Friday 29th December. We leave for Berlin. First we take Heathrow – then we take Berlin. Slept well.
Blood Pressure 137/88. Pulse 77 We left home at 8.30 and made our way to Heathrow via the Victoria and Piccadilly lines. When we got to Heathrow we found our flight had been cancelled but we had been re scheduled onto a later one with no stop off in Dusseldorf. Rain and bad weather the culprit. As it was we left 1 hour later than we were supposed to but left in perfect weather. Sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky. Lots of planes lined up to take off. Just like cars on a road. Perfect flying conditions. No turbulence. Flight seemed over in an hour or so and finished off with a perfect landing. I was reminded that 70 years ago lots of similar flights took place – all around the same time of day - all carrying bombs. If you read Leonard Cheshire’s book he explains how relaxing some flights were. The rhythm of the engines were reassuring. They just kept going no matter what. They inspired confidence. Cool clear nights. He never seemed to have any trouble with flack. He just kept on. He almost seems to have enjoyed it. He explains it rather well. In 1971 when I left Heathrow I believe there was only one terminal. I have to admit this was the saddest day of my life. I haven’t had much sadness in my life but this was a perfect example of sadness. My memory is that it was full of Indians in native dress waiting for their relatives to arrive. Beards. Turbans. Long shirts. Etc. Lots of old people. The Government had just bought in legislation restricting entry to nonwhite people and everyone who could get on a plane was coming before it came into effect. People were at the airport hoping their relatives would be on the next plane. Or that is what seemed to me to be the case. Maybe they had already arrived and were waiting for someone to come and pick them up. Just the opposite to me. Now there are 5 terminals. All very busy. All separate from each other. We had not been in terminal 2 before. This one is for Europe and North America. When we got to Tegal we bought 7 day public transport passes. We took the bus and S Bahn. And after some adventures where I again took out my frustrations on Jenny we gained entry to our little flat which looks authentically East Berlin. Big heavy doors. Five stories high with no lift. We are on the ground floor fortunately. Thick walls. Very basic materials and furniture. Leftover floorboards. Socialist facilities. No hint of any privilege although this must have been in effect a sought after area.. We walked back up the street and had a very filling Lebanese meal after buying provisions in a supermarket. Lots of young people about. Seems to be a suburb for young people. Interesting going through immigration at Tegel. Two areas. One EU and one non EU. Of course we were in the non EU. An English woman just ahead of me in the queue was asked why she was in this queue as she was English and she replied - I thought we voted to leave. She then explained – we aren’t in the EU any more. The official just shrugged his shoulders and waved her through. Which brings up a fine point. What do ratbags like Rees Mogg do when they travel to Europe? Do they insist on going through the non EU queue? We got talking to a young German girl on the bus and when we got to Beusselstratz station I asked her if this was in East Berlin. She seemed taken aback at the question and said she did not know. The station had the look of East German austerity about it. I’m sure she did not know and hadn’t been asked the question before. It’s amazing how quickly history moves on. Thursday 28th December Last day in UK. Blood Pressure 120/69. Pulse 71 Slept well during the night. Still nothing on TV. Watched It’s Me or My Dog. A large boxer’s behavior was modified. Of course we only see the successes. I feel a bit better than yesterday. We left home around 10.45. Initially intended to go to Epping Forrest but on the way decided to go to Richmond. This was a partial mistake as when we got to Gloucester Road we were told this was the end of the line as The District Line was closed for further repairs. We had to change to the Piccadilly Line and then get a bus from Hammersmith. I went to Richmond several times in 1970. Even impressed other Australians by taking them to Richmond Park and showing them a farm the Queen owned where you could actually watch people milking cows. There were also lots of Deer in the Park. I was there the Saturday morning that Abbey Road was released. I just happened to be in a newsagents when I heard it being played over the loudspeaker. They had the BBC Saturday morning show on. Kenny Everett. Normally he would take the mickey out of any and all groups when he played new releases but on this occasion he was almost reduced to silence. He wasn’t going to make fun of The Beatles. He actually said “These Guys are geniuses”. More than once. He only spoke seriously which I had never heard him do before. He had always been funny and silly before. Always making fun of people. I stood and listened to the whole of side 2 in silence. Spellbound. I was impressed but I already knew they were geniuses. My memory of Richmond is that it was a little town at the end of the line and it had a big Park next to it which had Deer in it and at the end of the Park there was the Queens Dairy Farm. Of course it’s nothing like that now if it ever was as I remember. I didn’t mind walking then so distances mustn’t have bothered me. It’s a quite big town now. Authentic looking. Nothing looking very new. Lots of people in the street and in the Park. Lots of cars on the roads. Lots of expensive looking flats. We walked back along the river and had lunch in a Pret. Cars drive through the Park. No sign of Deer. In 1970 I’m sure I was the only person in the Park. There seemed to be lots of Deer. Not that there were many people in the village. Before I came to England I had watched The Forsyth Saga on TV and part of it was set in Richmond. I thought I had actually found where they filmed the outdoor shots. I have the slide to prove it. Or think I have. My memory is so strong yet its obvious that I don't remember everything. Richmond is much larger than I remember it. And the park is quite a way from the town. I cannot remember getting tired of walking like I did today. We got a bus from Richmond to Ealing Broadway. An interesting drive. Dark by the time we got to Ealing Broadway. Then on to Oxford Circus. Oxford Street was even more crowded than usual. Watched a TV presentation about Francis Bacon 9-10.30. Illuminating. People speaking about him in human terms. Did he like gambling or painting? Both - and probably painting more than gambling even though he claimed he didn’t. Was he a masochist? Yes. Was he the best painter of the 20th Century? Close to it. Probably was not as good as Picasso but came close. Was not as prolific as Picasso but then again destroyed a lot of his paintings. A neighbor was interviewed and said it was his job to see that paintings Francis thought were unsuitable were destroyed. They had to be cut up and burned. Photographs were taken of some of them. The neighbor says he was tempted to keep pieces of the paintings but he didn’t keep even one. He could have had a painting worth millions. He swears he didn’t anyway. I saw a lot of paintings I had not seen before. Towards the end he introduced brighter more benign colours into his work and he experimented with landscapes. The same effect as his portraits. A powerful fragment capturing the spirit of the image. I think history will judge him to be an even better painter than was thought to be when he was alive. My impression is that he is throwing back into our faces all our prejudices. Plus he could unmistakably capture the power of the person. I also think that all his so called violent figures only show peace and tranquility. Summing up our stay in London I would say I didn’t enjoy it as much as the last 2 times. Although it was interesting living in Oxford Street. We probably know as much about London now as we can. I don’t have the same feeling about London as I did 50 years ago. Things have changed. I came to London an unhappy person. I had an unhappy childhood. I was an unhappy adolescent. I was an unhappy young person. I had talked myself out of 3 jobs and I had destroyed my private life. I felt Australia was morally corrupt because of its enthusiastic involvement in the Vietnam War. I considered Australia to be monstrous even. Its actions were unforgivable. Everyone was tainted. And I didnt fit in anywhere. People considered me a freak. I was called unpatriotic. All adults looked on me with suspicion. I had no friends. I was in effect an outcast and I felt like one. I felt I had no life. So I did what young people could do in those days. I went to London. I was lucky. I went and immediately became happy. I made friends. I felt I was not considered freakish or weird. I was not an outcast. I felt London was a happy friendly place. I became a happy friendly person overnight. I felt very much at home in London. London was my town. I would have been happy if I could have lived there for the rest of my life. Now I don’t feel as if I belong there. It has changed. It’s just another place in the world. An interesting place no doubt, But it’s not mine any more. The people don’t see me as their friend. Young people are concerned with their own lives. And their lives appear to be harder than mine was when I was their age. I have got too old to be able to make friends as easily as I did in 1969. I think the Brexit vote has changed things completely. It has focused attitudes. The sad fact is British people don’t like foreigners. And foreigners who work behind counters know this. They have hardened their own attitudes somewhat – they know that they aren’t wanted. They have changed their behavior. They are not as outgoing as they were on the last 2 visits. They are hesitant. They are more suspicious. Not as friendly or happy as they used to be. London is not as happy as it used to be. Wednesday 27th December Up at 6AM. Not a lot on TV. Reduced to watching Mr. Bean and Homes Under the Hammer. Blood Pressure 140/71. Pulse 58. Raining outside. I woke up in pain during the night but I lay very still and went back to sleep. A cold takes all the energy out of your body. I worked out I would be 1 or 2 blood thinning tablets short so we had to go to the NHS. A building off Soho Square. No problems. Everyone very congenial. Got 7 tablets to tide me over. Thanks to the wonderful NHS. Lots of people in Oxford Street. There must have been a fair amount of rain early morning because there were lots of puddles in the street and I had the wrong shoes on. I didn’t exactly get wet feet but close to it. So we had to come home in order for me to change my shoes. We took the Central Line to Bank and walked to The Borough Market. Fair crowd. I had a rice Paella. Jenny had a vegetable falafel. We then walked back to The Bank of England Museum. The same as last time. I don’t believe there are any changes except for the new notes. We came home early because I was tired. I am being persuaded that 4 weeks in London is perhaps too long for someone my age. Tuesday 26th December – Boxing Day Up at 6.30 AM. Despite all the promises nothing on TV. The only thing worth watching is an ABC production Life at the Zoo. Tigers and Chimps. Depressing watching the European Parliament debate Brexit progress. Donald Trump has twittered that he has saved Christmas. Unfortunately what we have in this world is a lot of genuine idiots who voted for him. Blood Pressure 131/73. Pulse 59 I progressively got symptoms of a cold as the night went on. But I don’t feel too bad this morning. Just exhausted I guess. I should spend the day in bed. But we have Dick Whittington to go to. Emailed our landlord in Berlin. Checked out how to get from Tegel to Schonhauser Allee by public transport. We walked around a bit learning the lay of the land. Had lunch at Le Pain Quotidian. Which means The Daily Bread. It was quite good. We might go there again. It is a Belgian franchise. A step up from Pret. I think the food is better than good. Jenny has a better sense of direction than I do. Went into the Liberty Store. Very expensive. Didn’t move far from Oxford Street/Regents Street but I would have got lost if I was on my own because we came out a different door and my sense of direction had got mixed up. When we finally got to the Palladium there was a large crowd outside wanting to get in. Old Theatre. Only one gent’s toilet as far as I could see. They appear to have converted some gents into ladies. Every seat in the house taken. The show wasn’t too bad. Lots of children laughing. Julian appears to have had a recent encounter with Botox and it is fair to say he has put on some weight. Nearly falls into imitating Frankie Howard at times. Lots of people in the cast. Very elaborate costumes. Elaine Paige still has a wonderful voice. Very good ventriloquist in the cast. Tough looking athletic dancers. Nigel Havers playing himself and is made fun of by everyone. The Dame sang a song that mentions every tube station using the Can Can melody. Even Preston Road. The audience loved it. A number of audience participations. Middle aged men calling out. Lots of songs from other shows. Lloyd Weber high on the list. Some members of the audience extremely willing to take part in proceedings. Oh No You Don’t. Etc being called out. Children on stage from the audience to finish the show. One child said I saw your lips move to the ventriloquist. Only one of the chorus girls was trying to be sexy. I wont say how I know this but I am old fashioned in these matters. Believe me I notice these things. Dark when the show ended. It had been raining during the show. We watched Travel Man in Hong Kong. Actor out of Madmen was the guest. Well informed for an American. Interesting place Hong Kong – wonderful place for a holiday - but extremely expensive. But we know Hong Kong does have the highest salaries of anywhere in the world so you better be rich when you go there. We watched a quiz called Big Fat Quiz of the year. Lots of extreme swearing. Could not understand a word one of the comedians said. He won the quiz. Monday 25th December – Christmas Day. Up at 6AM. Despite being promised lots of good shows over Christmas nothing on TV. I reset the heater so it was not baking hot during the night. I can hear the rubbish men outside. Nothing stops for rubbish. They still have street sweepers here. Both men and machines. No wheely bins in this area. So you have both trucks manually emptying bins and you also have mechanical sweepers cleaning the streets. And you also have individual men sweeping the old fashioned way. Blood Pressure 127/72. Pulse 87 Talked to both