Sentimental Journey
 

My sister Diane said parts of this trip could be a scene from a movie like “Saving Private Ryan”. The movie opens in the modern day at a country church in England then goes back to New Year’s Eve 1943 and the story that brought us to the church more than 70 years later. I hope that I can do it justice in a trip report.

My father was a tail gunner on a B-17 in England during World War II. He lost his right leg in combat but to my sisters and I as children, he was our dad and he just had a wooden leg. That was our family’s normal. On New Year’s Eve 1973, when we were old enough to understand, he told us the story of that mission. Over the years we had heard other stories about his time in the service that were funny or interesting but this one he told only once.

Years later, thanks to the internet, my sisters and I connected with a man in England who is affiliated with the veterans of my dad’s bomb group. They no longer hold reunions but he continues to make connections with veterans’ families and offered to show families around the area where Daddy’s unit was based. My husband and I took him up on that offer and built a two-week trip around it. We would stay in Bath and London and make several day trips from London.

Looking forward to more.

Me too! We have done trips with the same theme, so will be interested to read the details of yours.

Me as well! Most B-17 bases were in East Anglia where I live. I would be interested to know where he was stationed.

Heimdall, my father was with the 305th Bomb Group stationed at Chelveston.

Monday May 2
Arrived at LAX early for our flight thanks to little traffic, quickly got through security and to the gate. We had booked through Delta but were on a code share operated by Virgin Atlantic. We splurged for Premium Economy and easily found our seats as each section boarded from its own entry. The Boeing Dreamliner is a beautiful plane. We stowed our carry-ons in huge bins above our seats and settled in. We had flown the Airbus A380 in Economy Plus on Air France but the area around these seats did not seem as spacious. The tray table came out from between the seats which was awkward however the TV screen might have been better quality than Air France. Cabin crew seemed very professional and helpful. I got a little sleep overnight but poor Mr. Wonderful did not.

Tuesday May 3
We landed at London Heathrow at mid-day and were soon through customs and passport control. It was so quick we wondered if we had gone the right way and had somehow missed something. Our driver from Celtic Horizons was waiting with our name on a sign and we were headed to Bath via Stonehenge. While researching how to get to Bath from Heathrow I discovered this company will pick you up from Heathrow and allow you to visit a site along the way to your destination. Since our flight landed about noon we had the time and it turned out to be worth the money. We had reserved tickets online for 3:00-3:30 based on Celtic Horizons’ recommendation and were right on time. Norman, our driver, also stopped at a Starbucks along the road to allow us to get a little caffeine so we alert enough to enjoy Stonehenge. We started the self-guided tour in the visitor center then out on the path to the standing stones. It is designed so the visitor approaches on the footpath and can see the monument in the distance and growing closer. You can get relatively close despite the fence; we took lots of photos and spent about an hour at the monument. It was amazing to see Stonehenge in person.

Back in the car for another hour we tried to stay awake talking to Norman but it was a losing battle. Finally we pulled up to the Kennard hotel in Bath. We found our golden yellow room was one flight up on the street side and had private bathroom with stall shower. The tile in the shower was sparkling clean and the bed was comfortable. After settling in a bit Mr. Wonderful read menus in the lobby and chose Sotto Sotto for dinner. The hotel is just over the Pulteney Bridge from the center of town and is a fairly level and easy walk. Sotto Sotto is near Bath Abbey but we never got to try the food as the heat was on way too high so we didn’t get past the door. We walked further and came upon the Firehouse Rotisserie and gave it a try. Mr. Wonderful had a duck quesadilla and I had salad and pizza. Not too adventurous on my part but it was all very good. Back at the hotel we finished unpacking and got some pretty good sleep for our first night in England.

on for the ride.

I'm convinced the trick to Heathrow, is don't land at the same time as the flights from the Caribbean.

How do we coordinate that Bilboburgler?

