Peterborough and its Cathedral

After having a quiet morning we all went into Peterborough for the afternoon.  The place is huge, I am glad I didnt need to know my way around the shopping centre because I lost my sense of direction rather quickly this time.

I took a lot of photos, we had a coffee and cornish pasty at the Cornish Pasty Shop....of course, they were lovely as good as the ones we get at the Night Market in Rotorua.

 

 

I took a lot of photos, mainly of the old buildings, there were certainly some beauties about. The next few I just enjoyed the architecture, thinking aobut how these place were built so long ago, what sort of machinery was available in those days, it must have been a lot of back breaking work.

 

 

The sunset was beautiful and this time I got the church behind.

 

The next set of photos show the enterance to the cathedral as well as the site of the Thomas Beckett's Chapel. The cream building which shows of the left hand side of the photo. The site now holds a bank. Thomas has an interesting story he was an Archbishop who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral on 29th December 1170. The chapel held the relics, it was built 1172 - 1190.

 

 

 

The centre of the photo is of course the entrance to the Cathedral, the towers of which can be seen in the background.

 

 

A close up of the archway to the cathedral

 

 

Peterborough Cathedral

 

All these next buildings belong to the Cathedral.

 

This is to the left hand side of the cathedral facing

 

Looking back towards the entrance

 

The idea that these building were built many years ago makes you realise how good the crafts man were and how well built the building were, I doubt buildings of today could last this long.

 

Next we entered the Cathedral to listen to the choir who were practicing for a concert, the music and voices were incredible.  I was to learn a few things here too, it was amazing to find out who was buried here and who had been.......

 

Photos for my son, these next set show how the cathedral changed over the years to what it is today, one part also shows how the cathedral was probably built.

 

 

Original saxon abby c 800

 

From the drawings you can see it was added to quite extentively over the centuries, the model below shows what it looks like today, though many of the building still surround it.

 

 

 

There is one more photograph to add to this part.  It shows a model of how the Cathedral was built, I thought my son would enjoy looking at the workings.

 



*This model shows the North Transept of the Cathedral as it may have appeared around 1150 whilst under construction.  It illustrates the use of developing building to provide access to the upper areas thus reducing the need for scaffolding.  Note the use of centring and observe how the piers were built with a rubble core, which was the chief reason why the central tower was unstable and had to be reconstructed twice.    *this is the note attached to the model. 

Now surprise, tthere were two royal burials at Peterborough Cathedral, to me it is two of the most famous Queens other than Elizabeth I.

 

The first wife of King Henry VIII

 

Mary Queen of Scots was removed from Peterborough and now lies at Westminster.  It was her son Charles the I  of England who had her moved.

 

The last of the photos of the Cathedral are mainly of alters, pulpits and stain glass windows, they were brilliant, however the one I did have of part of the ceiling is blurry so I have not added it.

 

 

This alter was made from marble

 

A few of the Stain Glass windows that surrounded us.

 

 

An old clock of the Cathedral

 

 

Showing three floors of building, probably closer to 6 floors in how we build today.

 

I didn't think this photo came out, was was very please to be able to put in my blog.  This is one of the wooden pulpits with the most astounding carvings in it that must have taken months of labour.

 

This is the last photograph for the cathedral.  The only other one I have to add now is one of a Christmas scene from the Shopping Centre.  It shows the Nativity scene, one I have always loved

 

 

I hope you enjoy the photos and the information .

 











Meeting Trudyj

On Wednesday I went out to meet up with a woman I was at school with quite a number of years ago now.  I remember her as being rather tall, always smiling and best mates with the shortest girl in class.  She used to live around the corner from me.

Well I arrived at Knigs Cross, exited the wrong exit.........one of many.........and headed for St Pancras station. it was about 12.45pm when I txt Trudi it seems that we were at opposite ends of the station, so off I set for the clock tower, txting again to say on my way, talk about laugh, it must have taken us about 20 minutes to find each other, and went Trudi did find me she made me jump out of my skin...bloody hell she was tall......taller perhaps though she told me she was 6 foot 4 inches from age 13yrs.  Trudi had a huge smile on her face and I felt really short.....

