Time to Go

I am now sitting on the train to go to Heathrow, and I feel ready to go home.

 

It has been a much slower day and I am glad that I went for my walk yesterday, as today was stereotypically English - grey and drizzly.

 

This morning, I experienced the London Underground traveling from Barbican to Baker Street station in order to get to the Royal Academy of Music and it's museum.

The museum was more interesting than it would have been before I did my course with John. I had a close look at the all the features of each instrument and took photos of those that were in individual casings. It was a treat to be able to take my time and some photos too, unlike the museum which Dave and I visited in Cremona. Whilst I was there, a viola was being tried out by someone. I think it's maker was there along with the school's luthier. The sound was amazing and a few people gathered around to listen. Photos were taken of the player and a lady, as well as the Frenchman whom I figure was the maker.

I found some of the Vamoosh books for my students in the shop and made my way back to Shaun's. After getting all my things together, I left the Barbican for the last time.

This morning's trip stood me in good stead for the journey I am making now. The only trouble was I thought I would save some money and get the non-express to Heathrow. I just missed one train and got on the wrong one, but asked another traveller and thankfully got off before it took off. I have left myself plenty of time, so should be ok. Just another little adventure.

It has been a wonderful trip, for which I am most grateful. It is interesting to reflect back on my first diary entry, which I wrote as I was leaving Ballarat. It seems such a long time ago and I have learnt and done so much. Yes, I do think that my study with John will lead me to do something more with it. All I need to do is sharpen my chisel, order some specialist tools, set up a work zone and away I go.

Lincoln steps

I have seen interesting places and have enjoyed the luxury of being able to walk and take photos, enough to just about filled a 16gig SD card!

View of the Pit

River Ouse in flood, York

 

 

I have met so many interesting people and family members, all of whom I would like to keep in contact with.

Louise, Auntie Margaret, Auntie Kathy, Michael

Auntie Elaine and Me, Lincoln

Jackie, John, Eugene

Stephan and Me

I have enjoyed spending quality girly time with my Mum.

Me and Mum in Barnby-in-the-Willows

 

I am so appreciative to the people who encouraged me to partake in this journey and give thanks to especially to my family who allowed me go.

 

Violin bridge detail

Sunset, Burgh Castle

This blog was sent from Home, after trying at Kuala Lumpur. The flights were not too bad, albeit a bit bumpy at times.

 

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London walkabout

Well, I don't think I have EVER walked for so long!

In true 'detak' style, I left the apartment at 11am. It was a really busy morning before that, having spoken with Dave, Lawrie and Mum on Skype.

 

My journey took me to Spitalfields Markets, which is near to Liverpool Sreet Station. I wandered around there and was humoured by a vendor who reminded my of a Monty Python sketch. I took a recording on my phone to help remind me.

I walked past the building nicknamed "the Gherkin", towards the Tower of London. The Gherkin is a building of amazing architecture on the site of an IRA bombing. I am not sure of the year of the bombing.

The Gherkin from a different viewpoint

 

I walked past the Tower and watched as the Tower Bridge was raised in order to let a sailing boat through.

Tower Bridge

 

Ian had suggested that I visit the Saint Katharine's dock. Thanks for the suggestion, Ian. I was most impressed with the still waters and The fact that there were hardly any people.

St Katharine's Dock

It was a relief to get away from the crowds for a little while. The pub looked very inviting and I decided to take some time out and absorb the atmosphere. I ordered a pint of Fosters and some hot chips.

 

I thought it was appropriate to have a Fosters. It is advertised so heavily here as something truly Australian, but I have never had one. I must have looked lonely, as the security guard came up to me for a chat. He is from South America, somewhere near Brazil. We had a good chat and he had great pleasure in telling me that the West Indies beat Australia in the 20/20 cricket semi final. I enjoyed my chat with Wayne. He was kind enough to take a photo of me enjoying my beer.

A welcome drink

 

Shaun has come home from work now, so will finish this post later.

Communication

My tour continued:

Communication

My day trip took me roughly around the folowing route; From Spitalfields market, past the Gherkin, past the Tower of London to St Katharine's Dock. Back past the Tower and it's bridge, along the northern side of the River Thames. I crossed the River at Blackfriars Bridge and strolled along Southbank. There were many buskers along the Southbank, some of which were quite unusual.

