McLays in Europe

The following day was voted as a lay day before setting off on Saturday to drive to Liverpool to meet and stay with Alison's distant cousin Margaret, with whom she had been a pen friend in her teens. Liverpool was North West and on the other side of England. As the crow flies it was only equivalent to Alice Springs to Wycliffe Well but took longer due to the traffic and the bloody roundabouts as Ian so colorfully refers to them. We arrived at Liverpool mid afternoon and met Margaret, husband Bryn and 14 year old daughter Eleanor. After a cuppa, we were taken for a driving tour of the city centre. We visited the magnificent Liverpool Cathedral and had a couple of drinks in a local pub. Margaret had kindly invited another cousin Anne for dinner. We had a lot of fun after dinner reading the letters Alison had received from Margaret in the 1970's which included a real 'english bus ticket' that correctly predicted she was going to marry someone starting with the initial 'M'. Eleanor was particularly interested to read her mother's letters.
Next day we went for a walk around the nearby lake and park land. The areas were nicely grassed and so perfectly green. It was very wet and blustery so we were pleased to go inside the large glass palm house. That afternoon we went to the Philharmonic Hall to see a silent movie which was setup the same as the olden days with a pianist who added the dramatic sounds at the right time and gave the movies such impact. This was a real treat and was really enjoyable. Of course some of the shorts included Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy.
That night we went by London Taxi to a restaurant for dinner. Next morning we enjoyed a farewell breakfast and headed off to Coventry via Penny Lane. It was great to meet Margaret and family and they were very generous hosts. I don't think we succeeded in persuading them to visit us in Oz.
Coventry was a place Ian wanted to see mainly because he has been following the war history over here and Coventry is a sister city to Dresden in Germany; both were flattened during WW II. Coventry was the first English city to introduce the Park and Drive system and again we took advantage of it. On arrival in town, a visit to the tourist centre suggested the town highlights, which included the statue of Lady Godiva, the shell of the bombed cathedral with the new one built beside and a motor display with much history on war years. A fire alarm malfunction in the museum worried us a little, as it sounded too much like an air raid siren, and interrupted our viewing for a short while. Coventry was a motor vehicle producer, for example produced millions of mini minors over the years of their production and during the war years had altered its production to war supplies, therefore its target for the Germans. Then back to our car and headed for Cambridge.
We were within 20 miles of Cambridge and Ian had had enough of night driving, so at a place called Kettering we asked the GPS to find us a place to stay. It listed one called The Country House Hotel which Alison liked the sound of, and away we went again through little back roads. When we were ready to give up, surely there wasn't a Hotel out here!, the GPS said "arriving at destination". We looked over and there was a lovely old hotel set back against the trees. We ventured inside. At first they didn't have a room, but but then a light came on the womans face and she had one for us. It was old english style and simply beautiful. She must not have wanted to turn more business away and offered us the honeymoon suite! We ate dinner in the dining room and were then moved out to a lounge with recliners to enjoy a drink or two. They came and talked to us about their experience with running the Hotel,which was really just a bigger version of a B&B. Next morning another cooked breakfast. To this day they will remain puzzled how a couple of aussie travellers found them out there as they said they did not know how the GPS knew of them.
After leaving earlier than Ian wished on advice from the owner re avoiding traffic, it was not long until we reached the outskirts of Cambridge and again the Park and Ride option was taken. On arrival at the city centre we then took the tourist bus around the city highlights. This is a beautiful city, and the tour explained its rich academic history. We lunched again in a pub and visited the Round Church which had an interesting display on christian heritage. We visited Kings College Chapel but Alison could not talk Ian into staying until 5.30 to see the famous choir perform. The grounds and public areas were so well laid out.
Getting back to our car via bus was an experience, because this was around 5pm and hundreds were queuing, but the buses were all double decker and were able to move the people relatively easily. We could only imagine what it would be like if everyone brought their cars into the city. Students are not allowed to have cars and the place is full of bicycles. We think there must have been interviews for prospective students happening as there were a lot of young men dressed in suits accompanying their parents who were not so well dressed.
We were home in 1 1/2 hours, although Ian did not enjoy the drive. Traffic was very heavy back to Norwich and we appreciate our quick trip to work each day in Alice Springs.
Next day was a day of rest. We have had a late offer of a hospitality exchange in inner London so have decided to leave Great Yarmouth a few days early to spend a couple of days in London before heading off to stay with another of Alison's cousins. So tomorrow Thursday will be spent cleaning house and car for the next visitors to Great Yarmouth.