Wednesday May 4
We were awake fairly early and ready for breakfast before 8:00am when they begin serving in the downstairs dining room. There was a good selection of hot and cold foods but we stuck to cereal, porridge and fruit. The tea and fresh orange juice were very good. I am a tea drinker and the Kennard served the best. Staff were very accommodating and gave us a good start each morning of our stay.

After breakfast we walked to the Roman Baths and followed the audio tour which was interesting. It was amazing to me to see this Roman structure right in the middle of Georgian Bath. It was beautiful and fascinating to see how it worked and wonder about who might have visited centuries ago.

From the baths we walked to the Abbey which is nearby. It is a beautiful church and was dubbed the “Lantern of the West” by Queen Elizabeth I for the many stained glass windows. We had lunch at the Roman Baths Kitchen which we tried because our tickets to the Baths gave us a discount at the restaurant. We had a nice lunch but forgot to use the discount. After looking in a few shops we found jet lag catching up to us and went back to the hotel to nap.

After our naps we went walking around Bath and peeked in some shops. We took a lot of photos and used the time to check out restaurants for dinner. We decided on dinner at an Italian restaurant called Joya near the weir (perhaps because we missed out on Italian the night before). The hostess made a big deal about us not having reservations and wondered if she could seat us. She took us upstairs where only one table was filled. When those gents left we remained the only diners up there throughout our meal.

"The hostess made a big deal about us not having reservations and wondered if she could seat us. She took us upstairs where only one table was filled. ">>>>>>>LOL, Scootoir.

What a nice tribute trip to your dad.

Thanks TDudette, he was my hero.

Along for the ride! -- hope you end up w/ the same thrills and chills I experienced retracing my Dad's footsteps in the Battle of the Bulge (My Dad was stationed in the UK too -- first in Scotland and then down in the SW before heading to France)

Definitely chills janisj.

Thursday May 5
This morning we took the hop on/off bus to the Jane Austen museum near Queen’s Square. It is a small museum in a Georgian house that provides some information on Austen’s life, her family and writing. Our guide portrayed Kitty Bennet with youth and enthusiasm suited to the part. One exhibit I liked showed possible likenesses of Jane Austen and another clothing of her times. There was a shop and tearoom and while the tearoom prices seemed reasonable (£16.50 for tea with sandwiches, a scone and cakes) it was too early for lunch.

Leaving the museum we walked east on George Street to explore this area of the city. There were lots of restaurants so we made our way reading menus. We had a mind to have lunch and then get back on the hop on/off bus to view the Royal Crescent and take the route back to the Abbey where we would switch to the Skyline Route. While walking we decided to head back to a restaurant we saw but must have taken a wrong turn (not sure how, it wasn’t that far). We didn't find the place so kept walking around until we came to a place called Jolly’s Tea Room. I was attracted by the words “tea room” and encouraged Mr. Wonderful to look at the menu which he liked. The room wasn’t too frilly, in fact it was rather modern and elegant with grey, silver and white colors. We found out it was part of Jolly's Department Store. I was served afternoon tea on a 3-tiered tray while Mr. Wonderful had a savory tartlet with a cold vegetable salad. The scones were better at Patisserie Valerie but the sandwiches and sweets were very nice. Mr. W had to help finish off the sweets. How lovely to be drinking delicious English tea.

After lunch we drove past the Circus and the Crescent and through some gardens. As I mentioned there are two routes for the hop on/off bus and in the afternoon we took the Skyline route with views over the city. It was a lovely day in the open air on the upper deck of the bus. After the bus tour we returned to town and shopped a bit. Found the Cath Kidston shop and bought a gift for a friend. Love that shop but never seem to buy myself anything there.

We decided to return to the Firehouse for dinner which had good food and service. This time I had roast chicken which was amazingly good. We saw plate after plate heading out of the kitchen so were not alone in our thinking.

