Today was Blue and White with a whole lot of love thrown in

This blog post relates to Tuesday 13 August (but was posted on 14th)

It was an interesting start to the day, hauling suitcases along the cobbled Overtoom Street in Amsterdam from the hotel to Europcar and all the time having to keep your wits about you in terms of avoiding the cyclists rushing at speed to work.


We were upgraded to a Renault Megane for the same price as the much smaller Yaris. Rather nice to have the extra space. As we leave Robby at Europcar, we ask for directions towards Delft and he says "turn right" but when we turn the GPS on, it wants us to do U-turn.  And of course,we do (after having to cross into the tram lane to pass the double parked Europcar tow truck!  A 'Uie' at traffic lights here, when you are in the car on the 'other side of the road' for the first time in years is a little daunting. And half a dozen blocks down the road, the road is shut for roadworks.  We lost about 20 minutes in and out of tiny back residential streets to get passed this.
Finally we are headed out of Amsterdam and towards the west-south to Delft. The journey will take just over an hour.They are transluscent and quite hard to take a good photograph of.

I'm more than little excited as Anne Blyth (Zenz) is flying in from London to have the day with us!  I haven't seen here since we went to her wedding in Germany two years ago. Rather than us negotiate the Amsterdam airport traffic, she will train it to Delft and we will collect her there. Anne's train is due in at 10:15 and we end up parking in what we thought was a quiet little shortcut to a new estate (road very poorly constructed) only to find that it is a major traffic route. As Anne walks on to the footpath, we pull up.

She is looking fabulous and has very generously got out of bed at 4 am to come and meet us. Hugs all round and a catch up on immediate family and friend news while we drive the short distance to the Royal Delft factory and museum. As none of us had had breakfast, we headed to the coffee shop for some brunch before we explored.  More chatting and catching up. Anne sends love to all and sundry back in Australia.

And then we are off. The museum is a beautiful history not only of the company that dates back to 1653, and the social history of Delft (and The Netherlands to a degree).  The displays are of a very high quality with much of the dialogue that describes the items and events not on board, but on tightly stretched, screen-printed very fine nylon panels.

The company employees are all very proud of the company that they work for and genuinely share their knowledge.  A piece of Delftware is made across three stages. The blank is cast in mould with liquid clay which, when dried is painted with a white glaze and then decorated with metal oxides, in particular the cobalt oxide that gives the usual blue, and can withstand high firing temperatures, allowing it to be applied under the glaze. Interestingly, that metal oxide is painted on black and only when it is fired, does the stunning blue emerge.  It takes 10 years to train one of the painters.  There were two working while we were there and they happily chatted with us all.

Royal Delft China was only for the wealthy during the Golden Age in the Netherlands in the 17th Century.  A comparison of the value is:

However, we soon learn that the real status symbol is having your portrait done in Royal

Delft.  This was the way to show your wealth and prosperity.  Even today, you can have your portrait painted on a plate.  Thankfully, i'm not that important, nor that vain!  There are lots and lots of examples - from guild groups to families and to individuals.
We wander through the museum and eventually in to the factory when we see staff fixing a problem with the clay sludge, lots of moulds, pieces in various phases of production and some special orders.

Back through the Company timeline and out into the souvenir shop. Be nice to me - I might have just bought a little something for you as a memento! I chose to have it shipped to Australia - no chance of me losing it, or breaking them.  I did make a little indulgence - one of the Proud Mary's.  I had looked these up before I left home.  Th only ones available now are the medium sized ones - they are stunning and the large one in the historic garden is so beautiful!

Anne must be on the 4:15 train at the lastest to make her flight connection back to London Stanstead. Before we drop her off at the station, we have a light lunch and toasted the friendships with a prosecco.  And finally it is time to say goodbye for the moment.  I will ever be grateful for the love she showed me by making the trip as she has to work

again tomorrow. She took home with her the obligatory Tim Tams and a copy of all the photos we took at her and Steve's wedding.

