http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/list/2 EN Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:59:24 +0100 Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:59:24 +0100 Chatter Phorum 5.1.6 600 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37500#msg-37500 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Lang Rabbie)
[i]The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway. In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished sprits. A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.
...
The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more somber every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.

And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men.

Forthwith a change came over the waters, and the serenity became less brilliant but more profound. The old river in its broad reach rested unruffled at the decline of day, after ages of good service done to the race that peopled its banks, spread out in the tranquil dignity of a waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth. We looked at the venerable stream not in the vivid flush of a short day that comes and departs for ever, but in the august light of abiding memories. [/i]
Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Not even the oil refineries can destroy this.
[LR tries for Pseud's Corner] And, in the evening sun, Crossness Sewage Sludge Incinerator rivals the Bilbao Guggenheim . [/Pseud's corner]

Edited to add:

For those without ready access to a yacht, the Balmoral paddle steamer is back from next month for excursions from Tower Pier to Clacton, Southend, Whitstable etc.
and the Waverley is back in the autumn

http://www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk/thames.pdf

]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37500#msg-37500 Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:59:24 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37478#msg-37478 forum@london-se1.co.uk (The Unladylike Ms. Jo) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37478#msg-37478 Thu, 23 Jun 2005 23:27:49 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37476#msg-37476 forum@london-se1.co.uk (sarah2)
What is on the reading list this year?
]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37476#msg-37476 Thu, 23 Jun 2005 22:04:03 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37472#msg-37472 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Lang Rabbie) -------------------------------------------------------
> I'm sure I heard that you could go Llama treking around
> Scarborough.

You can - for £43 per person!

http://www.llamatreks.co.uk/

"Llamas are Pack Animals - ours are well trained and contented, so happily carry lunches, wine, stools, tethers, extra clothing and more, but NOT people"


]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37472#msg-37472 Thu, 23 Jun 2005 17:50:01 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37471#msg-37471 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Ivanhoe) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37471#msg-37471 Thu, 23 Jun 2005 17:36:49 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37469#msg-37469 forum@london-se1.co.uk (kirsty) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37469#msg-37469 Thu, 23 Jun 2005 16:34:04 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37409#msg-37409 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Anonymous User) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37409#msg-37409 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 16:38:47 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37407#msg-37407 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Ivanhoe) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37407#msg-37407 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 16:27:31 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37405#msg-37405 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Anonymous User) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37405#msg-37405 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:21:54 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37404#msg-37404 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Ivanhoe)
(You're not going to TLMJJ and Mapmaker's wedding are you?)]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37404#msg-37404 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:04:23 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37402#msg-37402 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Anonymous User) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37402#msg-37402 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 14:49:14 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37394#msg-37394 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Ivanhoe) -------------------------------------------------------
> I'm going to Essex this weekend, are you
> suggesting that the equine population may be
> worried at this fact?

They'll be fine. As long as you don't tell them where they are.

[edited to add: I hope you're not going to Layer in the Hay or whatever that rude place TLMJJ loves is called]


]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37394#msg-37394 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 13:46:41 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37388#msg-37388 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Julie)
Can we organise a coach tour? With a bar on board. And travel scrabble. And an internet connection so we can keep up do date with what is happening in our corner of London village.

Or a very large narrow boat - now that is a good way to see the UK ...]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37388#msg-37388 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:44:58 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37382#msg-37382 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Lang Rabbie) -------------------------------------------------------
> Why has no one mentioned Essex?

Because it is just for the cognoscenti, and you wouldn't want everone there. Walton on the Naze is the new north Norfolk, dontchaknow?

[I even find Clacton interesting, in a run-down, nostalgia for the decline of popular culture, smaller cousin of Coney Island, psychogeographical rambling sort of way]]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37382#msg-37382 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 10:43:10 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37380#msg-37380 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Anonymous User) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37380#msg-37380 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 10:16:00 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37377#msg-37377 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Ivanhoe) -------------------------------------------------------
> Why has no one mentioned Essex?

So as not to frighten the horses?


]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37377#msg-37377 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 09:38:38 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37375#msg-37375 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Jac) -------------------------------------------------------
> Why has no one mentioned Essex?


Indeed, personally I would give it a miss and keep driving into suffolk (sorry LMJJ don't mean it really- well a bit!) Actually Essex near the suffolk border is quite nice, constable country, Ive been to Dedham and stoke-by-nayland which are nice. Aldborough, Walberswick , Dunwich, Southwold and my persoanl favourite Covehithe are all on the lovely suffolk coast. Covehithe is a tiny hamlet witha road that just disappears into the sea. The church is a tiny thatched church built within the ruined walls of a much larger church of which only the tower remains very quaint. It use to be quite a long way from the sea but the sea is fast approaching and I wonder if it will still be there in 30 years time. They are about two and half hours by car from London.]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37375#msg-37375 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 09:15:55 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37374#msg-37374 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Martin Underwood)
BTW: has anyone seen those wonderful adverts in taxis, FT, etc, by Yorkshire First? it features two pictures... the first is a vision of hell, presumably the big evil London... the second, a lovely serene landscape, has the caption "Fear not! There is an answer! Yorkshire!"]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37374#msg-37374 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 09:15:17 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37369#msg-37369 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Siduhe)
Ah, Flamingo Land.

