GREENWICH

Went to Greenwich a couple of times. The first time was to get an overview of the place and see what was there. I discovered the library five minutes before it was due to close. So no research on that trip.

First thing to know when heading there by Docklands Light Rail is that you want to get off at the Greenwich Cutty Sark station – not the Greenwich one. It is very confusing when you get off at the wrong place. Not too far to walk, just confusing. Of course you could also arrive by boat on the river Thames.

It is quite a large area with plenty of green space for a picnic. The Queens House had recently been closed for renovation for the next year as it approaches its 400^th anniversary.Even though it is built quite a distance back from the river, no buildings were allowed to be in front of it so it had a clear view to the river.

The Cutty Sark, the last surviving tea clipper is available to take tours through. Looked like there were plenty of fun things to do aboard it.

In the middle of the huge park, up a little hill, is the observatory and planetarium. Actually that hill was quite a hike. There were plenty of Asian tourists taking their photo on the prime meridian line. Just a few days earlier I had seen a documentary which said the true line is actually 334 feet to the east. Didn't want to pay to go stand on the wrong line so I took a picture through the fence.

Before the entry into the museum housing the meridian line is a 24 hour clock. It was installed there in 1852. Still accurate up to 0.5 of a second.

This photo is taken on the way down from the observatory. That is the Queens house in the background.

In the Old Royal Naval College there was a magnificent painted hall. The finest baroque dining hall in the UK. What patience and skill it must have taken. Another building housed a chapel which is still in use.

I had gone there to do some research at the National Maritime Museum. The Caird Library is within that building. For a client I was able to photograph the pages out of a Nautical Report from the P&O shipping line in 1873-1875. This told him where his great-grandfather was during his term as a steward on the “Australia”.

Because one of my ancestors was a Naval Captain in the early 1700's I wanted to find all I could about that time and the ships he was on. The Log Book for his ship “Granado” 1707 to 1709 shows that he was no longer Captain after the Siege at Toulon. Unfortunately there was not a record of his next ship “Namur”. There was a book though which told me about the type of vessel he would have been sailing.

Thought I should walk the foot tunnel which runs 50 feet under the Thames to the Isle of Dogs. It is only 1217 feet long – but that was long enough for me to be walking under the river. It was built in 1902 for workmen to be able to cross the river to work on the Isle of Dogs. Today there is a lovely park on the other side where you can get a good view of Maritime Greenwich.

The little domed building you can see on the Isle of Dogs is where the tunnel exits.

As with all museums and entertainment areas – there was a shop. What fascinated me were these socks. You wear the green one on your right foot to remind you which side of the ship is starboard. The red therefore is for port. Lights on the Port side are always red and starboard green. More trivia.

LONDON TIKI TOURS

I have learned not to have any time restraints and always be prepared for different things you would like to do in London. That way when you get on the wrong train or bus you get to have an interesting tiki tour. Oh, and carry something to read while you wait - and be prepared to walk , and walk and use lots of stairs.

Enjoyed my visit to Harrods. It was very hard to find something I could buy there. Not really into designer clothes and shoes that cost many hundreds of pounds. There were a lot of middle eastern people in the store - the ones with the money. I was fascinated by the food hall.  So many types of dates. Everything you could imagine was there - plus all the ones you have never heard of. Even food in the flower arrangements. 

One day I caught a bus to Victoria Station. After a bit I realised I was going in the opposite direction. Oh well – another tiki tour! But what a rewarding one!

For anyone who has been in a family history class where I have taught about England census records they would recognise my Gough family and Islington. I have used their example of how the street names changed and the church around the corner at Balls Pond.

My bus took me up Essex Road, past St Pauls church and around to Balls Pond Road. The roads all look smaller than they appear on the maps. The whole area has changed again from the last maps I looked at. Was fascinating to be there.

Balls Pond Road

St Paul's Islington

Today I planned to go to the London Metropolitan Archives. Figured out the route and headed to Lewisham station. As I was arriving I saw a train about to leave so I quickly got on board. Along the way we zoomed past the station I planned to get off at. Now where was I going? Charing Cross sounded familiar so I got off there. Totally wrong direction for LMA. Caught a tube then that took me to Oxford Circus and started walking. Figured I was close to Selfridges so that is where I would go. Loved their windows. Huge flowers with one small Apple watch in each one.