Donna and I had not yet decided where to stay tonight, and given the time, choose to drive across to Gouda (Gowda not Gooda).  We pull up in the carpark of the local McDonalds and made a booking at the Campanile Hotel Restaurant.  It is nothing fancy, but we really only need to put our heads somewhere for a night. Instead of going out to dinner, we decided to try their restaurant

and were so very pleasantly surprised.  Donna order a rare Rump Steak while I ordered Chicken Satay. Not only was the food as ordered, moist and tender, but young Victor was an attentive but not overbearing server.

A fabulous day of love.

Penultimum - almost there

Gosh. Everything is galloping along now. Its time to leave Wingham and head for the City. While we enjoy the buzz of being in large cities, it is the smaller towns that we prefer. This actually stands us in good stead for our return to our home in Maryborough. For those who are not local to us, we live in a regional city on the sourthern central coast of Queensland with a population of around 28,000 people.

It is a vibrant City that I am getting more and more excited about returning to and seeing through different eyes. For the visitor, there is so much to see, and for the resident, there is so much to get involved with - it is one of the most connected and caring places I have known. And it is just such a nice place with a balance of great history and modern conveniences!







Anyway, we are not there yet, but getting closer! Our room at The Dog Inn has been amazing. But if we thought ours was good, the four poster room next door that we see as we are about to leave is even grander (but it only has a bath, no shower, so no good for me ). Built in the 13th century this building has been adapted to encompass all the modern conveniences so that the rooms are all comfortable to be in whether they are one of the eight rooms or the public areas. We finally leave Wingham after saying farewell to Austin and Tim (it's Dan's day off - bugger).

Passing through rural southern England we pass one of the warning beacons that were established throughout much of England as a warning mechanism at the time of the Spanish Armada threat in the 16th century. We have set Kate to the 'avoid motorways' options so that we can spend our last little bit travelling through the countryside. We pass through the Herne area and see a second windmill for the day, but this one is close enough for us to pause for a few moments and have a look - only from the outside though as it is only open to the public for a couple of hours on Sundays in the summer! Ah well, an outside look will just have to do.

Little do we know that indeed from here all roads lead to London and that as we go en-route to Heathrow where we are staying for the last three days, we pass one street away from where we started this epic journey in December last year in Earls Court!

The travelling is very slow as we crawl through the outer inner suburbs of London as we head for the M4 and another section of the great ring road that takes traffic around the outskirts of this great city.

We have yet to finalise the packing and when we empty the car for the last time on our arrival at the Premier Inn Heathrow, I look at all our 'stuff' (and that does not inclide the 40 kgs we posted home from Germany last week) I wonder how in the hell are we going to fit it all in!

The Premier Inn is one of the Accor chain of hotels and is one of the closest to Heathrow. Sitting just on the other side of the M4 motorway, there is a connecting shuttle service to Terminal 3 where we will leave from on Sunday morning. They also offer a combinaton package for accommodation and meals and we have booked 3 nights. The last thing that we need to do now is sell the car . . . (after giving it a very good clean first!)

Dinner is from a restricted menu that is still extensive enough to offer choice. And as the restaraunt is run by Indians I reckon the curry just might be a good choice! From the menu we choose:
Entrees:
Soup of the day (White onion and Blue Cheese) served with warm rustic ciabatta bread (Michael)
Crispy seeded chicken strips served with Mandarin chilli sauce (Maria)
Mains:
Sausage and mash - Premium pork sausages and mashed potato served with garden peas and caramelised onion gravy (Michael)
Chicken Makhani curry - Chicken breast marinated with yoghurt and spices in tomato and cream curry sauce served with basmati rice and naan bread (Maria)
Michael opted for Profiteroles filled with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate flavour fudge sauce for dessert while I had a second glass of Pinto Grigio! Cheers

Today not only the Ripper walks - we all do!

