Pomp and Ceremony and Privilege

There is no doubt that Windsor Castle is best seen in the good morning light or on dusk. This home to the English monarchy is the largest and longest continually inhabitated castle in the world. It presents an imposing facade high on the hill above the town of Windsor as the 'pilgrims' make their way up that hill from the parking areas, running the gauntlet of the fast food outlets on their way to try to catch a glimpse of our Lizzie!

We get to Windsor a bit after 10 am with lots of traffic crawling the last 5 kms or so. The day again is beautiful and there are lots of British drivers in open topped cars travelling the motorway. With the British summer sun beaming down on us it is time to make sure that we liberally apply sunscreen now. But you would be horrified at the number of young and older people here who strip off and bake in the sun.

The queue to get in to the Castle is long and we have finally struck tourists, b***** tourists - not bad considering that we are 6 months in to our journey! It takes us almost an hour from the time we turn into Castle Hill to get tickets and then go through security. But it is not unpleasant, the staff and the people around us are chatty. When we do get inside, there is a guided tour about to start so we join this to get some of that precious insider knowledge. And the Queen's standard is flying meaning that she is in residence at the Castle as we are here. We are told that most weekends she comes to the Castle as it is her favoured home.

We meander through the Lower Ward en route to the entrance to the State Apartments hearing of the castle development and the goings on of the various monarchs through history. Not sure that I would ever want their lives - even with all the perks. I mean even as a King your people could turn on you and you could be beheaded and when as a woman you are no longer in favour, beheading was the most convenient way to make way for the next titillating little romance!

There is no Changing of the Guard ceremony today as the Coldstream Guards are practising for the Trooping of the Colour ceremony that takes place in June for the Queen's official birthday. However, they are still doing sentry duty and from time to time we see two or three Guards marching to their next post. And those on Sentry Duty, when not at a post, casually stroll through the grounds, chatting to tourists and posing happily for snaps. In fact their contract stipulates that they must agree to this!

We met David (on the left) and Brett and they were happy to let me get a photo of Michael with them - was going to add some witty little quip about the differences in hats, but my wit has momentarily left me. Brett at the age of 23 has seen a tour in Northern Ireland (when I commented that he looked too young he told me that he had enlisted at 16) and David has relations in Penrith, NSW - small world. We talked about how Antony almost went to Afghanistan with the Brits and they said that if he ever gets the chance that he should jump at it - they seem to like working with the Aussies - we said thanks, but no thanks!!!

From here we head over to have a look through the State Apartments. You can't take photos here (don't worry, we bought the guide book), but suffice to say they are everything that you would expect and them some. In the Drawings Gallery there is a special exhibition to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to power including amazing sketches of the King and his courtiers by Hans Holbein the Younger and line drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. Then it is in to the China Room which is of even more interest after being to the Wedgewood Factory and then up through the Grand stairway and vestibule where we see lots of armour and weapons on display.

Through the various reception rooms and display chambers such as the Kings Bedchamber and the Queens Presence Chamber and through the huge St Georges Hall and the Grand Reception Room with its amazing chandeliers. I could go on and on and on and bore you all, but we have the book so you can read all about it in detail if you want to when we get home! In St Georges Hall there are the shields of all the Knights of the Garter. We have almost left the room when I notice that the 1000th knight registered (in 2008) is Prince William. But I can't see his shield anywhere so we ask one of the attendants - she happily shows us where it is, nothing more special than any of the others! What is probably more interesting is that there are a number of them that have been painted over white - this is where the knight once awarded, has been stripped of the award - mostly in the time of Henry VIII and the changes with the church! (Many of these would have also lost their heads).

Once we were through the Castle, St George's Chapel and the grounds surrounding, we took ourselves off to the Horse and Groom pub just down from the castle for a bite to eat. We had Rib eye fillet steak (Blue) with mash and vegetables (Michael, obviously) and Cumberland sausages with mash and fried onion rings (Maria). Great food, much better than it looks and a brilliant setting in a pub building that dates back to the 1700s. Served by a young Aussie barmaid who this week has been there a year!

