One Week in London – 2009
October 12, 2009 5 Comments
It’s two years since my last trip to London and this time my agenda was to primarily just hang out and meet up with old and new friends. I had timed this trip to coincide with friend Chris (who lives an hour or so away from me in southern California and) who would also be in London for part of her trip in the UK.
Fortunately, just four days after booking my flight I suddenly had a new purpose for my trip…the announcement that my favorite actor John Simm would be on stage in a new play in the West End! That’s great! I was so very fortunate to see him two years before in Elling and after his beautiful performance I vowed never to miss any opportunity to see him on stage…and the next time would also be more than once!
But first, no trip to London is complete without meeting up with Denzylle who I’ve known for about ten years now. On Monday, Denzylle and I had the opportunity to join Chris and her friend Tony for their day planned full of splendid activities, which included:
The Darkest Victorian London Walking Tour and a visit to
The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
Spiral stairwell entrance-Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
Operating Theatre
Scale in the Herb Garret
After a short pub crawl we end up at the The Anchor
Denzylle, Chris, Shelley, Tony at The Anchor Pub
By then it was about time for the four of us to see John Simm in “Speaking in Tongues” at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
John Simm in ‘Speaking in Tongues’ at The Duke of York’s Theatre
I really enjoyed this play during its preview run. The split screen scenes with the synchronized scripts are incredibly interwoven and the timing is unbelievable work. John’s 2nd role is my fav of his two. Story is mainly on relationships, communication and trust, with great suspense scenes, a missing woman and some funny lines to ease things a bit here and there.
After the performance we met John at the stage door exit for a group pic! 😀
Shelley, John Simm, Chris at the Duke of York’s Theatre
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One of my passions is that I am a lifelong horse-lover and learned to ride as an adult. In addition to my day job, I spent 10 years of concentrated schooling at a few equestrian centers on hunters-jumpers, attended a handful of clinics given by professionals and inevitably, in order to offset my lesson and clinic expenses, worked part-time for a number of years at my last trainer’s barn. Unfortunately even supplementing my riding lessons wasn’t enough…it’s all very expensive and I had to give up riding for about the last 10 years now. 😦
BUT there’s nothing like a vacation to pull out all the stops and do the things we love to do the most! 🙂 So, I arranged for a 1-hour private guided hack/lesson at Wimbledon Village Stables. And that’s when I also experienced my first London Tube “Service has been Suspended” announcement while I was at the station ready to leave!!! Arrghhh! Service suspended at Putney Bridge?! Take a bus from there? LOL well by the time I tried to make other arrangements on the fly, I simply took the Tube as far as I could… and it seemed service was resumed because I made it all the way to Wimbledon and had a great ride out in the parklands.
Wimbledon Village Stables
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On previous trips I stayed in hotels in central London, but this time I tried the Docklands area and not only added the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) to my repertoire of London transport options, but also added new areas of sight-seeing which included the following:
Greenwich Park
Greenwich Royal Park Rose Garden
Greenwich Park Groundskeeper
The National Maritime Museum & Royal Observatory
National Maritime Museum
Royal Observatory Greenwich
Prime Meridian Of The World – between East & West Hemispheres
Prime Meridian Of The World – Standing in both East & West Hemispheres!
1 Canada Square – Canary Wharf
1 Canada Square – Canary Wharf
West India Docks, near Canary Wharf
Museum of London Docklands, West India Docks
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But hang on!! What’s with all the sight-seeing? I thought I was supposed to be meeting up with Old and New friends!!! I was thrilled to be able to join up again with Chris and Tony to meet briefly with writer, producer and director, Sacha Bennett for a quick coffee. Due to work commitment last Oct 2008, I had missed attending the London premiere of Sacha’s first feature film, Tu£sday. Now, having seen both gorgeous films (also his award-winning short “Devilwood“), I cannot wait for more of his work! Sacha has a number of potential projects lined up…so hopefully the wait won’t be a long one!
Sacha Bennett, Shelley – The Breakfast Club, London
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Later in the week I also met up again with Denzylle for the popular early evening Jack the Ripper Walking Tour!
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Friday I travelled to Houghton Regis to meet up with friend, David. The last time we met was all of 10 minutes at Piccadilly Circus! I blame the London Tube strike back then for my being late!
Well this time we certainly made a day of it! A Thousand Heartfelt Thanks to David’s lovely wife Kerrie for a perfect start in the morning by letting me ride her beautiful horse, Gemma, for a quick hack in the arena and then out in the surrounding lands.
A morning hack on Gemma (Wildmoor Gemini) – Thanks Kerrie! 🙂
Kerrie then let me borrow [or is that good riddance? ;-)] her husband for the rest of the day. David and I took a drive over to Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk for a brewery tour at the Greene King Visitor Centre.
On the way I noticed a bizarre traffic speed control device…which entails installing a physical barrier steadfastly in the one direction lane of traffic, thereby forcing cars to slow down or ultimately stop in order to move out into the opposite lane of oncoming traffic in order to get around the barrier. The hell?!?
“Give Way To Oncoming Vehicles” – Thanks, since there’s a sign on a pole blocking my lane!!
Anyway, I digress!! Back to the Brewery Tour!! Here’s a great pic of David (aka R.S. 😉 )
David – Greene King Brewery, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Greene King Brewery tour – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Greene King Brewery tour – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Greene King Brewery tour – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Beer Tasting Room, Greene King Brewery tour – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
David, Shelley – Greene King Brewery
See more Brewery Pics in this album on Facebook
After the tour and beer tasting we were in need of a walk around town…
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
…before getting in the car to head to our final destination, Harlow, Essex and…
THE DOGS at Harlow Stadium!!!
Harlow Stadium – Greyhound Racing
I love going to the racetrack to bet on the ponies but I had never been to a greyhound track!! I was really looking forward to this experience and indeed it was!
Harlow Greyhound Racetrack
My fav bet in horse racing is an “Exacta Box” so I went with the same type of bet, “Reverse Forecast” for the dogs. I only need to pick the two dogs that I think will come in first and second or vice versa. This is actually 2 bets in one so my £1 wager cost £2 per race…steep I know! lol So, I was thrilled when one of my bets paid off!! I can’t remember how much I won exactly…about £15, I think? David won on one of his bets as well.
And They’re OFF! Harlow Greyhound Racetrack
It’s still hard to pick winners even with only 6 dogs in every race. Horse racing has at least 2 times the number, you’d think dogs would be easier to get lucky!
Thanks again to David and Kerrie for such a fantastic day! David, I think next time it’s the Cheese Rolling event for us, then? 🙂
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Saturday, and while it may be my last full day in London, it’s certainly not the least of times, to finally meet NEW friends, plus one more chance after to see John Simm on stage!
Roy, Shelley – The Salisbury, London
Tracy, Shelley – The Salisbury, London
Cath, Yvonne, Shelley – Duke of York’s, London
I also met new friend Leigh Ann but our pic together (also with Tracy plus another)…while absolutely hysterical…is still under review by the zany police!! LOL
See more Pics from my One Week in London in this photo album on Facebook
It’s hard to leave after such a wonderful week meeting wonderful friends, traveling the Tube, Bus, DLR, National Rail, seeing London again and the beautiful surrounding areas of England. But the only thing that saw me through my sadness in leaving was that my vacation holiday was only half over! Hey! Now that’s not too shabby! 😀 Early the next morning I was on my way to Heathrow Airport and Berlin, Germany!!
(See “One Week in Berlin” Blog)
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