The Trip To London (3)

~ beetleypete ~ 5 Comments

This is the last part, I promise.

14/01/2026. Photos from the restaurant.

Julie with the table full of starters.

Both of us after ‘Happy Birthday’ was sung.

The ‘birthday cake’. (The firework went out before we could take a photo.)

15/01/2026. The journey home.

This was the plan. I had booked the return train for 12:54. The idea was that we would get up early, check out of the hotel, but leave our bags there while we wandered around and had a good breakfast, somewhere nice. Go back, get the bags, then flag down a black cab on the street to take us to Kings Cross Station, arriving 15 minutes before the train departed.

But we woke up to rain. Not just ‘rain’, very heavy rain. And it was cold too. A re-think was required. We didn’t have to check out until 10:00am, so we stayed in the room right up to the last moment. Then we checked out, telling the man on reception we were going to take a black cab to the station. He pointed out the road closure at the end of the street, saying “I doubt you will get a taxi passing by to flag down, but I can call you a private taxi if you would like me to”.

The thought of wandering rain-soaked streets with our luggage and not finding a normal London taxi to wave down crossed my mind. Add to that the fact that all the walking we had done the previous day had severely affected Julie’s bad knee and she was in great pain, and I said he could phone the private company.

The car arrived in 10 minutes, as promised, and the driver was very friendly and helpful. He got us to the station quickly, and we hurried inside the massive building to get out of the rain.

That’s when we fully realised that we were very early for our train. Far too early. It was not even ten-forty, so we had over two hours to wait. Julie suggested we try to change our train tickets to the earlier train at 10:54. So we went to the ticket office, explained to the man, and he was happy to change our tickets.

At a price.

He requested a change of ticket fee of £44 pounds ($60) to put us on the earlier train. I thought that was atrocious, and told him to forget it, we would wait. Easier said than done.

We eventually managed to find a table for two in a snack bar on the station food court, and bought hot drinks and a pastry. The trouble was the station is open at both ends, so it was incredibly cold sitting anywhere inside, hardly better than being outside in the rain, but at least it was dry. We managed to make the most of those two drinks, stretching our time sitting there past an hour before it became embarrassing.

Moving across into the platform area, we found seats on a very uncomfortable metal bench, and hunkered down for a long wait. Julie had a quick look around some shops in the retail area, and I stood gazing at the information board hoping against hope that the 12:54 train would be early. But it was actually running late, and not due in until 13:06.

I sat watching the people queue for the Harry Potter experience photos at the mythical platform nine and a half. I was marvelling at how much that company must be making, charging tourists whatever it costs to have their photo taken under the sign next to a luggage trolley, wearing a Hogwart’s scarf. I stared at the ceiling of the station, something of an architectural marvel in itself.

But nothing made the time go any quicker.

When the train was finally annouced for platform nine, next to where we were sitting, we were both so cold we could no longer feel our feet. I was regretting making a stand against being scalped for £44 to change our tickets, and I couldn’t feel my fingers as I scrabbled to find the original paper tickets in the pocket of my big coat.

Fortunately, the train was warm, and we had good seats at a quiet time. We arrived back at Downham Market Station on time at 14:20, and got in the car to drive home. It was still raining cats and dogs all the way, but we were home before 15:30, and got the heating switched on as the house was feeling very cold after having no heating on for a few days.

And that’s the end of our trip to London for Julie’s birthday.

The Trip To London (2)

~ beetleypete ~ 50 Comments

DAY ONE continued. That evening meeting a friend.

Having arranged to meet our friend Christine for dinner, and because it was still pouring with rain, we waited in our hotel room until she let us know she was close to getting to Camden Town. We walked to meet her at the station, then strolled through Inverness Street. We already knew that most of our favourite restaurants in that street had changed type or closed down, so it was just for nostalgia reasons on the way to the one we had chosen to eat at.

