A typical day in UK

Every-time I stepped out, even to check the mail box or to bid a quick 'bye', I had to greedily grab the woolens and furs, without which I would have turned into a Snow-woman. But, this was after years of yearning to live in a snowing country. I felt how much lucky we are in India, and how much the glorious sunlight was taken for granted. It gets dark by 4p.m and the lack of sunlight so much saps out the energy in you. For someone like me, who would want thermals even for a UK summer, the severe winter was unexplainable. Fellow Indians braving the cold to make the most of the magical destination was a common sight. The shops are closed at 5! Only a few shops open in the mall (i am thinking they are open extra hours, wanting to meet targets before year ending) all play the song, 'Let it Snow, Let it Snow' continuously, as if the Snow outside is not enough!

The funny phenomenon - The year 2009, southern England in general witnessed the highest snowfall in the last 2 decades. Being from the tropics I always were praying for a Snow experience - read Snow fall. But, it came in as an Ocean of Snow! People responded to initial occurrences without much preparation. But, later on even when there was a hint of bad weather, everyone in the city/community rushed to the food store to stock up on milk, bread, fruit, veggies etc. It is a funny phenomena! There were days, where we saw stores with empty racks. People had cleaned the shelves. But soon, we too started living life like that of a Chipmunk, which stores food for the worst weather. Looking up for Yahoo and BBC weather, rushing to Tesco/Sainbury's and pushing home cart loads of food was a regular ordeal, as driving in those conditions was next to impossible.

I am craving for those sunny days again....

The first Snow

When I drew the curtains off my third-floor room window, it was a just another day for me. Morning ablutions, cooking and packing lunch, getting ready to work and rushing yo see my Client on time was all that was running in my head. Somewhere, at the back I was secretly wishing that my friend/apartment-mate was already up and gotten busy in the Kitchen. The opaque window screen needed some more effort and I pushed it aside to see if the UK Sun was already up, or if I was blessed with few more hours of sleep. And........... I see a sea of white.......... I rubbed my eyes and tried recalling where I had slept the previous night?! Southern England and a Sea of Snow in November?!? Unbelievable. While I still kept my eyes and mouth wide open, my friend shouted in excitement saying, "See outside, see outside the window".

And the next second, I laid hands on the camera (not warm clothes!) and we scrambled out of our rooms towards the Balcony. The view far and wide was just beautiful.The Door required some initial effort, due to the accumulation of the Snow. And there it was the first snow, fresh and clean, soft and fluffy and in loads! We were thrown back to our senses soon, as we were not only in thin layers but also bare limbs.

We spent the next hour playing in the Snow and clicking numerous photos. When a sleet and shower, blessed us with a work-from-home-day, a heavy-snow obviously kept us at home. We completed equipped our self and got down to the ground floor. The Snow was boundless. It was like they had transported extra loads to our Apartment ground for us to play. Polar Bear, Penguin, Snow Man, Snow Castles and what-nots where created in enthusiasm. And, when we actually realized that we hadn't even brushed our teeth it was noon!

The rest of the work-from-home-day was blessed with Onion Pakoras, Carrot Halwa, BBB (it also has a wiki page!) and washed with loads of hot coffee and chitter-chatter. And now I write this enjoying the California rainy day and recalling the previous November. The only think common is, its a work-from-home-day this day too.

Coming up

Lots of post flowing in. Viz.

1] Basingstoke, UK.
2] Greenwich, London.
3] Oxford & Cambridge Circus, London.
4] British Museum, London.
5] Reading, UK.
6] Roman Bath.
7] Stratford-Up-Avon.
8] Cambridge - Day 1.
9] Cambridge - Day 2.
10] The beautiful Village of Wherwell.

What is on my mind now?

Danish Pastries.........

Music on the Streets??

During my previous visit I posted pics of art. This time its music.



The kid deeply engrossed....

Candy time

This Mother, Daughter duo enjoyed their Candy to glory on a bright evening.

Location : Round Church, Bridge Street, Cambridge


And this trio... The kids seem to really enjoyed the ride.

Location : The Backs of river Cam, Cambridge

From Cambridgeshire

While I wandered all alone in Cambridge...




Here is the last post for the year, wishing you all very Happy New Year.....

Lessons

Of the numerous Churches, Cathedrals and Chapels I have visited in this part of the world, this prayer request in particular caught my attention.

In one of the Chapels in Cambridgeshire........