James and Alex on Facetime. Very enjoyable. Alex was able to talk to James via our link. James was in Canberra and Alex was in Prahran. Jenny also talked to Pat. We walked to Oxford Street. Surprisingly there were some people in the street. I would say they are all foreign tourists. No public transport of any kind today. We walked down Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus then through Horse Guards Parade to Westminster. Lots more safety railings and bollards where people have recently been killed. I don’t think anyone could drive a car into people now on Westminster Bridge or Westminster Square. We heard Big Ben strike 12. They are allowing it to strike between Christmas and New Year. Lots of people in Whitehall. Lots of people around the Houses of Parliament. Nearly as many as what normally are. We crossed the bridge and started to walk along Southbank towards Tower Bridge. Big crowds of people. The Eye not working today. On Westminster bridge a number of groups gambling on which mug has the ball under it. The ringmaster moves the ball and 3 mugs around and you have to put your foot on which mug you think the ball is under and put up your money. A surprising number of Middle Eastern women in attendance. Eastern European or Middle Eastern men running the games. The same game used to be played outside Finsbury Park Railway Station 50 years ago. This time it’s right in the centre of tourist activity. A Pret next to the MI5 building was open. Or is it the MI6 building? Lots of tourists walking up and down Southbank. A number of eating places open and well patronized. We only got as far as Waterloo Bridge. We left home too late to walk the whole way to Tower Bridge. We had to come home for Christmas Lunch. Walked back over Waterloo Bridge. One minus about the increase in security is that you cannot pass from one side of the bridge to the other in the middle of the bridge. If you want to pass to the other side because it offers a better photo opportunity you cannot. You have to stay on one side all the way across. We walked back through Soho. Covent Garden. Shaftsbury Avenue. I admit it would be hard to learn the knowledge if you wanted to become a taxi driver. So many small streets. Nowadays however we see what appear to be Uber drivers driving around and looking at their iphones. Jenny says she has even seen a man driving looking at an ipad. We had a large Christmas lunch. I had a post lunch sleep. Missed the Queens speech on TV. Watched it on youtube. I don’t think she said as much as was speculated about. After dark I went for a walk by myself. I proved how easy it is to get lost in London. Ended up in Regents Street when I didn’t mean to. Starbucks open. Reasonable number of people in the street. Sunday 24th December Up at 6.45. Slept reasonably well. Flat is heated to excess and we cannot manipulate the heater properly. It is either hot or cold. Blood Pressure 123/72. Pulse 76 I walked up to Tesco to buy the Sunday newspapers. Not many people in the street. Pretty well all the coffee houses and restaurants are closed. Later on we walked along Oxford Street to do some shopping. Much less people in the street than normal. Found out an anomaly in the retail traders act. You can go into shops and pick out your purchases but you cannot pay for them until 11AM. We came home for lunch and then went to see Paddington 2 at the Odeon in Charing Cross Road. It was where we walked yesterday. Quite a good film but I had trouble staying awake. Charming film set in places where we have walked. Very well acted by Hugh Grant. We walked to Piccadilly Circus after the film. Lots of people in the streets. We walked home via Regent Street. I am getting to know London better than I did when I lived here. When you mostly travel by the tube you don’t know the layout of the land except for a small area around each tube station. Plus you never know north south east or west. You don’t know the distances above ground between places. Getting ready for Christmas Day. Watched a bit of the Carol Singers from Kings College Cambridge. They sang a carol we first heard in Benalla last Christmas. They sang the same carol in The Albert Hall. Neither place said what it was. We don’t know what it is called. I thought it was Australian but maybe it’s not. Also heard it being played in one of the souvenir shops. Dads Army on TV. Hadn’t seen it before. Lots of silly slapstick. Inspector Maigret on TV. High production values but very slim plot. Saturday 23rd December Up at 6AM. Absolutely nothing on TV. Problem is it takes an hour to work this out. Caught up on my emails. Blood Pressure 105/64. Pulse 75 Jenny took me for coffee at the Urinal just down the street. An underground lavatory that was closed probably in the 70’s has been converted into a coffee house. We spoke to an Australian Chef who lives in London. The restaurant where he works is just around the corner. He says as a chef he can easily go anywhere in the world and find employment. Comes from Sydney and goes home with his wife and children every year but has been working abroad for about 10 years. Checked out Brian and Gills Hotel. It is off Park Lane. Their nearest tube station is either Green Park or Hyde Park Corner. Came home and took the portrait of Regents Park to the nearest framer to be fixed. He and she were quite nice. Have a business in the middle of London. Have been there for a number of years. Know the local history. Had lunch at a Pret. We then checked out 84 Charing Cross Road and by a happy fluke found the plaque telling the story. Took Photos. Lots of people in the street. We then went to The Tate Britain. A bit better than last time. Still too many old paintings. Lots of Turners but remember you can overdose on Turner. Found one Lowry. Only one Francis Bacon. Could not find a Lucian Freud. One Hockney. I took some photos. An exhibition of Impressionist Painters who came and painted in London but I feel 19 pounds is too much to pay. Jenny says this is equivalent to what it costs in Melbourne to see special exhibitions. Afternoon tea at the Gallery Café. We got the bus back to Trafalgar Square. Was very tired by this time. Very large numbers milling around Oxford Circus. Dads Army on TV. Friday 22nd December. Woke up at 6 with my alarm but lay down again and slept till 6.50. Very sore back. Boris is in Moscow. Relations are supposed to be at the lowest ebb ever. Watched a bit of The House of Lords. Youngish woman Minister. Surprisingly young compared to other members. Her answer followed by some sort of ritual. Mace was carried out without explanation. Jenny was ill last night but is recovering. Blood Pressure 123/55. Pulse 54. We attended the Carol Singing at The Royal Albert Hall. Enjoyable. Full House. The announcer/conductor was very good. I believe he was from the Old Fashioned Music Hall show from the 70’s. Whatever he made the show. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Sang along with gusto. We had a very good voice singing behind us. Could not make out which woman it was just by looking. I don’t think I have been so close to a good voice before. One jarring point. After my comment that I thought black people especially black woman had integrated themselves into mainstream society there was not one black face in the audience. Not one. At one point two little girls danced in the front row. Everyone went ooh and aah. I could not help asking myself that if the little girls had had black skin and African hair would the audience have reacted in the same way. After that we retraced a walk I did one Friday night before Christmas 50 years ago. I will explain. On the Friday before Christmas in 1969 I left work at 5.20PM and walked to Trafalgar Square. Just on a whim. I cannot recall any particular reason. I turned right out of the front doors of Australia House and set off down the Strand. It was a memorable walk. It was cool verging on cold. Everyone was in a festive mood. Trafalgar Square already had its Christmas tree. I took note that there was a group of women singing next to the tree. When I got to Trafalgar Square I walked to the singing group and joined in with them singing Carols. Four woman in their 30’s. I just joined in. One handed me the words. Absolutely no embarrassment. I sang along with gusto. From the heart. It was magic. Innocent and pure. It summed up London for me. I could not help reflect that there was no way this could happen in Australia. We took the train to Temple and reconstructed the walk of 50 years ago. This time there were less people in the street. But they seemed more boisterous. There are more bright lights. Lots of new buildings. Not to the point where it bears no relation to 50 years ago but heading that way. The Savoy and Somerset House are still there. I’m sure there were no Theatres in the street 50 years ago. There were less people in Trafalgar Square 50 years ago. Instead of my amateur singing group there was a group of woman singing and collecting money for charity. They had some help from technology whereas my group from 50 years ago were singing solo. And they weren’t asking for money. This group had a backing tape and a conductor. But their singing wasn’t as good as the group was 50 years ago. I bumped into Mark Kermode in The Strand – literally – and he ran his case over my foot. I tried to talk to him but he wasn’t interested. He virtually ran off after apologizing. I told him I listened to him every week. He wasn’t impressed. It had no effect on him. Maybe I should write and point out how he should treat his fans. Thursday 21st December. Woke up about 7.00. Slept OK. Had a good look out the windows. Garden all around the house. Well cared for. Very English. Summer house/greenhouse. Separate garden shed. The garden has evolved to its present condition over several hundred years. Same for the house. Garden is on at least 3 levels. Is indeed in a village or hamlet. Breakfast with Chris. He had been into Petworth to pick up the newspapers. Guardian and a local paper. It’s hard to adequately explain how welcome they make you feel and the feeling of generosity that they exhibit. They are both very kind generous people. Margaret especially. This has been an amazing trip. I contact 2 people who I haven’t seen in 50 years and they both show me interest and generosity. It’s like 50 years did not exist. We are all still the same people. I am eternally grateful that we have had this experience. It is both enjoyable and good for the soul. Lots of talk about both the past and the present. Margaret explained that she is now much older than her mother was when she died. This shocks me. Margaret seems so much younger than her mother was when I knew her 50 years ago. I still feel the same as what I did when I was 24 and I presume I act the same also. But there must be some differences. I admit I look older and this will influence how people perceive me. The same with Margaret’s mother. Margaret is very much like her mother in both looks and ways. She is almost identical. Very nice breakfast. Lots of options. We could virtually have whatever we want. Very modern kitchen which they had installed when they moved in. They actually bought the house from an Australian mining magnate of some wealth. Very well appointed kitchen. Dual purpose micro wave. After a relaxing breakfast they took us on a walk to look at the village. We walked to the highest hill to get a look at the view. Could see the South Downs. The Downs are a series of unbroken hills that stretch for a substantial length. The joke is you go up the Downs. I was the slowest walker. Some things have changed in 50 years. I used to be a strong walker. I could do it all day. Age must be catching up. My lungs are not processing enough oxygen to produce the required energy for me to keep up. I also experience some pain in buttocks and hips. Too much lying about and watching TV is extracting its revenge. Chris is a keen walker. Says he walked 60 miles for his 60th birthday and 70 miles for his 70th birthday. Is planning 80 miles for his 80th birthday. I don’t doubt he will do it. We saw where they have replanted heather. There is a problem with bracken. Chris showed us the site for the proposed new Community Store. We walked round most of the village. Some large attractive houses. Quite a large school as children come from other villages. Farms abut the village. Saw a cow which appeared to be dead. I thought about climbing across the fence to check but the barbed wire was too uninviting. Chris and Margaret delivered some Christmas Cards as we walked. One pub in the village but quite a substantial size. Some impressive houses. Chris is the local Parish Chairman. This is an important post and involves a lot of work. There is a river on the edge of town with a Millhouse. We saw them both. We returned to their house for lunch prior to our leaving. They drove up to Petworth to allow us to have a good look before we got the train back to London. Petworth has a lot of Antique shops. It is known for them. All are pretty flash. We had tea and coffee at a teahouse. Had a look at Petworth Castle. A previous Lord was a patron of artists including Turner. Part of the recent Turner film was filmed there because Turner spent time there as the guest of the Lord. The current Lord is a writer. The castle is run by the National Trust. A large house. Must have cost big money to build it. I was lucky in 1969. I saw a card in the notice board next to Earls Court tube and answered it. Before I was accepted into the flat at 75 Eardley Crescent I was subjected to an interview of sorts. We all sat round the small table in the lounge/dining room. When it was coming to the end Chris advised that they were all leftists living there. I replied that I was a leftist too. Didn’t really know what it meant except I knew I was one. I was prepared to say I supported East Germany over West Germany and considered East Germany to be the home of truth and justice. But I didn’t say this. Probably just as well. I also did not say in effect I was a political refugee from Australia. Probably just as well also. In 1969 Chris was going to Imperial College. I once asked him what he was studying at that particular moment. He said he was measuring the electrical curve in kerosene. I asked him what was the material benefit of this. He told me but I cannot remember his exact words. I think he said in effect he said that all liquids have a different electrical curve so you can quickly identify what the liquid or substance is by testing its electrical curve. Or you can compare curves. Or at least I think this is what he said. Maybe he mentioned aviation fuel. They took us to Pulborough Station where we got the train back to London. What an amazing 4 days. Split equally between Denis and Chris and their wives. Wednesday December 