New friends are like silver,old friends are like gold….

So I'm off again to London, but, before I get on the coach, I'm meeting up with an old friend that I haven't seen yet on this visit. We've talked up a storm on the phone but had no face- to- face time as we've both been busy with one thing or another. I've known Krystyna ever since we were teenagers growing up in Nottingham. Like me she was born here, of Polish parentage and ever since we met, we just "clicked" together. We did loads of stuff together:  meeting up every weekend, working at the same store as "Saturday Girls", going to Poland to Polish Camp and even double dating on several occasions!! It's OK Krys, I'm not giving any secrets away!

Over the years with both of us having our own families and myself moving to another country, apart from the occasional Christmas card, we sort of lost touch until I started visiting England more frequently and we reconnected again. We both say that even if we haven't seen each other for months on end, when we do meet, we just pick up where we left off and it's as if we've never been apart. And that, I think, is the sign of a true and great friendship! There are some people that we meet in our lives that make a lasting impression with us and Krys is no exception.

So, as we've done every time since we were teenagers, we decided to meet up "at the Lions" in the Marketplace in Nottingham. These are two stone Lions that stand on either side of the entrance to the Council House and this is where all the glitterati meet and have met over the years! The Lions are now a symbol of the City of Nottingham. If only they could talk!

We decided to go for coffee at one of my favourite stores: Marks and Spencer. The place was buzzing with Christmas shoppers, we did have a quick peek:

        Everything was in Christmas colours lol.  Krys was too shy to model but then so was I!!

After 2 hours off non- stop talk and two large Cafe Americano's each, it was time to say goodbye until next time and for me to head to the coach station. Which was when I realized my mistake……..
Never, ever, drink lots of fluids before heading off on a non stop bus trip. This is what I had to face:

 

Not good, especially travelling at 60mph and with no interior light. It strangely reminded me of this:

The Iron Maiden, a medieval torture device! It's a good thing I have a sense of humour!

So , off to bed early because tomorrow I have to be up early and travel across London to a very special place. I'll give you a clue:

 

4 Privet Drive

The cupboard under the stairs

Talk soon

Zoe

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I felt a bit of guilt after slagging off poor Sir Henry and his four wives in my last post - bad Karma and all that. We've come a long way since those days when average life expectancy was probably in one's 30's, if that. So Sir Henry, may you rest in peace alongside your wives.

I've been getting really spoiled recently and Tuesday was no exception. I was given an early Christmas prezzie by my cousin, Lucy, who knows me well and invited me to the theatre with her to watch a Christmas pantomime, Sleeping Beauty. Before the panto we wandered around the Old Market Square to see all the sights of the Winter Wonderland.

This is the view at the centre of Nottingham. The domed building is the Council house where the Sheriff of Nottingham has his office together with his merry band of Councillors! This is also where most of the City Departments are located together with reception and banqueting rooms for visiting dignitaries. The annual Christmas tree has been there ever since I can remember, but what has been added in recent years is a seasonal ice rink and lots of little cabin and chalets, selling everything from hot chocolate to whisky!

       I had to stop at the roasted chestnut stand, I haven't had these in years, they are sooooo good!

OMG when I saw this cabin, I couldn't believe my eyes!!! Only in England you say!

After coming from Canada, I couldn't believe they were selling make-your-own-snow!

Eco-friendly, always cold to the touch, makes a great gift!! I was tempted to buy some for gifts to

send to Canada but white powder, in the mail, nah…... I don't think so! The girls were Polish so we ended up having a good natter in Polish!

We weren't tempted by the chocolate cabin, well maybe a bit!

There were lots of people out skating even though it was freezing - I guess it's all relative!

We finally headed off to the theatre:

Nottingham Playhouse

This is where my love of live theatre was born following a school field trip to see The Merchant of Venice. William Shakespeare, every school kids favourite…... or not!!! The beauty of theatre in England is that it is affordable to most, with different price ranges for students, under 16's, seniors and the unwaged. School field trips to the theatre are very common and if you go to a matinee performance there are often bus loads of school kids there. While a student nurse in London, we were often given freebie tickets to West End productions and I was able to see first class actors including Liz Taylor,

Diana Rigg, Peter Ustinov and others. Judi Dench, the current M in the James Bond movies started off her acting career in Nottingham.

