You might recall that I used to make an annual trip to London that was organised by one of my former work colleagues. Sadly last year’s trip was the final one but another excuse to travel to London at the same time of year arose. We were meeting up for an evening meal with family members to celebrate a young lady’s qualification for her degree as an accountant. We drove to Wolverhampton and caught a train to London. We had hoped to have tea and a bacon sandwich but they had sold out of bacon sandwiches because the train had come from Edinburgh.
During the journey we looked up things to and decided to visit Apsley House which was the home of the 1st Duke of Wellington and currently houses his collections. Due to the lack of food on the train we planned to stop for lunch on the way to Apsley House. The first place we tried had about an hours delay for food. This didn’t fit with our plans so we carried on walking and arrived at Apsley House without finding anywhere else that sold food. This led to a long walk before we found any food outlets. As we were walking it had started to rain quite heavily so I was unable to take photographs because of juggling my handbag and umbrella. By now it was getting past lunchtime and nearer to the evening meal so I elected to have a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
After eating we made our way back to Apsley House where we enjoyed the picture galleries and collections. By the time we had finished it was time to make our way to the restaurant; Madison. This venue had been chosen for its roof top views over St Paul’s Cathedral and the city. We arrived at the appointed time and found that all the other guests apart from the main party had arrived. We waited and waited and some of us began to wonder if we would be able to dine there because it is a restaurant that books time slots rather than allowing you to have a table for the night. Eventually the missing people arrived and a good evening was had by all.
All too soon it was time for us to leave in order to catch our train back. The train was waiting on the platform when we arrived, allowing us to get straight on. It was a good job we had pre booked and reserved seats because the train was packed. Once the train had set off Mr C went to the buffet carriage to get drinks. When he returned he paused briefly by his seat before walking off into the next carriage, much to my amusement and also of the people who were sitting opposite. One gentleman jokingly asked if I had done something to upset him to which I replied, ‘I don’t think so’. A little later the same gentleman said, ‘He’s back’ as Mr C re-emerged into our carriage and made his way back to his seat. The rest of the journey ran smoothly without any further incident.
I am not sure if the 1st Duke of Wellington was a totally good man, but Apsley House is a fun place to tour and the collections are super. I originally visited The Museum Room to see Napoleon’s huge Egyptian dinner service, a gift to a heartbroken Josephine.
Did you see the egotistic statue of Napoleon?
CherryPie
I don’t mind that a statue is tall, steroidal and nude. But depicting Napoleon as the Roman god Mars, the peacemaker, is just a bit too much
HaHa
That is what we think too.
I am also amused about the story of the fig leaf which is not part of the statue. It was a added so as not to offend English sensibilities. During WWII a bomb fell nearby and the implosion caused the fig leaf to drop off much to the consternation of the caretaker who quickly put the fig leaf back in its former position.
Hee hee. Easy to get lost on trains with all the carriages looking the same.
Bless him, he had forgotten to take notice of the carriage numbers as he walked back from the buffet car. It was just odd that he paused for a moment by his seat before carrying on.
This is great that you finally went to visit London inspite of all excuses dear Cheri!
I feel happy for young lady who celebrated her degree !
One of my son’s friend studying in London and she told that Umbrella is permanent part of her carrying along stuff everyday ,being from bright sunny part of land it sounds exciting as we wait long for rains during year
Duke house looks marvelous place .
train journeys can be memorable for such various incidents ,glad you travelled safely my friend!
This year in England it has not been a good summer. Lots of wind and rain apart from a couple of weeks, one early in the year and one over our August bank holiday.
I am happy for the lovely young lady too
We enjoyed our day trip to London
“As we were walking it had started to rain quite heavily so I was unable to take photographs because of juggling my handbag and umbrella. ”
Thought you were the lady of six or seven arms, given the shots you get. But turns out you’re human.
If it wasn’t a busy city centre and me needed to keep my bag safe I would have been able to hold an umbrella and take photos
Even so, I am only human. A photographer have their techniques
Well, you had a good evening anyway… I must say I wasn’t that much impressed with Apsley House – thought it needed a bit of tlc and it was irritating not being able to take photos. The exhibits were good, though. As to not having enough bacon sandwiches because the train had come from Edinburgh, I suspect the real reason was that Virgin Trains had messed up their ordering? Mind you, they do eat a lot of bacon sandwiches in Edinburgh, so you never know
It has recently been renovated, reopening earlier this year. We enjoyed the displays including dinner services with their ornate paintings that we were advised had not been on show for 200 years.
I agree about the photography, it is annoying that it is not allowed.
We nearly upgraded to first class for £15 so that we could have the free breakfast. What a good job we chose not to!
You must have been exhausted after a day like this, Cherie
It was a little tiring.
It’s been many, many, many years since I visited Apsley House.
Back then indoor photography was not allowed.
Did they change the policy?
Did you walk across the busy road to visit Wellington Arch too?
I saw it free on London Open House
Photography is still not allowed, although I am not sure why.
On this occasion we didn’t visit the Wellington Arch but we have visited in the past on a sunny day