Line, and rode to Paddington Station.  (I did think of my wonderful daughter, Ramona, and wanted to let her know that she comes by it honestly – the misplacing gene.)

At Paddington Station we stood in line to buy a train ticket to Windsor (not covered by the travel pass).  At the train station, Brenda’s credit card was declined. This is not a fun thing to have happen to you. They tried it 3 or 4 times, but no go. So we just decided we’d put things on my card and sort it all out later. After purchasing the tickets, we went to the lobby where there’s a big giant electronic board showing all the trains and their departure times and what platform you get on. We waited about 15 minutes and then we saw our train announced as leaving at Platform 11. We walked down to Platform 11 and I put my ticket into the ticket reader and went through. Brenda’s ticket was rejected. A train station employee was able to let her in manually but that was a little disconcerting, rejected twice in a few minutes! 

We got on the train (like a real train, not a light rail train or a subway train, but a choo choo train!) We rode up to Slough Station, got off the train and walked across the platform to catch another train to Windsor. 

 

On the train there was even a  “stewardess” coming down the narrow aisle with drinks and snacks for purchase. We didn’t purchase.  We disembarked at Windsor Station and made our way to an information center where an employee reminded us that the Changing of the Guard would take place at Windsor today at 11:00 a.m. (They alternate days between Windsor and Buckingham in October.) A band would be accompanying them and they would march up the street and into the castle. We could watch from outside the castle or from within. She made it sound like it would be more enjoyable to watch them march from outside the castle as the changing was just a brief little exchange of units.

So I grabbed a cup of coffee to drink while we would watch the guard.  But as we climbed to the top of the hill to get near where the guard would march, a castle employee said we should hurry up and enter the castle and then make our way back down to the lower yard courtyard to see the guard from inside the castle, because the changing was really more elaborate than we had been told. A band was going to do a performance and we would see better. So that’s what we did. We went through security (same as at the Mews. It’s a check your bag and walk through a scanner type security.), picked up some headphones for another audiotour, and hustled down the hill to the Lower Ward to wait for the guard. As we stood there waiting, there were about 100 school children (young, maybe 1st graders) who came marching in with their teachers in teams of 10 or so. They wore reflective vests and held hands. (Brenda and I thought this might be a good way for us to get around in crowds!)

Pretty soon, in marched the band (we found out later it was the Scottish band) and behind them the guard (we found out they were the Irish Guard). I really am not that familiar with what I was actually watching to be able to give you all the names and proper terms. Let me just say it was precise, dignified, ceremonial, impressive, beautiful, breathtaking, etc. There were quite a few people watching, but I know for a fact, we were able to see better and enjoy it more than had we watched it at Buckingham, a much more “downtown” type location. I’ve posted a few photos to give you a “feel.” 

 

After the ceremony, we walked back to the starting point of the tour, and one of the employees told us we could get a guided tour with a real person rather than an audiotape, so we joined up with Alun (Scottish spelling) and a small group, and we learned some fascinating details about this castle. 

It was built as a defensive castle and became home to kings and queens. You could read about its history online. 

After Alun had taken us through as much as he was allowed to, then we entered the State Apartments which are rooms that are used for state occasions and are furnished with all kinds of original art. As this is a residence and not a museum, they were not labeled like in a museum. We did have our audiocassette guides, but they didn’t identify every piece of art and/or furniture in the room. 

However, in each room was a castle employee who was thoroughly knowledgeable of every item in the room we were going through. Many of them really don’t like the audio guides as they feel they rush you through and you don’t get to know the place. One employee said, “Come over here and look.” And he showed us a sword that was used by King Henry VIII! He said “There it lies and you would never know unless I showed you.” To me it was almost surrealistic to be surrounded by that much history. I am ever reminded of how much more there is to learn. I certainly feel I need a refresher course on the British monarchs.

Because the queen was not in residence, having returned to Buckingham the day previous (and signaled by the non presence of her flag flying on the flagpole), we were able to also go into some of the semi-state rooms that are closed when the queen is in residence. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here and if we were staying longer in London may have even returned for another visit.

On our way out, we stopped to have our photo taken with the sentry, which is allowed, however Alun had sobered us up about trying to make the guard laugh or messing with him in general. These are “real” soldiers, many of whom may have just returned from Afghanistan. They take their job very seriously and we should respect them. He said that was the first time the Irish guard had been at Windsor in two years, having just returned from Afghanistan. As you look at the photo, you may not be able to tell, but this was a young man.