This is a view of the sculpture Sky Mirror, a big silver dish overlooking the patio area at the theatre.It

cost 1.2 mill. GBP when it was installed in 2001. Across from the patio is this cathedral:

St Barnabas RC Cathedral.

This is where I was baptized and the church I attended when I was living in Nottingham. I'll have to take some photos of the interior as it's really quite a majestic building. The architect was Augustus Pugin who also designed the interior of The Houses of Parliament.

Ooooh and now it's time for the performance. The theatre was full of people, lots of excited kids and adults.

 Pantomime or panto is an English Christmas tradition that has been around in some form or other since the Middle Ages and maybe even earlier. It's hard to explain it's attraction to non-Brits, you have to see it to appreciate it but it's great fun for ALL ages. It's a kind of musical comedy, loosely based on a fairy tale and designed for family entertainment. It includes songs, slapstick comedy and dancing, has men dressing up as women and usually has a villain or villainess. It is designed to be participatory and the audience often joins in with the singing and the booing and hissing of the villain.

Sounds weird but it isn't!

So what did I go and see:

And it was totally brilliant!! Lots of fun and lots of laughs and TOO much snow - what is it with the Brits and snow, I'm trying to get away from it!!

A really great evening, thanks Lucy!!

All truly great thoughts!!

All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking - Friedrich Nietzsche.  If so, with all the walking I do and enjoy, I should be super smart …..NOT!!! Nothing beats along walk to clear one's head and get one's thoughts together.
But, after three days of indoor confinement and being spoiled rotten by a great friend who  knows my weaknesses and brought me these:

filled with REAL English cream AND after thoroughly enjoying them both AND not wanting to develop a derriere like this:

I went for one of my favourite walks when I'm in Nottingham. I started off down this path:

In the spring the grass is full of blooming daffodils and crocuses. The wall is the boundary of Wollaton Hall. The path continues along the road until it curves gently to the right:

and leads to Wollaton Village:

Ahead is St.Leonard's Church, a row of cottages and the local pub, the Admiral Rodney. I love this view, to me it is so quintessentially English. The church has been here for 800 years and each time I visit Nottingham I like to go and sit inside for a while and savour the atmosphere. Today, the church was a busy place….. ladies were setting up tables and supplies for a school field trip planned later in the day. There were archaeology students from Nottingham University studying various features for a project they were doing:

Apart from being a beautiful and historic church, St.Leonard's claim to fame is this:

The Wollaton Antiphonal

                                                 

This is a very rare manuscript dating back to medieval times and was scribed and illustrated by monks who often spent their lifetime completing one such work. The artwork and script is superb and the colours so vibrant. Many of these works were destroyed during the Reformation when Henry viii broke off all ties with the Church of Rome so he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn - I guess I did remember something from history classes!!

As I was looking at the display, the sound of monks chanting could be heard in the background. I sat in one of the pews to listen to the chanting - ahead of me I could see this:

The tomb of Sir Henry Willoughby. After reading The Pillars of the Earth I really could appreciate the attention to the detailing of the carvings and the time and effort it must have taken. With the chanting I could almost imagine myself being transported back to medieval times but wait, look closer:

On either side of Sir Henry were two half-sized effigies of his wives, so a total of four wives!! No wonder his hands and feet are missing!! I jest of course! At first I had thought these were effigies of his children but in the Middle Ages women often died in childbirth and at a very young age of now curable
diseases. How sad….  but what a peaceful place to remain in perpetuity
Under the tomb is another carved effigy of a half rotted corpse, a reminder to us all of our own mortality!!!  There's something very soothing about old churches - I plan to be back!

Outside the church there is a memorial to all the Wollaton men who gave their lives in the Great War:

Lest We Forget

                                                           



                 Across the road is this lovely cottage:
                                  

   
   
       And centred in the middle of Wollaton Village is the Admiral Rodney, I've been here many a time:

Further down the road is the old Village School:

                                       

Of course no village is complete without this:

                               

And of course I can't possibly go by the library without going inside:

                           

The library was really busy, especially the children's section but I wasn't allowed to take any pictures because of the kids, a sign of the times , but I did chose some good books. I LOVE libraries, after all:

        "A library is the only place you can lose your innocence without losing your virginity"

                              Now who said that???? I'll give you a clue!