We had lunch at the station at a small Italian restaurant, they had a great 10 pound special on, the food was beautiful and the service was top class, we chatted and laughed catching up with each others lives, families and seeing who we could remember from school, apparetnly I remembered more....During lunch I had a fone call from a cousin who invited me to Peterborough, it seem I was on the move again, more of England I have never seen before. 

Trudi and I next went for a coffee, a very long coffee, it was nearly dark by the time I had realised the time so we hurried back to Kings Cross when I suddenly realised I hadn't taken any photos of us...aarrrgghhhh, talk about the last minute photo shoot.....lol.

 

Awkward trying to take a photo of yourselves.

 

 

Nearly forgot to say that Trudij is an artist who works from home, if you like art please have a look at the attached link.    http://www.bytrudij.co.uk/

 



I got the tube and bus home, had to chase the bus nearly coz I couldnt remember where the stop was.....missed that bus though it was not long until the next one arrived.  I was back at Lucy's by about 7pm, very tired with all exercise.  Lucy was busy doing her assignment, it looked like it was going really well to I am sure she will pass with flying colours.  I told Lucy that I would be going to my cousins the following day, with that i decided to have an earlyish night and ended up chatting on facebook........lol.

 

Thank you Lucy, Nick and Rolo for having me stay in London, you were all great, Rolo is a gorgeous dog and had wonderful parents, I do hope that you get well soon Rolo.  Lucy good luck with your Genealogy Course you certainly have the strenght and determination to get through. Lucy you have a wonderful husband too, your both very lucky to have each other xx.

 

The following morning all packed, bye said, Lucy was out the door for her SOG day out for her course.  Nick dropped me off at Uxbridge station, thanks.... After getting through the gate I finally found the correct train to Kings Cross.  Finding the next train to Peterborough though was a ruddy nightmare.  Three different set of directions..god my arms ached after all the going backwards and forwards, up and down lifts.bah humg to FCC Trains, must admit though that the actual journey was a lot nicer and shorter than I had anticipated.  My cousin met me at the station and we went for a coffee.  Sleep was most welcome that night, I still find it strange that travelling can make you so tired. 

 

Thats about all for now.  Having a quiet relaxing day today and then a look around Peterborough Cathederal on Saturday, look forward to taking heaps of photos.



Rolo's Big Day Out

Well it wasn't just Rolo really, Nick drove the car, Lucy tended to Rolo and I was the passenger.  We left for Putney Animal Hospital at 8.30am for Rolo's appointment.  Wow what a long drive, there are a few things I learnt on the way, one is the absolute love and devotion that Rolo gets from Nick and Lucy, the drive was 2 hrs, with a short stop at Manor Park, Old Shepperton.  They have been driving this distance several times a week when he was desperatly ill, they are amazing people.  His check up went well though if you want the details please read Rolo's FB page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this short stop we continued to Putney, going through Sudbury, Hampton Court, Kingston Upon Thames....you should have seen the house boats they were incredible.  Finally we arrived at 10.22 am to find for the first time ever a parking space infront of the Animal Hospital, talk about parking angels, thanks.  We were not in for long either, think we left the place by 11.30, Luycy said it was unusual not to be packed out.  Enjoy the photos below.they are brill.

 

 

Me and Rolo

 

 

Rolo desparetly wanting his chew bar

 

Lucy bought Rolo a chew in the RSPCA shop he tried to gobble it down before we got to the car, it was very scrummy hense the mournful look on his face in the above photo.

 

Next we went to Bushy Park, the place is huge, it was here that Rolo had another walk and his two sausages.......well nearly two, Nick kept stealing the end pieces as he broke it up.  Rolo apparently usually takes his time, however he gobbled the lot within moments and then went ofter the cheese burgers, he was not impressed with Nick giving bread to the pidgeons and ravens, more photos below.