I also went in to St. George’s Chapel (not exactly like the Indiana Campus chapel or a little chapel in the woods. I would term it a cathedral). Much of British history is associated with churches and cathedrals and chapels. Interestingly, Brenda doesn’t do chapels. (Smile)

We were through the castle by about 4:00 p.m. and were now ready for something to eat. We thought we might be ready for our afternoon tea now in a little less formal setting than the Dorchester. We asked a metropolitan policeman where he thought a good place for tea was, and he said around the corner at the Crooked Tea House, so that’s what we set off for. More in the next post.

The Longest Day

Galatians 6:9:

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

After we left the Mews, our plan as stated was to get on the Red Bus again and ride part of the route to the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel type thing-y that looked fun. After we got off that we would be off to the river cruise and then to Greenwich. Well, we got on the bus at about 12:00 noon and we were not on the River Thames cruise until 4:00 p.m. (The distance is not that far; but we really didn't know how to get off and get there ourselves.) Evidently there is much more traffic in London on a Monday than on a Sunday. By that point, we had decided not to go on the London Eye cuz it was super, super foggy and we wouldn’t have been able to see much. Part of the fun of going on it is to see for miles and miles. 

Before we got on the cruise, we got off the bus at Westminster Pier about 3:00 p.m.  We were very hungry, and those of you who know me know I am not the most cheery when I’ve gone past mealtime by 3 hours. So we decided to get something to eat before going to get on the boat to take us to Greenwich. We were standing on a street in front of an archway and hanging down from the street poles were two very nice banner type things. One pointed to the Marriott Hotel and one pointed in the same direction to a "Noodle Bar.” They were both printed on the same type of elegant looking fabric. They were both pointing precisely up the walkway in exactly the same direction on the same path, so we followed that direction and ended up at the front entrance of the Marriott London Hotel County Hall. It’s a five-star hotel, I now know.

We were greeted by a doorman in a suit with a red rose in his lapel and one other hotel worker, a stern woman. When we asked for the noodle bar, they looked aghast. “No, no, ma’am, you’ll have to go out and go back down the walkway. It’s not in here.” I’m like “Well, the sign points us right here!” They said, “You can cut through our lobby and out the side door. There are some restaurants on that side. But then please don’t come back in this way.”

Brenda’s like, “No, Laura, let’s not cut through. Let's just leave the way we came. We can’t go through this elegant hotel.” But I felt otherwise. Then this new guy walks up, his position was never revealed,  to see what the brouhaha was about and when we told him we were looking for the noodle bar, he said in a thick brogue that it was closed on Mondays.

The doorman was like, “Oh no really?” I asked, “Well, where can we eat?”
                   

He said, “Nowhere, no place is open on Mondays around here.” Now I had seen some people eating down by the pier, so I said, “Are you kidding me?” Then he started laughing and laughing and so did everyone else. He helped us find the side door and walked with us to that exit. We all said goodbye, after a photo op of course. 

The funny guy

 Once we got out the door, we found “Ned’s Noodle Bar,”  a fine little takeout where we dined in with our cartons and chopsticks, drinking an Old Speckled Hen (Laura), sitting at a high counter. (We don’t think this is what the banner was referring to but we’ll never know.)

Once we finished eating, we walked to the pier, got on the boat, and decided to sit up top, cuz we’re not wimps who need to sit below in the warm covered part of the boat even though it's freezing upstairs!  But as we sat up there, it got colder and colder and foggier and foggier, and the crewman who was giving us a guided narration referred to the low visibility about ten times and we think he’s a little nervous.

Finally we arrived at Greenwich. Yeah! We made it, five hours after leaving the Mews. So we hurried off the boat and asked the first person we could find—a ticket salesman—where the Royal Observatory was. He said, “”Well, you have to hike about (you know what’s coming?) fifteen minutes up that hill, but it closes in five minutes.”

“OK, well we just want to stand on that line where you’re in two hemispheres.”

He said, “That’s in the park.”

“OK. Where’s that?”

“Well, it’s up the hill, but it closed a half hour ago”

(I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me. This is the day that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. The joy of the Lord is my strength.)



“Well, can we at least have some fish and chips?”

We finally did find a restaurant in this awesomely quaint and cute little town. We were the only customers. It was called The Pier. We had a European waitress serve us while Celene Dion played in the background and looped through Ave Maria a couple times. We were the only customers.

