From The Strange Tours File

Last weekend was the big wedding in Great Britain. Meghan and Harry have begun their life as husband and wife. It's the story little girls love--meeting your prince and becoming a princess (actually a duchess). Bring on the unicorns. Like millions of others I watched, at least for a little while. I had to smile as the very solemn faced Brits listened to a very animated pastor deliver a message.

Well now the Brits have given me another thing to smile about. They have a great sense of humor. It's often unexpected and catches you off-guard. For instance there is a London tour company that takes you on unusual themed tours. The name of the company is London Loo Tours. Now if you don't know that the Brits use the term loo for bathroom or toilet it may not strike a chord with you and make you smile. I'm truly smiling as I write this.

So, there are four tours you can choose from, the original loo tour, the Bloomsbury loo tour, the Thomas Crapper's Times and, I'm sure what would be one of my grandsons' favorites, the Fart Tour. The description of the original tour sent me into peals of laughter:

Our classic route runs from Waterloo to the West End, exploring the potty politics of public toilets. From stories of intrigue to practical tips, this tour is an investment in your bladder future! Never be caught short again!

Okay moving on to the Bloomsbury:

We put the Loo in Bloomsbury! This tour travels from Euston Square to Holburn and plumbs the depths of the history of health and hygiene, investigating how the toilet as we know it evolved from scientific discovery and social convention.

Now that seems a bit more educational. Even more educational would be the Thomas Crapper Tour. While he's been falsely credited with inventing the flush toilet, he was still a marvel at depth plumbing inventions and has quite a few patents to his name. Here's the description of that tour:

This tour travels through the Kensington area where Thomas Crapper lived and worked. Learn about the man and the myths and legends that have followed him and his famous surname!

And I finish with the newest tour, the Fart tour:

The Fart Tour with Amber-Loo, which journeys through Soho to celebrate the fun and discover the facts of our greatest bodily function.

So, if you find yourself in London and getting bored with all the usual touristy stops perhaps you'll give one of these a go--if you're flush with some cash of course.

Flashback Friday - Our First International Trip

Our very first passports in hand, we flew to New York and then on to Heathrow Airport in London. It had to be the late 1980s. There was no fuss with security and once through immigration we were greeted by Bob's sales rep, David, who was English but had lived for a few years in the US. He popped us into the car with our luggage and we were on our way.

Of course the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the car and we were driving on the wrong side of the road. With little sleep and anxiety over being in unfamiliar territory we began our crazy journey through the streets of London. Roundabouts made me dizzy and then I happened to glance at the speedometer from my place in the back seat. He was doing 100! It wasn't until later that I realized it was only about 60 mph. All I could think of was, "I'm gonna die!"

Finally it was time to check into the hotel and see if we were lucky enough to have our room ready for us. Thankfully it was. We may have napped a bit. I can't remember but I do remember the visitors we had. A knock on our door and we kind of looked at each other. Had David decided to stop by? Had we left something in the car?

Bob opened the door which was around the corner from where I sat. I could hear a female voice but couldn't understand what she was saying. Bob's voice came through loud and clear though.

"Uh, no. No. That's won't be necessary. Thanks anyway. My wife is here with me."

He closed the door and gave a chuckle. He explained there were two ladies-of-the-evening who had offered him their services. I laughed. He looked so uncomfortable.

Later we saw them hanging out in the entryway to the hotel. They didn't acknowledge Bob. I guess they didn't want to embarrass him with his wife. When we returned to the hotel, they were gone. We assumed when we never saw them again that they had been removed or just moved on.

During the day, Bob worked the trade show (our reason for being there) and I got to explore. David had shown us how to use the tube (the subway) and I ventured out several times. My only scare was hearing a rowdy crowd headed in my direction and I feared it was one of the demonstrations that were happening around that time with the IRA. They were upon me before I had a chance to react but I realized with relief that it was only a group of young men all dressed in soccer gear and celebrating. I breathed a sigh of relief although today I know that it could have been just as dangerous a situation. Those soccer fans can be intense.

Sadly David is gone now but while he was still with us we always blamed him for getting us to travel to London. It was the beginning of a wanderlust that has not yet abated.