 

 

Bushy Park

 

 

Rolo at Bushy Park

 

 

Ravens sitting around the old tree

 

 

Nick feeding hte pidgeons

 

 

Rolo was just not impressed that burger was his......lol

 

 

Raven...... "This is my best side honest."

 

 

"Who the hell are you staring at."  ...says the pidgeon

 

Next we went to Hampton Court.............OMG what a wonderful pleasure that was, we were allowed to walk Rolo around most of the outside, just not the formal gardens.  We also found out that they had disability parking and when you leave you take your ticket to the Welcome Centre shop where they will after looking at your disability pass give you a ticket to get out again .....no payment.

 

This place is as fantastic as it is in pictures, such an amazing place, the architecture outstanding it was built for King Henry the Eighth, we even had the previlage of meeting Queen Anne Bolyen whilst she wandered the gardens, she  was beautiful to behold.

 

 





The Court photos are next, there are lots of them so I will pick my favorites out for you.....will have to wait for Lucy to send me one with Hampton Court in the background.  Here you go.  Son have a good look and see if you can create me something as spectacular.....remember this was built in the 1500s.well there about.

 

Photo taken from the formal gardens

 

 

 

The front of Hampton Court

 

 

The Right side of Hampton Court facing

 

 

Left handside facing

 

 

Right on the corner wtih Lucy Nick and Rolo

 

 

Not sure if there was water here in days gone by, it is something I will have to research

 

 

The front enterance with guards, that are now ticket collectors.

 

 

 

There were a lot of school children around today

 

 

 

Housing along the very long driveway

 

 

Me and my trees yet again.

 

Not sure what time we got home though it was before dark. I bought myself a replacement bag, my back pack is on it's last legs, and also a bag for my children with a picture of Hampton Court on it of course....lol. Nick got the carpark ticket to get out after showing them the disability card.

 



It was a fantastic day out, and as you can see by the photo below Rolo is very tired curled up in his new Dog Bed..........awwwwwwww.

The quiet days

Sunday was quiet for me, I think my body was recovering from the shock of our London tour yesterday.  One thing that did make me laugh was that Harrods seemed to have moved yet again, it is not in Knightsbridge anymore, it is now in Kensington South maybe one of these days I will catch up with it...lol.

It rained all day on Sunday no sun nothing, my towel was still on the washing line, keep forgetting to bring it in, I am here shaking my head wonderingly.  Rolo had a fine day, Lucy worked hard on her Genealogy Essay which is going well. I continued to knit Rolo's scarf which he will hopefully wear to his next vet visit and keep him warm.

Nick made a beautiful Roast Beef dinner, was really scrummy, I can't get over the quality and the price of the meet in England, it is amazing, we are getting so ripped off in New Zealand especially since our main industry is farming, the prices are bloody ridiculous.

Monday, it the day I get to meet the delightful baby Emily and her lovely mother Michelle.  They arrived just after 10am, Emily is a gorjus blonde beauty, her smile is full of fun.  It took her an hour and some teddybears to get over her shyness, Emily took a liking to my Oxford bear who came out for a visit.  Emily clamboured onto the footstool, onto my knee to play with my necklace and Oxford, we managed to get a lovely photos just to make Sue in Essex jealous......hoping it works a treat.  After that we went for a walk to Lombardy's with Lucy, Johnathon and Michelle and of course Emily who ended up asleep in her pushchair., it was a good hour out where I managed to get a coffee at Sainsbury's cafe along with a custard tart.

Back at Lucy's  I was lucky enough to have Emily sit on my knees once again, it seems it was the necklace that my eldest daughter made me was more interesting than Oxford bear.  I finished Rolo's scarf, he looks great in it, I just have to wait for Lucy to send me a copy of the photo of get one of my own.