After we ate, we took another form of transportation, the Docklands Light Railway, and then the tube to Sloane Square where we walked home in about fifteen minutes.

Long day, not quite as anticipated, but we’re in London! We’re enjoying the fog, the people, the fish and chips, the ambiance, and one another.If I ever go back to London, I am definitely going to spend a whole day in Greenwich. It looked charming.

What the Heck is a Mews?

I Corinthians 4:1:
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

One of the last things we had heard about on the Red Bus tour was the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace that is open for tours. When we got home Sunday night, we went over our plan for Monday. It was supposed to be the day for tea at the Dorchester. As mentioned in an earlier post, we were so happy with our tea at the West London fellowship, we didn’t really feel we needed to go to the Dorchester. Also, the reservation for tea was smack dab in the middle of the day,  and we wanted to free up our schedule a bit.

We thought the Royal Mews sounded great—the place where the queen’s coaches and cars and horses are stored and stewarded. Kind of like a garage/stable/restoration place all in one. So we said, “We’ll go there. Then we’ll hop on the Red Bus again, ride it to the London Eye, ride that, then get on a boat that’s part of the price of the Red Bus Tour and take it to Greenwich (a lovely town that people at fellowship had told us about).” In Greenwich is the Royal Observatory and the prime meridian. We wanted to take a photo straddling the prime meridian and thus be in the eastern hemisphere and the western hemisphere at the same time.

So come Monday morning, we took a walk from our flat in Ormonde Gate near the Royal Hospital to the corner of Buckingham Palace where the Royal Mews is located. We are really staying in a beautiful neighborhood, and the walk was lovely.

 There was almost no one in line when we got to the Mews. 

Brenda truly desires a cape like this!

There were some women in the courtyard who worked there and Brenda asked them if the coats they were wearing were warm. They said, "No." But they were cool looking. 














We got some little headphones to listen to a recorded commentary and began walking around the grounds. The mews is a working stable in a courtyard type configuration. In addition to the horses, the coaches that the queen rides in  different occasions were there as well as her automobiles. The jobs of those who care for the horses and coaches and cars have been in the same families for years. The gentleman who is caretaker of the carriages is fourth-generation. Many people who work there are related: fathers/sons/ cousins. They live on the grounds of the Mews in small apartments over the top of the garages and stables, families on one side of the courtyard; singles and couples on the other side of the courtyard. Brenda found it fascinating because it’s similar to what she knows of the loyalty found in the race horse industry in Lexington, Kentucky. On the recording, we were told the Royal Mews workers do their jobs with pride because they want these royal traditions to be available to the succeeding generations. (Sounds like the same reason some of us do our jobs.)

It was really interesting to see these carriages and coaches, some of which had been around for a long, long time. The restoration work is done here too, so some very skilled craftsmen are involved.  The guides who worked there were very willing to talk to us and share the knowledge that they had. While we were on tour, one of the Bentleys came driving in and several horses were seen. As mentioned, it’s a working stable. 

Just Another Fifteen Minutes

Psalms 32:11:
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

After bidding farewell to Tony and Hannane, we went inside the Victoria Railway Station, which is a little like going into Grand Central Station (I said a little. I mean cuz it’s like a mall almost inside and food court.) We each bought a 7-day travel pass which is recommended on several Web sites as the best way to go. This way we can ride the tube and all the buses around London for “free” rather than paying for each individual trip. 

Then I saw an “Orange” Store, which is like their Verizon or T Mobile. I told the young man working in there that I wanted a really cheap phone that I would only use for one week, so he sold me one. And now I have cell service though I don’t even know why I wanted it so bad. But I can check that off my mental checklist!

 We sat down for a few moments to get our bearings and have a cup of coffee.

And we made a trip to the loo (not free), an adventure of its own.






Then we decided to check into the Big Bus Company which takes you for tours around London. It’s kind of like the Hop On Hop Off bus tours or the Duck Bus tours in other places. It took us a little exploring on the streets around Victoria Station, but we did end up finding Tony, an employee of the Big Bus Company, who sold us a 48-hour pass for the price of a 24-hour pass.  And we decided to go once around (2 and 1/4 hour trip) and then take the transit bus home, which would land us right at our front door. (It was about 4 p.m. at this time and already starting to get a little dark.)

Tony told us to go around the corner to the bus stop and meet up with his “brother” Ali, who would help us out. Tony, by the way, was extremely friendly, fun, kind, accommodating, energetic, all those good words. 

