London, England

Monday Aug 27th
Today, Lords. The home of cricket. The hallowed turf. Well, after the MCG in our opinion, but the poms certainly love their cricket icon. We did a tour of the Lords ground, and also were lucky to see some of a county final in action : Chelsea v Suffolk. We witnessed first hand the age-old tradition of players entering and leaving Lords via the Long Room. The Suffolk batsman by the name of Grayson was given out on 87, and walked right by us as we were standing in the Long Room in the Pavillion. Naturally, we applauded him as any fine old cricketing gentlemen would. We were even given access to the ground during the lunch interval, and the Media Centre – that huge white strange-looking building that looks like a spaceship. And finally, in the museum, we saw a tiny little urn sitting in a glass cabinet. Priceless, and rightfully “owned” by us Aussies again.
Lords is in the area of St John’s Wood, and the Underground station just happens to be just 5 minutes walk from a certain street called Abbey Road. Yes, we made the deviation on the way back from Lords, and, yes, I had my picture taken on the crossing. And yes, I stood in front of the recording studio and pondered on the music that had been created inside that building.
Tuesday 28th
A Rock n Roll tour of London, which was also a great way to get a chaffuer-driven bus out of the city to see some lovely villages. Heaps of music trivia - too many to mention. Lots of places where people died, or lived, or drank, or recorded, or played.

London, England

Last day in London, 29th August.
Today - a tour of Wimbledon. Only disappointment was Centre Court was not available, due to major reconstruction (including a roof), but the rest of it was fantastic. Amazing to think that this entire complex is used for just two weeks of the year (except for some outside courts used by the 500 members of the All England Lawn Tennis Club). Court One (now the major court at Wimbledon) will soon be used for Davis Cup, and then both it and Centre Court will be used for the Olympics in 2012. Other than that - only two weeks every year.
Early tomorrow morning, we say goodbye to London, but we're sure that we'll be back one day. This place is too vibrant and exciting to stay away. We've packed so much into the past 5 days, experienced everything from tranquil gardens to jam-packed tube stations. But ... we'll be back....

London, England

Saturday August 25.
We ventured out of London today, catching the tube out to Essex to visit friends of Phil and Michelle (our Melbourne cousins who have met us for our week in London). Firstly, however, we walked around Kensington Palace on the way to the train station. Immaculate gardens – I see what they mean by a “manicured lawn” – and the famous circular gates that gave us that enduring image of the sea of flowers following Diana’s death. Of course, this was her home. A lovely backyard!
Then on to Essex to visit Tom and Jane, who are ex-pat Tasmanians living in a charming little village called Loughton. They (and their three sons) were delightful company, the weather was magnificent with the sun shining, and we were even spoilt with some Tasmanian pinot wine, made by Tom’s brother Joe Holyman at StoneyRise, in the Tamar Valley. A taste of Tasmania, so far from home.
Sunday Aug 26th
A tube ride downtown to catch the early queue (thereby ensuring its shortness) to the London Eye. We had picked a good day, with the view stretching to the horizon. A walk along the south bank of the Thames (called, um, Southbank) eventually lead us to Tower Bridge. A walk across this amazing structure lead us to the Tower of London, where we spent the afternoon. Our guide was a theatrical fountain of knowledge. The Crown Jewels were amazing.
Monday night we saw Blood Brothers, the West End muscial that has been playing for 20 years. It was everything that everyone said it would be. Simply fantastic.

London, England

After just 5 hours in London, the icons just kept on coming.
To start with, we arrived on the classic QF9 – the famous Qantas 747 flight that has been bringing Aussies to London for years, and it arrives at 5 in the morning. After catching the Heathrow Express train into Paddington and checking into our Sussex Gardens hotel (consisting of a very small, basic but comfortable room - pity about having to drag the two heavy suitcases up the 3 flights of narrow stairs), we headed out into the fresh London morning. It was 7.30am. Through Bayswater, past Marble Arch and Hyde Park, through Mayfair and Park Lane (looking forward to collecting two hundred dollars as we pass “Go”) and into Green Park. Wandering rather aimlessly through this lovely park and marvelling at the squirrels (the locals probably wonder why tourists think these varmits are cute), we literally stumble onto Buckingham Palace as it emerged through the trees, taking us completely by surprise. Standing on the Queen Victoria monument at the front gates to the Palace, we look the opposite way, down the Mall to see the giant ferriswheel of the London Eye and Big Ben in the distance. Yesterday we were in little old Lonnie, half a world away. Yep – we’re definitely in London. And that was only in the first hour’s walk from the hotel. Londoners were still making their way to work on a normal Friday morning.
On the way back to the hotel, we walked up to Piccadilly Circus, turned down Regent Street, into Oxford Street, and we imagine that we’re walking a giant Monopoly board.
We also walked to Knightsbridge to see HARRODS, bought pastries and yoghurt drinks and ate lunch in Hyde Park on the way back to Sussex Gardens. Sore feet, rather exhausted with little sleep the night before, but ... wow ...

Launceston

20 August - Welcome along for the ride - I hope you get some interest and enjoyment out of my ramblings.
Waiting impatiently for the big day to arrive - Thursday August 23. Last minute packing, jobs around the house, copying important documents, foreign currency from the bank, seeing friends and family for the last time for two months.