Busker

Busker 2

Lawrie might be impressed this skatepark along Southbank.

 

I got to Westminster Bridge, which is just past the London Eye. I crossed the Thames once again and wandered past Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. I had intended to go past Dowling Street, but took a wrong turn and ended up on Horseguards Road, which is to the back of Dowling Street.

It was very pleasant getting away from the hustle and bustle for stroll through St James' Park. The grey squirrels are amusing little creatures, coming right up to you in hope of a feed. There were people giving them peanuts.

 

The park took me up to Buckingham Palace. I stopped there briefly for a couple of photos, but did not go up to the gates. As I walked up The Mall, my legs were beginning to tell me they had enough. I would have caught a taxi, but The Mall was closed to traffic due to a half marathon. There was a small group of people gathered outside Clarence House to observe the longest game of concentration I have ever seen. The guards face each other and do not move. They do so well to refrain from falling to the people's attempts to make them move.

 

I continued my way up to Trafalgar Square, stopping briefly at the Square to take a photo or two. I was drawn to one corner by the music of some buskers by the name of 'Street Cats'. When they had finished their set, I walked up The Strand a little way to Charring Cross Station. It is there that I hopped into a cab and got back to Shaun's place.

 

I am not sure how far it was that I walked, but after consulting the map, I estimate 8 mile, or 12.8km. So glad I didn't try and walk from Trafalgar Square - it was a £10 fare.

Shaun and I went to a pub called "The Jugged Hare" for a fantastic meal. I had a salad with blue cheese and walnuts, followed by Venison and Grouse terrine. A serve of Victoria Plum tart finished the meal beautifully. Our wine of choice was a Langmeil "Hanging Snakes".

Communication

 

Shaun then took me on a brief nighttime tour of the deserted city. By day there are thousands and at night only one or two others. Just magic.

Guild Hall

Shaun's favorite view of St Pauls cathedral

St Paul's from the Millenium Bridge

 

It is now 12:15 and we have both settled into our sleeping arrangements. Shaun was insistant that I take the bed and he is on the couch.


 

A wonderful last night in London. Thanks Shaun, you are a true gentleman.

 

 

 

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It must have been the pillow

Well, it is the morning and I have had the best sleep yet! Perhaps it was the pillow?

Actually, this post could also be called; "Where have all the people gone?" or is there something I don't know? The streets around here are deserted and all is quiet.

 

View from Shaun and Fi's dining area

View from Shaun and Fi's dining area

 

More to come about my day a bit later.

 

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My homeward journey begins

After a rather late night, this morning came around quite quickly. I looked outside the window to find a most glorious day once again. I had a brief breakfast, shared with Linda, her brother and sister in law. They are all such wonderful people.

My breakfast perners were off to a wedding today. Their daughter's friend was continuing the ritual of her wedding to a Sheik. A ceremony took place in the Cotswolds last weekend and another was to be held in the Nottingham area today. Apparently the whole thing would have cost close to £60,000.......!

My lovely host, Linda was very kind to drive me to the Railway Station. It was sad to say goodbye, but we will definitely keep in contact.

The train ride was very interesting. It was a chore to drag my suitcase and other bags onto the train and then also afterwards. The platform that I needed required me to go up and over on the bridge. I started to drag my bag up the stairs. I could not help but think of the time that Dave and I were in Monaco and Dave had tweaked a muscle in his back. That meant that I had needed to deal with the baggage all by myself. There is no way I could have done that here! It was lucky that a kind man helped me out by lifting the bottom of the bag. When we got to the top of the stairs, he told me that there was a elevator! I was most thankful for his help and his information.

It's was also tricky getting onto the train. The trains here are fast, but not as user friendly. I had to open the door of the train by myself, then lift my bags up a small step. We are most spoilt with the vline at home with no step and no gap.

It was an interesting hour and a half ride. There was a group of eight men in the seats in front of me. They must have got on the train firther up the line. They had a slab of Fosters Lager sitting on the table which divided them and one group were playing cards. I was in need of speaking with the lady who I was supposed to sit next to. As soon as I started to speak, they men stopped playing cards and pricked up their ears. I wondered if they thought they were in a Fosters ad! I ended up sitting in the spare seats across the aisle and had fun listening to their banter in their Northern accent. The slab of beer was finished by the time we arrived at Kings Cross Station at 10:40am. I imagine they were on the way to the football.

