The journey begins…
Read three tales of twisting turns and grand adventure, hear of the amazing manoeuvring skills of one Japanese-made Isuzu as it does a 180 and heads back to London for the missing documents, savour the odes to Belgium men’s rooms and discover the beauty of the Cologne cathedral!
Steve Dew-Jones
Our first day was long, but not unrewarding. Setting off from home in Hammersmith, it took until around Brixton to work out that we had left the passports behind. Problem number one. The Isuzu was soon spun around in an athletic 180 manoeuvre by Bryn, and we had lost thirty minutes by the time we were back in Brixton, passports retrieved.
The challenge ahead was simple: we had two hours to reach Dover to make the 11.35 crossing to Calais. Now this was a Saturday morning in Central London and the traffic was building, but with a bit of encouragement from an excitable Steve (yours truly) and some hair-raising driving from Bryn, we reached the port with thirty minutes to spare.
The crossing was smooth and quick, before it was time for Sophie to take the hot seat for her first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road. After a brief spot of trouble with the immobilizer and the usual few minutes’ worth of bother with the indicator (it’s on the wrong side. Bryn blames the Japanese), Sophie handled the driving well enough.
Passenger-seat-bound as I was, it was tricky not to gasp as she tended to drift slightly closer to the left than I would have preferred, and I have to confess to being relieved when, not long after we had passed into Belgium, Sophie confessed to falling asleep at the wheel, and I was thrust into the chair.
Driving on the right isn’t so bad whilst on a motorway. It was only really once we’d returned to city driving that we encountered any problems at all. Köln was the first scheduled stop – the
Hyatt hotel to be specific – and it took us a fair old while to navigate ourselves around the city until we had finally arrived at our plush quarters.
“Zwei grösbiers und zwei weißweins” were soon ordered (for boys and girls respectively) and we wandered the city streets for a few hours until our weary heads could stand no longer.
Jo Dew-Jones
We have, thus far, departed from 22 Greenside Road (0800) to pick up Sophie, and headed out of London (0830) only to discover (0845) than an unnamed member of the group had left the passports behind, thus involving an impressive maneuver to turn us in the opposite direction, return to 22 Greenside Road (0900), and start again. With a mere 2 hours to make it to Dover, would we get there in time?
Meh*, of course. With some determined driving from Bryn (obviously observing all Highway rules…) we arrived at 1057. C’est parfait. We celebrated with coffee/hot choc/orange juice and croissants on board, as England faded behind the sunny haze. Now we have officially left British soil, and I feel I can finally accept that the adventure has begun!
I suggested last night, as we had our final meeting to run through our contracts, that I would write poems for the blog. I’m up for that! I’ve started coming up with the first one (subject: France, which we were in for roughly one hour):
Ca va!
Poem written at 17:14.
* "Meh" is an interjection, often an expression of apathy, indifference, or boredom. However, it can also be used to indicate agreement or disagreement. It can also be an adjective, meaning mediocre or boring. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meh
** Rough translation:
A poem on the subject of France.
And finally, the expectation is finished
And the beginning of the trip is accomplished.
The car and the passengers were ready to leave
And now France is passed and Belgium is here.
Sophie Ibbotson
It took over 500 years to complete the construction of Cologne Cathedral and, as I stepped through the main doors into the back of the building, little had changed from any one of those five centuries. Sunlight streamed across the nave through richly coloured windows, the congregation rose solemnly to their feet before the priest, and the sounds of the choir and booming organ echoed around the open spaces.
Despite the bombing of Cologne during WWII, the cathedral is remarkably well preserved. Showing valuable foresight, the cathedral’s management removed all bar one of the historic stained glass windows for safekeeping elsewhere. The single window that was left in-situ was irreparably shattered when a bomb exploded nearby. The story is not one of gloom, however, as the empty panes prompted the commission of a modern window to complement the older panels. The resulting work, a geometric window of kaleidoscopic shapes and colours, draws the eye from across the cathedral and leaves the spectator transfixed.
Read three tales of twisting turns and grand adventure, hear of the amazing manoeuvring skills of one Japanese-made Isuzu as it does a 180 and heads back to London for the missing documents, savour the odes to Belgium men’s rooms and discover the beauty of the Cologne cathedral!
Steve Dew-Jones
Our first day was long, but not unrewarding. Setting off from home in Hammersmith, it took until around Brixton to work out that we had left the passports behind. Problem number one. The Isuzu was soon spun around in an athletic 180 manoeuvre by Bryn, and we had lost thirty minutes by the time we were back in Brixton, passports retrieved.
