ANZAC weekend

25th April - a very special day in the minds of many New Zealanders and Australians. Being away from home over the week made us feel quite nostalgic for the commemorations marking the anniversary, our family and friends, and yes ANZAC biscuits - how I wished we had baked some cos we can't buy them here. But our spirits were buoyed with Zane coming to see us during the week. We had a nice dinner with him and a bit of an explore around the Clifton Suspension Bridge on a sunny Spring evening before he took off with his Satnav set for Weston Supermare.

We decided to go to Dover for the weekend where we could pay our own private tribute to the many who fought in the wars and look across at Dunkirk (we were looking forward to a day trip but the only ferry that went directly there did not take foot passengers and all the others went to Calais - so we will make it another time). Dover, now seems focussed on the shipping industry - we sat on the cliffs listening to the constant announcements by different shipping lines in French, German and English and were surprised, but pleased as well, to see the road directions in the three languages as well. Given the accident rate of heavy goods vehicle in England any action to help prevent these is a good thing (on the way down we saw an articulated truck lying on its side - glad we weren't anywhere near that when it happened).

There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover,

Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

I'll never forget the people I met braving those angry sky's

I remember well as the shadows fell the light of hope in their eyes

and though I'm far away I still can hear them say

Sun's up for when the dawn comes up

There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover,

Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after.

Tomorrow, when the world is free...

It was a superb Spring day for wandering the hills above the cliffs and we spent many hours walking along the hills exploring the limestone cliffs and walking down to the beaches. We didn't see any blue birds but we did see lots of fun and laughter and sea gulls as we looked across the busy channel (500 ships a day - the channel is in lanes and woe-be-tide the captain who goes the wrong way up the channel - arrest and prosecution is likely) to the coast of France. We weren't the only ones wandering those hills and admiring the cliffs - there were many of different ages, sizes and nationalities including at least two groups of Germans. It made me realise that for those fighting the war it was probably not just about protecting their land but also their culture and identity. I think they were also fighting for all to have the freedom to respectfully enjoy and explore England and Europe. We are soon making a trip to Berlin and I would like to think winning the war meant we can have that same freedom in other countries.

We wandered into the South Foreland Lighthouse (my first inside view of a lighthouse). It was built in 1843 and together with another lighthouse helped to steer the many ships travelling through the channel from a sand bank (ships caught sank quickly). There was a map on a wall with the names of over 500 ships that have sank in the area since the 1500's and since three ships involved the loss of over 1000 lives you can only guess how many have died. This is where pirates lit fires along the cliff tops to misguide the ships in the hope of a grounding and taking some loot - I'd read stories about that!! 'The lighthouse has been at the forefront of technological innovation over the years. It has been the site for many trial lighting systems, most importantly Michael Faraday's experiments with electricity which led in 1858 to it being the first lighthouse to have an electrically supplied navigation light. In 1898 it was the base used by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi to demonstrate his radio telegraphy or wireless system'...first ship to shore and then between the coast of France and England. The lighthouse was run on sperm whale oil for most of its early life ... doesn't smoke alot but boy can it smell we are told. I am sure the whales were pleased electricity was invented. Harry took some photos of the clock that turns the lights (a bit like the cuckoo clock) and he was intrigued that it sat in a pool of mercury to help it rotate smoothly. From the lighthouse we wandered along the hills and down some paths to St Margaret's at Cliffe where as we coffee'd, our telephones welcomed us and a few other customers to France by text. We later saw a motorcyclist with a full helmet on answering his cell phone and then realising that he couldn't hear or be heard. He looked quite confused about what to do!! We hoped the caller was not 'welcoming him the France' as well. We were told by some locals that Noel Coward and Peter Ustinov used to live (at different times) in the white house at the end of the bay - but there were plenty of white houses to choose from so we never did work out which one.