Some interesting statistics to date:
* Number of individuals who have read the blog to date (11:50am Tuesday 9 June 2009 GMT) is 3105!
* Number of page hits is now 10,127!!
* Number of photographs taken to date is 29,853 - that's an average of 169 per day! But there have been a couple of 600+ photo days!! And today it is 800+!!!
* Days on the road - today is day 178

It is amazing me how many people have read the blog and there are obviously some of those who are following it given that there are about 3 page hits per person. Never expected that!

Today we go down a block for breakfast to The Swan pub where we get a full English breakfast for a miserly £7.95 each. The plate was just barely big enough to hold it all. And as if the planned tube strike is not enough, London wants to make sure that everyone is fully miserable today as we wake to drizzle.

Michael plans to walk through Hyde Park and go to the Natural History Museum but I am staying off my feet today and will load the remaining photos on to DVDs so I can delete them from the PC. After spending a whopping 3 hours talking with Ally and Leith (nice to see his face after all these years), I finally get to copy the pics!

The drizzling rain has finally ceased, so it's off to the Natural History Museum through London's glorious Hyde Park. People have taken advantage of the break in the weather and it appears they have all converged into the parklands! I can't blame them for although it is still overcast, the air isn't cold but cool - rather nice for a promenade. There are people jogging, strolling, perambulating, sitting and reading or just staring. Families are out and about, and tourists out and about snapping with their varied and assorted media - I can certainly relate to that!

Just as an aside, throughout our travels we have encountered beggars (professional or otherwise), gypsies and buskers in want. We've encountered them from Beijing to Barcelona; from Lisbon to London, this morning I was to meet one whom I was unable to assist through design and not request. You see, this particular needful fellow accosted me from the fenced-in bushes, and sat in front me in supplication. As I stooped he cautiously retreated, so I continued my walk and to my surprise it followed... However, with the dexterity of rodent it ascended the fence and there perched itself, again in supplication! A rare opportunity for me indeed to photograph a squirrel at such close quarters! Regrettably, I was unable to reward my companion for its persistence.

So, I finally reached my destination after passing various tributes to the late Princess Diana of Wales - a fountain; a circular watercourse; a memorial and a children's playground. Do you know there isn't a memorial to Drs Frederick Banting and George Best - the discoverers of insulin..... Albeit, I did pass the Royal Geographical Society sporting a statue of Ernest Henry Shackelton!

The Museum is an amazing piece of architecture, in fact the building is just as interesting and impressive as its contents. Since my last visit months ago, the museum has changed the layout of many of its permanent exhibits, which seem an improvement on the former. To avoid boring the heck out of you, check out the Natural History Museum's web site.

After spending two hours at the museum, I thought it prudent to return to the hotel otherwise I wouldn't have time to visit the HMS Belfast, which is permanently moored on the River Thames and this evening join a 'Jack the Ripper' tour. So I decide to use the Tube system...yeah, right. The pending Underground service strike, which is to commence from 7pm this evening, is already causing chaos. Services to the western Central and Circle Lines are already experiencing disruptions due to signal failures, hence a smooth service cannot be guaranteed. So, I opt for 'shank's pony' as it is only a half hour walk to the hotel.

No sooner had I arrived at the hotel and gotten myself in order for this afternoon and the evening’s activities - I'm off again. I head for Lancaster Gate Tube station (which is just around the corner), and I catch the train on the eastern Central Line for the Bank and change trains for the Tower Hill station. A brisk walk from Tower Hill then across the Esplanade and join the throng which is crossing the Tower Bridge - from both directions. This Bridge, out of all of London's landmarks, must surely be the most impressive and most trod!

I reach the southern end of the Bridge, then along the Thames riverside until I arrive at the Belfast. There is a mass of people wandering the ship's decks and turrets; even the ship's mess now converted into a cafe is brimming with visitors. The aroma wafting amidships is a mixture of oil and coffee....yum! However, after wandering the ship's decks and reading the information panels, one gets the impression the aroma was quite different when the Belfast was still in commission! The ship's restoration and the onboard exhibits, and the use of wax figures to represent crew members, is most impressive. Yeomen are also on deck to avail them should any visitor require further clarification.

