Saturday July 5th: Dover to Maidstone.
On Saturday we left Dover and traveled a short distance to Maidstone. Here we visited Roger & Penny Pocock whom we met in South Africa and have known for over 40 years. About three weeks after we had arrived in SA in June of 1968, having travelled out by cruise ship (funded by the SA government), Alison was at the Automobile Association for some reason long forgotten and Penny came up to her and said “Excuse me, but weren’t you on the SA Vaal?”. Of course we were, and from there they 
discovered that they were living in the same part of town as us (the inexpensive end!). The two ladies planned that we should all meet and thus began an association that has lasted for 40 years. Roger is an electrician by trade but also a house builder and entrepreneur. He basically wired my whole house that I “owner built” in South Africa from 1973-5 (see South African blog). Roger & Penny returned from SA to the UK in the mid/late 70s and Roger took over his father’s electrical company. They have lived in the same lovely big old house on a large lot/plot for 25+ years, with Roger adding on, knocking down walls, putting them back, knocking them down again (all at Penny’s instruction!). However, a developer wants to buy the house, knock it down and build 
nine detached houses on the lot and has already drawn up plans and made Roger an offer. Negotiations continue. Roger is himself now retired but, not surprisingly, he has a couple of projects that are keeping him occupied. We walked to one of these projects, which is a major renovation of a terraced house in central Maidstone (walking distance from the town center). I was shocked to hear the price that Roger paid for this house in the original condition that he bought it – I would say “derelict”, and have to say that the price of property in the UK for what you get seems ridiculous when compared with the USA. Roger’s modernization of the terraced house is impressive as always and will make someone happy when it is eventually finished (especially Penny!).
On our walk back, we stopped for a pint at one of their local pubs and then returned home and a nice braai and caught up on our respective lives since they had last visited us in Myrtle Beach. There is never enough time.
Sunday 07/06 - Maidstone to West Wickham
We left Maidstone and R&P after a hearty breakfast and fond farewells and headed for West
Wickham, south of London, the home of Jerry (Jay) and Lyn Hodgins. Jerry was in South Africa in the early 1970s and I met him through squash and we played every weekend. Jerry was in SA looking for oil on the land (or underground!). Oil was never found in SA except off the coast, and Jerry subsequently returned to UK and went on to many exotic places looking for oil. However, while in SA, he had met Lyn, a Port Elizabeth lady, and Jerry returned often for visits. They were ultimately married and our friendship has continued through the years. Jerry joined me on my Appalachian Trail hike in 2006 (we have also planned to walk for two days on the River Thames later in the holiday). We had already “primed” J&L that we would be expecting to join them for the Wimbledon final and other major sporting events of the day (Formula 1 UK Grand Prix at Silverstone). Unfortunately, when we arrived, Lyn, who is ladies captain of the local golf club, had duties as a caddie for a club ladies team that was playing that afternoon, but Jerry, Alison and I settled down in front of the TV and began what became a terrific afternoon/evening of sport. The Formula 1 started at 1:00 PM in the rain, which made it extremely exciting and the race was ultimately won by Hamilton who drove impeccably. The major event of the day started at 2:00 PM – Federer v Nadal in the Wimbledon final, but of course, at that time, we didn’t know how exciting it was going be. During change of ends and later during rain stoppages, Jerry was flicking either to golf 
or to cricket (West Indies v Australia) which was also an exciting match. Jerry had booked a local restaurant for 8:00 PM, but at 7:30, with Federer v Natal at 2 sets all and about to start the final set, he called and delayed it until 8:30. Lynn arrived home and then, sometime after 8:00, there was yet another rain delay of the tennis, which looked pretty major and that seemed like end of play for the day. We decided to head for the restaurant but not before Jerry had got out his instruction book and set the DVR to record for the next couple of hours “just in case”. We had a very nice meal and returned home and started skipping through the recording, fully expecting to see an announcement about play being resumed on Monday, when all of sudden, we could see play had resumed. We then watched the conclusion of that fantastic match and were so pleased that we had recorded it and also that we hadn’t found out the result before we watched it! It had been a great day.
We must add a few words about the birds coming throughout the day to the feeders in Jerry & Lyn’s back garden. Besides the usual variety, there were parakeets—an amazing sight, we thought, in England’s climate; but it appears there are many, many of them in the area south of London, and in fact they’ve become somewhat of a nuisance. Some caged ones must have escaped a few years back, and they’ve managed to survive and reproduce. So the English weather can’t be as bad as we think!