The Battle of Britain memorial was quite special. (The last time Britain was invaded was in 1066 - just along the road at Hastings - though there wasn't much to see when we wandered up the hill there late on Sunday afternoon - instead of catching the water powered cable car - it had been hit by lightening last year and when they replaced the parts they didn't work properly and the cable car careered through the doors at the bottom of the cliff - we were happy to walk!). Anyway, back to the memorial. Huge, designed like a propellor which you could walk around viewing aircraft, memorials to fallen soldiers, a statue of Bob the squadrons dog and the stories of heroes - quite moving. There were signs warning us not to venture into the undergrowth as adders lived there so we trod carefully so we could take photos of the coastline, but noticed that the rabbits were quite happy to play in ignorance.

On Sunday we drove through what I call 'Hi de hi' country and passed a number of military training grounds and the Homes of Television and British Motor Racing and Jane Austen country. Some of the beach side cities were quite picturesque and busy but not quite our thing but the country in spring time is another story. The beaches were mainly pebbly and we sat at Hythe and had morning tea on the promenade (peaceful and quiet until the roller bladers came along and a troop of walkers walking their labradors), lunch at Hastings (on the pebbles looking across at all the protection built against erosion) and afternoon tea at Cowdray Manor House (where Queen Elizabeth 1 rode in her carriage up to the front gate - we walked where once royalty rode!! - and we mused at rugby fields being a metre from a historic building). Erosion control is huge here. There wasn't much at the White Cliffs because they are so high and it would destroy the natural beauty (I think there is more limestone underneath the cliffs as they slowly get taken to the sea) but along the coast between Folkestone and Hastings there were high concrete walls created as promenades for cyclists, walkers, skaters etc and rocks on the sea side. Huge effort compared to some of the erosion control along the coasts of NZ. We stopped at a military museum in Eastbourne where two restored tanks had been donated in the 1980's. Lovingly restored by enthusiasts they had been left outside and were slowly rusting away - as metal does when sitting by the seaside. We wondered at the fairness of museums accepting donations when they can't look after the gifts which represent so much time, energy and money. That's it for another week - back to possible petrol shortages due to strikes by oil refinery staff, work and planning the next adventure.

Windsor

Up bright and early (with a struggle) we took off for Windsor Castle. It was one of those misty days, so photos didn't turn out too well and we spent much of our time under umbrellas and glad when we needed to go inside as it is still quite cold. We didn't realise that Windsor was infact a little suburb of London - probably initially a village in its own right - built over time to home the 1000 or so employees of Windsor Castle and those that float up and down the Thames. We met a few of them while touring around the castle (and Caramello said hello as well). The Queen was in residence on Saturday, her flag was flying but we didn't see her. (I did email her to let her know we were coming but politely refused having afternoon tea with her as we would have missed doing some of the other things we had planned). I must admit seeing her weekend retreat thought that it probably wasn't very relaxing unless there was a hidden courtyard where she could enjoy some spring flowers and the birds! I felt quite sorry for her really as my idea of a weekend retreat would be a little cottage, with a barbeque and outside seating to read a book or snooze in the sun. Outside her rooms are the guards in all their splendour. It rained so the changing of the guard was a minimal affair with no band - we learnt that the hats they wear are still made of bear skin. Nylon was experimented with but didn't stand up to all the weather conditions - actually I don't think that is much of an excuse. The tour guide when asked 'What is the difference between changing the guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Palace' politely answered 'Well, its the location really'. Anyway, we wandered around wondering why Edward built his castle on the flight path to Heathrow (and had to get a photo of a plane above the castle - it wasn't hard as they land one every minute). We enjoyed going into the Staterooms to see Queen Mary's dolls house (a magnificent mansion with garages and cars to match the indoor splendour), seeing some wonderful paintings of royal families and scenery (some more Van Dyks and a Rembrandt) and through the rooms that were ruined in the 1992 fire. The ceilings had been renovated beautifully, the parquet floors were lifted and the wood turned over and resealed, and the main room was restored with English oak designed to crack and age quickly to get back to the old 'feel' - all the wood crafted using tools of the earlier age (around 1200 I think). Initially, the castle was made of wood but one hundred years later was rebuilt in stone. The chapel has the coffin of King George, the Queen Mother and Princess Margarets ashes and a wonderful marble statue of Princess Charlotte who died in childbirth. She is covered by a marble blanket with angels sitting above her - one of the best statues we have seen - you could see the imprint of her face under the blanket. I think seeing movies like the 'Other Boleyn Girl' brought the paintings of Edward, Mary and Elizabeth to life. (How television and videos have changed our ability to learn!!) After the castle we wandered through the station - now a boutique shopping mall, and took a short trip up the Thames (or down?). It is the slow way to London - by road probably 30 minutes if traffic allows - but 18 hours by boat - partly due to the number of locks on the way and also the 5 miles per hour speed limit. We saw Royal Windsor Race course (built on an island and it is only one of two race courses where you can hook up your boat at the marina and go to a days racing). Ascot Race Course down the road however looks far more impressive with a modern grandstand and 6 carparks for race goers. Went under another of Brunel's iron railway bridges where red squares of metal are secured to the railings. (Swans used to fly into the bridge as they can't easily distinguish grey so these red squares help them to realise that something is in the way and they have to fly over or under). Also saw a salmon ladder which is designed to try and encourage salmon to return to the Thames. The ladder is designed to enable the fish to travel upstream when trying to find breeding grounds. A number of boats were moored along the river, amongst them the Mimosa apparently made 3 trips to Dunkirk and rescued 150 men duringt the retreat at Dunkirk during WWII.

