My 1st week of an 8-week adventure to England! May 27- June 2, 2018

May 27/28, 2018 - On my way!

Thanks to Jennifer’s generous gift of frequent flier miles, I started my adventure to the UK on May 27th for 2 months. It was a dash to the London flight after several late holdups in Raleigh and then at JFK. However, with a marathon run through the airport, I made it and had a very comfortable overnight flight. I was surprised to be the first, and for a while, the only Brit to go through immigration, whilst the rest of the world was in a long queue. Oh happy was I! 

I took the bus to Gatwick where it was easier for Louise to pick me up, as she lives in South London. 

She had arranged a lunch in her new extension for us and her Chinese-Cambodian friend, Lang. The extension is more like a conservatory. Looking out onto her typical English garden on a glorious day was so relaxing but they would not allow me to fall asleep until 11pm. A good idea, as this was the first time I did not have any signs of jet lag going west to east. Got straight into the time change which was helpful as we were busy for the next couple of days.

Sunset over the Atlantic

Louise and Lang  made dinner - salmon with veggies from Louise's garden. Yum!

May 29

A visit to the Lord Mayor of Canterbury. 
Louise (Dr. Bacon in the museum world) is an expert on brass instruments, especially 12th,13th century etc. She had been given a grant to check up on 10 horns that belonged to the Cinque Ports of Kent. Today was the day to check up on Canterbury’s horn. Although there was some rain we made it down to Canterbury and eventually found the Tower House which originally was a private house, then bequeathed to the county as a residence for the Lord Mayor. Ellie, you should have had a house like this when Mayor of Carrboro!

We had a generous hour and a half for Louise to measure and check up on the horn, explaining about conservation and condition. I took several videos which she was pleased to have. She will now take up the 12th, maybe 13th century horn which is blown for all of the town’s special events, to a special lab that can scan the metal.

Louise measuring possibly the 12th, 13th or14th c horn.

The shield of Canterbury

The Mayor of Canterbury in his regalia with Louise and Cinque Port Horn

After a quick walk through the streets surrounding the cathedral, it became very obvious we had been caught in the half term break as there were solid blocks of students and families, so we decided to go on to Deal, a small town where my mother and stepfather moved to after spending some time in Cornwall. They were nearer then to Dartington College of Arts in Devon where I was a student for 2 years, but when I went on to the Guildhall School of Music they moved closer to London.
We went down to the beachfront and although there had been quite a lot of flooding from the storm, we found a little cafe near the seafront that was open. We had deliciously fresh fish with chips and peas, de rigueur for any fish lover!

First fish and chips of the trip. 

My mother and stepfather lived in 2 houses when they moved to Deal. I had not been back since I graduated from the Guildhall and left for the Haifa Symphony in Israel, but wanted to see if I could remember the two houses we lived in. We looked around the area, testing my photographic memory of 50 + years ago.  Below is the little cottage we had for the summer near the beach when waiting to move into the big house.  

The little cottage near the beach where I practised  the first movement of the Elgar Cello concerto in the back garden that summer.  

The big house on the London Road. 

We continued on testing my photographic memory, it still worked, finding the big house on the London Road. Although I found the row of houses, there was some confusion with the colour of our house. I remembered the houses were all cream, but now saw ours had been painted green! It had three stories, plus an attic (my room and bath) Below that were two bedrooms and a bath, the living room took up the whole of the second level, and the dining room, kitchen and front parlour were on the first floor. I don’t remember much about the basement. It hadn’t been renovated. Now it looks like a kitchen area. There was a narrow garden in the back, I remember Gordon had a deck added from the living room with steps down to the garden. If only we had kept the house! It would buy me a sweet little cottage now!

We made our way back to Bromley through leafy lanes onto the M2. After a few miles though, traffic stopped. For 2+ hours. Multiple accidents, helicopter, emergency vehicles. It didn’t help to have the floods on the motorway. Thankfully we were safe and got back home.

May 30 - 
Visiting the exhibition "Ocean Liners" at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
We set off on the train to go into London, catching up on various errands before going to the museum. A favourite of mine for exhibitions, I have always been blown away by them. Our big event for the day was going to the exhibition of Ocean Liners. Both Louise and I had travelled to and from England to South Africa on these ships. It brought back such memories for me, not so many for Louise as she was younger and didn't remember much. What an amazing era when those ships from the 1900s to the beginning of WW2, were at the height of luxury in fashion, designs, craftsmanship in wood, stained glass, metal, china - the list goes on. The three and a half hour walk through the rooms was fascinating and went by very quickly. A wonderful prelude to our stay on the Queen Mary. More later about that!

Lovely posters of the liners and uniform. 

An example of a state room.

Of course, we had to have tea to revive our brains after the strenuous afternoon. The carrot cake was almost up to Judy’s standard! 

Gorgeous surroundings at the V&A.with a fine pianist playing dreamy music. The only true way to have afternoon tea. 

May 31. 