Bellies no longer grumbling we head over to Eton to have a look at the College and a privileged life! Funny thing, it was closed the other day after their speech night and when we get there today there is another sign on the gate announcing a closure to - SWINE FLU! I am a little sceptical at first wondering whether this is just a convenient excuse but when we get back to the GH I check it on the net news and yes, for sure, there is a confirmed case and the College has been closed by the Health Commission. Bugger, bugger and more bugger. We do not have the time to hang around and wait for it to re-open in another week. And unfortunately, we have missed the Eton College Museum of Natural History by a mere 5 minutes. Trouble is that 5 pm does not feel like 5pm, more like 2 or 3! But we still manage to take a photo or 60.

So back over to Windsor to do the Windsor Wheel - one of those huge ferris wheel style with enclosed gondolas. We though that this would give us a different perspective of the Castle. It also gave us so pretty amazing views of the countryside surrounding it. We buy the photo that they take as it really is pretty good - we can download it from online so that we could post it on the blog - but we have to wait up to a week, so - you miss out on that one!

Dinner tonight is at the local Go Sing Chinese restaurant. We went with some trepidation as we will always judge a Chinese meal by those we had in Beijing where we got to eat true chinese style cooking, not adulterated for the western palate. But we are not disappointed. While it is certainly not that traditional style, it is very good.

You can either order from the a-la-carte menu or from the all-you-can-eat menu. This is an interesting concept where they have 156 dishes available and for £14.95 per person you can have as many as you like with the rider that any dishes not eaten are charged at full rate. I guess this is to encourage people to try some, and order more if they are still hungry rather that order over the top and leave a whole heap of food uneaten. We choose to go down this path and order:
Starter
Special Crispy Platter for 2 (spring rolls, satay chicken, crispy seaweed, barbecue spare ribs, sesame prawn on toast). The prawn toasts were rubbery, but the seaweed was amazing - shredded into fine strips then flash (deep) fried with ground dried shrimp powder on top - absolutely delicious! (no pic, ate it before we remembered!)
Mains
Chicken Breast in Lemon Sauce
Sliced Duck with Ginger and Shallots
Deep fried Shredded Beef with Carrots and Chilli
Special Fried Rice.
Delicious!
And then it was back to the Oakwood Guest House to find out that the favourite Britain's Got Talent contender - Susan Boyle from Wales (we were near her town when she was first voted in) had been topped by dance troupe Diversity who had been placed sixth favourite by UK bookmakers!!! Wow.

Where the witch met Wedgewood

After a great night last night we slept very soundly. Lots of families staying in the hotel, so it was awake to the noise of littlies this morning. Breakfast this morning was - interesting! Self service cold buffet - boxed cereals, bread for toasting, croissants, packet cheeses, butter and jam, orange juice and coffee. Lots of families with young babies running around - not our idea of a relaxing breakfast. Still, it is included in the room rate so no real complaints!! And there would have been nothing to stop us having six or seven helpings if we so wished.

Michael has known for years the story of Molly Leigh, the witch of Burslem. And now, here we were right in the area. So after breakfast off we went to visit the graveyard of St John's Church of England. Graves are normally aligned east-west but her grave lies north-south - the only one in the cemetery to do so. After her burial, she was supposedly seen large as day in her cottage. So the pastor who buried her worried that being a witch, she could get out of her grave! So they dug her up and re-aligned the grave! Andn this time, they put in her pet raven for good measure - alive! This poor unfortunate woman was most probably rather eccentric following the tormenting by local townsfolk as she was reportedly very ugly.

When we finally find the Church, there is a man taking the children's Sunday School outdoors in the beautiful sun. He explains that the Church gets lots of visitors to visit the grave (something he finds bemusing) and that one day some years ago, the church warden received a phone call saying that people had been chipping away at the grave, stealing pieces and selling them on eBay! In fact, the phone call went something like "Hey Pastor, I have just seen a piece of Molly Leighs grave for sale on eBay!" Some people will stop at nothing. He goes on to tell us that they then concreted over the parts that might be easily broken off. So the grave looks fairly uninteresting even if it does attract a lot of attention at Halloween.