 

When I got off the train, I was filled with awe and excitement about being in one of most visited cities in the world. I got to the outside and lined up to get a taxi. The driver was lovely when we arrived at the Barbican Centre,, where I though that I was meeting Mum and Auntie Kathy. Unfortunately there was a problem on there line and they were required to get a train, coach and another train. This caused them to arrive a little later than they expected. I also was not in quite the right place, but I was enjoying taking some photos of the water fountains whilst waiting.

Barbican Fountain

Note the second plane

 

 

I also noted that the church across the way was called Saint Giles. I had to text Linda this. It is all very spooky, as the parish which Tony is the vicar happens to also be called Saint Giles. Linda replied to me by saying that "Think God might be bothering you lately..." maybe He has.

 

A last we found each other and made our way to my cousin Shaun's apartment. Shaun works long days in London and his wife Fiona usually works in Luxembourg, so this is a one bedroom apartment, but has got quite roomy living area. I appreciate being able to stay in the middle of London in cosmopolitan digs. Shaun is in Luxembourg until tomorrow night, so I am able to stay here by myself.

After a brief cup of coffee, I set about sorting out my luggage and we all went out for a wander and a bite to eat. We found a pub around the corner and for my lunch I had a 'Chip Shop Platter', which had some fried scampi, chips and battered cod. It was was really nice and I asked it down with a pint of Carling Lager.

Around the corner is Saint Paul's Cathedral. It is very large, but not in the same style as the othe minsters and cathedrals I have see in my journey. I finally had the opportunity to get photos of some squirrels. They were everywhere.

Tailless squirrel

 

Our journey took us to the Thames, and around some other streets around the back of the Cathedral, back to Shaun's.

 

St Paul's Cathedral

A little relax again and we set off to Liverpool Street Station, where Mum and Auntie Kathy needed to get the train back to Norwich. They took my big bag with them so that I don't need to worry with it when I need to get to Heathrow on Monday.

Pretty flower boxes

 

 

We had a drink in the bar at the station and then they left me to go home. I took some photos of the station, bought some nibbles for my tea, and then made my way confidently back to my pad.

Liverpool Street Station

 

I have had my tea and writing this blog at 8:40. I think I will all asleep pretty soon, with hope that I will be able to get a big walk in tomorrow. I look forward to spending tomorrow night with Shaun on his return to London at about 8pm.

9pm and time to go to bed.

 

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Chapel Violins: Day 10 (My Final Day)

What an amazing day. John is such an exceptional person.

Today I met John at 8am and we went to the International Antiques Fair, held every other month here in Newark.

When we arrived, I felt at though I could have bumped into Tim Wonnacut at any time! In fact, the TV show 'Bargain Hunt' is often filmed at Newark.

 

 

My mission was to find a dentist mirror and a chisel to sharpen. John and I spent about four hours at the Bargain Hunt set, and found many treasures and very interesting artifacts, some of which were quite worthy of a blush or two!

To cut a long story short, I happened to find my dentist mirror, a chisel and a couple of other goodies. I literally found the mirror on the stall which was the last one out of about 300. These fairs are HUGE. John found a violin to restore and I pointed out something which I thought he might find interesting. He ended up buying the item of interest, which is a lovely picture as seen below. We could not quite work out what it is made from, but suspect it is gold painted glass or enamel on a copper base.

 

We returned back to the Chapel and were joined by Marcus, aca Harry. There were several laughs, which I am sure John timed right when I had a mouthful of coffee. It took me a while to recover from having to spit my coffee back into my cup to stop me from choking.

I worked on sharpening my chisel on a diamond stone, which is not cheap. There are three grades of stone to work through to get the chisel to the correct place. This requires several hours of work, something that I did not achieve in the few hour I had in the afternoon at the Chapel. My chisel is on its way to being appropriately sharpened, but will still need about three hours work. John's aim for me was for me to get the method correct, and he was happy to stay back for as long as it took for this to come true.

