The Rush to London

Our son, James, was flying into London for a four-day course for work and so Michael and I decided to pop over to see him for the weekend.  I will never get used to the fact that people can just go to England or just about anywhere in Europe for a weekend from Ireland.  There are so many countries close by and it is easy to decide on a whim to travel abroad, especially as no visa is required.  We caught the plane from Dublin airport, which in itself was a novelty as we hadn’t flown in 14 months and yet in that time we had visited 6 countries, all by ship or train.  I have never enjoyed flying, so when the captain announced that it was clear night and that we would be treated to a wonderful view as we flew into London, I grudgingly looked out of the window.  There before me was the glorious sight of London by night – all twinkling fairy lights with the Thames clearly visible and the London Eye shining bright red in the night.  Perfect.

We landed at Heathrow and made our way with our luggage to the exit with our passports in hand ready for examination – and just walked through!  There was no one to even glance at them or stamp them - so much for the high terror alert and heightened security measures.  We had the same experience when we have taken the boat from Dublin to Holyhead, however I really thought that things would be different at Heathrow. We caught the train from Heathrow to St Pancras International and from there it was a short walk to the Ibis at Euston where we were staying.

Michael and I were so excited to see James looking so well and happy, if a little tired, as he had spent the previous week in Saudi Arabia with his work.  We walked him to his hotel, The Hoxton, in Holborn and then breakfasted at Freestate Coffee.  James filled us in on his adventures over breakfast and then we set off to explore as much of the city as possible.

The weather was glorious – 16 degrees and sunshine.  James found it a little chilly however it was the warmest Michael and I had been for the last 5 months. Michael had mapped out a walk that would take in many of the sights of London.  The walk went something like this:

We started at Hyde Park Corner to view the Australian War Memorial then wandered through to Buckingham Palace, then off to Horse Guards Parade and through to Westminster via Downing Street, then across Westminster Bridge to the London Eye, past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the Golden Hind.  We stopped for coffee at the Borough Market and then it was across London Bridge to the Leadenhall Market, past St Paul’s Cathedral through Fleet Street and then up the Strand.  We lunched at the Crypt in St Martin-in-the-Fields.  Then it was off to Trafalgar Square to see the smallest police station (for his Grandmother) and the marker for the centre of London (for his Grandfather)

Centre of London

followed by a stop at Jermyn Street so that James could purchase some business shirts.  Naturally we called into Prestat for some more of the Queen Mother’s favourite chocolates followed by a walk through of Fortnum & Mason.  This was followed by a visit to Hamleys, then Carnaby Street and finally Saville Row.  We walked 28 kilometres in all and felt that we had well and truly earned our dinner at Hawksmoor, a steak restaurant at Seven Dials.  I think James enjoyed his tour as his father and I took turns in passing on all of the useless information that we have stored, although he did comment at one point, when I was showing him the first clock in London with a double-sides face (at St Dunstan’s Church), “how do you even know all this?”  We even showed James where a man was killed by a phallus falling from a statue above Zimbabwe House. 

We met a slightly weary James on Sunday morning – a combination of jet lag, sore throat and possible exhaustion from the walk the day before.  Michael had planned a slightly easier day and we started with breakfast at the Columbia Road Flower Market so that James could hear some authentic East End accents.  We then strolled through Shoreditch to the Brick Lane market and to view the street art in the area.  This was followed by a visit to the Old Spitalfields Market.  We then took a bus to the Tower of London and walked along the forecourt there.  Lunch was at the Punch Tavern where we dined on a Sunday roast of pork belly.  James was much revived after lunch so we continued on to explore the Seven Dials and Covent Garden.  Michael decided that since we had walked nearly 24 kilometres, we had earned a drink so we found a bar, which had been recommended by one of James’ friends, Gordon’s Wine Bar which is near the Thames at Embankment.  The bar was packed and we sat outside and had a sherry tasting.  At one stage, a young lady got up and played the bagpipes.  Whilst we were at Covent Garden, James had spotted Shake Shack, and so we decided to have dinner there.  James of course had dined at the one in New York and now he can say that he has been to the London one as well.  We took James for a walk around Leicester Square so that he could see the theatre district by night and also walked him through Chinatown. 

