|
 Linda
& Ruth Ann's Trip To England Diary
We're Home! In bed......sleeping.....need to
wash clothes....very jet lagged.....but it was fun!
Wed, Thurs & Friday - May 26-28: Yep - we
disappeared for a few days. Actually, we have been so tired each  evening
we have just come back to the apartment and went straight to bed.
Wednesday we went to Pendle Heritage Center to learn about various building
techniques and phases in houses in the area. Thursday we spent all day at
the Lancashire Record Office in Preston, a short 39 minute train ride from
Manchester. I found a few more interesting documents that I plan to
transcribe and study. Today (Friday) we rode south to Stayl Mill,
ancestral home of the Gregg family who built a very large cotton manufacturing
mill and village in the late 1700's. The mill is now a museum showing the
history of cotton manufacturing from the home woollenweaver like John Alred in  the
1660's to today's modern factories. The original Apprentice House is still
there and also a museum with costumed guides (they called themselves the
"aging wenches") who did a 
wonderful presentation on what it was like to be a child apprentice in the 1700
& 1800's. By the way, our traditional English lunch of Potato &
Leek soup, Crusty Bread, Bangers, Cheesy Mash with Bubble & Squeak was
fantastic!
 When
we returned to Manchester this evening, we stopped at one of the town squares to
see, of all people, a statute of Abraham Lincoln. Not what we expected to
see in Manchester, England. Interesting. Then we toured China Town
before wandering into a Pub for a Pint (I had Diet Coke and Ruth Ann had Sprite,
but they were in Pint size glasses) and
supper.
So, now it's 7:30pm and we are worn out and moving slow.
Time to pack our suitcases for the last time. Tomorrow we check out of the
motel/apartment. We plan to spend a few hours in Ryland  Library
then we will take the train to London for one last night in England. Our
flight home is Sunday and we're ready. It's time to sleep in our own beds
again. Our last Blog installment will be posted tomorrow evening - then we
will be on our way home.
Tuesday, May 25: We spent today with tour guide
Suzanne and driver Jeff who took us around the oldest section of  Manchester,
then on to Bolton and Eccles. Unfortunately, there really isn't anything
left of the area from the 17th century. Most buildings were torn down so
others could be built - and then WWII came along and the entire area was heavily
bombed, wiping out what was left. The Manchester area was 
targeted by Hitler because of all the manufacturing (coal, steel and cotton
& wool fabrics) which supplied the British military. Bombs even did
damage to St. Mary The Virgin Church in Eccles where John & Ellen Allred may
have taken their
children to be baptized in the 1660's, 1670's  and
1680's. (In Manchester Cathedral, one large stained glass window was put in where part of
that church
was damaged during the bombing. The window looks like it is on fire to
memorialize the fires caused by the bombs.) Thankfully, the original
Baptismal Fount which dates back to the 
1100's survived. John & Ellen and other Allred family members may have been baptized in this fount. It is amazing something that old
survived and is still in use  today.
Tomorrow we are going to the Pendle Heritage Center to learn more about the 17th
century.
Monday, May 24: We decided to take a day to goof
off and rest. We haven't had a really good rest day since we've been
here. So, we slept late, then wandered to the shopping area about 1 block
from our hotel. Very bohemian! I felt like I was in Pittsboro during
the First Sunday activities or in Chapel Hill during a street fair. We had
a great time just watching the people and their wild fashion choices.
Apparently, to be fashionable, we need to dye our hair some spectacular color
like fushia or teal, wear tie-dye loose fitting dresses that go all the way to
our feet or super short super tight lacy numbers with a different pattern lacy
tights or, Ruth Ann's favorite, super short shorts with a tube top and winter
boots with fur lining. So we'll let you just enjoy the photos and we'll go
back to resting...and Ruth Ann is trying to decide if Don would prefer her hair
dyed bright orange with electric blue streaks or solid teal....the girl we saw
with teal hair all spiked out actually looked pretty good....I think Don will
probably like the teal....
