July 17 Getting going

Trip to Birmingham

This was the first part of the actual trip.  Commentary on the flight booking process and the accomodation selection process has previously been published.

Before getting to business here is the forecast for the first few days we are away.

Let no-one doubt why we are going.

Before getting down to the trip, here are a few words about travelling to Sydney to catch an international flight.  The airlines charge about $200 a return ticket, so for two people that is $400 (plus you make the Snow family feel good).  The car hire companies have realised that they have a low bar to straddle so they now charge $330 for the two ways (plus you pay petrol  and have to drive in and out of Canberra twice).  So for us the best bet was to use Discount Airport parking who are charging us $220.   (The bus doesn't work because of the taxi fares to get into Canberra to catch the bus.)

Jumping forward Discount Parking worked out brilliantly.  The took us from their yard to the airport within 10 minutes of us getting there and on return had us picked up and heading back to the yard no slower than it would take to pick up the keys for a rental car.

We set off about 7:30 to drop the small dog off at Reedy Creek Kennels.  This was done and she seemed to settle down satisfactorily.  We rumbled down the road to Sydney with no dramas.  The range read out on the Jetta suggested we could cover 1400 km before refuelling! The parking lot was found, the car deposited and ourselves shuttled to the airport.  After about an hour we were through the formalities and a further hour later were in the Malaysian Airlines A330.  They seemed  to have a relaxed view about the stowage of hand luggage, but did get it all stowed eventually before take off.  Bird of the day was Little Black Cormorant, seen as we took off.

There were many kids on the flight and several of them didn't seem to settle at all.  At one point it looked though the worst offenders were also coming on the flight to Amsterdam but fortunately they didn't turn up.  This one – in front of us - was very well behaved.

We saw – but couldn't photograph due to the position of the sun and humidity- brilliant scenery in the Kimberleys (view of the day) and around the Ord, and again some of the islands to the East of Lombok.  In passing, a contender for bad taste of the day was the Oxford Landing Shiraz served with the evening meal.  It was rather close to undrinkable  and won the “sensual" division..

The most interesting part of the 3 hours in KL was going into the Jungle Boardwalk.  There were a lot of bird calls in there but they all seemed to be recordings. 

The palms etc were very pleasant however and it scores Garden of the Day.  The bad taste – artistic division - award went to an ice cream stall, rather than the bromeliad shaped supports for the boardwalk.  

A near disaster occurred when I saw a KLM flight moved to a new gate.  This also implied the flight had been shifted back 30 minutes.  Fortunately some other passengers said that KLM sometimes have two flights departing close together, so we didn't report to the wrong gate after our flight had left!

Bird of the Day: Little Black Cormorant (last bird in Australia)

Building of the day:  No nominations

Garden of the Day: Jungle boardwalk in Kuala Lumpur

Bad taste of the Day:Ice cream stand in Kuala Lumpur

View of the Day: Kimberleys from 10kms above.

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July 18 Brum, brum ,brum

As part of the planning for trip Frances decided to consult the tourist board sites for this renowned city.  One of them burbled about filling her computer with cookies “to give her the best experience” so she passed on that (as soon as she had finished chundering).   Next stop was the Council site.  She put in “Public art” and got one listing – of something that burnt down in 2003.

One could say “What else do you expect from Birmingham?” and plan to spend the day in the hotel sleeping.  However, being of a curious mind I Googled “Birmingham UK public art” and got a very large amount of information.  There seem to be at least 20 works in the Centre of the city, including at least one by Anthony Gormley.  (There is apparently a fountain featuring a young lady, not as I first thought Queen Victoria, which is known as the "floozie in the jacuzzi".)  I don’t think we are going to have any trouble amusing ourselves!

We left KL in a nice new 777 just before midnight, but it was after midnight in Australia so I will count it as day 2.  We had Economy Comfort seats which cost extra but were well worth it as we had no-one in front and I was able to get a little sleep.  Frances did quite well.  The first four hours were a bit bumpy and involved at least one major kink in the flight path to go round a storm in the Bay of Bengal. 

At one point there was a call for ''a medical doctor to the rear of the plane” and after someone walked past from Business Class a crew member appeared with a rather large first aid kit.

We were both awake as dawn tried to catch up with us over the Ukraine, but daylight didn't really arrive until well West of Berlin.   When breakfast had been served one of the crew announced that “we are still in German airspace ...” which was an interesting way of saying we aren't in Holland yet.  When we did get to Holland it looked very damp and mist was rolling in from the sea. Not a great snap, but it was grey and misty.