After spending two and half hours exploring this fine ship (and the cafe's coffee is nice and strong!), I take my leave and head a shore to find somewhere to have dinner before my rendezvous with 'Jack'. I eventually settle on having dinner at a pub called the 'Minorities', which is nestled below the Tower Bridge. I have their Vegetable Kiev with a fresh salad sans chips and potato, which makes for a delicious and tasty repast - no photo as I was quite hungry!

Dinner taken care of, I return to the Tower Hill station and rendezvous with the guide for the 'Jack The Ripper - THE Tour'. There are fifteen people in our group and the guide is named Dickie, who certainly proves that he knows his stuff. We are taken through the streets of Whitechapel where the murders had taken place. Regrettably, some of the streets where the dreadful crimes took place were obliterated during the Blitz of 1940. So with our imaginations ably guided by our host, one could visualise the location and the macabre sensation which accompanied the discovery of the crimes. Mind you, the tour took two and half hours which was a combination of the crimes, the suspects, the constabulary and history of the Whitechapel area and indeed the history of the Detecting division during the Victorian era. Dickie also provided quips and information on the various occupants and groups who lived and worked in East London.

Overall it was an illuminating day - that even includes travelling on the London Bus system during a rail strike. Suffice to say I would have arrived much sooner at the hotel if I had walked from Tower Hill....c'est la vie!

Tonight I am determined to do the London by Night Bus tour. Now, as twilight does not fall until 9:16 pm tonight, I opt to take the 9:30 pm tour. This bus is also open topped while the other two that ran earlier (and in the light) are closed top buses. We are travelling through the city, me clicking frantically left and right and at 10:45 pm there is still blue light in the sky above the yellow of the city lights that is reflected on the cloud cover. Honestly, it was not truly dark until after 11 pm. And you would not believe the number of people still out and about - some obviously still going home from work, others out to party. Gosh, you can have that lifestyle - when do they sleep?? Still, London is absolutely beautiful by night and part of me understands how people want to be out in it (that would be the non-sleepy part of me)!

And just how lucky can I be? I am the ONLY ONE on the tour tonight - pity the poor driver/guide. He could have had an early night! The traffic is horrendous - all the more so because of the tube strike. There are huge queues of people waiting for buses all across the City. I am sitting upstairs, hair streaming behind me in the summer breeze. Actually, I am freezing the proverbial - it is all of 11°C before you factor in the wind chill - not as cold as Perth when I spoke with Allyson at 5°, but still cold enough.

I walk back in to the hotel right on midnight having taken 660 photos tonight! (I've since lost about 40% due to a camera that is trying to focus in very low light, or the glare of streetlights, while moving - grr) I'm frozen to the core so Michael orders coffee (for him) and hot chocolate from room service and we are delivered pots full - with about 6 cups in each, steaming hot and delicious. Its now after 1 am, so I am off to bed. Ciao

Mamma Mia - the V&A rocks

It is much much cooler in London this morning. We take advantage of the fact that we can make the bedroom in our suite very dark to sleep in until 9 am this morning. I woke just before the alarm was due and find that the shower is cooler rather than warm - a good ruse to save on hot water bills maybe!! Breakfast is not cheap at the hotel and given our experience last night in the restaurant, we opt to have brunch out!

I manage to catch up with Helen on Skype - home, exhausted after the annual Mapleton scrapping marathon. I explained that I had tried to phone her over the weekend so I could catch up with the girls but I kept getting the 'this phone number is disconnected' message. Turns out she had to buy a new phone and for whatever reason, could not keep her old phone number. Oh well, the best laid plans ...
We also managed to get on to Antony and Amanda on Skype. They leave Darwin for 6 weeks visiting the rellies this Wednesday. Izabella was asleep after a day which Antony described as 'she finally found her feet fully'. I can just see her in my minds eye, running and giggling up and down their long hall! Turns out she is wearing a size 5 shoe. OMG she is going to be talllll.