If anyone had asked us last weekend to tell them where Eton was we would have not been able too. We didn't realise that it was only a hop, skip and a jump from Windsor Castle and also that Sandhurst Military Academy was also within easy driving distance. I guess that is why so many Royal boys go there. There haven't been that many places that we have been disappointed in but Eton College was one of them. We were allowed around the historic chapel, courtyard and cloisters but it was not evident where the boys studied. We were taken aback when we walked into the courtyard and saw stone (one sketch in the museum showed that it had been grassed about 150 years ago). The chapel was old and dark, with the stairways reminding us that we were in a school with the deep etches made by boys obviously bored with the thought of going to chapel. The cloisters were covered in stone memorials to young men (usually 19-22) who had been killed in either the Boer war, or the two World Wars and now the Iraqi war (will we ever learn?). The museum told a tale of a young boy who was birched for not smoking. Apparently, drinking alcohol and leaving the grounds were not allowed but smoking was compulsory as a deterrent to the plague. Probably they didn't live long enough to recognise the effects of lung cancer. We drove back through the A roads looking at some new sights (the funniest was seeing a military academy alongside an Moslem centre) stopping at a nice pub for an evening meal. Sunday, we picnic'd (not in the rain!!) out at Cleveland Beach before having a short wander along the hills above the rocks covered by seaweed and the mud revealed by low tide. Friends for tea on Sunday night which is rather nice and then another week begins.

A weekend near Bristol

It was our first weekend in Bristol (Friday and Saturday nights in our own bed) for a long time and so we enjoyed sleeping in and I enjoyed breakfast in bed both days (lucky me). After being away most of the week as well it felt good not to have to hurry down for breakfast and then off to another place to visit. Even so, after the lazy start and a bit of housework we took off for Berkeley Castle (which we found doesn't open on Saturday's so we went back Sunday) and to Slimbridge Wetland Centre. Both are close to each other and both took a lot longer to see than we expected. One of the most memorable bits of the weekend was the sky line - the changes in cloud formation and the occassional shower and warm sunshine that came intermittently with them. Even though there are birds and castles in most of the photos the sky is probably the most dramatic part of the photos. Slimbridge is the home for many birds (they can come and go as they please but given they are fed well - by children with little bags of pellets and by staff - I can't imagine why they would leave). Some of the birds are probably unwanted like the crows, but there are many that have either been extinct at some time in England and bought from other countries to try and repopulate the country. There are others that have no link to England but are probably there as protection against their native country having a disease that would wipe them out (eg why our little kea is in Bristol Zoo). The Crane is an example - apparently now nesting in the wild again - they only lay 2 eggs and year, and the first one is more dominant with the second unlikely to survive. So, World Wildlife staff go around and collects the second one and brings them to the centre to hatch. So, they don't become attached to humans, the birds are brought up by people dressed all in white carrying a stick with a Crane's head on it. They are fed by this head and the birds come to know and love this as Mum. As they get older, fox look a likes are introduced (eg dogs not people on all fours) and the human dressed up runs away squawking and flapping. The youngsters follow and learn that foxes aren't much fun and something to stay away from!! There were a number of flamingos - nearly white to bright orange in colour - and a variety of ducks. Seeing them all together made us realise the variety - some looked as though nature had splashed them with paint, while others had been dabbed and others meticulously painted in lines with a small paint brush. The other bird we will remember is the Bewick Swan. It is quite small (well smaller than the ones that try and steal our lunch from picnic areas) with a black and yellow beak. All the beaks have different patterns, they mate for life and are migratory. One such swan continued to return to Bewick for 23 years. When they are 14 weeks or so, they will follow their parents from the Arctic Winter and fly about 4000 kilometres to Slimbridge for the winter. We also found out that a fungi causes the clusters of twigs (witches broom it is called) that we have seen in many trees - since the trees lose their leaves it is quite noticeable. We drove back definitely knowing it was spring time having seen lambs, ducklings and spring bulbs. After all that wandering around we decided we would try our local cafe down the road for dinner (cooking on a Saturday night seems quite foreign to us considering we are away so much - could it be we are getting a bit lazy??).