As we landed we could see how neat and tidy all the farms were, with nice regular shaped fields: I wondered if they were tulip farms but Frances said the season was wrong.  During taxi Jackdaws established themselves as first European bird and thus Bird of the day.  Tulips were evident in the airport shop.

As were other things: this array of souvenirs quickly set up an unbreakable lead in the bad taste award (all categories). 

We basically sat around for nearly three hours waiting for our flight to Birmingham: since Schiphol offers a free internet service that wasn't too hard.  We then caught a bus out to our plane (an Embraer jet) which involved a drive that, had the sea not got in the way, would have just about got us to Clacton.  

The flight was pretty much up and down, taking 50 minutes.  We got a good view of some Dutch towns where the developments seemed to have been designed to make nice shapes when seen from 3km above!.

Two middle aged pommie "lads" were behind us talking incessantly about their work with mining companies in various dodgy parts of Africa.  It was quite interesting – for example “I wouldn't want to live in Birmingham City: its better in Africa.”, which wasn't said by the one who worked in Kigali - but rather intrusive.  When I got a look at them on leaving the flight I'd say they were both quite hard blokes: built like brick outhouses, skinhead haircuts and in one case a good crop of tatts.

Unlike Holland the fields were very undisciplined.  It was rare for there to be one straight side let alone 4 at right angles to each other.  

After landing we went to the terminal and my guess is that we were out of there in about 20 minutes.  It would have been quicker but the immigration guy was very chatty and I was in polite mode.  A very helpful lad in the information centre (a big comeback after the shambles of their website outlined above) pointed us to the hotel; explained how to get to the City Centre (train is the go); and provided maps!

Check in at the Hotel (Novotel) resulted in us upgrading our room to get in straight away.  Getting the review of the Hotel out of the way I rated it rather good: the staff were all helpful, it was very quiet and the food good.

We caught the shuttle train to Birmingham International Station from where British Midland took us into the City Centre (New Street).  Yet again the ticket seller was helpful and efficient – what has happened to the traditional English Jobsworth work ethic?  Unfortunately, the Nanny Society has survived Tony Blair - I read a book by Jeremy Clarkson later in the trip in which he refers to "His Tonyness" - so the train ride was accompanied by various and continual warnings to “mind the gap” “don't leave belongings unattended” “Read the security notices”. 

Our travels around Birmingham took us first past an arcade with an ornate ceiling 

and then to Victoria Square where many of the public artworks were to be found.  These included the “floozie in the jacuzzi”

and Anthony Gormley's Iron Man.  

The Art Gallery ...

... was also there and yet again was notable for a lack of Jobsworths.  All staff were helpful - and not just to us: I saw a security guard find a chair for a guy who was sketching Using A PENCIL!!!- and photography was welcome everywhere except a special exhibition and the Staffordshire Hoard. So here are a couple of samples 

 

As well as these traditional works there were some modernish stuff (although this by "Rock Drill" by Jacob Epstein comes from 1915 so emphasises the 'ish'.

and this collection reflects the industrial nature of the Midlands

The ban in the Hoard may be to promote book sales or possibly to reflect its shared ownership (with another gallery).  This was an astonishing collection of gold jewellery and artefacts found in a ploughed field in 2009 by a guy using a metal detector.  I think he ended up scoring £3m for it!  Well done that boy!  It seems they are still working on it (eg one item was found last year embedded in a lump of clay) but have not been able to decide why it was deposited.

Great graffiti on the Public Library

... and I liked this building, and its contrast with the glass brick beside it,  enough to photograph it.

 Next stop, was St Phillips Anglican Cathedral which was brilliant.  It was surrounded by lawns that were covered with Brummies eating their lunch in the sunshine.  (Very reminiscent of Bryant Park in New York.)  Inside was very well decorated 

and there weren't too many signs begging for money.  I took a photo of a set of Memorial plaques

 although I probably won't submit them to the Register of NSW War Memorials).   That being said, my interest having been stirred by NSW Memorials I did find looking for memorials added a fair bit of interest to the trip.  The design of them varied greatly and some of them told interesting stories so I have created a special post - or possibly 2 - in this blog to hold information that didn't fir with the overall narrative. 

