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Emmeline Pankhurst
Sculpture of suffragette outside the parliament buildings I was not much of a tourist in London this trip - I was sadly, upon reflection, too preoccupied with the movement of the volcanic ash cloud across the UK. There was no plane action in the skies from the time I arrived until four nights later when, as my iPod randomly played Frank Sinatra's
Come Fly with me, the first incoming flight passed over Peter's home in Chiswick! In the end, I was delayed just 24 hours!
As a result, this blog entry will be short but sweet. So to the highlights of my short time in the English capital.....a lovely Saturday afternoon wandering about St James Park including lying on the grass and watching the world go by and then photographing the spring flowers (keep an eye out for my next blog)...... spending time in Chiswick bars, restaurants, shops and net cafes (the latter taking up too much of my time as I tried to contact airlines and travel agents) and scouring an auction house with Peter on a fine Sunday afternoon.........climbing the 311 steps of The Monument to the Great Fire of London.....walking along the Thames...oh..and meeting a Baroness!
Given this is not an everyday occurrence,
The Thames
Two trips to London and I am still to ride the London Eye - maybe next time is third time lucky? please allow me to elaborate. Since my old boss, Peter, moved to London, he has been moving in some interesting circles. One of his acquaintances these days in the deputy speaker of the House of Lords, the Baroness Gould. We had a lovely dinner together but the big story was at the beginning of the evening. Peter and I were to meet the Baroness at the House of Lords at 6pm. We arrived early, entered via the 'Peers Entrance', had our photos taken by security and relaxed in leather lounges awaiting the Baroness. Peter pointed out the coat hooks individually assigned to each of the members, dating back to the days when you had to leave your sword somewhere! At 6 pm, security kicked us out - closing time. Disappointed, Peter and I wandered outside hoping the Baroness and Hong Tan, our other dinner guest, would turn up eventually. To our surprise, Joyce and Hong were there - unable to enter the house. So an Aussie and a Kiwi got into the House of Lords and the deputy speaker was refused entry! Priceless!
The main highlight of my additional 24 hours in London was witnessing the 42 gun salute
for the Queen's birthday. These were obviously not the official birthday celebrations in June but the Queen's actual birthday on 21 April. At midday, in Hyde Park, it was all pomp and ceremony. There was a band, horses, cannons, men and women in old style uniforms and a bunch of tourists enjoying the entertainment. I loved it. Happy Birthday Lizzie!
My Dubai/Scotland/England adventure was over all too soon - it's time to head home to Melbourne with my 3 bottles of single malt whisky, some photographs and some great memories. And please let me assure you, the business class sector on Emirates from Dubai to Melbourne, including plenty of glasses of Veuve Clicquot in the lounge, made it all the sweeter!
And to explain the odd title of this blog......In my good Anglican upbringing, as a young child, I used to believe the statement the parishioners made at the end of the gospel reading was
'Thanks Peter God' rather than the actual
'Thanks be to God'. Maybe this explains why I think the Peter's of the world are fine, upstanding citizens? Anyway, in the case of my stay in the
UK this trip, it was indeed a case of heralding Peter Patrick Donnelly as a saviour. Thank you Peter, not only did you put me up for the 5 nights I initially requested, and played the exceptional host, but took on an additional night at the start (thanks British Airways!) and another at the end (thanks volcanic ash!) - all the time keeping me calm and reminding me I was in a great place!
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bruce
non-member comment
Lizzie birthday
Was Mrs Popogopolous there (nee Ms Windsor?)