UK and Europe 2018

Helsinki and Tallinn

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Helsinki and Tallinn
September was almost over and it was time to leave London and start heading back to Australia.

I had backed up my camping gear and some other stuff and took them and the ‘Badboy’ to my lockup.

Next morning, I headed out to Gatwick for my flight to Helsinki.

Flight to Helsinki
I flew on Norwegian Air, the same airline that I took from Orlando to London back in May. It is a budget airline but seems to have reasonable service albeit it crams its passengers into the planes.

I was seated in the front row. The person in the next seat was an extraordinary tall young woman. We exchanged pleasantries at the start of the flight, but she seemed rather aloof. During the course of the flight, the attendants came and spoke to the young woman and asked to have photos taken with her. I suspect she was a well-known sports star, albeit unknown to me.

It was raining when we landed. For some reason the plane parked away from the terminal. The walk down the steps to the waiting bus was decidedly chilly. Clearly, autumn had well and truly arrived in Finland.

Once through customs and immigration, I took the train into central Helsinki. The train was fast as I expected it would be.

From the train station, I took a tram towards the harbour and found my hostel.

Out to an Island
The next morning, I decided to go out to Suomenlinna which is an island, a short ferry ride from the city. It is UNESCO listed and has played a significant part in Finnish history.  This  included being a Russian naval base. You can read about it by following to link below.

Wind
Probably the most memorable experience on the island for me was the wind. It was incredible. Check out the Flickr link especially the photo of my hair being flattened and the video of the wind.

Salmon
The next day I went for a walk around the area close to the hostel. I had lunch on the harbour at one several stalls selling grilled salmon. It was amazing good. I also checked out the churches and other points of interest.

My overall all impression of the city was that its is very prosperous and clean.

Ferry to Tallinn
My next stop was to be Estonia.

The ferry to Tallinn was to leave at 8.30 a.m. When I arrived at the terminal here were a large number of people waiting to board the ferry. Most of the people were in the café/bar. Most these were drinking beer, not coffee.

We were all soon on board.

This was when the serious drinking started, seemingly everyone onboard was keen to have a drink. It was all quite bizarre.

The trip over to Tallinn only takes two hours.

As we left the ship I noticed a lot of the passengers were pulling ‘rolling suitcases’ that were obviously empty. A lot of these people didn’t walk far. Near to wharf there was a ‘supermarket’ selling mainly alcohol and some food. The passengers with the empty suitcases made ‘beeline’ for the supermarket.

I was to later learn that this a frequent occurrence. Alcohol is very expensive in Finland. Many people take the ferry across to Tallinn for the sole purpose of  buying cheap grog. They stock up with the grog  and head straight back home again.

Into the Old Town of Tallinn
It was a relatively short walk to my hostel which was on the edge of the ‘Old Town’.
After checking in, I went for a bit of an explore:

The Town area, is maze of cobblestone alleys, many church spires and well preserved fortresses and turrets.

The central point of the old town is Raekoja Plats and the 13th century Town Hall which has a tall spire that is topped with an iconic bronze statue of a young boy which guards the city and is known as Old Thomas.

High on hill above the Old town is Toompea Castle and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which is an important Orthodox building.

On my walk I spotted a ‘gastropub’ type place. It looked like a good place for dinner. It took me ages to find it again. When I finally found it, my initial thoughts proved to be correct, it was very good.

Soviet Tallinn and the KGB Headquarters
The next morning, I went to the Tourist Information Centre and booked into a ‘Soviet Era Tour’. I have been on these in other cities, including Warsaw and Budapest. I find them fascinating.

The tour guide was a young student. Naturally, he has no memory of the Soviet occupation, but has a good of knowledge of the time. A lot of this is based on what his parents and grandparents told him.

The tour took us to various places in the Old Town which were signification during the Soviet area. These included areas that were bombed by the Soviets and buildings where they had offices and where key Russians and Estonia Communists lived.

The guide also described life under the Soviets, including food shortages and how luxuries such as cars and holidays were allocated to the people. Much of this information was based on what his family members had told him.

As we walked towards the harbour, the guide pointed out the location of the KGB Cells where dissidents were held and tortured.

The last stop on the tour was the ‘Tallinn Centre’ which was built for the 1980 Olympics. It is huge indoor arena. The place is derelict and you cannot go inside. It was really shoddily built.

After the tour, I continued on to the Hotel Viru.

