To Hounslow

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sat 19 Aug 2017 22:57
To Hounslow
 
 
 
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We needed a new picture of Joe, Emmie, Vicky, Kaiser, Harry and Harley together – done after Joe’s excellent fry up, coeliac sausages and all. Love the picture. After fond farewells we left Newquay at half ten and with heavy traffic made Exeter by half past twelve. We were supposed to share the driving so from here on I kept asking when Bear would stop. He said he was fine and wanted indeed to get half way. I directed him off the A303 as Mr. Google showed a couple of crashes and a stationery queue. We stopped for KFC at Fleet Services at which point I showed Bear we only had half an hour to go so he better get on with it. “OK, so you’ll drive next week to Buith”........
 
 
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Twickenham Stadium was just three minutes from our hotel so we headed there first thinking Harley would love to see it – mmmmm, no interest in rugby or football.....a bit of a surprise but on we go and no tour of the stadium booked for next week when we return for the car. Next we checked out where the car park was before checking in to our digs for the night.
 

 

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During a conversation at Joe and Vick’s we said that knowing New York and Sydney so well, we were somewhat embarrassed to admit to foreigners that neither have been to London for seventeen years and that was only to see the Lion King. Time to do a tourist week. Harley told us that it was a dream to do just that, so there and then we arranged hotels, London Passes, Underground tickets and a couple of surprises. Here he is holding his bunk above our bed, Beds in place in the Hounslow Ibis, chosen as we can leave the car at the tube station for the week at twenty four pounds with a direct line to Earl’s Court.
 
 
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While Bear had a shower Harley and I made a good start on building his clip together Frieza, a Japanese cartoon character.
 
 
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Wiki says: Hounslow is a district of west London, 11.1 miles (17.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow. Hounslow has a large shopping centre which adjoins its high street and a large number of restaurants, cafés and small businesses, many of which are associated with product assembly, marketing, telecommunications and London Heathrow Airport. It is connected to Central London by rail and tube. The population at the 2011 census was 66,292. We found an original pub lamp and an old street lamp before heading across the road for a High Street bimble.

 
 
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A wonderful fruit and veg shop with just about everything including ‘flat peaches’, a first for us and loads of vegetables we haven’t seen since the Caribbean. We heard an amazing array of languages and poked our heads in a Polish Deli.
 
 
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Harley’s first London bus.
 
 
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The busiest little Asian restaurant but the boys both fancied pizza, looking back the way we had come and our turning point.
 
 
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Some fairly garish stuff can be easily found.
 
 
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Bear liked the Cobblers, I liked the crab in the Early Warning (Learning) Centre.
 
 
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We watched this dog enjoying his traffic cone, all by himself throwing it around and growling at it, just outside the Holy Trinity Church. That done the boys ordered their pizzas and I nipped in to Tesco Express for some bits (both places just under our hotel. All taken to our room to watch Spiderman before turning in.
 
 
 
ALL IN ALL A GOOD START TO OUR LONDON WEEK
                     PRETTY GOOD JOURNEY FOR A SATURDAY IN AUGUST