Two minute silence on Tuesday!

This latest earthquake may be turning out to be New Zealand's single most tragic event. With the death toll reaching 145 as at Friday’s date and there are still 200 missing. The Prime Minister has called for a two minutes silence on Tuesday to remember the lives lost and to spare a thought for those grieving lost friends or relatives.

What is not being reported by the press is that Christchurch was still in clean up mode from the September 2010 earthquake. Insurance companies were still dealing with damage claims, homes are still un-inhabitable and many more are habitable but still awaiting repairs. This latest earthquake has just compounded the situation making more homes un-inhabitable and putting insurance companies back to square one. There was a shortage of skilled tradesman to carry out repairs previously, this situation can only get worse. Some relief may come from tradesmen crossing the Tasman sea from Australia but they have been having their own problems with the recent floods.

There are reports of people leaving the city in droves. With no where to live, job’s in jeopardy, no electricity or water you cannot blame them for seeking shelter and safety with friend’s and family around the country. There are also reports of rural communities and sport’s club’s getting together and heading for Christchurch to help with the clean up operation which is going to be  colossal once the body recovery phase is completed.

Dot’s son Brent has been working hard behind the scene’s setting up computers in Wellington for the South Island electricity company, Meridian Energy so that they can carry on operating. Presumably their Christchurch office has been affected.

The Government is to announce an emergency package for Christchurch in the next few days while a long term arrangement is finalised over the next few weeks.

Christchurch Earthquake!

www.stuff.co.nz

Our thoughts go out to everyone in Christchurch New Zealand after the devastating earthquake.  Google has set up a website to try and find any relatives or friends here. We were alerted to the news this morning from our friends Elizabeth and John from Narrowboat Helen Louise who own a home there.

This Earthquake is now one of the worst NZ has ever experienced, the Napier earthquake of 1931 which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. It was also more intense lasting for 2½ minutes and totally flattening the city centres of Napier and Hastings killing 256 and injuring thousands.

If the latest earthquake had lasted as long as the Napier earthquake did then I fear the situation could be far worse than the present outcome. One thing is for sure that Christchurch city centre will never be the same again as there will probably be some major demolition of unsafe buildings and rebuilding which will take many years to complete.

With hotels in the city now damaged this may affect the Rugby World cup being held in NZ in September. Any Christchurch events may well have to be moved to other locations.

Brickbat!

After months of unsuccessfully looking to buy some jersey knit sheets, I finally found some online. So last week I ordered some jersey stretch sheets from Tony Textiles in Yorkshire.  We received the order very quickly within a day or so.  Unfortunately the sheets were the incorrect colour.  We sent off an email immediately and awaited a reply.  A couple of days later a replacement parcel arrived with the correct colour.  Great!  What to do now, no instructions on sending the original ones back.  Oh well, repack and down to the Post Office.  Well £7 odd later and they were on their way back up north.  Originally paying only £3.95 for delivery, it cost twice as much to return them.  Still no response from the company so emailing them and asking for the cost of the postage to be returned we received an email to say they would do this.  Checking our bank account I discovered that this had already been done the day before.  Great service although it would have been better to have received an email or instructions in the replacement parcel explaining the procedure at the beginning.

Lavenham

A medieval wool town Lavenham was even more impressive and according to a local retailer, the population doubles during the Summer season with coach loads of visitors. Quaint shop’s, buildings and thatched roof’s along with the Crooked House make this place a real treasure.

Another beautiful village.

More Tudor homes

The crooked house.

The Guildhall in Lavenham, Suffolk.

Elizabeth in front of one of the many flint buildings in Lavenham, Suffolk.

The Bakery with the original ‘Hovis’ sign.

Little Hall in front of the village cross.

Weavers cottages circa 1340.

Real Tudor in this place.

