Part 2 Nightlife in Dublin
Now we are public transport experts we ventured out into the very busy night scene that is Dublin..The crowds reminded me very much of my teenage boozy life in Blackpool along the promenade when the town was alive with visitors mid summer (sadly those days have gone ,more to come on my home town in a couple of weeks when we arrive) Pubs were JAM packed and my days of squeezing past people to buy a pint have long gone and disappointingly NO Irish music to be heard or dance to be seen and it is definately a place for the young ! Streets are of the cobbled variety and street vendors and buskers were a plenty ,the mind boggles on how these young women parade around in their very high heels! A very PINK stretch Limousine was cruising the streets (heaven knows how it went around those tiny streets) We ended up in a pub where we actually got seats and it is a memorial to Irish legend Michael Collins who apparently was assasinated at the age of 32 (In Ireland ,Michael is pronounced Me-Hall) Annie has once again managed to walk me miles ! but the weight is piling on,I have decided to make Sunday meal free !!
Diddle dee and Bejasus or Where are We? Part 1
After a short 55 min flight from the centre of London we arrived in the centre of Dublin and was picked up by the Metro Hotel courtesy Bus and driven to our Hotel Receptionist Sarah was very helpful informing us that Bus fares into town MUST be paid in coinage cash (NO change given!) Both Annie and myself were knackered (maybe travel is finally tiring us out OR is it all the walking she is forcing me to do?) After a very restful night on a very comfortable bed we headed into Dublin Centre ( with the correct coinage fare paid) and spent a good day checking out the place and buying souvenirs.We met lots of friendly people some dressed in character and ventured around the various well advertised pubs which we will try tonight.The Centre features a huge spike that was built on the spot where Nelsons Column originally was but blown up by the IRA in 1966 the spire cost 4 million Euro and when we asked locals what it represents? answer..we don,t know !
People having fun looking out of pub windows,electric trams an iconic river Liffey and its lovely array of bridges and a bloke wearing a Banana Skin with what looks like a giant Willy Holder at its base ! Your thoughts?
We will venture out later tonight and test our bus skills in the dark and the beer on offer.I had a very bad experience with Guiness when I was a young teenager and NOT had a drop since,tonight I will give it a go and hope it is OK,luckily I have my carer ( she will be tonight!) to guide me back to base Part TWO continues on the next blog
Last Full Day in London
We took advantage of our Oyster Travel Card thats runs out at midnight today..SO..we jumped on a tube train and got of at London Bridge and walked around the very pleasant riverside walkway from Tower Bridge to London Bridge and even saw the Tower Bridge raised to let a tall masted ship thru! There was incredible structures to be seen and there was a MASSIVE steel sculpture featuring 2 sailors ! the Thames bridges are awesome and we managed to take some good photo,s before the rains started (first we have seen since being away) at this point we jumped ona bus once again using our cards and opted for ANY tube station where we promptly jumped on a train and landed at Kings Cross (this station is Londons main hub for above ground rail AND Tubeway) Apparently very soon after we left Kings Cross the station was closed down due to a drug bust !!!Since I was last at this Station a few years ago it has been thoroughly modernised and boasts a Platform 9.3/4 with lots of people waiting their chance of a photo shoot !! The Rains are very heavy now with a thunderstorm brewing so we opted for base after at last nipping into Macdonalds for an ice cream (OK so I,m addicted)
Michael will be joining us soon as he wants to see West Hams Ground before its gone forever to make way for flats next year
We had a farewell Dinner at WesT Hams Ground Diner and after a quick pic on the football fields we said our goodbyes but will meet up again in around 3 weeks time in Blackpool NEXT stop in a few hours DUBLIN !!!
A Museum NON Visit and Convent Garden
We visited The British Museum after meeting up with the usually late Michael and decided NOT to do the visitor thing as we have been in there before so we opted to go to Convent Garden and it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise
The Place was ALIVE with plenty to see and do Living Statues were a plenty and Magicians everywhere,even Annie kept disappearing !!Cafes and Pubs were heaving .Street vendors selling souvenirs were kept very busy ( and yes I bought my obligatory T shirts!) Five young people were playing classical music to a very appreciative audience and they were very entertaining .We let Michael return home as last nights “outing” has left him tired ( Ive got to say me feet are killing me) so we left for home base stopping at our (now) local shopping centre and Annie bought various items of Bling !! At base we completed our on line check in with Ryan Air in readiness for our flight to Dublin come Friday
Annie was very pleased to stop in tonight as she is now travel weary BUT I suspect it because she can watch Coronation St LIVE !