Jamon Jamon in Parkway, NW1 is a long-established Spanish restaurant and tapas bar that we had been to a few times when we lived in the area. We had already checked that it was still trading, and as it was early, we easily got a table without reservation. I’m pleased to report that it was as good as ever, with the same excellent food, and authentic atmosphere. Despite being a wet Tuesday, there was a nice busy vibe in there, including a large party of 12 diners in the centre tables. https://jamonjamon.uk.com/about-us/

It was good to catch up with Christine over food and drinks there, and we walked her back to the Underground Station after. She is the same age as me, and has recently moved from a town in Kent to the East London suburbs to be closer to her family. We were concerned about her travelling on the underground (subway in America) late in the evening, but she wasn’t in the least bit worried, and sent us a text once she was home.

Back at the hotel we were soon asleep, after what had been a long, wet, and very cold day.

DAY TWO. 14/01/2026 Julie’s birthday.

The next morning was the day of Julie’s birthday. We were pleased to wake up to sunshine and no rain. I had already been over the previous afternoon and booked the restaurant chosen by Julie for her meal, pre-ordered the Full Meze selection, and told them it was her birthday. The Greek restaurant Alexander The Great was one of our very favourite places to eat when we lived there, and we came to know the owner and staff well. I asked if he still owned it, and he did. And it was directly opposite our hotel, the main reason I had chosen to stay there.

That sunny but cold morning we walked along Camden High Street and stopped in a lovely bakery/cafe for a late breakfast on our way to the nearby Camden Market. This huge market with its eclectic assortment of shops and food stalls is world famous, but if you have never heard of it, here’s a link.
https://camdenmarket.com/ Originating in old buildings and stables close to the canal, it became trendy in the early 1970s, attracting Punks, Hippies, and Goths. Following and even creating fashion trends, and offering a huge variety of world foods, it soon became one of the ‘must-see’ haunts on the London tourist trail.

We used to take visitors and family there for the experience, and sometimes eat there in the evenings, or just wander up to sit on big cushions at the Arabian Cafe and drink Mint Tea. Sadly, the Arabian cafe has gone, replaced by something rather bland and boring. Also many of the open stalls have been closed in and become small shops. It was packed with tourists, even on a chilly January day, but for us it seemed to have lost the ‘heart and soul’ that once made it such an interesting place to visit.

After wandering around for a couple of hours, we returned to the hotel to get ready for the birthday dinner.

Even at 6:30pm, the restaurant was almost full. Our table was reserved of course, so we were shown to it, and ordered drinks. They already knew I had ordered the Full Meze, so told us the starters would be arriving soon. As we waited, Stelios (the owner) came from the back to greet us, and he was amazed that we had travelled all the way from Norfolk to spend Julie’s birthday in his restaurant.

https://alexanderthegreatgreekrestaurant.co.uk/en

The meal I had ordered takes some eating, and has to be carefully paced. If you are unfamiliar with a Full Meze for two, this is what you get.

The first offering is an array of small plates containing dips and salads, accompanied by warm pitta bread. These include Hummus, Taramosalata, Tzatziki, Beetroot, Baba Ghanoush, tomato and red onion salad, olives, shredded chicken salad, and some smoked salmon. A total of 9 plates to share.

This is followed by the meat starter, containing minced sausages, spicy meat, cubed lamb, meatballs, and Greek salad with Feta Cheese. Followed by the fish starter with calamari, jumbo prawns, portions of fish, and more salad.

After all that, we asked for a break before the actual main course was served. By now, people were queuing outside waiting for tables, and the atmosphere inside was just great. It has always retained the ‘old school’ feel of Greek restaurants of the past. Traditional decor, Greek background music, statues of Alexander the Great, tanks of both tropical and marine fish to admire too. It is the very reason why we love to go there, because it has never changed or tried to become ‘modern’.

The main course arrived, consisting of skewers of charcoal grilled chicken and lamb, as well as two large grilled lamb chops. After everything we had already eaten, it was daunting, but we took our time to eat it.

When that was cleared away, Stelios appeared with a megaphone, a waiter brought a plate of small cakes each topped with a lit candle, and one with a small firework on top. Stelios urged everyone in the restaurant to sing happy birthday to Julie, led by him on the megaphone. And they did. When I had paid the bill, we were given liqueurs on the house, and Stelios came to sit near us for a final chat before we left. Julie announced that she had never been happier, and it was a delight to re-visit a place that lived up to every memory we had of it.

We had been inside for well over three hours, and only had to walk across a side street to get back to the hotel.

