I’m Hen-ery the Eighth I am.

Tuesday 10^th September.

Yes, we went to Hampton Court Palace. And were suitably impressed with the grandeur, and pleased that one of the information people gave us the head’s up about the change of style in the building due to William and Mary’s quest to rebuild and modernise the Palace. Thankfully, they ran out of money and had to stop, otherwise Hampton Court Palace would not look like King Henry VIII’s palace.

Hampton Court Palace

The audio guide, including in admission price would be good if you had all day because it gives you lots of information, but some of it was a bit boring, so we skipped through some of it. Highlights were Henry VIII’s kitchens and wine cellar, his apartments, the Chapel Royal, “Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber”, and the expansive gardens. The pond Gardens were particularly pretty, being smaller in size than the Privy Garden. We also called in to see The Great Vine, apparently over 230 years old and still producing 250 kg of grapes per year. Picking has just begun and of course, they are available for purchase in the Palace shop. As soon as I found out that there was a maze at HCP, I knew it was going to be on the list for this trip. It’s very old, and not difficult to get through, but I guess I was hoping it might be bigger.

the maze

There was also no vantage point to look down over it, so luckily there was a couple of workmen’s ladders  unattended nearby, so after checking the coast was clear, up I went!

The train from Waterloo takes you to Hampton Court station in the little village of East Molesey, which is worth a look around if you have the time. On this line are a couple of noteworthy stations:

One for my Mum

and one for her roomie

local shops, for local people

We had the time and the thirst, so we found The Prince of Wales pub, one street back from the main road, and the bartender steered us towards a tasting paddle, 3 x 1/3 pints of whichever beers you want. We had a selection of bitters (Jenny P, that’s for you and Steve) Twickham Sundancer, Wadsworth Farmer’s Glory and Triple F Citra Sonic, all from boutique breweries within a 50 mile radius of the village. Many pubs here we’ve noticed are members of CAMRA, the campaign for Real Ale, maintaining and supporting the little brewers in the face of commercial brands. I’ll drink to that! And, oh! the antique and bric-a-brac shops…….. if only we weren’t so far from home, with a baggage allowance!

Dinner tonight is back up at The Rocket, then we have to start thinking about getting packed up ready for the move tomorrow to Paris. Woo-hoo! We’ll be sleeping in Paris tomorrow night.

Things we like about London:

The way people love St Paul’s. The way even locals have to check the Tube map. The lack of road rage. The weather, can’t really complain, had a few showers but nothing too bad. There’s a TV channel called ‘Dave’ and the +2 channel is ‘Dave je vu’.

Things we don’t like about London:

The sirens! If it’s not police, it’s an ambulance, and fair enough when it’s needed, but they’re so shrill. Smokers smoking in places they wouldn’t be allowed to at home. Spending a penny no longer costs a penny. We’ve paid 30p at Liverpool St and Waterloo railway stations and 40p at Camden Lock markets.

Things that amused us: The fact that they still have pennies and tuppences, and that talk on the news today about changing to polymer notes has met with mixed reactions. One bloke said, “it’s a bit like Monopoly money”, funny that, it’d suit the Monopoly town then wouldn’t it?

Our nominations for alternate Monopoly board names: Barking, Clapham Common, Crouch Hill, Ickenham, Mudchute, Seven Sisters, Tooting, Upney, Wapping.