So once we had left poor Molly to rest in peace it was over to the Royal Doulton outlet shop. Now I am not sure what it is about the china and glassware industry at the moment, but Spode is in administration with a huge fire sale of their factory stock taking place. The last day is today, but as the sale has been going on since January, I decide that there probably isn't too much of interest left. And in January 2009, Wedgewood also appointed receivers.

The Doulton Shop was wonderful. We bought quite a bit of stuff - plates, figures, wine decanters and for the princely sum of £20 we can have the whole lot shipped home by courier - it will probably be there is less than a week! I was hoping to find the matching teapot for our fine china dinner set, but it is a discountinued pattern and the only piece that have left is a covered sugar bowl, which we already have. And this was literally the only piece they had!
From there we drove back to the Wedgewood Visitor Centre and Factory. This is a truly amazing place. We begin in the museum where you could easily spend half a day. There was so much to see. Items to touch, voices from the past talking about processes and successes to listen to, drawers to open and explore. Then there was the amazing collection of china that dated back to the early 1700s right through to the present day - some of the most amazing and beautiful pieces we have ever seen! No photos allowed - they want you to buy the book!

And then we went in to the Wedgewood Visitor Centre proper that is attached to the factory. As well as an extensive museum collection of its own, there was a film on the life and work of Josiah Wedgewood and then more amazing pieces on display including all the special one-off commissions that were still in the ownership of the family or the company. But the highlight was going in to the open plan hall where all the processes involved in the making of Wedgewood pieces are demonstrated by factory artisans. And you can throw your own piece of Jasperware, paint a hand made flower or make your own Wedgewood jewelery. These people were so friendly and eager to have a conversation, explaining in detail all they do. To see the speed with which a carnation blossom was made, or watch the very steady hand of the lady painting the burnished gold on to a miniature plate was amazing.

We then took a quick drive through the centre of Stoke-on-Trent although everything was very quiet as it is the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend here. Stoke Minster was beautiful from the outside (it was closed) and Michael found Josiah Wedgewood's grave. It is set in beautiful and evocative grounds. The rest of Stoke however is looking quite depressed - any wonder when local factories that have been in operation for over 300 years are being closed down by some economist from the US.
Off to Oxford with Kate doing the navigating now. Very well I might add. Even when we decide to take a little detour to have a look at some of the architecture, she keeps her cool and in a calm and never exasperated voice just recalculates the route to get us back to the roads leading toward Oxford. We have the option of missing tolls (that will be handy in Europe) and even changing the route ourselves to get off the motorways.

We get to Oxford at 6:45 pm with the sun still high in the sky on a day that got to 22°C. Look out Europe, here comes summer - for goodness sake, someone remember to tell the Irish!!! It is so warm that I change into a summer top for the first time literally since we left Sydney on 13th December last year. Tomorrow we are meeting up with a couple of girls we met on the Isle of Islay in Scotland. But tonight, we are craving some asian flavours - coriander, chilli, ginger and lime. So we ask the receptionist for a recommendation and she suggests one in town. However when we get there it is closed - thankfully I had looked on the web as well and had another couple to try - we plugged the address of one into Kate and drove across town to the Thai Orchid Restaurant.
Our waiter was Pheng - very attentive and pleasant and when we mentioned the blog asked for the address straight away - that was a first. The menu has an extensive range of food and after some discussion we ended up with:
Entrees
Beef satay (strips of beef marinated in spices, grilled on charcoal and served with a lightly spiced peanut sauce) Michael
Thai Orchid mixed starters (a selection of authentic Thai starters with various sauces) Maria
Mains - we shared:
Pla Yang (Fresh sea bass marinated in lemongrass, lime leaves and fresh herbs)
Ga Yang (Chicken marinated in soy sauce, garlic, fresh chilli, coriander and fresh herbs and barbequed over charcoal. Served with chilli sauce)
Larb Gai (Minced chicken, fresh herbs, chilli and lime juice)
Khao Soway (Steamed rice)
Desserts - we both had Khanom - a sweet from the trolley - Banana Parfait - thick chunks of fresh banana, light layers of sponge cakes and lightly whipped unsweetened cream crowned by a halo of spun sugar. Michael added fresh fruit salad to his and I stole a piece of his mango - mmm, it helped to soothe the palate.

