HEATHROW TO ELLESMERE

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We are back in the UK after seven years and it was raining the day we left and it was raining the day we arrived. With the ghastly summer we had in Auckland getting some sun is paramount – especially when we read that Auckland seems to be having its best autumn weather for a while. As an aside the south of the UK is in a drought, which makes for many a funny conversation amongst the locals; especially when the cows across the road are up to their udders in mud…

Our friends in the UK had sent texts and emails last week wishing us all the very best for the Heathrow queues as the new Olympic inspired immigration procedures, strikes and budgets cuts had seen the time taken to get through customs balloon to about three hours for some. Couple with that the fact that the bastion of good news the ‘Daily Mail’ had painted a picture of gloom, we were not that confident that we would see much of the UK on Day 1. However, much to our delight we were standing outside the terminal within forty five minutes of landing waiting for our new Peugeot to arrive – it had 8 miles on the clock as we stepped into it. Our first experience of English service was provided by a young chap from Eurocar – he was outstanding. He picked us up, chatted away, helped us complete the last bits of paperwork and gave us a quick run-down on the GPS and car system. With his efficiency and the obvious initial work from Eurolease NZ we were on the M4 heading to Marlborough within two hours of landing – and in a pub in Marlborough within three hours. There is nothing better than a beef and ale pie and a pint of bitter on arrival.

The UK part of our travel is to see friends. In Marlborough we stayed with David and Mary du Croz. David was the Headmaster when I travelled to Shropshire in 1990 to be a GAP Tutor at Ellesmere College. Marlborough is one of our favourite towns in England and we have visited many times. On our last visit Mary told us that we were not to stay at the pubs in the town but rather stop with them – so we took up their kind offer. From the moment I first met them in ’90 they have become great friends. They looked after me for my first five days at the College and, with their children away at school, I felt like part of their family. Not a lot has changed as once again they went out of their way to look after Narelle and I. We toured the College’s campus and got to see David’s former History Department; the reading room is his legacy and is stunning in the colour and situ. Of course the College has become even more well-known over the last few years. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge was a pupil there before heading to St. Andrew’s to read Art History – and the rest as they say is history! We also visited St Peter’s Church where David is a Trustee. This is a deconsecrated church that still holds it position within the community by being a meeting place for those wanting a morning coffee or some craft. I was really taken with the church as I did not know what they would have done with it inside since services were stopped – in fact what they have done is provide the town with another forum. It is a very pleasant building and it is fantastic that they saved it from demolition. Read: http://www.stpetersmarlborough.com

Bath is not that far from Marlborough and we headed there to meet up with James and Fiona. We had worked with them in 1997 and have forged a special friendship. Most of our trips to the UK have meant time in Atworth and in 2005 we had the honour of meeting Oliver and Katherine. Wow – they had grown up since then. It was nice to see Katherine at her dance class and Oliver showing me how Skype really worked; Oli is now nicknamed ‘Padders’ too so I have had to tell him that due to his father having the same name he will now be ‘Padders Junior’ to me. We stayed at a B&B just up the road near Box and it was stunning. It was on a farm and was where we saw the cows up to their udders. It was also a chance for us to reintroduce ourselves to a good old English breakfast – oh God when will it stop. Perhaps I should start to say no…

Bath is a beautiful city and we spent the full day wandering. We shopped, we dodged the rain, we bought shoes for Katherine and Oli, and we lunched at the Pump Room at the Roman Baths. It was just nice for the four of us to have a day together and laugh and reminisce through stories of the past. James cooked us his famous fajitas with the guacamole – they were as tasty as they had ever been and just to complete the stay we all sat down and watched “War Horse”. I think the red wine got me through that long movie. Fiona still has her horses so we did the trip out to the stables and stood in the rain as ‘Oki’ was fed and watered. I would always be happy with longer at the Padfields as they are the kind of friends that when you see them your conversations just run as if you have just been with them; they are also quite the generous couple who always spoil us.

Mike Marshall was our Deputy Headmaster at Ellesmere and he now resides in Bourton-on-the-Water. When we lived at Ellesmere Mike and Jean tried to teach us how to play Bridge; we had many a good night at their home with a pack of cards and some good wine. We have always enjoyed the Marshall hospitality and we do miss Jean’s wonderful company. This trip was no exception with JMM cooking us the most wonderful meal, which allowed us the opportunity to catch up on all of JMM’s news. He is very busy with work around the village and he is also a National Trust guide on Fridays. A common theme with Mike, David and Mary is that in retirement they are busier than ever and perhaps a return to a 9 to 5 job would allow them some respite and a chance to relax! We wandered around Bourton-on-the-Water, which is a lovely village with the river running right through the middle of it. It is also quite the tourist spot with coach loads arriving to share in a real Cotswolds setting. Even with steady rain falling the numbers did not lessen and the shops were doing a roaring trade selling Diamond Jubilee souvenirs and local crafts – we bought six stamps and 3 postcards! Along with the Olympics the Diamond Jubilee is fast approaching and the first weekend in June will be four day weekend to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne. Both events are certainly driving parts of the economy and you cannot move without seeing something for sale. Even Prince Charles ‘Highgrove’ shops are in on the act selling Jubilee stamped memorabilia – the best ‘clipping of the ticket’ that I have seen for a while. We took a ticket in their Jubilee raffle – first and second prize are two of his watercolours; third prize is a trip to the Highgrove Estate for a garden tour and the chance to meet him. He must be thrilled that he is third prize…

