Parliament and the Zoo

After meeting Rebecca and Nylan for lunch we wandered through the gardens and along the Mall to Parliament.  The city is getting ready for the royal wedding - flags are flying and the town is buzzing. Every time we walk past Big Ben & the houses of Parliament I want to go in, I have wanted to go inside this magnificent building and today was our opportunity.  The tour took just over an hour but we could have spent longer exploring each room.  Our tour was one of four (each in a different language) and so it was a little bit hard to concentrate on all the facts with everyone in different corners of the same room.  Besides I wanted to wander and explore the paintings, furnishings and just soak up the 'parliamentary' atmosphere.  Parliament is actually a palace, the palace of Westminster - the last King to have lived there was Henry VIII and with some of his wives. I must admit we have become quite intrigued with the way parliament operates over here, and also how it represents many countries.  Mike showed us a great video on how it all came to get together and when I find out where it is located will put a link in the blog.

'When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles - but never England.' How to be an Alien' by George Mikes

There is a history here that covers a few centuries.  The official name is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and it all began back in the 1500's when England and Wales were joined through the Act of Union.  Then in the 1700's Scotland and England joined together with Wales to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. A century later the Irish parliament voted to join the Union - hence its new name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. But in 1922 there was another name change when the southern counties of Ireland chose independence and the UK became United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  What will happen in the 21st century I wonder?  In May the United Kingdom will be voting on whether first past the post should be thrown out in favour of the Alternative Voting system.  Knowing how the vote went in NZ we're keen to see the result here.  Anyway, enough rambling and back to the tour...
We wandered through the House of Lords (who incidentally since 1999 only have the privelege for life and can't pass it on to family).  Seats looked comfy but a bit squashed and there are some wool sacks (bright red) in the middle where some important people have to sit - brought into parliament centuries ago to signify the importance of wool to the economy.  The sheep and their wool aren't that important now (funny NZ doesn't have red wool sacks for important parliamentarians to sit on) but the wool sacks have remained and look quite uncomfortable but probably better than the floor.  The highlight for me was seeing the House of Commons - where the debates are held - and of course if we were in London during the day could see free of charge.  To get to the House you need to go through a door way that still shows the impact of bombs hitting the building during WWII.  There is a special part of NZ in there - two lovely kauri boxes.  After the opening of parliament, after the bombing, Australia gave the House a big chair and we gave them two lovely boxes - we saw them on tv the other night - MP's lean or occasionally thump the boxes when discussing something emotive in the debating chamber.  The House isn't a very big room for 650 MPs and many have to stand (or when they are tired perhaps they sit on the floor).  It is easy to reserve a seat - turn up early and pick up a prayer card, attend prayers and insert the prayer card in a little plastic envelope on the back of the seat and you have reserved it for the day.

London Zoo is meant to be the world's oldest scientific zoo.  It opened in 1828 and today there are over 700 species of animals and 16,000 animals in it.  As you can imagine in the centre of London there isn't a lot of space and most of these species are small (spiders, lizards, fish etc) - though there were some big species too which probably could do with a bit more space.  A bit of history about the zoo - until 1902 animals were kept indoors because it was believed that the tropical ones wouldn't survive - probably right - the penguins certainly seem to be missing the ice but the emus looked ok in their outback enclosure!  We didn't see any 'guardian' notices like we saw in Bristol (which said the zoo is guardian of the kea in case it gets wiped out in the southern hemisphere).  Anyway today the Zoo has a breeding programmes for over 130 species. The Zoo has faced financial problems and in 1980 it looked as though it might be closed - partly due to the change in attitude towards keeping animals enclosed in small unsuitable cages. However, 10 years ago it was announced that London Zoo would close the public rallied around, gave lots of money and visited more often and it remains open.

I keep suggesting to Harry he might like to cut my melon for lunch a bit more creatively - but he keeps suggesting I am lucky to have a fruit salad at all!!