The Queen,her Owse and a Mucky River
This is going to be one of Annies highlight days a visit to the Queens House known as Buckingham Palace.Her home is opened to the public 8 weeks a year and we are lucky enough to have been invited.The place is full of opulence in a serious manner !! Paintings/sculptors and everything expensive is on show and altho part of my British heritage I felt a little envious of the way the Royal Family are blessed ( I had a very happy childhood being one of seven children and I don,t think I would have swapped it ) Photo,s are NOT allowed sadly
We had n Ice cream and drink on the outside lawn and when I told Annie its where the Queen holds her famous Garden Parties she was delighted Inside The Palace I was chatting to a fellow and in a split second his 3 yr old daughter disappeared and we had searched for 20 seconds when we spotted her sat the cordoned off Queens Throne!!,the highly embarrassed dad coaxed his daughter back and he headed towards the Exit,in the meantime the security alarm had gone off ( the perplexed dad was not aware of this as he had gone by his time) the security staff couldnt find where the alarm had gone off until I told them what had happened and they were happily satisfied with the explanation !! Next we moved onto the wharf at big ben and cruised up the River Thames for 90 minutes to Kew Gardens where we had a traditional pub lunch (Dinner to Pomms) of Steak Pie n Mash.The Captain of the Ferry Boat was very informative and also funny explaining various buildings as we sailed past including Apartments belonging to Michael Caine,Elton John and the late Cilla Black.The day was long we left at 10 am and arrived home 8pm and Annie has again walked my arse off !!
Tomorrow we may visit the museum or do impromptu visits
Kinks and a Cramped Theatre 10th August 2015
Today we rode the tube using up our Oyster card and virtually got on and off Stations Wily Nily simply because we can! We met up with Michael for dinner and went into a local Burger shop almost next to the theatre and had a lovely meal (this time with Pudding!) we climbed the stairs up into the gods of the Harold Pinter theatre and took our seats (not a bad view either) then we realised we were in the wrong seats and had to go higher up to the next balcony ! We settled in after a quick breathe on our oxygen tanks due to lack of air at this altitude!! then the show started (No photo,s allowed unfortunately) and what a cracker it was ..part story part music and it all blended brilliantly.The actor/singer who played baddie Dave Davies is brilliant and he captured the lunatic Davies brilliantly..of course all other actors were quite good too.Sadly the seating leaves a lot to be desired and leg room is virtually non existant,fortunately the seats in front of me were empty thus allowing me to dangle me legs into the next row.The Show itself was fantastic,the music brilliant and well worth a visit if in London but do take into account your seating
The BBC and Us Lot and a Quiz
Affectionally known to the the British as the Beeb was a wonderful day out.We all met up for the tour around mid day and I got chatting to the lovely security man Leroy.After having our bags checked we went into the media cafe which has interesting BBC artifacts including the Tardis,Daleks and a scene from East Enders,We were greeted by Maddie our tour director who did an excellent job of showing how shows are formatted and pre scripted.Some of us did a bit of acting and News reading all in great funThe BBC building in London is of a massive nature and the Tour started showing how news went to air and the current headlining news? The Australians being defeated by the Pomms (great stuff!) and the Ozzie Captain stating he was retiring (methinks pushed would be more apt!) If in London go and book a tour,you will not be disappointed .After the tour we went off to an Italian restaurant that I,m sure was a10 KM walk from the BBC !! The meal was Ok and we said our goodbyes to Michael (my son) Paul (Anns London living brother) and his wife Sally.The tube is now getting very easy to use and upon our return we decided for anight in to refresh our aching (thru walking !) bones etc
All these pics were taken on Anns Camera and the ones below on mine
Ann did sound effects me n Michael actors
Next Day..Sunday, we decided to use our Oyster card (public transport) so we hopped on aTube Train and visited Piccadilly Circus just for the hell of it !! We used different trains to take us to distant destinations and eventually ended up in Balham meeting up with my son Michael and his 2 pals Juan & Chris,Michael and Ann opted for a roast dinner whilst I simply drank beer !!The pub is full of character and named The Devonshire (my old school was Devonshire Rd Blackpool,my delivery round as a Postman was based around a Blackpool Club the Devonshire Arms and my night Club activities I used a Devonshire Club ! is there a connection I ask myself? NO just sheer coincidence!) We formed a team in the Quiz night and did NOT come last (a feat in itself!) We ventured home around 10.30pm and was amazed at the number of people stil around at that time.Tomorrow we hit London again to see the Kinks show ‘ Sunny Afternoon’
