12/4 - 18/4 A Bit All Over The Place

The past week has been all over the show, without a central theme – as it were.

Jane had organized a surprise birthday dinner out for me in London, so we used the opportunity to take the motorhome back to Cranham’s and get some upgrades fitted (safe, TV and bike racks) and get some minor quibbles attended to (water pump filter blocked and one door hinge unstuck).  We left the van there and stayed the night with Sarah (bless her)

In London we had a look at the V and A Museum (amazing, and free!) and then Jane took me to Benares. I love Indian food, and this is the first in the UK to get a Michelin star. We had the ‘grazing menu’ (lots of little dishes) with matched wines and definitely one of the best meals I have ever had.

After that, we picked up the van, stayed put for a couple of days and did some house (van?) work  - and then went to pick up bikes. Unfortunately they take a day to get made, so rather than stay in the same place for another night we drove to Colchester.

This is the UK’s oldest town – established by the Roman’s in 46 AD. We only had a morning there, and it wasn’t enough, it is quite lovely.

Colchester Castle - the original Norman keep was three stories tall, and the brickwork you can see is recycled from an earlier Roman fortress. The tiled roof and dome were added in the 18th century.

Look at the cute furry thing, and a squirrel.

We also went and visited Kelveden Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker, which is the strangest place we have visited so far. It was designed to keep 600 people safe from nuclear attack underground for at least 6 months. It was completely self contained, and had communications equipment linking it to the other bunkers and all allied countries. It has never been decommissioned, so is theoretically still in working order. Interestingly, when they closed down the nuclear bunkers, the communication infrastructure formed the backbone of the World Wide Web.

Best of all, the inside looked like a set from a bad 70's science fiction movie, and it was run on an 'honesty box' system.

The front entry to the Kelveden Hatch nuclear bunker, yes, REALLY!

After you go through the front door, you take a couple of turns and then go along this 100m long tunnel into the hill.  By the time you get to the end you are on the bottom of three levels, with a massive amount of dirt and concrete on top of that.

You don't want to know about the 'Adult Wands'...

Jane wondering what that thing on the table is, she doesn't normally see patients.

We then made our way south and east to Bath. We spent one night in Kent where we saw Igtham Mote (most complete Medieval moated house in the UK), and Stonehenge. We were planning to stay somewhere else along the way, but the enormous traffic jam around Stonehenge sapped our will to live – so we just kept going.

Next installment…Bath!

One of these is old and rock hard....

We were impressed when we learnt how old this is - it was built in stages from 3000 BC. It was slightly less impressive when the mind numbingly boring audio guide told us this current version was built at the same time as the Pyramids

Perhaps not the best photo, but the best view of Stonehenge was coming down this hill - very, very slowly. The lady in that red car in front of us got out, and got their picnic lunch out of the boot.

Igtham Mote. Mote is old skool for Moat.

Inside courtyard - that is a heritage listed dog kennel on the right. I don't know why I am staring at the wall...

The main hall, they found that suit of armour in the moat. Or mote.

This is a 'squint', for when you are so lazy you can't be bothered leaving the living room to listen to the church service in the next room. Just open the small door thing and pretend to pay attention.

.......and look at the latest additions to the van.

Have you seen the 'My Family' stickers on the back windscreens of cars? These are from 'My Australian Work Family' - I'm the one on the left. I don't see the resemblance, it's much too cold to wear a leather vest at the moment.

A charm for transportation safety that Berin bought us from a temple in Nikko

Our TV - it looks a little daft but the location actually works well.

I needed a single duvet because it was a bit cold, and this was the cheapest cover they had.....honest!

Bike rack - I have deduced by the fact the bikes are still there that I put them on correctly. The instructions were a bit poo.

Our washing machine - wash cycle on the left (15min) and spin cycle on the right (3min).  The white disk holds the washing down in the dryer. The hose poking out the top does nothing.