He said we couldn’t miss Ali cuz he looked just like him. When we got to the stop, we did see a representative of the Big Bus Company (they all wear the same jacket), but we couldn’t get his attention and he did not look anything like Tony. But his nametag said Ali. They were apparently brothers from another mother (and father and country of origin).

Ali tried to put us on a blue bus.  Let me explain. There are several “blue” buses which have audiotaped commentaries and are good for those who don’t speak English because they can listen in their own language, but we wanted the live English narration. Laura had done this type of tour in Boston with Ramona, and the live narrators are like comedians/actors/historians all rolled into one. 

Ali said the red bus had just left and it would be at least 15 minutes until another red bus came. Let me say Ali did not seem to be as in love with his job as Tony was. Eventually after the third blue bus arrived with no red bus in sight, Ali said that we should get on a blue bus, ride it for a few stops, and catch a red bus there. We did that and when we got to the stop he suggested and got off the bus, we  met that Big Bus Tour representative, and guess what he told us? We had just missed the red bus and it would be, you guessed it 15 more minutes. He seemed to have even less enthusiasm for his job than the previous guy. It was a little rainy and cold and he probably had to field a lot of questions, but gee, it’s OUR FIRST TIME IN LONDON!  

We kept being nice to him and when the red bus finally arrived, we got on.  As we were pulling off, he looked up, saw us sitting on the first level, gave us a big smile, and waved to us indicating we should go upstairs. The buses are double-decker and the front rows of seats on the top deck are covered. We just assumed the covered seats were occupied, and since it was raining we didn’t want to sit in uncovered seats. But we realized he was saying, “Go upstairs! It’s empty.” At least that’s how we took it. So we went upstairs and sat in the very first seat of the top deck. That’s really a primo seat. So he ended up blessing us by that little piece of encouragement.

Another Blue Bus!

The tour guide, Victoria, was sitting right by us and was really lively and fun. She told us lots of interesting things, many of them about London’s history of public execution which probably wouldn’t make good blog reading.

We saw Big Ben Tower and actually were driving by when it chimed at 6:00 p.m. That was cool. We saw London Tower, London Bridge, London Tower Bridge, Waterloo Bridge (also called the Ladies" Bridge because women built it while the men were at World War II). We learned about the plague and the great fire and Lady Astor and Winston Churchill. We saw the House of Lords and Parliament and Hyde Park and Green Park and Piccadilly Circus and St Paul’s Cathedral and much more. It was raining and it was night, but it was still magical.

 

We were delighted to find out that the city bus line (Route 170) that Laura had researched from New Knoxville actually existed when we arrived in London. When we were finished with our Big Bus Tour, the bus dropped us off 3 feet from the bus stop for the 170 line, which took us, no lie, to our front door. People are out all hours and it’s so easy to be out even at night. Our neighborhood is very posh, well lit, and wonderful. There is a Tesco Express, which is like a very high end 7-11, also just moments from our front door, so before settling in for the night, we went to Tesco to buy a few little items for noshing.

Sunday Fellowship and Tea

Acts 2:42:
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

On Sunday morning, I woke up from a deep sleep to the sound of my alarm app on my Kindle Fire. I was so sound asleep I couldn’t find my Kindle, but then the phone started ringing. It was Tony, the fellowship coordinator for the West London fellowship, welcoming us to London and saying that he and his wife would be here to pick us up at 10:40 a.m. for fellowship.

Brenda and I got up and got busy getting ready. We have an electric shower. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it gets the water really hot and is fun to learn how to regulate!

Tony and his beautiful wife, Hannane, picked us up and took us to the Hounslow area, I believe, to the home of Omer and Elise and their four children: Delia, Laura, Max, and Clark. We also met Mark and Cindy, Blanche, and Seraphine.

Hannane led fellowship and led some beautiful singing. Then Tony taught the Word on being mighty as God’s children, sharing that as we pursue after godliness, a real spiritual relationship with God, we seek the knowledge that’s available in God’s Word. We do this out of love and it’s not hard. We schedule our time to have time to build our relationship with God. And it will have profit, not only now but for always (eternally).  

We took a group photo.

And then they surprised us with “tea.” We had wonderful big hot cups of tea and so much food and laughter and love and fellowship. 

It would be hard to put in words how loved we felt. They drink their tea with milk and sugar. So we did too. Brenda asked Tony if he would fix it just like he drinks, so he did. And it was excellent, yummy.