Friday May 6
Today was our long-awaited Cotswold tour with Mad Max Tours. We walked to the square near the Abbey Hotel to meet the bus and our driver guide Colin. We were a group of about 12 (16 is their maximum for a tour group) from the UK, US, Australia and the Netherlands. Due to the Badminton Horse trials the planned route would change to avoid a lot of traffic. This was a bit disappointing as we would not get to see Tetbury and Stow-in-the-Wold. In their place we would be visiting Bampton which was used for exteriors for the village in Downton Abbey. We began the day in Castle Coombe and ended in Bibury which were my favorite stops. If we had made those two and the lunch-time stop in Burford that would have been satisfying enough for me, well and maybe a little more shopping time in Burford.

In Castle Combe we were invited by a local woman to step into her garden which she was restoring. She was an American who divides her time between Castle Coombe and Santa Barbara (CA) and is restoring her Cotswold cottage including creating a knot garden. She had recently purchased the home from an older woman who Colin said liked to chat with the tour groups walking through the village, sounds like the new owner is carrying on the practice. In Bibury in the afternoon we strolled Arlington Row, around a wetland area and near the Swan. It was really lovely with perfect weather. Colin was a personable and knowledgeable guide. I would highly recommend a Mad Max tour.

On our return to Bath we didn’t feel like a big meal so had sandwiches at Pret a Manger then ice cream for dinner. After the ice cream we realize we left our day pack at Pret and rushed back. They had just closed but we managed to get the workers’ attention and a young man knew exactly what we wanted and brought out the pack. Trouble averted. Back at the hotel we packed for the train to London on Saturday.

Saturday May 7
We were packed and ready to leave early and after another good breakfast said goodbye to our hosts at the Kennard. We had called a taxi to take us to the station. As we waited on the platform one of the rail staff told us we could upgrade to first class for only £15 on the weekend. We decided to do this hoping the carriage would be quiet and chose one of the front 2 cars as directed. After the next stop the conductor came around to check tickets and we asked about the upgrade. He told us we were in standard class and would have to move to the next car. It was quiet enough so we decided to stay. The woman sitting across from us said they had recently changed from 2 first class cars to only 1. Most people don’t realize this so the forward car tends not to be full and remains fairly quiet. At Reading a lot of people got on, every seat was full and the car buzzed with conversation.

We arrived at Paddington Station and caught a taxi to our hotel, the Thistle Holborn, the Kingsley on Bloomsbury Way. It was a mouthful and sometimes confused taxi drivers so I memorized the address. Our room was not ready so we had lunch in the lobby bar and relaxed until it was. We were staying 10 nights and I had contacted the hotel directly to reserve after checking out rates online. We also signed up for free breakfast online. I directed my email to the manager and asked for a room upgrade since we were staying so long—he obliged. It was a pretty nice room with a king bed, a sofa and some extra space. The bathroom was pretty small but seemed newly remodeled and had good storage space. Our room was away from the street and seemed to have no wall in common with another room. It was also close to the elevator but we didn’t hear a sound from it, the hotel seemed very quiet.

On this particular weekend it was very warm in London and neither of us had packed any warm weather clothes to speak of so we walked to the Marks & Spencer near Covent Garden. I bought a linen blouse but Mr. Wonderful was out of luck. A dozen years ago Mr. W bought a couple of golf shirts in Paris when temperatures were in the 90s for a few days in September. We have sworn that from now on we will always pack a couple of T-shirts. When we got back to the hotel we walked around the nearby streets looking for dinner and settled on a little Italian place on Museum Street called Amarcord Museum. One young waiter managed all the tables and did a good job of it.

We were ready for our London adventure.

Sunday May 8
This would be the warmest day of our trip at 81 degrees. Wearing my new linen blouse we walked south on Drury Lane to the Strand and the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House. We enjoyed seeing some beautiful Impressionist paintings. There was a colorful Picasso painting of yellow irises and a Seurat “Man Painting a Boat” that I liked. We had a scone, tea and cappuccino for elevenses sitting outside under an umbrella in the museum’s café. We continued viewing some of the galleries before visiting the shop and buying some gifts. Musuem gift shops are often my favorite places to shop while traveling. We strolled along the Strand, bought tea at Twinnings and stopped at good old Pret-a-Manger for a rest, some water and people watching.