We weaved our way past this wicker statue

to the Catholic Cathedral which was designed by Pugin, the father of the Gothic Revival in the mid-19^th Century.  Unfortunately 'Security' meant you couldn't take snaps.  I asked a lady why not and she said  “I don't know;  It was the Dean's idea so ask him if you can find him.” Obviously the Dean has attracted all the jobsworthiness of Staffordshire and I convivially wish him the best of luck. See also a Pugin-related comment under Shrewsbury some days below.

We briefly visited a Waitrose (as Stephen Fry has commented, kept clear of scum by the activities of Sainsbury's) to get something to eat for tea and some bottled goods.  Back to the hotel to try to stay awake.  I failed and was asleep by 3pm Brum time (1am Carwoola time) in which state I remained until about 3am Brum time the next morning.

I was surprised to find that there was very little of what I regard as the traditional Brum accent to be heard and no-one said 'each' anywhere in my presence.  Possibly this was because most of the folk we spoke with were of NESB.

Bird of the Day: Jackdaw at Schipol (first European bird of the trip).  A Peewit seen as we took off gave it a run as it was the only one seen all trip while Jackdaws were in flcoks of 50 aroundTugford, but first in, best dressed.

Building of the day: Birmingham Art Gallery

Garden of the Day: No contenders

Bad taste of the Day: Ceramic clogs in Schiphol

View of the Day: Nothing really startling but I have grown rather alarmingly fond of the mixed shapes and colours of fields in English farmland.

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July 19 Delights of the A34

Pick up car at airport.  Head for Coventry and cathedral.  Head off towards Selsey.  South of Newbury call in at Sandham Memorial Chapel.  Organise ourselves at Selsey.

After reading a book on Frances iPad for an hour I went back to sleep about 4am.  I woke again about 4:45 and decided that as it was daylight and I had had about 12 hours sleep I might as well go for a run.  What happened was more like a stagger than a run but I picked up and put them down broadly in a circuit of the National Exhibition Centre.  A few additional birds, and an amazing number of rabbits, were seen here.

By the time I had  a shower we were ready for the buffet breakfast which took in enough calories to last us for most of our trip.  A wonderful meal.  Then off to Europcar to get some wheels.  As we walked in we were amused at the sight of this hire car driver - possibly he'd call himself a chauffeur - changing a wheel, wearing rubber gloves to keep his hands clean.

While typing this I have have recalled the line in Lonnie Donegan's song "Putting on the Style" referring to  ".. driving like 'e's mad, wiv a pair of Yaller gloves, e's borrered from 'is dad."

The car turned out to be a petrol Polo manual without cruise control rather than the automatic diesel something with cruise control which I would have preferred).  Check out was easy and off we went towards Coventry.   Cutting to the chase for the car, it did the job.  It:

• could go at the speed limit (and more when needed on motorways)
• gave us about 45mpg; 
• carried all our kit; and 
• fitted into English country roads.

However it was incredibly noisy when pushed and certainly didn't have the grunt of Frances Jetta.  Also, in about 4 months of having automatic vehicles I have got out of the habit of shifting into top as soon as possible.

I'm not sure if we got into Coventry the easiest way and it was by now 8:15 so peak hour.  Also, as usual the Cathedral was on all the signposts until close to it.  After a few laps of the bus station we found somewhere to park and just as we were printing the ticket a local told us that the ticket machine in a nearby park was broken so parking was free.   Buggah.  Perhaps that is the tale behind this graffiti?

We then asked a passing lass how to get to the Cathedral and she didn't really know but then recalled the steps beside a pub which worked for us.  We went by the Priory Gardens which were pleasant

and then found our way to the Cathedral.  It was an omen that the Visitors Centre didn't open until 9:30 (and it was by now 8:45).  Going slightly forward, we found that the 'new' Cathedral didn't open until 10, which was a nuisance, at least until a skivvy for the Cathedral told us that the Bluecoats School had taken the place out for the morning for their end of year service.

BUGGAH!!! I then persuaded someone setting up the sound for the school to let take a photo but that didn't come out properly.  So we took some other snaps around the place noticing that quite a bit of old Coventry seemed to have survived the firestorm. 

This memorial is to fire fighters who didn't survive.

By dint of sticking our noses and my camera into various places I did get quite a few shots which hopefully give an idea of the Cathedral and its setting.

This is part of the remains of the old cathedral.

This sculpture was presented by a group from Dresden which was flattened by the Allies in retaliation for Coventry.

 Another Epstein, titled "Ecce Homo" .

