Postcard from Britain 1

IT'S A LONG WAY FROM MULLUMBIMBY

The bridge - doing it's best to hold up the sunset

I am taking an unexpected visit to Europe - mainly to give our siblings a brief break from the care of our elderly parents.  Mine live in Essex and are 85 and 90 and my husband's, who live in Kent, are both 94.  So the blog will have a different look over the next few weeks and I will only be able to post when I get access to a computer (we are travelling light!).

I find it harder and harder to leave home especially at this time of year when the garden is just becoming productive again and needs my attention (never mind the six grandchildren).  We were leaving on Singapore Airlines for London via Sydney so had a couple of hurried days there with glorious autumn weather, We are lucky to have a friend with a spare bed in Point Piper. With views like this it's not a bad starting point for our trip!

"IT'S TORTURE, AND YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT" to quote my husband after we finally arrived at Heathrow after 24 hours to a foggy, grey chilly 4.30am morning, at least I think it was.  We came on the airbus A380 and while it's a fantastic plane and the staff are remarkably helpful (travelled on Qantas lately?) it is still no fun going' cattle class'.  I had an incredibly obese woman sitting next to me on the way to Singapore - the details of which I won't share with you - they were just too awful and I wished, for all money, that just for once I could walk down the Business Class tunnel or, even better, SUITES!

In the grip of Jubilee fever

Unbelievably the sun has been out since we arrived - it is even quite warm (about 26oC) and the locals are already complaining about how close it is.  JUBILEE, CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW and OLYMPICS fever have gripped Britain, even my mum is having a Jubilee garden party next weekend and keeps ringing me up with shopping requests for things like Union Jack serviettes and red white and blue 'bunting' (now that's a word I haven't heard for a very long time.  I actually have a photo of me at a Coronation garden party in 1953 (I was 3) and it seems a very long time ago.  Can't believe the Queen has shaking all the those hands, making small talk with monosyllabic footballers, opening factories, launching ships, attending dreary concerts and doing her best to keep the flag flying in the colonies for 60 years. Chelsea Flower Show next!
NOTE: Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953

My effort for Queen and Country