Lost on the moors.......ooooooohhhhhh!!!!!!

"Let me out" didn't make any difference when I yelled it at the station master, he just frowned and shut the door!

My trip to Bath started well enough, despite having to drag my 50 tonnes of luggage all over Paddington Station before finding the right train. I hopped into the comfy seat in the carriage and settled down with my book ready to enjoy the scenery until I was due to change stations at Westbury. We travelled through some beautiful countryside and I was enjoying the quietness of the carriage (there was only two other people), when the voice over the PA said, "next stop Westbury". I knew I'd have to wait there for about an hour before the Bath train arrived, but that was OK because the lady at Paddington had told me there was a cafe at Westbury, so I was looking forward to a coffee and a sticky bun. I got out of my seat, collected my voluminous array of paraphernalia and stood at the door as the train pulled into the station, and there I stayed! I stood and waited, waited, waited for the door to open and nothing happened. I started to get a bit 'edgy', so said to a man sitting close by, "How do I get out?" He flew out of his seat and said, "you have to open the window, put your hand thru and open the door from the outside", all while he was doing just that. As he tried to push the door open the station master came running down the platform......."Shut the door, SHUT THE DOOR" he yelled. "This lady needs to get out" my rescuer yelled back........."NO" boomed the stationmaster and before I could say anything appropriate to the situation, the train had pulled out of the station and was heading into unknown territory!

My rescuer said, "don't worry, you can get a train back from the next station". That's alright I thought, thanked him and sat back down. I still couldn't understand why what had seemed like the Emergency Evacuation instructions printed on the door were actually not for emergencies at all, but were for normal departure from the train!

So when the train stopped at Castle Cary, my rescuer opened the door for me and I disembarked. By the time I had loaded my backpack onto my aching shoulders and looked around, the train was gone and I was on a totally empty station, with the wind blowing a gale and frost beginning to form on my nose and fingers! Without boring you all, the next hour and forty five minutes consisted of me sitting in a tiny shed, rubbing my hands together to try and keep warm and ducking the torrential rain that intermittently blew directly into my little shelter.

The sky was black, the wind was blowing, the rain was pouring, there was no one to be seen..........it was silent apart from an occasional bird who chirped and then flew away (because it had more sense than to stay with me). I started to feel a bit anxious, to be honest, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but kept telling myself, "this is an adventure, there's a reason for me being here". For some crazy reason I began to think about that movie, "An American Werewolf in London", when the young tourist guy is waiting for the train, in the wind and rain, all alone out the back of rural England, and gets attached by a werewolf! I shook my head to try and get rid of the thought. The wind blew in a huge gust, a metal sign banged against the side of the shed, I jumped three foot in the air, my eyes on stalks.............."AND IN THE DISTANCE A BULL ROARED"!

To cut a very long story short, eventually (1 3/4 hours later) a train did come. I quickly hopped on. By this stage a couple of wise local people who were catching this train en route to Bristol had just arrived at the station from their warm firesides and hopped on with me. In my carriage a group of young lads who had in their possession a Claxton Horn, took great joy in frightening each other by blowing it unexpectedly, all the way to Bath. Suffice to say, even though I knew this was going to happen every so often (and each time I SAW it about to happen), I jumped three foot in the air EVERY SINGLE TIME!

I won't bother telling you about my difficulty explaining to the cab driver where I wanted to go once I got out at Bath station, or the drudgery of carting my bags to the door of my new abode, I will end this long winded story on a jolly note. Arriving tired, wet cold and with my nerves shot at the door of Grosvenor Lodge, I was met by the warm and friendly Colin, who escorted me into his beautiful, warm and classic Georgian B & B and showed me to my room where he left me to settle in. The room is beautiful, the bed large and sumptuous with an arctic strength doona and embroidered linen. On the beautifully patina'd dresser there is a porcelain cup and saucer next to the jug and a view from the heavily draped window of the rolling hills..............and that was before I went down to the lounge where the antique dining table was set for breakfast with bone handled silverware, porcelain china (Carlyle pattern!) and crystal candelabra. AAAAAAHHHHHH heaven at last!