“In Soviet times, any foreign dignitary or journalist arriving in Estonia would be whisked straight from the airport to Hotel Viru. Greeted by the furiously trained doormen and concierge staff, they would be shepherded into elevators and taken up to the top floor – the 22nd – where Tallinn’s finest restaurant resided” (refer to BBC Travel link below).

The Hotel Viru is particularly interesting in that it houses a KGB Museum. The Museum is on the top floor of the hotel. This is where the KGB used to run their operations to monitor the ‘guests of interest’. These were mainly foreign diplomats, business people and tourists. The rooms where they stayed were bugged for sound and there were holes in the walls through which could be used to  photograph the guests. All telephone calls were intercepted and monitored.

On the tour of the museum you are shown the equipment that the KGB used. I was particularly interested in the cameras they used. Check out the photo on Flickr.

Experiencing KGB Hotels in 1984
The Hotel Viru was an ‘InTourist’ hotel that was run by the KGB. I have a particular interest in these hotels. I stayed in them in Moscow and East Berlin when I was working for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1984.

See the links to posts on those experiences below.

KGB Cells
After leaving the Hotel Viru, I walked back into the Old Town and headed to the KGB Cells were dissidents were held and tortured. This is a particularly harrowing place. However, I do believe that places like these must be visited so atrocities like those committed in such places are never forgotten.

Train to Tartu
Next morning, I made my way the train station for the next leg of my journey.  This time, heading west to Tartu.

About Suomenlinna
https://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/

KGB Headquarters in Tallinn and more
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20111208-tallinns-secret-history-of-espionage

Flickr Links

Helsinki
https://flic.kr/s/aHskFojGNV

Tallinn
https://flic.kr/s/aHskFyor3t

Soviet Tallinn
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmjtKcew

Post about Moscow

Moscow 1984

Post about East Berlin

East Berlin 1984

 

 

 

 

Newcastle to Durham

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Durham
I spent one night in Newcastle after arriving back in England from The Netherlands by ferry.

The next day I headed off towards Durham. I had a vague plan to ride there via Chester le Street.

After leaving the centre of Newcastle, I cross the Millennium Bridge to the Gateshead side of the Tyne River and headed west.

Good Advice from Old Mak’em Cyclists
As I was riding along, I came across a couple of old blokes on folding bicycles. We ended up having a chat. They turned out to be ‘Mak’ems, that is from Sunderland. Refer to the below for an explanation of where that expression came from.

One of them told me that he was heading to The Netherlands in a couple of days by ferry. He was going to spent 2 weeks cycling around the country.
When I told the blokes that I was heading to Durham, they told me to take the ‘scenic’ route on National Cycle Route 14. This was about twice the distance of the more direct route via Chester le Street, “but well worth the time and effort”.

Rail Trails
The National Cycle Route 14, to Durham follows three rail trails – Derwent Valley, Waskerly Way and Lanchester Way.

The lines were built to service the coal mines and industrial plants in the district, in particular the steel works at Consett.

The Consett steel works were among the first in England and they were s a major industry from the start of the Industrial Revolution through to their closure in the ‘Thatcher Years’.

The rail lines were used to transport coal to the plant from the local mines and to transport iron which had been shipped from Sweden to Newcastle. The finished steel was transported back to Newcastle and to Sunderland by train. The lines were also used for other freight and passenger services.

When the lines were closed for rail services, the local county councils had the presence of mind to convert them into bicycle and bridle trails.

There is more about the Rail Trails in the link below.

Many Dogs
As I rode along I came across lots of people walking dogs.

A couple of times I stopped to chat with the owners. One of the dogs was a Schnauzer. I like Schnauzers having owned two. They are great dogs.

This particular dog was very good example of the breed. She was real character. The owner told that he had an older Labrador who was “now too old to go on long walks”. He told me that he got the Schnauzer as a puppy and she was “brought up by the Lab and did whatever he did. This included swimming in water”. It is very usual for Schnauzers to go swimming.

Not a Schnauzer
Further along the path I came across another dog that looked like a Schnauzer. When I see one, I often say “who is a Schnauzer” just as joke.

The owner of this dog relied: “I am a not a Schnauzer. I’m a Kerry Blue Terrier me” in very strong Geordie ascent. It was a classic. I wished I had the dog and the owners voice video.

Into Durham
It was later in the afternoon when I finally rode into Durham.

