ninth week in London

Hi again. Wasn't able to update on Sat so here I am on Mon 10th March. Saturday ( 1st March ) saw us head off to Twickenham to see Harlequins v Gloucester ( Heineken Cup teams ) The Quins were in 6th spot on the table playing the Top side and a good crowd turned up ( A full house of 12600 people )

The Quins had won their last 2 matches so everyone was sure they could topple the leaders which they did in style. It was a really close and exciting game won 30 - 28 to the Quins. What an atmosphere. After the match we headed to the Kings Bar under the Stand for a few beers to listen to The Overtures ( A Band )who played some neat 60's - 70's music. We then headed back to Greenwich to be home around midnight. A trip like this takes between 1 - 2 hours travel each way which is pretty normal over here.

Sunday the 2nd March saw us up early and take a different means of travel into Central London ( The River cruise from Greenwich to Tower Bridge ) to start our day. It was our plan to walk both sides of the Thames crossing all the bridges and sightseeing along the way. This was what we did and it gave us plenty of exercise on a nice sunny day.

We saw the Tower of London then in succession we crossed these bridges (The Tower Bridge, The London Bridge, The Millenium walkway Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Golden Jubilee Bridge, Westminster Bridge, and finally Lamberth Bridge ) seeing all the sights including The Monument ( Under rennovation ) St Pauls Cathedral (where we stayed for an actual Sunday service ) The Tate modern, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. We gave our weary legs a small breather by going for a spin on the London Eye seeing all of London beneath us. A great view.

We probably walked upwards of 10 -12 km or more in a very enjoyable day taking lots of photos. Our walk included both sides of the Thames including the Southwark walkway, Bankside, Victoria Embankment, The Queens walkway, the Lamberth Reach and Victoria Tower Gardens.

It was now time to meet up with Don and Alison Sowman in Knightsbridge. After arriving via the tube, they were there to pick us up just outside Harrods ( that famous shopping complex ) They are from Okato and have been here 7 yrs, Don working as a Porter in an Accommodation complex and Alison works in IT. We had a good ol chatter with some hot cross buns and a cuppa tea for more than 3 hours. It was good to touch base with some Kiwi folk again and to hear of their travels and what they'd been up to as well as gain some valuable touring advice. We arrived back home just before midnight.

Monday 3 March - Friday 7 March has been a regular ol teaching week with some footie coaching on Tues at Blackheath RFC and a trip to see The Jersey Boys on Thurs ( A musical at the Prince Edward theatre at Tottenham Court about the life and music of Frankie Valli and the 4 seasons )

I wrote an exam for my MQP students which they will sit this week ( March 12 ) as well as preparing some task sheets and exam questions for my Foundation Accounting class who also have exams ( march 18 ) I have reports to write as well and we are planning our travel for the upcoming Easter hol's so its been a reasonably quiet week.

We were up early on Sat ( 8 March ) where we headed to the TNT expo show on travel at Holborn to pick up some valuable travel brochures / ideas. TNT is the NZ Australian South African travel magazine which is published free and provides excellent ideas and information for travellers like us. We had 2 heavy bags to lug around so we zapped home on the trains to dump it off before heading to the Greenwich Railway station to pick up the South Eastern train ( an overlander ) to Rochester where I had arranged to meet up with Steve Owen and his wife Louise.

The plan was to catch up with them both ( Steve taught at NPBHS in 07 ) and to watch the footie on TV. We were unable to get there in time to see Wales beat Ireland because of the TNT expo ( The trip took over an hour and we left Greenwich at 2 pm ) but we did see England lose their 2nd match of the campaign to the Scots at a nice wee pub ( The Coopers Inn )

After the match it was back to Steve's place to freshen up before heading out to a Quiz evening to raise funds for Kings school. ( Their son Sam attends this school ) and it was an enjoyable evening attempting to answer the difficult selection of questions in a group with other couples.

It was then back to their home where we chatted away consuming more alcohol and some whiskey shots before finally calling it quits at around 3 am. We had been invited to stay upon our arrival in Rochester for the weekend which was great.

We were up around 9 am to a cooked breakfast before Louise and Sam headed off to the Rochester Church while June and I, along with Steve explored the historic sights of Rochester including The Castle in the centre of the village and the quaint streets of Rochester.

Once the Church service was over we met up with Louise and Sam inside this amazing old cathedral with lots of history dating way back to 1060 and before. We were lucky enough to meet the Headmaster of Kings school ( An ex Aussie ) have a guided tour of the Cathedral and to have a cuppa tea / chat with the Bishop.

Sam and Louise then headed off home while Steve, June and I checked out a couple of pubs incl one that had a jazz band even having a couple beers before meeting all up again for afternoon tea in a small tea room in the village. It was now time to head back to Greenwich. Steve and louise had offered to drive us back home which allowed us to see the countryside and motorway leading into London.

Rochester is in the county of Medway and the Borough of Kent and it is a very attractive place with historical significance and a nice village atmosphere with quaint shops and impressive architecture.

It was an enjoyable time with Steve and Louise Owen and it was good to catch up with a former teaching colleague and his family. Sunday evening was spent just relaxing in our room and reading.

Thats it for now. Until next time cheers from Kevin and June.