It was very sad to say goodbye to James and I hope that he enjoyed his time with us.  At least he experienced a comprehensive overview of London and I hope that he will return one day.

Michael and I spent our final morning strolling around Fitzrovia and all too soon it was time to catch the train to Heathrow.  Michael and I both managed to set off the alarms at security at the airport and so dutifully removed our shoes so that they could be x-rayed.  Then we both had to be patted down and searched and then stand with one leg propped on a chair (like a bride having her garter removed) whilst the magic wand was waved around us, all in view of the queue of passengers.  Seriously, do we look like middle-aged terrorists?  An uneventful flight took us to Dublin where we actually had to pass through customs and had our passports stamped with the incorrect date.  Welcome to Dublin!

The Dublin Rambler

Once again it was time to say goodbye to wonderful London to retrace our journey back to Ireland.  It was fitting that snow was falling lightly as we made our way to the station.  We caught the boat train from Euston and it was a relaxing journey through the countryside, which was covered in snow in places.  Then it was onto the ferry from Holyhead where the captain greeted us with the news that gales were expected so we were in for a rough crossing.  In actual fact, there were only a couple of hair-raising moments as the waves crashed over the bow and then it was a relatively smooth journey.  A short taxi ride from the Dublin dock took us to our apartment at Spencer Dock.  It is a lovely modern, two-bedroom apartment right by the Grand Canal and well away from party central at Temple Bar.  I think we shall be very comfortable here.

It is lovely being back in Dublin and there is a real feeling of “coming home”.  I will always love London with its myriad of places to see but Dublin is a chance to settle back into a more relaxed way of life.  The weather is still quite cold and when the wind blows it fairly slices through you but there is something invigorating about wandering the streets that are so familiar and yet discovering something that you hadn’t noticed before.  It is a very pretty city filled with music and we feel lucky to be here.

One of the nice things about being back is visiting our favourite café, Tamarama, for breakfast on a Saturday.  It is good to hear a few Australian accents served with the Vegemite. Speaking of accents, Michael has been asked several times where he is from, and when he says Australia, people are commenting that he doesn’t have a strong accent!  He sounds the same to me but perhaps he is starting to lose the hard edge. 

We have managed to catch a couple of exhibitions in Dublin commemorating the First World War.  The first one was Pals: The Irish at Gallipoli at the National Museum of Ireland.  The museum is in the old Collins army barracks so it was a fitting setting for this interesting exhibition of rare photographs.  It was also a good reminder that the Gallipoli campaign was not just about the Australians and New Zealanders, a fact which sometimes gets overlooked when we just focus on our involvement and losses during the war.  The second exhibition was WW1 Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience.  This was an even better exhibition showing the Irish war experience through letters, diaries, recruiting posters, newspaper reports and cartoons and the impact that the war had on the Irish people.

‘Tis of Limerick We Sing

There was a young man of Nepal

Who went to a fancy dress ball

He thought he would risk it

And go as a biscuit

But a dog ate him up in the hall

I couldn’t resist – this was another limerick I remember from my childhood (still can’t remember what I did yesterday.)

Michael had some work to do up in Shannon, so we thought that we would spend the weekend up in Limerick, as we never actually got to explore the town when we were last there.

We hired a car and set off for a very pleasant drive through the Irish countryside stopping along the way for a coffee and to explore the ruins of an ancient Abbey.  There are many ruins dotting the countryside – old churches, homes and the occasional castle. There is always something to look at.

