That's All, Folks

That's it. It's over. We are back in South Australia and we are ready for a loooooong sleep. In the middle of the day. We got back last night and actually made it to the Lockleys Hotel in time for dinner.

Huge thanks to Brian and Sarah, for instigating this whole thing and organising the itinerary, accommodation, car hire, football tickets, and so much more. Thank you also to Mum, Anne, and John, as well as Brian and Sarah, for coming along and making this, for me, the trip of a lifetime. I really mean that. I will travel to the UK again, and other places, at some time in the future, but there will never be another trip like this one. This was special. We somehow captured lightning in a bottle. I am sad now that it is over, but I am much more happy that we did it together. 

Thank you also to you, dear reader. Without you there is no travelblodge, and yes, I am sticking with that name. I have received nothing but very positive feedback, and for that I am very grateful.

I have more photos that I will post here in the next few days, but for now the journey is over, and it is time to rest.

Wish you'd been there.

And Now, The End Is Near

Here we are in Doha, once again, halfway between London and Adelaide. We were just on our phones, about to book a table at the Lockleys Hotel for dinner, when we were advised that our flight has been delayed. So we shall sit here and wait for another three hours, "unmedicated", because the bars are closed, due to Ramadan.

Wish you were here.

Liverpool? Again? Really?

Yes, really. Liverpool. It was so much fun the last time that my travelling companions wanted to do it again. i was only in Liverpool for one night the last time, so didn't really see much of it, but the others had three nights there and had a blast. This time, we checked into the hotel and then went straight to the Cavern Club, and there we stayed until they closed, just before midnight. It was absolutely fantastic. We somehow managed to score a table near the stage, and on the stage, there was a guy playing a guitar and singing. We spent the whole night singing along to Beatles songs and other classic rock hits while downing quite a lot of Guinness. Enormous fun. 10 out of 10. Would do again.

In the morning we went looking for some Beatles-related landmarks. We found Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, and the grave of Eleanor Rigby. We had lunch at the Salvation Army cafeteria at Strawberry Field, then found a charity shop called Claire House, and I donated the long coat that I bought last week in Clydebank. It was much too big to fit in my suitcase. Then we headed out of Liverpool for the final leg of the drive down to London. We have one more night to go in the UK.

Wish you were here.

The Beginning of the End

Farewell to Bonnie Scotland. The long journey home has begun. We drove out of Glasgow on Tuesday morning after dropping Johnno off at Glasgow airport. It was another sunny but cold day in Scotland and as we drove past snow-covered fields, the phrase "Winter wonderland" kept occurring to me.

We stopped at Durham to have lunch with our cousin, Julia. Julia is a beautiful soul who has been cursed with chronic illness. She couldn't make it to Clydebank for our family meet-and-greet, so we decided to bring the mountain to Mohammed. I would not have felt right leaving the UK if we had not made the effort to see Julia, and I think all of the others felt the same way. It was a brief lunch date, but totally worth it.

Then back on the road, heading straight for London, right?

Right? No? 

Wish you were here.

Dear Old Glasgow Town

I ventured out on my own today. I took a train from Dalmuir, where we are staying, to Glasgow. I spent a few hours walking around and taking photos. I am glad to say that I walked the length of Sauchiehall Street in yet another moment where I had a moment.

Wish you were here.

The Bonnie Bonnie Banks

This morning, we all attended Mass at Our Holy Redeemer's church (OHR), and we were once again joined by Mum's friend, Beatrice. Mum and Dad got married in OHR in 1966, with Beatrice as Mum's bridesmaid, and I was Christened there in 1968. It is a beautiful old church, with many stained-glass windows, statues and gothic-style architecture. After the service, we were standing near the front of the church, chatting and taking photos, when the organist started playing the Australian National Anthem for us on the pipe organ at the back of the church, which was nice.

This afternoon, we drove to Loch Lomond with Beatrice, and we were met there by our cousin, Eddie, and his partner, Gemma. We were hoping that it would snow while we were there, but it only rained. We had a lovely lunch at the Duck Bay Hotel, and we all wore bright pink in honour of our sister, Claire. Claire would have loved all of this. It was yet another surreal moment for me, being there after having sung about Loch Lomond for many years.