Merry Old England - Robin's Tights and Arthur's Sword

Camelot? For real? 
And Sherwood Forest does exist? 
But what about King Arthur and Robin Hood? 

As we have done in the past with trips to Ireland and New Zealand, our future travel plans include a round-the-country trip to England. While perusing several sites to add to that itinerary, I found an article on Smarter Travel.com that listed several mythical places to visit including Camelot and Sherwood Forest. Let's start with Camelot.

In Shropshire, England, you can follow the King Arthur Trail. The fourth largest city of Roman times in Great Britain, Virconium at Wroxeter is thought to be the site of Camelot. You see, researchers have discovered that there was a King Arthur. He was king of the Votadini tribe and he married a lady named Ganhumara. So, okay, that's close to Guinevere, right? Apparently if you follow the trail, the legendary pieces will all fit into place. It should be very interesting.

Now Robin Hood, according to legend, roamed with his merry band in Sherwood Forest. There really is such a place in Nottinghamshire. It was once a large forested area where royalty hunted deer. Perfect for the tales of Robin Hood, right? But wait! Tracing the personage of Robin Hood actually puts him in a different area.

The first known literary reference to Robin Hood was in 1377 and puts his birthplace as Lockersley in Yorkshire in 1160. Unfortunately there is no Lockersley in Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire for that matter but there is a Loxley in Staffordshire. Then too, there are other men who seem to fit the legendary figure of Robin Hood (none of them resembling Errol Flynn, I'm sure) and show up in other accounts. It all seems very confusing but then we are talking about men in tights.

Whatever the case, we would enjoy seeing Sherwood Forest and imaging the merry men and fantasizing about a perfect place called Camelot. Great Britain is a beautiful country with quite a historic past--legendary or not.

Bring Us A Figgy Pudding

As we travel the world, we are fascinated with the foods of different nations. Christmas traditions at home are a mix of our backgrounds. My dad's side was Bohemian thus our pork, sauerkraut and dumpling meal. My husband's side is rooted in England so there is always the alternative goose or turkey.

This year as we started singing our Christmas carols, I became curious about figgy pudding. Why did the carol demand figgy pudding? Here's what I found.

Figgy pudding is a pudding in the traditional British sense of the word. Most people know of figgy pudding from the Christmas carol “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. It dates back to medieval times and is a descendant of frumenty, a rather unappetizing dish from the looks of the ingredients. Another source has figgy pudding being related to plum puddings of old.

We know figgy pudding today from the popular song, We Wish You a Merry Christmas. So if your carolers begin to sing, "Bring us a figgy pudding!" here's a really easy recipe for it.

• 10-12 ounces of dried figs
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 box carrot cake mix
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup raisins
• grated zest of one orange
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade

Place the figs and the water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit until soft, a few hours. Once soft, remove the figs from the water and place in a bowl. Save the water and add the sugar. Bring to a boil and let reduce slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Chop the figs finely, being careful not to pulverize them.

To the boxed cake mix, stir in 1 ¼ cup of the sugared fig water, the oil and eggs. Set aside the remainder of the fig water. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well using a mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the walnuts, chopped figs, raisins, orange zest and the marmalade.

Line a large (4 quart) metal bowl with foil. Use enough foil so that you have a big collar around the edge of the bowl. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the bowl and place in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes and then fold the foil collar over the top. Continue baking for about 1 ½ hours more, or until a wood skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool overnight.

To serve, take the reserved fig water and add ½ cup of brandy or rum. Heat, and if you wish, (carefully!) ignite the sauce and pour over the pudding. Serve in wedges with whipped cream.

Ferry Cross the Mersey

Do you remember this song from Gerry and the Pacemakers? 

Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way

So ferry 'cross the Mersey
'Cause this land's the place I love
And here I'll stay

While thumbing through one of the travel books our kids have given us over the years (do they know we're spending their inheritance?), I came across several water trips that were recommended. There is a Mersey River in Liverpool. Liverpool? Doesn't that mean the Beatles? 

Yes. And the famous black and red ferries still run with several itineraries including one that is Beatle-themed. Check out the Mersey Ferry site for the information.

While I was wrong in assuming the Beatles had recorded the song, there were still lots of connections to the Fab Four and the Mersey. The bands that came out of that area of Liverpool were called the Mersey sound in music and there was a newspaper created called the Mersey Beat which was used to promote the Beatles and I assume other groups from the area. 