Sunday, May 23: Less than one hour by train and we
were in downtown Manchester. We are staying on the 19th floor  of
this apartment building and have the same apartment that Simon Cowell of
American Idol fame stays in when he is in town. Interestingly, the
apartment costs less than 2 motel rooms for the same length of 
time. Great views of the northern section of the city! The only
problem we have is with the washer/dryer. As you can imagine, by time
point in our trip, we are out of clean clothes. We pushed and turned every
knob and button on it, and called for help from the apartment help, we finally
got some clean clothes. Who knew English machines could be so hard to
figure out??!!?? And it is a washer and a dryer - all in one.
Bizarre!! 
Saturday, May 22: We were going to take today to
rest and catch up on our sleep - but the weather was way too beautiful so
outside we went. Sunny sky - no clouds at all - and high about 78 which is
very unusual for north England. A  regular
heat wave!! But low humidity and, best of all, NO BUGS!! All of the
restaurants had their doors and windows wide open and there wasn't a single fly
or bug of any type anywhere. NONE!! We left our windows open all
night and NO MOSQUITOES!! So, Ruth Ann and I have decided we are staying
here. Perfect temperatures, low humidity, no bugs....what more can two
girls want???? 
Ok Don & Kent, we are only kidding.....maybe....
We started the day by touring the Beatles museum located next
door to our hotel. Fantastic!!! It even had true scale size replicas
of The Casbah and The Cavern. We sang along to some of the songs - Rene',
did you know you mom knew the words to "Imagine" and "Yellow
Submarine"??? Then it was time to pay homage to Uncle
Albert...so...
 We
wandered around the shopping area at Albert Dock, then it was time to Ferry
Cross The Mersey. It was a one hour ride on the famous ferry, very
restful!! Of course, we had to sing along - and yes, Ruth Ann now knows
the words to that song too. She is quite the Party Animal now!! The
down side of our stay in Liverpool is that we found out the original docks no
longer exist. Most of the dock area 
was rebuilt and rebuilt over the decades since our ancestors sailed to
America. Then the May Blitz of Hitler's Bombers pretty much flattened the
dock area during WWII. So, we were only able to take some photos of the
area where the original docks used to be. Oh well - at least we know where
they used to be.
 We
ended the day with a horse & buggy ride back to our hotel. And still
no bugs!! Amazing!! I can't 
even sit outside on my deck at home without swatting bugs the entire time.
I'm staying here!
So, we end our stay in Liverpool with a photo of the new
Liverpool Maritime Museum, now under construction and expected to open in the
summer 2011. Unfortunately there don't  seem
to be any maritime records for the 1600's when our folks sailed to America - or
so the existing Museum's archivist told us - but the new museum will have more
room and more exhibits.
Friday, May 21: The morning started out foggy and
hazy, but turned out sunny and high around 70. We started the day  riding
the Liverpool Eye and took some great photos from the top. Great shots of
our hotel from the 
top of the ferris wheel and later from the Duck.
Yep, our next adventure was a hour long ride on the Yellow
Duck Marine. Our driver, Tony, and guide, Lianne, were fantastic!
Lots of jokes and humor as they drove us around Liverpool on land and on
sea. Towards the end of the ride they had us singing "We  are
riding on the Yellow Duck Marine, the Yellow Duck Marine, the Yellow Duck
Marine" (tune is the Beatles' Yellow Submarine) at the top of our lungs as
everyone around us on the docks watched and wondered.
Hilarious!!
Lunch was at Ha Ha Bar & Grill - not that great. No Ha
Ha's from us. But, it was a Bar, not a 
Pub....apparently there is a difference.....then we visited the Maritime
Museum. Great museum with  large
display on the British Navy in WWII and the Liverpool Blitz. However,
nothing on ships or the docks prior to 1732 so nothing new for us here (our
folks sailed to America between 1682-1724). But we had
fun.
We have decided tomorrow will be a "down" day for
us. I have some transcribing work to do and Ruth Ann is going to lay
around and rest up for our stay in Manchester. So, Cheers Till Later....
