Bear and Jackie’s Travel Diary

1000km cross country treks in Oz are perfectly normal. A gentle hike from one side of this island to the other has sightseeing opportunities, that only the POMs could create. Navigating access routes unchanged from the dark ages whilst avoiding Farmer Giles in his house sized tractor. Truck drivers blocking the motorways because of fuel prices, (Seriously! How the fuck will that help!). Honest citizens trying to get from A to B in cars because the train Unions want more cash for their members, I thought Maggie sent these tone deaf imbeciles packing in the ‘80s. All at a time when every caravan in the UK is pottering off to its summer residence. Sir Ranulph Fiennes would be appalled!!

Regardless, our trusty hybrid steed purred through these obstacles to arrive at Alex’s new pad in Croydon. Crikey! Talk about towers in the sky, Croydon has properly grown up! Luxury residence with private dining suite and games room up top!

Speedy stop at the Benjo’s for the night. Always a pleasure to see these guys. Added bonus with Kirsty being there after a minor flight hiccup.

We both have childhood memories of lavender bags living in the sock or undies drawer. Probably more sensible at the other end of the laundry cycle but that is another matter. Never been to a lavender farm, or paid 4 quid for the privilege of doing so…

Off to Mum and Roy’s in Charing…

I met this bloke at prep school 45 years ago. Whilst the rest of us gradually got grey or lost our locks, piled on a few pounds and showed our age. One bloke still stands proud. Such a pleasure spending time in your Taunton home, meeting the Mrs and a couple of the troops.

Diary note not to rely on Louise for directions to the pub. Needed a couple of thirst quenchers and wasp swat on arrival!

Jackie had some well documented Cider encounters at school. A visit to Sheppy’s Cider brought back many happy memories for all concerned 😀 One of the dogs even managed a spew to celebrate the occasion!

Off to see Alex next

No noticeable work done on this old girl since we left. Still looking moody and grumpy but she is certainly ageing gracefully. Unlike a couple of her former students who continue to behave badly. We decided to pop in and have a bit of a mooch around. The ghosts of former headmasters and staff must have been taking a break from holiday haunting duties. The familiar sounds of ’Ockenden’ or ‘Miss Trevor’ were pleasantly absent and we continued our tour unmolested.

After a quick recce in the car, we parked the car up outside my old abode, Gate House and went for a wander. Bit sad to see the demise of the grass lawn and old stone steps that would have assisted many previous generations of ladies onto their horses and into carriages. Replaced now with bland concrete, probably reflecting the current attitudes of parents who fork out £40k a year to outsource their offspring! Broken windows and general neglect have clearly benefited from. Temporary classrooms that looked more like portacabins in our day have been replaced by real buildings. Likewise, the two storey versions that housed Biology and Geography have been replaced by three storey replicas of the old buildings. Looks properly posh!

Jackie’s old abode was the somewhat strangely named ’Kings House’. Shiny new for Jackie’s generation, it still bears the scars of stones lobbed at windows by dickheads like me!

The lake was the traditional haunt of smokers, cider slurpers and young lovers. Happy to see that the paths are well trodden in 2022. The rear entry to the pub that was used almost exclusively by underage Clayesmore students for cider and cigarette purchases no longer exists although the local village shop looks to have a handy selection for spending thirsty quenching pocket money.

Run down canoe building shack and CCF buildings also now long gone, not sure about the old rifle range. A shiny new IT block now occupies a chunk of this space.

We were slightly surprised to find the doors to the main building unlocked. Rude not to have a poke about! It has been many years since either of us knocked on the door to the headmaster’s office waiting for a bollocking, beating or suspension! Happily there was no one in residence. The old tunnel into the dining room still there, kitchen security sadly much improved since our 1980’s food raids!

Probably outstayed our welcome so lobbed the drone in the air for a few pictures before making a hasty departure 😀

Happy memories

So, here we are in the land of soap dodgers! The Romans worked this out when they ran the place a couple of thousand years ago. Setting up a permanent washing facility on the source of some hot water. Ceasar and his merry band of sword waving, soap enthusiasts took a few centuries to work out that they weren’t welcome here before heading back to Rome. What remains is a fabulous city in the West Country, sadly, full of students and tourists paying top dollar to waft around in robes and have a wash.