I know you're waiting for the moral of this long and sorry tale, but I'm afraid I'm yet to work that out myself. Maybe it's "Good things come to those who wait" or "You don't know what you've got till it's gone", but I'm more likely to think it was all a scheme of my dear old Dad's to give me an opportunity to tell a story that includes his classic storytelling line, "And in the distance......a bull roared"! If so Dad, it's done now, so my ongoing adventure needs no further intercession! Type remaining message over this text.
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Guy's and St Thomas's Charity

A place where the arts are costed into the infrastructure and capital budgets! I was most fortunate to meet with David Jones and Karen Sarkissian at Guy's Hospital in London. David is the E.D of the Charity and Karen the Director of Art and Heritage. Given the history of both the Guy's and St. Thomas hospitals, retaining and building on their heritage is core business for the Charity. The Charity funds multiple cutting edge projects and contributes to education and research. I was keen to gain an understanding about how the arts are incorporated in new capital projects and Karen very generously showed me a number of specific installation commissions and exhibitions they have supported over the past few years, including a beautiful glass installation they incorporated in the rebuild of the counselling/ bereavement area.

They have an extensive performing arts program including resident musicians who provide regular weekly lunchtime recitals, in addition to a writer in residence who works with patients, all supported by the Charity. The Guy's and St Thomas' Charity also supports education and research and is currently providing 4.5M in funding the Modernisation Initiative End of Life Care project for Lambeth and Southwark. This project focuses on establishing partnerships, evaluating the model of care and developing a range of innovative pilot projects (with a special focus on dementia) to ensure dignified death in place of choice for older patients. Of course, I was very interested in this and hope to find out more when I visit with the Director later this week. Follow the link for more information.

An installation funded by the Charity (and Friend's of Guy's Hospital), was one of the first things I noticed as I walked into the Guy's Hospital complex from tube station. It is a wonderful bronze statue of poet John Keats, who trained as a "surgeon-apothecary" at Guy's Hospital in 1815-16. The thing I love, is that this piece isn't just a statue, but a true installation, that invites you to interact. Keats is just sitting there waiting for you to join him on the bench!, a temptation I had to resist as someone had beaten me to it!

I did get to talk to a living poet later in the day though. After leaving Guy's I was a bit thirsty (and it was time for dinner), so headed down to a pub in King's Cross, where I met Finn, a modern day 'angry Irish balladeer", who provided me with an evening of interesting conversation and insight into his view of contemporary Irish attitudes to death and dying. A very educating day, all in all!


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Farewell to "Bud" Tingwell

It was with great sadness that I received the news from home of the death of Charles "Bud" Tingwell! Bud was a great friend to the palliative care sector, not only via his heartfelt performances in Alan Hopgood's play "The Carer", but by his generous promotion of the philosophy and providers of palliative care, particularly in Victoria. It is because of Bud in fact, that I met Alan!

Let me paint a picture for you. I was asked to be responsible for the launch of National Palliative Care Awareness Week in 2005, ( a somewhat daunting task). I was wracking my brains to think of a high profile public figure who would not only understand palliative care, but entertain and educate the audience. We'd managed to get a wonderful venue at Federation Square, catering and all the other arrangements were made and all that was missing was the guest speaker! I don't know how I managed it, but I got a phone number for Bud from the phonebook and rang the number, expecting to speak to his manager or secretary. Lo and behold, when the phone was answered, it was the great man himself! I introduced myself and explained to him what I was after. We talked for some time on the phone and I must say I hung up thinking what a kind and accommodating man he was. Bud put me on to Jo Baker, his manager, to make sure the date was free...........and the rest is history. Bud did an amazing job, and in the true spirit of the man he was, he didn't charge us anything because he believed in the importance of spreading the word of palliative care into the community.

I grew up watching Bud in children's shows on the telly as well as in classic Australian movies like "Smiley" with "Chips" Rafferty and later "The Castle". I saw him in multiple award winning British movies made in the 40's and 50's (of course I saw them in the '70's and 80's), including "The Desert Rats".

There are two roles I will remember him most fondly for, the first of which was a regular segment on "The Late Show" (also a Working Dog production) called "Charlie the Wonderdog" in which Bud played "Gramps", a funny old bloke whose dog could always avert a crisis, despite being visibly dragged along on a lead by the off-screen handler. The second, very poignant role was that of a bereaved husband in "Tulip" directed by Rachael Griffiths in the late '90's. This is a beautiful short film that clearly demonstrated Bud's empathy and humour.

