Chatham historic dockyard

Call the Midwife!

This was my first coach trip since Bletchley Park last April, booked by Coach Trip chum Chrissie, with Worthing coaches, not too early (8.55am), but no pick-up at Preston Circus, so I cycled down to Pool Valley. We were the only two waiting and after a pick up at Patcham, the half empty coach set off to The Historic Dockyard Chatham, via a coffee stop at Clacket Lane services on the M25.

HM Submarine Ocelot, HMS Gannet and No 3 Slip from HMS Cavalier

Collecting our maps from driver Martin, we made our way to the entrance and not looking where I was going, tripped on a manhole cover and bruised my knee - and ego! We were advised to call in at No 1 Smithery first to book places at the Ropery demonstration and on the HM Submarine Ocelot tour. We declined the sub tour on the grounds of sore old knees and claustrophobia, plus there'd be lots of climbing up and down stairs etc in the course of the day!

Sloop HMS Gannet (1878)

First stop was HMS Gannet, an 1878 Victorian sloop, with hammocks, cannons and rigging everywhere. No engines or boilers to see. We were followed through the day by a party of school kids in what looked like sportswear. Then it was to the Ropery, via a Call the midwife photo opportunity. After an introduction by a shouty Victorian lady we got to see a three-strand rope being made by a very noisy twirling machine in the longest brick building in the world at 1/4 of a mile. Best bit of the day!

Destroyer HMS Cavalier (1944)

Next to the Ropery was a general exhibition on the history of the dockyard, entitled Steam, steel and submarines with figureheads and lots of ship models, including those in the Battle of the River Plate. After eating our sandwiches by the steam cranes, we wandered back past the Nelson Brewery where they make beer with suggestive names, such as the Pursers Pussy Porter, a bottle of which which I bought for £2.70. It was time for a coffee in the Railway Workshop and I was attracted to a spicy butter bean pie on sale from Kent Pies, but resisted. There were only two steam locos in the shed: Ajax and an unnamed 0-4-0ST (Peckett  No. 1903 built in 1936, maybe). I knew they wouldn't be in steam on a Monday.

0-4-0ST Ajax

Destroyer HMS Cavalier (1944) was next, with lots to see above and below decks, lots of ladders to climb up and (facing the ladder) back down again. Here the sailors had bunks, and proper toilets! Its a huge ship with great views from the top, although the man with the wheel had no view at all! HMS Cavalier and HM Submarine Ocelot can both be toured virtually on Google Maps.

No 3 Slip roof

No 3 Slip looks like a modern structure from the outside but it was built in 1838 so that ships could be built under cover. Inside houses all kinds of vehicles and machines, including a section of 'Boring Machines'! You can take the lift or stairs up to look at the amazing wooden roof. Next door is a big collection of RNLI lifeboats. The dockyard closed at 4pm, but is well work a visit - and with an entrance at around £20, the coach trip at £33 was very good value. Then it was straight back, no stopping until Patcham.

Worthing coach

 There's a steam and blues festival on over Easter. More photos on Flickr.

Brussels: trains, trams and Magritte, part 4

Atomium

 Day 5 Monday 8 February: On Mondays most museums are closed, so a long tram or metro trip was in order. And as it was windy and absolutely throwing it down outside, I stopped for a while at the Natural Coffee House on the corner. Bought a croissant from Teddy L and jumped on the 73 tram (temp stop outside the Michael Collins irish pub cos the road was up) to Louise then down to the M6 metro to Heysel and the Atomium. "Built for the 1958 World Exhibition, the Atomium is shaped on the model of an elementary iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times."

ADAM

I was planning to buy a combo ticket, to include the ADAM art and design museum, but the price was considerably higher than the website said (it would have been €14) , and there were hoards of kids in the queue. Also, they warned of stairs, so I figured they'd not repaired the escalators since last I went up it with Jonny the Lodger.

Plasticarium

So I headed back towards the station and into the modern building that is ADAM. It was €8 to get in and very disappointing - unless you love plastic chairs. It was basically the Plasticarium Collection (that I think used to be housed in the Atomium) plus a lot of big empty rooms. The cafe was tiny and the shop expensive. Bad choice, I should have gone up the Atomium. Ah well. I walked up towards the Art Deco building (Palais des Expositions from the 1935 Expo) and back to the metro station.