The reception of the University College where I had booked accommodation was closed. I rang the Night Porter’s mobile number and he let me in.
It was some time before I actually made it to my room. The intervening time was taken up by a long discussion about motorbikes with the Night Porter. The conversation was hilarious. The Porter sounded just like Oz out of ‘Auf Wiedersehen, Pet’. He told that his “favourite bike was a Yamaha 100” which he was currently rebuilding. He had Ducati Scrambler, but he “could bond with it”.

Good to be back in Familiar Place
I like Durham. It is good to be back in familiar places sometimes.

Mark Steel’s In Town
It you haven’t listed to Mark Steel’s in Gateshead, I suggest you do. It is hilarious. The link can be found below.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmrD6MBK

Garmin Link
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2975667222

Derwent Valley
https://www.newcastlegateshead.com/things-to-do/derwent-walk-p59981

Waskerly Way
https://www.thisisdurham.com/things-to-do/waskerley-way-railway-path-walking-and-cycling-route-p666901

Lanchester Way

Click to access RailwayPathLanchesterValley.pdf

Mark Steel’s in Gateshead

Not a Schnauzer
https://www.dogbreedinfo.com/kerryblueterrier.htm

What is a Mak’em?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackem

About Consett
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consett

Pegasus Bridge

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Pegasus 3

After spending some time in Caen, I headed the short distance along the canal towards Ouistreham.

Operation Deadstick

My destination was the Pegasus Memorial. The memorial commemorates one the most crucial events on the Normandy Landings – Operation Deadstick.
Operation Deadstick involved the capture of the Orne river Canal bridges, which would be crucial to defend the left flank of the landings and was vital for the D-Day invasion itself.

The Operation was undertaken by the British Airborne Division. It was an extraordinary operation that involved extreme risk, skill on behalf of the solders and some luck. The operation turned out to be a great success.

The operation involved the landing of three Horsa gliders containing soldiers and equipment on the evening of the 6th of June 1944 near the bridges that cross the Orne River Canal between Ouistreham and Caen. The beach at Ouistreham (Sword Beach) was where the main British Forces were to land on the morning of the 7th of June – D Day.

The capture of the bridges of the Orne River Canal was critical to enabling the soldiers in the landing to exist the beach. It was also critical in thwarting any German counter attacks and the days after the landings.

The link to the National Geographic video (refer below) on the operation highlights the key elements of its remarkable success. (Don’t be put off by the American style of presentation).

The key elements were:

The skill of the glider pilots and their ability to find their targets in poor conditions (cloud and darkness) and to land almost exactly on target.

The glider landings were successful with most of the soldiers not injured and able to fight immediately on landing.

The speed at which the soldiers were able to complete their objectives, e.g. taking out machine gun emplacements.

Some luck, including the being able to blow-up a German tank with a dodgy piece of kit.
After taking the bridges, the Airborne Troops held off German counteracts until they were joined by the Commandoes that had landed on Sword Beach in the early hours of the 7th June.

Operation Deadstick has been the subject of numerous books and is portrayed in the 1962 film – ‘The Longest Day’.

The Pegasus Memorial

The Bénouville Bridge was renamed ‘Pregasus’ Bridge in on honour of the Operation and is the site of the Pegasus Memorial and Museum.

The Museum focuses primarily on Operation Deadstick and highlights its importance in the successes of the D Day Landings. It includes many exhibits including the equipment that soldiers carried and verbal accounts from key players on what happened on the night. There is a short film about the Operation.

The original Bénouville Bridge has been moved into grounds on the Memorial.

There is also a replica of the one of the Horsa Gliders in the grounds.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmnuBR9X

Garmin Link
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2902169693

Pegasus Memorial Web Site
http://codegeek.memorial-pegasus.com/en/

National Geographic video on Pegasus Bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JoQoh3Gy4A

Wikipedia Links

Pegasus Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_Bridge

The Longest Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)

Guide Book Link

 

Caen

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Caen
There was a bit of a mix up when I bought my ticket from Portsmouth to Cean (Ouistreham). The upshot was that I ended leaving England a day or two earlier that I expected.

I rode from the camping ground on the Isle of Wight down to the ferry terminal at Ryde caught the ferry to Portsmouth.

Ferry to Ouistreham
The crossing to France was not the best in that it wasn’t possible to get a cabin. It was very difficult to sleep on the seat which hardly reclined at all.

Up the Canal to Caen 

The ferry arrived in Ouistreham around 6.00 0’clock in the morning. There was quite a long wait before was able to get off the ferry. There were a large number of other cyclists waiting to get off including a group on a charity ride. They were going to ride to Paris in time to see the finish of the Tour de France. They were very keen to get started as they had over 120 klms to complete on this day.