20th. Up at 6AM. Slept all through the night without having to go to the toilet. What makes my body go from 5 times a night to not once? Watched a bit of the House of Lords debate on how they should select their members. Impressive but didn’t seem to come to any conclusion. Could not work out Tory from Labour or Lib Dem by just looking at them. The class difference has disappeared. At least in The House of Lords. Slater and Gordon have ads here on commercial TV. What a comedown. Blood Pressure 117/60. Pulse 52. We went to Carnaby Street. It has changed beyond recognition in 50 years. Gone amazingly upmarket. Part of its charm 50 years ago was its make do attitude. The shops were small but had good clothes. Modern. It had style and substance. You could safely buy stuff there. It wasn’t tacky. It was trendy in the best sense. Kevin’s friend’s record shop was very narrow and long. No longer there. Now the shops are large and clothes expensive. Only one blue plaque that I could see. The Small Faces and their Manager had an office there in the 70’s. I know that at least 3 of them are now dead. Their Manager had the reputation of being ruthless. We then went to Denmark Street. Looked in the music shops. Did not buy any sheet music although there were lots of temptations. Everything is so expensive. My natural inclination is to not spend money. Took some photos. A number of guitar shops with very expensive guitars on sale. We then went to the National Gallery. A better sampling of 19th and 20th Century paintings than last time. Still too many old paintings. Most of these paintings were produced by factory like studios. These studios could crank out paintings by the hundreds and did. If you got taken on as an apprentice you were taught to paint in a specific way. Sometimes these studios did throw up individual geniuses which produced masterpieces. I admit it. And they are easy to spot but the galleries think that because a painting is old and it is of an aristocrat then it is worth exhibiting. But it wasn’t until the 19th Century that people started to paint in order to produce real art. Things of beauty. Paintings that they individually wanted to paint and only please themselves. The number of old paintings should be culled substantially. I took lots of photos. We came home at about 4PM. At 5.30 we left and went to visit Chris and Margaret. We left Victoria for Nunhead at 6.15. Met Chris and Margaret at the station. They took us by car to their cottage at Fittleworth. Took a long time to get out of London. South London goes on forever. Traffic was not too bad and finally we got on the freeway. We had to call and drop something at a friend’s house and we more or less drove past where their children live. They have 2 children both married with 2 children each. Much enjoyable talk in the car to catch up. Chris is Chairman of his local Parish Council. They have a flat in South London as well as the cottage in Fittleworth. They look after their grandchildren at least one day a week. They come to London regularly. Chris and Denis have had parallel lives to an extent. Same kind of job. Same success. Both retired early. Both live in villages in the general area where they came from. Both have taken on public responsibilities in the village. Same kind of houses. Same number of children. Same kind of life. They took us to a local pub for tea. I had fish chowder and helped Margaret finish her pheasant. Very pleasant atmosphere. A dog in the bar. Very well dressed people drinking and socialising. Life is obviously different in England and different again in the countryside. More relaxed and I would say more respectful than Australia. No comparison to Australian Pubs. If modern day English people came to Australia they would be shocked by some Australian Pubs. If Chris and Margaret ever came to Benalla I would take them to The Farmers Arms just to see how surprised they were. Tuesday 19th December Up at 6AM. Nothing on TV except 3rd Rock from the Sun. This takes an hour to check out. But unfortunately nothing. I don’t like Pierce whatever his name is. Steve told us his grandchildren’s voices are in Hey Duggie. We will have to watch for it. One year until Crossrail opens. Blood Pressure118/71. Pulse 72. We went to Nottinghill Gate and walked to Portobello Road. It bears no relation to how I remember it 50 years ago. Back then there were second hand clothes being sold in stalls that stood in the middle of the road. We walked the length of it. Not all shops open. Could not find the shop I was looking for. Mostly tourists in the street. Not much money changing hands. Saw a blue plaque advising George Orwell lived there. We then walked Kensington Palace. Did not spot William or Harry. But the part of the Palace open to the public is quite historic. Interesting also. The guides doing the explaining are good. Queen Victoria, William and Mary and Queen Anne. The 2 Georges. All lived in Kensington Palace. Saw the room where Victoria was born. Lots of the mundane details of Royal Family life explained. All very interesting. Some certainly had their problems. One or 2 questions – what did the 2 Georges get out of the over the top ritual that had to be followed in order to come into contact with them? Clothes and cosmetics for instance? And what did the participants get out of following the procedures in order to meet the Royal Family? It’s a mystery. We saw the exhibition of Diana’s clothes. Lots of photographs. You can judge her development from her looks as to how she changed. Don’t exactly feel sorry for her but have to admit she wasn’t suited to the job. You have to feel some pity. Yet this is what she wanted to do. When she said she wanted to be a workhorse instead of a clotheshorse I thought she finally said something I understood. But why did she wait till so late in the day. Yet I admit she did some remarkable things. She sometimes acted sensibly in comparison to other Royal Family members. Stopped wearing gloves in public and allowed people including aids sufferers to touch her. Made the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family look pretty weak by this act alone. Made them look awful in fact. She also produced 2 wonderful boys who have saved the Royal Family. If not saved then rescued. The exhibition of her clothes was pretty extensive. They were certainly all well made. Some looked better on her than on the wire frame. Some definitely looked better on the wire frame than on her. I felt some did not suit her and made her look silly. Some outfits were more sophisticated than she was. I didn’t think that any except one outfit had any sexual content. They were all kind of immature. The dresses all seemed small. She was certainly slim. Bulimia works. We walked back through Kensington Gardens to Marble Arch and got a bus to Oxford Circus. Even more people in Oxford Street than normal. No carol singers. We looked in Selfridges. It was packed. We looked in the large M&S. It was packed. Have got John Lewis and H&M to see. Maybe at the Boxing Day sale. Spoke to Chris on the phone and arranged what to do tomorrow. We catch the 18.54 train from Victoria to Nunhead. Chris and Margaret will meet us and take us to their cottage in Fittleworth. Nothing on TV. Had trouble staying awake. Monday 18th December. Up at 6AM. Had to get up and go to the toilet a number of times during the night. I do not know what triggers my body to produce copious amounts of urine. I needed to go to the toilet a number of times yesterday during the walk. Not an easy thing in London. Harry reckons it is even harder in Europe but he was probably being patriotic. Australia are about to win the test and the ashes. Marilyn sent me a message on messenger which I answered. First time I have done this. Blood Pressure 97/69. Pulse 92. Maybe losing all that urine has lowered my blood pressure. Again low blood pressure and high pulse. We are visiting Steve and Mary today. 10.42 train from Waterloo to Kingston. We can use our Oyster Cards. I resolved to buy a ticket and Jenny resolved to use her Oyster Card. Kingston upon Thames. We met them at the station and started with a walk along the Thames. They come to Kingston to see their child who lives there. Nice day. Not a cloud in the sky. Lots of swans swimming. Pleasant to walk and talk. We had lunch at a flash pizza place. All except Jenny had pizzas. I had a glass of Pale Ale. It was OK. Pleasant talk of politics for a while. Steve very passionate. I started by saying that it did not make sense to have a Prime Minister and Cabinet who were against leaving the EU negotiating to leave. I said that all pro EU supporters should have withdrawn from government and handed power to the Brexiteers. I said that Theresa May would never be able to please everyone and probably not anyone. The Brexiteers have got the country into the mess and they should be made to extract the country from the mess. They agreed. Much discussion ensued. Ranged all over the place. Mary is extremely attuned to current politics. Steve less so. Steve has no praise for either Tory or Labour. Just the opposite. She is a local government candidate for the Lib Dems. Has been a perennial candidate for parliament in the past. Very nice woman. Was a long time local government councilor until the debacle of the coalition election. Took a photo and sent it to Martyn Edwards. Steve keen to hear of him. Brought him up to date as best I could. Steve has got slightly even more gregarious in 50 years. I don’t know but I think he is more gregarious now – hard to judge. He has recently been helping his friend do the ploughing. How does he stay quiet while ploughing? After we said goodbye we had a walk around Kingston upon Thames. It’s larger than I anticipated. Has a large shopping mall. Bought a shirt in an op shop. Lots of people hurrying about. Mostly Caucasians. We came home by train via Waterloo. Brought provisions at M&S. Lots of people in Oxford Street. The cost of my ticket buying it retail was 7 pounds dearer than Jenny using her Oyster Card. This does not seem fair. Or Faire. Sunday 17th December Up at 6AM. For some reason I have to set the alarm every night. I cannot work out in settings why this is so. Australia doing OK in the test match. Because it’s only shown on Pay TV not much publicity is given to the cricket and the news coverage is pretty limited. UK is testing its new aircraft carrier. Surely these mega ships are only advertising campaigns and a waste of money. North Korea can send all the big countries into a spin with a few rockets. Watched a bit of Westminster Hall. If anyone thinks the UK has not changed in 50 years they should watch this telecast. Cool nippy day. Blood Pressure 133/68. Pulse 47. We stayed in until 11AM or so. We then set out to go on a London walk The Unknown East End. We went to Liverpool Street and walked to Whitechapel tube. Had lunch in a Pret on the way. Cold wet day. Longer walk than I anticipated. Misty rain. Very London. Walked past a very large Mosque. Lots of Bangladesh shops. Finally got to Whitechapel and guess what – the bloke taking he tour was Harry – the Jewish Bloke who took the Jewish walk last time. The walk went round all the East End highpoints. The pub where one of the Krays shot someone – was it Ronnie or Reggie? The pub has been done up and now bears no relationship with the original pub – we did not go in. We saw the place where Ronnie or Reggie got back into his car after doing the shooting. We then moved on to the large bust of Mujibur Rahman which a grateful man has put in his front yard. It does look a bit like Stalin. The man who placed the bust made a bit of a fuss of our little group. I mentioned to him that in 1970 I had passed through East Pakistan just as it was becoming Bangladesh. The Awami league had won the elections but the Military would not let them take office and were about to stage a coup. The civil war erupted after I left. I related all this to him. He was impressed. Not a lot of people know these things. He called in a member of the Bangladeshi press who just happened to be present and asked me to repeat this into the camera. Which I did. I’m not sure I was good enough for TV man though. He wasn’t as impressed as the man with the bust of Mujibur Rahman. Later on we saw the building where the Russian Socialist League held its annual conference when the Party split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. It wasn’t a very large building. Just 3 stories high and not very wide. In attendance were Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin amongst others. Stalin did come to London and stayed in a shelter in the East End although it does not appear in his official history. We saw it. Apparently shared a bed with another revolutionary. Trotsky and Lenin stayed in more salubrious accommodation elsewhere. We saw Sydney Street although it bears no relation to what it was like at the time of the siege. We walked through much of the East End looking at various mosques and churches and where Synagogues used to be. At one point there were more synagogues in the East End than what there are Mosques now. The Jewish people have moved out to more up market suburbs. No synagogues now. Harry pointed out various places that had been bombed during the war including spots that were destroyed by V1 and V2 rockets late in the war. Six thousand people were killed by V1 and V2 rockets. Harry related that his family lived in the east End. His grandmother only spoke Yiddish. Never learned English. When the family moved to Stoke Newington she used to come back to the East End to do her shopping because this was where the shopkeepers all spoke Yiddish. Including apparently some of the staff of Woolworths. Which she pronounced “Voolvichs”. The family still make jokes about how she spoke. We went to The London Hospital. Harry related the story of Joseph Merrick and Doctor Frederick Treves. The skeleton is still in the hospital. The building where he had his flat is still there. Merrick died of asphyxiation. Doctor Treves died of peritonitis. We saw the Whitechapel Bell Foundry which has been in continuous operation since the 1557 and only closed down this year. The building is to be turned into luxury apartments – what else. We went to the site of the original White Chapel which was demolished during the war and was not rebuilt. The land it was on is now a Park named after a young man who was murdered in a race killing on the edge of the park. Not a large park mind you as land is on short supply in the East End. We finished up in Brick Lane which has acquired a lot of bright lights since we were last here. Saw London Artisan but didn’t buy anything. By this time it was dark. It had more or less rained all day. It was cold and we did not go into any building. I wanted to go into London Artisan