Palais des Expositions 1935

On the way back I took a detour on the metro to find Central Station, which I did and discovered I was literally yards away  the other day! I bought a crusty sandwich from Exki and skirted the Grand Place heading for Bourse. I'd been tipped off on Facebook (by Tamsin) about an Art Nouveau bar called Le Cirio.

Central station, designed by Horta

It was late afternoon, so first I had a coffee at another Natural Coffee Cafe, then had a couple of Grimbergen dark beers in this wonderful bar. A strange woman on the next table to me, who was eating her way through the not so appetising menu, gave me a praline! Then it was the metro back to Gare du Midi and a try out on tram 81 back to Bailli (one of those older ones with three steps up.) I popped into the Cock's Fresh (yes!) supermarket to buy a couple of cans : Leffe Brune, and Palm, and watched tv in my room. The building work outside went on all night!

Day 6 Tuesday 9 February 2016: I struggled to get my case up the three-step 81 tram in the rain (it was easier getting off). A slightly goth young woman sat opposite me and pulled from a brown paper bag a brand new copy of Mein Kampf, with day-glo cover. I bought another crusty sandwich from the station Exki, had a cappuccino in the departure lounge, and soon I was back in Blighty.

More photos on Flickr.

Brussels, part 3 >

Brussels: trains, trams and Magritte, part 3

Main Magritte museum at Place Royale

Day 4 Sunday 7 February: Today I'd planned to take a tram out of town to the Tram Museum and a vintage ride through the forest, but it doesn't open properly until April! So, it was to be the other bigger Magritte museum, the Musée Magritte Museum, in the city centre, near Royale tram stop. Now, although this has its own building, the entrance and ticket office is round the corner, through security. It's in a complex of four museums so I opted for a combo ticket at €9. After leaving my bag in a locker, we were taken by lift up to the top, and enjoyed three whole floors of Magritte art.

Still not a pipe!

I've seen many a Magritte exhibition - the last one in Liverpool in 2011 - and remember well that Brighton had its own collection courtesy Edward James (long gone), but there are so many more paintings of his to discover, albeit many of them variations on a theme.

Gavin Turk homage

After some cauliflower soup in the cafe (€4 plus €1 for bread), it was downstairs to the Fin de Siècle Museum. This is even bigger than the Magritte museum and doesn't really get interesting (to me) until the deepest rooms, of Art Nouveau paintings and sculptures, including a nice Burne-Jones. There are some very strange ones too, like the waterfall of naked children tryptic by Baron Léon Frederic! Thankfully there was a lift back to the surface and after a quick whizz round the Old Masters to see the Bruegels emerged into the sunlight.

The wee Manneken Pis

Now for some sightseeing. I walked down through the gardens behind the museums, past the impressive Musical Instruments museum and across the Grand Place to check out the wee Manneken Pis and have a De Koninck beer in the Taverne Manneken Pis in front of a roaring fire.

Entrane to La Fleur en Papier Doré

Thus revived it was just a short walk to Magritte's favourite bar La Fleur en Papier Doré, polishing off my leftover sushi. Inside I had a glass of Le Forte and another Leffe Brune (yes, Belgian Special Brew, but I like it, OK?).

Le Fort and some nibbles, that's Magritte second from right

I didn't fancy the veggie stoemp option so it was a walk up to the Sabon and a 73 tram to the hotel and Call the Midwife, followed by War and Peace. There was building works outside, replacing the cobbles between the tram lines, which went on all night!

Road works on Avenue Louise

More photos on Flickr.

< Brussels part 4 | Brussels part 2 >

Brussels: trains, trams and Magritte, part 2

Day 3 Saturday 6 February: After breakfast at the Train Hostel (the egg could have done with a bit longer), I packed my things and took the 92 tram to Bailli and checked in at the Four Points by Sheraton, a very swanky hotel off the Avenue Louise. I'd been allocated the hotel by lastminute.com top secret deal, and it worked out even cheaper than the hostel! I was on the ground floor in 125.

