January was a busy month here at This West London Life ... let's take a look at how the numbers shaped up: January 2019 My biggest daily step count came in at 16,562. I swan 390 lengths of the gym's pool. If it weren't for a u/s heating thermostat, it would have been quite a … Continue reading Month in Numbers | January 2019
I probably write this every early December; how can we be heading towards Christmas? But what about November? Let's take a look at the numbers: 100 years since the Armistice ended the First World War. Lest we forget. 20,633 was my highest daily step count total. 15 Christmas presents bought and wrapped ... some of … Continue reading Month in Numbers | November 2018
From 29 October to 11 November, artist Mark Humphrey set up the Remembrance Art Trail in Canary Wharf to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War 1.Eleven pieces of art were on display around London's financial district, creating an extended trail around the beautiful open spaces of Canary Wharf. Viewed as a … Continue reading Remembrance Art Trail
Sunday, 11th November 2018 marked the Centenary of the ending of the First World War. We attended the service at our local war memorial and The Boy Child wore my old RAF beret.We planted two crosses of remembrance this year - one for Flying Officer Roy Stewart Wilson and one for my four of my … Continue reading Remembrance and Beyond the Deepening Shadow
During half-term, The Boy Child and I spent a day at the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, South London. The building's exterior is currently home to Weeping Window, an art installation of 11,000 ceramic poppies (which were part of 2014's Blood Swept Lands).We were there for opening (always the best time for The Boy Child) … Continue reading Imperial War Museum
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
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
A short Metro ride from Downtown DC is Arlington National Cemetery, which is where the United States buries her war dead and military veterans (if that is what they/their family want). The grounds cover 624 acres and there are 400,000+ graves.There are a few famous internees, and perhaps the most well-known one is President John … Continue reading Washington, DC | Arlington Cemetery