After finally getting off the ferry, I headed through Ouistreham to the canal that links the sea to the city of Caen. There is cycle path next to the canal.

Nice little Hotel
Before leaving Portsmouth, I had checked on the internet as to whether there was a hostel in Caen. There was but its website was all in French and they didn’t respond to my email regarding the availability of accommodation.

It was still early when I arrive in Cean. I had to wait until 9.30 a.m. before the Office de Tourism opened. When the office opened, I asked the very helpful young lady on the desk about the hostel. She gave them a call and told me that the place was ‘complete’, i.e. full for “the next week”.

She recommended a hotel less than a block away in the centre of the city. It turned out to be reasonably priced and really good.

Caen Memorial
One of the first things I did in Caen was to visit the Caen Memorial.

This is one of the many ‘memorials’ or museums that have been built to commemorate the ‘Normandy Landings’ in June 1944.

This particular museum turned out to be a good starting point for my tour through the Normandy Landings region.

It provides a summary of the issues confronting Europe in the period between the end of the first world war and the commencement of the second world war. It also covers some of the more important issue in the war itself including the French collaboration with the occupying Germans and the Holocaust. It also covers the impact the Japanese joining the conflict and of course that on the USA’s reaction.

In the final section, the museum covers the Normandy Landing themselves. This is both at overall context and material on the battles that took place in and around Caen itself.
The exhibits in the museum are very well presented and the audio commentary is excellent.

Sometime in Caen
I spent a couple of extra days in Caen due to the rainy weather. The city was badly bombed during the war and it does not have the charm of a lot of French towns and smaller cities, however the canal area is pleasant, and I found a couple of good restaurants and nice pub selling good craft beer.

Flickr Links

Portsmouth to Caen
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmpFQdDi

Caen Memorial
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmp8NVMf

Caen Other
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmfUpDjj

Garmin Link
Ouistreham
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2886249193

Kennet and Avon Canal

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Kennet and Avon Canal

It was time to leave London.

My hosts were about to return and their place was about to receive a visit by yet another antipodean guest.

I did my best to erase any evidence of my visit by vacuuming and cleaning the quest’s bathroom. I did however leave some Irises in the kitchen. Apparently that gets me brownie points from the one of my hosts.

Getting Out of London
The National Cycle Route 4 runs from London to Bristol via Bath. Over the years since 2012, I have ridden on this route. However, not on all of it every year.

While the route out of London along the Thames is very interesting, it can be a bit of a pain.

I decided to take the train to Reading. In fact, I wanted to take the train to Great Bedwyn and start riding from there. I have done that before. When I tried to book the trains on the Great Western Railway site, I found it impossible. There seemed to be no trains that allowed bicycles. This was inconsistent with my previous experience.

I ended up calling the ‘customer service desk’. The person on the end of the line had a strong ‘Georgie’ i.e. possibly indicating the call centre is in the North East of England.

I had a long discussion with the ‘service desk’. This discussion included me telling them that I recalled taking a GRW ‘commuter train from Reading to Great Bedwyn with my bike. They told me that the only way I could take a bike “was on a train the way going all the way to Cardiff and there were no slots avail for bikes on the day I planned to travel”.

I felt as though I may have been talking to some random person in the street.

Cutting to chase, I rode to Clapham Junction and caught Southern Railways train to Reading. There I found that I could take a local train to Great Bedwyn. There I picked up the National Cycle Route 4 to Wootton Rivers.

I have subsequently learned that the GWR Call Centre is in Runcorn near Liverpool. I suspect the staff in the Call Centre rarely, if ever, take a GRW train.

The Royal Oak
From Great Bedwyn I picked up the National Cycle Route 4 and rode to Wootton Rivers.
I had booked into The Royal Oak Pub and B&B. This is a great place to stay. I first stayed here in 2012.

That ride in 2012, was my first time on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It was the end of May and this part of the country was experiencing unusually heavy rain. I had had been riding from Reading in very heavy rain. It was so heavy that that the ‘tow path’ has so many puddles that it looked like the canal itself.

I had not made any plans as far as places to stay. It was a serendipitous moment when some locals suggested that I checked out of the Royal Oak.

It is the quintessential ‘Wiltshire Pub’ with a thatched roof and low beams. The B&B is next-door.

The pub serves great beers and the food is excellent ‘home style’ fare.
I have stay there every year since 2012.