When it just got too warm we took a taxi back to our hotel to relax a little. We never really did have lunch but we travel with granola bars for just such an occasion. Later we set out to find a place for dinner and came upon the Dalloway at the Bloomsbury Hotel. We sat outside on the terrace to enjoy the evening. Mr. Wonderful started with a beer and I had a glass of rose which I am partial to. The food was good, there was a family seated near us with an adorable toddler to visit with so it was a nice evening before our memorable day on Monday.

I'm enjoying your report. I too stayed at the Kennard in Bath and liked it a lot.

Upon googling knot garden, I found some beautiful arrangements. Very cool.

Your hotel looks super and I loved the Courtauld Gallery--just the right size.

Scooter - I was at the Courtauld for the first time a couple of months ago and was kicking myself for not going before. And aren't the teas good?

BTW when you visited Twinings did you spot the huge mock-gothic pile opposite? it is the Royal Courts of Justice, no less.

loving the report - keep it coming.

The Courtauld was really enjoyable. We also had fun watching the kids play in the water fountains in the courtyard of Somerset House. Our town has a much smaller version of this.

Annhig, I took a few photos of the "huge mock-gothic pile" for my cousin the attorney.

Scootoir - I was going to say that I'm glad you spotted it but you could hardly miss it, could you? It's an interesting place to visit, not just for a lawyer - some of the courts are very ornate and there is an exhibition of legal dress too. And behind the buildings on the other side of the road is the Temple, with its ancient buildings, [including the Temple Church of course] and beautiful gardens:

https://www.innertemple.org.uk/index...-temple-garden

Great report so far! Looking forward to more!

Loved the garden, thanks Annhig.

Monday May 9

On New Year’s Eve 1943, my father was a tail gunner on a B-17 that was part of a mission over France which suffered high casualties. They were stationed at Chelveston where there was a USAAF base during World War II. On this particular mission their plane was set upon by German fighters who killed the copilot, mortally injured the pilot and severely injured my father. The heroic pilot, J.J. Quillman, was able to fly the plane back to England possibly helped by the navigator. It was growing dark and bad weather had set in making it difficult to find the airstrip at Chelveston. It’s possible Quillman was trying to reach another base nearby when the plane struck a hillside on the Ashridge Estate above the village of Aldbury. In Aldbury Ruby Daley, a young British Red Cross nurse, set out with some others from the village to reach the plane and render aid. It would have been difficult to climb the hill in the dark and mist. Mrs. Daley was the first person with medical training to reach the site and is credited with saving my father’s life by applying a tourniquet to his right leg.

We heard most of this account from my father in 1973 but did not learn about Mrs. Daley’s roll until after my father died in 1980. A few months after his death my mother and I were going through Daddy’s things and came upon a box with a few medals, a half-smoked pack of Camels, a November 1944 article about Daddy from his hometown paper in Iowa and another about Rudy Daley, the young nurse, from the Daily Mail. As we read the article we realized that Daddy was the man Ruby applied the tourniquet to and that she had saved his life. We wondered where she was now and hoped her husband, who was mentioned in the article, survived the war.