Bud lived an amazingly rich life, a loving wife and family and a body of work that will continue to give joy and entertainment to many in the future. He will be sadly missed, but the thing I will remember most fondly about Bud is that even though he had received an Order of Australia and was a household name for as long as I can remember, he answered his own phone and said "yes" to some woman he didn't know from a bar of soap who called him 'out of the blue' and asked a favour. Now that's generosity!

You can read more about Bud by following the link: http://www.budtingwell.com.au/blog


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The Tower of London........I came, I saw AND they let me leave!

The Tower isn't just a goal, it's a royal village with a unique feel of it's own! My time spent wandering around the Tower of London was another unique experience. Given that it has over 6 million visitors a year, it retains the "vibe" of it's origins. The actual towers (where people like St. Thomas More and Anne Boleyn were locked up) are pretty sad, scary places. Many of them have retained the feeling of desperation and despondency that those imprisoned within the walls must have felt. There are carved names and Roman Catholic symbols in many of the walls (numbers of these etched by Jesuit prisoners), that are a stark reminder of the miserable lives people lived awaiting their ultimate fate (which was more than likely execution). On the green there is a memorial to people who were beheaded or hung and numbers of people who were buried in unmarked, unconsecrated grounds within the walls were exhumed and reburied in the Chapel Royal of St Peter and Vincula (including Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves) by Queen Victoria.

The Waterloo Block which houses the Crown Jewels is a sight to behold and there is a great display explaining the excavation and preparation of a number of the significant stones that are incorporated in some of the crowns (including the Cullinan 1 diamond and Koh-i-Noor among another 23,000 plus diamonds!). The Yeoman Warders (commonly called "Beefeaters") provide a great tour full on interesting information, wit and whimsy, but I found it immensely interesting that they have to be active armed forces personnel for 23 years and reach the highest rank (for an enlisted man) before they are eligible to apply for a position as a Yeoman Warder!

There is so much to see in the complex and I was lucky that currently there is an exhibition called, "Henry V111: Dressed to Kill", which comprises armour, weapons and sporting equipment that belonged to the famed Henry (including the worlds oldest soccerball, made from a pigs stomach wrapped in cloth). How those blokes walked around in all that chainmail and armour, I haven't a clue, let alone the poor horses who had to carry them in addition to being covered in their own armour from nuzzle to tail! I also found it surprising (even though it WAS the fashion of the day) that the suits of armour included an insitu codpiece! It reminded me of "Blackadder", in fact the whole time I was walking around The Tower of London, I was expecting to see "Baldrick" lurch around a corner, covered in filth on some errand for "Sir Edmund", but the closest I got was walking past a peasant asking a group of French high-school kids if they liked "blood and guts", the appropriate response to which, none of them seemed to know!

I once again showed my antipodean ignorance when I asked the Yeoman Warder why there were so many crows around on Tower Green (I thought it must be to do with people leaving around scraps of food from their lunches). To which he let out a hearty "HA.........you don't know your history girlie", which I must say I thought was a bit harsh, but I wasn't saying that to a man who had spent at least 23 years in the army! The "crows" it turns out are actually ravens (der!) the famous "Guardians of the Tower" who were protected (it is said) by Charles 11 and were seen as a good omen, in fact Charles is attributed with saying "If the ravens leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall........" So obviously everything is done to keep them happy, including having a "Raven Master" who looks after them (whatever that means) so that they won't WANT to leave!

I even saw a recreation of the bed of Edward 1 ("Longshanks"), the nemesis of William Wallace. He was called "Longshanks", not because he liked to eat the legs of sheep all lined up in a row, but because he had very long legs himself! In fact he was 6 foot 2 inches tall (they know this cause they opened his tomb and measured him). They say the bed was portable, as he had to take it everywhere with him. The bedroom recreation also has samples of the mattress, sheets, blanket, pillow and furnishings that you can touch....................sure am glad I didn't live in the 13th century cause there's no way I'd be able to sleep on one of those mattresses!

So the Tower was a great place to visit, and I've only given you a "sniff" of what it was like, but I have attached a few photos, so you can see some of the highlights (including one of 16C Jesuit graffiti, Baldrick look-alikes and "Longshanks" bed).
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Of things Spiritual...................