*end nostalgia*

As a North Yorkshire girl I'm probably biased, but my favourite "escape" is to walk from Pately Bridge up to Fountain's Abbey, along to Studley Royal Gardens followed by a late lunch at the Stone Trough in Kirkham. ]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37369#msg-37369 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 00:36:41 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37368#msg-37368 forum@london-se1.co.uk (The Lady Miss Jo Jo) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37368#msg-37368 Wed, 22 Jun 2005 00:10:11 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37362#msg-37362 forum@london-se1.co.uk (red bus) If you are venturing across the Sea I would recommend driving up to the windy North Coast of Northern Ireland ('Norn Iron') - Giant's causeway, enormous unspoilt beaches, castles, good whisky, warm welcome blah blah...

You can rent a car easy enough in Belfast and be driving there 90 minutes after getting of the plane. ]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37362#msg-37362 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 19:36:39 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37352#msg-37352 forum@london-se1.co.uk (deepali) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37352#msg-37352 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 18:08:57 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37348#msg-37348 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Flick) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37348#msg-37348 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 17:10:32 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37347#msg-37347 forum@london-se1.co.uk (sarahmc) Spent 3 years at uni there- and it is gorgeous if you ignore the hordes of rahs in coloured jeans and Fat-Face tops. Maybe the student population is more diverse than when i was there though.
The Cathedral and Castle are a UNESCO heritage site and sit opposite each other on Palace Green at the top of a winding cobbled street.
The view of the Cathedral from the river is breathtaking- In winter i used to be able to see it from my bedroom window.
It's also within striking distance of Hadrians Wall.
]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37347#msg-37347 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 17:06:10 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37335#msg-37335 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Anonymous User) Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37335#msg-37335 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 15:56:17 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37333#msg-37333 forum@london-se1.co.uk (JSG)
I love Holkham Hall and Beach, Brancaster Straithe, Walsingham etc. but what I also like is the wildlife - things like Barn Owls, Partridges and the like - the only time you get to see them in SE1 is in those Hannibal Lecter style displays in Borough Market.

If you are really adventurous - what about the Orkney Islands??

Sure, they are a long way away but thats what makes them fantastically empty and relaxing. If you go in the next few days you will also get the benefit of almost 24 hour daylight! Stay on the mainland but make sure you get the ferrry to Hoy - puffins, turf roofed cottages, cleanest air in GB and friendly locals (not like the rest of Scotland - as they are really Norwegian culturally and were not abused by landowners). Declaration of interest: My parents now live on Orkney...

]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37333#msg-37333 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 15:53:15 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37329#msg-37329 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Ivanhoe) -------------------------------------------------------
> > I'f you are heading into Yorkshire I have to
> recommend the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth, near
> Keighley.

Great place [Haworth], and they also make Timothy Taylors' (lovely beer) there.

They also have two curry houses. One called "The Bronte Balti", where Mrs I and I spent a romantic Valentines Evening while on tour one year. We were told that the other one was more "posh" (the taxi driver's words), but that "T' Bronte Balti's the real thing".]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37329#msg-37329 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 15:24:46 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37317#msg-37317 forum@london-se1.co.uk (markandjoan)
Rievaulx is just amazing - enormous tall Cistercian ruins in a tranquil and undeveloped valley setting - those monks could really pick their spot!

Kirkham Abbey near Castle Howard is also very pretty, nice riverside location.

And add in Whitby Abbey and York Minster (and Beverley minster) and you've got the start of quite a pilgrimage.

My personal favourite (and I never thought I'd have a personal favourite religious site) is St Gregory's Minster near Helmsley, a saxon cathedral (ok it looks more like a Parish church, but it is very very old, and much less domineering than the others). But it's just really small and pretty back in times when everyone was in little more than stone huts with thatched roofs (rooves?).

ok here's a link: http://www.danu.co.uk/gallery/info/churches/stgregorys.html

and here's a picture from that link:
[img]http://www.danu.co.uk/gallery/images/stgregorys.jpg[/img]

I challenge anyone to go to St Gregory's or Rievaulx and not come out feeling relaxed and calm. Unless the sheep get your ice cream of course (at Rievaulx). It only happened once, but I still hold a grudge.]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37317#msg-37317 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 14:19:49 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37316#msg-37316 forum@london-se1.co.uk (Martin Underwood) Not forgetting the wonderful ruins of Cistercian monasteries: Fountains, Rievaulx, etc.
A truly wonderful hotel, with top-notch food, is the Star Inn at Harome, near Helmsley.
This area's certainly worth a plug at the moment, as the Ryedale region recovers after the floods.]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37316#msg-37316 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 14:00:53 +0100 http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37314#msg-37314 forum@london-se1.co.uk (sarahmc) I'f you are heading into Yorkshire I have to recommend the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth, near Keighley.
I must have been there about 40 times since I was very small. The village is very touristy now and often overrun with Japanese and american tourists, but it is definitely worth seeing, plus there are some great walks over the moors- one of my favourite places.]]> Chatter http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/2/37290/37314#msg-37314 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 13:42:58 +0100