Walkers
Over breakfast, I chatted to a couple who told that they were walking long the canal from Reading to Bristol.

They told me that they were walking to Devizers on this day. It was possible that we would meet somewhere of the path.

When I first rode along this part of the Cycle Route 4, the majority of the route was on the tow path by the canal. However, much of the tow path, particularly between Wootton Rivers and Devizers is just dirt and has not been paved or covered with gravel. This makes it unsuitable for non-off-road bikes. As a result, most of the route in this section has been diverted away from the canal onto lanes. This actually makes the ride interesting in that it takes you into villages a little way from the canal.

Notwithstanding the above, you are still able to ride on the canal in certain parts even though it is not officially on the Route 4. I cut off the cycle route at Honey Street and dropped onto the row path. Even thought my bike is fully laden, with its wide tyres and front suspension, it is still okay to ride on dirt and grass paths.

Not long after Honey Street, I came across the walkers from the Royal Oak. They had already covered 16 kilometres and were make good progress towards their destination.

There were also lots of other walkers on the path. Some were obviously just locals on a short walk, But there were a few with backpacks possibly also doing the length of the canal.

The Caen Locks
As I approached Devizers, the tow path started to be paved and was now formally part the Cycle Route 4.

I decided to skip stopping off in the town of Devizers continued on towards the camping ground which about 4 kilometres further west.

Before camping ground, the path leads you down the Caen Locks. These are amazing.

“The 29 locks have a rise 72 metres in 3.2 kilometres 1 in 44 gradient. The locks come in three groups. The lower seven locks, Foxhangers Wharf Lock to Foxhangers Bridge Lock, are spread over 1.2 kilomtres The next sixteen locks form a steep flight in a straight line up the hillside

Because of the steepness of the terrain, the gaps between these locks are very short. As a result, 15 locks have unusually large sideways-extended ponds, to store the water needed to operate them. A final six locks take the canal into Devizes”.

Check out the photos and video on Flickr.

My new Principal Place of Residence
I checked into the Devizers Camping Ground which, as I noted above, isn’t actually in the town of Devizers.

Anyway, it is good spot. Even though they were fully booked, I was able to get in because of their excellent policy of never turning cyclists or walkers away.

This was to be the first night in my new tent. I was impressed. It will be a very good principal residence at least for this northern summer.

Stirring up a Brexiteer
After setting up my tent, I headed off to the ‘Three Magpies’ Pub. This is good pub that serves basic, but tasty meals.

The publican is a bit of a Basil Faulty type of bloke. He is also a avid Brexiteer. He recognised me and recalled that I don’t share his views on Brexit. We had some interesting banter on the issue. I noted that there didn’t seem to have been too much progress two years after the vote to leave. I did, however, note that the GBP  was still significantly lower compared to the AUD than before the vote.

His comeback was a classic:
“the pound is still stronger than when we entered the EU”.
The UK entered the EU in 1973. That was before the introduction of the Euro. The Euro was introduced on the 1st of January 1999.

Talk about Brexiteers living in a parallel universe.

On to Bathampton
Leaving the campsite, I continued west along the canal to Bradford on Avon. This is great little town.

The next part of the canal to Bathampton is particularly picturesque. It also includes the viaduct at Avoncliff. This is another impressive piece of engineering.

As I was riding along I found an Apple iPhone. There is long story to this but not worth telling. In short, I handed it into the ‘One Stop Shop’ in Bath the next day. I hope they find its owner.

Finding yet Another Way into Marshfield
From Bathampton, I headed up the hill towards Marshfield.

This was the seventh time that I have approach Marshfield from the East. There are four road into the village. However, before you get to them you several options.

I think I haven’t taken the same way twice. How many more options are there?

Back in the Catherine Wheel Pub
Anyway, surprise surprise, I arrived in the Catherine Wheel in the early evening on a Friday night in June. This is eighth year in a row that this has occurred.

Some Days in Marshfield
I will post about this sometime.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmmvZgqq

Garmin Links

Great Bedwyn
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2776689237

Wootton Rivers
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2776689326

Devizers
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2785712483

London

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London
My flight from Orlando was okay, however I didn’t get much sleep.
One positive was that I didn’t have to reassemble the bicycle. All I had to do was fit the handlebars and the peddles.

I caught the train to Clapham Junction. I noticed that good number of the passengers of the train were asleep. Clearly, they had had a bad night’s sleep as well. I wonder what their reasons were.

I rode from Clapham Junction to my hosts’ place.