After a long day out the general consensus was take-away’s for tea so it was off to the local chippy  for 4 Cod and 2 large scoop’s of chips, yummee!  After the F & C’s we sat around talking about the days events and boat’s and Motorhomes and before we knew where we were it was 2am. Good grief, time for bed, and due to the lateness of the day John and Elizabeth stayed over for another night. A fantastic week-end was had by all.

Kersey

While in Sudbury on Monday we had our picnic lunch that Dot had prepared earlier and then a bit of sightseeing. Elizabeth then suggested visiting the picturesque villages of Kersey and Lavenham which are recommended place’s to visit. Well, we were not disappointed as Kersey had only 1 main street which runs through a river ford. The village apparently is recorded in the Doomsday Book and a lot of the Tudor style buildings were built around the 1300’s.

Splish splash I was taking a bath. The ford in Kersey in Suffolk.

The village of Kersey dates back to the Doomsday book. This house was built around 1380.

The beautiful village of Kersey.

The Bell public house.

Nicely restored residence.

Derek and Elizabeth at the village water pump in Kersey, Suffolk. The seat is a memorial to a couple named Kersey.

Sudbury

On Monday after leaving Bury St Edmonds we headed off to Sudbury where John had to pick up some connectors from an engineer (Terry) who makes steam gear for steam powered model Traction engines and Railway Loco’s. Of course John and I had to have a look through his workshop which was jammed pack with Industrial lathe’s, drills and presses. One huge machine was picked from a scrap metal merchant very cheaply. With a clean up, oil in the gearbox and a new electric motor it’s now back in working order. Terry had 3 traction engines about a Quarter scale size and 3 x 5 inch scale loco’s. Unfortunately nothing was in steam as Terry was getting them ready for the forthcoming rally season.

5 inch scale model of a Welsh narrow gauge loco.

5 Inch scale model of a Terrier tank loco.

Smokebox and boiler door of a miniature traction engine.

Ruins of the Great Abbey of St Edmunds

Bury St Edmunds Benedictine Abbey ruins.

Elizabeth at Bury St Edmunds Benedictine Abbey ruins

How the Bury St Edmunds Benedictine Abbey were built using flint stone's. Now just ruins.

Bury St Edmunds Benedictine Abbey ruins with the St Edmundsbury Cathedral behind.

Bury St Edmunds Benedictine Abbey ruins.

A museum made from the ruins of the Bury St Edmunds Benedictine Abbey.

A visit to Suffolk

Our good friend’s, John and Elizabeth rang us on Saturday to say that they were going to Sudbury on Monday and would we like to join them. Of course, any chance for a bit of sight seeing was gratefully accepted.

St Edmundsbury Cathedral with the central tower completed in 2005.

They came over on Sunday and stayed overnight. After the morning rush hour was over we headed off under a clear blue sky. Detouring through Bury St Edmunds we found a car park close to the Abbey ruins and the first thing we spotted was 5 parking bays set aside solely for Motor homes with no overnight restrictions, whoopee.

Public car park in Bury St Edmunds. Room for 5 motorhomes.

From here we wandered up through the grounds of the Benedictine Abbey ruins. Just around the corner was St Edmundsbury Cathedral  which looking immaculate turned out not surprising as the central tower had only been completed in 2005 and the organ had been reconditioned in 2010. I would say that the whole building had then been cleaned to closely match the blocks in the tower.

Norman tower and gate house circa 1148 built by Abbot Anselm.

The Altar in St Edmundsbury Cathedral  at Bury St Edmunds.

Looking up the Millenium Tower of St Edmundsbury Cathedral completed in 2005 and the ceiling in 2010.

The Lady Chapel in St Edmundsbury Cathedral  at Bury St Edmunds.

The Organ in St Edmundsbury Cathedral  at Bury St Edmunds completed last year.

First Class Professionalism.

After taking my driving test on Friday for a C1 licence I received this card in the mail on Monday. How cool is that?  Brian and Gary run a truly professional business which I can highly recommend.