Michael goes for a wander through the Kensington Gardens across the road while I upload yesterdays photos on to the blog. This blog is turning out to be our saviour as we often get confused these days with where and when we saw a particular thing. Today we are off to the Victoria and Albert Museum. From here we get the Tube from the Lancaster Gate Station, and we change at Notting Hill Gate for the Circle line to get off at South Kensington. Now, I know that everyone will not believe me, but there we were at 12:48 in the afternoon at Notting Hill Gate Station, with literally no one else on the platform. And this was as the train was coming! That would have to be a first, surely!

Then it is a walk through a subway lined with posters of all the Shows presently on in London. Gosh, there are so many! There are many exits from this subway - all signposted just like you are up on the streets and I am reminded of The Third Man with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton where the sewers have street signs! We emerge at the Museum of Natural History - more so we can take a decent photo of the amazing architecture than any desire to go in today.

The V&A as the Victoria and Albert Museum is locally known is on the next block, and is almost as striking. But the real beauty unfolds when you walk through the doors. There is a reception area that sits squarely under a beautiful cupola with an amazing modern glass sculpture hanging from it. We buy tickets for the Baroque exhibition - Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence. But before we go in, we grab sandwiches and coffee and sit in the beautiful garden surrounding a cascading water pool.

Given all we have seen in the past six months, this exhibition seems especially interesting. And it was, demonstrating how the baroque art and furniture opened world travel and trade. Although by the end of it, we came away thinking that world poverty could be well and truly a thing of the past if only the mainline churches divested themselves of some of their wealth and applied it where needed - gosh, world debt could probably be wiped out!

We had time to see other exhibits then and split up as we wanted to see different things. Michael went off to drool over the statuary, while I headed off to the Sacred Silver and Stained Glass gallery. This one focuses on the development of stained glass from the 1300s on and since most of this is in churches, it made some sort of sense to also exhibit some of the silver (and gold) pieces held by the churches with it. My comment from the last paragraph applies equally as well here!!

Then I went to have a look at the Cast Courts, followed by the European collections - Medieval and Northern Renaissance. The cast courts are a collection of plaster casts taken of significant historic monuments. The explanation is that this is one of the only ways that many museums, and therefore many populations, will ever get to see these monuments. As I move through them, my eye is drawn to something that seems familiar - and there it is - the Ruthwell Cross cast. Hm, it is much more impressive in it's church setting in Scotland and away from the overcrowded setting here. The space is dominated by casts of Trajan's Column in Rome - in two pieces, and without the bronze statue top!

Finally a huge open gallery hung with Raphael cartoons. Now, the original definition of cartoon is 'a full-scale design for a picture, ornamental motif or pattern, or the like, to be transferred to a fresco, tapestry, etc' These ones are huge! And there are conservators sewing tape to the back of one of the tapestries that one of the cartoons were sketched for. I asked her how long it would take and the reply was "a few days" - that is two of them just using running stitch to sew on a hanging tape around the perimeter of a tapestry that measures something like 40 feet by 12 feet! You could not take photos in many of these exhibition spaces, but if you click on the museum link you can see some of it.

When we meet up at the Information Desk, Michael says the Sculpture Gallery was the highlight for him, especially the one of Samson and a Philistine by Giambologna made in the mid 1500s.

We then get a red London Bus to Picadilly Circus for the Prince of Wales Theatre where we have tickets for MAMMA MIA. IN LONDON! AND MICHAEL CAME WITH ME. Cool, very cool! Knowing that once we get back onto the continent next week, we will not have good opportunities for a good Indian meal, we decide to try to find an Indian restaurant close to the theatre as London (and England) have some great ones. And we find one less than a block from the PoW Theatre - the Indian Brasserie in Rupert Street. As we are having a look at their menu in the window, a staff member comes out to encourage us in with "very good food missus" . My reply of "well, they would shoot you if you said it was bad food" seemed to perplex him! Don't think anyone has ever had a retort before! Anyway, in we go - we want to be close when it comes time to go to the show. The food turned out to be good - very very good!
Our meal consisted of:
Pappadums with onion salad, mixed pickle, mint sauce & mango chutney
Mixed Kebab - Lamb Tikka, chicken Tikka sheek kebab
Lamb Korma
Chicken Tikka Masala - Diced boneless chicken cooked on skewers in the Tandoor and then cooked in a special sauce and fresh cream (mild)
Aubergine & Potato Bhajee
Tarka Dall (Lentils)
Pilaw Rice (Basmati)
Nan - unleavened bread baked in clay oven.

