Singapore

Wednesday
First stage of going home. Car pickup at 8, to Heathrow at 9 for flight taking off at 11.30. Security check required full emptying and scrutiny of contents of Russell's carry-on (electrical bag showed as a dense area) after a 15-minute wait while several other passengers were being checked in a similar way. Lucky we were so early - at each Skye  flight this would have been a disaster. But we had an hour to spare. Bev's bag was 22.3 kilos (limit is 23), Russell's a little lighter.

Take-off 11.30 AM

Thursday
Into Singapore at 0715. Pick up docs for Singapore Stopover Holiday. Small bus included in deal drops us at Concorde Hotel at 10, but we can't have the room till 12, so we sit in the foyer and read.


Accidentally, this is the same hotel that Russell stayed in at the end of 2007 when he was here for the Ascilite Conference. It hasn't changed much, but there seems to have been much redevelopment up and down Orchard Road.

12.30 till 7 PM, sleep unavoidable, as bad as that is for jetlag recovery
.
Dinner in the el-cheapo food court below the hotel ($11 for two). It's to be closed after Saturday for reconstruction. Inevitable - nothing else around here is el-cheapo.

Wander Orchard Road for an hour - Hugo Boss, Armani, Nike, Ralph Lauren - they're all here, and the 12-storey Orchard Centre is throbbing and buzzing with the crowds of eaters, drinkers and shoppers,

and it's the same up and down the road.

Friday

Late breakfast in the Concorde's facility, then out to find the SIA Hop-On bus. We have tickets to about 15 "Attractions" as part of the Stopover Holiday deal, many more than we can attempt in the 2 days remaining. We may see a favourite five.

Warm humid day as usual for Singapore. The bus loop takes 90 minutes, so the obvious strategy is to get off at the first desirable destination on the route. This is Singapore's equivalent of the London Eye, called the Singapore Flyer.

Only a small crowd, so each capsule is only half full or less. Nine people in ours (the norm is 30) so plenty of photo opportunities. We'd both chosen to leave the cameras at home and use the phones. Results seem OK, considering the haze worsened as we rose.

Then off to the western end of the loop, to the National Orchid Garden, part of the Singapore Botanic Garden. Orchids make us feel good.

Bus then to the Singapore National Museum, which is not an SIA Attraction, but R liked it in '07 and thought B would too. Found an amazing exhibition of large-format photos, b&w, called Genesis, which turns out to be sponsored by two firms whose deals Liz has worked on. Focussed on unspoiled places and peoples (Inuit, Amazon tribes, PNG Highlands, Antarctic Islands, etc). Astounding images; you can buy the book for US$5500.

Thence back to blog and bed. Last day tomorrow.

Skye

Friday

Up at 4 am, to be picked up at 5 and driven to Luton for a 7 AM flight to Glascow Paisley Airport. Then 9 AM at Europcar, pickup a Kia Cee'd (??) and a long drive towards Skye. The Kia was a  diesel, zippy 6-speed manual, similar in size to a Holden Astra, and ran very well, though not handling quite like Bev's BMW. It made the Fiat 500L (our last hire) feel like a dog.

Running north beside Loch Lomond, we stopped for MT at Luss, a recently (1992) restored village of 19th C worker's cottages on the edge of the lake.

On the pier at Luss

View North from Luss

Bluebells above Luss

Then further north,

Bluebells beside the road

  lunch at Fort William, 

A rare photo

Bev walks past an Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop

followed by a short drive east into Ben Nevis National Park, where we drove for several miles along a single-lane of bitumen winding through the woods to start a walk to Glen Nevis. Another successful result of Liz's research.

Ben Nevis in the distance

Note climber in middle distance

On the way to Glen Nevis

Glen Nevis

Liz at base of waterfall

Then many miles further, past Loch Linnhe and Loch Lochie and Lock Garry . . .

Mountains on the way

 . . . . and Loch Cluanie and Loch Duig and Loch Alsh, to the Kyle of Lochalsh, and across the Skye Bridge, 


followed by a desperate search in Kyleakin for some tucker at 7.55 on Friday night. Only one shop open, closing at 8. Packaged sandwiches went down rapidly.

