Natural History Museum and Goodbye UK

This week marks the end of my Travel Tales for a while. Susanne and I left York after our one night stay in the hotel and caught the direct train back to Banbury, where we had booked three nights in Whately Hall, the local Mercure Hotel. They responded to my request for a quiet room with a suite overlooking lawn and gardens at the rear of the building so we heard very little traffic, even though this hotel is situated on the main road in Banbury. Having these final few days near London meant that we were able to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law, plus a day with the youngest members of my family.

The Natural History Museum has to be one of the most fascinating places in the world, particularly for curious children. We arranged to meet in the huge foyer, knowing that the children would go immediately to that enormous skeleton model. All we had to do was keep an eye out for them.

He moves up and down and roars at the excited children.

Like all children, these two were fascinated by the moving, roaring dinosaurs.

I’ve been to London’s Natural History Museum at least four times, mainly with various grandchildren, and have discovered something different each time, but that is what sticks in children’s memories.

Continue reading→

Return to York via Bolton Abbey: The Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert

After several weeks of writing things other than Travel Tales (which I hope you enjoyed) I will now tell you about our return to York on the 9th June 2016. We were supposed to make our way to Stratord-on-Avon, see a Shakespearean play, enjoy the town, then return to Banbury by a series of trains with a major change in Birmingham.

However, after the recent terrifying drive through the storm in the Lake District, further possible adventures were removed from our itinerary and we decided to return to York on a road we now knew (sort of), spend a night in a hotel there and get back to Banbury by direct train the next day.

By ten o’clock we were loaded up and on our way out of Ambleside. The car had to be back at the depot in York by 5pm, but we had plenty of time.

A Gypsy Caravan. Sorry if the term offends, I don’t know what else to call them.

Susanne had never seen a gypsy caravan, so we stopped to photograph this colourful example, parked at the side of the road, as we drove into a village at about midday.

My tired sister, waiting for our pub lunch

Adding character to the decor

Continue reading→

Getting Lost in Google

I can’t stand it anymore, the frustration of trying to find information on the internet. I guess you, too, have spent hours, wasted away a whole day at a time, or at least an afternoon, with Google, investigating sites that disappear as soon as you try a tangent, or once you’ve started on a path, lead you off to another one that is actually in Russia, or Lapland and has absolutely nothing to do with the information you seek.

Yesterday I had that sort of afternoon. I want to enter a couple of my stories in Australian Writing Competitions. Why don’t the promoters of such competitions give you the closing date, up front, in clear print? By the time I have investigated heaven knows how many sites, almost invariably finding that the closing date was yesterday or last week, my head’s in a mess. The one good chance that I did discover allowed me to read the winning entries from the last ten years. WOW! I can actually see what sort of material they want. Great. Now all I need to do is find the story which I’m sure will gain me the next prize if they would just let me know the closing date for this year’s entries. And if I can just remember what title I used for the last version so that I can find it again. Maybe it got lost when my laptop had a meltdown, but, a few deep breaths, quick prayers to whoever or whatever might be the patron saint, guru, karma of budding writers, and I’m sure I will have that little treasure resurrected and ready to enter.

Continue reading→