A busy day. The train down to Salisbury was a delight. So many shades of green from fields, trees and hedges. My host met me at the station, and my hostess was anxious to make sure I was happy with it all. Little did she know how thrilled I was with the little cabin.

Waiting at Waterloo to catch the train to Salisbury.




Salisbury Cathedral within the Close. I am across from the furthest field on the right. 

The North gate to the Cathedral Close from the High Street.

The cabin in the early evening. So peaceful with the doves cooing.

The view from sitting at my computer. The main house is at the other end.

A painting of the Harnham gate at the other end of the Close where I waited for my ride to orchestra rehearsal. 

There was a rehearsal that evening for the smaller orchestra, but my symphony cellist wasn't able to come with her spare cello until the next day. However, lots of calling around by other musicians got lucky and I was able to go!  A flute player in the orchestra picked me up to get to rehearsal and off we went. It was not far from where I lived in 2014-15.

June 1. 

A kind cellist friend from the symphony brought me her second cello for the duration of my stay, so now I am all set. It’s a good quality student instrument with a sweet tone and easy to play. My first rehearsal will be next Friday. No rehearsal tonight as it is half-term for school children which lasts a week and parents tend to take the children away for a break. The concert is on June 23, in the Cathedral

I’ve been walking around Salisbury a lot, getting in my daily 10,000 steps in (sometimes more)! My activity app tells me my average daily steps in England are between 8,000 and 13,000, so I am definitely getting more exercise than the 1,450-7,800 I get in Chapel Hill.  It’s so lovely to walk through the parks along the rivers, there are several small ones around the area, and the weather has been glorious. I try to write my blog daily, but it’s a bit difficult sitting at the computer, seeing and hearing the birds chattering away. I spent most of today walking around, seeing what was new and what had changed. The only obvious changes due to the poisoning episode were the blocked off areas around a section of the river that runs through Salisbury, the Italian restaurant  and the one pub the couple visited. Sadly it's one of Salisbury's favourites, and now is totally blocked off, with grass growing everywhere and looking really run down.   All of those areas are guarded by police, but they interact with the public who make it easier for them during the long hours. Thank goodness the police officer who was a first responder and nearly died from the poisoning, survived, and is back home now. I think the atmosphere in Salisbury would be much more dismal if he had died. The Russian father and daughter are in a safe house, but don't know where in the country. It's so unbelievable in this quiet, peaceful town. Of course, Salisbury has been very much affected by this. Shops, especially small ones are having to close down as they don't have the revenue to pay the rent. Fortunately though with summer coming on, there are more tourists, mostly school at this time who come in to town, as well as other visitors.

On the way back to my cabin, I passed the local church that is older than the Cathedral! and saw they were having a Flower and Arts Festival. Because of the poisoning episode, the annual Salisbury International Festival was cancelled, but the church was making up a bit for that. I got just in time to see a Bell Ringing demonstration, and climbed up some very steep steps to the room in the Bell tower where the ringers do their thing.It was fascinating, and  I was amazed at how the ringers have to memorize the patterns of the peels. I did not take up the opportunity to try them out, I think I'm too short! 

I feel so fortunate that I am here again, it  seems only a few months ago that I left. So many things just fell into place which made it possible for me to be here. I'm truly blessed. It's lovely meeting up with friends again, and being in the Cathedral Close is only a 5 minute walk into the main area of town. The cabin is perfect for me with everything I need, and so quiet, except for the chattering between the birds.

The bell ropes of St. Thomas's Church have hung up away from the floor when not in use. 

The peels for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. 

Proud ringers who complete long peels.

June 2
Only 2 days before, the family had arrived back from Memphis, and my cousin Meryl made a superhuman effort to get everything ready for an amazing party. She's always been one for giving great parties, and this was no exception. Her best friend Wendy, with brother and sister-in-law, came from Wales and stopped in Salisbury to pick me up for the 2pm party.  I had met Wendy several times so it was good to have the time in the car to catch up. The party was in the back garden of Meryl and Simon's house which was full of flowers and plants. I couldn't believe how high the hedges surrounding the garden had grown, making it a very private location. The tables were decorated with flowers, and pink and dark cowboy hats for everyone. The piece de résistance, was the Dolly Partin tribute singer who put on an amazing show. She looked  identical to Dolly and sounded just like her.  She invited Nia to join her in a duet, and it was a terrific.. Nia is on her way to stardom herself, with many performances under her belt, both here in the UK and in the US. She came 4th in a Florida top list of young country singers/songwriters.  There was plenty of Pimms, made by a great bartender, and lots of other libations. The food was American - country-fried chicken, corn etc. All delicious. After the musical entertainment came the delicious 3 layer birthday cake.

By 8pm I was tired out with all the excitement and fun, so while the going was good, Meryl took me to catch the Salisbury bus, I  knew I couldn't hold out for the late-night. Her parties go on for ever. Another great day!

Nia and Dolly having a blast!