                                         

Talk soon

 Zoe

                                                                 
                                                                   






                                                                       
                                                                     



       

All's well that ends well!

Despite the head trauma I received a few days ago - you've heard the expression "Physician heal thyself"-  well….. nurses do it better ! My non-invasive self treatment worked like a hot damn and I was able to bounce back - no pun intended - just in time to see this:

I had to travel to the West End as the theatre is in Drury Lane and slap bang in the middle of the theatre district. And of course we all know that Drury Lane is where the Muffin Man lives -he must have been in hiding when I came along!  I passed so  many theatres:

Ooh, so much to see and so little time. I finally found the Theatre Royal and after climbing at least 5 flights of stairs I found myself in the balcony section. Then I had a further climb to get to my seat in "the gods" as it's called in England or the "nosebleed" section as it's known in Canada! Needless to say once I found my seat I stayed rooted in it for the whole performance! This is what happens when you get cheapo tickets but, hey I'm not complaining, I got to see the performance! This was taken from my seat, sorry it's a bit dark but it IS a theatre!

Anyway it turned out to be totally brilliant. The special effects were stunning and yes, Augustus Gloop fell into a chocolate sea and got sucked up into a tube; Violet Beauregarde blew up into a big purple balloon, floated off , burst and showered the audience with purple glitter; Verruca Salt fell into a drain and Mike Teavee ended up in a TV. The Oompa Loompas started off as puppets and were then played by actors. The final scene with Charlie and Willie Wonka floating over the city in a lit up telephone box 

was spectacular. There was a standing ovation at the end that went on for a long time. I've seen Roald Dahl's plays in the past with my son - James and the Giant Peach and The Witches and they were equally well done. He is a great kid's author even though at times a lot of the kids in his stories end up in dire straits!

That was a great finale to my stay in London and the next day it was time to head home. I caught the train to St. Pancras International Station. It's recently had a big reno and is now home to the Eurostar:

Isn't this a fantastic example of Victorian architecture?? Honestly the Victorians were an industrious lot.
I didn't take this actual photo as I could never get the angle and I wanted to see if anyone recognized it.
Hint….Harry Potter??? Well  as my REALLY good friends know, I am a great HP fan. St Pancras was used in The Chamber of Secrets movie when Harry couldn't access Platform 9 3/4 and Ron picked him up in the magical Ford Anglia (hey I used to have a Ford Anglia) and they flew out of St. Pancras and were seen by all the muggles!
Which is a bit confusing as the Hogwart's Express actually left from King's Cross train station which is across the road. So…. I crossed the road into King's Cross and this is what I found:

Right beside Platform 9 3/4 was The Harry Potter Shop : you can buy all your Hogwart's gear from here:

King's Cross Station has also has had some renovations, totally unrecognizable from the years when I lived in London:

Well, I guess I'd better go and catch my train. So I crossed the road :

This is the "new" part of St. Pancras, built to house Eurostar.

                                               
                       This is the original St. Pancras Station

                       I wandered over to the departure boards to see where to catch my train:

Trains to Paris and Brussels run every hour or so. I've been to Brussels on the Eurostar and to Calais for the day. It only takes 35 mins to get from Dover to Calais thru the Chunnel. Hopefully Paris this trip……oo la la. It will be an excuse to practice ma francaise and to manger bien!

I wandered by the stores and this sushi bar, I've eaten there before. It's really neat, the sushi chefs work in the centre and you can see them prepare the food. When finished they put it on a conveyor belt that runs around the seating areas. The dishes are all colour coded as to price and the customer just helps themselves and then takes the empty dishes to the cash register when finished.

I walked down the massive hallways to my departure gate, all the stores were decorated for Christmas, there's even a Hamley's here, Lisa:

     

                     I finally found my departure gate, right alongside the Eurostar terminus:

I sat there drinking my coffee and people watching. While I was there a Eurostar train pulled onto the next track.  If you look closely you can see the high electrified wire fence along the track. I presume this is for security measures aka terrorist attacks but also no doubt to keep illegal aliens out.

BTW London has been on high alert for terrorists for a few months now, evidenced by the large numbers of police in major public places.

But it's OK because this is my mantra:

 You have to be a Homeland fan!!

Talk soon

Zoe