On Monday we headed off to Gayton near Kings Lynn to meet some cousins of Alison's step-father John. Kings Lynn was where John was born and lived there before immigrating to Australia all those years ago. We stopped initially at a technical display near Swaffam which featured the large solar windmills which are receiving much discussion in England at present as they are reasonably effective in generating energy using the wind but driving down property values in the regions they are built. Property values here are big business and the papers are full of daily predictions on interest rates, USA mortgage crisis etc etc. Now we know where the Aussies got their property mania from.
Arriving at Kings Lynn the weather was not conducive to being outside and the wind off the river was bitterly cold. Most tourist places were shut on Monday so that put a damper on things. After following an historic walking tour around the town centre we found one museum that was open which depicted the life and times of Kings Lynn.
Kings Lynn was a very traditional English town and the old church and city centre buildings were in the main being kept or restored back to original. The streets all nicely paved and an air of Christmas creeping in. It was a great experience to have cold weather at this time of the year and think of being inside and cosy when sitting down to the roast on Christmas Day.
After dark, we headed off to meet the relations and thanks to the GPS arrived right on time(this was not NT time anymore, when people here say 6pm they mean 6pm). The village was small and quaint and the two cousins eagerly awaited our arrival. As we slowed and went past the house we thought to be the one, Ian saw a couple of grey heads pop up in the lounge so we backed up to be directed into the drive by Lou. Ian put down the window and said "expecting a couple of Aussies are you mate?" and Lou replied "yes, is that our Alison sitting there?" And so we were here.
The house was old but as neat as a pin , the garden very neat and tidy as well. We went into a very warm lounge room and became acquainted. Then a hot cuppa and sandwich and pork pie followed by cream sponge. We really enjoyed chatting with Lou and Pam and stayed for three hours. We both came away with the feeling that we had just been chatting with Mum and Dad.
We had demonstrated the GPS to Lou & Pam and they were interested to hear it direct us off from their place to find our B and B, Oyster House. It was very dark by this stage and the GPS lead us through country roads as it took the most direct route. We were really out in the country, driving down narrow paths between hedges left and right. Due to staying for tea with Pam and Lou, we arrived over an hour late but the lady was still up and showed us our room. Next morning we sat up to a full English breakfast and chatted with the person from the next room who was a 28 year old accountant from London who had come to stay for a week to undertake an intensive driving course. He had decided at this age to get his licence to break the mould of many Londoners who have no need of a car!
We headed off for a glimse of Sandringham House where the royal family usually spend Xmas before travelling back to Kings Lynn for some more sightseeing and then returned home in time for Alison's appointment with the hairdresser the next day. When she made the appointment they insisted they could not put colour in until they had done a skin test, so she had to go in for a consultation the week prior. Interestingly they never even asked if there were any problems when she returned or looked at the skin test! Later that afternoon, we went into the turning on of the Xmas lights in Great Yarmouth but it was a bit disappointing. Lots of people but not many lights and the concert was not on a stage so couldn't see a thing - so went to try another pub instead.
The following day we did some more local sightseeing visiting the Medieval Town Wall (well preserved) and visited Great Yarmouth Potteries which is situated in an old smokehouse made from recycled ships timbers. The owner and artist was great to talk to. He was from a family of fishermen and had lived in the old row houses and had many old relics. Shame it was winter as in summer they have evenings in their cafe to which they invite old fishermen and have some great nights by the sound of things.

The moment we hit the Norwich airport we felt comfortable. As Ian handed his passport to the man he said in a very welcoming voice 'why you comin' to this bloody cold country mate?' and Ian replied to 'get out of a bloody hot one!'. They shared a giggle and soon we were picked up by our exchange partner's friends Ken & Judy. They are also home exchangers and knew how we felt and what our needs were. They drove us to the home and we shared a friendly chat - in English!
The owners of this house are currently in ours in Alice Springs and also have use of our car. So if anyone from Alice Springs has seen our car and thought we might have sold it, no; it is Michael and Janet, so please wave to them and smile.
It was great to be driving down the left hand side of the road again and didn't take long to feel right after several weeks of feeling wrong on the right hand side of the road. This was our first house exchange where a car was included so Ian was pleased that driving would be rather back to normal.
The house is two stories with three bedroom, typical English style house with a small tidy backyard.