We also shared some gifts with them from the Bookstore, and we found it hard to say goodbye. Tony and Hannane drove us to the Victoria Railway Station where we bought a 7-day travel pass (good for the Underground and the bus).

And I was also able to pick up an inexpensive pay as you go phone (Orange is the name of the company).

We honestly felt we had gotten what we came to London for—to have tea. It didn’t need to be at the Dorchester or the Ritz, but in this loving home of God’s best. We had more adventures on this day, but this is how we got it started.

II Peter 1:3:
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

What Time Is It Anyway?

Proverbs 17:22:
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine....

Well, the flight from Chicago to London was mainly uneventful. The pitch (aka “leg room”) was about the same as on the flight from Dayton to Chicago even though there were about a gazillion more seats on the London flight. I had learned  to not put my backpack on the floor, but to put it in the overhead bin. I actually had brought my Netbook and my Kindle Fire to watch movies on the flight, but alas no Internet. Oh well. They showed two movies and some TV shows, and I slept a bit in between. Brenda slept too and even read from the reading plan.

When we first got on the plane in Chicago, after our lovely time in the United Club, we found a blanket and pillow encased in a large plastic bag on each of our seats. As I was looking at mine, there was something kind of green and weird looking staring at me from inside the plastic bag. So I asked the ladies behind me, “What do you think THIS is?”  

They said, “What do you think it is?” 

I’m like, “I don’t know. It looks like some day-old lettuce.” 

My oldest daughter had me a little paranoid when she insisted I bring Sani-wipes and wipe down EVERYTHING on the plane before I touched it (which we did). 

The lady said, “No dear, those are your ear buds.” 

Sure enough, they were my ear buds to plug in to the airplane sound system so I could listen to the movie; they were wrapped in green cellophane. 

Later during the flight we found out those two women were friends traveling to London for holiday also, two Christian women, and we prayed with them before we got off the flight for all of us to have a wonderful time in our adventures.

I was kind of surprised actually that Brenda and I didn’t receive more fanfare from the flight staff, this being our first trip overseas and all. I actually told one of the women flight attendants that I was expecting a little more hoopla from them. She said, “Honey I’ll blow a trumpet when you get off in London.” I was like, “Oh that’s so nice!” Then she let me know she was referring to letting off a little gas after a 7-/12 hour flight! Hmmm.

We landed at Heathrow at approximately 11:15 p.m. (I think.) We were supposed to get there at 10:45 p.m. but it was at least a half hour or more later. Our driver, one Ted Phillips, was to meet us in the arrival hall after we went through customs. Customs was actually very simple. You get off the plane, walk for quite some time, then go past this sign that says you are entering London. Then those who aren’t citizens of the UK walk through like a pedestrian border crossing. We had filled out arrival cards on the plane stating the purpose of our trip. We just showed those and our passports and were off. (I tried to take a photo, but they were having none of that.) 

Then after picking up our luggage, we went to the arrival hall and saw Mr. Phillips sitting on a fold-up camp stool reading his paper with a sign sitting on the ground welcoming Laura and Brenda to London. He was a gentleman of a certain age. Quite lovely actually. On the way to his car, we stopped at a machine where he could pre-pay for his parking pass. He paid the machine and then I asked if we could take his picture. He agreed and also took ours. Then he picked up the stool, the sign, his newspaper, his coffee, and we followed him to his car. 

When we got to the exit gate, Ted began searching for his ticket; it wasn’t there. We had left it in the machine. You can see it in the photo. He tried to push some buttons on the ticket thingamajingy to “call” the office, but they wouldn’t work. Brenda, after struggling with his van door and finally figuring out how to get out of the van, said, “Wait! I’ll just hold up the gate the next time someone goes through.” Ted thought that was very funny, and said he would watch. A car came through. Brenda grabbed the gate arm/bar when it was in the up position and almost got pulled to the ground as it came down. So that was not going to work.

Next, Ted went on a mission to retrieve the missing ticket leaving us sitting in his car blocking the exit gate in Heathrow’s parking garage. There was NO ONE in sight. He was gone for at least 30 minutes. I was fancying spending my first night in London in Heathrow airport. At least it would have been free. Brenda used the time to figure out how to use her cell phone and call home.  Finally, Ted came back and said he found out he was pushing the wrong buttons on the thingamajingy. Turns out when you drive in to Heathrow parking garage, a closed circuit camera takes a photo of your license plate number and spits out a ticket with your license-plate number printed on it. (Twilight Zone music now playing in the background.) So after Ted told the person on the intercom his license-plate number, all they had to do was look it up and find out that he had paid. So somehow from a remote location, they opened the gate, and we were off. 