 The huge etched glass window which allows folk inside the new cathedral to see the ruins of the old.

 An astonishing stained glass window with the sun coming though it.

 The altar hanging and the organ.

 Yet another Epstein, hanging on the outside of the Cathedral.  This one dpicts St Michael dealing with Satan.

We then hit the M40 and then A34 South, getting used (again) to the fact that many Poms – particularly those driving German performance cars - regard the 70 limit on motorways etc as a guideline.  As I sat on about 70mph (and I have no idea why the Poms have metricated liquid measures and weights but not linear measures)  my estimate was that a lot of cars that overtook me were doing close to, or above, 100mph.

Whatever, we poddled down to Newbury and 4 miles later took the turnoff to the Sandham Memorial Chapel.

This is now owned by the National Trust (NT) and is well described by them (photos are not allowed.).  A magnificent work by  Stanley Spencer commemorating the death of his sponsor's brother (and Spencer's friend) as a result of WW1.  The entire work took him 5 years and as some of the themes (eg horses being reincarnated) were offensive unto vicars (at that time, perhaps less so now) and had to be done after the chapel was consecrated. 

In true NT fashion the grass was not mown to encourage the butterflies.  There were certainly a lot of Six-spotted burnets around.

After viewing the Chapel we headed for the nearby Beacon Hill which we scaled to see the views across the Downs.

As we started we noticed a sign forbidding hang-gliders and on the top with a steady breeze could understand the appeal of the place for people who like that sort of thing.  We added a few bird species to the trip list and saw a model glider – apparently not banned. 

On, on down the road marvelling at how a caravan can screw up the traffic.  We found our way to Selsey, a little earlier than expected so went to look at La Manche (aka the English Channel) and then to buy some groceries (especially in bottles).  The first place we went to was appalling: all the wine was Australian and all brands we wouldn't cook with in Australia!  I then found an Off-license which provided (what has turned out to be) a very potable bottle of Argentinian Malbec.  Surprisingly the label didn't refer to the sinking of the General Belgrano, nor make any other reference to Las Malvinas.

We then found Gull cottage

and dumped off our kit.  To keep ourselves awake we went for a walk along the shingle.

adding several species of Gull to the bird list.  We could see how a 16 year old Pommie blonde might find the town “a hole” but we reckoned it was OK as a base for a holiday – just the visitors a tad declassé.  This group were in traditional style hiding from the wind behind a groyn while scoring some rays from the sun.

We had tea - I can't remember what -  watch Le Tour highlights, drink some Theakston's Old Peculier, and head for bed about 8:30 Selsey time.

Bird of the Day:  Black-headed Gull

Building of the day: Coventry Cathedral is the only real contender.  Saltham Memorial Chapel gets a "mouse that roared" award but it really was punching above its weight.

Garden of the Day: The front yard at Saltham.

Bad taste of the Day: The pink pom parade at Selsey

View of the Day: The Downs from Beacon Hill

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July 20 Castles and Rooks

Arundel, Wildfowl place.  Pulborough (RSPB towards Storrington), Petworth House – Archaeological event.)

Awake fairly early so did some typing while supping coffee and then off for a walk along the shingle to the West.  Many dog walkers around early in the morning and all friendly.

We walked back down the main drag, noting a seagull sitting on a chimney and wondering if they are the Pom equivalent of the Storks in Continental Europe)

and this sign about police bait and wondering if it was entrapment for thieves or an anti-corruption initiative aimed at Mr Plod.

We stopped in at the busy bakery for fruit buns and, talking of the police and their tastes, doughnuts.  Yummo.  they got visitd on  daily basis from then on.

After a digestion break we took off towards Arundel.  A first issue was Ernie's descendant: you remember the Benny Hill song about the fastest milkman in the west.  The version we found was the slowest milkman in the South: 10mph at best along a B-road with lots of traffic.  After being forced to follow him for about 2 miles we got by.   Here is a picture of this model of lassitude delivering the gold-top in the little road opposite Gull Cottage.

The next roundabout involved a slight navigational disaster which did have the good effect of getting Bognor Regis out of our system.  When pronouncing this name emphasise the “Bog”: way worse than Selsey (or Bateman's Bay)!

On arrival in Arundel we faced a common problem.  Where the heck do you park?  We found somewhere about 500m out of the centre which was way in front of the game.  When we left we found people parked about 2km out!  Our first point of call was the Catholic Cathedral where a service was going on so we didn't hang out for long.