Sunday dawned wet and then cleared up and so we took off for Berkeley Castle (it was Sunday so we knew it would be open!!). We arrived ready for lunch and it rained - what is it about picnics, us and rain?? We had a guided tour around the castle. It is still the home of the Berkeleys since it was built in the 1200's and is set on a hilltop overlooking the longest river in England - the Severn. What's more it is the oldest castle in England (Wales has older ones I think). We heard about its history since it was built which included the meeting of barons prior to the signing of Magna Carta; the murder of King Edward II in 1327 (we saw the room where the King had his last moments), a visit from Queen Elizabeth I (if you wanted to you could buy a silk scarf in the same pattern as the bedspread she slept under). During the Civil War one of the walls were knocked down. It can not be rebuilt as then it would be classed as a fortress and would be anti-royal (we were told that you would need an Act of Parliament to rebuild the wall). Anyway, Harry is pictured with the gap that led to the Berkeleys losing their castle for a few years. One of the Berkeleys fell in love with a butchers daughter. She refused to live with him as his mistress so he fooled her and arranged a marriage service that wasn't legal. After having 7 kids he finally decided to marry her (I think she found out) and had another 6 children. When he died the oldest son did not inherit the title as he was illegitimate - I think it went to number 8. Alongside the grounds is a butterfly house and having never been in one before we decided to see - quite small - but relaxing watching them flutter around. We then went to the museum. Dr Jenner - can't say I had heard of him before - possibly at a school lesson. Besides being the first person to fly a hot air balloon in England, the first to discover some type of dinosaur bones, the first to explain that birds migrate rather than hibernate like hedgehogs and the first to explain that cuckoos nest in other birds nests (the little cuckoo hatches, throws all the other eggs out of the nest -has a special bend in his back for rolling the other eggs up the side of the nest and over the side which disappears after about 12 weeks) he was also the first to invent vaccinations and one for small pox which eradicated the disease finally in the 1970's. What a variety of interests he must have had - never a dull moment if you knew him. One of the quotes in the museum was 'He was below the middle stature, his hair dark and a little inclined to curl, he was rather near sighted but he changed the world'. Dr Jenner was a country doctor trainined in London and then moved back to his home town Berkeley. There he married, continued his interests as a naturalist, geologist, doctor and medical scientist. A young girl in the town contracted 'cow pox' from Blossom the cow (the museum has a painting of Blossom standing in a field in 1749). As the pox looked similar to small pox but was not dangerous he took some of the pox from her and scratched it onto his gardeners 8 year old son (hhmm as a parent I thought - bit of a risk). After a slight fever and a few days he then scratched small pox pus into the young boys arm and waited and waited and waited for 19 days, before coming to the conclusion that he perhaps was immune and would actually live (I think that Mr Phipps, the gardener, would have been pleased). He then proceded to vaccinate the local village children for free. ... Now its back to work.