Poor kid, how much he/she would have hated those lessons.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

While all the Houses, Restaturants and shops are busy playing Let it snow for 2 days now, here are those first set of snaps.


Prettier and merrier....




Enjoyed those fresh days.....

All UK posts

Have been publishing posts in drafts, in bits and pieces; been lazy at times to process, rename and choose from the thousand plus JPEGs. An easy access to all of those here.

i] Eastleigh
ii] Winchester
iii] Hursley
iv] Stonehenge and Woodhenge
v] Avebury
vi] Bath
vii] Salisbury
viii] Beaulieu
ix] Hurst Castle
x] Portsmouth
xi] Hursley Day
xii] Buckler's Hard
xiii] Calshot Castle and Beach
xiv] Oxford I
xv] Oxford II
xvi] Stratford-upon-Avon
xvii] Warwick
xviii] NewForest
xix] London - Walk I
xx] London - Walk II
xxi] London - Walk III

Hugs and Kisses to my Luv

London and some parts of UK still remain on my wish list. Concluding that there is always another time for UK and even Europe, I can never forget posting some images.


Here goes…..

She’s been there along the whole trip, each day. She is unexplainable. If I ever loved something it’s those drives and Classic FM. I was more inclined towards a SUV than a Sedan, till I drove her. A6 is unbelievable. I don’t want to get into technical specifications here, which I leave to Audi here.

Bidding her adieu on the last day was heart wrecking. This post is a special dedication to her.

New Forest

Sunday 13 June 2008
NewForest

Oxford and Stratford was the busiest circuit of all. The English Sun was up at 3:30AM, while I had a blissful sleep till 9:00, as I neither a Temple or Veggie Vendor on street to wake me up at 5:30 in the morning; nor my neighbors alarm piece - which is loud enough to wake up the entire street, and he who takes 15mins to switch it off!

A one hour peaceful English breakfast.

Apart from the undoable Scotland, Paris, Milan, Venice, Rome and Deutschland, I just had Cambridge, London and Isle of Wight in my list. London and Cambridge had an allocation, and IOW was risky.

So, walked down to the High Street....

I see the peaceful park which lent me a circuit for walking and reading all these days being fully occupied by colorful Tents. I continue walking, only to hear some music being played.

‘ Jhilmil Sitaron Ka, Aangan Hoga, Rimjhim Barasta…….’

How nice to hear this in a English town. I happily occupied a bench and hummed…..

It was followed by, ‘Rim jim ghire saawan….’

It turned out to be Eastleigh Mela that day, and was sponsored by ‘The Asian Community of UnitedKingdom’. Got to see lot many brown skinned and black haired people.

Although I drove through NewForest, had never experienced a walk, and were yearning for one. A New Forest walk sounded a splendid idea. Thinking the other regions of New Forest being busy, I decided upon NOMANSLAND!! Yeah, No-Man’s-Land :-)

And the photo essay says it all…

Bliss!! Can’t ask for anything more…..

Portsmouth

5 July 2008, Saturday
Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a mere 20 miles from Eastleigh, and was a must see in my list. We started as early as 7AM. The interim stop before Portsmouth was Portchester. The morning walk was destined at the Portchester Castle.

Portchester Castle is one of the best preserved Roman fortification. The castle remains are essentially the outer wall and a restructured keep. The view from the castle top is enjoyable. There is a small church within the castle walls. A walk outside along the castle walls and along the water's edge, revealed a splendid view of Portsmouth harbor.

Spinnaker tower at Portsmouth visible from Portchester Castle.

A morning jog to relish for forever................

Our next stop was at Shingle beach.

Houses facing the Sea.....

This was the perfect Beach and Yacht drawing, I used to draw as a kid.

Portsmouth has 4 miles of seafront with pebbled beaches and has been a important Naval Port.

Compared to other places, spotting a long stay was tough, finally we did; which was 10mins walk from the Historic Dockyard.

The Historic Dockyard : HMS Victory, Mary Rose, HMS Warrior 1860 and Royal Naval Museum.

HMS Warrior

HMS Monitor M33 – built in 1915.

The primary attractions here are, Lord Nelson's ship, the HMS Victory - an 18th century man-o-war. The ships are continually maintained and staffed by regular midshipmen of the Royal Navy. One is sure to enjoy the narration, touring the fine vessel and seeing how life might have been like in the Navy of 1805.

There are 8 museums in the Dockyard including the Royal Naval Museum. And one would surely enjoy all of them. Its great to know what it takes to build a ship, down to the niceties. Its such complex compared to what the National Motor Museum introduced me to.