We crossed the road to the Anglican Church of St Nicholas (being upgraded/repaired but still very interesting)

This backed on to the Fitzalan chapel, accessible from the Castle but visible dimly from St Nicks

We passed on going in to the (huge) Castle

 and went to the centre of the town where a Farmers Market was the order of the day.  Frances found a stall selling excellent artisanal meat pies after pointing me at the stall where the Arundel Brewery was offering free beer!  OK: after I had bought a polo shirt and a pack of three beers

perhaps it wasn't really free, but I was going to visit the brewery and buy those things anyway.  The Town Crier

 – I suspect not Dawn French moonlighting – was making a noise, as employed to do.

We wandered around the town a little and returned to look more closely at the Cathedral

– very Gothic and surprisingly free of pleas for money.  Then on down Mill Lane – a lovely avenue of trees - towards the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust place – people were still parking in the road here and walking back to the town!  This was well set up, but there were few interesting birds other than the captive breeding populations.   These Black-necked Swan cygnets were attractive – definitely not Ugly Ducklings.

The final stop for the day was Petworth House reached by a circuitous route because I followed the truck signs rather than those through the town.  This was the home of the Percy family and its descendants. Things got tricky in 1837 when the only heir was illegitimate and thus couldn't inherit the title but did get the huge money.  Of course with that much money a new title was eventually found for him.  There were a lot of punters present and a lot of stuff for them to see.  This began with a bunch of folk demonstrating medieval  jobs.  I think this bloke was a doctor, but all his talk was about stools  so I referred to him as a turdologist.

I was particularly interested in an archaeological dig happening in the the Park.  This was a 9 day project and part of the first efforts by East Sussex County Council to understand the history of the area.   An excellent  talk was given by their archaeologist to explain what they were up to, and what they now understand.

It seemed the area had originally been owned by the Crown and 'Enery VIII had had a place here for hunting etc.  This was then acquired by the Duke of Northumberland who turned out to have a republican bent or a least an unconventional view as to who should be Monarch (he supported this role going to the Duke of Northumberland).  Queen Lizzie 1 disagreed and the Duke became both unenthroned and headless.  His descendants were restricted to the South of England.  Thus they had lots of money and could only spend it on Petworth.

The main way they spent the money was getting Capability Brown to do do some landscaping which basically involved completely changing the landscape.  His approach was:

• decide what shape he wanted for the land;
• remove and store the turf and topsoil;
• muck around with the rock underneath to achieve the required shape (often shifting many tons of material);
•  return the soil and turf.

This plays hob with the things that archaeologists wish to study.  At the end of the talk our guide commented that they try to minimise their digging as it basically destroys what is there.  They try to leave as much as possible for later more advanced people to study.  He commented that 20 years ago no-one would have been able to do the research to identify the recently discovered corpse of Richard III, and who knows what possibilities might exist in 20 years time.

I then joined Frances in looking around the House, free as we are members of the National Trust of NSW, which had a massive collection of paintings by many famous folk.

Turner was very well represented and the focus of interpretive signs in many rooms.  I also noted a few Joshua Reynolds, several Gainsboroughs and a Titian.

We then went for a stroll out to the Lake (totally invented by Capability Brown) marvelling at the number of people exercising their dogs.  The NT is quite relaxed about this as long as the dogs are controlled and not allowed to chase the deer.  My goodness, couldn't the NSW Sparks and Wildfires Service learn something from them!

At various points during the day we actually saw some rooks (a form of corvid that travels and. particularly, nests in very large groups).  So it was a very chessfull day.

On returning home (we passed on an RSPB reserve near Pulborough as the day had been rather full) I heard a roaring sound in the sky.  The rise and fall sounded like aerobatics but it didn't sound quite right for a Pitts Special.  Cast a pebble at the corvids: it was a Spitfire!  I had been hoping to see one of these at Goodwood (about 10 miles inland where a guy has set up a Spitfire flying school) but this was great.  All it needed was a Messerschmidt 109 chasing it (or, being patriotic, for it to chase).

The evening finished with a bottle of Duchy Organic Ale (thank you, young Wales) and a glass of Argentinan Malbec from the Off licence.

Bird of the Day: Robin at Arundel

Building of the day: Petworth House

Garden of the Day: Rhodedendrons leading up to Petworth

Bad taste of the Day: the crawling milkman

View of the Day: Mill Lane in Arundel

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