Chapter 23

Random roaming and relocation.

Pip has now started work full time, which has been a jolt to the otherwise relaxed lifestyle we were getting accustomed to!
But, this was our plan, and we are happy we now have an income. We would not be as settled as we are without amazing family and friends to support us, so here we want to say Thankyou! Thankyou!
It's weekend roaming now, so our first weekend we did a day trip to Whitstable, a seaside town on the north coast of Kent.  Originally called Witenstape in Saxon times, meaning "white post" (a land or sea mark), then Whitstaple and now  Whitstable, the area is famous for it's oysters which have been collected in the area since Roman times.  Today though we enjoyed a Fish and Chip lunch in the local thatched pub. (add that to the list Pip)

 

We are now settled into the work life/home life routine, and I am back to research and planning so we see as much as we can on the weekends. The new term for re-entering the workforce after taking a break is called "on-ramping".  Where do they find these analogies?
We were both hankering to see a musical, so caught the train into London and headed to a half price ticket place in Leicester Square.  We chose the Saturday matinee of Billy Elliot, as we had not seen this for over 5 years.  We are still wondering why it's called half price tickets, as we got £18 off the original price of £68.  The show was great, or "brill" as they say here, and we both had a couple of very emotional moments, needing a tissue - we both reached for our communal tissue which I always have padding out my left side.
We decided to stay in London the night, and chose a hotel near Covent Garden.  Dinner was at a tiny, new Vietnamese place in Kingsway called Viet Eat.  Good value at £40 for dinner and wine for two. 
The next day we caught the train, then a bus, to Chartwell, located near Westerham.  This was the principal Churchill family home from 1924 to Winston's death in 1965 aged 90. The name derives from a well north of the house called Chart Well (Chart being Old English for rough ground).  The home on 80 acres sits quite high on a hill with views over the Kent countryside. The rooms remain as they were when Churchill and Clementine and their four children lived there.  We walked around the kitchen gardens, rose walks, lakes  and grassed terraces. Winston was quoted as saying....."A day away from Chartwell is a day wasted", he adored the place.  The 2nd picture below shows where Winston frequently sat.

 

The English are very good at puns, so here are a few pertaining to Fish and Chip shops that we have heard of.......

The Codmothers, Chip Ahoy, Chip n Dales, Goodbuy Mr Chips, Good Frydays, The Cod Almighty, Hippie Chippie, Manchipster Plaice, The Cod Father, and The Frying Scotsmen!  Ha Ha......
The weather continues to be warm and enjoyable. We have eaten many meals in the garden, including some great BBQ's. Feels like home!
Another show we wanted to see was The Lion King, so we trotted up to London the next weekend to see it. We did enjoy it, although we would have to say it wasn't top of our list. Afterwards we went near London Bridge to the Shard for a farewell drink - from us to London!  What an amazing piece of architecture. The glass-clad pyramidal tower is 87 storeys high (310m) , and is home to an hotel, restaurants, bars, offices, residences and retail. There is also an open air observation deck. We sat by the window in the bar and soaked up the views, including the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, along the Thames.  At £8.00 for a glass of wine, not bad value.

View back towards Tate Modern and St Pauls

Speaking of prices, for those that are interested, here are a few more for comparison.
Takeaway coffee.....£1.30
Petrol, 1 litre.......£1.40
Sirloin Steak £28 per KG
Mid loin lamb chops £18 per KG
Milk 89p litre
Big Mac and medium fries £1.99

We had to say a very special Thankyou to Valerie and Derek where we spent the bulk of our time while in London. We gave them a choice of two venues for a farewell dinner - either The Savoy (which we'd all been to) or The Shard (which none of us had eaten at).  So we went to the Oblix restaurant at The Shard.  It turned out to be a memorable night.  Whilst the view is the obvious reason for being there, we were really impressed with the quality of the service and food.  So much so, that we left the restaurant and walked around to the adjacent bar and had a post-dinner drink!  The 4 of us floated back to earth and took the train home.

So now, of to the Emerald Isle........ some of us are beside ourselves....

Till the next blog.  

Love Annie xx