Magritte's flat

 Now, there are two Magritte museums in Brussels and today I was to seek out the one in the suburb of Jette, and luckily the 93 tram went all the way. First I thought I'd walk to the Horta museum nearby, but when I got there late morning I found it didn't open until 2pm! So, I bought a croissant and took the tram to Cimetière de Jette and followed the sign to the Musée René Magritte at 135 Rue Esseghemstraat, arriving as a Spanish couple were outside ringing the doorbell. This house, or rather flat, is where Magritte lived and worked from 1930 to 1954. Coincidentally be died in Schaerbeek!

Magritte's bedroom

After paying €7.50, we were guided round the ground floor of best front room (very Northern), bedroom and dining room, where he painted every morning then cleared away his things for teatime. There is also a smarter studio (Studio Dongo) in the garden where he did his commercial work. The guide pointed out all the features that appear time and time again in his paintings - the fireplace, the windows, the floorboards, the furniture. After donning overshoes, we were led upstairs to wander round two storeys of fascinating ephemera, minor works and recreated 'lost' paintings (his first London show was bombed!).

Magritte's front room, note the 'loco' coming out of the fireplace

Then it was a tram, metro and tram back to the hotel. I fancied some moules frites for supper so wandered over to La Chou de Bruxelles, early to get a seat. It wasn't open yet, so had a beer in a rough pub nearby until 7pm then wandered back to find it was fully booked, and closed on Sunday and Monday! The only eating place I could find on Avenue Louise was Sushi Factory, so I made do with cold sushi and warm miso soup! The chips here are apparently cooked in beef or horse fat anyway! Back at the hotel I had a beer in the bar - Leffe Brune at €4.50 - and retired to watch Casualty.

More photos on Flickr.

< Brussels part 3 | Brussels part 1 >

Brussels: trains, trams and Magritte, part 1

So, I had my e-voucher from Eurostar for £34, they were doing a sale with fares at £29 single to Paris or Brussels (the deadline was sneakily extended!) and I'd just read an article in the Independent on Sunday (10 January 2016) about the new Train World museum and nearby Train Hostel. It was time to start planning what would be my longest solo foreign holiday so far!

Schaerbeek station and the 92 tram to Fort-Jaco

Day 1 Thursday 4 February: The plan was to get to Brussels Midi station, find the tourist info, get a map or two and some tram tickets*. But where was it? Never did find out. I'd forgotten my plug adapter so bought a replacement for €15 at the station. After struggling with a ticket machine, I bought a local train ticket (€2.10) from a human and got the train north to Schaerbeek (pronounced Scar-beek, I think). The Train Hostel was recognisable by the carriage hanging off the roof Italian Job style. I was given room 12 up some metal stairs in the drizzle, that had been converted from a six bunk room to a double, with ultramodern bathroom / wet room. The receptionist got me a beer (a €2 Stella) and after trying to find the pizza place (I managed to walk in a big circle) watched Buster Keaton's The General on YouTube on my iPad Mini. Thank goodness for wifi and my hip flask.

Inside the old station hall

Day 2 Friday 5 February: I'd opted for the €7 breakfast, which was well worth it, what with boiled eggs available… I'd brought my own tea bags! Thence to Train World. After buying my senior ticket for €7.50, I had a bit of trouble getting past the scanner. A woman the other side of the door helped me via sign language - I'd to scan the bar code part of the ticket! The Train World experience starts quietly in the grand hall of the old station, dotted with models of locos and stations.

Hall 1

Then it's outside and into the first modern hall. It was much bigger than I'd imagined. I'd downloaded the app to my iPad so had plenty of time to take it in. And it's quite unlike York, in that it is a journey through time, with dramatic accompanying sound and vision. The app didn't let me miss anything, which I would have done, just wandering. Soon I was in the hall of the star attraction - the Type 12 Atlantic (4-4-0) streamliner 12004 and I took a seat to take it in.

Type 12 streamliner

The museum had all kinds of delights, both wonderful and poignant, like the car smashed up on a level crossing by two trains (the driver survived) and a cattle wagon used by the nazis to transport Belgians to the camps. There was a coach from the Trans-Europe Express and Art Deco panels from the Orient Express. At the end, you are taken up high to walk back through the halls seeing the exhibits from above, and there's a fab train simulator to have a go on that takes you to the future.