Thursday, May 20: It was just over an hour by train
from Lancaster to Liverpool. We are now comfy and cozy in the  newly
remodeled Holiday Inn Express at Albert Dock. We are right on the River
Mersey and our rooms overlook one of the docks and the Maritime Museum. We
are surrounded by lots of shopping and restaurants and just out the front door
of the hotel is the Liverpool Eye (really large, slow moving ferris wheel) which
we will check out tomorrow. The Beatles Museum is next door to our hotel!! 
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! The weather is perfect!! Sunny, high in the
upper 60's and breezy - perfect day to be outside. We took a leisurely
walk along the waterway then wandered back to hotel to get a good night's
sleep. Hopefully tomorrow we can learn more about the original dock
(c.1682-1724) and what passenger / ship life was like back then.
Wednesday, May 19: Today we took the train to
Ulverston, a little town just south of the Scottish Border and  hometown
of Stan Laurel of Laurel & Hardy fame. The museum was full of posters,
original letters, photographs and paraphernalia collected by Stan's
family. Movies of Laurel & Hardy were playing non-stop in the little
theatre and we enjoyed watching "The Piano". What a Riot!!
They were so funny!!
 After
a great lunch at the Farmhouse Restaurant & Pub (yep, we are still Pub
Crawling), we took a taxi to Swarthmoor Hall located just out of town.
Swarthmoor Hall was the home of Judge Thomas Fell 
and his wife Margaret in the 1600's. The Fell family were very well known
as open-minded and welcoming people and George Fox was among their many
visitors. Eleven years after Judge Fell died in 1658, George Fox and
Margaret Fell married and Margaret was very instrumental in the founding of the
Quaker Church. Intelligent, out-spoken and with the wealth to enable her
to travel around England combined with her family and "Social Class"
connections allowing her to visit with the Upper Class and even Royalty, she was
a valuable leader within the Quaker movement.
 Our
ancestor, Ellen Pemberton Allred's cousin, Phineas Pemberton, was a Merchant who
traveled all 
around England conducting business and organizing Quaker Meetings in the mid and
late 1600's. Most likely he would have visited 
Swarthmoor Hall whenever he was in northwest England. Swarthmoor Hall
became the central location for the Quaker  Church
in those early days, so Phineas would have wanted to visit there as often as
possible to stay in touch with George Fox and Margaret Fell.
Today, Swarthmoor Hall is a museum open to the public for
sight-seeing and for Quaker Pilgrimages. Each room has  been
restored and furnished to look as it probably did when George Fox and Margaret
Fell lived there. Whenever possible, original furniture is used, such as
the actual chairs sitting beside the fireplace 
in the Great Hall that Margaret Fell and George Fox used to sit in.
Another original piece is the wooden chest that George Fox brought home after
his imprisonment in  Worcester
Castle. His initials and the date 1678 are set in the top with
nails. Volunteers are busy restoring the gardens and surrounding farm land
to also reflect what those early Quakers would have seen.
Tomorrow we move to Liverpool, home of the Beatles, and home of
the UK Maritime Museum. We hope to learn more about 17th Century passenger
ships and what our ancestors would have experienced as they sailed from England
to America.
Tuesday, May 18: We have had two very productive
days and have gained a lot of great information about the 17th  Century
and John & Ellen Allred. As you know, yesterday we were in the
Lancashire Record Office which is like our Archives in America. This is
where the original documents are kept. I found 4 new documents that I feel
belong to John Allred and tell us more about him. Today we met with local 
historian Jenny Paull who specializes in early Quaker history. She
is a Fountain of Knowledge!! She answered all of my questions and told us
the history of the area in a way that made it so easy to understand. Now
it all makes sense!! Why did John Allred have such a hard time finding a
job? Why did the family move around so much? Why were the Quakers
arrested  so
many times, over and over? What was the political climate of the
area? Why was religion so important to what was happening to John and
Ellen? Why would John and Ellen go to Quaker meetings, get arrested, spend
time in jail, then go to the Church of England to have their children
baptized? All of these questions were answered and now it makes
sense!!