****
About five years ago one of my sisters became acquainted with an Englishman, Ian, while she was doing research on our father’s B-17 crash of December 31, 1943. Ian led us to the 305th Bomb Group Memorial Association and the opportunity to connect with other family members and share information. Last fall Ian and PH, another local Englishman, offered to show relatives of crew members around the Chelveston area so this inspired our trip to England. Ian recommended we visit in May when the weather turns better. We planned more than a week in London in order to give Ian and PH two weekends to choose from to schedule a visit. As it turned out Monday May 9 and Tuesday the 10th worked best for them. So on May 9 we took the train from St. Pancras station to the town of Bedford, less than an hour north of London, where Ian picked us up. First stop was the little train station at the town of Rushden where Daddy and other crew members would have passed through. If Daddy ever visited London, which Ian and I both think likely, he would have taken the train from Rushden. The line is no longer used and the station is a museum. Ian did not think the station would be open on a weekday but some of the volunteers were working and welcomed us. It was like stepping back in time with all of the old equipment. The volunteers said people bring them things from rail worker uniforms, to signs and other artefacts. The station has a ginger cat for a mascot and I was a little put out when the cat went to Ian to be petted and not me.

After the train station at Rushden we drove to the area of Chelveston where the base was located and met PH. PH is a local farmer who became interested in the 305th Bomb Group when he was working the farm and plowed up items like dog tags, pins, insignia, etc. PH connected with Ian over dog tags found in his field that Ian was able to help him return to family members in the U.S. nearly 70 years after the war. The base was set on high ground to make it easier for the planes to take off and we were able to get a sense of that. There is not much left of the base now but being local, PH and Ian have made connections with some of the landowners and business operators who let them take people like us out to the fields. We could see the remains of roads and the site of the former runway on what now is pasture with sheep and solar panels.

Just outside the gate of our first stop at one field we encountered an American couple who were doing their own tour. PH had seen them earlier and when he saw them again wondered if they were somehow connected to the base. Turns out they were from California and the woman’s father was part of a B-17 crew at Chelveston. We invited them along as we looked at diagrams of the airfield and buildings on the base and then we all went to lunch at the Star & Garter. This pub is in the town of Chelveston and near the memorial to the 305th Bomb Group.

A few weeks before we left home Ian said he would have a surprise for me during our visit and my sisters and I wondered what it was. After lunch we headed to the Church in Chelveston for the surprise. He seemed really excited about it and I thought it must be related to the hoped-for memorial for the Quillman crew. Some of Daddy’s crewmates were killed on this mission and there are people in England who work to post memorials on the sites of these fatal crashes. Since we were headed to the church the memorial for the crew seemed likely as there is already one memorial to the 305th there and Ian had corresponded about a memorial plaque before our trip. When we got to the church a couple came toward us and Ian introduced us to B the daughter of Ruby Daley. I was overwhelmed. B and I hugged and cried and cried some more as Ian talked about the connections that led him to her. Talk about goosebumps! B and her husband had recently retired and moved to the Chelveston area near their children. They wanted to know more about the area’s history and the air base during WWII and became acquainted with Ian. They did not know until they met Ian that the plane B’s mother assisted was from the base at Chelveston where they now live. When Ian heard about B’s mother he confirmed she was the woman in the article we had shared with him. Then he plotted this wonderful surprise.

B said her mother was very modest about what she did that night. She had Red Cross training and had not really used it before. She probably kept Daddy from bleeding to death by applying a tourniquet and then, using a coat to create a stretcher, had him moved away from the plane which was burning and fuel could have exploded. There were other people from the village to help but she was the only one with any medical training. Shortly after the war, in recognition of her service on that night, Ruby Daley was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen (the present Queen’s mother) and her husband was able to join her. I was glad to know her husband had survived the war as he was mentioned in the article from the Daily Mail and we had wondered for so many years.

St John Baptist Church - Chelveston cum Caldecott, 13th century church which stands between the 2 villages http://www.highamdeanery.org/chelveston_10.html
****

After the church we moved on to another field with B, her husband and the couple from Calif continuing with us. We could see the remains of an old road on the air base and PH brought out copies of declassified plans that outlined what used to be there. At this point the Calif folks had to start driving back to the town where they were staying. The rest of us walked across the road and onto a property that still had buildings from the base. These concrete buildings housed common areas such as shower rooms. Ian said the water for the showers on base was not heated! I had no idea; imagine in the winter showering in the cold in a concrete block building? The living conditions sounded pretty primitive with only one stove in a bunk area so if your bed wasn’t close to it you didn’t get much heat. Apparently they didn’t get an overabundance of food either and I remember Daddy saying on mornings they had missions the crews would get real eggs rather than powdered. Sometimes he got up early just to have a real breakfast with the guys going out.