Selfridges was on the corner of Orchard Street which became Baker Street. Some more walking and I got to the Beatlemania shop and Sherlock Holmes Museum.

If I have plenty of time and no suitcases the London tubes, trains and buses are fun to get around on. All kinds of unexpected journeys.

BRITISH MUSEUM

I was staying just around the corner from the British Museum so figured I had better visit it. What a surprise when one of the first things I saw was home!

It was part of a display called “Sustaining Each Other”. There was a picture of my husbands cousin Hone Sadler along with many Maori carvings, flax and feather pieces.

This museum is so huge that I just made the effort to see most of the “Don't miss” pieces.

The Lewis Chessmen set. The most famous chess set in the world. They are made of walrus ivory and whales' teeth in the forms of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisk. Probably made in Norway about 1150-1200.

Some things there were too many people in front of me to get a decent photo. Got a good glimpse of the Rosetta Stone. This dated to 196 BC. It is a priestly decree written three ways – hieroglyphs, for the priests, demotic, the ancient Egyptian script and Greek the language of the administration. Scholars have used this stone to teach them how to read hieroglyphs.

I was fascinated by some of the biblical relics. I am amazed that people can read what has been written on the terracotta cylinders about Nebuchadnezzar's buildings. Dating back to 605-562 BC. There were pieces of clay tablets that gave details of Babylon.

Some other clay tablets give the information about the Tower of Babel that the drawing is based upon.

They had some great brick makers during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II 605- 562 BC. The piece showing the roaring lion comes from his throne room.

The panel shows the Assyrian army attacking the Egyptian city of Memphis in 667 BC.

At various places throughout the museum there were touching centres. Here you could handle some of the pieces. Among the coins was this Greek silver coin. It has the head of Athena on it. It felt much heavier than our silver coins because it was all silver, dating back to 400 BC.

There was a fragment of a Roman terracotta bowl. Would have loved to see the whole bowl. Rather ingenious actually. It was quite large. There was a large lip around the edges which meant it would have been easy to carry. Grit had been mixed in the terracotta. It was thick near the top edges and smoother further down. This way you could grind your spices etc near the top and then drop them into the bowl. The original word for it is mortarium where we get the word mortar from today. 

I spent a few hours there and only saw a fraction of what the museum held.

FITZROVIA LONDON

The room might have been tiny but the location was great. I could walk to so many neat places.

I discovered the theatre for Matilda and got a discounted ticket to that nights show. It was £67 and I got it for £46. Not that cheap. I was 12 rows from the front and about five seats from the centre. Loved the show. Would have loved to take my granddaughters to it. The children acting were fabulous. There was so much energy on that stage.

As soon as the show finished I got outside quickly and got a cab straight away. One - it was raining and two - I wasn't going walking around London by myself at night.Expensive though. Cost £12.40. Was no longer than the trip from the station and that one had cost about £6. I am finding that while cabs cost money I don't like to spend they make my travels less stressful. 

It was wonderful to see so many stores with real natural healthy food. I had a Mexican chicken salad at Pure. The next day I had Thai green curry and salad at Pod.

Pure salad

Pod curry

MATLOCK TO LONDON

I booked a cab to get me to the train station in Matlock. I am so over walking for half an hour on uneven surfaces with two suitcases. That has lost its "adventure" status.

First part of the trip was to Derby. My next train was to leave from the same platform in ten minutes. We kept getting conflicting information. The sign said the next train was only going to Bedford. Not St Pancras where I was booked to. The station master said it was going to St Pancras. The driver said it wasn't. Eventually they got it sorted out and it was going to St Pancras. Evidently there had been a fatality on the line and they were not sure if that area was ready to travel through.

Travelling first class is fun. Fewer people in the carriage. Free drinks and snacks were offered several times through the couple of hours trip.

Train first class

Arrived at St Pancras and got a cab to my lodgings. Arran House Hotel on Gower Street. Great location.

The room was so tiny. I could stand in the middle of it with my arms out and my fingers could touch each wall.I needed to put my suitcase behind my bed so the pillows wouldn't fall off. If the bed was up against the wall, the door couldn't open. You can tell you are in London when you get tiny rooms.

