American Auto Club UK

Today was the hottest day of the year so far, hitting 90f. So we went for a short drive to Hatton Country Park, to see the American Auto Club (UK) car show, and came home to sit in the garden and do...... not alot.....



My Friends Jerry & Lee have one of these, in Red. It is so nice. When I win the lotto I will have one shipped over.



Love the "rat" on the front.


OLD & NEW

This was originally from the town of Washington, Pennsylvania, and shipped over here in 2006. It is in immaculate condition, and, according to the present owner, all the whistles and bells still work.

Lee & Judy's visit,

If you would like to see what Lee & Judy put on there blog about the visit to see us. Click on link. Judy has done a great job so far.

Travels with Nicky

A day in London - A day in Windsor.

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace


The balcony where the newlywed's kissed xxx




Just had to do it .......





Miss America had a dress melfuchtion

Westminster Abbey.

We had intended to go into the Abbey, but the que round the abbey to get in were huge, so we had to pass.

In Hyde Park

Lee Judy and Jane in the grounds of the Grovefield House Hotel, near Windsor.
Lee has the ice bucket ready for Jane's foot soak.

Photograph of an airiel view of Windsor Castle. This place is huge.

The gardens in "The Moat" that surrounds the castle .

We got to see the Queen leaving to go to Ascot

Because the Queen was in residence, we were restricted to where we could go, and so did not get to see the private apartments. The Queen stays in the castle most weekends, but stayed over the week we were there as it is close to Ascot Race Course, where she attends during "Royal Ascot Week". Yep you guessed it, the week we were there.

The town of Windsor is a very pretty old town.

Jane paddling in the sea at Brighton Beach

Desert at the hotel we stayed at in Hickstead, nr Brighton. It looked Scrumptious, and tasted devine.

_________________

We travelled home next day, avoiding the motorways for the first half of the journey so that we could see some of the small towns and villages between Brighton and Oxford, where we eventually joined the main highway, (M40) for the final 60 odd miles home.

We got to Solihull early afternoon, and Lee and Jim had just settled in (Jane and Judy had gone to Shirley) when we were joined by Georgina and the three children. George took Emma to her music lesson leaving the boys with us, so Lee decided he would take them for a walk in the nearby woods. By the time they came back, Jane and Judy had returned, as had George and Emma, to be greeted by the boys saying they had seen a tortoise in the middle of the road near the woods. Lee had put him under a bush for safety, thinking that tortoises were indigenous to England, and was "wild". Jane and the boys ran back to where he had been left, and found him back in the middle of the road. He was subsequently "rescued" again, and brought back to the house, where "Benny" as he is now called, presently resides. We have attempted to find his original owner, as I am sure there is a small child or two missing their pet tortoise, but so far to no avail.

Thursday was the last day of Lee and Judy's visit, and we decided to chill out a little, and just enjoy each others company. Val, our oldest, and Janes best friend, dropped by to say her goodbyes, and we took them to Janes Mums so they could say their goodbyes to them.

On our return home Genette Darren and their children Grace and Edward came by and had supper with us, and Georgina and her three came back to say goodbye, although, as they had said their goodbyes the day before, I suspect the childrens real reason for visiting was to see "Benny" again.

Once everyone had left, we watched a little TV, and then an early night, as we had to be on the road to Manchester airport by 4.30am next day.

A week in the Yorkshire Dales

The Grave of Anne Bronte.

We saw many old castles and churches, and we took loads of photos, so I have put a selection for you to see and hopefully get a feeling for the area.

Judy and Lee at Scarborough Castle

For all you RV'ers out there............... Traffic is now barred from entering the village of Robins Hood Bay. A steep walk down and of course back up.

George and the Dragon, Pickering church.

Girls shopping....... Boys waiting.......

Out side our cottage.

Whitby Abbey

More of Whitby Abbey

And more......

Goathland, or "Aidensfield" of Heartbeat fame, a TV series based in the late 60's early70's.

Look at all the brick work

Dry stone walls

What a view

Walking the old wall that once surrounded the City of York

Its quite a sight walking along the top of the wall.

We walked quite a large section of the wall.

Then a visit to the Railway Museum.......well the boys enjoyed it.....

Warwick Castle

Neither Jane or I have visited Warwick Castle since we were children, further back than either of us care to remember, so when Lee and Judy asked if there were any castles nearby that we could visit, we immediatly thought of Warwick. Warwick Castle is the largest castle, still completly intact, in England, and no more than 20 miles from home. Perfect. We pre-booked the tickets the night before, on line, printed them out, and then 10.30am Thursday morning, tickets in hand, we went to the front of the que, and entered the grounds of the Castle. We were met by several squawking peacoks, their wonderful tails in full flow.

Jane and Judy in the Rose Garden.

They put on a "jousting" match for us, between the English King's men and the Barbarians, of course the English won, though it was a close thing........

Lee Judy and I went up the 583 steps to the tower, and walked all along the battlements. Jane said she didn't fancy all those steps, so she waited for us sitting on a hay bale.

The views from the top of the castle were tremendous, and worth the climb.

Judy with one of the housemaids doing laundry.

Henry the v111, with some of his 8 wives.

There is a water mill at the rear of the castle, used for grinding grain in the early 1300's, and latterly used to produce electricity, from about 1900 until 1954. Lee is seen here talking with one of the curators about how it all works.

This is a picture of an eagle in flight. I dont remember the exact name of it, but I do remember it weighs in at 17 pounds, and has a wing span of over 8 ft. It is the 3rd largest of the eagle family, and comes from Russia.

We had a great day out, the weather was perfect, and we were totaly whacked when we left for the 15 minute walk back to the car park. If anyone ever gets to visit this part of the world, and wishes to see a castle?....then this is the one to go and see.