First two days we did very little, just stayed home and went to the local supermarket to stock up on food and the rest of the time kept warm inside watching cable TV and reading newspapers, after all this was meant to be a holiday!
Next day we decided to discover Great Yarmouth, so we drove to the beach area and sought some advice from the Tourist Bureau. They put us onto a couple of good local museums and we went to one that had the historical background to Lord Nelson, the bravest sailor in British history, which coincidently was also covered on the History Channel on Cable TV that night, so we had a double dose. We had a walk down to the market and had some world famous chips and were a bit surprised it was getting dark at 4pm and soon after 4.30 was pitch black. So our day's plans were cut short and we decided to get up earlier the next day.
Day four came, and early to rise we drove down the coast to Essex to visit 'Constable Walk' which is the area landscape painter John Constable used for many of his paintings. This day involved a bit of driving and although the GPS was handy we were getting a little tired of the lady voice saying 'please drive one mile and then enter a roundabout and take the second exit' - Ian thought Alice Springs was becoming the city of roundabouts but this place is full of them. After a drizzly day, the sun came out just as we got there and we enjoyed the walk which was based around Flatford Mill which was owned by the painter's father from 1776 - 1837. We returned to Great Yarmouth in time to eat and then see Elizabeth, the movie about Queen Elizabeth 1, staring a couple of famous aussies, Kate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
Next day we went into Norwich (a major city about 21 miles away)and discovered that they have a great public scheme called 'park and ride' where you park the car at a terminal outside the city and catch a bus in and out. There were several terminals around the city and it only cost £3 for the day. The bus dropped us at Norwich Castle and due to extremely cold and windy conditions that is were we stayed with plenty to keep us occupied for the rest of the day. We were the only participants on a guided tour called Battlements, where the guide took us up on the top and explained the history of the Castle back to the Romans and some relevant WWII stuff, which we are both enjoying learning about. Later joined a Dungeon tour that included a true story of a man who luckily escaped the prison by seeking deportation to this place called Australia and who became quite successful in old Sydney town. It was so brutal in these days,and we were demonstrated torture methods for outspoken women or those that had disobeyed their husbands! We came to believe that if nothing else anyone who got through the British Penal system and then survived the ship ride to Australia must have been made of iron.
Another day in Great Yarmouth we visited a museum, called 'Time and Tide' which was built in an old Herring processing building. It depicted the life in Great Yarmouth through the years, including their way of life and type of houses called Row Houses. It was very well done and the displays were lifelike and supported by audio. The Herring industry was the backbone of Great Yarmouth and the displays of the hard life was unbelievable. Some parts still smelt like fish so this added to the atmosphere. We were very interested in the war section of the museum, which we came to last and again were asked to leave before we could get all the way through it. The place was closing at 4.30pm and looking outside it was dark again!
We decided to visit a local English pub on the next corner, just to see how the other half live. The White Lion turned out to be the oldest pub in Great Yarmouth, mind you it looked like it. It was small and quaint and run by a Scottish woman who had such a broad accent we had trouble following her. Only a dozen in the bar, and as we had a pint we had a pleasant chat with a few. They discussed the Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away. The Scottish woman said ' no way I would go to Australia it is full of spiders & snakes'. It seems they get this idea from watching shows on TV.
As we were leaving, a quiet bloke in the corner ( who obviously wanted to bring these Aussies down a peg or two) looked up and smiled with a mouth full of rotten teeth and said 'I come from Wombat near Adelaide'. We both looked at each other blank 'We don't know that place'. Then he fell foul of Alison by saying 'yeah it has lots of crocs there' The count went Aussies 1 and Poms zero , when Alison commented 'you are talking bullshit' and the bar erupted in laughter and a few blokes congratulated Alison for turning the tide on this bloke.
Then it was Sunday. After a sleep in we headed out of Great Yarmouth not really knowing where we were going. Some 10 miles down the road into the old English countryside we were enticed into a Pub for a Sunday Roast which we thoroughly enjoyed along with dessert - Alison could not resist the rhubarb crumble.
The English have just sacked their National soccer team coach after they failed to qualify for the European Competition, and when they heard he received a contract cancellation payment of £2.5M they have been spitting chips. Ian has spent much time reading up on this and can't believe how abusive the English press are, calling him names in the press that in Australia would not be allowed. Therefore, no one wants to talk football at present, so maybe they might like to talk about the cricket! Not so Ian has found, especially with an Australian. Ha Ha if only he could find someone to brag about the cats to.