Have a look at the photos of me with Emily.

Opps i forgot two foto's

Here is the foto of Lucy and the canal map.

 

Isnt she just gorjus.........hehehehe

 

 

Of course the pink and cream striped cat is Bagpuss whome Lucy had no intention of letting me walk down Kensington High Street with, though I did get away with going back to Kings Cross with little ted from the Canal Museum for a while.

 

My day out with the Loopster

Exhausted is the first word that comes to mind, well after comic relief anyway, had a blast of a day with some funny moments for both of us. I for one will sleep very well tonight.

We finally got out of the house around 10am to catch the bus to Uxbridge so that we coul dof course get the train to Clerkenwell to pick up my fone from the LMA.  First mistake was going through the gate and finding out that no trains were running to Farrington....arrrghh. Ok ok so Lucy solved that problem by finding another train that took us to Kings Cross where we had to then change trains for Farringdon.  By the time we got to Farringdon we had both eaten most of our goodies and it was about 12.30pm..........a coffee was needed so we stopped at Costa's where as posted on Facebook Lu had a Hot Chocolate with cream, looked scrummy, I stuck with my usual Cappacino.  Finally got to the LMA and the lovely security guard gave me back my phone (just started to recharge it).

 

New tower office block going up alongside St Pauls Cathederal foto taken from Farringdon Street

 

I Took some photos on the way back to the railway station so that we could return to Kings Cross and go to the Britsh Libray and the London Canal Boat Museum......when Lu decided what direction the Canal Boat museum was in......hehehehe.  Back at Farringdon, Lu went through the gate and here was me searching my bag and pockets for my Oyster cared........OMG how could I lose that, I had only just got my fone back....Lu was smirking greatly from the other side of the gate when I found my card inside my passport...........well bloody hell if she didnt start laughing as we walked down the steps to the platform.  Revenge was very sweet.

We got out of Kings Cross and walked over to St Pancras which we had to walk through to get to the British Library another great foto opportunity mainly of building for my son to look at, one part looked like a fairly tale castle all we needed was Princess Fiona....lol.

 

This is actually St Pancras Station and what is now a hotel

 

 

We walked a few yards further on to find the  British Museum Public Entrance, which i have shown in the photo below.  The palce is awesome you would need days to see everything if not weeks, they have coffee shop and a restaurant.  In the centre is a huge waht can only be discribed as a square bookshelf of old books of all shapes and sizes.

 

 

This is the enterance to the British Library into the surrounding courtyard.

 

After Lu had retrieved her reader card we took photos of each other sitting on a seat that looked like an open book with a ball and chain.

 

 

Where to next you may ask.  Well it was time for lunch and neither of us could decided where to go, we ended up at the 2nd McDonalds that we walked past, this is my first ever British McDonalds in my whole life..........wasnt to bad either, the best part though was the young family who sat by us, they had the gorjust little girl and a cute toddler, he was just lovely and we kept catching each others eye, when we got up to leave the children waved goodbye to us both, it was a highlight of my day.

 

My first revenge.............Lu decided that we had to go back the way we came for the Canal boat museum...........oopppsss.......giggle wrong.  "Well you didnt see the sign either." she stated......sorry but I was following you Lucy....lol.  We walked what i coudl only discribe as some back streets going past this next foto......i just couldnt resist taking it BAM.............just for you hun xx.

 

 

 

The museum was brill, cost 4 quid to get in the girls were charming and chatty though i dont think anyof them had ever opened canal locks.  Lucy and I watched  some short movies on how the canals developed with Dobbins the horse pulling a coal barge to watchignhow the locks worked.  The next foto is of Lucy pointing at a map where her family were boat people.......I think, though I am sure she will comment if I am wrong.  I bought a teddy bear fromt he museum to keep my Oxford bear company.  Back to Kings Cross Lucy decided to show me Harrods, so off we went to Kensington High Street Station...........more giggles insued when she realised that Harrods was actaully at Knightsbridge.......anyway it was well wroth the look around, though my feet were getting sore long with my back.  I found Bagpuss........:-) brill and yes i bought one and no Lucy wouldnt let me carry it down the street without a bag.....spoil sport.....