So now we're on Skye, and first up is some fine mountain country

and another hour and a half  gets us to the village of Edinbane and our B&B, Shorefield House.

Our level of tiredness this evening set the tone for the rest of the weekend. We fell into bed each night and slept like fossils. The fine surroundings, inside and outside, also helped.

 Linda: We later learnt from the map at Dunvegan Castle that this village was the very centre of McLure family lands. 
Others: The McLures were a sept of the McLeods, who ruled/owned much of the Isles.

Saturday

Liz had booked tickets for the ferry over to the Isle of Harris, so an early breakfast sped us off to Uig (30 mins) to line up with 160 other vehicles for the 1.5 hour trip. On the way to Uig we had our first taste of single-lane Scottish roads, with frequent Passing Places, small bitumen bulges big enough to hold 2 cars while another passes. 

When the traffic involves 3 cars going each way, interesting dances occur, especially when they meet at speed near blind corners!!! On Sunday morning, on the high plain above Staffin, we participated in a 10-minute shuffle as about 20 campervans and cars jostled for passing room on muddy edges with metre-high drops on both sides.

Anyway, the ferry was quite interesting, huge, very well organised, with 3 decks of cars/lorries/vans/ etc.

Naturally, the immediate aim on reaching Harris is the harvesting of Harris Tweed - and a fine bunch we collected.

Then a loop of South Harris, to experience the differing topology and ecology of the west and east coasts. The west was depopulated in the 1800s on the orders of the reigning laird, so the crofters moved to the east coast and lived in a very hostile rocky enviroment. Looks beautiful, but I wouldn't want to try to run a farm there.

The drive north along the east coast was quite scary. Named the Golden Road by the locals because of its cost, it's a narrow single lane roller coaster, built in places from rock to rock, going up, down and sideways with little spare width and two metre drops on either side.

And here's evidence that people did farm here.

The ridged green area to the right of the house is a "lazy bed". Crofters dug down below the surface of the moss/vegetation to drain the area and heaped the "soil" onto the remaining areas to create beds so that they could grow potatoes and other vegetables.

Before joining the ferry park, a quick 20 km of North Harris to see if it differed from South, and what a change!

The return trip on the ferry showed us a great sunset, 

and that the lights on the Kia are inadequate for country driving. 

There was still light in the sky at 11 as we drove back to fall into bed.

Sunday

First towards Uig again, but turning east to find a region of strange topography, fairy houses perhaps?

Then, in search of dinosaur footprints, we headed west from Uig, over the high plain between the coasts, and found some fine cliffs on the way - and some traffic issues as mentioned above - there's an immensely popular walk which starts at the top of the climb, and parking is provided for 5 or 6 cars, instead of 50.

On with the search. We'd had breakfast at our B&B with a couple who'd been here yesterday, and they had found the treasure after being advised by a local. With my Google Maps and the photos they showed us, we had a pretty good idea of where to look, and quickly found one footprint at Staffin Beach. Another local told us that the others are normally hidden by seaweed.

In the evening, to Corbost and dinner at the Three Chimneys Restaurant.

A relaxing environment for a great meal

The Three Chimneys

Monday
Edinbane Pottery
Dunvegan Castle
Visit cut short by need for driving hours
Lunch at Kyle of Lochalsh
Afternoon coffee at Fort William while Russ slept
Missed the turn south beside Loch Lomond and went 25 km west before realising.
Now under time pressure - plane flies at 7.50
Retrace, then wait for 15 mins at roadwork
Drop car at 7.00. Rush across to terminal, Liz checks bag, all staying together as Liz has the boarding passes on her iPhone.
Rush to the gate, sit for 5 minutes then see the aircrew walking swiftly down the concourse - they're all late too, coming from a plane at a distant gate.
Car picks us up at Stansted and gets us home at 10.30 for 65 pounds.
Showers and bed - Liz back to work early tomorrow.

Tuesday
Spent the day washing and packing
Finished off Russell's second spag bol of the stay.

Final week in London

Sunday

Liz had to work all day, so we hung around and were good parents; washing, supermarketing, getting meals, reading quietly and napping - a proper family Sunday.