and thought Jenny was telling me not to go in and I reacted badly and admonished her unfairly – again. We walked to Liverpool Street and came home via the Central Line. I had to put on my jumper when we got home as I was cold. I think the coldest I have been. Saturday 16th December Up at 7AM. I didn’t turn the alarm on. Woke up during the night and watched a show on Roy Orbison. It concentrated on his family life, his children and the tragedy in his life. Very good show although his children were always on the verge of breaking down when they spoke because of the emotion involved. But what tragedy he had. And it kind of continued even after his early death. His second wife died not long after him. Quite young as well. We tend to forget how big a star he was and how he was respected by everyone. And what good songs he wrote. And what a voice he had. The ultimate tragedy was that he died just as The Wilbury’s were reaching worldwide fame. Blood Pressure 125/69. Pulse 54. John Henderson and his girlfriend are coming for lunch. Jenny went shopping in M&S while I attempted to bring my blog up to date. She actually bought a coat that I like. Only John turned up. We went to the local café for lunch. Our English girl was not working today. Two Georgian girls there. One Syrian man. The Syrian man quite friendly. Did not think the food was as good as previous. Johnny showed us photos of his girlfriend. She can look like Astrid Kushner. They both like posing. He is working in a video graphics. He enjoys it. He seems to have integrated into London quite well. Probably better than Shelley. We came back to the flat for a cup of tea. After a short talk Johnny had to go home so we went with him. Changed at Finsbury Park to get to Manor House which is where he lives. We did not go to his house but again tried to find Kevin and Marys flat. Just maybe we did this time – we will have to stand corrected. But after much frustrations unfortunately by the time we tracked it down it was dark. I always go the wrong way and of course we went the wrong way today. And Green Lanes has many facets to it. The numbers chop and change. It sometimes becomes other street names. Anyway I have taken photographs to try and prove we got to 167 Green Lanes N16. We got chatting to a youngish bloke at the bus stop and then on the bus. He is a fan of 70’s music and was on his way to a record shop to check out the vinyl and buy his brother a record. Quite a nice person. One of the old school. We got off at Chancery Lane and walked home along High Holborn and then Oxford Street. When we got to Oxford Street the numbers of people in the street resumed their normal number. Walking along High Holburn my sense of direction changed a number of times. This goes on inside your head and you don’t realise when it’s happening. But it does happen. To me at least. Nothing on TV. Had trouble staying awake. Friday 16th December Up at 7AM. Rupert Murdoch has sold off more than half of his business. He has kept the newspapers and Fox media. The world will change when he dies. Media power will lessen – not disappear – but it will become less pronounced. No one could possibly match him in putting across a political view while selling newspapers. Blood Pressure 117/61. Pulse 50 We took the tube to The V&A to see the Winnie the Pooh exhibition. I thought it was Ok but Jenny was in raptures. Lots of original drawings. Lots of letters from Milne to Shepherd. Lots of photos of Christopher Robin. Lots of children in attendance. But lots more middle-aged women gushing over everything. Grown up fans obviously. Interesting that colour was only added to the books was when Disney bought the franchise. But I think they did a reasonable job. The colours have enhanced to drawings and made them more appealing. Previously the dust jackets only were in colour. A quick check of the rest of the museum shows that most of the displays that were there 2 years ago are still there. There is a special exhibition of Pink Floyd coming up. We had lunch at the Museum café. As we were ordering an announcement came over the PA that a fire had been reported in the building and we were to stand by. No one seemed to be bothered or concerned. Sometime later there was a further announcement that said it was a false alarm. In the same disinterested voice. Again no one seemed concerned or interested. There was absolutely no reaction from the staff or public to either announcement. We then took the tube to Russell Square to go to the Charles Dickens reading. Bought a book on Dickens by Simon Callow to read on the plane. Have previously read Callows book on Wagner which was pretty good so I am confident it will be a good read. The reading was of the last of Dickens Christmas stories and one of the most dramatic. The actor reading the short story looked a lot like Dickens. He played the all the parts – sometimes hamming it up. I had trouble staying awake. The actor would describe a scene which I would then imagine. I would then transfer the scene into a day dream and this in turn would in turn very quickly into dream sleep. I always find it very easy to fall asleep in these circumstances. I could not follow the plot anyway. Could not tell you what the story was about except I think one 84 year old man was in bed and claiming to be dying. His family and friends seemed to be coming into the room at regular intervals. We walked home using the Google Maps function on our phones. Dark about 4 PM. Danny Baker had a show about pop music in the 80’s. He tried to make it interesting but it wasn’t. Absolutely nothing else on TV. I had trouble staying awake and went to bed early. Thursday 15th December Slept quite well. Got up at 8AM. Our bedroom was in the attic. Quite comfortable. Has its own ensuite. Leisurely breakfast. Much enjoyable talk. Read Denis’s Guardian. He has enough money to live comfortably. Guardian is delivered daily with his name on it. What more establishment could you get. Later in the morning Denis took Jenny and myself for a long walk around the village. One pub. One general store. One coffee shop. One hairdresser. One pub recently closed. I felt I kept seeing actors out of English Television Dramas walking around. Everyone looked extremely stereotypical. Very typically English. When Jean and Denis changed houses and there was a period between settling both titles they lived above the pub. Their previous house was quite large and they downsized when the children moved out. Previous house was pretty flash. Looks quite large – 5 bedrooms or so. Just 2 or 3 doors down the street. He is very proud of his involvement and attachment to the area. A large horse stud has published plans to build 220 dwellings on the edge of the village. The village only has 250 dwellings. Denis is against it and is involved in the campaign to stop the project. Showed us his daughters place and her workshop where she conducts dressmaking classes. Becky is also in a Ska band with her shortly to be husband. They play professionally. She sings and plays trumpet and tuba. She has actually been to Australia on a school trip playing the tuba. She came to the house twice while we were there. Once to walk the dog – Jean cannot do it at the moment – and she came for lunch between classes. Very impressive girl and Denis loves her deeply. Jean says there is no pressure to produce grandchildren but the inference must be lurking in the background. When it came to saying goodbye to her I became quite emotional. I could not control myself. I could have known her all her life. Denis is very appreciative she has chosen to live in the village close to them. Their son Rory lives in Ireland. When the children were young and because Denis’s antecedents are Irish they kept a cottage in Ireland. They went there a lot. Rory has chosen to live in Ireland. Denis organized lunch. Much as I would. Soup and toast. Their house is a comfortable house. Comfortable kitchen. Comfortable lounge. Comfortable back yard. Easy to live in. Later in the afternoon he drove us to Lewes. Jean had to go to the supermarket anyway. I said goodbye to Jean as she went into the supermarket. Again I was emotional but kept myself in check. What an enjoyable 2 days. How amazing that it has happened. In the flat we had a natural leader, 2 intellectuals and 1 interested skeptic. I was in fact a refugee from Australia. I was lucky to meet and become friends with 3 other decent people. I liked them all. I felt at home in their company. They never patronized me. I felt they treated me with respect. In 1970 I watched England get beaten by West Germany in Mexico with a group of people in our flat. As Beckinbauer kicked the 3rd goal I exchanged glances with Denis. He gave a glance of extreme disappointment and instantly looked away. He did not want to share the disappointment with anyone. I was always teasing him about his being patriotic. I watched the BBC coverage of the Let It Be album with Denis. He was impressed to the point he was forced into silence. I was an overenthusiastic fan of The Beatles. He never admitted to anything but in this case he had to admit they were OK. He wasn’t just grudging about it – he was serious. He admired them – they were pretty good – he had to admit it. For some reason one night I was sleeping in Chris’s bed. Denis came home late after selling his newspapers. He had to get up early to sell more papers before he went to work. He had an elaborate clock alarm set up. The mechanical clock sat in a saucer and a spoon was put on the saucer. When the alarm went off quite a racket occurred. He was happy to have a conversation. He said he was thinking of moving out because he wanted some privacy. For some reason I went into a dialogue from Steptoe and Son. I was Albert and he was Harold. He understood and went along with it. Once we talked of London itself. I was surprised at how philosophical and reflective Denis could be about it. I loved London and often said so. He said he was glad he had moved to London. The place moved him. He found it inspirational. It fired his imagination. I voted in the 1970 election that Ted Heath unexpectedly won. I walked to the voting booth to vote with Denis. He was approached at the gate by a Tory functionary and Denis politely but firmly told him he would never vote for him. The Tory reacted with deep disappointment. Instantly I felt sorry for him. I realized then I had passed from biased individual to someone who identified as British. The last night I saw Denis we shared a small bottle of Bells Whisky. I took the bottle around to the flat to say goodbye. I don’t think we drank it at the flat though. I mixed lemonade into the whisky to make it easier to drink. Denis admonished me for doing this. It spoilt the ambience of the whisky he said. But he thanked me for the whisky. The goodbye did not take long. This was a most amazing 2 days. Most enjoyable. It happened unexpectedly. I never imagined it happening. On the way home at Victoria Station a choir was singing. I sang along to Fairytale of New York. Could not keep my emotions in check. So much so I could not sing. How much of it is the same as 50 years ago. Wednesday 13th December. Alarm at 6AM. Listened to the World Service for half an hour. Heard a report on the singing station announcer at Richmond Railway Station. Great news - Trumps man in Alabama has lost. Surely it’s simply an issue of getting decent people to vote. If anything is simple in America. Blood Pressure 103/67. Pulse 73. Why it is when my blood pressure goes up my pulse comes down? Some of the Murdoch commentators are extremely disappointed at the defeat of Judge Roy Moore. I don’t understand why they are convinced Trump is good for the world. Unless of course they want to see some destruction. We go to visit Denis at Lewes via Victoria. Was walking down Oxford Street to Oxford Street Circus when a bus went past marked Victoria so I suggested we should hop on. It was much slower than the tube and by the time we got to Victoria I was starting to panic that we might not catch the train. Got the tickets but they could not tell me which platform the train would be on. Also some confusion about the word Lewes. I pronounced it Lewes but of course it is pronounced Lewis. I am starting to have to ask people to say that again and they don’t like it. We arrived at 11.45 and recognized Denis without much trouble. He drove us around the town for a quick look before we started to head for East Hoathy which is where he lives. Caught up a bit on the drive. I related incidents to him which he claimed he could not recall.
There were many more incidents that stuck in my mind which I will relate later. Denis brought us up to date as to what has happened in his life. He seems to have done OK. Retired at 52 after a successful working career. Had his own business. Wife and 2 children. Has immersed himself in Village life. Secretary of the Cricket Club. Plays golf to the point where he goes on golfing holidays. Is in the Drama society. Has actually been in a Glyndebourne Production of The Mastersingers of Nuremburg as an extra. Glyndebourne is not far from where he lives. We got to his house and met his wife Jean who has recently been quite ill. But she seems OK now. Denis showed us his house and we talked to Jean. His house is just large enough for them. Very comfortable. Jean is a very nice woman. Good talker but can also listen and conduct a proper conversation. A caring sensitive woman. Does a lot of volunteer work in the village. Volunteers at the local prison crèche for instance. Is the sewing mistress for the local dramatic society. Very well informed person. Was recently suddenly taken ill and Denis says he did expect her to die. But thankfully she didn’t and has made a good recovery. Denis is devoted to her. And why not. Obviously had not met the right girl when I knew him 50 years ago. We had a drive around. He took us to the top of the downs. Windy spot but quite good view. More green grass than expected. Sheep well fed. Some unusual rather larger than normal paddocks. Denis very proud of the area. We drove through 1 or 2 nearby villages. Extremely stereotypical English. We drove into Glyndebourne itself and had a bit of a look. Could not get out of the car though as were not supposed to enter the grounds. Denis is indifferent to Opera and does not go even though he has been an extra and mimed the singing. Jean likes it and has been to a lot of productions. Had several conversations with Denis alone. Quite enjoyable. Nothing really has changed in 50 years. The 50 years time difference may not have existed. We talked quite easily. About important life subjects as well. As we used to. He still has the same political beliefs. I am sympathetic but always want to know the precise model. Is maybe even firmer in his views than 50 years