"But what are the answers?" you are thinking.....oh,
sorry, you'll have to wait for the book. You will get tidbits at the
 reunions
when I give my presentation, but everyone will have to wait for the book I am
writing to get all of the answers. With the help of Alice, Dawnell, Nancy
and others, I am going to pull all of the research together into a book that
will contain documented information. As you may remember, the AFO bought
Dawnell's England research a couple of years ago. A fantastic buy!!
There is no way we (AFO researchers) could have duplicated her work. So, I
am going to take this research and add the info I am collecting on this trip and
write the book. The book will be the result of Dawnell's hard work and
research with me just filling in the blanks here and there.
When will it be ready? I don't know. Can't say for
now. All I can say is that I'm working on it....
Anyway - tomorrow we are going to Swarthmoor Hall in Ulverston.
This was the home of Margaret Fell, and later George Fox after they
married. Gathering more info on those early Quakers.
 Before
I end today's Blog, I have to tell you about Luigi. During our meeting
with Jenny, we walked from the Friend's Meeting House to Market Square in
Lancaster. It is a fantastic place to just sit and enjoy the weather and
watch the people walk by. As we are talking, we hear this uproar and
laughing which gets closer and closer. Here comes this little man, drunk
and happy as he can be, wearing a bright orange hat that says "I Need A
Drink". (He had obviously had enough to drink!!) He knows
everyone in the square and they all know him. With this loud Italian
accent he is telling everyone how much he loves them and everyone is yelling
back that they love him too. He stopped in front of us and entertained us
with stories of how he came to Lancaster from Napoli and he is the whole reason
there is good pizza in Lancaster today - and how much he loves football (soccer)
and how England is going to beat America on June 12th in the International
Games. What a character!! Then he wandered on yelling how much he
loved everyone until he was out of view.
Monday, May 17: Ruth Ann and I can not figure out
what the big deal is about the volcano ash cloud. Once again, it  was
a beautiful Spring day with blue skies and normal white puffy clouds. We
just don't get it...
We spend the day in the Lancashire Records Office in Preston,
about a 20 minute ride north of Lancaster by train. It was a very
successful day. I found 4 new documents on John Allred. I will 
work on transcribing them and post them in a future newsletter. Each was a
little more information about John's life in the mid 1600's. Those of you
planning on attending the Allred Reunions in Georgia (June 11&12) and Utah
(June 25 & 26) and Randolph County (Sept 11) will get to see the documents
first. More incentive for you to come to the reunions!!
Tomorrow we are meeting with a local historian who specializes in Quaker
history. Bye for now!
Sunday, May 16: The skies are blue with a few white
fluffy clouds here. No ash cloud - at least we haven't seen  anything.
Sorry folks, no excitement here....just folks sitting around wondering what all
the volcano ash cloud fuss is about.
We enjoyed a lazy Sunday in the UK today. Slept late, then
took a tour of Lancaster Castle. The Castle is still a working jail and
courthouse, so most of it is not open to the public. But we did get to see
some of the old jail cells similar to ones our ancestors John & Ellen Allred
probably were imprisoned in. Unfortunately we were not allowed to
photograph the cells but we have sent the castle manager a note and hope to hear
from her tomorrow with permission to photograph the cells. We'll keep you
posted on that.
 Now
that we have discovered Pub food, we are hooked. Pubs are definitely the
place to go for good food at reasonable prices. We enjoyed lunch at
Merchant's Pub built in 1688. It is located down a little, narrow,
cobblestone road just 
below the castle. Originally built as a wine storehouse, the little
caverns where the wine was stored are now cozy little eating areas. Very
nice!! On the way home, Ruth Ann spotted another Pub called the Horse and
Farrier. We'll  have
to check it out tomorrow Ruth Ann laid down for a little nap
while I walked along the canal and enjoyed the sunshine for a while.