There's so much religious history in London. There are Churches of every persuasion, young, old and ancient, many of which I have always been eager to visit. One in particular is the Temple Church (and may I say, well before a certain novelist made it a "must see" for conspiracy theorists), which on my third attempt I found open. I had gone down to New Temple when I first arrived, walked around and sat in the gardens, but couldn't find the Church. The second time I actually found the Church, but it was closed (as the choir was practicing for a performance of Handel's Requiem (very apt!), so I sat on a concrete bench outside for a while and just listened. Finally I made sure I got there when it was open and I was so glad I did! Apart from the Knight's Tombs (which everyone makes a bee-line for), the leadlight windows are stunningly beautiful and I stood for ages just watching the sunlight move through them, transforming the floor into a multi-coloured tapestry of light. The nave of the church is beautiful, despite a number of "restorations" (including one beginning in 1678 by Christopher Wren). The "Round" is where most people focus their interest, because this is where the tombs are and surrounding the walls the "heads", originally made of Caen stone, but replaced in the 1820's (during yet another refurbishment), with heads made of Portland stone. They are truly ugly, one picking his nose, one having his ear chewed, others with horns and all with ugly grimaces.........it reminded of something Mum used to say when we "pulled faces" when we were kids, "If the wind changes you'll be stuck like that", I wondered if this was what happened to the poor models for these heads?

My spiritual quest has also included attending Evensong at both St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey. These are two absolutely amazing Anglican cathedrals, the architecture of each illustrating their original functions. Westminster Abbey is obviously a monastery church and a beautiful one at that! Walking around and seeing the burial site and memorials of Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Geoffrey Chaucer, Anne of Cleves, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Sir Lawrence Olivier etc. is extremely moving. The building itself is in the process of being extensively restored and you can see the effects of the years on the architecture, but you know, I actually like that!

My experience at St. Paul's was totally different. It wasn't being surrounded by the graves of so many eminent people that moved me, but the music of the place. There's something about the acoustics that makes you feel that you are "wrapped up" in the music of the choir, surrounded by angelic voices that make you feel weightless. My heart felt like it would explode.............it was absolutely awe inspiring! Afterwards I walked out onto the steps, just hoping I might see he "bird- lady", but alas, she was nowhere to be seen. Ah, well!

So I'd better get myself to Westminster Cathedral (the Roman Catholic cathedral) next before I'm excommunicated! But before that, it's off to the Tower of London for me (anyone notice the irony here???????)

Photos (from bottom up): 1. Temple Church 2: Westminster Abbey 3: St Paul's Cathedral
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Churchill Trust U.K and British Museum

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in the United Kingdom I was lucky to meet with Major General Jamie Balfour CBE, Director General at the offices of the Trust here in London. Getting there was my first major challenge as it meant not only buying a ticket and getting on "the tube", but also changing stations midway through the journey (which was a little daunting). I must say, if you just get in among the crowd and allow yourself to be carried along by the throng, how easy it is to navigate the system! To be perfectly honest, I hardly had to think about it and any queries I had I just asked one of the very helpful people at the ticket box and was given simple instructions about platforms, directions and changes. I was stunned by how many trains come and go so regularly. I think the longest I waited on a platform was 3 minutes (a bit different from home). It was also really easy to get a seat! Even if there wasn't one when I first got in, by the first stop I was sitting comfortably reading my book like a local!

Jamie was very welcoming and informative, advising me that he had been visited by Mike White (a fellow 2008 Fellow) only a week before. The U.K Fellowship program works a little differently from the Australian program, but I was interested to know about the achievements of some of the past U.K recipients.

After leaving the Trust offices, I headed to the British Museum (another couple of trains, but I was really getting the hang of it by now)........boy, I really should have allocated a week to look around the museum alone! What an amazing collection of gigantic things, statues, columns, tombs from Egypt, Greece, Asia........all over the place really. I had to elbow people out of the way to get a good look at the Rosetta Stone, but it was just as awesome as I had always imagined. I think I took about 360 photos at the Museum alone, but interestingly the building itself is equally as impressive as the exhibits. It's a bizarre feeling walking around among treasures from antiquity, it makes you feel so small and insignificant and yet at the same time so much a part of EVERYTHING! I guess that's the "unified field" for you!

I must admit, I did show my ignorance (quite proudly) by asking one of the information people where the English history displays were (seeing I'd walked for miles and seemed to be getting no closer to anything from iron age, dark age or medieval Britain). The lady said "oh you're looking fro room 46", and I guess I was! So I made my way, back through the noisy throngs of school kids, up the great marble staircase and wondered thru Roman Britain, Iron and Bronze Age and Medieval Britain (of course I did it all out of order........I'm not too good at following signs), looking at jewellery, pottery and ceramics, weapons etc. until I came across a small case that contained a real gem. It was the wax death mask of Oliver Cromwell! I must have stood there for ages, just looking at it.......it was so amazing, I just kept waiting for the eyes to open and for him to say, "Welcome to the British Museum madam".

