Blogs from West Midlands, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 14

Thursday 19.11.2009 Day 36 Shakespeare We had a sleep in extended our stay at the hotel for another nigh and then when to the car place they had our car in the service center when we arrived and explained that it was a battery problem and they have tested the alternator and it was ok. They said the car should be ready for us tomorrow. We when to Stratford-upon-avon where Shakespeare was born, died and berried and where his wife lived before she married him and where his mother lived. We saw the place where the house was that he owned for the last 18 years of his life and where he died. We saw his grave in the church where he was burred and we saw his baptism and death register. We saw the place ... read more

Tuesday 17.11.2009 Day 34 Buying a car in the UK We got up and had a look on line for car prices and dealers around Birmingham. We then when and got a GPS and a thing so my iPod would play thought the radio. We used the GPS to take us to a few of the car dealers. We found a car we liked. We tried to go for a test drive but the battery was flat so we put a deposit on and said we would take if for a test drive the next day. We stayed in the same place again as last night and Looked for a cheaper place on line for the next night. ... read more

Thanks... ...to all who made our leaving party at the 'Old Library' on Friday... Despite running slightly late, it proved to be a fantastic night & we both hope all who attended enjoyed it as much as we did. Big thanks to my brother (Tom) & his motley crew of chefs who cooked some delicious food, my mom who financed the food & worked her culinary magic (you really excelled yourself this time Susan), my auntie Melanie who made the fruit platters, Dennis who provided the PA system & a legendary performance (despite having had key hole surgery on his knee the day before), Mr 'H' for helping us with some of the costs, "Kimbaljit" for buying the decorations & helping to decorate the room, 'Matt D' & his amazing side-kick Josh for spinning some "Tunes", ... read more

Day 13: 12th October 2009 11:50 PM The final day started in exactly the same way as the first, with a burst of music from my alarm clock at 4.00AM, although this time it was the sound of Mansun‘s ‘Take it Easy Chicken‘ rather than the tuneless noise of my clock radio on Day 1. Oddly enough, two weeks of fresh air and refreshing walks has given me a sufficient burst of energy to wake up at this time and be able to get straight out of bed feeling relatively invigorated. John and Lyndsey must feel the same, Lyndsey having already risen half an hour before me (convinced, without a watch or the alarm on her phone, that we had overslept) and John, the man who could sleep competitively, getting up at the same time as ... read more

9:45 PM At 4.00AM this morning I awoke to the sound of some tuneless noise thumping a repetitive beat somewhere nearby. I opened my right eye and turned towards my clock radio, confirming that it was, most definitely, 4.00 in the morning and that my clock radio was working, even if it wasn’t producing the kind of music normal human beings listen to. The left eye, at first, failed to open, joining the rest of my body in wondering why the hell I had set my alarm to get me up at this stupid hour, a time surely reserved only for vampires, werewolves and milkmen. Eventually my mind brought the rest of the body up to speed; I had a plane to catch. Not wanting to get up particularly early in the morning on the first ... read more