Supper was at the Water Witch Pub located on the Lancaster Canal. The sun  was
shining, the ducks were swimming and we completely enjoyed it. Now we are
back in our hotel rooms ready to lay around some more.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Lancaster Records Office, Library
and Museum. Time for a little genealogy research.
Saturday, May 15: We started the day with a 2 1/2
hour train trip from Newcastle on the northeast coast of England all  the
way across the country to Lancaster on the northwest coast. Once checked
into our hotel, we set out to find lunch and explore a little. We
have discovered the best food at the best price is in the little pubs located
everywhere. Our lunch was at Penny Bank Pub located in the town
center. Of course there is always McDonald's which is on every corner same
as in the USA. Ronald McDonald is  everywhere!!
Lancaster is a small town, about the size of Asheboro, and very
old. The castle dates back to the time of Roman occupation and a lot of
the original building are still in existence in the city center.  The
narrow cobblestone streets were busy this afternoon as the bi-weekly street
market was in full swing. It is like a combination street fair and
farmer's market open every 
Wednesday and Saturday and definitely "the place to be". We
strolled around, then climbed the steep hill to the castle. To our
surprise, walking out of the castle was none other than Queen Victoria and her
"companion" John Brown. Her Majesty  granted
us a short audience and allowed Mr. Brown to take our photograph before she
left. However, we arrived too late to tour the castle although I banged on
the door just incase a ghost or prisoner was rattling around and would let us
in. So,
we headed back to the hotel for a good rest - and we will be back at the castle
tomorrow to explore. 
Friday, May 14: Marley!! Marley!!
Marley!! Today was devoted to the Marley family and learning about Ruth
Ann's  possible
ancestor, Sir John Marley, Mayor of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the 1640's.
Blue Badge Guide 
Kevin Armstrong was our guide for the day and had really researched and prepared
for our visit. Our morning began at Newcastle Castle where we learned how
the town got its name. Around the year 950 A.D. a wooden castle was built
to defend against the Romans. Around 1060 A.D., the old wooden castle 
was torn down and replaced with a "modern" stone castle - hence the
name New Castle. Since the town was located on the River Tyne, the area
became known as New Castle Upon Tyne or as it is known today, Newcastle.
The castle was used as a fortress as late as WWII when scouts stood in the  high
tower to try to spot enemy ships and/or troops and residents hid in the dungeon
during bomb raids. If you look at the photo of Ruth Ann standing in the
doorway to the dungeon, just over her shoulder you should see a faded white
stripe or outline around the door on the stone wall. That was painted
there during WWII so people could see the doorway during blackouts.
 St.
Nicholas Cathedral is next to the castle and is the burial site of Sir John
Marley, his wife and son. 
It also dates back to the Roman occupation and is absolutely beautiful! 
Sir John and family are buried beneath the floor in a private chapel that was
once a porch between the cathedral and castle. 
Our next stop was across the street at the Guild Hall.
This original building dates back to the early 1st century and was the court
room and meeting place for skilled trade masters. As you may know, the
guild in each town/city/county controlled the business and trade for the
area. Only skilled tradesmen who had proven their skills and honesty were
invited to join the Guild and once you were a  member,
all other Guild members would only do business with you. Only one
person/family from each 
trade was allowed to join, basically "freezing out" all other laborers
doing your type of work. If you were not a member of the guild, you were
not allowed to do business in the town. The room was also used as a court
room until the early 1980's.
 The
town Aldermen met in this impressive room to conduct their business. Note
the shields displayed all around the room. Each Alderman's family crest
was on full display to show their 
pride and membership. The equally impressive Mayor's Chamber is where Sir
John Marley would have conducted his business. Note the beautiful artwork
on the walls  and
ceiling. Sir John's chair still sits at the head of the table and Ruth Ann
couldn't resist taking a seat just as her ancestor once did.
 We
toured the 17th Century Bessie Surtees' house, then drove a few miles south to
Durham, home of 
the prestigious Durham University and Cathedral.
Tomorrow we hop on the train and move to Lancaster. Bye
for now...
