Writing Travelling Talking

Author: Tina

The Abba Voyage

Virtual Reality

A highlight of my overseas trip was attending the amazing Abba Voyage concert at the breath-taking and specially designed Abba Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

Described by the Guardian Newspaper as “a dazzling retro-futurist extravaganza” the concert was a step back in time for me, as I’ve always loved Abba music.

And going forward, it’s a certainty that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to transform not just the music and film industry, but every aspect of our lives.

After the concert, our group crossed over to the Snoozebox at https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/snoozebox-stratford.en-gb.html for a few hours of after-party fun.

It was a whirlwind few days after I returned from Ireland, fitting in last minute visits with friends and making trips into the West End.

Our Saturday night trip to the concert with Judie Tzuke https://www.tzuke.com/and Beverley Craven at St Martin’s-in-the-Fields was a great experience.

As noted by Wikipedia, St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval period.

It was certainly an impressive venue, and we enjoyed a meal in the cafe in the crypt underneath before the concert. This was especially welcome, as we had tried to get into many cafes in Leicester Square but being Saturday night it was impossible without a reservation.

The day before I left London was amazing as Deb took a day off work and we went by train and underground to Spitalfields and Leadenhall Markets in East London.

After a fabulous day exploring both markets and having an amazing lunch, we walked to the Tower of London and caught an Uber boat to Westminster.

Big Ben has been given a thorough clean and some of the London taxis have had a metamorphosis. No longer only in funereal black it’s great to see them in bright colours.

Big Ben has had a real clean-up.

Our very congenial taxi driver took us the long way back to Euston Station past Buckingham Palace just so that I could say that I had seen it this time around!

He certainly knew his way around London as we travelled through so many back streets I’d never seen before on the way back to Euston!

And how about this for originality – the amazing herd of 21 elephants in Spitalfields — one adult and 20 orphaned juveniles. These are bronze elephants, sculptures to raise awareness of elephant poaching in Africa by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Only in England!

Forever England

The main reason I decided to return to England this time was to take a walk down Memory Lane … to reacquaint with family and friends after 23 years.

I didn’t realise how emotional this could be.

My dear friend Debbie met me at Heathrow Airport and it was wonderful to see her smiling face again. Twenty three years is a long time but for me, friendships made years ago are like comfortable slippers – we just slide in easily and carry on where we left off.

Sadly, my Uncle passed away two days before I arrived in the UK so I missed him, but was able to see my 89 year-old Aunt and of course, my cousins and their children. We had quite a few memorable get-togethers.

Lunchtime meet-up at The Bell Pub in Marston Mortaine, Bedfordshire.
The Bell Pub in Marston Mortaine

We had another memorable catch-up at The Old Water Mill in Ringstead, Northamptonshire.

And yet another at my cousin Sarah and her husband Dave’s house in Rushden. Actually it was Dave’s birthday and he cooked a splendid roast beef dinner for everyone – complete with the best ever Yorkshire Puddings!

Wonderful dinner cooked by Dave on his birthday!

Mamma Mia

Staying with my friend Debbie in Oxhey near Watford is pretty amazing. Debbie’s company makes theatrical costumes and she is currently working on Mamma Mia and creating costumes for the forthcoming international tour commencing next February. It’s very exciting to watch her and her team at work and a real privilege to be able to accompany Debbie to various fittings for actresses.

The Escondidos

Debbie also has a music room in her home and plays keyboard for the band called The Escondidos. It’s just great to hear them rehearse for their shows and these are musos in their seventies – good on ya guys!!!

Have a listen to them –https://www.lemonrock.com/jjsescondidos#:~:text=J%20J’s%20Escondidos%20%5BRhythm%20

Fireworks night was a big event and I went with Debbie’s large family group to Metropolitan Bushey on Sunday, November 5.

It was spectacular, with the band Supersonic Queen, a funfair, stalls, food, and a bar.

These are just a couple of the very elaborate fireworks displays. There was a huge crowd of people and very long queues to get a drink, but the weather held and it didn’t rain, thank goodness!

A good time was had by all.

Bath Abbey

Bath is a beautiful city and when visiting cousins in Chippenham, Wiltshire I had a memorable time walking around the fabulous buildings and shops. It truly is a scenic city, with the beautiful Bath Abbey, and the famous Roman Baths as well as various quaint and colourful shops.

The famous Bath Abbey

Jacks of Bath

Just a pretty shop front

Sally Lunn

The famous Sally Lunn’s Eating House

Colours of Autumn in full swing

Pulteney Bridge

Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family which the family wished to develop. Designed by Robert Adam in a Palladian style, it is highly unusual in that it has shops built across its full span on both sides.

This has proved to be a great time to visit England as the autumn colours are spectacular and the weather is really only just starting to get cold and rainy.

Singapore Sling

Oh, how it’s changed since I was last in Singapore 30 years ago! However the humidity and heat were just as fierce.

And so many people …

The flight – 8 hours from Brisbane – was pretty uneventful. Arriving at Changi Airport and going through Customs took a while but eventually I made it to the taxi rank and we ploughed through the Friday night traffic to my hotel.

My travel agent had booked me into the Peninsula Excelsior in Coleman Street which proved to be an excellent choice as it was very central. I caught a glimpse of the famous Raffles Hotel as we passed by and reflected on a very happy memory of a night spent there many years ago!

Had a funny trip on the “Singapore Duck” the next day, which travels along the road and then into the water for a sightseeing tour.

This sign caught my eye …

Just cruisin’ in the Duck!
View of city buildings from the “Duck”

That was enough sightseeing for one day! I did a wander through City Hall and Raffles City shopping malls, but in the end, resorted to a rest at the hotel.

Was treated to a delicious Japanese meal in the evening by “a friend of a friend” which included some interesting conversation and sampling of Sake. Lucky me!

Gardens by the Bay proved to be an excellent early morning experience on my final day in Singapore, before the heat of the day arrived and I retired for a restful afternoon before boarding the 14 hour flight to London.

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