Monday 07/07 - West Wickham to Launton
We were “on the road again” following a lovely breakfast provided by Lyn and Jerry and bidding our farewells to them and West Wickham. Today we drove to the M25 orbital road around London and traveled west and north on that motorway past Heathrow airport to the M40 towards Oxford. Before Oxford we left the M40 and drove to our next “stopover” at the home of Bob’s sister Rosemarie and husband Ian in the village of Launton, near the old market town of Bicester. Nobody was home when we arrived—R&I were still driving home from a weekend with Rosemarie’s daughter and family (our niece Vera, her husband Garry, and our great-nieces Hollie and Leah)—so we drove into Bicester and shopped for some maps we wanted, and when we got back to R&I’s they were just arriving home. We spent a lovely late afternoon and evening “catching up” with them and telling them all we’d been up to since we left Myrtle Beach back on June 13th, but we were all tired, and didn’t stay up late, knowing we’d be back to spend a whole week with R&I later in the month.
Tuesday 07/08 - Launton to Minchinhampton
We repacked a bit and left some things with R&I that we won’t need again until we return home. Then we were off again after breakfast. We were heading westwards to the home of our niece
Catherine (daughter of Alison’s sister Dianne and husband Peter) and her family (husband Ben, and our great niece Lois and great nephew Harry), but instead of taking the most direct route, we used country lanes and stopped at various points along the River Thames Path, looking for suitable meeting points, etc. when Bob and Jerry Hodgins walk the Thames Path for a day (and maybe two) later this month when we are staying with Rosemarie and Ian. We found some places, that looked possible on the map, to be very remote, or just on overgrown bridle paths; then another place we’d originally thought 
not so good, had a great riverside pub there, with a car park; so it was good we did this exercise! We then drove on through some ancient towns/villages until we reached Minchinhampton, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, where Catherine and family live. This little place is perhaps older than all the others we saw, dating back to the time of William the Conquerer! 
We couldn’t believe that two-way streets were narrower than most one-way streets in other English towns, and the houses open right onto the street in the central part. It was quite an accomplishment for Bob to negotiate these streets in our mid-size rented car! Fortunately Catherine & Ben live on the edge of town, facing Minchinhampton Common, and have a driveway up to their house. However, this 
too poses problems because cows roam on the Common, and the homes have cattle grids at the driveway entrances, or electrified gates, to stop the cows coming into their gardens! We joked that this is the only place in England where it’s just like rural South Africa! Ben has made huge alterations/renovations/additions to their home over the 6 years they’ve lived there, and we were amazed at what’s been made of an original box shaped bungalow. Well done, Ben (and well done, Cath, for tolerating all 
the noise, mess, etc. that comes with home alterations!) It was lovely getting to know little Lois and Harry now that they are older (8 and almost 6), and Great Aunt Alison really enjoyed having Lois show her at bedtime her precious photo albums of when she was a baby and toddler. We’re very happy we made this visit in this lovely part of old England, and many thanks Cath and Ben for your kind hospitality.
Wednesday July 9 : Minchinhampton to Coventry
It started raining during the night and was very wet when we loaded our bags into the trunk of the car to continue our travels. Ben had already left for work, but we had to get a photo of Cath
and the children before she took them to school, so they had to stand in the front doorway for the picture so as not to get soaked. We said our “Goodbyes” and were on the road right after Cath left with Lois and Harry. Through the rain we took a photo of Minchinhampton Common from the car window, and then we drove on towards Coventry, our next destination, to spend 3 nights with Alison’s sister Angela and husband Ivor. Had the weather been good, we’d have made a couple of stops to visit well-known little towns en route, but the rain continued, and we 
arrived in Coventry well before our estimated time. Fortunately Angela had guessed we might be early, and already had lunch prepared for us, which was very welcome after the miserable drive. We then went with Angela to the fireplace showroom that her son, our nephew, Bernard manages. He showed us around and answered our questions about the various types of fireplace on display. They still have a weekday “early closing day” in many cities and towns in England, and today was early closing for Bernard. The plan 
had been to go out into the countryside with him for a walk and then dinner at a nice country pub, but instead, due to the rain, we just went back to A&I’s home for the afternoon and went to their local pub “The Open Arms” for dinner. Despite the rain (3 inches today—as much as the average for the whole of July!), we had a good time, and it was a very convivial evening.