Thursday, May 13: Well...we had a bad night and
decided to change this morning. The Royal Station Hotel is a VERY old
building located next to the train station in the center of Newcastle - which we
thought would be very convenient. It was convenient - but very noisy with
all of the traffic and pubs and stuffy with no air conditioning. If we
wanted fresh air, we opened the windows which meant the noise was even
louder. So we packed up and moved to the modern Novotel near the
airport. We are up on a hill and have a great view of the town and
surrounding valley. So, today is a rest day. Tomorrow we have a Blue
Badge guide, Kevin, who will take us on a tour of Newcastle and the historical
sites related to Ruth Ann's ancestor, Sir John Marley.
Wednesday, May 12: We are now in the far east
section of England near the Scottish border at Newcastle Upon  Tyne.
Our train ride from London took about 3 1/2 hours and was very smooth. We
just sat back and enjoyed the scenery and hostesses came by every little bit to
offer us something to eat and/or drink.
Very relaxing. We both decided this is the way to travel!!!! After
checking into our hotel (Royal Station Hotel), we wandered over to the new City
Library to begin some genealogy research. Digging up Bones!!
Looking for Sir John Marley, Ruth Ann's ancestor, who was Mayor of Newcastle in
the 1640's
. 
Tuesday, May 11: So - we are curious...how many of
you were able to read our French Blog from yesterday? We had a good time
writing it!! No, neither one of us magically learned the French
language. We took the easy way out and used Google Translate.
Handy little tool!! With my little Netbook and WiFi, I can go anywhere on
the planet, type in my questions in English and Google will translate it to that
language. COOL!!
 We
spent Tuesday visiting Windsor Castle and Stonehenge. Windsor was
BEAUTIFUL!! The castle 
is on a hill overlooking a little village. 
This is Queen Elizabeth's favorite "home" in England. The only
other castle she loves more is Balmoral in Scotland and we could see why.
Very quiet and charming! Unlike the Tower of London and Hampton Court
Palace, Windsor is fully furnished and is a "working" castle meaning
all parts  are
open and running at all times. The royal staterooms are open to the public
whenever the Queen is not using them. Her private apartment is located in
another section of the 
castle so she doesn't have to mingle with us regular folk. Undercover
guards (dressed like tourists), docents and guides are everywhere so it is very
secure. We had to pass through metal scanners and security just like
visiting the White House but I will admit the guards were a lot more friendly
than the Secret Service in  Washington
D.C.
 The
outside of the Castle where the moot used to be is now a beautifully landscaped
garden. Beefeaters and Royal Guard soldiers were in uniform and marching
around looking very official. It was a fantastic visit.
Stonehenge is literally out in the middle of nowhere surrounded
by fields and sheep farms. It  is
owned by the UK National Historic Trust which is similar to the USA National
Park system. There 
is certainly a weird feeling there - maybe because it was so cold and windy, but
there is something very eerie about those stones. We walked all around it,
inspecting it from all sides but never could solve the riddle of what it was or
who built it.
Monday, May 10: Bonjour!
Aujourd'hui
nous avons visité Paris, venant de Londres et retour en
 Eurostar.
père
de Linda a vécu en France pendant plusieurs années et petite-fille Ruth Ann's,
Abby, est de prendre des leçons de français, de sorte qu'ils seront en mesure
de traduire ce pour le reste d'entre vous. Nancy: vous inquiet au sujet de nous parler en anglais -
mais nous n'avons pas de problèmes de langue française.
 L'Eurostar
se déplace à 200 km / h et a été un tour très lisse. Notre
guide, Monica, a
été merveilleux. Nous
avons
visité l'Arc de Triomphe, la Tour Eiffle, ont fait une croisière sur la Seine
et allait à la messe à Notre-Dame. Nous
avons également visité le Louvre et le bus de tournée nous a pris tout autour
de Paris. L'Eurostar
entre nous avaient de retour à Londres vers 10h30 heures. Nous
avons rencontré un homme
diplôme de l'université. Si jamais vous allez à Tokyo et ont besoin d'un CPA, il est Adieu.