Our last stop was an area where the commanding officer had a cottage. PH and Ian have explored and found the foundations but it was kind of muddy today so we stayed on the path. We could see a couple of bomb shelters among the trees at the cottage site. Now it was time for PH to go and collect his kids from school and soon we said our goodbyes to B and her husband too. We promised to write and so we have since returning home. Ian drove us back to the train station in Bedford and we arranged for our meeting the next day at Tring to visit the crash site.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and email my sisters about this day and meeting Ruby Daley’s daughter.

What a wonderful experience!

How wonderful . . . chills and goosebumps for sure

(I do wish our Dads felt able to talk more about their service -- While he shared the basics, I too learned the details that allowed me to trace my Dad's footsteps in the Ardennes only after he passed away)

wow

A moving story which I'm pleased to follow.

Tuesday May 10

We met Ian at the train station in Tring for the visit to Albury and the crash site. Tring is marked on Daddy’s discharge papers as the location of the crash but Ian and B both considered it to have happened in Aldbury which is where Ruby Daley lived and her daughter grew up. I suspect Tring was cited because it is a much bigger town. Ian drove us to Aldbury which is a “chocolate box” village. We heard this term on our Cotswolds tour and B used it to describe Aldbury. The village has been used in movies including the “Dirty Dozen” along with the manor house at Ashridge; scenes from Les Miserables and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire were also filmed on the Ashridge Estate nearby. From the pond in the center of Aldbury you can see the slope of Tom’s Hill where the crash happened. It looks pretty steep and difficult to climb at night.

We walked around the village a bit and I took some photos, including one of the sign to Tom’s Hill. We stopped in the little general store and bought a couple of postcards and a tea towel. I bought a couple of other tea towels on the trip because they are usable souvenirs and so easy to pack.

We had a very good lunch at the Greyhound pub in Aldbury. We were able to treat Ian to lunch which is all he would allow us to do for all the time and effort he spent with us. After lunch we drove to the manor house at Ashridge for a few photos then on to the area of the crash site. It was misty and the ground was wet but we were prepared with the right shoes and jackets. There are a lot of walking trails on the estate and we set out on one of them. Ian showed us the area along one of the trails where he hopes a memorial might soon be placed in memory of the crew members who died that day. Then we walked along the trail for a ways into an area of old trees. Some of these trees had twisted branches and strange growth patterns. Given the information Ian had researched in U.S. military records and talking to local residents this seems to be the place. It was quiet and peaceful now with bluebells growing in the forest, nothing like that terrible night must have been. Ian pulled out a small American flag that we left on one of the trees. I had 3 small buttons from my dad's uniform that my sister sent with me to leave here. I hope putting them under the brush might keep them from view by a passing hiker. We stood quietly for a few moments and completed the pilgrimage to this place that had such significance for my family.

As we walked through the woods back to the car Ian asked if there was anything else we wanted to see in the area. He had given us such a thorough tour that it really felt complete and we were ready to go back to London. With hugs and handshakes Ian left us at the station in Tring. What a couple of days we had had.

We enjoyed a quiet train ride back to London Euston and made our way back to the hotel. This evening we enjoyed dinner at the Princess Louise pub a short walk from our hotel.

What wonderful memories, Scootoir and thank you for sharing them with us. Being able to meet Ruby's daughter was obviously very special for you both and how lovely that Ian was able to arrange it for you.

Wednesday May 11

Today we moved on to more typical "touristing" as my mother used to call it. We made another short train trip this morning to travel to Windsor from Paddington Station. This trip required one change but it was easy to do. We had checked online to be sure no major parts of the castle was going to be closed due to the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations. We learned closures were starting the following day and thought Wednesday would be a good day to visit.