After I tore myself away from Mr. Cromwell, I went down and walked through the Living and Dying exhibition which displayed ritual clothing and accouterments used by diverse historic and contemporary communities to celebrate life and memorialise those who have died (see I am keeping on message!)

By this time my feet were blistered, my shoulders were aching, so it was off to the pub for dinner and then home to bed, ready for another day of exploration and education.
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"They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace, Christopher Robin went down with Alice"

I believed A.A. Milne but when I arrived at Buckingham Palace, there was no Christopher Robin and no Alice! My walk down to the Palace though was weird, I kept seeing all these names of places I had been building little green houses and red hotels on for years! Of course there was no "Molly Carlile Hotel" on Regent Street, Oxford Street, Pall Mall or the Strand.......so no collection of rent, no pass "Go" and collect $200 (bummer, I could do with it!) It's just extraordinary to walk around and look up at these street names I have known since I was a child and see them in reality. I walked for miles today (in fact am absolutely exhausted), to Temple complex, along Victoria Embankment, to Whitehall, past 10 Downing Street and on up to Parliament Square via St James Park. I also went to the museum of my benefactor, Winston Churchill and visited the Cabinet War Rooms. The Churchill Museum is spectacular and the War Rooms really give you a feel for what it must have been like stuck down there under "the slab" scouring over maps and planning strategy while bombs rained down on the city. It all gives you a really good insight into Winston the man, I must say there are a number of really funny quotes included in the exhibition, so I gather he was a bit of "stirrer" in his few moments of respite. After spending quite some time with Winston, I headed off up Birdcage Walk to Queen Victoria Monument and Buckingham Palace. By this time, I must admit, I was a bit weary (hence why I may have missed seeing CR and Alice), however was soon shaken from my "tracked out" state, by a lovely young guy from Belgium who was with a group of friends and their teacher. He asked me if I would put on a hat they had made and have my photo taken in front of the monument.......it was part of their media course. "Sure" I said, then asked them what it was about. They laughed and then told me that they had to make a "Queenly" hat and then convince some passerby to put it on for a photo! I WONDER WHY THEY PICKED ME????? Maybe he saw my previous effort on the Blog and thought I was impressive? Seriously, this whole getting dressed up like the Queen thing is getting a bit scary! I agreed to do it (cause I'm a nice accommodating sort of person, (plus I don't think they understood a word I said,so there was not point arguing) but a note to all.........this is my "swan song", I won't be dressing up in any sort of royal regalia at any time in the future! I have officially retired from impersonations of any kind (for the time being anyway).

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. From Buckingham Palace, back down The Mall to Admiralty Arch, past Nelson's Column (which seemed to be following me all day), past the Coliseum, St Martin in the Fields (where they often do "Songs of Praise"....bet you wonder how I know that?!) and then to Covent Garden (in keeping with my fixation with Charles Dickens, by this stage I found myself humming, "ya gotta pick a pocket or two boys" alternating with "feed the birds, tuppence a bag"...........) a bizzare mix I'll give you that! To truly get into the spirit of things, for some reason I started calling everybody "luv", amazing the impact of childhood stereotypes, when you want to feel like you belong somewhere. By this stage my feet were blistered, I was tired and hungry, so what better way to get the energy to make it back to Bloomsbury, but to stop at a pub and have a nice cold lemonade???!!! I don't remember much about the walk back as I was so tired I just marched all the way back to the hotel (of course stopping to look at Freemason's Hall on the way). I collapsed into bed with my head full of pictures and sounds and my camera groaning with the volume of photos saved in the memory card and that was my first full day in London.

Don't think it's all just fun and frolicks though.......I did work today, for as Eliza Doolittle would say, "I'm a good girl I am!", but I'll tell you all about that in the next entry as it's been another full on day and I'm ready to "hit the hay", but before I go, the wonderful Jane Fennessy from Blue Vapours has added a comment option to the Blog, so for those of you who don't have time to send me an email, you can simply leave me a note in the comment box (be mindful I can choose whether to delete it or not, so be nice!)
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