Tuesday, 30 June 2015
South of England, 23rd - 30th June (By Ella)
Nigel's Mum used to be a nurse that worked with my Nanny Carol years ago, and both families lived close to each other in High Green, Sheffield and he and his wife Julie kindly offered us their flat whilst we were in London. It was perfect for us with a couple of bedrooms, next to the River Thames. The apartment was one of a number across many blocks of renovated buildings which used to be army barracks.
Since it was so close to the River Thames, we would often catch a boat to wherever we had to go. This is a picture of us standing among the statues, near to where we got on the boat.
Scott's Tour - 24th June
On our first day in London, we met up with one of Dad's old friends, Scott. Dad and Scott travelled together in Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Cambodia in the 1990s! This is a picture of them in 1993 in Dalat, Vietnam.
With Scott, we went on the River Thames seeing the Millennium Dome, Thames Barrier and visited the Cutty Sark at Greenwich....
We continued under Tower Bridge, and then we had a walk to Trafalgar Square and saw Nelson's Column, and then had a picnic in front of Big Ben!
We also went to Buckingham Palace, where we saw the changing of the guard....
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| In front of the Palace |
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| Dad, Scott and Mum |
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| The Famous London Black Cabs |
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| Police Officers |
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| Trying not to sneeze! |
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| Left Right Left Right Left Right Left |
Afterwards, Dad and I went to Scotts house and met his wife Sue and his daughters' Honor and Esther. Mum, Amy & Anna had got on a train to Justine Oldham's house in Kew, since they were going to school the next day in Acton.
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| Scott and Sue |
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| Honor, Esther and Ella |
Ella & Daddy day -25th June
Dad and I had a day together.
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| Trip in the London Eye |
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| The famous red phone boxes |
Mum, Amy & Anna went to school with Mum's best friend from schooldays - Justine Oldham (Justine is the principal); they were made very welcome and really enjoyed the day there.
Mum had lunch at Canary Wharf with her old work colleague from Cable & Wireless, London - Stuart Fuller, who she last saw in 1999.
Chiswick
We all met up at Chiswick during the evening. Mum and Dad lived in Chiswick from 1997-2000! We all had dinner at an Indian restaurant called Annapurna (the nearest we got to Nepal!) which Mum and Dad used to go to regularly 15+ years ago.
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| Justine Oldham with Amy and Anna |
Justine was really kind and gave me the 'softest blanket ever' to take on the rest of our travels.
Alton, near Winchester - 26th June
We then drove one hour away to Winchester where we had a sleepover at Molly's house! I also got to go to her school where we played games, had dinner and met all of her friends! Also staying for a barbecue at Mollys were Gillian, Alan, James and Finn who were on holiday from Australia and are our friends in Sydney.
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| xx Molly and Me xx |
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| Gillien, Katie and Mum |
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| Annabelle, Molly and US |
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| Dad, Matt and Alan |
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| The Blue Stockings (Archived photo) |
Nigel, Julie and Olly, and Dad's catchup with his University friends - 27th June
On the Saturday morning, Dad got picked up by a friend ' Jimmer' who took him to their first University reunion in 23 years!
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| BABS Reunion 2015 |
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| Macker (from Aus), Benji, Ricki and Dad |
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| Dad, Matt, Chris and Macker |
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| Olly, Julie, Jus, Nigel and Jus (Oldham) |
We all went with Justine (Oldham) on the train to meet Nigel and his family in Southbank. We ate at the Southbank Stalls and played cards and Amy and Anna danced in the fountains! Mike, Zena, Alex and Abigail - East Molesey - 28th June
We went to East Molesey on the Sunday to stay with Mike and Zena and their children. Mum and Dad used to live with Mike and Zena in London 1997-1999. One of the highlights was Alex playing the guitar (played one of my favourites - Banana Pancakes), and him and Dad on piano singing!
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| Abi and Amy |
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| Dad and Mike |
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| Mike US and Rolo and Huxley (Long Haired Daschunds) |
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| Alex playing Banana Pancakes |
Hampton Court Palace is just around the corner from Mike and Zenas, and we visited the Palace and also saw a play being performed.
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| Me and King Henry VIII |
Nick, Elly, Amelie and Joe - Haywards Heath - 29th June
It was our last full day in London, and we stayed with Nick and Elly - friends of Mum and Dads from Australia who moved back to England. Dad used to play in a band with Elly. Nick let us play with his drone - which we flew 400m up in the air and across the town; we could watch the view from the camera on the controller!
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| Nick, Ellie, Mum and Dad |
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| Playing in the garden |
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| Amy flying the drone |
London to Paris - 30 June
We were catching the 3.30pm train to Paris, and because of the traffic in London .... arrived just in time. However, the trains had been cancelled due to strikes in Calais, although we were lucky and managed to catch one of the few trains that was allowed through the tunnel.
We had a great time in the South of England and am really grateful to all our friends who were so generous in giving us a place to sleep.
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
Ireland, 12th June - 23rd June (By Ella)
We were visiting Ireland to visit some friends of Mum and Dads, who I had never met before!
We stayed 5 days with 'Geordie Jo and Mark' on their farm near Wicklow - not far from Dublin. Mum and Dad met Jo in Sydney in 1995, and then they also lived near to each other in 1997-2000 in London - when they also met Mark. They spent New Year 1998 with Jo and Mark at Mark's parent's farm!
We arrived at Jo and Mark's house fairly late on a Friday and became great friends with their children who are similar ages to us.
Jo and Mark's House:
Pets:
In addition to the farm animals, they had 3 miniature Jack Russells which we adored. They also had hens which were friendly!
Nun's Cross National School with Heidi, Emily and Nicholas:
It was the last week of term for the school, and we had 3 days at school with Emily, Heidi and Nicholas. The school made us very welcome, and we even took part in their sports day!