Harry Potter and Firestones Geoff n Annie
Wow wotaday!! we got the train the day after the strike heading towards Victoria Station and THEN..the tube train in front of us was halted while a medical team were called in to help a passenger suffering a seizure and that train could not be moved rendering this train stranded in the middle of a HOT tubeway for 40 minutes,at this point it was decided to reverse the train back to the last visited station !! This threw our plans of getting to the Harry Potter bus departure in time,AT last luck was on our side and we made it with just minutes to spare (the rappore on the stranded train was very good with all passengers who are complete strangers to each other chatting away to while away the time BUT it was SO hot as standing trains not allowed to run their engines thus rendering Air flow useless!!) sadly we didn,t find out how the sick passenger fared. At the Bus station the Cockney Driver/Ticket collector was extremely rude to passengers as he checked them on board and I was prepared to give him a mouthful if we suffered the same attention,,BUT then as we got onto the crowded bus he said “here you go Mate have the front 2 seats you will be comfortable for the one hour plus trip!! ” I decided at that point not to report him! and I have to say his commentary on all things London as we travelled thru the suburbs was excellent (book & cover come to mind) Harry Potter Studio,s was great full of genuine articles from the movies including Hogwarts/9 and 3/4/Hagrid/and all the monsters and characters making it a very memorable day Annie had her pic taken outside Harrys mud blood house,Souvenirs were very pricey and a Potter wand could set you back £26! we were given 4 hours to explore (we did in 3) plenty of demonstrations,getting involved with the use of a Green Screen (look it up) and of course plenty of pictures taken
All of the above pictures were taken with Annies camera and she has done a great job the next lot is via MY Camera
Spot John Cleese,Hagrid,Voldemort.Annie etc
The Beatles and The Buses !
The next day is upon us and the highlight was the Beatles show “Let it Be” which turned out to be an extraordinary day to say the least!! The bloody British Unions decided to go on strike (Tube only) and complete city chaos was the order of the day! We travelled by bus by what can can only be described as Sardine can style,The return could have been horrendous but for the brilliant bus driver who had no option but to drive past overcrowded bus stops but in formed us to press the STOP button and he would let us off anywhere (not designated stops) and as the bus crowd shrunk he would let others on at so called designated bus stops .The Show was brilliant with us paying 25 quid for the cheap seats located at the very top of the Garrick Theatre..I had such a good laff with the ticket seller she changed our seating and gave me 5th row stalls tickets ! (brilliant) The show was great and the audience were encouraged to take photos of the performers/get ap and dance and sing..I couldn,t hold Annie up!! she was having a ball (OK so was I)well worth a look if in London.We met up with Michael after the show, had a pint of Peroni and a laff and a giggle with the proprietor of an Italian Restaurant.As described earlier we had great fun withe London Bus Transport (who are to be applauded the way in which they conducted themselves)
The lady in The Pig advert is Cilla from Coronation St who just happened to be around same time as we were along with other stars who are not on here coz I dont know em?
Meet up with Michael (Mickey Bob) after over 3 yrs
First full day and we have gotten our Oyster cards that will let us run around London without hassle..we tried it out and went to the newly built Stratford (was built for the 2012 Olympics) and whaddya know the massive shopping complex is Aussie owned ! Wetrfield! We bought a SIM card from Argos and was fitted into Annie s phone by a lovely muslim girl who sorted it all out and the cost? ONE Pound! When we bought our Oyster cards I asked the lady at the counter if she had a larger TUBE map and coz I had a good laff with her she gave me this Ginormous planner !!Service given was fantastic Pleased with ourselves at being able to use the Oyster card quite easily we returned back to base then Back to Stratford where I met up with my son for a pint or two and dinner at a lovely pub with lovely people.pubs name? The Cow Patch and of course we had a great family reunion..Tomorrow The Beatles Show
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 