Trans-Europe Express

In the cafe (Rn Express) I had carrot soup (€8) plus a whole pile of rocket then caught a 92 tram into town for a recce. I got off at Louise and wandered aimlessly, missing almost any point of interest in the area (I was aiming for Central Station, designed by Horta) and had to jump on a bus to find somewhere more familiar.

Carrot soup at the museum cafe

That evening I did find my way to Pizza Margherita and had a funghi pizza by the wood-fired oven while watching the chef fling the dough about. It was so filling I nearly didn't finish it! Note to self: next trip take a compass!

* I'd planned to buy a MOBIB (a sort of Oyster card) with ten journeys on it - you're allowed an hour to use as many metros, trams or buses to get to your destination. In the end I bought ten tickets at €2.10 each from the machine outside Schaerbeek station. A MOBIB costs €5, so there was probably nothing in it! The paper tickets served me well, I only had to buy one more to see me through the week.

More photos on Flickr.

< Brussels part 2

Pipes beer

Glory be, there is a Pipes beer, brewed in Cardiff. I'm not sure where the name comes from (they had to change it from something else because Pepsi didn't like their Bare Naked brand). Looks like a trip to Wales is on the cards to sample some...

Brighton stone circle

You might have been intrigued by numbered stones appearing off-grid in the pavements around London Road, Brighton. I'd already spotted three: the first I noticed was  No. 33 opposite Aldi, then on that northerly spur of Elder Place I found Nos 49 and 50. After a bit of research on Twitter, I discovered that this was an art project linked to the refurbishment of the old Co-op building, by a group called The Brighton School. (It's funded by Brighton & Hove City Council’s Section 106 scheme for developers and by Recreate, part-funded by INTERREG IV A France (Channel) England and the European Regional Development Fund.)

Anyway, on Sunday there was an urban ramble to walk the circle, facilitated by Cara Courage, and we met at midday by the cash machine to the west of Preston Circus, where to my surprise, we found stone No 1!

No. 2 was nearby and we followed our maps across to the fire station and Duke of York's and on to Stanley Road behind them, where there were lots in people's front gardens. On The Level, there were stones set in grass already growing lichen, which I'd never noticed before, and along the cycle path, which I'd also been past hundreds of times.

We passed the one that started it all for me No. 33, then it was up Cheapside towards the station, where I had the pleasure of taking my bike up the new urban lift.

 
Next stop was the New England Quarter Greenway (somewhere else I'd never been before) festooned with Jon Mills's Loco Works sculptures, which was home to the smallest stone of all, No. 46.

Then it was back to the start, via a car park and some steps (I cycled round them). A pleasant hour and a half of psychogeography, despite the drizzle. I think we may have missed two or three, because of parked cars and overgrown gardens, but why not try it yourself?

By the way, the centre of the circle is not the old Co-op building as I thought it might have been, but somewhere near Providence Place; the diameter of the circle is equal to the length of London Road. The stones came from St Peter's church and the carving was done in New England House. There is no map online, but here's a scan of the ones that were given out.

Venice by train: Part 5. Venice to Brighton, via Milan, the Bernina Express and Zurich

Day 5: Wednesday 28 October 2015
After breakfast, Sam walked me to the Rialto Mercato vaporetto stop and yes, my 48-hour bus pass worked this morning too! Managed to squeeze on to the water bus and got off at Ferrovia, the iron road. Then it was back to Milan Centrale. I took the metro to Moscova and followed the directions to La Favia, which I found mainly by accident.

Milan Duomo

The maid said I could get a No. 2 tram to Duomo so I bought two tickets from the newspaper seller and headed south, trying to remember some landmarks. The cathedral was easy to spot so I jumped off and had a wander through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where women were taking selfies in front of Prada, to La Scala and the statue of Leonardo, then the other side of the square. I caught a tram back and had a beer in the Biffi bar where old men were playing cards and shouting at each other, then back to LaFavia Four Rooms. I was in a sort of apartment on the roof, lots of windows and very well appointed, but no TV! The place had an oriental feel about it - the owners had travelled.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan

That evening I set off for eats, walking through the rain as far as Eataly, near Garibaldi station, but nowhere felt right so I bought a mini pizza and some focaccia at a supermarket and warmed them up back at the B&B in the microwave. And my hip flask kept me company.