ago which is surprising. Voted for Brexit. That’s 2 out of 4. I’m sure Ray voted Brexit also. Denis did it because he says he was voting against the austerity regime that has been in place for several years. His was a protest vote. I’m sure he regrets it now. As I patronized/advised - the EU is a noble concept - the EU is a definite good for the world - the leave campaign was full of untruths and exaggerations and bore no relation to reality - it was conducted by people with chips on their shoulders - none of whom should be allowed to partake in public life. A clear moral distinction existed between the remainers and brexiteers.. He politely declined to reply. We went on to talk of other things. We could always pass onto other things without any problem. Having differing views was not a problem. At night they took us to eat at a Pub in the next village. I had Venison Pie. It had no distinct taste. It tasted much as normal meat. The pub was quite old. Elm sprigs attached to the roof. Christmas lights up. I had 2 half pints of English beer. I have to admit it has improved from what it was 50,years ago.Maybe because it wasn't so good people didnt drink quite so much 50 years ago. Wednesday 13th December. Alarm at 6AM. Listened to the World Service for half an hour. Heard a report on the singing station announcer at Richmond Railway Station. Great news - Trumps man in Alabama has lost. Surely it’s simply an issue of getting decent people to vote. If anything is simple in America. Blood Pressure 103/67. Pulse 73. Why it is when my blood pressure goes up my pulse comes down? Some of the Murdoch commentators are extremely disappointed at the defeat of Judge Roy Moore. I don’t understand why they are convinced Trump is good for the world. Unless of course they want to see some destruction. We go to visit Denis at Lewes via Victoria. Was walking down Oxford Street to Oxford Street Circus when a bus went past marked Victoria so I suggested we should hop on. It was much slower than the tube and by the time we got to Victoria I was starting to panic that we might not catch the train. Got the tickets but they could not tell me which platform the train would be on. Also some confusion about the word Lewes. I pronounced it Lewes but of course it is pronounced Lewis. I am starting to have to ask people to say that again and they don’t like it. We arrived at 11.45 and recognized Denis without much trouble. He drove us around the town for a quick look before we started to head for East Hoathy which is where he lives. Caught up a bit on the drive. I related incidents to him which he claimed he could not recall.
There were many more incidents that stuck in my mind which I will relate later. Denis brought us up to date as to what has happened in his life. He seems to have done OK. Retired at 52 after a successful working career. Had his own business. Wife and 2 children. Has immersed himself in Village life. Secretary of the Cricket Club. Plays golf to the point where he goes on golfing holidays. Is in the Drama society. Has actually been in a Glyndebourne Production of The Mastersingers of Nuremburg as an extra. Glyndebourne is not far from where he lives. We got to his house and met his wife Jean who has recently been quite ill. But she seems OK now. Denis showed us his house and we talked to Jean. His house is just large enough for them. Very comfortable. Jean is a very nice woman. Good talker but can also listen and conduct a proper conversation. A caring sensitive woman. Does a lot of volunteer work in the village. Volunteers at the local prison crèche for instance. Is the sewing mistress for the local dramatic society. Very well informed person. Was recently suddenly taken ill and Denis says he did expect her to die. But thankfully she didn’t and has made a good recovery. Denis is devoted to her. And why not. Obviously had not met the right girl when I knew him 50 years ago. We had a drive around. He took us to the top of the downs. Windy spot but quite good view. More green grass than expected. Sheep well fed. Some unusual rather larger than normal paddocks. Denis very proud of the area. We drove through 1 or 2 nearby villages. Extremely stereotypical English. We drove into Glyndebourne itself and had a bit of a look. Could not get out of the car though as were not supposed to enter the grounds. Denis is indifferent to Opera and does not go even though he has been an extra and mimed the singing. Jean likes it and has been to a lot of productions. Had several conversations with Denis alone. Quite enjoyable. Nothing really has changed in 50 years. Time may as well not exist – the 50 years were irrelevant. We talked quite easily. He still has the same political beliefs. I am sympathetic but always want to know the precise model. Is maybe even firmer in his views than 50 years ago which is surprising. Voted for Brexit. That’s 2 out of 4. I’m sure Ray voted Brexit also. Denis did it because he says he was voting against the austerity regime that has been in place for several years. His was a protest vote. I’m sure he regrets it now. As I patronized/advised - the EU is a noble concept - the EU is a definite good for the world - the leave campaign was full of untruths and exaggerations and bore no relation to reality. He politely declined to reply. We went on to talk of other things. At night they took us to eat at a Pub in the next village. I had Venison Pie. It had no distinct taste. It tasted much as normal meat. The pub was quite old. Elm sprigs attached to the roof. Christmas lights up. I had 2 half pints of English beer. Tuesday 12th December. Up at 6AM. Coldest night of the year. But we were snug. Listened to the radio for a few minutes and heard a hypnotist interviewed who treated Sadam Hussein’s son. Amazing. Sam Dastiari has resigned from Parliament. Not a wise move as far as I am concerned. He should have stuck it out. Sadiq Khan has released a policy manifest of sorts where he says he will build more public toilets. Fantastic. There is definitely a lack of public toilets in London. We should have sued the IRA into Liquidation when they started blowing up public toilets. Blood Pressure 144/74. Pulse 57. We go to Oxford today. No problems in getting to Paddington by 8.21. I got told off for walking through a restricted area. The gate was opened and it led to platform 4 so I went through it. Did not see the sign. I was looking at the train timetable which was not easy to read. Sunny day but extremely cold. Train impressive. Modern and comfortable. Saw lots of snow covered paddocks. Very white snow shining in the sun. At Oxford within the hour. Jenny’s ticket did not come out of the gate and I was suspicious of the return tickets so I consulted the man in charge. It turned out the tickets were not return tickets. I bought them on line in Australia and from the start I should have been suspicious. I had $111 deducted from my bank account to pay for them and this is about all contact I had with the firm selling the tickets. The total cost was supposed to be $72. In the end the man in charge felt sorry for me and issued us with a voucher that would allow us to return to Paddington in the late afternoon. Said he had been well treated when he went to Australia. We took the hop on hop off tourist bus around Oxford. Probably overpriced. Should have walked but it was freezing cold. It was warm on the bus and when the sun shone directly through the bus window it was enjoyable. Lots of colleges. Lots of churches. Lots of tourists. Lots of mushy snow. The canal was frozen though. Playing fields of Oxford covered in snow. Because we were on the bus we could not get photos which was a pity. Went to the Bodleian Library and The Ashmoleum Museum. Bodleian is interesting but security tight. Warm inside building. City is smaller than I expected. Well the university part that is. I know there is a manufacturing town which is separate and has no contact with the university. Must be very enjoyable to live in the university part. More colleges than I anticipated also. Learned much about the place I did not know before. And what they do. It’s simpler than I thought. People apply to go to Oxford and they are allocated a college. Colleges don’t specialise. People can study anything. Lectures are done in lecture halls. Tutorials are done anywhere. There is one college that doesn’t even have students. Everyone there is doing post graduate pure research of their choosing. Got the 4.31PM train back to Paddington. We bought provisions at M&S. Not much on TV. Monday 11th December Up at 6 AM. Listened again to the Shipping forecast. The announcers certainly give the impression of enjoying what they do – practicing their pronunciation. Reading endless weather forecasts that are all the same except for the location. Not much on TV. But I can easily waste time fiddling on the computer. Blood pressure 134/72. Pulse 55. Cold day outside. Misty rain. We walked along Oxford Street to Bloomsbury Street and went to buy Daisy a card at the bookshop Jenny had previously seen. Turned out to be The Young Socialist Bookshop and the Socialist Worker is still on sale. Still looks the same as 50 years ago but has moved with the times and is in colour. Bought a copy for Denis. One of the first memories I have of him is him telling his girlfriend that he had to give her up because he was giving up his life to The Socialist Workers Party and this involved him in spending most of his spare time in selling the Socialist Worker. She had a look of disbelief on her face. He did stick at it for about 6 months. There was light rain as we walked along and very cold. I cannot remember it being this cold. Because it was so cold we went into a Primark and of course bought something. I never know what to buy Chloe. I bought her 2 bangles. I hope she likes them. For lunch we went into a Korean Fast Food place. It was quite good . The receptionist felt the need to warn me that it was spicy. I didn’t have the wit to ask if I looked that Australian. Intermittent snowing as we ate. We were early and the place filled up as we ate. Would like to go there again. They have unusual not seen before seats which might be Korean. Came home for a cup of tea and the Landlord has sent me an email telling me he is in London today. He almost immediately called around to pay for the aerial. Very nice person. Used to live in this flat. Said they were the best 2 years of his life. Now has 2 small children and lives in Surry. We walked up the street to get supplies from M&S. Definitely dark by 4.30. Warm inside the flat. Sunday 10th December. Up at 6AM to watch some old TV. On the Buses. Third Rock from the Sun. Sweeney Todd. All very enjoyable. Read the Sunday Papers at leisure. Cold nippy day. No rain. Blood Pressure 139/70. Pulse 57. Walked to Tesco’s to buy a Guardian. It started snowing as I walked out the door. Not a thick blanket but enough to say it snowed. I had snow adhering to my jacket by the time I got to Tesco’s. Took some photos. We watched it snowing out the window for some time. Took some photos. Enjoyable. Not exactly a white Christmas but heading in that direction. We walked along Oxford Street to Bloomsbury Street. Some snow hitting the ground. Jenny found her bookstore but it was closed. We got on a bus to Victoria just for the sake of it. Took us through Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. Had a bit of a look at a new shopping mall at Victoria. Well new to me. Victoria has changed out of all recognition over 50 years. Came home for lunch via the tube. In the afternoon we took the tube to Brixton. Had a bit of a look around again. Definitely more light skinned human beings here this time than last time. Probably even more light skinned than dark skinned in total. How demographics change. The area is being swamped by whites. What would Pauline say? Disgraceful. We must stop it somehow. Took the bus to the Horniman Museum. Quite a long ride. Went through Woolwich and Dulwich. Went past Dulwich School. Saw the playing grounds where P G Wodehouse would have played cricket. More snow here. White fields. White front yards. Mushy snow on the footpath. The snow covering the playing fields is a bright white and quite attractive. The Museum has lots of stuffed animals. Some of them looking worse for wear. The Australians look decidedly dodgy. A full size Dodo on show. A detailed story of its tragic life attached. Did not take much to send it extinct. Extensive grounds outside. We came back by bus to Victoria. And then by the tube. Well and truly dark at 4.30. Unfortunately as it was dark we could not pick out any landmarks on the way. It was cold today. I admit it. Lots of news about the snow in London on TV. Not much on TV. If anything it’s not as good as I thought it would be. It’s entertaining but not as good as it was 50 years ago. Maybe its spread thinner. Saturday 9th December. Woke up at 6AM. Watched TV for an hour or so. Went and bought The Times and came home and read it cover to cover. Blood Pressure 117/63. Pulse 61. We went to Brixton to check it out. Much the same as last time but I would say the demographic has changed. There are definitely more Caucasians walking around than last time. No singing Jehovah Witnesses though. do Jehovah Witnesses celebrate Christmas? I bought a Louis Farrakhan Newspaper. I didn’t take the chance to say that I was a supporter of Malcolm X to the young man selling. I wish I had. I did ask him what it was all about. He gave an explanation that included telling the truth and some other clichés. The paper is interesting in that it does have some straight news about various places in the world. But it mostly lauds the speeches of Louis Farrakhan and Elijah Muhammad. Less children in evidence in the street. Maybe we came a different time of day to last time. The Market itself is slightly more upmarket. Same high class looking restaurants. Saw a new type of shop. You go to a large index and pick what you want and then order it on line and the goods are delivered to this point. They also offer 2 months interest free credit terms. But if you transgress the interest charges are 29% per day from the date of purchase. The pop up area is now covered in and has obviously gone upmarket. Night time disco etc. Same eating places and much more comfortable eating area. We got the bus back to Liverpool Street and walked to The Barbican. You have to walk through what should be called The Barbican Tunnel. We took an Architectural Tour of the complex. All of it outdoors and very cold. I was uncomfortably cold for most of the time. But the tour was educational and given by a passionate girl who we presume was German. I was slightly ill informed about the place previously. I thought it was the post war Labour government’s attempt to provide an example of socialist living. But