discovered that they were living in the same part of town as us (the inexpensive end!). The two ladies planned that we should all meet and thus began an association that has lasted for 40 years. Roger is an electrician by trade but also a house builder and entrepreneur. He basically wired my whole house that I “owner built” in South Africa from 1973-5 (see South African blog). Roger & Penny returned from SA to the UK in the mid/late 70s and Roger took over his father’s electrical company. They have lived in the same lovely big old house on a large lot/plot for 25+ years, with Roger adding on, knocking down walls, putting them back, knocking them down again (all at Penny’s instruction!). However, a developer wants to buy the house, knock it down and build 
nine detached houses on the lot and has already drawn up plans and made Roger an offer. Negotiations continue. Roger is himself now retired but, not surprisingly, he has a couple of projects that are keeping him occupied. We walked to one of these projects, which is a major renovation of a terraced house in central Maidstone (walking distance from the town center). I was shocked to hear the price that Roger paid for this house in the original condition that he bought it – I would say “derelict”, and have to say that the price of property in the UK for what you get seems ridiculous when compared with the USA. Roger’s modernization of the terraced house is impressive as always and will make someone happy when it is eventually finished (especially Penny!).On our walk back, we stopped for a pint at one of their local pubs and then returned home and a nice braai and caught up on our respective lives since they had last visited us in Myrtle Beach. There is never enough time.
Sunday 07/06 - Maidstone to West Wickham
We left Maidstone and R&P after a hearty breakfast and fond farewells and headed for West
Wickham, south of London, the home of Jerry (Jay) and Lyn Hodgins. Jerry was in South Africa in the early 1970s and I met him through squash and we played every weekend. Jerry was in SA looking for oil on the land (or underground!). Oil was never found in SA except off the coast, and Jerry subsequently returned to UK and went on to many exotic places looking for oil. However, while in SA, he had met Lyn, a Port Elizabeth lady, and Jerry returned often for visits. They were ultimately married and our friendship has continued through the years. Jerry joined me on my Appalachian Trail hike in 2006 (we have also planned to walk for two days on the River Thames later in the holiday). We had already “primed” J&L that we would be expecting to join them for the Wimbledon final and other major sporting events of the day (Formula 1 UK Grand Prix at Silverstone). Unfortunately, when we arrived, Lyn, who is ladies captain of the local golf club, had duties as a caddie for a club ladies team that was playing that afternoon, but Jerry, Alison and I settled down in front of the TV and began what became a terrific afternoon/evening of sport. The Formula 1 started at 1:00 PM in the rain, which made it extremely exciting and the race was ultimately won by Hamilton who drove impeccably. The major event of the day started at 2:00 PM – Federer v Nadal in the Wimbledon final, but of course, at that time, we didn’t know how exciting it was going be. During change of ends and later during rain stoppages, Jerry was flicking either to golf 
or to cricket (West Indies v Australia) which was also an exciting match. Jerry had booked a local restaurant for 8:00 PM, but at 7:30, with Federer v Natal at 2 sets all and about to start the final set, he called and delayed it until 8:30. Lynn arrived home and then, sometime after 8:00, there was yet another rain delay of the tennis, which looked pretty major and that seemed like end of play for the day. We decided to head for the restaurant but not before Jerry had got out his instruction book and set the DVR to record for the next couple of hours “just in case”. We had a very nice meal and returned home and started skipping through the recording, fully expecting to see an announcement about play being resumed on Monday, when all of sudden, we could see play had resumed. We then watched the conclusion of that fantastic match and were so pleased that we had recorded it and also that we hadn’t found out the result before we watched it! It had been a great day.We must add a few words about the birds coming throughout the day to the feeders in Jerry & Lyn’s back garden. Besides the usual variety, there were parakeets—an amazing sight, we thought, in England’s climate; but it appears there are many, many of them in the area south of London, and in fact they’ve become somewhat of a nuisance. Some caged ones must have escaped a few years back, and they’ve managed to survive and reproduce. So the English weather can’t be as bad as we think!
Monday 07/07 - West Wickham to Launton
We were “on the road again” following a lovely breakfast provided by Lyn and Jerry and bidding our farewells to them and West Wickham. Today we drove to the M25 orbital road around London and traveled west and north on that motorway past Heathrow airport to the M40 towards Oxford. Before Oxford we left the M40 and drove to our next “stopover” at the home of Bob’s sister Rosemarie and husband Ian in the village of Launton, near the old market town of Bicester. Nobody was home when we arrived—R&I were still driving home from a weekend with Rosemarie’s daughter and family (our niece Vera, her husband Garry, and our great-nieces Hollie and Leah)—so we drove into Bicester and shopped for some maps we wanted, and when we got back to R&I’s they were just arriving home. We spent a lovely late afternoon and evening “catching up” with them and telling them all we’d been up to since we left Myrtle Beach back on June 13th, but we were all tired, and didn’t stay up late, knowing we’d be back to spend a whole week with R&I later in the month.