Gdansk

It was meant to snow in Bristol so we took off for warmer climes – only slightly, but at least it was sunny and it didn’t rain or snow at all in the weekend. We’re at Gdansk Airport and I have nothing to read as I bought a book from home that I have already read. Silly me!! After flicking through Harry’s car magazine (which is only marginally more exciting than a Women’s Weekly - each to their own I guess) and finding that the magazine shop only sold books and newspapers in Polish (or very expensive English newspapers) I decided to write some postcards and draft the blog. We have really enjoyed visiting Gdansk – we felt we were in Poland – not some tourist resort that was catering for the English tourist. I somehow think we will visit Poland a little bit more - afterall from Bristol you can also catch a cheap flight to Krakow and Warsaw. Gdansk (once known as Danzig) is on the Baltic sea and over its history has been attacked by Swedes, Germans and Russians. In one book it said that the city 'is known historically as the powderkeg whose spark (lit by Hitler) ignited the Second World War'. It was also in Gdansk where the flame that signalled the collapse of communism was raised by Lech Walesa. Once it was a shipyard, but now the old town stands proudly as a historic town, it’s been rebuilt after the war, and now hosts restaurants, shops as well as the historic town hall and museums. It got reasonably well demolished during the Second World War but most of the buildings look older – that ageless quality of stone where it is difficult to tell if a building is 40 or 400 years old. The central part of the city is being slowly renovated and some of the buildings look lovely – the Dutch influence of ornate roofs is definitely around. It’s amazing to think that communism was over run finally in the 1980’s but the city still has a long way to go before it becomes a vibrant, exciting city - wait 20 or so years, and we reckon it will be a top tourist destination and Easyjet will probably run the flights to the city once again – they are cancelling them in May due to lack of patronage. The best way to see the central part of the old town was on a walking tour so we took to our feet. We soon learnt that the scale of the map wasn’t very large but it still took us about 10 hours to wander around (not counting the coffee and food breaks). You can sort of wander through the walled part of the city at times as there are a number of gates (above which there were prisons etc and now are offices for people like the president). We wandered passed numerous old buildings and statues and came to the green gate which was built initially for visiting monarchs. Had a coffee in the grand mill, which has a huge gable roof, which was operated as a flour mill, granary and bakery before becoming a modern shopping arcade. We visited the historical museum – it didn’t take long as all the explanations were in Polish - and so we looked at photos, tools, paintings - which sort of speak an international language. We were the only ones at the museum and so the security staff followed us around, opened doors as we got close to the next door, closed the one of the room we had left, switched lights on and off - a little bit unnerving but also had a funny side. I did wonder if this is what an animal feels like in a zoo ie being constantly watched.


Gdansk is apparently well known for its 'Crane' which stands over the Mottawa River and handled cargo and also helped to raise ships masts. It also served as a city gate. The reconstructed driving mechanism is still in working condition and was originally propelled by men walking in a wheel (it reminded me of the little dog that churned the cheese in the kitchens in Bath) both similar to the wheel mice play in but a lot bigger. I did wonder about the damage you could do to yourself if you tripped over by walking in a wheel once it got the momentum got going - I guess you just couldn't go into a daze. Most people spoke a broken English and some spoke very little. In broken English the hotel proprietor said ‘come come’ when showing us the breakfast room and ‘come come’ when taking us to our room and showing us the tea making facilities. At the tourist information office the woman said ‘moment moment’ when asking us to wait or when the computer was slow to provide some information. We enjoyed ordering food when the menus weren’t in Polish and English as we couldn’t find a phrase book at the library to help us. The Polish language is quite soft and a pleasure to listen to but sounds nothing like English - when we asked how to get to the beach we were told certain numbered trams but they only took us half way and it took a while for us both to work out we weren’t very close. After getting off the first tram, a very nice Polish man tried to tell us to catch the Number 6 tram by counting to three in French. He tried very hard but it was not until someone came along who realised out problem did we work out he actually meant catch Number 6. Some people asked us where we came from and when saying New Zealand they were surprised that we had come so far. I guess they don’t get too many kiwis as it is is a bit off the tourist track. The place is kind of flat and we wandered up 400 steps to the top of the church spire – some quite steep spiral steps – but it was worth it. The view of the central town is very picturesque from the church.


