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VACATION IN ENGLAND

Monday 11th June 2001
We arose late, after Madz and Ross had left for work; went round to the laundrette to get some washing done, then went by tube over to Putney to stay with Kay and Teddy until Wednesday evening.

After lunch, I left Kay and Joan to chat while I walked down to Putney High Street and wandered round the shops. We had a very pleasant dinner of roast chicken and veg, cooked by Kay.

Tuesday, 12th June 2001
Kay drove us to Kingston in the morning, after stopping to take Joan to a fabric shop. We had decided to get another carry-on case with wheels, as Joan was finding the travel bag a little heavy to cope with, while wheeling the big case. We looked at the display in the John Lewis store, then went across the road to another department store to check other ranges. I didn't see anything I liked there (that wasn't £4-500), but Joan noticed a very versatile small zip bag that opened up like a toilet/makeup case, and had an exterior sleeve that slipped over the handle of a wheeled case for £24.

We returned to Lewis's, and I selected a very well-made Belgian case in a burnt orange, for £109 -- rather more than I wanted to pay, but the cheaper ones were nowhere near as well-made. I was able to get a VAT refund form for this which will refund me about £12. After we went back to Putney, I moved my stuff from the other case into the new one, and Joan put her stuff in the other one.

Wednesday, 13th June 2001
We were out in the car by 10 am for the drive south to Wakehurst Place, a country house owned by the National Trust by run by the Royal Botanic Gardens. Kew. Consequently, the grounds were beautifully kept, and most plants and trees were properly labelled There were a lot of themed areas, such as Himalayan, and Oriental, with appropriate shrubs and plants. The house itself was 15th century, and had been extensively modified over the ensuing years.

An interesting point was that the beautiful old furniture in the rooms had been coded with a solution which contains a unique blend of rare minerals. Any stolen furniture can readily be identified by this means, and it cannot be removed or modified.

The shop had a range of jewellery by C.R.Mackintosh, a well-known Scottish designer, which Ross & Madz like; I selected a brooch for her.

The others enjoyed their tour of the house, but didn't have time to do justice to the garden. Perhaps another time. We had another hour's drive to get back to Putney, and stopped at the flat to have a drink before going on to an Italian restaurant -- we went there last year with Kay and Teddy. After a delicious meal, Teddy dropped us at Parsons Green tube and we went back to Notting Hill Gate. After the long trek to Powis Gardens, it was good to put our bags down and relax -- we were both whacked after the busy day.

Thursday, 14th June, 2001

We busied ourselves repacking our big cases ready to fly home tomorrow. This done, we went off on the tube to Baker Street where there is a shop that sells ballet supplies. We found the right leotard for Rebeccah, had a bite to eat in a cafe, and went by tube to South Kensington.

After the short walk to the Victoria & Albert Museum, we spent an hour or so viewing the costume displays that we had skipped last week. Joan was fascinated by the huge range of costumes from the 1600s to the present day; also the displays of accessories from hats to sun glasses. We returned to Powis Gardens to rest before walking back to Notting Hill Gate and the Rat and Parrot pub.
I had arranged to meet Mat Lemming, a member of our Internet Daynotes group. We sank a couple of drinks before being joined by Ross, and later Madeleine. From there we all went to Kensington High Street to have a meal at the WokWok, a restaurant specialising in Eastern cookery. We had a great chat with Mat, and were pleased to find out he was contemplating a New Zealand visit later in the year -- a contract job.

Friday, 15th June, 2001

Up and dressed smartly this morning to complete packing. Ross drove us to Paddington Station at 1 pm, and we caught the Heathrow Express to Heathrow. We were most gratified to have our business class upgrade confirmed -- at least for the first leg to Los Angeles. The seats in business class are so much better -- about 200 mm wider, and the adjustable leg/foot rest adds much to the comfort and ability to sleep. This was a 10-hour flight which chased the sun all the way to Los Angeles; I used the eye-shades which are thoughtfully provided and managed to get a couple of hours of light sleep. Unfortunately there was a 15-month-old child who got himself into a real tizzy and screamed incessantly for a couple of hours until exhausted. So were we...

As is our custom, we got some walking done, around the transit lounge; mainly to get the circulation going. I have noticed that these refuelling stops are about 30 minutes shorter than they used to be; we were back on the plane in one hour.

Saturday, 16th June, 2001

Well, we were sitting in a 747, weren't we -- and we flew through the International Date Line, so Saturday really wasn't there for us <grin>.

Sunday, 17th June, 2001

Arrived at Auckland International Airport at 5.30 am. We missed out on the business class upgrade from Los Angeles, as all those seats had been sold to paying customers -- I noticed a doctor sitting in front of us; he had a frequent flyer Gold Card hanging on his flight bag, and HE didn't get an upgrade, either. So it was back into cattle class for us; cramped seats (although Air New Zealand has increased its seat pitch considerably and given me more knee room) and having to disturb the guy on the aisle seat when we needed a toilet trip.

We were met by Joanna and Rebeccah; loaded our bags into my Honda CR-V, and Jo drove us back to Rotorua. We had a meal break at Matamata at 9 am (we'd had a light breakfast on the plane 5 hours earlier) and arrived home about 10 am. The rest of the day was devoted to unpacking; Don and the two boys came over after lunch to get their presents. I had a short sleep at one point, but the idea is to stay awake into the evening and try to get your body back into local time. Joan had a shower and was in bed at 7 pm, and I followed her half an hour later.