Michael organised for us to participate in the Angela’s Ashes walking tour.  I have mentioned before that we have both recently read the book and the tour promised to retrace some of the streets and places of interest mentioned in the book.  We met our tour guide, Declan, and discovered that we were the only two that would be taking the tour that day.  We had a lovely 2 hour walk with Declan not only showing us places relevant to the book but also pointing out the beautiful Georgian homes whilst relating the history of the area.  It was a terrific way to see the city as he pointed out many features that we would not have discovered on our own.  One of the highlights was the Mount Saint Alphonsus Redemptorist church.  The church was built in 1854 and has the most stunningly beautiful mosaics that I have seen.  In fact, I would rate it as highly as some of the amazing churches we saw in Russia and throughout Europe.  You could just imagine the young Frank McCourt, bedraggled and freezing sitting in the pews, trying to get warm and shelter from the rain, gazing on the extravagant gilt mosaics.   It seems almost unbelievable that there could be such ostentatious wealth amidst such crippling poverty.

 




King John’s Castle was the next on our list of places to visit.  This imposing castle was built over 800 years ago and houses fascinating interactive exhibits detailing early Gaelic society, the Normans, the Reformation and the various sieges that befell the castle and Limerick.  We had a lovely time wandering around the various rooms and we had the entire castle to ourselves as there was not a single other visitor.  I even climbed to the very top to see the spectacular view over Limerick and the surrounding countryside.

We also visited the Hunt Museum and the Limerick City Gallery of Art.  The Hunt Museum is housed in the old Custom House, a beautiful building dating back to 1769.  There are over 2,000 original works of art dating from the Stone Age through to the 20^th century.  One of the more interesting items is the Leonardo Horse, a bronze statue of a horse which was once thought to have been made by Leonardo da Vinci but was subsequently found to have been made at a much later date.  The horse itself is still a beautiful piece regardless of its antiquity.  There were also sketches by Henry Moore and one by Picasso.  The art gallery was a little too modern for my taste however there were some very good German theatre posters on display.

On the Monday, when Michael had to work, I took myself off to the Frank McCourt Museum.  If you have read the book, you will remember that the constant rain is a backdrop to the story.  Well, I certainly had the right atmosphere for my visit, as during my walk there I was first drenched with rain then smacked by hail followed by being snowed on and then finally blown around by ferocious winds.  Unbelievably the sun then came out, albeit for a short time before the exact same weather pattern repeated itself! The museum itself is housed in Frank’s former school – Leamy House.  Once again I was the only one there so was treated to a guided tour by one of the museum guides, a lovely, elderly gentleman who regaled me with stories about Frank’s childhood.  Two rooms are set up to recreate one of the houses that Frank lived in and was a sobering experience to look at the meagre possessions and the harsh reality of living in such squalor.  The main part of the museum is set up in the old school classroom and there were display cases filled with old photographs, school books and other memorabilia. There was a photo of Frank meeting President Clinton, which was remarkable, considering Frank’s humble beginnings.  It was a great way to spend a few hours and has inspired me to read the sequel to Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, which picks up the story from Frank’s arrival in New York.

To Cut a Long Story Short

We returned to Dublin in time for an event that I have been looking forward to for a number of weeks.  On Valentine’s Day, Michael surprised me with tickets to see Spandau Ballet, my all time favourite band of the ‘80’s!  In fact, Michael and I went to one of their concerts in Sydney 30 years ago so it was going to be a real blast from the past.  We arrived early and joined the queue waiting to gain entrance and had a bit of a giggle looking at the other people in the crowd.  To say there was more than a smattering of grey hair was an understatement!  Michael and I checked out the memorabilia on sale and noticed the skinny t-shirts for sale.  Looking at all the paunches on the men and the middle-aged spread on the women we couldn’t help wondering who they were being marketed to.  Anyway, we found our seats and discovered that we were in the very back row.  I was sitting there, kicking myself for forgetting the binoculars, when the usher approached us and asked if we would like to move to better seats.  Of course, we said yes, and he led us down to the premium seating area only 15 rows from the front and directly in front of the stage.  I was over the moon!  The usher then returned and gave us VIP passes to allow us access to the VIP bar upstairs!  There we sat, VIP lanyards around our necks feeling very important indeed.  The concert was wonderful and the years just melted away as the crowd roared when they played all their hits from the past.  It was a fabulous night, which we finished with a drink in the very swish VIP bar.  In fact, I would say that the night was just Gold!