Second Week in May

Howdee again. Another week has gone bye. We have both been working. I have been working in a hospital in Stepney Green - One ward was Stroke Rehabilitation and the other is Wound Care. I have enjoyed nursing again. The shifts can be long some days 7.30 am - 9 pm with a couple of breaks in between, other wise 7.30 pm - 3 pm.

On Sunday 11th May we went on an Andersons Coach Tour to the Isle of Wight. We left at 7.30am and went round picking up other passengers from other stops, eventually leaving London at 9.oo am heading toward Southhampton.

Then we caught the ferry crossing to the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is a tiny diamond shaped island 5 miles off the coast of South England. It has lots of different landscapes and scenery ie; Chalky Downs, High Cliffs, Sandy Beaches,Woodlands, Meadows,Vineyards and Rivers. Its often called "England in Miniature" The weather was fabulous. The Isle of Wight is rich in history also from Dinosaur remains, Roman villas, historic castles and thatched cottages.

Our first stop was Godshill, ( not to be confused with Gled ..hill ) a small village with a lovely church, quaint cottages and delightful tearooms and lovely views. We wandered around here exploring the village.

Our next stop was Shanklin, another village with a seaside this time. We went down a steep winding cliff walk to Sanddown Bay. A delightful beach, much like Ngamotu beach ( Flat expansive beach ) with deck chairs and white european people trying for a suntan. We managed to get our feet wet for a change as we walked along the shoreline. We met an Aussie couple - Lousie and Nathan and chatted to them. John Keats the famous Poet once made his home here.

Next we carried on to Ventnor, an attractive seaside resort and health spa town. We went on round the coast passing Freshwater and Yarmouth, then back to Cowes to catch the ferry over the Solent strait, to head on back to London. We thoroughly enjoyed our days excursion.

The Isle of Wight ( Cowes ) is famous for the first Americas cup and yacht regattas are held here frequently. It is also known for Osborne House ( A countryside retreat for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert ) preserved in all rooms as it was in 1901 upon the death of Queen Victoria.

Monday - Friday ( 12 -16 May ) was a normal working week for us both. Kevin had a couple of swim sessions. Kevin had a few beers with some teachers on Friday.


Saturday 17 May. We got up early and headed off to Lords to see the 1st Cricket test between N.Z. and England. They played 8 overs then stopped and it got greyer and greyer and then began to drizzle. At 4 pm we headed home as it was becoming obvious that no cricket would be played. We can get a refund on our ticket as they played less than 10 overs. Lords was a fantastic ground with over 25,000 people there. On Sunday the day was lovely, but we didn't have tickets for Sunday.

Sunday 18 May. We decided to visit Eltham Palace which is a very beautiful palace and surrounding gardens and grounds. We spent about 1 & 1/2hrs here looking around. ( Eltham is relatively close to Greenwich, a 2o min bus ride )

We headed back to Greenwich and got the train to Ealing. Kevin wanted to try the "Kiwi Kitchen" for a typical kiwi menu. Its run by a Naki boy Matt Jans. We had a lovely meal with kumara chips, hamburger incl beetroot etc.. Also some hokey pokey icecream and pavlova. Its been awhile since we have had any real Kiwi food but it was quite a mission getting there away across the other side of London ( 1 and half hours travel ) made worse by misreading directions and going to Uxbridge first.

After this we hopped on a bus and headed for Wembly Stadium. We had tickets to the Harlem GlobeTrotters ( World Tour ) basketball show time event which was being held at the Wembly Arena. We enjoyed the show and the atmosphere.

Afterwards we caught a train home to Greenwich, arriving home at 10 pm after an excellent day out and about in London.