5th November to 10th November

Sat 5th

On a typical dreary day in London we set off from Earls Court for the City. The usual myriad of changes on the tube had us around the London Bridge and we explored the Burrough Markets which was a food lovers paradise with every conceivable fruit, cheese, meat and  alcohol product in from all over the world.

It was packed and finding somewhere to sit and eat was difficult, until we found a grandstand arrangement which changed patrons every 30 minutes or so as they polished off lunch.

Looked at several museums and the usual attractions, with most full of eager tourists, despite the weather.

Wandered down past Knightsbridge and Kensington where all of the top end stores,including Harrods, sell their wares,  at somewhat hefty prices.

Decided to explore the local district a bit more and walked the last 4 Kms home.

Evening was spent with a friend of Jane’s at the exclusive Hurlingham Club for a Guy Fawkes bonfire and spectacular fireworks display. 

Club is pretty toffy and a member of the family virtually has to die for others to get elevated to full membership.

We had a slight hiccup with ticket numbers and had to defer to the old drive-in trick of 60-70’s of one youngster in the boot.

It was a great night with around 4,000 people in attendance.

Caught a couple of late night underground trains home and went to bed excited about tomorrow’s visit to  watch Tottenham v Liverpool.

Sunday 6th

A miserable wet and rainy morning greeted us , but local streets were pretty busy early with the local derby between Arsenal and Chelsea due to kickoff around 12. 

We rang to book for a Sunday Roast at a local pub and were told it would be extremely busy, but managed a seat.

Dressed for the occasion, but found my pants had shrunk or I had put on more beef than expected- that was until Jane asked if I had see her pants in the wardrobe. That said two weeks of not trekking and eating everything and anything has certainly meant any loss had been recovered with interest.

Maybe everyone went to the game or stayed at home because of the rain as there was only 6 people in the pub. Amazingly they did not have tv on and the patrons didn’t seem too worried about the result. Because of the expected crowd we were stuck at n a corner nook.

Food was just ok , but going to the big match with catering suppled  it didn’t worry us.

Headed to the game about 230 in steady rain and the underground was packed with supporters. The 30 minute walk from station to stadium was a sea of white and blue, with the red of Liverpool popping up only occasionally.

Tottenham town has an interesting demographic with a swag of restaurants and food stores from most African countries. The other African centric stores were grooming centres – could only presume they did shaves or braiding.

The new stadium was magnificent and our level 3 seats gave a great view of the game. The majority of Liverpool fans were stationed just below us and be they small in numbers they were huge in voice, often drowning out the locals.

The skills of the Premier  League players players was incredible. The ground was like a bowling green and hardly a mark showed, even when players clattered into each other.

The pre match practice was pretty intense and flowed over into the game. A well worked goal

and a gift from Tottenham’s defence gave the Red’s a deserved half time lead. 

We deferred to the food area and offering was pretty ordinary – a small meat pie and a few potatoes, plus the smallest bottle of beer imaginable.

Back on the pitch Tottenham could have scored three goals in first five minutes, but erratic shooting and two hitting the post kept Liverpool in front. 

Harry Kane reduced the margin to one, but despite a concerted blitz on goal Liverpool held on.

It was a fabulous experience to see two such prestigious clubs play a great brand of football in an amazing stadium. It was definitely a Bucket List tick off.

Hung around whilst crowd disappeared and ‘feasted’ on the dessert – a bag of popcorn. 

Got the obligatory photo and then joined  the throng heading to the station, with roads absolutely packed with security guards. From my observation there was no altercations, just lots of disgruntled Spurs supporters picking next weeks team based on their player assessment.

Trains were again packed on the way home and the day ended as it started wet and windy. 

Laid back in bed reading the match programme and reflecting on just how skilled the players were and what a great day it was.

Monday 7th

Another wet and windy day greeted us and with lunch plans cancelled and visit to the filming of Call The Midwife called off over security concerns and secret squirrel stuff about the next few episodes, we decided on a day at Kempton Park Jumps racing.

Travel plans were slightly disrupted by a rail strike and the ineptitude of the ticket seller, but we managed to find a train and enjoy a 40 minute trip to the course.

A lovely park side course with the track disappearing behind a forest, it had grass and all weather tracks which were in great condition. The ran both hurdle and steeplechase events.

A crowd of about 700 devout punters with an average age of 60. Had plenty of punting opportunities with a band of about 10 SP bookies in the outside betting ring and inside was the Tote and several corporate betting companies.

We got in for the Senior’s price of £13 each and managed a table in public area which we shared with 2 ladies who were keen punters with a Bucket List to visit every track in UK.

The number of races was nearly matched by the number of pints  we all consumed, but after 7 races , with pretty small fields it was nice to finish in front.

In between drinks we had the traditional fish and chips with mushy peas.

Jumps racing here is very popular and the jockeys definitely look after horses welfare, often pulling them up if they had no chance.

At 430 it was all over and we headed for the station- a simple platform with no staff or amenities and a ticket machine and display board advising the next few trains were cancelled. Waiting 45 minutes in cold damp conditions after our beer consumption meant a few trips to the bushes.

Back on the train and back to n town in time to grab a quick bite to eat and head to the theatre precinct. We saw  Came From Away which is the play/ musical based on the little town in Newfoundland – Gander- where all the planes were diverted during the 911 incident. It  was a really entertaining show put on by a talented bunch of actors.

After an exhausting day it was back home to have our last sleep overseas.

Tuesday 8th

Up early on another cold and windy day with more rain predicted.

Checked out and headed to town for our last day of sightseeing. Ended up at Big Ben,   then over to the Look neon Eye for first ride of the day. Most of ride was in howling   wind and rain, but you still got a birds eye view of the City.

Down through the Xmas Markets and along waterfront near Whitehall and New Scotland Yard and Westminster Cathedral. Then it was up past Green Park and Pall Mall with a distant view of the palace. It’s a pit like a human game of Monopoly. Popped  our head into the Ritz Hotel and Fortnum and Mason the culinary suppliers to the late Queen.

Then we headed to Chelsea for lunch with Jane’s friend and her godson who is in Call The Midwife.

After a nice catch up it was back to the hotel to collect bags and head for tube to the airport.

Got halfway and train was stopped due a fire at the next station and then they announced it was terminating. We swapped trains about 3 times before finally getting back onto the right one and getting to the airport with about 2.5 hours to spare.

Through the customs and security with the usual holdups and then a little shopping before a visit to the Lounge.

Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th 

Plane left about an hour late and I had a repeat of my Turkish Bath oil treatment when the poor hostie dropped a bottle of salad dressing down my back when serving an adjacent customer. 

Pretty ironic when the other hostess serving me asked if I wanted dressing on my salad. The little voice over my shoulder said “ he may have had enough’ and explained the position. She apologised every time she went past.

Afte 4 movies  and 6 hours sleep we arrived in Singapore with me showing signs that the duck I had for lunch might be playing havoc with the tummy, so had to be careful what I  ate on the leg to Sydney. it turned out to be dry bread and black tea, so no savoring the delights of Business Class.

No sleep, just a few movies on the way back, plus regular bathroom visits and we arrived back home at 700am.

Customs took exception to a couple of things we bought back from Turkey, which seemed contrary to things we had read about what was kosher.. At least the tooth brush cleaned boots and poles past muster.

So there emdeth some 50 odd days of an odyssey that won’t be forgotten.