Pollock's Toy Museum is a museum and small toy shop housed in two atmospheric historic buildings in London's Fitzrovia. It is a collection of mainly Victorian toys. On display in six small rooms and two winding staircases are dolls, teddy bears, tin toys, dolls' houses, puppets, toy theatres, toy soldiers and more besides. Benjamin Pollock … Continue reading Pollock’s Toy Museum
Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury are Central London neighbours, straddling the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden. Leaving Tottenham Court Road to the shoppers and the traffic, turn right onto Warren Street and then left onto Fitzroy Street.Fitzroy Street becomes Charlotte Street and here you'll find cafés and restaurants a plenty. Linger here if you … Continue reading Weekday Walk | Fitzrovia to Bloomsbury
September meant that the Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness was approaching. It also meant that Shimelle was running her annual class, Learn Something New Every Day. Like last year, I’m recording what I’ve learned throughout September here. Day 21: Vacuum cleaners always break down at the most inopportune moment. T'was ever thus. Day 22: … Continue reading Learn Something New Every Day | Days 21-25
In mid-September, we made a return visit to Hughenden Manor for their 1940s Weekend. We'd gone there for two reasons: 1) we like it there and 2) dogs are welcome. But as luck would have it, Hughenden was hosting a 1940s Weekend. There were loads of people in vintage clothing - a lady who looked … Continue reading 1940s Weekend at Hughenden Manor
Sitting on a hill in a beautiful and tranquil part of Surrey is the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.It commemorates more than 20,000 airmen and women who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe who have no known grave. As you wander … Continue reading The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede
Everything I read in September was in 'real book' form. There was a biography, a novel and a compilation of letters. Ma'am Darling by Craig Brown: In this rather irreverent look at the life and times of Princess Margaret, Brown serves up 99 tales, some funny, some cringeworthy and some simply awful. I never met … Continue reading Currently Reading | September 2018
My In-Laws gave me a family ticket to Heroes at Highclere as a birthday present. I'd never been to Highclere Castle, but like many millions of people around the world, felt as though I knew it intimately … who didn't love Downton Abbey? With the centenary of the end of the First World War looming, … Continue reading Heroes at Highclere Castle
We embarked on a road trip to Northern England over the August Bank Holiday weekend. For the second part of the trip, we based ourselves in the beautiful city of Durham.The Brainy One spent three years as an undergraduate at the University of Durham back in, according to The Boy Child, nineteen hundred and freezing … Continue reading Northern Road Trip | Durham
Throughout August, many of London's West End theatres offer free tickets to children. We took advantage of this offer and secured tickets to see Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the world's longest running show. The Boy Child has been to the theatre many times and we felt he was now old enough to enjoy a straight play.He … Continue reading The Mousetrap
A little over 10 miles from Duxford, you'll find the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Once America entered the Second World War in December 1941, air, ground and naval forces began streaming into the United Kingdom. The US commitment to freedom and democracy brought more than 3 million Americans to our shores during the Second … Continue reading Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