Then a quick stop for munchies before we go into the theatre. Our tickets are in Row H in the Circle - so, up high we go. Up four flights of stairs. And my leg is killing me - so much so that in the cramped environment of a packed 1100 seat theatre I finally relent and take a codeine tablet.

The show was F A N T A S T I C as I knew it would be. And even Michael concedes that (in parts) it was very good. It is loud and upbeat and fun and familiar. Just great! It finishes with 3 encores just after 10 pm.
In a London cab ride back to the hotel we learn that there is a 48 hour tube strike commencing at 7pm tomorrow night. Looks like getting out of the City on Wednesday morning might be a right headache (yes, we are staying another night!) A great day!

Neolithic Man - the precision worker.

After the hustle and bustle of London yesterday and a week or more in bigger cities, it was lovely this morning to be heading back out into the English countryside. The day is again beautiful (perfect one day, b***** beautiful the next!) We leave West Drayton just after 10 am and so, have allowed the worst of the peak traffic to have passed us. The trip to Avebury is uneventful even if slowed by road works from time to time.

Just before Swindon we pass a convoy of army vehicles on low loaders - by the condition of the troop carrier and the tanks we suspect that they have returned from active service - maybe in Afghanistan or Iraq. Sadly as I type this the nightly news reports the deaths of another two British servicemen in Afghanistan today. The other big news of course is the missing Air France A330 Airbus over the Atlantic Ocean with all 230 people on board presumed lost.

We are headed for Avebury, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a site that, like others we have seen in our trip through the United Kingdom and Ireland, dates back more than 5,000 years. There is something so imponderable that just draws you to them. The precision with which the stones have been placed raises more questions about than we will ever be able to answer - the why, how, what kind of questions. And as with some of these monuments, while you look keenly for them in the surrounding landscape, they allude you until, all at once, you round a corner and there they are - close enough to touch!

En route, we are driving down a narrow major road (the A4) with flowering rape seed all around us beaming brighter than the yellow sun when I glance further afield and there is - Oh. My. God. A white horse! You know, one of those that has been carved into the side of the chalky hills. A quick u-turn a couple of kilometres down the road and back we go to Hackpen Hill to take a closer look. Michael walks down the (12%) slope to where the carving is, to find that it is totally open and that if he had wanted to, he could have walked all over it! Of course, he doesn't but certainly gets close enough for some interesting photos. Turns out that they were dug out in 1837 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria.
Back down the road then and on to Avebury . . .

The hamlet of Avebury has grown around and through the Stone Circle over time so that now, the Circle is an integral part of the village - or maybe, the village is an integral part of the Circle. And just on cue, around the corner - there are the first of the stones! What makes this circle stand out are a number of features - its size, the mound, the enclosed circles, the surrounding 'hills' and other mounds, the tombs and its accessibility. The National Trust manages the property and the best thing about this is that it is totally accessible to the people of the UK and of course anyone else who happens to find themselves here. In fact, on the brochure, one suggestion is "... for an unusual place to have lunch why not put down a rug in the stone circle..."!

We park in the car park and walk about 600 m around to the henge so that from ground level you look at the curve of the outer henge. This henge is built upon a huge raised flat area surrounded by a ditch that when first constructed was an incredible 9 metres deep. And all this was dug with antlers. The stones are HUGE - much larger than any others we have seen to date. Sure there was one stone on the Isle of Islay that was taller, but these are not only tall at up to 12 feet high, the are LARGE rocks - and consequently very very heavy. So again we are faced with all the engineering and logistics questions - how did these people who for so long we have accepted to be uneducated and brutish move and construct such a henge?