Monday

Summer has arrived - forecast 23 today and much the same for the rest of the week - clouds and a little rain, perhaps, but 23 - 24 all week. Liz suggested we take advantage of the day to visit Kew Gardens, so off we went, south-west along the Thames to this gigantic botanic garden, of which we covered about 20% in 3 hours - and took a few nice piccies.

Back into South Kensington. Bev sat while Russell browsed the Energy Hall (Boulton/Watt and the steam engine, Parsons and the steam turbine, etc), then wandered along to a display of 3D printing and learnt quite a bit he didn't know.

This is a model radial-cylinder aircraft engine, about 60 cm diameter, and has a handle on the back. When you turn the handle, the crankshaft drives the pistons in and out and the prop-housing on the front turns, as you'd expect.

But it was 3D printed in one piece, and they had a movie showing it being done. Amazing.

Tuesday

One warm day, and the bare polled trees we've been passing on our walk to the station have burst into leaf.

V&A - wedding dresses

Liberty - some fine Liberty-print cotton shirts

Russ procrastinated about a Nike jacket

Wednesday

A wasted morning visiting the Keats House at Hampstead;. He lived there productively from 1818 - 20, and it's now a museum and library. We'd researched this before we came over, even drawn a map of how to get there from the station. But we didn't read our crib-sheet this morning, so when we walked out of  Hampstead Underground station, 55 minutes after leaving Liz's, it wasn't the station we remembered, or the one we'd mapped. But Bev had read the item in the Eyewitness Guide last night, so she could figure out where to go. A pleasant long walk down the slope of Hampstead High Street followed, checking out the Georgian and Edwardian architecture, and figuring that this place must be as expensive as Notting Hill or Holland Park!

Got to Keats' House a bit before 11 - read the sign saying it doesn't open till 1 PM. Mmmmmmm? Let's go back into town and tick off the National Gallery.

So we walk further downhill 2 blocks to Hampstead Heath overground station, look at the Railways Map, and decide that we can't get there from here (too many changes).

So we have a long slow trudge up Hampstead High Street, and it's hot, because it's summer today!!!

Tube back to Charing Cross, into the now-familiar Crypt at St Martin in the Fields for some soup and crusty bread, (recommended) then into the Gallery. Revisit all the icons, get revitalised by Moroni, Botticelli, Vincent's chair and wheatfields (both painted at St Remy, where I stayed on my 2012 motorcycle jaunt), etc. Our brains refilled, it's shopping time, so up Oxford Street Nike jacket, then John Lewis - amazing stuff! A couple of nice jumpers and that's about all we have energy for. Luckily Bev remembered that we can catch the 23 bus in Oxford street, so we make use of a roving Information Officer (in his suit and bowler hat, they're everywhere) and just sit and let someone else drive  us to within a hundred metres of Liz's door.

Thursday

Domestic chores consumed most of the day.

We had a leisurely walk around the area to the west of Liz's flat, passing by very many white-painted Georgian buildings as well as the walled garden featured in the film Notting Hill. Wandered further doe Portland Road to Avondale Park; lots of trees and shrubs and gardens, plus tennis coutts, play equipment  and a cafe. Entirely unheralded, only three blocks from Portobello Road. It also boasts the worlds first grass-free lawn.

At 4.30 we headed off via tube to Sloane Square station and thence to the 50th Chelsea Flower Show, and spent a happy 2 hours wandering past some stunning massed flower displays and very many underwhelming wildflower-themed display gardens.

Exhausted, we decided to wait for the 352 bus and let it carry us all the way to Ladbroke Grove, 2 blocks from home. 20 minute wait, while seven 352 buses went past on the other side of the road. Then 40 happy minutes on the top deck of the big red bus; a low-energy finish to our London explorations.

Another week in London

Monday
Rainy and grey early, but rapidly improving to 16 and blue.

Finally getting rid of the damned car.  It ran well but was a responsibility we didn't want when we weren't travelling. So off to Kensington Olympia Europcar at 9.15  and by now we have enough of a handle on the GPS and the local streets not to have any issues. Then the tube quickly to South Kensington, and along the tunnel to the Natural History Museum.

Fantastic informative fun in a great environment.

