Billy, Ted, Annie and Kinky Boots (Horsham and London)

Our stay in Horsham was fantastic!  We kept company with two of the most laid back cats, Billy and Ted. 

We spent our evenings cuddling with these charmers while watching reruns of Big Bang Theory and my new favorite British shows, The Chase and Tipping Point.  

We spent our days exploring Horsham.  Horsham is a market town in the county of Sussex.  It is a mix of the very old and the very modern.  We were lucky to be there on Market Day when vendors presented their wares to the public.  We opted for a lemon cupcake and 2 brownies to take home for dessert.  There was also a concert in the Carfax.  The band, or actually small orchestra, was from Brighton and performed music from the Beatles, Broadway musicals, and Disney films.

We walked into city center almost everyday during our stay.  Our walk took us through a gorgeous city park.  The park was a huge green space used by the residents of Horsham.  Of course, we were there during a school break, so of course, there were lots of kids around.

We went into London several times and each time we went by train from Horsham to Victoria Station. It was a real adventure.  Victoria Station was always bustling. I can't say we become pros at riding the trains, but we did gain confidence.  On our first trip to London, we visited Harrod's, rode the famous double decker buses, and did lots of walking.  The tickets that we had purchased allowed us to begin our trip after peak hours in the morning and the evening, meaning we could travel after 10 in the morning and after 7 in the evening. However, our tickets did allow us to ride the buses and tubes within certain zones in London. We traveled into London twice more to see two musicals. The first was Kinky Boots.  For those of you unfamiliar with this musical, it is based on a true story about a man who inherits a failing shoe making factory.  He teams up with a drag queen to make boots for that segment of the population. Needless to say, the boots are a hit at the Milan Fashion Show and the rest is history.

Our next and last venture into London was to see Annie.  Again, we had a great time.  The musical was fun and of course, we knew all the songs! On the way to the theater, we took a train to London Bridge. When we got off at our stop, we found a neat market. We spent some time exploring, the bought some paella for lunch. It was a treat.  We did walk across both bridges, as well as the Millenium Bridge, however, that happened on our second trip to London. We rode the tube to Piccadilly Circus. My, what a busy place! We stopped for a snack before the matinee.

We were lucky enough to hear Big Ben before it was silenced for 4 years
due to construction.

We took our last train ride from Victoria Station to Horsham.  After a fun and fast 8 days in Horsham with Billy and Ted, marvelous day trips to London, and almost daily walks into the city center, we were on our way to Bristol and Bath!

The Charlecote Pheasant and Shakespeare Country

After leaving Chester and Poppy, Chuck and I traveled to Stratford upon Avon to spend a few days before heading to Horsham.  We have found that traveling a relatively short distance (a hundred miles or less) takes a great deal of time over sometimes very narrow roads and many round abouts.  Our journey to Stratford upon Avon took us about 2 1/2 hours but it was well worth it.  The Charlecote Pheasant was a really lovely hotel.  Our room was really nice, also. There was a four poster bed that had tiny lights attached.  It was like sleeping under the stars! We also discovered on our hop on/hop off bus tour of Stratford upon Avon that the four posters were added to beds to keep the critters and other creatures of the night from falling on those sleeping in the bed.  A sheet or cloth was attached to the four posts to catch whatever fell from the thatched roof.

Chuck and I had visited Stratford upon Avon when we were stationed in Ansbach way back in the '80s.  We spent a long weekend over Thanksgiving in London with side trip to Warwick Castle and Stratford upon Avon.  Boy, it has certainly changed! There was not much that we recognized. After riding the bus from our hotel into Stratford upon Avon, we made our way to the hop on/hop off bus for a tour of the city and surrounding area. It was a little cool and a bit windy, but so much fun. The hop on/hop off tour also gives us the chance to decide which places we want to visit on our own. It was decided that we should spend more time at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, the Mary Arden House and the William Shakespeare House. After the bus tour, we began walking around Stratford upon Avon and stumbled upon a group of special needs adults called the Cornerstone Players performing Shakespeare in a park called The Dell. We had such a great time watching this group of thespians performing scenes from many of the works of Shakespeare. It was an afternoon well spent!

Later that afternoon as we walked the streets of Stratford upon Avon, we happened upon a very talented street performer.  I had to video his performance.

We got up bright and early the next morning, boarded the bus and headed back to Stratford upon Avon.  Once again we used the hop on/hop off bus to spend more time at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, visit Mary Arden's Farm, and the William Shakespeare House.  We visited Anne Hathaway's Cottage many years ago and it probably hasn't changed much, but it was like seeing it for the first time. Chuck remembered seeing a bench that was there when he visited with his Mom when he was just a wee child.

From Anne Hathaway's Cottage, we boarded the bus and headed for Mary Arden's Farm.  Mary Arden was William Shakespeare's mother.  This was her family's working farm.  This was definitely the best experience of the day.  The farm is as it was during the Tudor period and the employees were costumed in the fashion of the day and spoke the language of that time period. As we entered, we watched a woman weaving willow baskets. We also went to the watch the falconry show.  Again, it was truly amazing.  The gentleman of the manor used an Eagle Hawk for the demonstration. Tania, the Eagle Hawk, followed his commands and landed close enough to the audience to allow her to be petted. He also demonstrated how silent she flew. 

We were also able 

to attend the midday meal that was typical of a Tudor houseshold. All the food was prepared as it would have been centuries ago.  The foods and customs were explained the the onlookers while the lord, the mistress of the manor, and the servants ate. It was well worth the time spent there.

After our visit to the Mary Arden Farm, we hopped on the bus and headed back to Stratford upon Avon. We stopped for a bite to eat at a little Cornish Pasty Shop. Chuck and I shared a beef and cheese pasty.  It was really good.  I can't wait until we head to Cornwall in October for our housesit. Pasties and Cornish Cream Tea, there's nothing better.
After lunch, we went to the William Shakespeare House. Again, it was well worth the visit.  We met some young men performing snippets from Shakespeare's works and visited with them for a short time before finding a place for our evening meal.  We found a nice little Italian restaurant where we each enjoyed spaghetti before going back to the Charlecote Pheasant. From Stratford upon Avon, it was on the Horsham for our next housesit/petsit with two very laid back cats whose names are Billy and Ted.

I had a coughing fit!

Billy on his perch