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Published: June 25th 2010
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Tank Crew
We're in the Guards now. Friday 25 June
We are back! We thought that it would take us 3 or 4 days to recover from 3 weeks of constant activity in high temperatures, but in fact it has taken most of a week to feel 90%!n(MISSING)ormal again. The remaining 10%!i(MISSING)s due to our lingering viruses, which we are nearly over. It is just as well that we took this time out and didn't go straight on to another tour of some sort. The heat had exhausted us more than we even realized; something to take into account in the future. Since arriving back in London we have enjoyed the cooler weather, not that it has been cold at all. This week temps have been in the high 20s every day, with even higher temps forecast for this weekend. We still haven't seen any significant rain during our entire holiday. D&T's lounge has been a haven of coolness however. It doesn't get any sun until late in the afternoon, and stays at about a nice 20 degrees all day.
Last weekend we did venture out for some activities. We rented a car for the weekend and travelled down to the Bovington Tank Museum on
Tank Museum
No, we're not pretrending to be elephants. Saturday with David; a trip of about 2.5 hours each way. Bovington is near the South Coast just west of Bournemouth, and has been the home of tanks in Britain since the very first tanks were developed and trialed during WWI. It is still the main camp and training grounds for English Tank Squadrons. The Museum is modern and huge, with every British tank ever made, including many experimental models that never went into production, all the German tanks from WWII, all the Russian tanks from WWII up to close to the present day, US tanks from WWII, a number of tanks from other nations, as well as a huge collection of armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers, mobile guns and tank destroyers. There is loads of information to read, along with video clips to sit and watch. One display has a tank cut in half, with half the crew on one side and half on the other. You stand in the middle and, through a video on a big screen, feel what it is like to be in a tank going into battle. Another area has an extensive mock-up of WWI trenches, with tanks attacking. On certain days some of
In The Trenches
Achtung! Mark IVs. Wie ist kaput. the tanks are put through their paces in a big arena adjacent to the museum. This will be happening this weekend. It would be great to witness, but no doubt very crowded. After 4 hours, we were 'tanked out' and set off for home, having really only skimmed the information available. Definitely a place to return to on another occasion.
On Sunday morning Tracey took a rare day off and the four of us drove out to the countryside to the the little town of Crowthorne to the west of London to spend Fathers' Day with Tracey's parents. Tracey's brother and his fiance came as well. We first visited them in their new townhouse that they recently moved into. It is in a gated complex of town houses in a 2-storied building, with a large shared garden/lawn/treed area. It reminded me of that new retirement villiage off Fendalton Road. Their house is upstairs at one end, giving them windows on two sides, and a view over the garden. They have a huge open plan kitchen/dining room/lounge, two large bedrooms, both with ensuites, a third toilet for visitors, and a separate laundry. After a cup of tea, we all set
off in 2 cars to a local pub for lunch. We had a really good menu to choose from and the food was well cooked and of high quality; a really good feed had by all. Then it was off to see the private collection of historic cars that Tracey's father maintains and drives for special occasions. There are 10 of them, 8 cars and 2 buses, mainly of the 1930s or 40s Vintage. At least 3 of the cars are vintage Rolls Royces, including the two used to carry the wedding party to David & Tracey's wedding. Another is a vintage Taxi, while another is a rare sports car of which only 9 were made. One of the buses has a standard layout, while the other is an early example of a long distance touring bus. They are all in beautiful condition. Then it was back to the town house for afternoon tea in the garden. It would have been nice to stay longer, but poor Tracey had to get home to put in 6 hours of preperation for school the next day. Fortunately today is her last day on section and, apart from a couple of days at
university next week, she has completed her course. If they have such a thing as a pass with distinction, then she surely deserves it.
This has been another quiet week. There has been regular walks down to Sainsburys (more by K than P), walks to the park to feed the squirrels, walks in the evening with David (more by K than P), and some gardening (by K). Otherwise it has mainly been watching TV (great seeing Wimbledon live) and writing. We did venture into the city centre one day to see a giant ship in a bottle in Trafalgar Square. Naturally, the ship is Nelson's ship Victory, which he sailed to win the Battle Of Trafalgar./ The bottle is 3.25 m high, 5 m long, and weighs 4 tonne. While in town we went to the huge HMV music store in Oxford St for K to buy some dvds that she wanted. She even managed to find a Cliffy one that she didn't have! Yesterday morning I made another trip in to see the V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum), one of the big museums that I hadn't seen. K wasn't interested, and did gardening instead. The V&A is in
a lovely big building, and has 5 floors of exhibits, including some wonderful pieces, but not much to interest me. Much of it is furniture, ceramics, clothing, etc, covering periods of English history from the Middle Ages through to the 20th Century, and with special displays from India, Japan, China, the Middle East etc. I found the building of more interest than the contents, although I'm sure the place would be heaven for some people. Perhaps the display that I found nicest was one of intricate wrought iron work. Before returning home, I popped next door for another look at the Science Museum, of much more interest to me.
This morning we met David in Regent's Park for a picnic lunch and then walked the short distance to see where he works, getting a guided tour and meeting some of his colleagues. We then walked to Piccadily Circus to another HMV store, where Karen got 3 more movie dvds. The temperature had risen to 26 degrees, and it was very hot on the tube coming home. We have now added two more members to our holiday family; Tank Museum Bear, and English World Cup Lion. We may have to
V&A
A view of the interior. book an extra seat for them to get home! With Tracey having a free weekend for the first time in ages, and the fine weather set o continue, we plan, among other things, walks, a picnic, and a BBQ over the weekend. Bye until next week.
P&K
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Jean and Jack
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Bon Voyage from my Homeland!
Hello Karen and Peter, you must be preparing to "Pack your Bags" and Jean and I wish you both pleasant safe and interesting return flights to NZ. You must be leaving with much emotion in your hearts having seen so many wonderful places and sharing a lot of time with Tracey and David. You probably have been discussing your next trip to Europe with them or possible their visit to us again. Our love and best Wishes to them and to you Karen and Peter. Am looking forward to hearing some of your escapades once back. Incidentally, keep your "Winter Draws" out. Having frost after frost, but temps around 12 to 15. Re: Ladies Hairdos Peter, I, (Jack) do Jean a Homeperm and Roll it up couple of times a week. Crafty Lad, keep on their good side! All the Best... Jean and Jack XX