Nous
allons écrire de nouveau demain.
Sunday, May 9: Happy Mother's Day!! We
started the day at the Royal Mews which is the Royal  Stables
at Buckingham Palace. Ruth Ann's family business is Farrier/Blacksmith so
she had a special interest in seeing it. The Mews is also the storage
place for the Royal Carriages and Cars including the Gold covered carriage used
only for  Coronations
and the
Glass Coach used by Royal Brides on the way to their weddings. This is the
same coach Lady Diana Spencer rode in while on her way to St. Paul's Cathedral
to marry Prince Charles in 1981. 
Our next stop was the Victoria & Albert Museum. We had
hoped to see the Grace Kelly "Style Icon" exhibition but got there too
late and it was sold out. Bummer. But we enjoyed looking around the
section on art and styles of the 17th century. Our last stop of the day
was Kensington Palace. Portions of this palace are private residences of
Princes William & Harry when they are in London along with some other
Royals.  Guards
wouldn't let us run around that section, but they did let us in the part that is
open to the public as a museum. 
We plan an early bedtime tonight because our ride picks us up at
6:15 in the morning to take us to Paris for the day. So, we end today's
Blog entry with a photo of one of the Royal Residents of Kensington
Palace: Princess Squirrel. This squirrel followed me around the
gardens and insisted on posing for a photo before moving on to another woman's
purse to inspect it for possible nuts or goodies to eat. Very tame and
very spoiled - and very well fed.
Friday & Saturday, May 7 & 8: On Friday we
went to the UK National Archives in Kew. It was a  disappointment.
We were directed to the "Reading Room" where we were sat down in front
of computers and accessed the exact same info that we could have accessed
from home. Seems everything we were interested in from the 17th Century is
in the local Records Offices in Lancashire and/or Durham. So we didn't
hang around very long. From there we wandered over to Madame Toussaud's
Wax Museum where we met a wide variety of folks including Elvis, Princess Diana,
President Obama, Robert Pattinson of the  Twilight
movies, and my favorite: Whoopie Goldberg. Ruth Ann's favorite was
John Wayne - I thought she was going to try to take him home with us.
Penny: Tom Jones said to tell you "Hi"!!
Saturday we slept late and hung around the apartment except for
going out to eat supper. We needed a quiet day to rest and relax.
Tomorrow is our last day in London. Monday we are going to Paris and
Tuesday we are going to Stonehenge and Bath. Wednesday we hop on the train
for Newcastle.
Thursday, May 6th: We slept late today - tired and
needed a quiet, lazy day. But, by noon we were  had
caught the tube to Euston Station and walked down the street to the Friends'
House for some genealogy work. There were lots of published
records, but we found out that all of the original records are now housed at the
UK Archives which we plan to visit tomorrow.
We had a great lunch at Prezzo, an Italian restaurant with a
waiter from Croatia, here in London and we're from America, and the folks
sitting at the table behind us were speaking French. Truly International!
We stopped by Buckingham Palace to see if the Queen wanted to
hang out with us for a few hours - she probably never gets invited to just hang
out after all; but she wasn't home. Bummer. And we were  shocked
to discover a statute of Ruth Ann's son, Mitchell, a blacksmith, on the circle
monument in front of Buckingham Palace. We knew Mitchell had quite a
reputation as a blacksmith, but had no idea England had commissioned a statute
of him. WOW!!
Since the Queen had other plans, we came back to the apartment
for a quiet evening and more rest. We all need those lazy days sometimes!!
Wednesday, May 5th: I have decided that if we were
to stay here for very long, we would be so skinny that our families would never
recognize us. Walk, walk, walk, walk and in-between walking we climbed up
and down stairs, then up and down stairs again. Rene': you offered
to UPS anything we needed - and we need a masseuse!!! Fast!! Can you
send him/her via overnight shipping??? Since the volcano ash cloud has
forced Ireland and Scotland to close their airports again today, who knows how
long we'll be here...actually send 2 masseuses, one for each of us...