Had a shower in the morning so no need to don robes or partake in any communal washing experiences. Took a rather more modern view of place on board electric scooters. Not sure about our choice of protective headwear!

Stopped in a pub that said craft beer and good food. 0% ale suprisingly good. Jackie’s chicken ceasar must have been left over by the one of the blokes who ran the place 2000 years ago, just a smaller portion and drier! Off to find a supermarket before heading back to the Cotswolds.

Off to school tomorrow 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♂️

After a few awesome 35 degree days in Essex and London, we collected our steed for the next couple of weeks. Spatial reasoning takes on new levels of challenge when Jackie’s luggage collection meets Toyota Yaris! Mission accomplished and 4 hours drive to the other side of the island we arrive at Cousin Annabel’s rather posh Air BnB in Bisley. Crikey! Thought that buildings this old and beautiful were exclusive to Big ears Co!

Popped into the village for a pint and a feed. Few things can be more welcoming than a pub named after you 😀 Disturbingly, the Bear Inn was the meeting place of Guy Fawkes and his merry band of gunpowder enthusiasts. No trace of him today although the pub does have its own jail underneath. Happy to avoid any periods of incarceration and enjoyed a firework free lunch knocked up by an Italian chef. Disturbance arrived shortly in the shape of a bunch of blokes sporting bells and wearing hats that looked suspiciously like fruit salad. Morris Dancing is an ancient custom here, however, given the average age of the participants and the crowd of 3 that turned out to watch, it’s future looks bleak. Maybe Morris Dancing amongst the yoga set on Dee Why beach is option for bringing more English heritage back home to Oz? Enthusiastic stick whacking and bell jiggling ensued for a few minutes before obligatory rest and warm ale in pewter pots! Lady T joined in with a spot of summer hanky waving whilst I searched the local ale for bubbles!

Today we head into London to meet up with Harri and James. First a wander down Brick Lane to find Harri’s digs, then a bite to eat at Spitalfield followed by a browse through the markets and a skywalk to see the views of London City. Then a hop and skip back to Fenchurch street to catch a train back to Leigh on Sea. Sam and Nic picked us up from the station and we headed to the Evans for a delicious paella dinner followed by strawberries and cream. Ended the night down at the pub to meet up with some of Sam and Nic’s Essex mates- Cheers to another brilliant day!

Heat wave hit! What a start to our holiday. Today was a real treat, Sam and Nic took us out to lunch at the “Dog and Pickle”- a special lunch to celebrate my 50th! The food and company were top notch, as we immersed ourselves into the atmosphere of old English pub, savoured food of Michelin star quality, surrounded by family, a dream any mother would wish for. Followed by a walk through Old Leigh in the evening and a good old Chinese takeaway to end the day.

After our amazing plane journey, Sam and Nic were waiting for us at the airport, flowers in hand and tears and love all round. Straight back home to Leigh on Sea to meet Beau, seriously the cutest dog ever! off to Tesco’s to fill the fridge! Very happy to have the choice of affordable fresh veg- unlike back in Sydney! Then off to the beach front to eat fresh prawns, crab, jellied eel, cockles and whelks! An absolute must do when you visit Leigh on Sea! After lunch a short walk to meet Harriet and, bingo, were all together once again. A lazy sunny afternoon in the garden just chilling and then Bear back in his favourite place marinading some chickens to throw on the barbie for dinner! Apart from a couple of OTP drama’s a perfect day one to our 3 month adventure- off to the land of nod.

A massive thank you to an awesome couple who got us onto the whole airmiles journey. A couple that we met, (And have subsequently married), happily wafted around the world in the pointy end of airplanes paying just taxes on flights.

So cheers, Nat and Quinn, cheers Bank of Melbourne and cheers to Singapore airlines. 30 hours of absolute luxury and pleasure, silky smooth service, lie-flat/double bed comfort and awesome lounges for the price of flights to Darwin.

Cheers 🍾🛫🗺

Breakfast of champions

Another adventure begins!! 3 1/2 years confined to Sydney ends! After working throughout Covid 19. The time has come to stop writing ceremonies and turn our attention to more light hearted moments, time with family and friends over the oceans…….. and follow the sun once again. ☀️🌞🕶