 

Marcus left at about 6:30 pm, bidding me a good farewell and John and I left for the corner pub at about 7:30 to have an Irish Coffee as a farewell drink. Before we left, I tidied my desk and etched my initials into it's sacred timber (with John's permission of course). There was one more thing that I felt I needed to do, and that was to play Eugene's violin for one last time. It felt like sacred moment, fixed in my work corner, fully absorbing myself and putting a closure to the amazing fortnight I had spent in the Chapel. I left a note for Eugene to let him know of my last, necessary duty.

 

The whole time that I have spent with John has been wonderful. His teaching is thoughtful and he brings out he best in people. The stories he has told me along my journey thus far have really made me realize that he considers his student as whole person, and is mindful of their hunger for knowledge as well as their wellbeing.

 

John and I bade each other farewell on the corner of the road where the pub, Church and Main Road, both respectful of each other. John told me the Chapel would be a quiet place without me and that he had enjoyed the past two weeks. He also told me that I was one of the quickest learners that he had come across, and that it was up to me if I would become one of the best repairers in Australia. He predicts that it won't be long before I am working on more expensive instruments.

 

 

My journey back to the Vicarage was a little solemn, but I was looking forward to spending a bit of time with the people who should have been featured more often in my blog. Linda has been a wonderful host and tireless wrker in her B&B. I cannot recommend any where else to stay in this area. She provides not only clean and comfortable accommodation, but is always a friendly face and someone to talk to if needed. Linda genuinely cares about everyone who stays here.

 

I was fortunate to spend time with Linda's brother and his wife whilst Linda and Tony went to pick up anothe family member from the airport. That have a very busy weekend with a wedding tomorrow and a Baptism on Sunday.

 

All such lovely people who will always hold a special place in my heart.

 

I will close by saying that as much as I have enjoyed the people that I have spent the past three weeks with, I am looking forward to returning home to my family. I hope that they have missed me as much as I have missed them.

I will catch the 9:19am train from Newark Northgate Railway station tomorrow morning, which will herald the beginning of my journey back to my true beloveds.

 

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Chapel Violins: Day 9

This morning I met new guests for breakfast David and Julie. They are dairy farmers from somewhere near Blackpool and are in town for the Antiques Fair. The farms here are quite small - they have 60 head of cattle. That would be a hobby farm at home!

When I arrived at the Chapel, I mentioned to John that the Fair was on and he was very interested. He guaranteed that I would pick up some chisels at the Fair. Decision made. We will go tomorrow, meeting at the Chapel at 8am. I do hope I sleep better tonight.

 

My day at the Chapel saw me working on making some templates to help me cut and fit bridges. I got the violin one finished and am still working on one for viola. That is about all I have done, except once again being privy to discussions about restoration and try out a bridge which Andy from Hong Kong had reshaped.

Some templates to be made

 

John is full of stories and interesting hilarities. He came into the workshop after being to the toilet feeling very proud of himself. He had rescued a fly from the toilet and thought that it might like a bit of honey rather than whatever else it may have been feeding on. There it was, sitting on his finger, very much enjoying it's honey. I asked John if he could also train fleas. We all had a chuckle and John then named the fly 'Fred'. It flew away, but only did a 300mm circle and returned to John's finger like a boomerang. Fred hung about most of the day and John felt good that he had done some good by giving the fly a better life, out of the toilet.

 

It was Stephan's last day and we finished off by taking photographs and saying good-bye. I have enjoyed Stephan's comradeship and wish him well in the future with his studies. I have given him my email addresses and wonder how long it will be before he contacts me.

Stephan and me

Having fun

 

Somewhere along the river walk

John drove Stephan and me into town to drop Stephan at the railway station and me at Asda. I had seen a pair of shoes there for £18, and returned to get them. After picking up a couple of pairs of socks as well, I went for a photographic walk. Unfortunately the sky was not as good as I had hoped it to be.

 

Autumn colour

 

Unknown flower

Another view of the castle

 

I went into a specialty wine shop and got excited when I saw a Langmeil sparkling Shiraz, but unfortunately they had run out of the Keigelbahn. I ended up getting a bottle of Grant Burge Shiraz to give to John Gosling. It has a lovely label with stringed instruments featured on it.

 

I am sitting in a little restaurant enjoying a vegetable bake for my dinner, along with a glass of Hungarian wine. Their full bodied red is not a sniff on those that I know!

 

I will return to the Vicarage after my dinner and get my things packed for setting off to London on Saturday morning. This will allow me to relax and enjoy tomorrow night.

 

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