We were so looking forward to getting to our flat and going to bed. It was now about 1:30 a.m. But good old Ted wanted to show us London at night, so we took the scenic route home. It was actually quite sweet. And he was hilarious.

We told him we knew someone named Ted Phillips, and he asked if he was an Edward. He then proceeded to tell us that everyone in London named Ted is an Edward, not a Theodore. U.S. examples are Ted Turner and Ted Kennedy (both Edward). He also showed us the many, many, many, did I say many closed-circuit traffic cameras on the street. We saw Harrods, the National History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, many people still out at that hour, and he brought us to an ATM machine. 

Finally. he helped us into our flat, up two flights of stairs, and brought in the groceries he had purchased on our behalf. We settled up financially, and then he had lots of stories to keep sharing about how we were staying in the best borough in London (Chelsea and West Kensington), how the flats all had window flower boxes, how he could take us on a four-hour tour of London or Oxford for 200 pounds, and he could come back to take us to the airport next Saturday. We said yes to the last one. 


We then tried to notify people we had made it to London, unpack a bit, learn how to flush the toilet, learn how to lock ourselves in, set up the Internet. When we contacted some of our family, they were wondering if we shouldn’t be going to bed since we’d have a busy day on Sunday. We said, OK, and went to bed at 3:00 a.m.

Thanks for your prayers and believing. We made it.

Photos to go with What Time Is It Anyway?

Dayton to Chicago

Curbside in Dayton Airport

Well, that flight from Dayton was short and sweet but OMG the seats are so close together. I need not have brought my backpack because I couldn't reach it under my feet. Oh well, certainly the seats will be wider wider on the bigger plane from Chicago to London!

I'm writing this from the United Club at Terminal 2 in Chicago enjoying LEG ROOM and free food and coffee and internet and TV and newspapers. Awesome.

Brenda, God bless her, can sleep anywhere. I'm sure I will sleep eventually since I did not last night. Maybe I'm a little hyper.

We have a new cell phone (Brenda), a new camera (Laura) and a small Netbook computer, operating on different wireless systems, so the blog may not be as smooth as it was when coming from Founders Hall! Ha!
 
The plane we were on from Dayton was an Embraer ERJ-145 had a width of 17.3" and a pitch of (the distance between the front of one seat and the front of the seat behind it) of 31 inches.This is according to SeatGuru.com, a cool Web site that tells you all kinds of facts about the plane you're flying on. It's good to check this before you actually book your flight.


According to Seat Guru, the plane we will be taking from Chicago to London Heathrow is a Boeing 767-300. It has a width of 17.2 inches and a pitch of 30 inches. Hmm, that doesn't sound good. Well, we'll find out, eh? Have a good day and we'll post again later or in the morning. 

Relaxing in the United Club

Picture of our food for son-in-law Karl

More relaxin'

A few hours and a wakeup

Had the greatest day today. The people I work with are so nice. They gave me a tea party with china tea cups and played a video of Mr. Bean Meets the Queen. We laughed and laughed. So much heart and love.

Teresa Guigou's beautiful tea set.

They gave me a tiara to be the "Queen."

I got an HTML lesson from someone too, so now I have paragraph breaks. Thanks, PR.

Went out to dinner with my mom at JTs Restaurant in St. Marys and had a very nice time. She can give lots of travel advice because she did so much traveling.

Now just doing some laundry and last-minute packing. Can't believe it's really here after all this time planning.

We're Going to Have Tea

Psalms 84:11:
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 

When this trip first started, it was over a comment I made to Brenda, "We should go to London and have high tea!" And she said, sure. She was more sure than me at that time that we would go. I love watching British shows, especially cop shows and while I was watching A Touch of Frost on Netflix, I loved how he always made tea, and tea was such a big deal. So I thought we should go to London and have "high tea." I thought "high tea" was THE most elegant level of tea to have. 

Actually it turns out I was wrong. The "elegant" tea is afternoon tea. High tea was for the working folks who couldn't take off from work to break for afternoon tea, so their tea was more like a meal in the evening. The "high" part is believed to have come to differentiate between the afternoon tea served on low, comfortable, parlor chairs or relaxing in the garden and the worker’s high tea served at the table and seated on high back dining chairs. At least that's what I've found so far. 

