Finally, the time arrived for our Big Trip to the U K. I was born in Worcestershire Co. in England. My first home was Shrubbery House in Ombersley. The trip was a while in the planning but for sure a long time dream of mine. We flew from Pearson Airport in Toronto on the 19th of Aug. 2006. We flew Airtransat to Gatwick Airport near London England. We were met by my cousin Eddie Wheeler who lives in Woking Surrey. We stayed with Eddie and Vicky for the first week The second week we stayed with my mother's cousin and her husband Diana and Peter Ingham. They live in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. What a lovely time we had. Our hosts went out of their way to show us a fabulous time.

While in the UK my cousin Eddie held a Bar-B-Q and had his boys plus John and Jane Blake over for a meet and greet	One of the best surprises of our trip was a visit to Windsor Castle. We went there on the first Tuesday of our trip and we were so delighted by it all. We drove up to the gate Eddie spoke with the guards at the gate. The Guard made a phone call then the gates went down and we drove right in. How cool is that!!	Many thanks to Eddie and Vicky Wheeler. They live in Woking UK near London.These lovely people went well out of their way to make our stay a big success. As with my Mum's cousin, Diana and Peter Ingham they put many miles on both their car and their feet. It just wouldn't have been as great a trip without them.
Here we have Eddie's son Chris, his family , Jane Blake and Judy	This is Shrubbery House in Ombersley UK. This was my Mum's home while Dad was fighting in the second world war.	This is another shot of Windsor Castle. As you can see it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. Space just doesn't allow for all the words I would like to say about the tour. It was just so special and we will never forget the sights and sounds of it all.

This is one of the many beautiful gardens at Windsor Castle

This was a very exciting scene to watch. The guards all march in and then go through a series of maneuvers with relieved guards coming from different parts of the Castle

I wasn't ready for this!! I thought Windsor Castle was out in the country...Wrong. This is a street outside Windsor Castle. There is a lot to see and it was great to have Eddie and Vicky to show us around

This is part of the Thames Barrier. It is reached by boat. The ticket bought at the dock in London. It was designed to stop London from flooding during high tide	This is the view from a London double decker bus. We went on two of these buses during our trip. If you take the train from Woking, the ticket is all inclusive of the London transit system, buses and subways.	We were at the Tower Clock that so many call "Big Ben",which refers to the bell at the top at nearly dusk. We walked around West Minister Cathedral but did not have time to tour it.
Guilford is seen from Eddie's front windows. It is a lovely town and for sure worth a look.	There are lovely old churchs everywhere in the UK and Guilford has it's share, also old palaces, this garden is near to one of Guilfords old Churchs	Another popular pass time in the UK is boating. There are small streams everywhere. This one is in Guilford and the canal boats are a common site. They are self directed and with a little practice I am sure anyone could figure the locks out to have a great pieceful tour
What to say of Harvington Hall? Mum's cousin Diana took us here it is near Kidderminster. This is a must if you want to know more back ground of the Catholic church in UK. There was terror after King Henry the V111th. Catholic worship could get you killed!	If you insisted on practicing the faith then you had to be prepared. This is one of seven holes to hide in at Harvington Hall. This board would be raised then the offending Clergy would slip in side and bolt it down until it was safe to come out again.	If a service was going on then the alter covers and utensils would be placed in this hole in the floor and the priests would slip into a hole in the wall, not shown, to be safe.
What to say about Peter and Diana? Diana is Mum's cousin. Diana and Peter live in Kidderminster which is near where I was born. They treated us like royalty and we loved every minute we were there. Peter does the most amazing meal on Sundays. Many courses and it is all a surprise. I thank you Peter for asking me to read 1Cor.1 18-25 at church on the Fri. before we left.	This is the bell at St Peter's Church Broome. Mum has preached here and some of the parishioners spoke highly of her. It is a lovely church. Thank you Diana for taking us there.	This is one of the many Pheysey Graves around the midlands. It is at St.Peters Broome in the church yard.
The SS Great Britain is the first steel steam ship built. It sailed many time between UK and the US and Australia. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to sail is a cabin on this ship. It sank at the Falkland IS. was re floated and brought back to Bristol UK. It is in dry dock now and undergoing restoration. It is open for tours and can be rented for parties. The start of the tour you are walking around under plexaglass and looking over the bottom of the ship where you can see the signs of rot and the propeller.	Top deck on the SS Great Britain. This is Burnett and his Grand daughter. He took us on a tour of this ship a couple hours drive from Kidderminster. Was a lovely day and so much to see.	The pub at Ludlow. We came here with Burnett after dropping his Grand daughter off at home in Kidderminster. We were too early for supper so we drove out to do some site seeing. On our way back Burnett won the prize for showing us the most narrow road. The sign, we saw later said caution narrow road 6' wide. His Mazda SUV almost , almost could not go around the second 90% bend. What a champion driver!!
I love you Judy!! We are about to take off by ourselves on a trip to tour Bridgenorth. A very nice little town and a lovely train ride. It is an old steam train.	Here we are at the top of Bridgenorth. This is the lift car you can ride from the lower part to the main old town. There are, again old churchs and the remains of a castle here. There are also lovely gardens that had won a prize.	Here are Peter and Ted at Kidderminster station. This is the day we went back to Woking and what a trip that was. Peter God Bless him stayed to see us safely on the train.

One of the main things to plan for on a UK trip is figuring out the rail service. The rail service there is not like in Canada where you buy a ticket and you know exactly what to do. The stops are simple here and there there are more stops and more companys own the different trains. We traveled from Bracknell to Kidderminster and were on three different train company's stock. At Redding there are about 10 platforms and if you do not know the "system" you have to be ready to ask and run.

The Thames River boat cruise is a lovely trip. The boats go from London to the Thames Barrier. On the way you can stop, and most boats do, at Greenwich UK where the Prime Meridian is located. After  reboarding at that location the boats can go to the Barrier. The Barrier was designed and constructed to stop flooding of London and the lower Thames area. The screens that make up the Barrier when needed are drawn up by the gantries located on either side This doesn't stop the water it slows it down to a controllable flow speed.