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Friday, September 1, 2017

London

I always get excited going to London and was really excited to head back after our excursion around the south and north.
At short notice my lovely cousin Karen put on a family BBQ and it was so good to see everyone again.

My new best friend, Imogen

Curtis and Maddie

Cuddles with Maddie

L-R; Immy, Emily, Aunty Doreen, Gail, Bailey, Ricky, and Dylan

Brett and Maddie have cuddles

Karen and Maddie

Zack, Ricky with Maddie, Gail, Alison

Uncle Pat

Gail, Brett, Ricky, Adrian, Aunty Doreen, and Barry

View from the other end of the garden

Young Immy is a budding gymnist and showed us her style.

We stayed with Uncle Pat and Aunty Doreen which was lovely, and gave me a chance to go through, and take photos of all the family history records. Both Uncle Pat and myself are super interested in this and 'one day' I really hope to finish Uncle Pat's work and create a family history book. They treated us to lunch at a local pub then took us to the council chambers to see the Mayors office. They have had three terms as Mayor and Mayoress and Uncle Pat has served on the council for over 40 years. Impressive!

Lunch

Seated in the Mayor's chair

We said goodbye (til we go back in November), and headed into the city where we caught up with Phillip and Catie, and Hannah and Charlie.

Barry's eye, Charlie, Hannah, Phil, Catie, and supposed to be me but I missed. Ha

We then checked out some of the places Dad, and Uncle Pat for that matter, lived as boys.

Standing outside the very first house my Dad lived in, 3 Thornton Road, Lambeth

My Dad's first school

And church

We also visited the zoo and Camden market and took a cruise to Little Venice in Paddington. We checked out the bear himself, and a few other places. Nowhere near enough time, so have to go back!

Houseboats on the canal. My friend Lyn has a friend who bought one. It can be a good option for living in the city!

Being a nut again, at Paddington

Amphitheater in Paddington

Paddington bear. People have been leaving marmalade here since Michael Bond died

Waiting for a tube

Threadneedle Street

The new and the old

Neals Yard

Covent Gardens

Covent gardens outside - a girl offered to take our photo, so we let her!

Rowan tree (I think)

Queen Victoria and Kensington Palace

Up close with Mr Squirrel

Hand feeding them

View from top of the Monument

Selfie at Camden market

The monument

View from the monument

Millennium Bridge and St Pauls

MI6, or at least it is in the Bond movies.

Beautiful Dahlia by our apartment

Tower Bridge and the SS whatsit boat

Shakespeare's Globe

Borough Market

Just a couple more photos; these from the zoo!

The reptile house featured in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

That's it. My next post will be about Finland!

Norwich

We left Lincolnshire and drove to Norwich to finally meet my other cousin, Sally's brother Nick. Nick and his wife Ger had been to New Zealand a couple of times and we had been to London for an extended family gathering but, like ships who pass in the night, we missed each other each time so it was exciting to finally meet them.
We had been told what a wonderful couple they were and we totally agree. We loved them! Nick is a very experienced and passionate arboriculturalist and he and Ger run their own consultancy.
It was fascinating to learn from them both all about the amazing world of trees. They do a lot of assessments of trees around Norwich to advise on their best care and maintenance, and are responsible for many of the amazing trees in the city. In fact our first impression of Norwich was what a lovely green city it is.
Ger runs her own reflexology practice from her home and uses natural scents and products which meant that everywhere you turned, the home smelt divine. I was so taken with these (no 'instant' migraines I often get with perfumes and other scents) that I am now a big fan of Neals Yard, one of Ger's main suppliers.
In addition to these two occupations, Ger has been studying photography and showed us her impressive and inspiring portfolio, and Nick is a talented musician with a beautiful collection of Mandolins. He also studies Iaido. Oh and draws! Too much! 😀 We were also inspired and loved their fabulous and delicious organic cooking.
Needless to say, we had a fantastic time. On Saturday they invited their lovely friends Jason and Ellen to dinner so Barry could meet a fellow architectural technologist, and learn about the market and systems in the UK. One of Barry's paths to becoming a registered architect in NZ is to become a registered Architectural Technologist in London.
So, on with the photos. We will be back again soon Nick and Ger!