I guess the next time we are in the area we are going to have to ferry 'cross the Mersey and check it out.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Through My Lens - Harry Potter Movie Set

Harry Potter - The Movie Workshops

After our lunch and butter beers on the Harry Potter movie set, we entered the workshop area that displayed many of the makeup artists creations for the various types of characters found in the stories---mostly the goblins found in Gringott's Bank. Eerie heads and hands were lined up on shelves and shelves from floor to ceiling and all around a huge room. 

The most surprising of all were two heads fashioned for Hagrid. One was hooked to complicated mechanisms that blinked eyes, moved the mouth, etc. All for the stunt doubles and for wide shots when the actor, Robbie Coltrane, wasn't needed to speak in the shot. The actor is actually 6' 1"--as he puts it, "north, south, east, and west." He's a British comedian. Of course movie magic made him appear even taller and larger.

After passing by the extremely large and hairy spider from one of the movies, we were channeled into Diagon Alley. It was amazing. All of the shop fronts were there. Purchase an owl? Want a wand? How about ingredients for your magic potions? Of course all the stylish wizarding clothes were displayed in the windows and the Weasleys were set up in a shop with their clever off the wall (even for wizards) goodies.

Deciding we didn't really need anything magical at the moment (they were only store fronts anyway), we passed along and glanced back for one last look at the Gringott's Bank entrance before entering the model display area where many of the mock-ups of sets showed the planning stages for what was to come. In the welcome video, actor Daniel Radcliffe had mentioned a surprise at the end and referred to Hogwarts. We thought the large white cardboard mock up of Hogwarts was it. Not so.

The next room was at least as big as a basketball court--maybe two. And in the center was the real Hogwarts, the real model anyway. This was the one used to shoot the pictures of Hogwarts from the outside. Remember the bridge section I told you about? Well, the "real" bridge was part of the model and spanned the whole valley beneath it. The lights in the room cycled from daylight to night time so you could catch a glimpse of Hogwarts during all phases of the day and night. It was, well, magical!

Just like at Disney (everyone has learned this trick) we were funneled out to the gift shop but not until we had passed through a room full of wand boxes. Each box had a name on it that was significant to the writing, producing, and making of the books and movies. A guide in the room could point out all the significant wands if you asked.

We returned our audio guides and wandered through the gift shop wondering who might enjoy some Bertie Botts Jelly Beans.

Harry Potter - WB Back Lot

After having explored the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the Gryffindor boys dorm, the magic potion classroom, Dumbledore's office, and tons of other sets and props for the making of the Harry Potter movies, we were hungry. On the "back lot" just outside the main studio area, we found the commissary--the lunch line. On one side you could get all sorts of sandwiches and snacks and on the other side, butter beer. Who could resist trying butter beer? Not us. 

We sat down with our butter beers and food and took a sip. The butter beer was like a cross between ginger ale and cream soda with some sort of sweet meringue-like top that tasted almost like whipped marshmallows. It was quite a creation and a nifty treat.

The outdoor cafeteria area was surrounded by more familiar props and sets from the movies. The famous triple decker purple bus, two houses from Privet Lane where Harry lived with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, and the house where he'd been an infant and his parents had been killed by he-who-shall-not-be-named (Voldemort).

A section of the bridge the characters so often crossed as they discussed life and made plans was nearby. It was where the actors were filmed. The actual bridge of Hogwarts, as we would see later was a much smaller mock up and part of . . . well, you'll see if you come back for the next Harry Potter post.

Harry Potter - The Movie Set

Excitement escalated when we discovered that Warner Bros. was opening the movie set of the Harry Potter series to the public. Just a short train trip from London to Watford Junction where a duly decorated shuttle bus takes you straight to the studios about 15 minutes away. We purchased tickets online before we left home and arrived at the studios about forty-five minutes before our tour time of 11 a.m.

While waiting to get in line for our appointed time, we strolled around the lobby full of huge poster pictures of the cast from the movies and noticed, suspended above our heads in the corner, the Ford Anglia that was made to fly. A peek in the gift shop only left me thinking of a Christmas gift list for all the Potter fans in our family.