To be continued…

The Trip To London. (1)

~ beetleypete ~ 67 Comments

For those of you who didn’t know, we went to London this week to celebrate Julie’s 65th birthday on the 14th. She had expressed a wish to go back to where we used to live for the first time since 2012. Re-visit some of our old haunts and favourite restaurants, and see what had changed.

I think this will need more than one part to do it justice.

DAY ONE. 13/01/2026. Catching the train.

I had pre-booked the hotel, the train tickets, and the car park at Downham Market Railway Station. We have been to the Norfolk town of Downham Market a few times, but never to the railway station car park. So I thought we should use the Google Maps Satnav on Julie’s phone to make sure we went to the right place.

Allowing one hour for a 45-minute journey seemed adequate, as our train was the 11:59 and traffic is not heavy at that time. The weather was awful, dark and raining, but with two nights in London to look forward to, we didn’t let that spoil things. As we approached the town, the satnav instructed us to contiune along the main road to the south. I presumed it was taking us on a traffic-free short cut.

BIG MISTAKE!

It took us miles out of our way, along farm roads well outside of the town, and suddenly declared ‘You have now reached your destination’ when we were in the middle of nowhere, along a track road with one house visible. So we entered the actual station into Google Maps, instead of the station car park address. That told us we were already there, so we entered the town itself instead.

Imagine the shock when it told us we were 11 miles away, and our arrival time would be fifteen minutes after the train had left. I became angry and annoyed, but we just had to face facts that we had missed the train and we would have to wait for the next one. We arrived in the car park eventually, but only by ignoring the Satnav, which had taken us along some of the worst unmade, poorly-maintained roads I have ever seen in the UK.

We went into the town, found signs for the railway station, and managed to get the last remaining space in the surprisingly small car park. There were 59 minutes to wait until the next London train, so we went to the cafe and bought hot drinks and something to eat. Then we went to the ticket office, where a very helpful lady explained some things to us.

1) We should not have used any Satnav, as Google Maps has never recognised Downham Market Railway Station. Nobody knows why that is, but all the local people know that to be true.

2) I had booked tickets for that specific train, and they could not be used on the next train. So to travel to London, we had to cancel the now useless tickets and buy new ones at an additional cost of £47 each, a total of £92.($125) That was the same price I had already paid for the tickets we were holding that could now not be used. Fortunately, it did not affect the return journey on Thursday.

The only thing we could do was to ‘put it down to experience’, say “It’s only money”, and wait for the next train.

The train arrived on time, we got good seats, and the 90-minute journey to Kings Cross Station in London went without a hitch. Once there, we got a taxi from the rank to our hotel (it was still raining) that only took 15 minutes.

We booked in, and went to our room to relax, looking forward to meeting up with one of our oldest friends, Christine, later that evening. The hotel was ideally located, built inside a Victorian chapel, and very nice. Here’s a link to that. https://www.thewesley.co.uk/the-wesley-camden-town/

To be continued…

Back From London

~ beetleypete ~ 22 Comments

We are not long back from our two-night stay in London. Despite being away for such a short time, I have no hope of being able to catch up with all the posts from those bloggers I follow. So I will start fresh from tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I will start to try answering all the comments you have left on my posts.

(It’s still raining!)

Best wishes to everyone, Pete.

Handwriting. Use It, Or Lose It

~ beetleypete ~ 75 Comments

I have just written a few words on Julie’s birthday card to give her next week.

Looking at what I had written, I was appalled to see just how badly my handwriting has deteriorated. I used to write with an elegant fountain pen, sending letters to friends who lived too far away for us to see each other easily.

I also wrote in notebooks; ideas for blog posts, story outlines for fiction serials, and all kinds of random things.

But then I just stopped writing properly. The friends died, or lost touch, the ideas for blog posts or stories became saved drafts on WordPress, and it wasn’t long before the only thing I physically write with a (ballpoint) pen is my weekly shopping list.

And that is in block capitals.

Even two lines at the bottom of a birthday card seemed like a mission. And they looked awful too, like an untidy scrawl.

So it seems that handwriting, like so many other skills in life, needs to keep being used to maintain it in tip-top condition. I wish I had thought of that before I decided to write on that card just now.