Joseph Banks' herbarium specimen page for Tristania suavolens, collected in Endeavour Bay in 1770

 The current exhibition was Britain: One Million Years of Human History. Excellent info and presentation, but these archeologists keep putting more and more detail into the gaps in what I think I know! It's hard to keep up.

Once again we were about the first in the door, and could take our time without moving obstructions to diminish our enjoyment. 

Bone needles. Can't recall the date of these, but we've been making them for 60,000 years

Bev considers Neanderthal man, compared to the current crop

After lunch, dinosaurs et al. The Attenborough TV show NHM Alive was fresh in our minds and we could animate the fossils from memory. Great stuff.

Bev reading about another great woman

Bev found some jewellery she liked in the shop, and bought an amethyst necklace for Liz.

Worn out by 3.30, so surrendered and took a quick tube home.

Tuesday
Rainy to start

A morning off, washing and grocery shopping. Then back to the NHM for sabre-tooth, mammals display etc, including gigantic blue whale, and more jewellery.

Mammoth at front left, blue whale behind. That's a big one!

Wednesday
Brilliant blue day.
Today, at Liz's suggestion, we start with Sir John Soane's house/museum, a 3D maze filled with ancient relics. (No photography allowed)

Soane was an early 19th C architecture professor and antiquarian who collected Greek, Roman and Egyptian relics for use in his teaching. He purchased three adjacent 3-storey houses and lived there while gutting and rebuilding them, filling them with his collections. Unfortunately, his two sons hated him, so he gave it all to the state. An unexpected bonbon for us was a display about 3D printing. I found that a beautiful gilded three-legged funeral reliquary I'd admired in a previous room had only just come into existence, based on a detail in a Piranesi etching from the 1820's.

Lunch in Lincolns Inn Field, just opposite, then a wander through the Inns of Court, reliving Sansom's Tudor history stories of the Dissolution era, the 1530's.

Then we sought out the Temple Church (see Da Vinci Code) and happened upon an organ concert. Bach's BWV552 was the feature for me; it ends with three melody lines interweaving; mind-blowing.

The church is well-maintained, financed by the Inns as a result of a 16th C deal - the King gave them all the land between the Church and the river and they took on looking after the church.

Home in time to cook a spag bol to my usual recipe, but dissapointing lack of zing. The olives here are poor, tomato paste hard to find and expensive.

Thursday
Another Brilliant blue day.
London Eye
All you'd expect, but we wish it went on for longer.

River cruise

Walk north along the river bank

past Blackfriars Bridge to Borough Market, nestled adjacent to the Shard and above the new London Bridge Tube Station

Over the river to St Pauls, to collect brochures for May. Bev discovered there was a concert this evening at St Martin in the Fields, so we walked a very long way (St Pauls to Trafalgar Square) to buy tickets. There we discovered that the performance was by a favourite group, the Belmont Ensemble, who I'd heard here twice  before. After all the trudging, we settled in the Crypt Cafe, coffeed, dined, booked tomorrow night as well, and waited for the evening.

Wonderful music. The second movement of their Spring was rapturous.

Friday
Another Brilliant blue day. Took the day off. Bev had a long sleep (controlling a treatening migraine), Russell caught up on the blog. In the evening, back to St Martin's for another great concert. Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Pachelbel. Only low note was a Purcell piece that paled in the company. Group varied from 4 to 8 with the work.

The Pachelbel Canon and Gigue was excellent, so clear with only 4 instruments, and the evening finished with Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Violins in A minor. The principals were recalled three times by the applause. The Festive Orchestra of London. Worth hearing.

As Liz was away staying with friends, we took our time winding up the day. A short stroll up to Piccadilly Circus; memories recalled of the kids' amazement when we walked out of the tube station there in 1998.

Saturday

Sitting in bed with the strains of Pachelbel's Canon wafting in from the street. Magical. But the magic waned over the next three hours as the musician in yellow (below) continued sawing on his fiddle, accompanied by the magic box at his feet, fed by an iPod nano.

Portobello Market is in full swing below Liz's balcony.

More writing filled the day while Bev battled an incipient migraine. Adam and Liz finally spurred us to arrange a dinner meeting, 5.30 at Grangers, with Adam and Meron. Reasonable tucker and great company. We're on a promise from Meron next visit to be taken to an Eritrean restaurant.