Another step closer.

After a disastrous first attempt at obtaining a class C1 driving licence to be able to drive our motorhome, yesterday turned out to be quite the opposite. I changed driving schools to 1st Approach who use a late model Mercedes Sprinter 5 tonne van which was much easier to drive. This fact alone was a great bonus as it meant I could concentrate more on my driving technique and not driving the van. The instructor, Bryan, was very professional and informative and can be thoroughly recommended to anybody wishing to upgrade their driving licence.

Now I have passed the driving test, which seems absurd after 30 years of professional driving, we can now plan what we want to see and do between now and August. It’s a case of back on the move again.

Peterborough Cathedral on a quiet day.

Peeping Tom!

The Peeping Tom Toad which we found sitting on our doorstep after arriving home from Peterborough on Thursday.

Ely Revisited

The home of Oliver Cromwell in Ely with suitably dressed mannequins.

The old Fire Station and house in Ely. Now a restaurant.

A view of Ely Cathedral taken from the side.

The main doors of Ely cathedral.

Ship of the Fens.

Ship of the Fens.  Ely Cathedral

It was too nice a day to stay home in the apartment so we caught the X9 bus to Ely. We got off the bus at Ely Tesco’s where we bought a very cheap lunch of 2 packs of sandwiches, bag of crisps and a Kit Kat with 2 bottles of fruit juice for £4. Then we walked down to the river where we have moored many times in the past. Opposite the marina we found a sunny park bench overlooking the river and had a very nice picnic lunch.

Ely in Winter. Plenty of moorings available here.

The only boat on the move in Ely.

After this we wandered up into town to have a look to see what we may have missed on previous visits.With the councils all talking about cutting bus subsidies we could find ourselves stuck at home more often with the bus companies threatening to cut unprofitable bus routes. So make hay while the sun shines as the old saying goes.

Derek doing some horse whispering.

Snow Drops in Ely 2011.

Businessmen? Yeah Right

Now for another rant. Ringing up or emailing businesses about purchasing their products and services and not receiving any reply. If they are not going to answer their emails why have website advertising? I have been trying to contact Insurance companies for Motorhome insurance and driving schools about my driving licence. After waiting 5 days five insurance companies have failed to respond and likewise 1 driving school. These people or companies don’t deserve to be in business. They are all s**t out of luck now anyway as I have resolved both problems.

On the subject of insurance I had received 2 quotes of £860 and £933 before I decided to Google search for insurance for the over Fifties. This bought up Insurance Choice who have quoted me a mere £320, for exactly the same cover, what a difference!

Photo Rustlers.

After reading Sue’s blog on Nb No Problem this morning about somebody putting one of her photo’s on their blog without her permission we got curious. Searching through Google Images we found a lot of our photo’s, some going back four years, which according to the script attached had been accredited to other blogs. However when you check the source of the photo our name came up. Funnily enough alongside the photo’s on Google Images it states quite clearly that these images may be copyrighted. Originally we had nothing on our photos but now we have ‘© Gypsy Rover’ on them all. Obviously a lot of people ignore this. We actually found quite a lot of our photo’s that had been stolen, some we recall had requested use of the photo and accredited it to us, thank you, but many hadn’t. Unfortunately there were too many to do what Sue did, placing a Raspberry on their site, however we will say, IF YOU WANT TO BORROW OUR PICTURES IT’S ONLY POLITE TO ASK!

Here’s the Answer!

Think about it, ER in 1936? The answer is of course King Edward VIII. Despite his accession to the throne on 20th January 1936 after the death of King George V he was never crowned and this public building is reputedly the only building ever to receive the insignia of Edward VIII.

Due to his relationship with the American Socialite Wallis Simpson, who was a divorcee, the king signed the abdication document on 10 December 1936, after a reign of only 325 days, handing the throne over to his brother Albert who became King George VI, whose story has now been made into the latest movie “The King’s Speech”.