Dead loco at Tirano

Day 6: Thursday 29 October 2015
Breakfast was served on the narrow balcony, pre-ordered the night before - scrambled eggs again! Then I set off along Via Volta to Moscova and the Metro to Centrale. The seats were unreserved so I chose a window seat on the right hand side, overlooking the Orient Express. Bad choice! To get the best views of Lake Como, you need to sit on the left side. Nevertheless, the ride to Tirano was pretty scenic.

Inside the Bernina Express

 At Tirano, I checked out the two dead steam locos parked there (we also passed one at Vicenza but I didn't manage a photo) and on the recommendation of the Man in Seat 61 had a beer (media) and wrap (vegetarian: tomato, mozzarella and tuna!) at Margi Bar (the receipt says Margy Bar) overlooking the two stations. There was not much activity and no sign of a train, so at about a quarter to three I wandered over to the ticket office, to be told the first part of the Bernina Express journey - to Poschiavo - would be by replacement bus! Soon we were waved through the border with Switzerland and eventually we got on the train. I was opposite an English couple from Norwich. Although the windows were panoramic, there were still reflections, so it was difficult to take decent photos.

Ospizio Bernina snow

The highest point was Ospizio Bernina (2253m), and there was snow on the platform! Although Switzerland is scenic, and we were up high, it's not a wilderness… there were roads and traffic everywhere. We saw snowy peaks, icy reservoirs and glaciers, but about 5pm, half way through our journey, it started to get dark . The tantalising running commentary kept on telling us we were going over high viaducts and gorges but all was pitch black outside.

View from the Bernina Express

At Chur, the train to Zürich was waiting across the platform and we skirted the lake in the dark. At Zürich I headed towards the river and through the tram station. When I stopped to consult my map a young lady said "Hi, hello!" and I immediately went into embarrassment mode saying "I'm OK, thank you," and dashing across the tracks. Of course it could have been just a friendly native and I regret being so rude, but… I spotted the Hotel de Theatre over the bridge and made for it. In the reception and rooms it had a Audrey Hepburn theme going and the receptionist was very helpful, providing me with a map to the pedestrianised areas of the old town. After dumping my stuff in the tiny single expensive room, I set out for a nightcap.

Chopfab Irish stout

After a walk nearly to the lake, a look in at the packed Cabaret Voltaire, and drawing out 50 Swiss francs from a cash machine, I settled for a dunkel (Chopfab Irish stout) at the Andorra Bar. Back at the hotel, my room had British TV, all channels, so I caught some of Detectorists before bed!

Day 7: Friday 30 October

Another early start, so was up and heading for the station. I bought a bottle of water at the Co-op and a cappuccino and tomato and mozzarella sandwich at the station. The journey to Paris, via Dijon, was uneventful, but I got diddled by the ticket machine not giving change (of a €2 coin) and on the RER between stations, the train stopped at Châtelet–Les Halles. The announcer said something in French and everyone got off, so I followed. On the platform, the announcer said something else and they all got back on again, so did I. Then a train arrived across the platform and everyone rushed over to catch it. I did too, and thankfully it got me to Gare du Nord, where some enormous queues for the Eurostar were waiting… Apparently, cable theft at Lille meant a diversion and delays. Unfortunately I was in a joke seat again so couldn't enjoy the unusual sights. It arrived at St Pancras just over an hour late, so I will get compo. And I was home by the early evening.

Seat with restricted view!

More photos on Flickr.

Venice by train: Part 4. Venice Biennale

Fish!

Day 4: Tuesday 27 October 2015
Tuesday was Biennale day, theme All the World’s Futures. I got up early to look round the Rialto fish market, and all kinds of weird and wonderful seafood was on offer. Next door is an amazing fruit and veg market with all kinds of mushrooms and misshapen tomatoes. We got the vaporetto from Rialto Mercato, our nearest stop and got off at Giardini. There is a mystery stop not on any maps called Giardini Biennale, but it's only a couple of yards from this one. I bought the tickets (my senior one cost €20 and included Arsenale too) and entered the park. First pavilion was Spain with a mixed show, including an adults-only magazine stall, behind a curtain!

