October 2008

The month started with a second visit to London but this time we managed to visit the city seeing all the usual suspects such as Big Ben, Buckingham palace, Trafalgar Square, Canada House, etc etc. The aim was to put our daughter, Heather, on to the Eurostar as she was bound on a journey to Turin and her new job. I got to see the fully refurbished St Pancras station which was saved from demolition much to the credit of St John Betjman, a poet laureate and train enthusiast. Our friends Terry and Zarina came to stay and we visited Ironbridge, famous for it's (ahem!) Iron Bridge but just as important it was where the industrial revolution began. We had lunch at the White Hart which apparently was where the workers on building the bridge, came in for a pint at lunchtime. Close to Worcester is where the composer Sir Edward Elgar was born. The cottage is preserved and we were able to visit there along with the very informative modern museum dedicated to his works and artifacts of which there are many. His mother apparently was keen on photography so there are many family photos.