Jog/walk to the Chocolate Factory and back

It was a lovely day for a jog/walk so we set off along the riverbank. We turned right at the cycle path and started jogging. We ran over the River Avon and stopped for a quick photo. 

After a few kms I was relieved when we reached our turn off and started to walk along a little stream that eventually met up with the Avon again. We found a lock gate and carefully walked across it.

We were then almost at the Chocolate Factory which unfortunately is now an apartment complex, but used to be the Frys Chocolate Factory in Keynsham. We did find a lovely cafe and stopped for a cappuccino before starting out for home.

We followed the river again and I happened to glance across to the other bank and to my amazement, saw dinosaurs grazing and wandering around.

Things then got even stranger as we got back to the cycle path, which used to be the railway line between Bristol and Bath. We heard a merry toot toot and then a steam train appeared.

We have run along this route many times, but never seen a train. However, today was the Teddy Bears Picnic day and the train had pulled half a dozen carriages full of children with their Teddy bears.

Resuming our run we followed the line back to our river turning and because the wind was very low, we watched a slow motion dinghy race on the river.

16 kilometres (approx 10 miles) full of action. 

Time lapse greenhouse photography

 This photo is from April.

Fast forward to six days ago when we started to make the base for the greenhouse.

We bought a concrete mixer last week which made the task of putting in the foundation much easier, although it was really difficult trying to get a level base and to be honest we didn't totally succeed.

By day three we were fitting together the giant Meccano style kit, but this is the third time that we have done it so it seems to be getting easier.

Time for the glass to go in, and this was a real nightmare the first time around, but it only took us about half a day, and unbelievably not a single piece got broken.

The floor is down, staging is up and the plants are settling in to their winter home. The only thing left was to sit inside with our next door neighbour and a glass of wine and a bowl of peanuts.

Jane Austen Festival

The Jane Austen Festival is an annual event in Bath, attracting fans from all over the world. It started with a Grand Regency Promenade, where hundreds of people, all dressed in beautiful period costumes promenaded through the streets of Bath.

They are led by the 33rd Regiment of Foot, looking splendid in their red uniforms.

Promenading gracefully behind them were the great and good of Bath and beyond. 

They ended their walk at Queens Square, which seemed very apt today, and we wandered amongst them feeling extremely underdressed.

We could have stepped back in time to a more glamorous age, and the only way we knew that hadn't happened was because almost everyone taking photos.

By the way, Jane Austen did not grow up in Bath, but lived here with her parents and sister from 1801 to 1805 and attended many balls and society events. Later on in the Festival is a Grand Ball and I am guessing that Jane would be quite surprised that she is so famous over 200 years after she died.

We then went for a nice pub lunch nearby and it was lovely to see Admirals, Lords and ladies arriving for their burger and chips all around us.

London getaway

We are enjoying a couple of days in London, starting with an outing last night to the Royal Albert Hall to see one of the Proms. 

We chose number 66 and the highlight was watching the conductor, Karina Cannelakis.

We sat in the choir seats so the orchestra had their backs to us, but we saw every move that she made. She leapt about for the whole show and must have been exhausted by the end. Of the three pieces one was truly awful, but she managed to make even that one 'interesting'.

Today we were up early for a run along the Thames and then my choice of a visit to the Garden Museum at Lambeth Palace. 

Fortunately we had half price tickets as it did not live up to it's billing online. You had to laugh though, and we did climb the tower to see the view from the top.

The door to the spiral staircase was worrying tiny

and I was quite dizzy by the top. 

Most of the museum was set inside a deconsecrated church next door to the Archbishop of Canterbury's place, and after the view, my next best thing was a lovely greenhouse.

Onwards then, to Darren's choice of Westminster Abbey, where we also had two for the price of one tickets courtesy of our train company.

This was totally amazing and the main body of the building was exactly as seen on the TV.

However, the surprise was the huge number of statues, plaques and gravestones depicting royalty and famous people throughout the last 700 years.

After a couple of hours break we set off again for the Royal Albert Hall and this time saw the famous violinist, Nicola Benedetti.

Another rather weird choice of music, and it almost seems as if the Proms are going out of their way to put on 'challenging' events.

Bath gin and rum festival

We got our bikes out and cycled into Bath for the afternoon. We had tickets for the gin and rum festival, and when we got there it was in full flow.

All of the tables were full and the band was murdering a few old favourite songs in the background as we had our photo taken on the Schweppes rocking seat. We then had to sip our drinks for the next photo, and for some reason it looks as if our eyes are about to pop out.

It was tasty, but not that tasty.  The different gins were lined up along the side walls and split into British, rest of the world and flavoured.  We had two each and the barman told us to read through a booklet explaining the merits of each individual one. That was too much like hard work, so I chose the one with pretty flowers on the label.

Darren's choice of a cocktail from a corner bar was better and we drank and chatted, and then noticed that the band had improved a lot. In the end we were sad to see them finish their set.

The journey back was complicated by the fact that we were given the large fragile glasses as souvenirs, so the challenge was to cycle home without smashing them.

William Shakespeare day

We are still at Stratford upon Avon, and it is full of tourists all keen to discover more about William Shakespeare.

His name appears everywhere, along with shops, bars and restaurants that are named after his plays or characters. On the main street is a lovely statue.

We paid for a ticket that gave us entry to three different attractions.

First up was Shakespeare's birthplace. It is right in the centre of town and is a good sized cottage, as his dad earned a good living as a glove maker. Shakespeare was born in 1564 and records show that his family had 11 large wall coverings to brighten up the rooms. They were surprisingly over the top and it gave the whole place a lively look.

People at that time slept sitting upright in bed as they were very superstitious and believed that if they were lying down then devils would take them away to die, or something very similar to that.

Just imagine - it would be like trying to sleep every night in an aeroplane seat.

The building was exactly as you would imagine a 500 year old cottage to be. Low ceilings, lots of beams, tiny windows, thatched roof and large walk in fireplace.

The next destination was about five minutes walk away and is called New Place. Shakespeare moved here with his wife Anne Hathaway in 1597 and lived there until his death in 1616.

I have to say that this was disappointing as the building was destroyed over 300 years ago. So basically we were looking at a garden with metal lines on the ground to show where the building used to be.

Some nice sculptures though, and a lady at the bottom of the garden telling stories about fairies and hobgoblins that Shakespeare would have known, and maybe used in his plays.

Finally we walked over a mile to Anne Hathaway's cottage. She was eight years older than Shakespeare and this is where she lived until they got married.

Fortunately this one still stood.

It was my favourite of the three places, although in Anne's time her cottage was only a small section in the middle and it has been extended hugely since then.