Wish you were here.

Aussie Hollands in Clydebank

On Saturday morning we went to a part of Clydebank called Whitecrook. Mum grew up in Whitecrook, and we took her to visit some of the houses and streets from her childhood. We didn't go into any houses of course; we just walked and drove around the streets. We also visited Mum's friend, Beatrice. I think this was a nice walk down memory lane for Mum. We also visited Hamilton Street, where we lived just before leaving for Australia, but the building we lived in was demolished many years ago, and in its place now is a carpark (paging Joni Mitchell).

In the afternoon, one of the local pubs hosted an event for us called Aussie Hollands in Clydebank. Many thanks must go to our cousin, Scott, for organising the event and setting up the room with Australian flags, koalas, kangaroos, and a buffet. We put the word out a few weeks ago, inviting all our relatives to come, meet, and spend the afternoon with us. I don't know how many people turned up, but it was a lot, and I very soon gave up trying to remember how we are all interconnected.

Very special thanks to all who travelled to Clydebank for the event, including some who came from Ireland, and our cousin, Terry, and his daughter, Brooke, who travelled from Montrose and Edinburgh, respectively. It was great to meet/catch up with new and old faces alike.

Wish you were here.

Edinburgh

Today was the coldest day we have had on this trip so far. We had a late night last night, so it was a bit of a struggle to get going this morning, for me anyway. But we managed to catch a train from Dalmuir to Edinburgh at about 10 o'clock. Mum decided to stay in Dalmuir today, so it was just the five of us "youngsters". It snowed in Edinburgh this morning, but by the time we arrived, at about 11:30, the snow was gone. We actually got some sunshine while we were there, but almost no warmth from it.

We walked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle, but did not go in. We wanted to take an open-top bus tour of the city first, and then go into the castle in the afternoon if we had time. It turned out that we did not have time, but that's OK. The bus tour was great, but I only took one photo, due to being so cold. Instead of completing the whole tour, we got off the bus a couple of stops early and went into the very posh Caledonian Hotel for a drink. Then we walked around the back of Edinburgh Castle, and back to the train station for the return journey to Dalmuir.

We loved Edinburgh, but it was obvious that the areas we went to today, mostly around the Royal Mile, are entirely touristy. Every second shop sells souvenirs and/or authentic Scottish fare like tweed clothes and hats, cashmere scarves, kilts, tartans, and coats of arms. All of the eateries and coffee shops sell haggis and cullen skink. There were tourists everywhere we went, including us. We agreed that it was better to be there now though, despite the cold, than in the Summer when the tourists are probably wall-to-wall, and you probably have to queue for everything.

Tonight I am relaxing in the flat on my own. The others have all gone to our cousin's house. I just felt done when we got home from Edinburgh and I needed a rest. We have a big day coming up tomorrow.

Wish you were here.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Wish you were here.

A Handy Tip

I probably should have mentioned this earlier (better late than never) but if you are reading this Travelblodge on a phone, you can improve your reading experience by tapping the link that says "View web version". You may also want to turn your phone sideways to increase the text size. Thank you to Michaela for pointing this out to me.

Wish you were here.

Hail Hail!

Another day, another bucket list item accomplished. The big story of today is our trip to Park Head to see Celtic take on Livingston. Huge thanks to our cousin, Joe, for securing match tickets for us. The seats were great, and we had an excellent view of the match.

Earlier, we went to the local shopping mall to pick up some Celtic merch, and to meet Mum's old bestie, Beatrice. Most of us also bought warm Winter coats because we figured that the ones we brought with us would be inadequate for a night in a football stadium in Glasgow in Winter. 

We had lunch with Beatrice at a beautiful little pub called Chandlers. Later, our cousins (second, third, whatever), Pat and Niall, very generously drove us to Park Head. After the match they very generously drove us back again. We were all more rugged-up than we had been all holiday. Personally, I was wearing thermal long johns, jeans, chinos, a thermal long sleeve t-shirt, a shirt, two jumpers, two pairs of thick bamboo socks, hiking boots, my newly-acquired coat, gloves, a scarf, and two beanies. I am happy to report that I was not cold.

