On Our Own
No cars to pick us up, no helpful handlers … Frank and I were on our own for the second week in London and managed to survive. The first free day, Saturday, I was laid low by digestive problems (nothing new for me, especially when traveling), so we enjoyed our very nice room and then took a walk in the drizzly weather to a very nice Waterstone’s Bookstore where I signed some stock and we stocked up on books. We also investigated our neighborhood more closely. We were in the Bloomsbury section of London (where many noted writers, such as Virginia Woolf, lived). And just a block or two from the Fitzrovia section, once a hangout for artsy “Bohemians.” Just about every townhouse has a plaque saying someone famous lived there. Directly across the street from us was the University of London (the College of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases) but RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) was there as well - one of their buildings - we passed another one elsewhere. We were a short block to Tottenham Court Road, which turns into Charing Cross and took us almost everywhere on foot. But on Saturday, we rested.
Sunday I felt great and we headed off to Charing Cross Station, across the Thames to Kent, where we were met by a devoted UK fan, Anna, and her very generous parents, Julie and Robert, who had extended an invitation to visit. They were kind and patient (even when we foolishly missed our stop at Orpington and they had to drive to Seven Oaks to pick us up. Seven Oaks - wasn’t that Scarlett O’Hara’s plantation? Now I know where that came from). We headed off to Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s beautiful home. The weather was alternately drizzle and sunshine but there were daffodils blooming!
With our new UK friends at Chartwell
Anna in front of the Chartwell playhouse - how I wanted one of those when I was growing up!
We had tea at Chartwell, then Robert gave us a tour of the area around where they live: charming villages, beautiful countryside, we got a glimpse of Hever Castle, which was Anne Boleyn’s family home … Biggin Hill, an RAF airfield important in World Wars I and II … and the Wilberforce Oak, on the estate of William Wilberforce whose antislave trade campaign was memorialized in the recent film, Amazing Grace.
While we were tempted by the offer of a cream tea, I wasn’t sure my system was ready for an onslaught of sweets, so instead we opted for good, solid British fare at The Little Brown Jug, a delightful family place and excellent food.
I want to go back to the Little Brown Jug!
Such a lovely train ride back, across the Thames at night with Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye (that’s the big wheel) all lit up.
Many thanks to Anna, Julie and Robert.