Blogs from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Oxfordshire » Henley-on-Thames September 13th 2019

13 September 2019, Friday Day 12 on Thames Path. Reading to Henley-on-Thames, day 28 of travel We left the Crowne Plaza hotel around 0830 and walked a little over a mile to the Tesco superstore where we had breakfast at the cafe inside. I had told Jo, Norma and Karen it was a short 7.5 mile day. It turned out to be more than 11.5. We started at the Caversham bridge and passed a footbridge over the Thames. This is a suspension bridge with a single structural tower and cables to the abutments that support the bridge deck. Then the bicycles started flying by. A duck on the shore was resting on one leg. Jo commented the duck was doing Pilates. Our own bodies could use a good Pilates session. Today we are looking for the ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Oxfordshire » Henley-on-Thames March 22nd 2019

Henley-on-Thames is rather an iconic town, bigger than a village but hardly a city. It is of course on the Thames River. Amazingly to me, the water rushes in and out because of a tidal influence. The word “rushes” is not used lightly. We could see various water birds (ducks, swans, etc) racing downstream with the outgoing tide, but hardly moving when trying to move upstream. Lots of water craft. Many have seen better days, and several are well maintained. Boats are available for hire, ranging from the large to small motor boats.... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Oxfordshire » Henley-on-Thames August 12th 2013

Arriving at London Heathrow we attempted to declare Tim’s beef jerky only to find no one at the desk, walking towards arrivals we were stopped by a lady... “You are not allowed to bring meat products into the UK” She said in a loud voice. Looking quickly over her shoulders she added quietly “Okay…go through quickly then…” Mum, Dad and Sam were waiting at arrivals - they were very excited to see us and informed us all about the two-week heat wave that they had experienced. After a quick drive arriving back home we discovered that the lock from Tim’s bag was missing. Opening his bag we saw that it had been riffled. Lucky nothing had been taken as all our valuables were in hand luggage. At the bottom of the bag under his clothes was ... read more
Post box in the middle of the River Thames - it actually gets collected every day!
Going out for Sam's birthday
Sam's birthday

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Oxfordshire » Henley-on-Thames December 11th 2009

22 more sleeps until Cambodia! Why might you be asking have I decided to leave both my job and my appartment to embark on this adventure to Cambodia? Well, having gone through life I did the usual school, college, university, job. There I was sat in my lovely appartment earlier this year applying my fake nails and I really took a serious look at my life. This was something I had needed to do for a long time as it was bugging me. I had everything on the surface, I was educated, I had a good job, a lovely place to live, great friends and family and a wide variety of hobbies and interests. But this wasn't enough. Somehow it all seems rather shallow. I found a good description of what I was experiencing on this ... read more
Quiz evening
Quiz evening


So it seems I forgot to give all the regatta updates in some of my past entries. M.I.T. lost their race in the quarter finals to Brown. Consequently, we've been devoting less time to the regatta and more time to sightseeing. As of this afternoon, the regatta is officially over and Henley is clearing out. I'll leave you with some final regatta pictures before we say farewell to Henley in favor of a more expansive British history.... read more
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M.I.T. won their race! They'll be racing again in the semi-finals tomorrow so everyone wish them luck. We went to dinner with the team tonight and they were all very excited. Most of the rowers they brought here are seniors so this is really a big deal for them. Here are some more photos of the regatta off of dad's camera. There are also lots of photos from our dinner with the team. We're having a really nice time but it is unbelievably HOT. Dinner was especially uncomfortable and we were all fanning ourselves throughout. I feel really bad for all the men who have to wear ties and sport coats. Men must wear a sport coat to enter the enclosure but they have been allowed to remove them at around two every day due to ... read more
Even the cakes float here!
Some good outfits.
Inside the enclosure.


Hello everyone! Not nearly as many pictures today but what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. We went inside the enclosure this morning which was a lot of fun. Seeing everyone dressed up like that really gives a good sense of what Henley is like. John was looking handsome in his red blazer again and I even bought a hat! A few ladies were stopped on the way in for wearing skirts above the knee--scandalous! Generally the spectators were more interested in drinking and socializing than in watching the races. I can't say that I really blame them either. As much as I love to row, watching rowing isn't exactly thrilling. I don't have a lot of pictures today because I came back to the house early due to some really killer ... read more
John and I.
John and dad.


Today we met up with John around noon after we all got moving pretty late thanks to jet lag. John took some group photos with his team for you guys to look at. There's also a photo of John and his pair partner--check out that height difference! The regatta is starting to pick up. There were a lot of VERY interesting outfits today. I did some reconnaissance work to get photos of some of the better ones. And for the boat geek readers we have plenty of pictures at your disposal. Mom and I tried on some hats in preparation for the enclosure tomorrow. No purchases yet... we're still waiting to find some that really express our inner selves. M.I.T. is racing tomorrow and we hope to get tickets on one of the boats that follows ... read more
Mom modeling a hat.
Mom and I at Starbucks.
John in fully Henley attire.

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Oxfordshire » Henley-on-Thames June 30th 2009

After unpacking a little bit we ventured out into Henley to look for John. He won his races this morning which means that he'll receive a shield instead of a trophy. He took us for a walk along the Thames and showed us around the regatta. It wasn't very crowded today but tomorrow is supposed to be much busier. I split up from the group to go see Dusty Springfield's grave (see photos). The church is really beautiful and so far I'm loving Henley. It is apparently unseasonably warm right now but it's nothing compared to the Oklahoma heat. Still, I'm feeling pretty hot and tired after walking around for a few hours. Lots of photos in this entry. Enjoy!... read more
John looking contemplative.
More of the Thames.
Dad in full tourist attire.

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Oxfordshire » Henley-on-Thames June 30th 2009

So as I may have mentioned before, we have no itinerary. I have complied a list of authors' graves that I would like to visit and even though I have a pretty good memory for dead British authors, I'd like y'all to let me know if I left anyone off. Here's the list as it stands now: John Milton Jane Austen Charles Dickens Bram Stoker Mary Shelley Elizabeth Gaskell The Brontë Sisters Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Joseph Conrad T.S. Eliot Sylvia Plath George Orwell Lewis Carroll Geoffrey Chaucer William Shakespeare Non-author types: Anne Boleyn Sir Isaac Newton Charles Darwin A lot of you gave some great suggestions for places to see before we left but I simply can't remember them all. I'm open to seeing more than just graves while we're here so please leave any ... read more




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