Sunday Musings In A Bleak January

~ beetleypete ~ 54 Comments

I know, it’s winter. I should expect bad weather, and I do. But I still don’t like it. 😊
We started the week with snow and ended it with heavy rain. Still totally dark just after 4pm, and some daylight hours were very gloomy too.

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Julie had two home visits from medical specialists this week. One from the Stroke Nurse, and one from an Occupational Therapist. They were both very pleased with her progress, and eventually discharged her from the care of the home team on Friday. However, she has to do one week of blood pressure monitoring at home to make sure that is stable, and she is not allowed to drive at all until her next appointment with Opthalmology at Norwich Hospital in February.

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We have had my oldest stepson staying with us again, as he was between accommodations. He has now found a place he likes, and has moved to stay with his sister until that flat is available to rent.

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Next Tuesday, Julie and I are going (by train) to London, to celebrate her 65th birthday by staying in a hotel for two nights close to where we used to live, and exploring a couple of our favourite restaurants that we haven’t been to since 2012. That is my birthday present to her as she tells me she really doesn’t need anything else.

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I hope that you all have a happy Sunday, doing whatever takes your fancy.

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Some New Random Facts

~ beetleypete ~ 45 Comments


Cows have accents.
Dairy farmers in the UK had noticed that cows mooed slightly differently depending on where they lived, so a team from the University of London decided to do a study. It turns out that yes, cows do moo differently based on their location! Birds have also been known to have regional dialects.


Reindeer and caribou are the same animal.
The difference, at least in the US, is that caribou are wild animals and reindeer are domesticated. In Europe, they’re mostly just referred to as reindeer.


The blinking light at the top of the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles sends out secret messages in Morse code.
The blinking light has been sending out messages since the building opened in 1956, and Samuel Morse’s own granddaughter Leila Morse flipped the switch to turn the light on for the first time. The default message, which is active most days, spells out “Hollywood.” However, the building sometimes sends out special messages, such as when the building celebrated its 50th anniversary (the light spelled out “Capitol 50” that year). It’ll also sometimes announce major album releases, as with Katy Perry’s Prism.


Abraham Lincoln is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler in his youth and has a spot in the Hall of Fame, along with fellow presidents George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft.


Sunglasses were originally prescribed to people with syphilis.
Syphilis causes sensitivity to light, so in the 19th and early 20th centuries, people would wear sunglasses and rest them on metal nose coverings, since skin deterioration around your nostrils is another symptom of the disease.


Stop signs used to be yellow.
Up until the 1920s, there were no standardized guidelines for stop signs, so they could be any color or shape. In 1922, the American Association of State Highway Officials decided that the signs should be yellow octagons…red wouldn’t work because the paint would fade over time and look too dark at night. It wasn’t until the 1950s, when a fade-resistant red paint became available, that stop signs were standardized as red.


“A second is called a second because it is the second division of the hour by 60, the first division being a minute.”


“From a botanical standpoint, strawberries and raspberries aren’t berries, but bananas and avocados are.”


“The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific Ocean.”


“You can fit all the planets of the solar system between Earth and the moon.”


“On Venus, a year is shorter than a day — meaning it takes Venus less time to orbit the Sun (year) than to complete one rotation (day).”


The world’s largest wild camel population is in Australia, not in the Middle East or the Sahara Desert.

Grateful For Rain

~ beetleypete ~ 44 Comments

At 5pm on Thursday, it started to rain heavily in Beetley. By the time I went to bed, the wind was lashing the rain against the windows, making it difficult to sleep.

Then it didn’t stop raining.

It rained all night, all day Friday, all night on Friday too. It finally stopped early this morning, and I got up to a ‘watery sun’. The forecast for the next 4-5 days is for more rain, but for now I will appreciate the break.

While that was going on here in the east of England, other regions of the UK were hit by a snowstorm, and winds of up to 100mph. This caused extensive property damage, injuries and deaths from falling trees, coastal erosion, heavy snow, and sheet ice.

Over 50,000 people are still without electricity, many roads are impassable, trains are cancelled, and airports closed. Hundreds of cars had to be abandoned by their drivers, adding to the chaos on some major routes.

I complain a great deal about rain, and always have.

But this time, I am grateful that rain was all we had, during one of the worst storms to hit the country in ten years.