Jim’s younger brother Philip and his wife Phyllis live in the backwoods of western North Carolina. They love where they live and have a very good life surrounded by their three children and seven grandchildren. Phyllis had never been to Europe prior to visiting us in Seville in 2020. She and Philip just thoroughly embraced Spain and all it had to offer. As Philip says they were gobsmacked. Since then they have also visited us in London and Amsterdam. We were so happy when they accepted our offer of another visit to London as one can never run out of things to do here.
Philip and Phyllis were the only visitors who took the Underground from Heathrow to Kew. We tend to discourage it because of needing to carry your luggage up and down stairs as many stations do not have lifts. The walk from Kew Station to our home is a five minute straight shot but they somehow got lost and Jim had to go out and search for them.They were ready to go out immediately so we took the Underground one stop to Richmond and walked to Richmond Green.This is the gatehouse of Richmond Palace which no longer exists. Just inside this gate is an area known as The Wardrobe which was the wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth I. There are now cute small homes.The White Swan Pub located a short walk from the River Thames is a locals favorite.After exploring Richmond we walked to Kew Gardens.Day two we took a train to Windsor.Very cute little town,that just happens to have a royal castle in the center of town. This is across the street from the prior picture.Jim has had it with castles and palaces but this one is over the top impressive and it is still an active royal residence. No more pictures as we couldn’t photograph inside. We came to Windsor for the wedding of Harry and Megan and Sandy has toured the palace with Donna Quirk. Jim has never been inside Windsor Castle.We attended Evensong and were able to sit in the quire at St. Georges Chapel.Day three we attended a puppet theatre on this puppet barge in Richmond with Sigi and Paul.After the puppet show we wandered through the terrace gardens up to Richmond hill.Mick Jagger used to live in this house. We walked from here to Paul and Sigi’s home where Sigi had prepared us a lovely lunch.We played Burraco with Philip and Phyllis every night. they were addicted.Day four we took a bus to Ham Polo Club with a picnic and watched one match.Polo is one of the oldest known team sports. It originated in Persia over 2,000 years ago. There are three Chukkers to a match in this tournament although most polo matches consist of six, seven minute Chukkers.Four horses on each side. They can use 4-6 ponies per match to keep them fresh. Definitely a sport for the wealthy.
A short video showing the action.
Jim treading in a divot.Ham House, built in 1610 and gifted from King Charles I to his boyhood friend and classmate William Murray in 1626.Ham House has quite an interesting history as the owners had to play both sides of the English Civil Wars between the Royalists and Parliamentarians. The Royalists lost the war and King Charles I lost his head. Cromwell was installed as “Lord Protector”.William and Catherine Murray left the house to their very capable daughter Elizabeth who was an important secret supporter of the exiled Charles II. Upon his return to the throne Elizabeth was well rewarded and Ham House re-emerged as a place of power, entertaining, and extravagance.Elizabeth and her second husband the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale transformed Ham House into one of the grandest Stuart houses in England.The kitchen on the lowest floor. Jim was again palaced out and couldn’t wait to get out.Directly across the river from Ham House is Marble Hill. There was a small ferry which took us across. Jim did a little better here as it was smaller.Marble Hill was built in the 1720s for Henrietta Howard, mistress of King George II. Henrietta was in an abusive relationship with her husband and had to keep all the planning for this house secret. The villa is an important and relatively rare example of a house built for and by a woman in Georgian England. It exhibits classic Palladian architecture.Henrietta’s life was transformed after the death of her husband and moving into this grand villa. Her bedroom above was designed for more than just sleeping but also entertaining. After a long day we escaped to home for more burraco.Inspecting our rental car for a day trip to the Cotswolds. It was’t quite as pristine when we returned it.We were encouraged by more than one friend that Bibury was a must see in the Cotswolds. William Morris who is associated with The British Arts and Crafts Movement described it as “The most beautiful village in England”.Picturesque old cottages all made with Cotswold stone..Not included in these pictures are the hordes of tourists for such a small town. We would not recommend a trip here if you have limited time in the UK.Arlington Row, originally built in 1380 as a monastic wool store was converted into a row of weavers’ cottages in the 17th century.We drove on to Sheepscombe and The Butchers Arms where we had lunch in 2019.Ordering at the bar, as is the custom in Pubs in England.Al fresco delicious lunch, mostly fried food.
This is a video of the narrow road out.
