Thursday, May 30, 2013
Music at Paddington Station
One evening we went to Paddington Station to find a band. Specifically, they were the Great Western Railway Paddington Station Military Band. We were quite surprised to find them there! They played in the middle of the station with trains coming and going on each side of them. They were quite good and we enjoyed listening to them.
Our Guide and Driver
Our coach driver, Stevie, and tour guide, Maggie, are both from Scotland and had wonderful accents. Every once in a while Maggie would throw out a Gaelic word for us to learn. Barbara’s favorite is “shambolic” which means “in a shambles.” (“Shambolic” is the adjective related to the noun “shambles.”) Stevie and Maggie also bantered back and forth, and that was quite a lot of fun. Here are pictures of them and our coach.
This is a new coach for 2013 and 12 feet longer than the one Stevie drove for Marion Scoular’s tour in 2012. It is HUGE! It holds 56 passengers – plenty of space for the 20 passengers it carried (18 tour members, Marion Scoular, and Maggie McQuade). We each had our own 2-seat “compartment” – great for the items we picked up along the way.
This is a new coach for 2013 and 12 feet longer than the one Stevie drove for Marion Scoular’s tour in 2012. It is HUGE! It holds 56 passengers – plenty of space for the 20 passengers it carried (18 tour members, Marion Scoular, and Maggie McQuade). We each had our own 2-seat “compartment” – great for the items we picked up along the way.
Traffic Signs
I get a charge out of seeing the differences in traffic signs between here and the UK. One thing I found interesting is that traffic lights use the yellow light when they change from red to green as well as from green to red. A sign I saw in horse country but wasn’t able to catch a picture of it said, “No racing of horse-drawn vehicles.”
Here are some additional signs. (Please excuse the out of focus pictures; they were taken from a moving vehicle. While I probably passed some of these signs while walking, I wasn’t thinking then about taking pictures of signs.)
Do Not Enter – I don’t remember seeing any one-way signs, just these signs indicating no entry.
This sign speaks for itself. I like the fact that, if a car breaks down in a construction area, the driver doesn’t have to foot the bill for the tow. That is very civilized.
This sign shows two different things. A speed bump is called a hump; and, instead of measuring things in feet like we do, they say that something is so many yards ahead. I found myself having to do math in my head to figure out how far away something was. I just don't think in terms of yards.
We’d say, “Slow Down” but even though it is wordier, I like “Kill Your Speed!”
This sign means NO STOPPING and the next one means NO WAITING.
There's a subtle difference between the two signs. Don’t you have to stop to wait? As near as I could figure out from what our coach driver said, stopping means you have parked and left the vehicle. Waiting means that you are stopped but are still in the vehicle.
They say “site traffic”; we’d say “construction traffic.”
It’s a truck with a weight limit. It is so clear! We should do it this way.
This is “yield” in a kinder, gentler universe…
Here are some additional signs. (Please excuse the out of focus pictures; they were taken from a moving vehicle. While I probably passed some of these signs while walking, I wasn’t thinking then about taking pictures of signs.)
Do Not Enter – I don’t remember seeing any one-way signs, just these signs indicating no entry.
This sign speaks for itself. I like the fact that, if a car breaks down in a construction area, the driver doesn’t have to foot the bill for the tow. That is very civilized.
This sign shows two different things. A speed bump is called a hump; and, instead of measuring things in feet like we do, they say that something is so many yards ahead. I found myself having to do math in my head to figure out how far away something was. I just don't think in terms of yards.
We’d say, “Slow Down” but even though it is wordier, I like “Kill Your Speed!”
This sign means NO STOPPING and the next one means NO WAITING.
There's a subtle difference between the two signs. Don’t you have to stop to wait? As near as I could figure out from what our coach driver said, stopping means you have parked and left the vehicle. Waiting means that you are stopped but are still in the vehicle.
They say “site traffic”; we’d say “construction traffic.”
It’s a truck with a weight limit. It is so clear! We should do it this way.
This is “yield” in a kinder, gentler universe…
The trip home
We had to get up WAY too early to go to the airport. Barbara and I were the last to arrive in the lobby, and everyone was teasing us that they were getting ready to call us to make sure we were up. I found that rather funny as we came down earlier than we needed to be. The early shift of people going to the airport loaded into the coach, and we went to the airport. Going through security was annoying, but the security guy was quite a talker and that made the process a little less so.
The flight back seemed much longer than the flight over. The flight to England was overnight and we slept a lot. The flight back was during the day. Barbara couldn’t sleep, and I took only a short nap. Going through customs didn’t take long at all, and then we had to change terminals which meant that we had to go through security again; but we had plenty of time. All flights went smoothly, and it was great to be back in the USA although landing in 50-degree, rainy and windy weather wasn’t what we had hoped for.
The flight back seemed much longer than the flight over. The flight to England was overnight and we slept a lot. The flight back was during the day. Barbara couldn’t sleep, and I took only a short nap. Going through customs didn’t take long at all, and then we had to change terminals which meant that we had to go through security again; but we had plenty of time. All flights went smoothly, and it was great to be back in the USA although landing in 50-degree, rainy and windy weather wasn’t what we had hoped for.