But we have only just begun our journey of discovery here! Turns out there were circles within circles and avenues of stones leading to them, a vast barrow tomb and a constructed symmetrical hill that so far has escaped all explanation. Oh, how arrogant man has been in quickly dismissing the skill and knowledge of his ancestor. These days are the ones when we just feel so small. It is a O. My. God. experience - all day long!

Once we have a look around the main henge, Michael takes off to explore the rest, while I adjourn to the Red Lion Pub for a pint of Cider and some lunch - Open King Prawn and Loch Fyne Scottish Smoked Salmon on toasted multi-grain bread. Gosh it was SO good! When Michael joins me in a little while he orders the Shredded aromatic Hoisin Duck and Cucumber Wrap. Mmmm mmmm.

After we lunch, we drive around to have a look at the Silbury Hill. Archaeologists have so far been unable to explain why this huge mound was constructed. This in no way diminishes the impact that it has on the surrounding landscape - or on us!

From here Michael walks over and 700 m up a hill to the West Kennet Barrow. While Michael is there I watched in amazement as the breeze ripples the grasses across the hills like waves on the land. And all this in a beautiful English summer landscape with little white cotton clouds being puffed along on the wind in the otherwise brilliant blue sky.

The walk up the incline to the barrow was quite a challenge, and my endeavour was rewarded with a spectacular view of a vista dominated by the Silbury Hill. However, nothing could quite prepare me what I was to find at the very top of the climb. Before me stood a long mound with a final sarsen stone at the entrance, standing at least three metres high. My excitement was overwhelming as I could walk into the barrow's interior. The barrow is maintained by the National Trust who have installed small skylights which shed light into the main aisle of the barrow.

Similar in construction to the passages and chambers of Newgrange in Ireland, one could be excused for assuming this was the work by the same builders. The main aisle doesn't run the full length of the barrow, however, the construction is just breathtaking. Stout sarsen stones supporting much larger lintels, along the length of the central aisle and similar construction of the five chambers. Four of the chambers open onto the main aisle, whilst the five and largest chamber is at the end of the aisle. There is evidence of visitations by devotees who have left flower bouquets in the main chamber. The small slabs of oolitic limestone were used for packing between the larger sarsen stones. Similar to the cairn mounds in Ireland, the interior construction at West Kennet is as appeared over 5000 years ago.

The mound was built up from chalk rubble dug from the two ditches on either side. This barrow was first documented by the diarist John Aubrey during the 16th century, and again in the 17th century by William Stukely. And our last stunner of today was the sight of a long avenue of standing stones lined up in an avenue facing each other and leading to or from the Stone Circle. West Kennet avenue connects the circle with The Sanctuary, another circle long disappeared and with only the ditch outline remaining. Yes, neolithic man rocks!

Tonight we are staying at the Castle and Ball Pub in Marlborough just a few kilometres away. This is another pub in the Greene King Old English Inns chain - the same as the Red Lion today. The room on the first floor is spacious and overlooks the main street - the widest main street in England! We have dinner in the restaurant at 8:15 pm so that we can be upstairs again in time to watch a special on Stonehenge! Fancy that - on the day that we have been to another amazing henge.

Dinner tonight was just as amazing as today's lunch - Fisherman's Catch (West Country whitebait fillets with fresh tartare sauce and seasonal fresh vegetables and bay peas) Michael and Farm-assured roast chicken breast (with a Provencal sauce, buttered new potatoes and green beans) Maria. We followed it with Chocolate Fondant with ice cream (Michael) and Sicilian Lemon Tart with fresh berries (Maria). And while Michael had an Appletiser to drink, I tried a Bombay Raspberry Crush - fresh crushed raspberries in Bombay Blue Sapphire Gin topped with lemonade - too bad raspberries are so expensive at home - this is absolutely delicious!!