Another video of an oops-a-daisy while driving, play with sound up as you will hear it at the end.Jim had scraped an unseen low wall in the video above. Barely a scratch not discovered when we turned the car in. They did see the scuff mark on the left front wheel where he brushed a curb though.Jim was still up for cards after his stressful day of driving. We had so much fun paying this game. Females matched ups against the males.A down day just staying close to home. We walked Philip and Phyllis down the Thames Path to the Elizabeth Gate of Kew Gardens.We stopped by St. Anne’s Anglican Church on the Kew Green. The first church on this site was built in 1714 on land given by Queen Anne. The article below gives some interesting and scandalous history about the church.This is the box where the church registry that was stollen was originally kept.Each seat in the pews has these needlepoint cushions that were stitched by a member of the congregation.There was a mausoleum that was built following the death of Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge and seventh son of George III who was initially buried here as well as his wife but later removed and reinterred at Frogmore in Windsor. A church official kindly gave us access to this area which is located behind the altar.The Mausoleum now does not have any Royals in it but is now a columbarium for the ashes of parishioners.The English portrait painter Thomas Gainsborough and wife Margarett are buried in the graveyard next to the church. Interesting to note that this artist hated painting portraits and preferred doing landscapes but the demands for his landscapes was not enough to provide an income so he found a solution in that every portrait he painted had a detailed background landscape serving as a compromise between his true calling and financial necessity.This shows an area of the graveyard and Mausoleum addition.The next day was Central London day.This was The Old War Offices, recently opened as a Raffles Hotel.Beautiful interior. We were stopped from going up the stairs as only hotel guests are allowed upstairs. The doorman who stopped us however gave us a great history of the building. Churchill had an office upstairs and used to give speeches from that balcony. His office is now a hotel suite. The room rates start at > $1,000 USD per night and the suites with rates showing go up to $4,300/night. You have to inquire individually for the better suites.Courtyard of the Hotel. Jim is reading the menu of Café Lapérouse. They have nine restaurants and three bars.The London Eye ferris wheel can be viewed from so many different aspects in this city. We have remarked in previous blogs that the Eye was initially opened in 2000 as a temporary exhibit with a five year lease but became so popular that it was granted permanent status in 2002.A beautiful couple.Philip wanted to see the Dutch Masters at the National Gallery. We also planned on seeing the special exhibit of Van Gough but it was sold out into December.A rowdy Tavern Scene.Somerset HouseSt. Mary le Strand Church is a baroque design by James Gibbs. This is on The Strand amid King’s College.This is one of the four corners of The City of London which is a square mile area which is independent from the greater metropolitan London. It contains the ancient centre and encloses the primary central business district.We had lunch at The Blackfriar which was on Philip and Phyllis’s must see list. This is a traditional pub with Henry Poole’s Art Nouveau reliefs reflecting the friary that once stood here.The Pub was due for demolition in the early sixties but public outcry by notable figures saved the building and it now remains as one of the only art nouveau pubs in London.We walked from The Blackfriar to Portobello road and Notting Hill. This is the blue door from the movie Notting Hill where the lead actor played by Hugh Grant lived. It became such a tourist attraction that the owners at the time repainted it another color however new owners now have returned it to the blue color portrayed in the movie. Taking the underground home to Kew Gardens.Another day trip, this time going to Cambridge.Christs College, one of 31 colleges which comprise The University of Cambridge.The river Cam.Our first stop was The Wren Library which has been open to visitors since 1695. It is the library of Trinity College, named The Wren Library as it was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.The library opens at 11:00 and we were the first in line.In addition to manuscripts and printed books, the Wren houses sculptures, portraits and wood carvings.This is a working library. The statue is Christopher Wren.An enamel painted window designed by Giovanni Battista Cipriani.There are so many interesting displays of historic documents, explanations and objects exhibited on the easels and in the red topped display cases. Those are red cloths covering the display cases to keep out the light but to allow visitors to lift the cloth and view the exhibit. One display was A. A. Milne’s original manuscript of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. No photography allowed of that one manuscript.Phyllis demonstrating how to peruse the displays.Part of Trinity College next to The Wren Library.Awaiting lunch prior to our afternoon tour.We pre-booked a guided tour by a college alumnus. We have done similar tours twice in the past but feel that it is well worth it, at least the first time.Listening attentively.Entrance to Gonville & Caius College.Our guide Ben in front of St. John’s college which is his alma mater. He was an engineering major.Corpus Christi College founded in 1352 primarily to train priests.Last stop on the tour is King’s College Chapel.Ceiling of Kings College Chapel.The adoration of The Magi by Rubens which the college initially did not like and did not display for years.King’s College quadrangle.From our back yard during the Harvest moon. Looks like Christmas.Kingston on the Thames. We had a great Lebanese meal prior to seeing “Never let me go” at the Rose Theatre.Set of “Never Let Me Go” which was a dystopian story. Very well acted and staged but we opted to leave at the interval.Last full day in London we took the Overground to Hampstead. Shoppers enjoying the market.View from Parliament Hill in the Hampstead Heath.We walked from here to Camden Market.We had a small lunch here but did not go into the market as it was chock-a-block with people.Crossing the tracks on the way to our final nights dinner at Chatora, an Indian restaurant that we just loved. Ate there four or five times.5am Uber to Heathrow.As we have said before you can choose your friends but not your family. We could not have chosen better friends than Philip and Phyllis. How lucky for us that they are also family. Thank you for your lovely visit.
Philip and Phyllis flew home on Sunday 22 September and Hurricane Helene hit the Western North Carolina mountains on Friday the 27th. We are happy to report that all of our friends and family survived the devastation without injury or major loss of property.
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