The challenge ahead was simple: we had two hours to reach Dover to make the 11.35 crossing to Calais. Now this was a Saturday morning in Central London and the traffic was building, but with a bit of encouragement from an excitable Steve (yours truly) and some hair-raising driving from Bryn, we reached the port with thirty minutes to spare.
The crossing was smooth and quick, before it was time for Sophie to take the hot seat for her first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road. After a brief spot of trouble with the immobilizer and the usual few minutes’ worth of bother with the indicator (it’s on the wrong side. Bryn blames the Japanese), Sophie handled the driving well enough.
Passenger-seat-bound as I was, it was tricky not to gasp as she tended to drift slightly closer to the left than I would have preferred, and I have to confess to being relieved when, not long after we had passed into Belgium, Sophie confessed to falling asleep at the wheel, and I was thrust into the chair.
Driving on the right isn’t so bad whilst on a motorway. It was only really once we’d returned to city driving that we encountered any problems at all. Köln was the first scheduled stop – the
.JPG)
Hyatt hotel to be specific – and it took us a fair old while to navigate ourselves around the city until we had finally arrived at our plush quarters.“Zwei grösbiers und zwei weißweins” were soon ordered (for boys and girls respectively) and we wandered the city streets for a few hours until our weary heads could stand no longer.
Jo Dew-Jones
We have, thus far, departed from 22 Greenside Road (0800) to pick up Sophie, and headed out of London (0830) only to discover (0845) than an unnamed member of the group had left the passports behind, thus involving an impressive maneuver to turn us in the opposite direction, return to 22 Greenside Road (0900), and start again. With a mere 2 hours to make it to Dover, would we get there in time?
Meh*, of course. With some determined driving from Bryn (obviously observing all Highway rules…) we arrived at 1057. C’est parfait. We celebrated with coffee/hot choc/orange juice and croissants on board, as England faded behind the sunny haze. Now we have officially left British soil, and I feel I can finally accept that the adventure has begun!
I suggested last night, as we had our final meeting to run through our contracts, that I would write poems for the blog. I’m up for that! I’ve started coming up with the first one (subject: France, which we were in for roughly one hour):
Une poésie au sujet de France
Et finalement, l’attente est finie
Et la commencement du voyage est un fait accompli.
La voiture et les passagers étaient prêts à partir
Et maintenant la France est passé el la Belge est ici. **
Et finalement, l’attente est finie
Et la commencement du voyage est un fait accompli.
La voiture et les passagers étaient prêts à partir
Et maintenant la France est passé el la Belge est ici. **
Ca va!
Poem written at 17:14.
On the toilets in the Belgian service station
(on behalf of Bryn)
Oh rest-stop urinal, how strange it did seem
That on tip-toes I stood to have a quick pee
I can only assume – it is most logical –
That the man-folk of Belgium must be rather tall.
(on behalf of Bryn)
Oh rest-stop urinal, how strange it did seem
That on tip-toes I stood to have a quick pee
I can only assume – it is most logical –
That the man-folk of Belgium must be rather tall.
* "Meh" is an interjection, often an expression of apathy, indifference, or boredom. However, it can also be used to indicate agreement or disagreement. It can also be an adjective, meaning mediocre or boring. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meh
** Rough translation:
A poem on the subject of France.
And finally, the expectation is finished
And the beginning of the trip is accomplished.
The car and the passengers were ready to leave
And now France is passed and Belgium is here.
Sophie Ibbotson
It took over 500 years to complete the construction of Cologne Cathedral and, as I stepped through the main doors into the back of the building, little had changed from any one of those five centuries. Sunlight streamed across the nave through richly coloured windows, the congregation rose solemnly to their feet before the priest, and the sounds of the choir and booming organ echoed around the open spaces.Despite the bombing of Cologne during WWII, the cathedral is remarkably well preserved. Showing valuable foresight, the cathedral’s management removed all bar one of the historic stained glass windows for safekeeping elsewhere. The single window that was left in-situ was irreparably shattered when a bomb exploded nearby. The story is not one of gloom, however, as the empty panes prompted the commission of a modern window to complement the older panels. The resulting work, a geometric window of kaleidoscopic shapes and colours, draws the eye from across the cathedral and leaves the spectator transfixed.
Love this blog. Keep us posted, I can't wait to hear about what you see and the people you meet. so much, so different, in such a small space of time. Looks so good, I might even join you!
ReplyDeleteReally cool photos...looking forward to what's ahead for you guys...
ReplyDelete