The meal was so delicious - it is these fresh flavours of Asia that we miss every once in a while. That Larb was the best we have ever tasted and boy, did it pack a punch! Certainly cleared the sinuses as well. Thank goodness for that mango!

Postscript
For the first time in ages we have had a good look at our blog statistics and are blown away by the visitor numbers and hits. To date, we have had a total of 2837 individual visitors to the site with a total (of a staggering) 9184 hits! Wowee. Never expected it to be so popular! We are still averaging about 20 new visitors each day and have some wierd spikes where we have got 70 - 100 new visitors in one day. And that doesn't include all of you who check it out regularly.

Adieu Beijing

Well - two and a bit days is definitely not enough to see much of Beijing. Still, we crammed quite a lot into our short time. Some of the things that really hit home include:
- Pollution – from our 16th floor room at the Novotel Peace, the view clearly showed the pollution – or so we thought. At times we could not see more than 6 blocks. However, when we were leaving, we were horrified that we could not see one airport terminal from the next! When we asked both the guides both proudly commented that the air quality was pretty good and that the government was doing much to improve it!
- Taxi drivers in Beijing would feel very much at home in Sydney or Melbourne – although I fear that their Australian counterparts would not cope in Beijing where the horn rules and it is readily accepted that vehicles drive at distances of as little as a cm apart and that it is normal that pedestrians and bicycles share the road with little hazard.
- That despite all the hype of Beijing and the modern neon night settings, you do not have to go far to see the poverty of the agricultural sector and wonder at how they survive in ramshackle homes when they cannot farm in the harshness of the winter.
- The history available to be seen is so hard for us to comprehend coming from a country where our built history is so short. Much of what we saw dated to before the western exploration and settlement of Australia!
- The vast and desolate area that is covered by the Great Wall(s) of China and how harsh the climate is. One wonders why they ever needed to be constructed as a defence! Gosh – even at the start of winter it was bitterly cold and windy!
- People, people, people everywhere – but we kind of expected that one.

So, off we head to London via Vienna.
We are collected from the hotel by a non-English speaking driver who speeds through the city, struggling with first gear in a saloon car that is obviously in need of some TLC. He insists on parking in the parking station at the Airport and carting our luggage to the departure check in (would have been easier for all concerned if he had pulled up to the departure doors and let us take it from there – but obviously he had his orders!)
Beijing International Airport is cavernous. The pollution permeates into the building even here.
Check in is uneventful and we are eventually on our Austrian Air plane winging westward. Fed and watered, they close the plane down, raise the temperature and true to form, most people start to snooze. But it is only later afternoon!!! As the journey progresses, we open the shade from time to time to glimpse down on large desert areas, mountains and into the night, on the far off lights of cities big and small. The flight lasts just over 10 hours and flies over Central Asia, most of Russia, over the Urals and then southwest into Vienna. By now, we are carting two backpacks, the laptop, the camera, a full Tim Tam bag, a Duty free bag and our coats so we are thankful that our arrival and departure gates are side by side in Vienna.

We are weary and growing sick of cramped airplanes. Michael has even questioned whether it is worth going business class (OMG). The flight into Heathrow is only 2.5 hours but still we sleep most of the way. We leave Vienna a little late due to closing weather conditions in London and once over London, we are put into a holding pattern for 15 mins. We arrive at an obscure gate right around the back somewhere that smells musty and dank. Twists and turns eventually find us in the arrivals hall.

Tired and laden as we are, we opt to take a cab into Earls Court and our accommodation. In a traditional London Cab with a typical Pommie driver full of jokes about all things Australian, we arrive £50 ($AUD 110) lighter just before 10:45 pm. Our room is inversely proportional to that in Beijing. Where it was spacious, we squeeze into 2.5 m x 4.5 m plus an ensuite bathroom measuring 1.5 m x 2.5 m. Still, we are very close to the centre of London at £55 ($AUD120) per night.