The match itself was very one-sided. One interested onlooker (me) estimated that Celtic had about 80% of the possession, and most of the play was within striking distance of Livingston's goal. Despite giving away a penalty in the second half, Celtic won the match 2 - 1. A good result for us Celtic fans, and a great night out was had by all.

Wish you were here.

Bonnie Scotland

Today was, once again, mostly occupied by travel. We left Blackpool this morning in the rented people mover, and stopped to take in the views of Lake Windermere, at the fantastic Wateredge Inn. Not long after that, we stopped for lunch at the Old Toll Bar, just over the Scottish border in Gretna Green. Here, I took a selfie with the sign that says Scotland Welcomes You. This was quite an emotional experience for me; my first moments in Scotland since I left as a toddler.

The afternoon was spent driving from Gretna Green to Clydebank, the city where I was born. I don't want to overuse the word "surreal" in this rambling chronicle, so I will just say that it feels good to finally be here, and that in a strange way, I feel like I belong here, even though I am really just a tourist. This is where I came from, so this will always feel like home.

Wish you were here.

Blackpool Rocks

Today was another travel day. We left Liverpool in a hire car (people mover) and ended up in Blackpool. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a great little pub called the Pig and Whistle, in Preston.

It is clear that Blackpool is very much a Summer tourist town. Many of the businesses that we saw along the seafront today are closed for the Winter. I would love to be here in the Summer to see this place thronging with people and sounds and lights and, let's be honest, some warmth. We did have some fun at a place called Coral Island, which is a very large amusement arcade/casino, and had drinks at a Wetherspoon, which was on my to-do list.

Yesterday I said that we would be heading to Scotland today, but I was mistaken. Tomorrow we shall venture North to search for that mystical land that the inhabitants call Scotland.

Wish you were here.

Hello Liverpool

Today I travelled by train from Wrexham to Liverpool, and once again, I enjoyed the train journey very much. I arrived in the early afternoon and met up with my travelling compadres. Two of our group had gone to Anfield to watch a football match, and the rest of us watched the match at a pub. Tomorrow we shall venture North to search for that mystical land that the inhabitants call Scotland.

Wish you were here.

Cymraeg

That means Welsh.

One thing that I like about Wales is that Welsh is everywhere. That is to say, English and Welsh are both everywhere. I wasn't really expecting that, because English is by far the dominant language, and only about one third of the population speaks Welsh.

So it was nice to see Welsh on all of the signage, because you could learn a bit of Welsh just by reading the signs.

Wish you were here.

Up The Town

Today was another surreal day of seeing places and people that I had only ever seen on TV. It started with breakfast at the famous Turf Hotel Butty Van, and ended with Wrexham vs Millwall at the Racecourse ground.

Wayne from the Turf Hotel did manage to secure a match ticket for me, so I met with Wayne right after breakfast to pick that up. He is such terrific guy, and I am very grateful to him. Then I went for a walk into town. I saw a few things that I recognised from the Disney documentary series "Welcome to Wrexham", including the leaning miners statue, and Zerno Cafe, the coffee shop established by Ukrainian refugees. I had coffee and cake at Zerno Cafe, and it was great.

I went to the Turf for a pint before the match (it was definitely five o'clock somewhere) and I met some Americans, Irish, Germans, Australians, and some Welsh people who were also in "Welcome to Wrexham". I was a bit starstruck and probably fangirling, but I got some selfies with them, so I'm happy with that. Everyone was very friendly and the mood was one of happy camaraderie.

The football match was great. Our team played well, their team played well, and it was an exciting game. Sadly, the result did not go our way, but that's football.

Early on in season one of "Welcome to Wrexham", Rob and Ryan are discussing their upcoming first trip to Wrexham. Rob says, "I just want to go to the Turf Hotel, drink Wrexham Lager, and watch Wrexham play at the Racecourse." At the time, I thought "Me too!", and today I did all those things.

Wish you were here.