London–Week 1

We visited Abbey Wood caravan site, near Greenwich, again this year. We topped up our Oyster Cards because our intention was to go into London more times than last year. Our first visit was to ‘Firepower’,  at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich. Royal Artillery Cap Badge

The first Arsenal football team

Royal Arsenal Riverside -  approach to Firepower

 

Stuart in the line of fire – this is an experimental shield of 13 inch iron pre 1873

Sue standing at the end of a single section of the Iraqi super gun 1990-1991

 

 

Peter Burke’s Assembly ’Assembly is a sculpture made up of 16 hollow figures standing in a cluster in Woolwich's historic Royal Arsenal. Created by the sculptor, Peter Burke, the cast-iron quarter-ton body moulds reflect the community, military and industrial history of the site, where munitions factories once employed thousands of workers. They are now being converted into thousands of homes.’

 

Sue joined in – do you remember Harry Worth?

 

New Capital Quay is a village of 980 homes in a former dock basin close to the Cutty Sark

Peter the Great in Deptford - In January 1698, Peter the Great of Russia came to Deptford to study shipbuilding,The statue unveiled in June 2001 stands beside the Thames at the entrance to Deptford Creek. On the left Stuart joins in.

 

We frequently used the bus from Abbey Wood to Woolwich or Greenwich. This is a photo from the top of the bus in Plumstead. I’m glad I didn’t have to drive on these busy London roads.

Contradictory sign for cyclists on the Thames Path.

 

Hans Haake – Gift Horse on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth. The sculpture is the skeleton of a riderless, strutting horse. Tied to the horse’s front leg is an electronic ribbon which displays the live ticker of the London Stock Exchange, completing the link between power, money and history. Double click the information plaque for more details

 

Sue made arrangements to meet her sister, Pam, in London. We travelled in together had a drink at the National Gallery then I went my own way. I did a few geocaches which took me to Carnaby Street, Soho Square and Lincoln’s Inn Field followed by a visit to Sir John Soane’s museum.

 

Covent Garden

 

We visited the Thames Barrier on a day when there was a scheduled closure. The closure started at 9.40 and was fully closed by the time we arrived, 10.30. Once the inspections are over the gates are opened (lowered to the river bed) individually. This process takes about 40 minutes and the Thames Barrier was open to river traffic by 12.10.

Fully closed

The first gate is open

 

 

There is more to come in the next blog!

Tenerife II

Towards the end of our holiday we walked into Los Christianos/Las Americas (not sure where the dividing line is) and passed the Hard Rock café. The building is quite magnificent and is taken out of the Las Vegas mould.

 

 

Nearby pedestrian area

Dodgy sandwiches

   

A trip into the hills and down to the coast

 

Costa Adeje beach

Beach sculptures – quite spectacular

Playa San Juan harbour

 

Gran Melia Palacio De Isora hotel at Alcala – very posh

Los Christianos beach

Los Christianos harbour the Fred Olson express is just departing for La Gomera

 

Playa la Camison Arona

 

Watching all this surfing makes me thirsty

  

I’ve got the hang of this now!

Ooops, no I haven’t

   

El Paraiso on the west coast – very colourful

Our bungalow – downstairs - was very well appointed. It had most things including WiFi

 

Upstairs was the bedroom and shower room with a small balcony for washing machine and drying rack.

 

We booked this bungalow through ‘Airbnb’ which I had only just heard about in the last year. All properties on Airbnb are rented out by the owners. Our owner was Elena who is Russian and as it turned out doesn’t speak English, but her husband does. This led to some interesting exchanges since she was using an online translator. I was also using one to read some of the reviews of her properties (she has a few). The property was exactly as described and was in a very good position for all amenities. At the end of our stay Airbnb invites you to write a review, which we did. Elena also writes a review about us which you can see below. I think that online translator has been at work again.

 

‘Stuart and Sue are remarkable couple of elderly people. Thus they are very vigorous cheerful people. They were pleasant to me. Have good sense of humour. Patient, not whimsical guests. I will meet Stuart and Sue with pleasure in the future.’ Hmm – not sure about the ‘elderly’, does she really mean us?

A couple of wall plaques seen on the outside of houses

  

A stroll in Costa Adeje on our last evening

Oldie photo – Tenerife 2004

Thousand year old Dragon Tree: ‘Legends say that when dragons die they become dragon trees, and it is obvious why this living fossil is one of the symbols of the Canary Islands, and maybe even the greatest treasure of Canarian flora. When one looks at its peculiar shape, it is also not surprising that the tree was considered a divine tree by the early inhabitants of the islands.’