Our next stop was Byfield near Banbury and here we stayed with friends Jon and Jo Nicholas. Jo was a student at Ellesmere when I was there as a GAP Tutor and we have stayed in good contact ever since. A night and a day with them and their family was full of laughter and extremely funny stories – it may have been the two bottles of fizz, two white and a few Malts that made them even funnier. We did the school run with Jo, which saw us sit in a pub across the road and wait for the bell. I love this village life! Dan, Naomi and Will kept us entertained for the weekend – Naomi cooked cupcakes for all when she arrived home from school. They also led us through Bluebell Wood, which took on intrepid like qualities when we strayed from the main path. Thankfully just as I was about to size up who I would be eating first we found the path back to the cars and could escape to find coffee at the local café. Jo’s ability to find the path must stem from her years in Kenya tracking animal herds. It is a gift. She is also a bastion of wit and when I was dressed with my flat cap, scarf and rain jacket she asked whether I was heading out to “watch the dogs”, which was only slightly funnier than her next description of me as some kind of “New York styled gay” on a walk. Unfortunately for her she will not be able to transpose this inspired wit to paper and my novel will hit the shelves years before hers but I wish her well. If anyone can Jo can….love ya work Jo xx

After leaving the Nicholas household we headed to one of our favourite places in the UK, Ludlow. We have pretty much done all the restaurants over the years so we headed back to Dinham Hall near Ludlow Castle. Ludlow was packed due to a foodie festival, which we seemed to miss by arriving far too late and not knowing about. However, we enjoyed wandering amongst the market stalls and listening to the music that was coming from the castle grounds. It was evident that some were really enjoying the festival as pints of beer were being swilled in the streets. We stayed at Dinhall Hall in a room overlooking the castle walls and ate in their restaurant – it was a very pleasant afternoon and evening. Staying in Ludlow also meant that we were only an hour from our final destination for the week – Ellesmere. From the school calendar we knew that the College was having an Open Day for prospective parents. We arrived purely for a good old fashioned ‘nosey’ and to catch up with many old friends. It did not take long to find familiar faces – the first was good old Buster who was part of the maintenance team but who now had the honour of parking the cars. A job I used to volunteer for when I was at Ellesmere – in fact for four years I was the self-labelled Head of Car parking; I even had an assistant.

Ellesmere has changed a lot with a massive amount of building going on. They have covered the pool, extended the Girls’ House, modernised the Boys’ accommodation and are in the process of installing an all-weather AstroTurf. The pupils are a lucky bunch. However, the golf course has not changed and the grounds are still immaculately presented and under a sunny sky there is no better place to be. It is a special place for both of us and as I have been going there on and off for twenty years it is now quite a comforting place to visit. We had been warned that we would not know that many people but we did – in fact as we wandered around trying not to distract people away from the people wanting to send their children there we found many a friendly face; including Elaine who had been our housekeeper and house mother and kept us on the straight and narrow. It will be nice to catch up with Beryl in Ellesmere who really was our mother away from home – her kind hearted spirit will never be forgotten. Former Common Room colleagues were still there; PAG, MPC, BJW, GH, HBO, ZJF, PAW, JHC, PJH, MDTS, SFWP, JEP, CC, SO, DJM (bought me my first Ellesmere beer) and SEM. We snuck into the Common Room Bar to listen to the end of the EPL season and to see how it was – JHC has it running like a charm. The end of the football season was very exciting with Manchester City beating QPR with two injury time goals to deny Manchester United the title. I could only imagine my cousin Chris’ frustration as MUFC had already won their game and looked like they had pulled off another great last day of the season moment; Sir Alex must have been gutted.

We are staying with Paul and Benedicte and they put on a drinks party for us with many friends arriving. It was just like old times and so nice to see them all. It has been seven years since we saw many of them but it felt like the years just melted away. The Newbolds, DWR, Debbie, Louise, Beth, Francesca and the Davies were all there – it was a great night and sets us up well for a good few weeks in and around the area. It is great to be back.

On a completely different note I was saddened to hear that Carl Beane the Fenway Park ground announcer who had entertained us last week died suddenly on Wednesday. He had been the voice of Fenway for a number of years and as a mark of respect the next game at Fenway was played in silence with no announcements. He was brilliant the night we went along and his comments during the match were always geared to entertain – he was a throwback to old time ball park announcers. He will be hard to replace and I am sure that a little bit of the Fenway magic has gone with him.

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