 We
started the day at Westminster Abby which is breath-taking!! Beauty
everywhere - the walls, the floors, the ceilings, everywhere we looked we saw
more beauty!!
Tomorrow is Election Day in the UK and Parliament House, next
door to Westminster Abby, was surrounded by protesters protesting this, that and
the other.  We
thought the group in this photo (on right) were interesting. The large
puppet represents one of the nominees for Prime Minister. 
And as you can see, he was the puppet master of members of Parliament. OR
- I think that is what they were trying to say. The missile or rocket or bomb in
his mouth was strange - not sure what that was suppose to mean. Who
knows? It was interesting at any rate.
 We
also took a cruise down the Thames to Hampton Court Palace - or I should say we
aimed for Hampton Court Palace. Thames is a Tidal River and it was low
tide which means the river was 12 feet lower than it is at high tide.
Boats anchored on the sides of the river were completely out of the water as you
can see by this photo.
 We
had no idea how far away it was or that it would be a 3 1/2 hour cruise. 
So, after 2 hours, we got off at Richmond and had a great lunch, then took a cab
the rest of the way. We arrived at the Palace just in time to
celebrate the marriage of King Henry VIII and his 6th wife, Catherine
Parr. 
We took our first train and tube rides coming back to London and
after supper at Coventry Square, we dragged our tired selves back to the
apartment. Tomorrow we are heading to the Quaker Library for some
genealogy research - and time to let our aching feet rest for a day.
 
Tuesday, May 4th: We are the two most tired folks
in all of England!! We slept late, waking about  9am
and by 10am were on our way to find one of those double-decker tour buses.
We chose The Big Red Bus tour with a live guide and off we went. It was a
"hop on hop off" tour meaning folks could get off and back on as often
as they like throughout the day, buses coming by each bus stop about every 15
minutes. Our first "hop off" was near Big Ben and the London
Eye. 
Terrific view of the entire city from the top  of
the Eye. 
We wrapped up the day with a visit to the Tower of London where
we met Lady Jane Grey who is better known as the 9 Days Queen.
May 3, 2010: We are in London!! Smooth flight
and on the plane we sat in a row with 3 seats, but only the two of us so we had
plenty of room to spread out and be comfortable. 8 hours is a long flight
and we should have slept some but we were too excited. 
Our "flat" is on the 3rd floor of a very quiet apartment building
about 2 minutes' walk from Sloan Square where we can "catch the tube"
or taxi.
 Riding
in a taxi on the "wrong side of the street" is quite an
experience. And they drive really fast! Very friendly and full of
tourist info, tips and suggestions. One took us to his favorite Italian
restaurant for supper. He drove us right past Buckingham Palace
and stopped for a moment so we could get a quick photo.
We are exhausted and heading to bed early. Tomorrow and
probably Wednesday will be dedicated to sight-seeing. Thursday we will
probably head to the archives for some research. More tomorrow...
April 26, 2010: Linda Allred Cooper and Ruth Ann
Marley Jones are going to England for one month in search of our Allred roots -
and some sight-seeing (of course)... and maybe tea with the Queen..... We
fly into London Monday morning, May 3rd. Our plans include visits to
Newcastle upon Tyne, Lancaster, Ulverston, Liverpool, Chester and
Manchester.
Alice Allred Pottmyer had planned to join us - and our original
plans were for the 3 of us to fly to London on April 18th - but that stupid
volcano completely messed up our plans. The evening before our flight, we
received automated phone calls from the airlines telling us the flights had been
cancelled. Major Bummer!!! So our plans were changed but,
unfortunately, Alice had a scheduling conflict and could not rearrange her
plans so she is now unable to join us! We're going to miss her!!
We will blog often, daily if possible, and post photos so you
can enjoy the trip with us. Keep your fingers crossed that we will uncover
some new and exciting Allred genealogy info.
| 
Allred
Family Organization 