After a coffee and a snack, we got in line to begin our tour. As we wound our way to the entrance, we were enticed with a mock up of Harry's room under the stairs on Privet Lane. There on the shelf above the bed were the iconic glasses worn by Daniel Radcliffe. I'm sure in the 10 years or so it took to make all the movie sequels, there were more than one pair. He did grow.

A large group of us were herded into a room where we watched a short video before entering another room with a familiar giant door before us--the door to the banquet hall of Hogwarts. Sure enough when the doors opened, we were right there and the magic of Warner Brothers movie making began. The banquet hall didn't seem as large as what was on the screen in the movie but it was still very impressive. Tables were set and along the sides were original costumes representing the houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.

Once our allotted time was up in the banquet hall, we were directed out to the large studio area where we could leisurely explore all the various sets, props, costumes, etc. that were used in all the movies. Each of us had an audio guide that we could start at each station along the way. It was more of an IPod-type guide where it was possible to also see videos and pictures of the making of the movies as well as interviews with people involved. It was very well done.

The Gryffindor dorm room where Harry and Ron bunked was interesting. As the audio explained the beds were the right size for the actors when they first started filming but by the time the last movie was made, they had outgrown them and needed to curl up tight to appear to still fit. The colorful quilted bed in Ron's.

Dumbledore's office was amazing. You can't see it in the picture and it was a little difficult to see from where we stood as well but there is a large telescope up in the ceiling. All of the elements of the story line were there and visitors were allowed all the time they needed to search them out and find them.

Many of the special effects, most helped along by green screens, were displayed. The brooms and flying motorcycles of course were attached to mechanical devices that made them move while being ridden and then the background added onto the green screen later would make it seem to really fly.

But how did Harry become invisible under that cloak of his father's? Green screen material. Look closely at the picture of the cloak on the mannequin and you'll see that a part of it is folded back to reveal the green material. Ah, the magic of movie making. But some of the best was yet to come.

England on Dwellable

Through My Lens - London

My Canterbury Tales - The End

Canterbury after five in the evening began to close down as tourist traffic thinned down to almost nothing, boarding their buses parked in the large lot along the Riverwalk. One evening as we walked past the entrance to the Cathedral grounds we realized the gate was open and we were free to enter the grounds and walk around. We strolled through the courtyard and up to one of the doors which had a notice posted on it. The notice was actually an announcement for an organ recital to take place the last night of our stay. How exciting! An opportunity to get inside without having to take the tour that we'd already taken on a previous trip and a chance to hear the organ in the grand cathedral.

After our trip to Leeds Castle, we refreshed at our B&B and then took off to find an early dinner so that we could catch the 7:30 p.m. recital. We arrived a bit early at the Cathedral after dinner and waited around to see if the main door was going to open. Since we hadn't seen the recital advertised anywhere else we were a little concerned that maybe we had been mistaken about it.

While we waited, we had time to reflect on the history we had learned about the Cathedral on our first visit. The tale of the murder of Thomas Becket is quite interesting and the pilgrimages that began afterward reflected in the writing of the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer.

Eventually, we saw a few people entering the Cathedral by a small side door. When we inquired and found that indeed that was the entry door for the recital. We followed another couple in and stopped at a table set up for tickets. In England rather than saying senior discount, they ask if you want a concession. Being a senior has its perks in lots of countries.

We were instructed to sit in the area where the choir sits. Unsure of the best place to plant ourselves, we asked a couple who seated themselves in an area just past the choir seats. They were regulars for the recitals that are held every six weeks or so. We joined them and struck up a conversation. They spoke of past recitals and the unfortunate lack of publicity for them.

It truly is a shame that they are not better advertised because it was a wonderful opportunity to hear the huge organ fill the Cathedral to the rafters with its wonderful sounds. While we were not entirely familiar with the pieces that the organist performed, we sat mesmerized by the sweet soft melody that wound around and through the huge arches above our heads and then crescendoed to rich full tones that reverberated and filled the entire massive space of the Cathedral. It was amazing.

When it was over, we strolled back to our B&B in the dusky evening light hand in hand, grateful for the opportunity to once again experience the history and ambiance of the English town of Canterbury.

Through My Lens - England's Bloomin' Flowers