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staycation week 2
25 August 2015 21:17


We started off in London. A trip on the Waterloo and City (which CGF had never been on, despite having lived in London for a few years), a walk along Cheapside and up past Bart’s (the bit where Sherlock jumped from), through Smithfield and to Clerkenwell to visit the Museum of the Order of St John. We were there at the right time to have a tour of the building (not coincidentally – I’d done my research) and had an interesting and informative two-hour tour of the chapter room and council chambers and stuff. A good value visit (OK, I may be slightly biased), as entry to the museum is free, and the tour is a suggested donation of £4 per person.

In the church, the guide explained that this was no longer used regularly as a place of worship, but is used for investitures into the Order of St John – an honour bestowed on … “important people” I interjected.

Unfortunately for us, we weren’t allowed to take photographs, so fortunately for you there are none to post here.

From Clerkenwell we walked to Kings Cross to see the theatre production of one of my favourite ever films. No, not “Nazi Zombie Strippers IV” (though Kings Cross might have made a suitable venue for “The Secret Life of a Call Girl”), but “The Railway Children”.

It was really good with a great script and some clever stage craft. I thoroughly recommend it (but you’ll have to go soon, before the theatre is buried under the Google building). There was some amusing “fourth wall” dialogue, a little bit of audience participation (enough to make it fun, not so much as to make it tacky and childish). And A REAL RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE. The temporary theatre has been designed as a railway station: the audience site on the platforms and the action takes place on and beside the line. Scene changes are rolled in and out along the line, and the actors jump on and off the trucks as required. The theatre foyer was a railway waiting room – with rough wooden flooring, a “ladies waiting room”, railway posters and advertisements, etc.

After the show (a late afternoon performance) we caught the tube to Covent Garden – but the tube didn’t stop at Covent Garden so we went to Leicester Square and walked back. We watched a bit of street theatre and then found somewhere to eat. And finally a stroll along the Strand, over Hungerford Bridge, and back to Waterloo.

Sunday we visited Cliveden, a National Trust property. It’s where the alleged exchange between Churchill and Lady Astor (“if you were my husband I would put strychnine in your tea”; “if you were my wife I would drink it”) took place. The house is now a luxury hotel (afternoon tea £35 per head; you’d expect free refills – and no strychnine - for that price). The grounds are extensive and magnificent, with numerous gardens (water garden, long garden, rose garden, etc.) and a woodland leading down to the Thames, where you can hire boats (so we did).

We stayed overnight in the area before driving north on Monday to spend a couple of nights with CGF’s dad. We went to what claims to be “the oldest free house in the country” on the way to the hotel.

A police officer came into the pub where we went for dinner, and, showing the manager a photograph, asked whether the person had been in the pub last night. I thought that sort of thing only happened on the crime dramas.

I was given the option of ice cream, custard, or both with my dessert - well, both, of course. I poured the custard over the ice cream, which gave it a reverse-fried egg resemblance. One of the other dessert options had been trifle, but I declined that on the basis that it would be disappointing as it wouldn’t be a real trifle, just cream and custard on a jelly, and it would probably have pineapple in it (despite CGF’s assurance that you can’t put pineapple in a trifles as it prevents the jelly from setting). I was wrong. It was a proper trifle, and didn’t have pineapple in it.

We went to the Peak District and had a walk in the peaks around Castleton. We then drove around the reservoirs and looked at the dams.

On our way back southwards we popped in to see an old friend (family friend) of CGF – they hadn’t seen each other for about 14 years - and then went to Clumber Park. This is another huge park owned by the National Trust – again, a former estate, though the original house has long been demolished. We walked round the kitchen garden

We spent the last few days at The Aged’s. We went to Loogaboorroga (according to my sat nav) on one day. CGF and I went over first to visit the bell foundry museum (which was better than expected), then joined The Ageds for lunch. Then we all went to the Carillon (not playing, but the tower was open for climbing) and Loogaboorroga Museum – which was also better than expected. Loogaboorroga was (and possibly still is) the largest urban area in Leicestershire outside Leicester, and (as I am sure you know) the destination of the first Thomas Cook tour.

We also visited Stoneywell – another NT property (we were really getting value from our NT membership this week). This was a holiday home designed by the Arts and Crafts architect-designer Ernest Gimson, with lots of Arts and Crafts furnishing. Anyone have any idea why it was called Arts & Crafts? We think that my maternal grandfather may have worked with / for Gimson. It was a wet day, so we didn’t spend any time exploring the grounds – we will go back another day to do that.

Friday evening, CGF’s bro and family stopped off at The Aged’s for dinner on their way to London. We decided to make a fish pie (well, the others decided that I could make a fish pie), but one of the younglings is dairy-intolerant, so I had to make a dairy-free version. I used the time-honoured tradition of “make it up as I go along”, and it seemed to work – everyone enjoyed it, and I was asked to do the same again the following evening.

Almost the end of our staycation. Sunday we went to Hampton Court Palace – meeting CGF’s bro and family there. Another enormous place, where you need more than one day there to see it all. We were there soon after opening, and didn’t leave until closing time – and had seen maybe 60% of the buildings and 50% on the gardens (and none of the parkland beyond the curtilage). But we did go in the maze. We had a really good, if tiring, day – there is lots there for all ages.

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