 

Back through the gate at Kensington Lucy couldnt work out which platform we needed...then I pointed to platform 2.....for once i was right, this train took us to Paddington where we were to take the normal train to Hayes.......apparently there is a Paddington Bear at the station what seemed to have disappeared.  We managed to get seat, it was very busy.  Got into Hayes about 7pm where Nick and Rolo arrived moments later to pick us up.

 

Now comfy in my chair, back relaxed and eyes getting gritting, I have to get onto facebook and see what madam has put about her visitor..................Lucy thanks for a fantastic  day out we can aim for Harrods next time...giggle.

 

Byeee.

 





 

London Metropolitan Archives

On the 1st November Lucy had a class for her Genealogy course at the LMA, she asked me to go along with her so that I could have a look see due to having a brickwall I wanted to break down on my husbands line, sadly it was not to be.

We left home at close to 8am walking into town to get me an Oyster card, bloody brilliant idea certainly wish they had them in New Zealand.  This is a card you load with money and everytime you make a trip on bus or train it deducts the cost, just brill. 

We took the bus to Uxbridge then the train to Clerkenwell, Islington where the LMA is situated, bought lunch at Tesco's.  Once at the LMA we both had to sign in, I was asked where in NZ i was from, saying Rotorua I was promptly asked if i missed the smell......lol.  NOooooo, when you live there you dont notice so much.

Up the stairs we had an hour to spare, coffee in the lounge, put away our bags and coats, all things going into the Archives has to be in a clear plastic bag, by 10.45 due to being a visitor i had to be signed in, no readers card available for me, though they did have a system that i could use,  The young man was lovely, he showed me how to put a reel of microfilm on the machine, I know you may think I should already know this however most of our micro fische are on slides at my local library.

Apparetnly I had been misinformed by another researcher as to where the information I needed was held, so sometime over the next week I do hope to get a change to email and find my answers at the Greenwich Museum or Borough Council. I would  like to confirm if "The Coopers Arms and or Plaisted Wine House" situated at 120 Woolwich High Street was owned by the Plaisted family from it's establishment  in 1790 or not and if not when they took over the pub and established the wine house title.  It may not seem much to most folks however I am hoping that it will confirm my Thomas Plaisted's father once and for all.

Well that was a bit off track..........lol.  I did online research and then had lunch, waited for Lucy.  We left the LMA at about 2pm I think taking a photo of me outside the building...dont we always need proof.... caught the train to Uxbridge where I am sure iw as in dreamland for a while, lol must have been the lack of my afternoon nap.  A Coffee at Nandos which was busy and no where near as good with service for takeaway as the one in Rotorua, I think the waitress thought we were going to run off with her teaspoon......I mean a teapsoon, come on bloody daft girl.

Took the bus from the station back to Hayes, grabbed some milk and finally got back home...(HOME).... in time for a wonderful chicken dinner that Nick had made, was yummy.

Rolo, well we all love Rolo, the young blighter seems to like orange juice and promptly decided to try mine.....tongue in a tall glass.......lapping away .........caught........laugh.  He is such a lovely dog with great personality. 

Managed to chat with my family they sounded good, Lucy had a 'Eureka" spot on the research which was brill too, and apparently someone took info off one of her Family Trees on ancestry which was incorrect.........oppps.  Remember folks only use other peoples Family Trees as a guide and check all info yourself.
 
Stomach rumbling....tis morning again, time for toast and vegimite......scrummy.

 

Me outside LMA

 

Lucy on the train home, i am sure whe will get her own back witht he one she has of me sleeping

 

Uxbridge old pub building

 

Another old building in Uxbridge been renovated