Only a hand basin in the room. Bathrooms were in between each floor. I could choose to walk up stairs or down stairs. Bit of a trek in the middle of the night.

Their breakfast was buffet style.Yippee! I was able to have porridge while I stayed there.

Arran House Hotel

CHURCH IN DERBYSHIRE

I needed the rental car to get to church on Sunday. The closest ward met in Chesterfield a 25 minute drive away.I arrived just in time for a 10am service. Then I wondered why there were only a few cars in the car park. I wandered through the building and saw a notice on the board about the change of ward meeting times to 10.30 am because of the people who travel by bus. That was changed a year ago!. It has not been changed on the internet. Never mind – I had time to go outside and take photos and relax.

This a beautiful chapel, so modern and clean, about a year old. I took photos of the kitchen and some of their notices. The cleaning roster included the ward missionaries. They were having a photography competition. Also some interesting Relief Society activities.

I met a missionary sister from Tonga, Sister Fonua. That was so cool. She was the first Polynesian I had come across during my travels. Another of those “home” things you realise you miss. Made sure to get a photo with her. I posted it on Facebook hoping one of her relatives might see it.

I spent about a half hour after church talking to some of the sisters. A couple who had been to New Zealand and familyy history consultants. The Relief Society President, Linda Whittaker, was lovely

ANCESTRAL PLACES IN DERBYSHIRE

Now I had the car I was able to drive to the areas my Gee family came from. Once I got used to driving a manual car it was a lovely drive through the Peak District. The weather was nice. The views were magnificent but the roads were so narrow I needed to watch out for oncoming vehicles. So many stone walls between fields. They are made with two side layers of rock and small stones in between with a capstone on top.

First stop Chapel en le Frith. Frith is an old English word for forest.The first church was built here in 1225 by foresters from the Royal Forest of the Peak. The tower of the church was erected in 1733 and most of the rest was built in the 14th century. Parts of the old village still survive around the church.

I used the satnav to find the church. It led me up a very steep cobbled road then expected me to go down a narrow driveway that had a “Public Footpath” sign. No way was I attempting that. I found a place to park and walked back. The church was closed so I just walked around it. The only events I am aware of happening there was the baptisms of my third great grandfather John PARKER and his brother James PARKER in 1819.

Road to church

Public footpath to church

Church at Chapel en le Frith

Then off I went to Chinley. A few of the GEE children were baptised at this independent chapel. It was closed so I walked around the cemetery and peaked through the window.

Chinley Independent Chapel

Through the window at Chinley Chapel

Next stop Hayfield. Many of the GEE family were baptised, married and buried here. It was a chapelry of the parish of Glossop. They had a perpetual curate, not a vicar. Many of the memorial stones are now used as the pathways around the building. Another closed church so I could only photograph on the outside. It was hard to get a photo of the building as there were so many tall trees around it.

Hayfield Memorial stones

Hayfield Church

Hayfield Church

At Mellor there was a wedding when I arrived. I waited until they started leaving the church and got inside before the vicar left. She was delightful and very helpful. Opened up the cupboards for me where the parish registers were kept and showed me the burial registers. Someone has typed a transcript of all the registers. The baptism font in this church dates back to he 9th or 10th century according to the carvings which could be Saxon or Norman. That means before William the Conqueror.

Inside Mellor church

Mellor font

View from Mellor churchyard

The vicar showed me where there was a map on the wall of the church of the cemetery. From that map I was able to find a few Gee graves. Some of them needed a lot of cleaning up to take a photo.

Mellor tombstones

She also told me that the local archivist lived in the old vicarage house next door.

I went to visit Ann Hearley, formerly Ashworth. Another delightful lady. She invited me in and told me a little about the local history and gave me a couple of books she had written to do with the history of the area. The oldest part of this house was built in 1512. It never did belong to the church but the perpetual curates lived in it.The view from her kitchen window of the dales is incredible.

In 1995 Ann and her husband John noticed lush grass growing in a line after a drought. Archaeological digs followed and discovered evidence of people living at Mellor through all periods of time from the Mesolithic [10,000 to 5,000 years ago].

Replica iron age round house

My final stop was Glossop. Another closed church so I could only take photos outside. This was the parish church for Hayfield and Mellor. My 4th and 5th great grandparents were married there.

And there I finished my ancestral wanderings in Derbyshire.