Spanish porn

Next was Belgium as we carried on up the left side clockwise, then Holland, then a big general one. Some pavilions has a mixed show; others had a single artist. Some were minimal (like Austria); others were cluttered (like Greece). We did them all except the ones that involved climbing. Then I got a free ride on a very slow fairground ride by Carsten Höller, the slide man. Favourites: the moving tree by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot in the French pavilion, the dazzling revolutionary red and perestroika green room by Irina Nakhova in the Russian pavilion (and the giant pilot's head), and the Japanese keys on red threads by Chiharu Shiota. Not forgetting our own Sarah Lucas in the GB pavilion.

Russian pavilion

I found the pavilions themselves as interesting as the art within, many are art deco and were built for extinct countries. The Yugoslavian pavilion houses Serbia: the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic share a space…

Japan

We could have spent a week in there, but there was also the Arsenale to see! A couple of stops on the vaporetto into town and we're at the Arsenale.

Arsonale

It's big! It's one long thin building which goes on and on and on, about three artists' spaces wide and miles long. We couldn't possibly see it all and some routes were blocked by school parties. Basically, we stopped when something caught our eye. I was taken by a couple of drawing projects: imaginary schoolboy weapons from Abu Bakarr Mansaray (Sinister project 2006) and factory drawings by Joachim Schönfeldt, which were being drawn by some British kids. At the end of the long building, we emerged into daylight to find we'd covered just about half the site, completely cultured out!

Half way?

The flooded Tuvalu (Vincent J. F. Huang, on climate change) and Irish pavilions (Sean Lynch) were nearby, so we visited them and called it a day. We didn't get to see any of the others dotted around the city.

Posh cicchetti, was advised to start from the right

After a beer, some Venetian sushi and a lie down, Sam and Teege treated me to a very posh meal at Alle Corone restaurant in the AI Reali hotel, just over the Rialto Bridge. I had their version of cicchetti, every piece of seafood imaginable that would have fed four, followed by turbot on cauli mash, served with a nice red wine, the first in Italy. We were also treated to an amuse-bouche from the chef of tuna and beans and then some chocolates for afters, and there was a cheesy pianist playing in the next door bar. It was another beer by the canal, near the hotel, then bed!

More photos on Flickr.

Venice by train: Part 3. Venice sightseeing

View from the hotel - the building to the left (out of shot) was the Scottish pavilion

Day 3: Monday 26 October
The biennale is closed on Mondays so today was devoted to sightseeing. I awoke in room 107 to pitch blackness - I discovered that when they turn down the sheets and put out the slippers at L'O, they also close the shutters outside the window. Breakfast was rather good, with scrambled eggs and tutti fruiti alongside the continental stuff - there was even an open bottle of prosecco - and look at the view I had outside, behind me in the breakfast room (photo above). Was the hotel in a former clock factory? I never found out, but there were many clockwork mechanisms in display cases. We walked to Rialto Bridge to buy a vaporetto 48-hour pass for €30 - now there's a lot of steps - and boarded a water bus to Accademia for the Peggy Guggenheim museum (my ticket €12). It's like a miniature Tate Modern, with all the major 20th century artists represented… I loved the Magrittes and Kandinskys. But I got told off for taking a photo of the No Photography sign outside the Jackson Pollock exhibition!

No photographing the No Photography sign!

We then walked past the breathtaking Santa Maria della Salute and got a vaporetto to St Mark's Square where we walked past Harry's Bar and had a sit down, coffee and cake (I went savoury and had a salad club sandwich) outside Florian, where the band was playing - well, you have to don't you!

Teege and Sam rest their weary feet at Florian

After marvelling at the square, and not going up the tower, we took the water bus to the end of the line at Lido, then right back to the end of Line 1 to the bus station P. de Roma, and back again to the hotel.

Squid in ink with polenta and some of Sam's spaghetti

In the evening we had cicchetti (don't be fooled, the guide books say these are cheap - €1 a go, but they really work out at around €3 a bite - we never did find the tomato and anchovies on toast ones like Rick Stein had) and spritz (mmm, love that Campari) overlooking the canal, under a big moon, then found the family restaurant we passed last night (Osteria Trattoria Nono Risorto) and Sam and I split the deal of the day: I had squid in ink with polenta and he had the spaghetti.

And so to bed…

More photos on Flickr.