Windsor
We have a lovely hotel in Windsor, just a block away from Windsor Castle. Yes, as in one of the places where the Queen hangs out. I was surprised at how close the town comes to the walls surrounding the castle, although I’m sure that the area the Queen inhabits is far away from the wall where the town abuts. This gate to the castle is right across the street from the business district. I did some shopping and snapped some pictures while Barbara rested in the hotel.
Dinner was lovely and we had a great time talking and laughing and listening to stories told by Stevie, our Scottish coach driver. It hardly seems possible that it is the last dinner of the tour. On the other hand, I’m glad I’ll be eating more reasonably once I’m home. I don’t need all the food we get at these meals. I know I said I wasn’t going to eat everything in front of me, but I have anyway. When the food is excellent, who wants to stop eating?
Dinner was lovely and we had a great time talking and laughing and listening to stories told by Stevie, our Scottish coach driver. It hardly seems possible that it is the last dinner of the tour. On the other hand, I’m glad I’ll be eating more reasonably once I’m home. I don’t need all the food we get at these meals. I know I said I wasn’t going to eat everything in front of me, but I have anyway. When the food is excellent, who wants to stop eating?
Parham House
We visited Parham House this morning. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photographs inside the house, but here is a picture of one wing of the house. The family still lives in part of the house, and the National Trust takes care of the main part of the house.
Here we learned about the origin of the phrase “chairman of the board.” The board is a dining table where everyone sat, using either stools or benches, except for the highest-ranking person within the group; the group could be a group of servants or the family and guests. That highest ranking person (male, of course) sat in the only chair at the head of the table. Hence, “chair man of the board.” Barbara and I thought this was a really interesting explanation.
We saw some great tapestries, rugs and needlework that I wish I could share. Then we had a nice lunch and a drive to Windsor where we were on our own for the afternoon.
Here we learned about the origin of the phrase “chairman of the board.” The board is a dining table where everyone sat, using either stools or benches, except for the highest-ranking person within the group; the group could be a group of servants or the family and guests. That highest ranking person (male, of course) sat in the only chair at the head of the table. Hence, “chair man of the board.” Barbara and I thought this was a really interesting explanation.
We saw some great tapestries, rugs and needlework that I wish I could share. Then we had a nice lunch and a drive to Windsor where we were on our own for the afternoon.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Westminster Abbey
Flashing our Oyster cards (for rides on both city double-decker buses and underground subways – affectionately known as “the tube”), we hopped onto the underground to travel to Westminster Abbey. Since everyone takes and posts pictures of the “main” North Entrance, I chose to show you the West Transept Entrance.
Again, photography isn’t allowed inside the Abbey itself. I wish I could have taken pictures because the place is wonderful. On the other hand, photographs cannot convey the immensity of these large spaces and beautiful work. We arrived (on purpose) too late to tour the place because they don’t charge admission to attend services; so we attended Evensong. We were able to see the interior and listen to wonderful music. We couldn’t see anything that was going on because we were seated in one of the transepts, but technology saves the day. There was a large screen in each transept showing the main aisle between the choir stalls so we could watch the choir and the officiates.
We were lucky that the boys’ choir was scheduled to sing and they were wonderful. There appeared to be about 30-35 boys in this choir and no men. As in other Evensong services, the choir sang the introit, versicles with responses, and psalm (all in plainsong), Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (both by Matthew Martin, contemporary composer) as well as an anthem (also in contemporary harmonies). Most of their music was sung in unison, but the contemporary anthem employed some two-part singing; their dissonances (notes very close together) were delicious. The organist was very accomplished and handled the contemporary compositions with ease. The organs in both Westminster and St. Paul’s are large and wonderful to hear but sound very far away due to the sizes of the spaces.
Again, photography isn’t allowed inside the Abbey itself. I wish I could have taken pictures because the place is wonderful. On the other hand, photographs cannot convey the immensity of these large spaces and beautiful work. We arrived (on purpose) too late to tour the place because they don’t charge admission to attend services; so we attended Evensong. We were able to see the interior and listen to wonderful music. We couldn’t see anything that was going on because we were seated in one of the transepts, but technology saves the day. There was a large screen in each transept showing the main aisle between the choir stalls so we could watch the choir and the officiates.
We were lucky that the boys’ choir was scheduled to sing and they were wonderful. There appeared to be about 30-35 boys in this choir and no men. As in other Evensong services, the choir sang the introit, versicles with responses, and psalm (all in plainsong), Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (both by Matthew Martin, contemporary composer) as well as an anthem (also in contemporary harmonies). Most of their music was sung in unison, but the contemporary anthem employed some two-part singing; their dissonances (notes very close together) were delicious. The organist was very accomplished and handled the contemporary compositions with ease. The organs in both Westminster and St. Paul’s are large and wonderful to hear but sound very far away due to the sizes of the spaces.
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