Taking Amy's cast off:
After 3 weeks healing, Mark cut through Amy's cast and her arm was much better.
The farm:
Jo and Mark's farm is about 1km down a track from the house. They have 7 ponies/horses and 120 cows and look after all these animals at the same time as both having jobs! Emily and Heidi really looked after us and we spent a lot of time with the ponies, including riding them in the paddock. Emily and Heidi take part in competitions and have a number of trophies!
Walks around Wicklow:
Our friends from Cork - Richmond Jo, Lucy and George came up on the Saturday to spend the day and evening with us. We played in the fields around the farm, had a barbecue and visited some old Monastic ruins that were built 100s of years ago!
We even had a couple of visits to the local beach (great for 'skimming'):
Mum, Dad and Mark had a nice lunch with Kevin and Mary Carrick (Caoimhe's Mum and Dad)
Clonakilty (Near Cork) :
After having such a great time with the 'Ziegsters' in Wicklow, we drove to Clonakilty to stay with Richmond Jo, Darren, Lucy and George. Richmond Jo was a Bridesmaid at Mum and Dad's wedding in Sydney 2002!
Jo and Darren's house:
Father's Day:
It was Father's day whilst we were in Ireland and we made some cards for Dad.
Dad, Darren and some other friends went out in Wicklow the night before Fathers Day.
Blarney Castle:
We visited Blarney Castle which was built in the 11th Century! We all went to the top of the castle and kissed the Blarney stone which according to tradition, means that we can all speak eloquently and freely.
To kiss the Blarney stone, you had to lie on your back, hold on to some poles and lean back!
We met a lot of Jo and Darren's friends at the Cross Fit Gym and in Clonakilty:
We had a great time and great weather in Ireland. Mum and Dad loved catching up with Jo, Mark, Jo and Darren and their friends - and we had a lot of fun making new friends with Emily, Heidi, Nicholas, Lucy, George and their friends. It was also great to spend some time at schools in Ireland!
We stayed 5 days with 'Geordie Jo and Mark' on their farm near Wicklow - not far from Dublin. Mum and Dad met Jo in Sydney in 1995, and then they also lived near to each other in 1997-2000 in London - when they also met Mark. They spent New Year 1998 with Jo and Mark at Mark's parent's farm!
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| 1998 New Year in Wicklow |
Jo and Mark's House:
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| Nicholas and Anna |
In addition to the farm animals, they had 3 miniature Jack Russells which we adored. They also had hens which were friendly!
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| Mum cuddling a hen and the dogs! |
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| 3 Jack Russells was the perfect number! |
Nun's Cross National School with Heidi, Emily and Nicholas:
It was the last week of term for the school, and we had 3 days at school with Emily, Heidi and Nicholas. The school made us very welcome, and we even took part in their sports day!
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| First day at the school |
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| Sport's day! |
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| Anna starting one of the games |
Taking Amy's cast off:
After 3 weeks healing, Mark cut through Amy's cast and her arm was much better.
The farm:
Jo and Mark's farm is about 1km down a track from the house. They have 7 ponies/horses and 120 cows and look after all these animals at the same time as both having jobs! Emily and Heidi really looked after us and we spent a lot of time with the ponies, including riding them in the paddock. Emily and Heidi take part in competitions and have a number of trophies!
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| Heidi doing a jump |
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| Amy spent a LOT of time on the ponys! |
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| Some of the 120 cows! |
Walks around Wicklow:
Our friends from Cork - Richmond Jo, Lucy and George came up on the Saturday to spend the day and evening with us. We played in the fields around the farm, had a barbecue and visited some old Monastic ruins that were built 100s of years ago!
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| Mark, Jo, Mum, Dad, Jo and Amos (a great aupair from Italy) |
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| Whilst we were at school, Mum and Dad had a walk to 'Devil's Lair'! |
We even had a couple of visits to the local beach (great for 'skimming'):
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| Jo and Nicholas |
Clonakilty (Near Cork) :
After having such a great time with the 'Ziegsters' in Wicklow, we drove to Clonakilty to stay with Richmond Jo, Darren, Lucy and George. Richmond Jo was a Bridesmaid at Mum and Dad's wedding in Sydney 2002!
Jo and Darren's house:
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| Lucy 'bombing' Anna! |
Lucy's school and rowing:
We had a great day with Lucy at her school; again, they made us feel very welcome and it was great to meet some of Lucy's school friends! Lucy rowed for a local club, and we went to watch them train one evening. We went to watch Lucy's team compete although it had to be cancelled because of the wind.
We had a great day with Lucy at her school; again, they made us feel very welcome and it was great to meet some of Lucy's school friends! Lucy rowed for a local club, and we went to watch them train one evening. We went to watch Lucy's team compete although it had to be cancelled because of the wind.
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| Dad and Darren |
It was Father's day whilst we were in Ireland and we made some cards for Dad.
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| Fathers Day in Clonakilty - Dad, Darren and Michael |
Blarney Castle:
We visited Blarney Castle which was built in the 11th Century! We all went to the top of the castle and kissed the Blarney stone which according to tradition, means that we can all speak eloquently and freely.
To kiss the Blarney stone, you had to lie on your back, hold on to some poles and lean back!
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| Anna |
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| Mum |
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| Amy |
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| Jo |
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| Darren |
We met a lot of Jo and Darren's friends at the Cross Fit Gym and in Clonakilty:
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| Michael's Newfoundland |
We had a great time and great weather in Ireland. Mum and Dad loved catching up with Jo, Mark, Jo and Darren and their friends - and we had a lot of fun making new friends with Emily, Heidi, Nicholas, Lucy, George and their friends. It was also great to spend some time at schools in Ireland!
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