We hit the pc with a vengeance today looking for a car. Finally find one that we want to have a look at on eBay (whoo-hoo). We phone the sellers who are at work and have to leave a message, so we also send an email.
Michael ventures out and brings back kebabs and Starbucks Coffee for lunch.

Ah, Earle’s Court Road, it is exactly how one would envisage it? Crammed with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and eatery’s (offering a variety of fare), from pubs to restaurants a-plenty.

Finally manage to contact my brother Michael now in New York and Anna, my cousin here in London.

Michael is feeling cooped up and takes a stroll down to the British Museum of Natural History, about 30 minutes walk away, and whets his appetite for when we do some sightseeing once we finalise sorting the car out.

Egads - it is 4:30 pm and DARK! Tonight promises to be cold - 1 degree but with the promise of cloud cover and a warmer tomorrow - maybe as high as 11 degrees. See you all soon back here in cyberspace.

Beijing Day 2

Guess the jetlag catches you quickly. We slept until 9:00 am – and still had not had breakfast. The shower was great – plenty of pressure and nice and hot to help wake us up.
The Novotel Peace Hotel is easily an upper 4 star. Inviting, friendly staff, very nice rooms (with a fantastic bathroom), great views – at least from the 16th floor, very good food etc.
We hurry to the Square Restaurant for breakfast. What a feast! For those of you who have been to the Star City Buffet in Sydney, the only thing missing was the prawns. We hurriedly eat our fill – cereal and fruit, Chinese sausage, eggs, sautéed potatoes, pastries and great coffee. Once finished, we go to the foyer to meet Jack.
From the start, he is very obliging and ready to discuss our options for getting to the things that we want to see. Maria decides not to go to the Forbidden City (feet are killing her) and so Michael and Jack set off.

The fastest way to travel around Beijing is by taxi (even in the traffic). The trip to the Forbidden City takes 10 minutes and costs ¥10 ($2.50).

“Look upon my works, all ye who are mighty; and despair.” – Ozymandias
If there is one emphasis the Forbidden City impresses upon a visitor, and that would be one of intimidation. If this is the effect the Emperors’ wished to afford upon visiting envoys and emissaries, I would suggest they succeeded. This indeed was my reaction upon arriving at this once centre of power.

However, my initial reaction was realising how cold Beijing can become. To enter the City’s precinct, one has to cross the Royal Bridge spanning a moat, the surface being completely frozen!
Bobbing within a sea of humanity, jostling for the ticket sellers and whilst jousting with the professional beggars...all this before gaining entry through the main gates! It certainly makes one appreciate the wide open spaces of home. Mind you, I would never exchange this experience for anything else.

The second impression one receives is the splendour, evoked by the array of colours. Gold or “yellow”, blue and green, were the colours reserved for the monarch. The lower classes, to even ponder using these hues meant death.

The use ramps or bridges, within the complex, segregating royalty, emissaries and the common folk is profound. The architecture is a virtual reflection of the tomb we visited the previous morning. In both locations, the architecture commands obedience.

We travel back to the Hotel where Maria joins us to visit the Beijing Observatory. This Observatory was completed in 1422. It kind of stands similar to an Aztec pyramid shape on a piece of land between major motorways. In fact, we travelled a figure ∞ to get across to it in the cab. From the start Michael is all a-flutter. Once inside the gate at a cost of ¥10 each ($2.50) we enter a sanctum of peace and tranquillity from the outside hustle and bustle. The original instruments were moved from the original observatory on this site to Nanjing (the then capital of China) in 1279 and copies were made for this observatory. Instruments on display include:
- An armillary sphere used to measure the coordinates of the celestial bodies consists of two bronze disks - the ecliptic armillary (for tracking the sun), and the equatorial armillary (tracks bodies that are not the sun).
- A quadrant built in 1673 and used in order to measures the altitudes and zenith locations of the celestial bodies.
- A theodolite built in 1715 and used for measuring both altitude and azimuth coordinates of celestial bodies. The azimuth theodolite is similar recording only the azimuth.
- An astronomical sextant is used to measure the angular distance between celestial bodies, and also used for measuring the angular diameter of the moon and sun.
- A celestial globe built in 1673 and used to determine the time in which the celestial bodies will rise and set; as well as the altitude and azimuth of the bodies at any given time.
Then it off to the Pearl Markets where after much massaging of our egos and haggling on our parts we picked up a little something for an event in March – no Gen, we are NOT telling you and who says it is for you anyway??? J Back on the streets, we are led past waiting cabs by Jack who warns us that these ones won’t use the meter and target (particularly western) tourists.