Friends in Bristol

"Lets go to Oriental Bay for fish and chips on the beach" I said jokingly  to Harry.  We looked at each other nostalgically and said 'it's just the night'.  Warm, sunny and not a breath of wind.  But instead we spent a Spring evening doing grocery shopping!! I should say at this point that we have perfected the art of grocery shopping (it was more perfect at home when Harry did it all but you can't have everything all the time can you?).  In the car we discuss what each one will get (Haz the fruit, muesli bars, something for tea while Denise gets the veges, bread, food for picnics and yoghurt etc ) and then both armed with a trolley off we go, occasionally bumping into each other in the aisles but more likely than not meeting near the check out.  Takes half the time - efficiency at its best!! Weather wise it has been a great week - April and May seem to be the time to come to England - every other way it was a bit of an ordinary week, working, cycling, dancing etc. But the weekend was different.  On the Saturday Barbara and Mike drove down from Northampton - their first visit to our place.  After a lunch in the sun we went to Tyntesfield - we arrived a bit late to go into the house but enjoyed wandering around the garden which was quite different to our visit a month ago.  It seems to me that Spring is a bit different this year.  In past years I have always thought snowdrops come first, then daffodils, bluebells and then other things.  But this year everything seems to be coming out at once and each area seems to have a little microclimate which means the daffodils are over in one place, but just budding in another. So, by travelling around you can see the best of everything. I hate to rave about the weather to all my kiwi friends who are heading into winter - but it might be the only time!!  On the way back we stopped at the Suspension Bridge where we took a photo of our friends (its the place we make all our friends have their photo taken) and then wandered up the hill to get a better view of the bridge.  Then it was off to dinner at the little restaurant round the corner.  Some photos are courtesy of Barbara and Mike - all 4 of us had cameras.

After a leisurely Sunday breakfast we headed off to Bradford on Avon, where we did the few shops that were open, wandered to the Tithe Barn and along the canal back to the little 1600's tearoom we seem to take all our guests. Then up the steps to the little St Mary's church, and along the public path that dissects peoples front yards - admiring the view and flowers and saying hi to dogs and gardeners first in High Row, then in Middle Row.  I think Lower Row is the street at the bottom that has lost its personality due to the busy road (where we later had a picnic in the car park before saying goodbye).

Cornwall

Cornwall in Spring is pretty - magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias, tulips, blackwood (little white flower) buttercups, grape hyacinths, dandelions and gorse.  I am amazed I still take photos of gorse - but in little shrubs like it grows here it is really quite pretty and provides a colourful contrast.  Lizard Point is the southern most tip of England.  We started our Saturday excursion by walking from the Lizard township to Kynance Cove.  Our map said turn right so we did into a muddy field and after a 100 metres thought we were going in the wrong direction.  Retracking our steps we found a friendly couple with another map who we followed along the path (on top of a stone wall), through a thicket (thick scrub), around and through lots of muddy puddles and up a hill before they admitted they were lost as well.  Forgetting maps and using initiative we eventually found the coastline - spectacular cliff top views.   Kynance Cove was a few hundred metres along - we had timed it for low tide so we could scramble across the rocks (with lots of serpentine embedded in them - similar to greenstone except it has red and white veins running through it), play in the golden sand and explore the caves in safety.  We heard the blow holes but could only see the misty spray and then sat at the cafe at the top of the hill with a pot of tea and chunk of carrot cake.  I could imagine Prince Albert and the little princes and princesses playing in the sand back in the 1860's when they visited. Revived we scrambled over more rocks, up and down steps to Lizard Head where bird watchers were looking out for the rare Cornwall Chough - we really don't know how to pronounce the name of this black bird with a red beak but enjoyed guessing as we wandering along the cliff tops - choff, chow, cho, coff, coe - the fun conversations we have!  There is a lighthouse not far away, but by then we had been on our feet for over 4 hours and couldn't be bothered exploring - the path marked 'car park' was far more tempting!! However, reading that the light can be seen 100 miles on a clear night and the fog horn 14 miles away I imagine residents have some pretty sleepless nights. The spring flowers were out in splendour but it was a bit early for the Hottentot Fig.  If the plant cascading down the stone walls and cliffs was the fig then it is similar to what Mum always called an ice plant - it has a pretty pink flower with a yellow centre.  It really would look a  picture when fully out.

We drove over to St Ives for dinner - we have been here before but it was summer time and teeming with people - a popular holiday resort.  So it was rather nice going for a walk on the beach and around the town without walking shoulder to shoulder with others.

On Sunday we headed for Port Isaac, a lovely little fishing village perched on the side of cliffs that form a narrow harbour.  It is where Doc Martin is filmed - but we get the impression locals don't necesssarily appreciate all the extra attention the town has been getting as a result!!  There is some lovely pottery and little touristy shops (one housed in the old Methodist church still complete with organ and stained glass windows).  After walking down to the waters edge, taking an expectant look in the rock pools and  taking some photos of the town and places the filming took place (school, restaurant, Doc Martins house etc) we went for a short walk up the hill and through the countryside (here we found a little stream with lots more mud which reminded me a bit more of home).  We lunched outside but the sun had gone behind a big cloud and the wind came up so it wasn't as pleasant as we hoped it might be.