So we are going to have afternoon tea at the Dorchester Hotel and hopefully a few other places also. One of our dear friends brought Brenda a gift to read on the plane, a set of cards all about tea! We are feeling the love. 

(If any of my design wizard friends know how to make paragraphs in Blogger, please let me know. I'm making regular hard returns, but it's showing up as one big large paragraph. Stephie?????)

Two more days

Philippians 4:19: But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Somebody asked me if I'm going to change the title of this blog to "London Here We Are" when we arrive...probably not, so I don't confuse myself as to where my blog went, but good suggestion. I work with editors and writers and proofreaders! Ha! It's raining and 60 degrees here today and according to my Yahoo weather for London it's 59 and cloudy with rain expected tomorrow. So seems fairly similar. I am bringing an umbrella (seems to be referred to as a "brolly" in London). I still needed an outfit to wear on the plane and I only had this one evening left to shop. So I went to Kohl's and found EXACTLY what I wanted. Seemed to be the only outfit of its type in the entire store and it fit perfectly. Therefore, the verse of the day above. Love to all. Enjoy your day being mighty for God!

Three More Days!

I found my cell phone. All's right with the world. B & I had our last "planning meeting" at her living room table. I never did get a photo of us with our binders and computers and travel books laid out. It's been a glorious 12 months of planning with a great friend. I remember when I went out LEAD (an outdoor training academy) many many years ago, they would tell us to keep our head in LEAD until LEAD was over. In other words, don't be daydreaming about being out of the woods and at home in your soft, comfy bed. But keep focused on the time and place you're living right now! Good advice. So for the next few days, I am going to keep my head at work and home until it's time to go! But come 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning, I'm off for my making-memories adventure! Glad to have you along.

Four more days!

Lots of little things left to do. First on the list, find my cell phone, my American Page Plus cell phone, not the Blackberry that I have been "obsessing" over trying to see if it will work with a global SIM card, but my regular everyday phone. Next, meet with Brenda one last time to make sure we have all our ducks in a row. Then a big week at home with Way Corps Meeting, Foundational Class, and a Friday noon meal recognizing all our faithful believers of The Way. Friday night, out to supper with Mom, and then off we go. My wonderful children have been prepping me on how to pack, how to travel, how to enjoy life, they have even contributed to my vacation fund. Did I mention I've never traveled anywhere other than Canada where you can drive over the border. This will be a new adventure for both of us and we are looking forward to the adventure. Yesterday's discussion was on compression socks, which many advise you wear on those long flights. Ramona gave me hers. I'd like to give a shout out to our travel agency, Farnum & Christ, who are based in U.S. but have properties in the U.K. Awesome to work with. OK, that's all for now. Back to the present-day. God's blessings!

It won't be long!

In 7 days, we will be leaving Dayton at 0 Dark thirty in the morning, and arriving in Chicago O'Hare 15 minutes after we leave Dayton (due to some time zone changing). We have three hours in Chicago O'Hare and I have two passes to the United Club there, so even though we are flying on American, we will probably have to go to the other terminal and visit the United Club for free Wi Fi and free food. We leave Chicago O'Hare at 9:05 a.m. and arrive at Heathrow at 10:45 p.m. London time (5:45 p.m. Ohio time). As I said, we are flying American which my kids informed me has had the seats come loose on a few flights lately as well as have some strikes. Whoa! See what I miss by not having TV. But the Lord God Almighty is good and He knows we've been planning this trip for a long, long time, so all will be well with us! A gentleman who was recommended to us by the wonderful travel agency of Farnum & Christ will pick us up at the airport. And by then maybe one of the two Sim cards I purchased for Angie's unlocked Blackberry will pick up a signal and I'll have cell phone service, otherwise I'll buy a cheap throwaway or use Brenda's. The neighborhood we are staying in is Chelsea, Ormonde Gate. If you type in SW3 4HA on Google maps, you'll see the area.

Eighteen Days to Go!

In 18 days, Brenda and I will begin our journey to London, England. We've been planning for a year and we've learned a lot about what it takes to travel to another country. I've been to Canada and to Nassau and to Tijuana, never to Europe. My children and mother, on the other hand, are worldwide travelers. My goal is to update this blog with photos and amusing stories of our adventures. We'll see if I'm as good as my son in law in keeping up.