not exactly true. It was built because the City of London was in danger of losing their member of parliament because the population had dropped so much during the war. It did have elements of social experimentation in it. But essentially it was a deal between Westminster and The City of London that a housing complex would be built by the City. Planning started in 1948 but it was not finally finished until 1982. It was not designed as public housing and each unit was individually leased. In the 80’s along with all other social housing the leases were sold to tenants. There was no conventional public housing as in council flats. People had to pay. However it had a strong utopian element built into the planning and was built in the brutalist style. They were unashamed about this. If you want to joke about it you can ask whether it influenced soviet style building or whether soviet style building influenced it. There are lots of concrete. Lots of levels. The young woman doing the tour was very passionate in explaining the reasons behind the concept. The whole area was raised to the ground during the blitz. It was 35 acres of completely open ground. The City needed the building and they had money to pay for it. The Architects made it their life’s work. The driving philosophy was beauty and functionality. They did try to provide the perfect life for the people who lived here. Whether they achieved their aim is debatable. It’s a lot of concrete. Not a lot of flowers. Lots of levels. It’s pretty brutalist. But from the limited number of people I saw who now live there they appear to be happy. And not all rich. In knew of it in 1970 and took an interest in it although I never came to look at it. But I was curious as I was with all social experiments. It had completely fallen into disrepute and was derided by the Tories as the perfect example as to how social experimentation could go wrong. How socialism simply does not work. Jokes were made on TV about living there. Film was often shown showing how alien the place looked. What not to do. If they wanted to illustrate Orwell’s 1984 they always showed film of The Barbican. How easy it was to get lost on its various levels. How crazy it could make you just by living there. How windy it was. Etc. However after they sold it to the public in the 80’s they built an arts centre and this has resurrected the whole area. The price of apartments is in line with all real estate prices. Everyone wants to live there now. We had lunch at The Barbican. Sandwiches and orange juice. We sat and looked out the window. The sun was out but as per usual I can make no sense of it. It’s always in the wrong place and goes the wrong way. East is always in the west. We had afternoon tea at The Barbican. We went to a free showing of an Art Installation at The Barbican. Five screens showing film while a new symphony played in the background. A silent film accompanied by a Symphony. Not sure what the film was actually about. It wasn’t too bad. We watched all the way through. We walked to the nearest tube. Cold and dark by 4.30. Sunday 10th December. Up at 6AM to watch some old TV. On the Buses. Third Rock from the Sun. Sweeney Todd. All very enjoyable. Read the Sunday Papers at leisure. Cold nippy day. No rain. Blood Pressure 139/70. Pulse 57. Walked to Tesco’s to buy a Guardian. It started snowing as I walked out the door. Not a thick blanket but enough to say it snowed. I had snow adhering to my jacket by the time I got to Tesco’s. Took some photos. We watched it snowing out the window for some time. Took some photos. Enjoyable. Not exactly a white Christmas but heading in that direction. We walked along Oxford Street to Bloomsbury Street. Some snow hitting the ground. Jenny found her bookstore but it was closed. We got on a bus to Victoria just for the sake of it. Took us through Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. Had a bit of a look at a new shopping mall at Victoria. Well new to me. Victoria has changed out of all recognition over 50 years. Came home for lunch via the tube. In the afternoon we took the tube to Brixton. Had a bit of a look around again. Definitely more light skinned human beings here this time than last time. Probably even more light skinned than dark skinned in total. How demographics change. The area is being swamped by whites. What would Pauline say? Disgraceful. We must stop it somehow. Took the bus to the Horniman Museum. Quite a long ride. Went through Woolwich and Dulwich. Went past Dulwich School. Saw the playing grounds where P G Wodehouse would have played cricket. More snow here. White fields. White front yards. Mushy snow on the footpath. The snow covering the playing fields is a bright white and quite attractive. The Museum has lots of stuffed animals. Some of them looking worse for wear. The Australians look decidedly dodgy. A full size Dodo on show. A detailed story of its tragic life attached. Did not take much to send it extinct. Extensive grounds outside. We came back by bus to Victoria. And then by the tube. Well and truly dark at 4.30. Unfortunately as it was dark we could not pick out any landmarks on the way. It was cold today. I admit it. Lots of news about the snow in London on TV. Not much on TV. If anything it’s not as good as I thought it would be. It’s entertaining but not as good as it was 50 years ago. Maybe its spread thinner. Friday 8th December. Up at 6AM. Watched TV for an hour. There will be no hard border with Ireland. Apparently it is going to be cold today. Blood Pressure 119/74. Pulse 73 Went and bought a paper. The Daily Telegraph today. Read it and watched TV for 3 hours. Then had a snooze. Might as well be home. Still I feel pretty fit. I don’t feel 72. We did a little shopping before we left for the day and when we went outside we had a beggar right outside our front door. Caucasian of Middle Eastern appearance. Begging with his hand outstretched. Whining in a sing song voice. Couldn’t tell if he was crying or pretending to cry. I didn’t give him anything. Resolved to give him some change when we returned from shopping but when we came home he was gone. There are a number of beggars in the streets. All of them seem to be doing it hard. Some have dogs. One man had two dogs. I think that the public have become harder in their attitudes since we were last here. Well I’m convinced of it. The Brexit vote has hardened attitudes considerably. To buskers as well. I have checked their begging cups and none have much money in them. As inflation has run riot these last few years I cannot see anyone living off the fat of the land when begging or busking. Coins have no value. You need notes to survive. We got simcards for our phones from our local O2 outlet. We now have UK phone numbers. Mine is 07934 752100. We went to the café near here run by the same two girls as last week for lunch. Had the same lentil soup. Excellent again. They have lots of food for a very small café. Only a few tables and chairs. But very well decorated. Lots of atmosphere. We then walked to Hyde Park exploring all the way. Passing through many streets that we have seen mentioned in novels. Wigmore Hall. Walked down Harley Street. There are a lot of Doctors. Finally came to Hyde Park and inspected the Winter Wonderland. Larger than expected. Security at the gate to get in. Once inside you could walk where you want but we did not find the ice sculptures. Asked one of the attendants but he didn’t know. I asked him where the toilets were and he didn’t know this either. I must say the fairground rides are more dangerous looking that what used to be at the Wangaratta Show. So much bigger than in the past. Some look very dangerous. Went very high up in the air. Not a lot of people riding on them. Not that there was a lot of money changing hands in the food stalls either. The theme of the eating area was Bavarian. Lots of people there. Probably all tourists from Europe. Will they still come after Brexit? After that we walked along Park Lane to Marble Arch and saw a bus going to Finsbury Park so we got on it. It took us through Piccadilly Circus and up Shaftsbury Avenue. I thought Finsbury Park was further out. But it was well worth taking the bus. When we got to Finsbury Park of course I did not recognize anything. Only the tunnel leading in to the underground and the above ground station on the hill above. But nothing else. I used to get the bus to and from Muswell Hill at least once every day but don’t know where the bus stop actually was. I cannot remember for the life of me. It looks completely different. I remember grass but there’s no grass anywhere on show now. I remember getting out of the train and the bus was always waiting. Day or night. Just across the road. It’s not like that now. There seem to be many more buildings. Certainly more than I can remember. There is a very busy road outside the station which includes a bus station. But it’s not unusual for me to have forgotten things. There is a church right next to Australia House that for the life of me I cannot remember being there. We had coffee and tea at a Pret. I could not find anyone over 60 to ask why everything looks so different. Came home via the Victoria Line. Only took about 5 minutes. Lots of people in Oxford Street. Jenny took a video. Dark by 4.30. It is disorienting. Makes you think it’s time for bed. I like it. I went and had a drink at the pub next door. Conventional clientele inside. Mostly men but some woman. All in their 30’s I would say. Nice atmosphere. Everybody happy. Beer wasn’t too good. I had trouble finishing half a litre. Thursday 7th December. Woke up at 5.30AM with intense pain in my right hip. Could not get back to sleep. My iPhone alarm went off at 6AM and I got up. Blood Pressure 113/70. Pulse 79. President Trump has recognized Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel. Dare I say it - probably a good thing? What am I doing agreeing with Trump? I went and purchased a new aerial and it appears to work perfectly. Except I cannot get BBC1 or BB2. But can get lots of other channels. Nippy day. A bit of a mist in the air. I have advised the landlord I have bought a new aerial. Jenny went to M&S to buy supplies while I sorted out how to use the TV. We went back to Notting Hill Gate to look at the old Stationmasters Cottage where we stayed when we first came to London. It has been done up obviously. Jenny says it is listed in Airbnb. Notting Hill Gate is much the same although some shops have shut. The wine merchant has closed. The homemade food shop has gone. Jamie Oliver’s Restaurant has gone also. The Fish Restaurant is still there. If I was generous I would go and eat there. We had lunch in a Pret. Much the same as yesterday. Very healthy soup. Sat and watched the traffic and people go by. Saw 2 really old people - one male one female – they weren’t together. Something highly unusual. We took the tube to The Natural History Museum. I bored Jenny by relating to her how I once jogged the whole length of the tunnel corridor without seeing one other human. Maybe I exaggerate slightly. But I did jog the full length and I didn’t see too many people. I thought it would make a good subject for a film. I did not jog today despite her invitation that I do so. I sat down at every opportunity. 50 years makes a difference. I thought when we came to London I would simply take up where I left off. Queue to get in. Thousands of European tourists. Once inside it was OK. Saw a model of a blue whale which they now admit is slightly larger than the real thing. Even so it’s surprisingly large. Lots of photos of it being hunted and what they did with the products they extracted from its body. Hints that Russia and Norway are still killing them. Awful grisly photos showing the whales being led to their slaughter. Human beings used to think it was good sport. I know – I grew up in that sort of society. Unfortunately it still exists within a certain element in Australia. I think it’s entirely appropriate that the Blue Whale as a species has said “seeing you have tried to destroy me I will follow my collective unconscious and commit suicide by not reproducing”. Which is what it appears to be doing. It is not reproducing like the rest of the whale population is. Its numbers are simply not increasing. Mysterious but perfectly understandable as to why not. Lots to look at - but again – too many people. We came home by bus. Got caught in a traffic jam. Was stopped for 45 minutes. I kid you not. It was dark when we finally got going and because we were late the bus route was terminated early. This often happens apparently. Thankfully it was at Vauxhall. The bus was supposed to go through to Elephant and Castle. Left the Museum at 4.30. Did not get home until 6.15. On the bus for over 1 hour. Still it’s an adventure and we were not in any hurry. We experienced at first hand peak hour travel on the tube. Watched the news at 6.30. Later we watched Timothy West and Prunella Scales sail down the Welsh canals. We saw them when we were here last time sailing the English Canals. Still in perfect sunshine. Who says it rains in England. She has aged a bit over the past 2 years. Of course now that we have TV there is not much on. Jenny turned the heating down manually. Doing it digitally doesn’t seem to work. We needed to have a blanket on us for the night. Wednesday 6th December. Woke up at 5.30AM. Still have the hot pain in my right hip. The alarm on my phone is now working properly. Christine Keeler has died. Poor woman. Tragedy personified. Blood Pressure 125/66. Pulse 46. We made it to the bus by 8AM. But much panicking along the way. Walk to Oxford Circus not factored in. Once at Victoria we find there are several bus stations. Depending on where you come out of the Underground you can be a long way from where you want to be. All this contributed close to one genuine nervous breakdown. Not saying who. However we got there. Buses are getting closer to an airplane in concept. The driver’s area looks like a cockpit. Seats are much the same. Earplugs on the seats. Video screen attached to the seat in front. Very limited leg room. We seemed to be heading the wrong way – as per normal I was turned around. Went past Heathrow and Staines – or was it Slough. I had time to almost read The Times all the way through. Enjoyable. Not as good as it was 50 years ago but still better than most papers. I thought Stonehenge was closer to London. Does not look like winter. Plenty of lush green grass. Finally got to the Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Immediately took the shuttle bus to Stonehenge. Still surprisingly interesting. You cannot go up to the stones. You are roped off and walk around a circle set well back from the stones. You can get to touch the stones only if you do the rather more expensive