Staying Awake
After an all-night flight. The trick is to stay awake for as long as possible and to wake up at a ‘normal’ time the next day. This gets your body into ‘sync’ and avoids jet lag.

I spent the day sorting stuff out like getting a SIM card and confirming the arrangements for my lock-up.

In the evening, my host cooked and excellent meal – baked salmon. After the meal slept in a very familiar bed. My Fitbit told me that I had three awakenings.

Starting the Rituals Stuff
The next I headed in the West End. I will never cease to enjoy wondering around

London, particular this part of the city. It is truly the ‘centre of the world’.
One of my annual rituals is beer in the St James Tavern on Shaftesbury Avenue off Piccadilly Circus. It isn’t nearly as good as it was in the late 70’s and early 80’s when it was my favourite ‘watering hole’ on Friday night. However, I still have very good memories of the place.

Another ritual I completed a couple of days later was eating a Welsh Rarebit and Fortnum and Mason.

Lord’s Cricket
In the evening headed to the Lord’s Cricket Ground where I met up with my host. We had tickets to watch the West Indies play in a T20 charity match against an ICC International XI. The proceeds of the match went the cricket associations in the Caribbean whose cricket grounds had been damaged in the hurricanes last year.

Before the match, Chris Gayle came across to the fence below where we were sitting to sign his autograph and have his photo taken with fans.

The Windies batted first. Gayle was in terrible form and couldn’t getting going.

Fortunately, the other batsmen were in good touch and WI’s got to 199 in their 20 overs.
This was to prove too much for the International IX.

Notwithstanding the match didn’t have an exciting finish, it was entertaining. Lord’s is great place to watch cricket. We were sitting in good seats. There were a group of blokes in our row who obviously worked together. They turned out to be very good patrons for the bar. As the night went on, the conservations got more and more amusing. One of the blokes, in particular, was very quick witted and had everyone within hearing distance laughing. The more he drank the funnier he got. Some of his funniest comments were about Nassar Hussein, the former England Captain who was an ‘on field’ commentator for the match.

Bill Burr
I always like going the Royal Albert Hall. I checked out was on. Curiously there were no orchestral concerts on in the week ahead.

One of the shows that was on was a American comedian called Bill Burr. I had never heard of him. Anyway, I thought he must be good if he was on at the Albert Hall and bought a last-minute ticket on-line.

As it turned out, the ticket was in a box. The other people in the box were a couple of Americans who were visiting London for a conference and some young English blokes. They were all fans of Burr.

The show was really good. Burr has a really sharp wit. His observations of American society and politics were very incisive. I particularly like his observations on the Americans’ obsession of lauding their ‘military’. Check out the You Tube video clip. He used these comments in his show.

The Future is Here at the V&A
Another thing I like to do in London is to visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. The ‘permanent’ exhibits are always good to see.

However, the ‘temporary’ exhibitions are often a ‘stand out’. Last year they had and exhibition on Pink Floyd. It was fantastic.

This year, one of the temporary exhibitions is called ‘The Future Here’ it is about the impact of technology on our lives. It is worth a visit if you are in London.

Servicing the Bike
I took my bicycle to BikeFix in Holborn. They are able to service the Rohloff hub and always do a good job.

APECer in Town
It seems that very time I am in London there are other people I known visiting the city.

This visit coincided with a visit by one my colleagues on the APEC 2007 Taskforce. She was visiting the city on holiday from New Delhi with her husband and young son. She is working in New Delhi at the Australian High Commission.
It was great to catch up with her and to meet her husband.

Seeing West End Shows
My hosts are good value when it comes to providing advice on which West End show to see. This year they suggested ‘Tina’. This is musical based on Tina Turner’s live and music.

I was able to get a ‘returned’ ticket.

The show turned out to be really good. The girl in the lead role was particularly good.

I also managed to see ‘Wicked’. This is a very long running musical. I finally got to see it.
Another show I saw was Oscar Wilde’s play the ‘An Ideal Husband’ – a political satire.

One the stars of the show in Susan Hampshire. Who can remember her in BBBC dramas like ‘The Forsyte Saga’ and ‘The Young Churchills’ ? She is still working and is 81.

Flickr Links

London
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmgRZ6Jj

Lord’s Cricket
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmkMBuXb

Royal Albert Hall
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmn4MXNT

The Future is Here
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmmcLkES

Tina and Wicked
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmmdZpSY

Bill Burr on YouTube
Making fun of the ‘Military’