I visited Windsor Castle in 1982 and Mr. Wonderful had never been there. We strolled through town shooting pictures, shopping and scoping out places for lunch. Rain was threatening but the temperature was very pleasant so we chose a spot with outside tables and large umbrellas. Just as we finished lunch a light rain began to fall and we headed to the castle. There were some school groups visiting but it wasn’t terribly crowded. One thing I read before our visit warned about a steep climb to the castle but it didn’t seem difficult to us to walk up to the entrance to the doll house and apartments. There are a few benches and view spots along the way if someone should need to rest. On this trip I aggravated my Achilles which I first injured on a missing cobblestone in Prague a few years ago. I needed to rest it occasionally. The contents of the rooms are interesting but the structure of the castle itself is what interested me most. I also liked strolling around the town. Before leaving Windsor we went back to a couple of shops for a couple of china pieces and the cutest plush corgi celebrating the Queen's birthday.

Back in London we walked to Giotto, an Italian restaurant near our hotel. There was sidewalk seating but with all the buses and traffic going past on New Oxford Street we chose to sit inside. We were seated and given menus but the young woman who was to take our order seemed to speak only Italian and when we had questions went to get another staff member. This person seemed to understand our orders but I ended up with a mixed salad (which was quite nice actually) instead of caprese. We noticed the staff in many London restaurants and at our hotel were not native speakers of English. We also noticed a lot of help wanted signs in shops and restaurants in both Bath and London. It would appear that Britain has a need for workers and is attracting them from the EU. Makes me wonder what will happen to them if Britain exits the EU.

just think unemployment for the young in France 25%,in Italy the figure rolls around the 35%. Hence, they head for one of the few countries where unemployment is ~5.1%.

Best way to stop all this immigration is to bust the economy, which Brexit might achieve..... :-)

Those are dramatic figures bilboburgler. The Brexit vote will be interesting to watch. As will Donald Trump's visit to the UK at that time. How delightful for you. I am sure you will really like him and want him to stay indefinitely. PLEASE!

Thank you and the blessed memory of your dad for his service to his country in combat conditions. As a vet myself, but nothing matching your dead's heroic duty, I can only stand in awe to think how your dad survived with the quick actions of B's mom, Ruby Daley.

England was blessed with many Ruby Daleys acting in heroic ways during the blitz ...and later days during the constant bombing raids of Germany, resulting in many a crippled bomber bringing wounded crews back to base.

Thank you for your detailed report...we are all honored to be the recipients.

stu tower

Thursday May 12

Today we ventured to our local Underground stop and purchased Oyster cards then traveled to the Tower of London. I pulled out the copy of our train tickets from Bath to London (printed from our online purchase) and the voucher from the brochure I picked up at the train station and asked for the 2for1. We were able to save quite a bit using the 2for1 in London. The Tower wasn’t very crowded and we headed straight to the crown jewels. The presentation had changed since I was here 30 years ago and I really like how it is now arranged. We were able to easily go through twice since it was uncrowded and see both sides of the spectacular crowns. Stunning to see these in person. After the jewels we began to explore other areas of the Tower. One change I did not care for is the glass installation that marks the execution spot. It used to be a brick or stone area with a simple plaque but now it has a circle of glass with a pillow on top that looked like it was missing Cinderella’s glass slipper.

As the morning moved along the Tower was becoming more crowded so we decided to sit down to lunch a bit early to avoid crowds in the New Armouries restaurant which turned out to be pretty good.

We wanted to visit a couple of sights today so our next stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral (another 2for1). I still think of my first view of the dome along the London skyline and am rather sorry to see the skyscrapers that have grown up around it. This beautiful cathedral is still one of our favorite places in London. We did not use the audio tour on this visit but took our time just sitting and enjoying the original view as Wren envisioned it (before the Victorian decoration was added) then toured the rest of the building. Before leaving I bought a teacup decorated with a sketch of the dome in the gift shop.