night tour. Lots of information on plaques. The place is now owned by English Heritage. It’s surprisingly tasteful. We had several changes in the weather. Including a burst of sunshine. Made the place look much more attractive. A fair crowd in attendance. Most were tourists. Mostly from Asia. We talked to a young couple who were from Minnesota. I remarked that Fargo is set in Minnesota and it looks exceedingly cold. Lots of black humour about the snow and ice. I don’t believe they knew what I was talking about. But they were young and probably do not watch conventional TV. Had a fair amount of metal attached to various parts of their bodies. The visitor centre was OK. Gave lots of explanations. Plenty of examples etc. They have built some huts purporting to be similar to the buildings that housed the workers who built Stonehenge. Stonehenge wasn’t built in a day. So maybe the workers were not always there. The fact is no one knows who or why or how Stonehenge was built. Did the Druids build it? Maybe. Probably. They lived surprisingly sophisticated lives. We could change places with them without too much changes to our lives. Not much has changed in the life of humans over 3000 years. They do agree on where the stones came from. A long way away. There is one large piece of rock cut into shape with a sign attached daring anyone to try and move it. They have even gone to the trouble to put it on rollers to make it easier for whoever tries. It takes 100 strong men to move it just a fraction of a centimetre. We talked to a volunteer who recently returned from several years in Australia. Served in the Australian Army. He had some contract he said. Served in Sydney, Darwin and Canberra. I didn’t ask him how come he was able to return to the UK after he had served in a foreign army. We had a cake and cup of tea at the Visitors Centre café. Quite good. Finished reading The Times on the way back. Just like 50 years ago. Takes all day to read it. I felt totally attuned to The Times 50 years ago. It could have spoken for me. It did speak for me. I totally identified with it. I read it happily from cover to cover without hitting one jarring note. Totally immersed in it. I felt it was speaking to me. It was at my intellectual level. Or I was at its intellectual level. Do you get the picture? It reinforced all my political feelings and prejudices. The current paper is enjoyable but unfortunately it is owned by Mr. Murdoch and I cannot see through my prejudice. I don’t trust him to be unbiased even though the paper says it is. The format is essentially the same. The writing is good but does not seem to be as deep. I could be totally unfair. It’s always said that you cannot compare era’s with era’s. That was then – this is now. It can never be the same. Maybe we should be grateful to Mr. Murdoch for keeping The Times alive. Even if he does use it to bolster his own status. We got off the bus at Gloucester Road. Went to a Pret and had a soup with bread. Jenny had a long subway like stick of bread and meat and salad. She said it was excellent. We took the tube to Paddington to see if I could arrange our tickets for next Tuesday. I didn’t have the correct papers but the man did me a favour and arranged for the tickets to be printed. I had arranged and paid for the tickets via the internet before we left and the firm I used do not even have an office in London. Just as well we did a recce. We came home via the tube and walked looking for a firm called Maplins to see if we could get a new aerial. We walked to Soho without success. Lots of people about. But we did find a smaller shop and they directed us to where Maplins are in Great Portland Road. The landlord has given us permission to put a new aerial in. I think I inadvertently made a racist remark to the shop assistant at Maplins. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was hurt and considered me a conservative racist Caucasian who in turn considered him to be alien to England. He pointed out he was British born and raised even though he had an unusual accent. After I had said I was Australian I said I was more British than most English. Stupid thing to say and I know he took it the wrong way. I tried to explain that I was 70 years old who went back to Empire days. Even more stupid thing to say. Probably made it worse. People like him must get sick of being considered alien when he feels as English as anyone. He did look Indian but this is no excuse. Maybe not as many people in the street as last night but still too many people. Where do they come from? It’s worse than China. Britain will soon have to bring in the one child policy. Perhaps Brexit will make it possible. Denis Drinan has said we can visit next Wednesday and stay the night. Tuesday 5th December. Woke up very much alert during the night. I guess this is a perfect example of jet lag. Listened mainly to Radio 2 and Radio 4 and The World Service during the night. Scanned the whole spectrum. All pretty good. There is also commercial talkback similar to Australia with similar sentiments expressed. I actually listened to the shipping forecast. Or is it called the Shipping News. I can see why they make jokes about it. The announcer should get bored but appears not to. Up at 6AM. Blood Pressure 141/74. Pulse 57 Brexit Vote in the news. Northern Irish border the problem. DUP have reneged on their deal with the Tories. Lots of Northern Irish people interviewed. Is there a less attractive accent in the world? I thought that when the class system was demolished then accents would go as well. But they haven’t. Why? What makes people have accents? Especially unattractive ones. They must go eventually. You think the Irish are held back by not being the smartest people in the world but then you come across the Northern Irish and you don’t know what to think. They seem determined to be stupid. Unfortunately they aren’t smart enough to comprehend this. Still no TV. What do you do when you are awake and fully alert in the middle of the night? Left home about 9.30. Cold nippy overcast day. Not really cold though. 50 years ago I mainly wore shirt and jacket. Never an overcoat. Its still the same. Lots of young people hurrying to work. The place is different than 50 years ago. The young people are richer for one thing. They easily spend money on coffee and cake. They look much more sophisticated also. I felt completely attuned to them 50 years ago. Not so much now. Went to Charles Dickens House. Booked to attend a reading of Dickens work. Did a bit of reading in the bookshop/gift shop. Several books worth buying. A sympathetic book by Simon Callow. I will buy it and read it on the plane. We went by tube to Russell Square. This is where I stayed the first night I came to London. It also looks different to 50 years ago. We then had a fair walk to Dickens House. After that we went to St Paul’s. Took the bus. I am trying to travel as much as we can by bus. You get a better idea of the layout of the land – dimensions – distances – etc. We were trying to get tickets to a free performance of Handel’s Messiah. No luck. All tickets were sold out the day it was announced but we were advised if we came at 5.30 on Sunday and queued we might get in. We did gain entry to inside the Chapter House which was interesting. Went there to ask about tickets. Saw a painting of the Fire of London showing the fire before it got to St Paul’s. I have seen the painting in history books. This was the original painting. Over 500 years old and in good condition. Colour’s surprisingly good. Bright. Very good details of London Bridge and the old St Pauls before the fire got to it. The bridge did not get burnt but the fire came right up to it. They must have been able to somehow stop the fire coming onto the bridge. I suppose they would have had access to enough water from the river to stop it. Then bridge was made of wood and in parts was 2 stories high. People lived on it. Apartments above the shops. Interesting that after the fire they changed the local building regulations and all buildings after that had to be fire proof. Or were supposed to be. Certainly the new St Paul’s is made of stone and concrete. The Chapter House is stone with Brick Veneer. In Paternoster Square they have 2 table tennis tables set up. Jenny insisted on playing and got an Italian Women tourist to take our photos. But it was too windy so we did not play for long. A big Christmas Tree being set up. It is interesting to reflect that in the same place – and all of England for that matter – just a few hundred years ago all Christmas celebrations were banned. If we could recreate Cromwell’s day it would be exceeding interesting. We then had a long walk to The Barbicon Centre. We wanted to check out the free tours they have. Big crowd there. Some kind of academic graduation ceremony. Lots of young people in gowns and mortar boards. A slash of purple in their gowns. Does this mean anything? Both sexes and right across the heritage range. Lots of proud parents and grandparents having their photos taken with the graduating pupil. Lots of congratulatory handshakes. We had lunch in a Pret. It took us some time to find one. Normally they are pretty thick on the ground but this area is devoid of them. I had Chicken Soup and shared a bread stick with Jenny. They have a new innovation since we were last here – a half size soup - and she had one. After that we walked to the London Museum. Some changes since we were last there. But walked through all of it. The Roman history is the most interesting. The Romans were here for more than 400 years remember and the Brits tried to obliterate all of it. They hated foreigners as much then as they do now. More Victorian clothing items etc than last time. I would have thought that they would have made a special exhibition of television but no. Just a small screen showing an obscure children’s show. 50 years ago whilst there was less television than now some of it was better. There was rubbish on television 50 years ago believe it or not but there also was television that was so good it would easily beat anything on today. Young people hate me saying this but it’s true. We came home by bus. This was extremely enjoyable as the route was along High Holburn – the road seemed wider 50 years ago – I didn’t recognize anything – but the route took us past Australia House. I looked in the window where I used to work and there were 2 people in there. But this was the whole room – there were 20 or so when I worked there. The front door appeared to be open also. Went over Waterloo Bridge to Waterloo Station. Saw the Thames for the first time this trip. Came home via the Bakerloo line. No problem getting a seat. Went to M&S to buy some instant coffee. Dark at around 4.30. We had had enough of walking so came home and did not go out again. We have an interesting looking pub just two doors down we must visit. And there are lots of authentic looking eating places – a Skandi Noir – our English place run by the two girls previously mentioned. Our landlord has given me permission to go and buy a new aerial. Denis Drinan from the flat at 75 Eardly Cres has contacted me. Did a fair bit of walking today but I think I am getting fitter. Not so tired or sore. Had a few breaks from continually walking though. If I have a break I normally get a second wind. Monday 4th December. Slept through to 7.30. Intense pain in the right hip forced me to get up. Blood Pressure 130/62. Pulse 54. I have to get my phone alarm working. Overcast nippy day. Temperature about 8 Celsius. Not really cold. Did not wear jumper. We have some currency left over from our last trip that has been made redundant and we had to go to the Bank of England to get it changed. Would only change notes. Would not change coin. Said we should go to Tesco’s of Kensington where they will accept coins. Cannot believe that it’s so difficult to get it changed to acceptable currency. You would think the Bank of England would feel responsible. No explanation as to why this is. Modern thinking. Modern living. We then went to the Information Centre at St Paul’s. Saw a German girl named Doris. She spoke excellent English. Very wide vocabulary. How do people become so proficient in a second language? I would like to know. I complimented her on her language and asked her why she was called Doris. Not exactly a German name. She said she didn’t know but her parents must have liked British names – her sister is called Linda. We booked a trip to Stonehenge for Wednesday. More expensive than I anticipated. I hope it’s worth it. 50 years ago it was free. Stonehenge was situated in the middle of a paddock. Suddenly you saw it when driving along the road. Small carpark on the side of the road. A middle aged man was on hand to explain things. I thought he did a good job. Didn’t even ask for money. Maybe he asked for a donation. Cannot remember – but I do remember his enthusiasm and sincerity in telling the story of Stonehenge. And what he said. Where the stones came from. There is an outside ring of stones buried underground. There are other rings of stones in other parts of the country. No one knows why they are where they are or what their purpose is – except for aligning up with the summer solstice. A genuine amateur. Maybe he held out his hand for payment. But then we knew the value of money. Nowadays he would not be allowed within 1 mile of the place. From there we went to the Physic Garden at Chelsea. Took the District Line to Sloan Square and walked. Further than I thought. The map showing how to get there is not to scale. Interesting selection of plants cultivated for medicinal purposes. One small section of Australian Plants and some explanation of how aboriginals used them. Some were good for skin irritation. Others for removing fungus growth. Had lunch at the café. Excellent food. Great salad. All ingredients grown onsite. We returned to Victoria Bus station by bus. The bus passed us when we were 50 metres from the bus stop but the driver saw us attempting to run and waited for us. Made a joke of it. We made a recce for Wednesday to Victoria Bus terminal. Saw where the bus leaves. Had a walk around to check the place out. I once arranged to meet a friend on a Saturday afternoon at Victoria Terminal. Neither of us had been there before. No idea there would be so many people there. I knew she would have trouble finding me so I sat up on a window sill high above the crowd. The place was new then. The Victorian Line had just been completed. There was no roof over the bus terminal. Nevertheless there were a lot of people there but my friend had no trouble finding me. I thought I was clever. Now Victoria Terminal has a roof and a shopping mall is included. If you didn’t know the place you couldn’t say I’ll meet you at Victoria terminal without your