Tuesday 07/08 - Launton to Minchinhampton
We repacked a bit and left some things with R&I that we won’t need again until we return home. Then we were off again after breakfast. We were heading westwards to the home of our niece
Catherine (daughter of Alison’s sister Dianne and husband Peter) and her family (husband Ben, and our great niece Lois and great nephew Harry), but instead of taking the most direct route, we used country lanes and stopped at various points along the River Thames Path, looking for suitable meeting points, etc. when Bob and Jerry Hodgins walk the Thames Path for a day (and maybe two) later this month when we are staying with Rosemarie and Ian. We found some places, that looked possible on the map, to be very remote, or just on overgrown bridle paths; then another place we’d originally thought 
not so good, had a great riverside pub there, with a car park; so it was good we did this exercise! We then drove on through some ancient towns/villages until we reached Minchinhampton, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, where Catherine and family live. This little place is perhaps older than all the others we saw, dating back to the time of William the Conquerer! 
We couldn’t believe that two-way streets were narrower than most one-way streets in other English towns, and the houses open right onto the street in the central part. It was quite an accomplishment for Bob to negotiate these streets in our mid-size rented car! Fortunately Catherine & Ben live on the edge of town, facing Minchinhampton Common, and have a driveway up to their house. However, this 
too poses problems because cows roam on the Common, and the homes have cattle grids at the driveway entrances, or electrified gates, to stop the cows coming into their gardens! We joked that this is the only place in England where it’s just like rural South Africa! Ben has made huge alterations/renovations/additions to their home over the 6 years they’ve lived there, and we were amazed at what’s been made of an original box shaped bungalow. Well done, Ben (and well done, Cath, for tolerating all 
the noise, mess, etc. that comes with home alterations!) It was lovely getting to know little Lois and Harry now that they are older (8 and almost 6), and Great Aunt Alison really enjoyed having Lois show her at bedtime her precious photo albums of when she was a baby and toddler. We’re very happy we made this visit in this lovely part of old England, and many thanks Cath and Ben for your kind hospitality.Wednesday July 9 : Minchinhampton to Coventry
It started raining during the night and was very wet when we loaded our bags into the trunk of the car to continue our travels. Ben had already left for work, but we had to get a photo of Cath
and the children before she took them to school, so they had to stand in the front doorway for the picture so as not to get soaked. We said our “Goodbyes” and were on the road right after Cath left with Lois and Harry. Through the rain we took a photo of Minchinhampton Common from the car window, and then we drove on towards Coventry, our next destination, to spend 3 nights with Alison’s sister Angela and husband Ivor. Had the weather been good, we’d have made a couple of stops to visit well-known little towns en route, but the rain continued, and we 
arrived in Coventry well before our estimated time. Fortunately Angela had guessed we might be early, and already had lunch prepared for us, which was very welcome after the miserable drive. We then went with Angela to the fireplace showroom that her son, our nephew, Bernard manages. He showed us around and answered our questions about the various types of fireplace on display. They still have a weekday “early closing day” in many cities and towns in England, and today was early closing for Bernard. The plan 
had been to go out into the countryside with him for a walk and then dinner at a nice country pub, but instead, due to the rain, we just went back to A&I’s home for the afternoon and went to their local pub “The Open Arms” for dinner. Despite the rain (3 inches today—as much as the average for the whole of July!), we had a good time, and it was a very convivial evening.
2 comments:
What a wonderful and great surprise to have gone on this evening and see all these great days of catch up - phew - I am exhausted just reading through all your travels. So wonderful to see Penny and Roger and hear all about them. I am pretty sure that it at their house in SA where I remember there being a whole pig roast! Glad you had such a nice time with Lyn and Jerry and it was super cool to see that parakeet - it really looked much more exotic than your average pet parakeet (budgie) looked more like something from the Amazon basin. It would be interesting to know if that population of released pet birds have x-bred at all with English bird species. Very cool and like you say, most unexpected for England. Great to hear news of Catherine et al. and the town sounds like a neat experience. Great to see Angela, Ivor and Bernard - Ivor looks good.
Please pass our love to everyone. Wish we were there with you too.
love, Melanie, David and Indigo
Sunday - Read the blog you sent from Lichfield - this is the third "comment" I've tried to do - the first two weren't accepted!! This Google thing is infuriating!
Great pictures of Catherine and the children, and Angela, Ivor and Bernard. Thanks for making our holiday so special. Speak with you soon.
Lots of love, Dianne and Peter
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