This evening we had tickets to “The Play that Goes Wrong”. Before leaving home we purchased tickets for this play and “Sunny Afternoon” online. We walked down Drury Lane from the hotel to Covent Garden where we had dinner at Le Pain Quotidien. We like this international chain with its simple food and some nice wines. The play was very funny; we enjoyed it so much we decided to look into tickets for this group’s new production “The Comedy About a Bank Robbery”.

I still think of my first view of the dome along the London skyline and am rather sorry to see the skyscrapers that have grown up around it.>>

Me too Scootoir - I worked in London for about 20 years and every day my heart was gladdened to see that wonderful skyline as my train crossed the bridge into Victoria station. No longer - you can barely see it.

Friday May 13

I enjoyed planning this day visiting Daylesford Farm in Notting Hill, some shopping and a surprise stop for Mr. Wonderful. When we visited London in 2012 we rented an apartment in Notting Hill and really liked the area. On that trip one morning we discovered the café at the Daylesford Farm shop on Westbourne Grove and had tea and toast for “elevenses”. It was the best toast ever so I knew we needed to go back there at least once on this trip. On Friday morning we walked to the Holborn Underground station to take the Central line to Notting Hill. From the Underground we walked to Westbourne Grove and Daylesford Farm. The café was busy but they found us a place at one of the communal tables for breakfast. I got to indulge in tea and toast (with butter of course). It was still so good.

After a look around the farm shop we walked to Portobello Road to do some shopping. We had been hoping to find something for our niece who is a Doctor Who fan and came across Mimi Fifi, a shop selling collectibles, on the way to Portobello Road. In the window was a large Tardis mug that we thought would be perfect. We picked up some china pieces on Portobello and I would have gladly bought more if getting them home was easier.

Back on the Underground this time to Earl’s Court and a surprise for Mr. Wonderful (thanks to ladyinblack64 for mentioning this in April). Mr. W became a Doctor Who fan this year and frankly so have I. We walked out on the street at Earl’s Court and I spotted the blue police box. I walked to a spot near the newsstand it sits next to and asked Mr. W to find what we came here for. It took him a moment or two then he smiled when he spotted it. He posed for a photo then we shot a selfie to send to the family. When we finished we noticed people starting to line up to shoot photos so we went in the Pret-a-Manger across from it and took window seats for a snack, cold drink and to enjoy watching others discover the “Tardis”.

After a rest back at the hotel we headed to the West End to find a light dinner before the play “Sunny Afternoon”. We settled on Caffe Concerto which turned out better than we expected. Mr. Wonderful had a nicely prepared chicken and I had a pasta Pomodoro. For dessert we walked to M&M World on Leicester Square and bought some candies. They are made with creamier chocolate than in the US.

We were in high school in the late 1960s and love music from the British Invasion so we were curious how the music of the Kinks would be woven into a West End musical. We knew the play told the story of the Kinks and it did a good job of incorporating the music into the story. When the Ray Davies character talks about the death of his sister and how she loved to dance we couldn’t figure out why the song “Come Dancing” wasn’t included. After the show we looked it up and discovered Ray Davies had had a 2008 show called “Come Dancing” which featured this song. I wish he had used it twice—Irving Berlin did it with White Christmas.

We had been hoping to find something for our niece who is a Doctor Who fan and came across Mimi Fifi, a shop selling collectibles, on the way to Portobello Road. In the window was a large Tardis mug that we thought would be perfect>>

lol, Scootoir, our DS is a big Dr Who fan and in fact today has gone off to a nearby Geek's convention dressed as Matt Smith as Dr Who! He managed to find some very suitable clothes in a charity shop [only a £1 per item] and when I looked at the jacket, I realised that it was a top of the range Aquascutum, with a silk lining no less. Dr Who was never better dressed!

We are also Kinks fans - it was often on in the car when the kids were younger so they like it too!