friend having some trouble finding you. We came home via the Victoria Line. Went to Marks and Spencer’s to get things for tea. Home by 4.30. Getting dark. Both of us tired. I am without any energy whatever. To bed at 8PM. No problem going to sleep. Sunday 3rd Dec 2017. Woke up at 5.30. Blood Pressure 110/76. Pulse 76. Still no TV. Can get one channel that shows continuously Murder She Wrote and two other shopping channels. Cold overcast day. Mist in the air. No rain. Cannot see the sun so don’t know north from south or east from west. This is the disturbing thing about London in winter. You can never find your bearings. Growing up in Australia means you always know where north is by just looking at the sun. I had this problem 50 years ago and still have it. I don’t know in which direction to walk when I come out of the tube. I wore a jumper and scarf and I got too hot. We walked to Regents Park. Some people jogging. All ages. All sexes. Reflected on the fact that youth is wasted on the young as they relentlessly jogged past. Came across 2 grey squirrels as we walked into the park. Both expected treats. One even crawled a short way up my leg telling me to get busy. But unfortunately I had nothing for him. Quite a lot of the trees still have leaves on them. Is this because of climate change? You would have to say probably. Not many people feeding the animals. All the birds looked hungry. The water in the lake was extremely clear which indicates not much food in it. One or two eccentrics feeding the birds. One man had about 100 pigeons following him. They know me he said as we passed. Pleased with himself. One of the old school. Regents Park is larger than what it was 50 years ago. Or seems so. We finished up in Baker Street. Large crowd wanting to get into Madame Toussards. Watched as the doorman ran the scanner over a small child. I should have come back to London in my 40's or 50's when I prided myself on my ability to walk. I am too old for full time walking. I had had enough walking by 12.30. Not a lot of energy left. Intense pain in my hips and buttocks. We took the tube rather than walking home. Soup for lunch. There is a danger in coming home for lunch because there is always the temptation to have a nap. It saves some money but you can get trapped at home and not get as much sightseeing as you should. We shall see. No matter what the pain quotient I will try and keep at it. This is the last time we will come to London. In the afternoon we went via the tube to Trafalgar Square. Once again it looks different than it did 50 years ago. They have changed the traffic patterns for one thing. The dimensions look different. We looked to see what is on at St Martins in the Fields. We might go to something on Sunday night. In 1970 I was in Trafalgar Square one Sunday morning and I saw Bernadette Devlin making a speech to a small crowd. In the next fountain a german was shaving and washing himself. Very different now. We went to the National Portrait Gallery. Some of it is OK. But some of it is just plain dull. Portraits of people we have not heard of and nothing particularly special about the painting itself. I think it could do with a bit of culling. Maybe a lot of culling. And there should be more modern portraits. Most of the few modern paintings are obviously superior paintings. Some aren’t but you can see the difference and get my point. Extremely hot inside the building. It definitely drove my core temperature up. Took the opportunity to go to the toilet but of course the male toilets were locked so I went to the disabled female toilet but guess what? The lid would not stand up by itself so I had to hold it by hand. Designed for females only. Males who cheat and use it will be inconvenienced. Came across the BBC Radio building. Asked at the desk if there were any tours on offer. None but we could submit an application to be in the audience for a number of shows and therefore gain entry to the canteen which overlooks the studios. I have already looked on line and all are booked out. Interesting that the receptionist is from eastern Europe. The BBC are consistently consistent. I might come next Saturday morning and see if I can spy Danny Baker entering the building. Had my photo taken under the recently installed statue of George Orwell. One of Orwell’s quotations on the wall behind the statue can only be aimed at Thatchers Government and Rupert Murdoch. It is exquisitely defiant. But brave of the BBC to put it up. Interesting also that Orwell is smoking a cigarette. They have resisted the urge to be PC. We walked home. Lots of people in the street. It is dark by 4.30 and this is misleading. Makes you think its nighttime. More and more people as we got closer to Oxford Street. Not as many as last night but again too many people. I suppose they are all shopping. Lots of people taking photographs. Must be tourists. Foreigners. Will they still be here after Brexit? No doubt the English want them all to go home. What was the Brexit vote except an expression of the long held “we hate foreigners” prejudice of the English. Struggled to not go to sleep by 6PM. Without television there is not much else to do but to fall asleep. Saturday 2nd December 2017. Woke up at 7.30. Blood Pressure 119/80. Pulse 72. How can this be? Perfect on the first day. Is this a portent? Television still not working. Disaster. What to do? Our landlord is away on the continent somewhere. The air bnb add said both TV and Cable TV available. We walked to St Pauls. Quite nippy outside. Need gloves and scarf. I only had gloves. Jenny wanted to visit a London Information Centre. It was worth it. I recommend it. They have a lot of good publications. I particularly want to go to the Gresham College free lectures that are held in London but unfortunately there are only 2 in December. Lots in other months. These lectures were in existence 50 years ago and I occasionally went to them. I didnt go as much as I should have because I didnt think I would ever leave here so there was plenty of time to go at another time. I didnt have to hurry. This is the story of my time in London in 1971. Suddenly I had to leave when I had only barely scratched the surface. I had not even started. Walked past High Holburn. I remember once coming across High Holburn during a lunchtime walk in 1970. It looked different then. But then everything does. Walked through Paternoster Square near St Pauls. What is this place? I will have to look it up. We came back by bus. We should try and only travel by bus this time around. In 1970 it was lower class to travel by bus so I didn’t. Or partly why. I didn’t really know the bus system like I knew the underground system. Now it’s not exclusively lower class. And more enjoyable. Our bus takes us to Oxford Street Terminal pretty well opposite Great Titchfield Street. Big crowds in Oxford Street. We walked around side streets near our place just exploring and had a Lentil Soup in a local eatery run by two young girls. Excellent food. We should eat there every day. Extremely nice young girl from Coventry moved to London 1 year ago to manage the shop. The other girl is from Georgia. Judging by the state of the food they produce hard work is the order of the day. What with what the rents around here must be I don’t know how they make a living. We are living in the centre of London. Centre of the world really. The rents should reflect this. We went out again at 4.30 or so and walked along Regent Street but didn’t make it to Piccadilly Circus as we intended. Too many people. Some kind of demonstration outside the Canada Goose Store made the street almost impassable. Disciplined chanting from the demonstrators. Mostly women. We turned off Regent Street and went towards Soho. In 1970 I walked the length of Regents Street from Oxford Street to Piccadilly Circus and I did not see one other person. Admittedly it was about 9.30 on a cold night in winter. Every shop was closed. Nothing was open. There were no eating places at that time to attract people. It was so quiet that when you walked past each shop you could hear the interior music from inside the shop playing the musak of the day. Things were different then. Was it worse or better? Both I feel. I can remember the walk well. I enjoyed it. I commented to myself that I was doing something significant. Walking along the bright lights of Regent Street all by myself. Window shopping. Now you have to struggle just to keep on the footpath. There is a danger you will be pushed on to the road. Too many people. Even more than China. English women are so much bigger than what they used to be. They have grown approx. 30cm in 50 years. They are also so much more confident in their attitude. They now own the world. We inspected a new shop that sells soap products made up to look like food. Lots of people in there. It must be a new fashion. You can get facials etc. Have your skin rubbed with products which include blueberries etc. It didn’t look too appetizing but I watched a young girl having the works done. Face covered in clay. Arms and shoulders having some slime substance rubbed in. She appeared completely to be without embarrassment. Thursday 30th Nov Tarnook/Friday 1st Dec London. Left home around 5PM 30th Nov. Thursday. Departed 10.30 at night. We arrive London 11.30 AM Friday morning 1st Dec. Journey of 25 hours. We pass through several time zones. Hot day. James drove us to the airport. We left under the threat of 12 inches of rain forecast. If we get that amount you can more or less guarantee a flood. James said he would stay the night at Alex’s. Lots of new glamour stores in the international part of the airport once you get through border security if that’s what they are calling it these days. Not a lot of fast food places though. Only one really and lots of customers. Finally got on the plane. It took off and turned left towards Adelaide. Almost immediately went over ocean and stayed that way for all of the journey. Skirted round Perth and headed north. Maybe the weather is better over oceans. We stayed over the ocean – the inflight map showed all the troughs and peaks under the sea – and even flew all the way up the Red Sea. Duboi airport is fairly extensive. We only had time to go from one plane to the other. Airport so large there is a shuttle train service. Airport full of people. Notably the airport is a silent airport. No public announcements. Squat toilets in the women’s toilet. Men queued up to go in cubicles in the men’s toilet so maybe squat toilets there also. Not much sleep. But don’t feel too bad. Jenny has not got sick. How airlines are not making loads of money is beyond me. Every seat taken. A380 Airbus must hold 500 at least. Three/four/three configuration all the way along the bottom deck. Then there is the top deck. Very large plane. Mostly young people. I did not think the food was up to standard. One meal had three sausages and I could only eat one. I normally love airline food. In all meals everything except for the hot portion was frozen. Bread rolls were frozen etc. Butter frozen sold etc. Salads frozen. Most hot food was pretty tasteless. Chips were soggy. Very soggy. Nothing specifically Middle Eastern as far as I could ascertain. Simply a bad imitation of western junk food. Watched three movies. Churchill. Dr Zhivago and a Jackie Chan Chinese fantasy. None were any good. Dr Zhivago has aged badly. Julie Christie just not appropriate - looks wrong. Churchill film was simply boring. Actors no good. Only the bloke who played Churchill OK. How they make such crap movies about historical figures is hard to understand. Jackie Chans was set during Japanese occupation – lots of money spent on sets, uniforms, guns etc but still a silly fantasy film even though the subject matter was important. Hundreds of Japanese killed etc. I listened to Mozart and Beethoven. Listened all the way through to Beethovens 6th and 9th. Some Mozart I had not heard before. Listened all the way through to The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. I cannot recall there being so much dialogue in either Opera. In this case it seemed there was more dialogue than music. The standard of music in the recordings was not as good as I have heard elsewhere. Listened for a while to a lecture on Mozart and the Romantic period. I have always felt that Mozart wrote with his heart and Beethoven wrote with his head. But of course Mozart was a genius whose only interest was to write good music. Did Mozart write a brum note ever? Did he ever write anything that was not worth listening to? Of course his purpose was to provide music. Of course he knew he was good at it. The best even. He didn’t write with the intention he would be worshiped 200 years later. He just wrote the best he could for whoever paid him. Sometimes he didnt get paid. Because he was a true genius he deserves to be remembered. Hayden was wrong. Its more then 200 years and we still haven't remotely seen his equal. Beethoven was deaf when he wrote the 9th so it’s debatable if he heard any of it. I would have liked to have been in the audience at its first playing. It would have been gob smacking. The audience wouldn’t have known what hit them. It’s still gob smacking listening to it. There’s so much in it. The second movement fairly thuds along. Machine like. And the third is even more amazing. Did he know it would be his last symphony so he made it a killer? Or did he do it simply because he was commissioned to do so? Hard to say. If he had been commissioned to write a 10th it may have even been better that the 9th. Soft landing. Hardly noticed it. Brilliant sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky. Big crowd at the UK Border. Long wait to get through. In the past we have arrived early in the morning – 6AM or so and got through quickly. Not so today. Today it was 11.45. Lunchtime. Not as many inspectors available. Once you are through however it’s all happening. We still had our Oyster Cards from last time so it’s straight onto the Piccadilly Line. Changed to the Central at Holborn and off at Oxford Circus. More steps that I would have liked at both stations. It’s not exactly convenient with cases and bags. People asked if they could help but I had visions of them running off with the bags so we said no. Found Great Titchfield Street and walked 300 metres to our flat. Gained entry without too much trouble. Lots of stairs. But quite warm. Everything we need except the TV does not work. Internet and Wi Fi OK. We walked to Marks and Spencers in Oxford Street and bought our tea from the Food Hall. Lots of people in the street. Lots of street eateries. Tried to turn the heating off before going to bed at 8PM. The English love over heating every building. So different to 50 years ago. |
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