One of the things we really wanted to see while in Beijing was the Hutongs. Hutong translates as ‘small street between buildings’. These are the traditional living quarters of the former Beijing population. We hop aboard a pedicab with Jack in another leading ours. It seems that our poor rider struggles at times with the two of us aboard! The streets are very narrow and twist this way then that, at times, doubling back on themselves. We arrive at Dajinsi Hutong where we are welcomed into one by the English speaking granddaughter. It is obvious that this hutong has been done up and our little guide, after serving us green tea proudly explains that their hutong was one of those approved for visitors during the Olympic Games.
In the past, up to 16 people would have lived in this small set of buildings around an inner courtyard. Now, there are just 3. The hutongs are laid out accordingly to Feng Shui principles with the elders living in the northern building, the son and his family in the eastern building, the daughter and family in the western and the servants in the southern building that is generally hotter in summer and colder in winter. Mind you, to describe them as buildings is very generous – most are 2 -3 small rooms. Of surprise to us and most other foreigners I would think is the fact that none of the hutong homes have toilets – all the inhabitants use public toilets!
The great-grandfather, who worked in the Forbidden City, was held in high esteem which is demonstrated by the 5 steps up into the main hutong building (most are 2 steps). After a quick tour of the buildings including a photo in the wedding room (bedroom) we are again off. The ever present hawkers try to sell us postcards until Jack curtly tells them off!

We weave through this district of hutongs, along the frozen Houhai Lake and past all the bars that are packed in summer, but now busy doing lots of renovations. By this point, the temperature was beginning its nightly downward trend and we are feeling decidedly cool, so back to the Hotel to get warmer clothing and use an ATM.

We set out for our evening, starting with the huge Tiananmen Square between the Tiananmen Gate, Mao Tse Tung's Mausoleum, the Beijing Museum and the Great Hall of the People - the House of Congress. The sheer scale of the square is breathtaking. One million people can fit comfortably into the area that is centered with the Monument to the Peoples Heroes - the Chinese equivalent of our War Memorial. By night it is a place that commands reflection. We manage to get a photo of Jack here! And he takes one of Michael and I in the beanies from our Maryborough Mates! Thanks - they are coming in handy already.

Then it is off to see the Chao Yang Theatre Chinese Acrobatic Show. Absolutely mesmerising – with lithe bodies contorting to all sorts of shapes. There are child and adult acrobats in a performance that is theatrical and sensuous.
Following the show, we invite Jack to have a meal with us. Originally, we are keen to go to the night food markets, but Jack explains that these are not at all authentic, being established purely for the tourist market and that most Beijing inhabitants would not consider eating the ‘delicacies’ on offer! So we ask to try dumplings and he tells us that the restaurant next to the theatre is known for their steamed bun. So off we go and eat like kings again – steamed buns that are nothing like the sweet ones we know in Australia, pork balls – huge, lighter than air meat balls, sweet and sour pork – again not all like we usually get (not so sickly) and a diced beef and fermented bean dish that is heavily laced with chilli – too hot for Maria but loved by Michael. Plus rice and OJ all for under $25!

Then it is time to say goodbye to Jack. He comes very highly recommended by us. Very affordable as well with the 36 hour service costing under $100. We are more than happy to give him a well deserved tip. We decide to update the blog and have a leisurely breakfast the next morning before leaving the hotel at 11 am for the airport and out flight out at 2.35 pm. Our very short but totally memorable tantalising first taste of Beijing has cost us under $1,000 all up!