One of the surprises and delights of Gdansk has been the food. We read somewhere that ‘Poles are passionate about their food. Throw away your preconceptions about miserable eastern bloc stews, and prepare yourself for a great surprise’. Even then we weren’t expecting much but we went to 3 little restaurants and each of them presented the food beautifully, it was cooked fresh (but weary feet don’t mind the wait), after the third time we took a photo of the visual delight. We didn’t sample the Goldwasser, the local alcoholic drink and the name of our lunch restaurant but it has gold leaves in it (possibly it might be a bit much for our wallet and we would prefer to spend gold than drink it). The local legend says that Neptune (of which there is a fountain built in the 17th century) indignant at seeing coins tossed into his fountain struck the water with his trident crushing the gold into tiny flakes which since then have glittered in the herbal liquor.

The shops are quaint with little glass booths outside displaying some of the wares – looking at them means you will have a sales person in front of you in seconds - not trying to persuade you to buy but I like to think being available if you do wish to buy - more like watching that you don't wonder away with a little bit of amber jewellery without paying for it. Amber is a natural mineral and the local Baltic gold. It is quite lovely and depending on its age can range from white to a cherry red. It was in many of the stands outside shops and in market stalls. Apparently Homer once said 'Among luxury goods is is valued so high that an amber human figuring, no matter how small, costs much more than men in their prime (slaves)'. Obviously, a long time ago as it is now in plentiful supply and thankfully there is no more slavery.

We walked a lot and by Sunday night even a wait at the airport was fine as long as we weren’t standing. We did enjoy wandering around as there weren't that many people to rub shoulders with and so could go at our own pace and stop to take photos whenever we wanted to. We wandered to the ‘Road to Freedom’ museum which recorded the history of the overthrow of communism but unfortunately it was ‘closed until further notice’ and then also to the ship workers monument which was steeped in atmosphere and warnings to future conquerers that Poland has had enough. It felt like the nation is strong after all its oppression.

Our walking tour took us up to the fortress, millennium cross (where we looked across the city in the early evening). The cranes looked like giant locusts from a science fiction movie - and the scene a far cry from those pictures we took from St Mary's a few hours earlier. The cemetery of nonexistent cemeteries (for a while we wondered if the latter was actually nonexistent but then we stumbled across on the way down the hill). Quite poignant sitting below the cross and its in memory of all those that can no longer be physically remembered due to the loss of early cemeteries.The monument to the fallen shipyard workers commemorates the workers strikes in 1970 and was made by ship yard workers in the 1980’s. Apparently, all official delegations visitng Gdansk lay flowers at the foot of the monument. The cemetery was a very colourful area with lots of lovely flowers, mainly yellow and Harry was fascinated by the number of people who died there hair a vivid red (mainly woman) and I was equally fascinated by the fact that the men appeared to be somewhat shorter than in New Zealand (on average) – could it be diet, work/home balance, who knows.

Next day, was beach day – can’t resist a beach if I know there is one close. Our first sight of the Baltic Sea. What a superb beach – no wonder Hitler stayed at the Grand Hotel when his troops marched towards Poland. It must be devastating to have your country invaded and as we stood on the Pier looking towards the Grand Hotel and imaging Hitler standing on the porch we felt some of the anger and fear that these people have lived with for so long.

The waterfront was well designed with a green sand dune area between the beach, and then a pedestrian path, cycle path, houses and then cars. A relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It is a place for everyone to enjoy and we saw many an elderly couple well wrapped up in their berets and hats. Some of the houses were spectacular in size, while others were little beach cottages sitting on sections worth more than a few pieces of Amber I would imagine.

I was in Swansea this week on work and Harry went off to Devon with students on an ‘outdoor pursuit centre’. A couple of pictures from his hike along the beach at Hartland Point. I didn't take any of my hotel room or conference room - a little bit of an anti climax after Gdansk.