The Sails, Uniforms, Blacksmith, Ironsmith, Mast tailor, Carpenter……

But, one thing that caught my attention in these museums is the wealth looted from our country, which are found displayed here. And some are for sale for a fortune. Precious stones, Jewellery, Gold and Sliver articles, idols et al. They shamelessly have a board saying, they originate from India.

I remember learning all these knots at School. Yet to try them out now.

The Mary Rose is a Tudor warship which sank off the coast of Southsea, near Portsmouth, in 1545, during a battle with the French. In 1982, the remains of the Mary Rose hull were hoisted from its shallow grave and moved to Portsmouth in a very complex recovery operation. The hull is now on display in a specially constructed building.

The dockyard has one of the best gift stores and range of memorabilias, offered at decent price.

Across the Hard Interchange to the Gunwarf Quays. The Gunwarf Quays has hundreds of food chains, accessory, clothing, fashion and jewellery outlet all together.

Spinnaker Tower – A striking £21 million landmark tower, rising 170m.

A busy Saturday afternoon, the city was welcoming a crew which was away at the sea for the past 2 years.

Winchester

22 June 2008 – Sunday – 6:30 AM
Winchester, Hampshire, UK.

Having explored the Bus and Train Stations the previous day, started early this morning, to reach the Bus Station at 6:45AM. The next bus to Winchester was only after 90min. Walked down to Railway Station, only to find that Trains were canceled that morning; Grrrrrrrr…………Luckily a Bus alternatively departed at 7:46AM.

At 8:15AM, I were already at Winchester. The streets were empty and deserted. Walked down the road past across Theatre Royal, The Public Library, St Peter’s Church, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and landed at the Butter Cross.

Butter Cross - Dating back to 15^th century and built with a tax levied on people caught eating butter during Lent.

Winchester Cathedral & Museum - An interesting fact is that the Cathedral was built on rafts floating on marsh. It is this Cathedral that famous English novelist Jane Austen lay buried. A place of worship for over 900 years. Remarkable architecture……….

Winchester Diver - For 800yrs the raft was able to carry the weight but, by 19^th century the Cathedral was in danger and the foundations were rebuilt by a diver working under water.

Walked around the cathedral and past the Bishop’s house, which had a beautiful archway.

Winchester College - One of England’s old public school dates back to 1382!

Wolvesey Castle - Once the chief residence of the Bishops of Winchester.

River Itchen & Water Meadows

The oldest house of Winchester

Winchester City Mill, Bridge Street

This Mill is housed on River Itchen, and owned by National Trust. This old Corn Mill, has been restored to working order.

On entering the lady at the mill asked, “From which country are you from?”

To which, I replied, “India”.

Lady at the Mill – “I am sure you would have much better things back home, and this is no fantasy. If you still want to, the entrance fee is 4 Pounds. If you come between 2:30 and 3:30, you get to grind Corn yourself”.

Hehehehe…….. I needn’t go all the way to UK, to pay 4 GBP and grind CORN!!

But, I admire her candidness.

Bronze statue of King Alfred the Great - He who laid the foundation for a single kingdom of England. Scholar, Soldier, Statesman King Alfred restored Winchester after the Dark ages and made the city his capital.

Abbey park - Lunch break here.

Guild Hall - An imposing Gothic building. The Victorian Guildhall is now a civic and conference center.

Cathedral and Museum again - The Museum would open only at 10AM, so had missed this in the morning. After a visit to the Museum, the Cathedral did re invite.

High Street and Butter Cross on a Sunday noon
Couldn't believe this was the same place I had walked down this morning. Full of activity…..
Shops are open, look interesting. So, its shopping time… J

West Gate - One of the surviving medieval gateways. Entrance to Great Hall and Round Table form here.

Winchester’s Great Hall & King Arthur’s Round Table

The only surviving part of the Winchester Castle is the Great Hall built in 13^th century by Henry III. The stainless steel gates were designed and made by Anthony Robinson as a gift from the people of Hampshire to commemorate the marriage of Prince and Princess of Wales.

Queen Eleanor’s Garden - Named after, Eleanor the Queen of England(wife of HenryIII); A 13^th century styled garden.

The bronze statue of Queen Victoria - Presented in 1887 to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

The Round Table associated with King Arthur, has been hung here for over 700 years.

Back to Winchester Railway Station at 4PM. By now the Trains were functional. Head back to Eastleigh…

A walking tour to remember.

The complete album can be found here.