The Olympic Torch arrives in Kingston

On a warm summers morning the Torch arrived in Kingston.  We were lucky to get a prime position along the route as we didn't have far to venture - just downstairs and out the front door. 

Standing among the crowds we saw the sponsors arrive first with Coca Cola making the loudest impression with music blasting.

Next we saw the mascot who's name apparently is Wenlock after a town called Much Wenlock in Shropshire (see photo on top left below).

The torch finally arrived at 9.18am being carried by someone we didn't know and apparently no one else did either after questioning a few people including volunteers near me. 

And you might like to know that the torch arrival probably lasted less than 10 seconds before everyone was on their way back to work or whatever they were planning on doing today. Me well I went to the gym!

Where I live

As I sit here on our balcony enjoying cloudless blue skies (still a novelty here) and the trickling water of the solar powered budda which has recently joined our eclectic mix of plants, I was pondering what to write when I remembered that tomorrow morning I have a date with the Olympic flame in Kingston. Well not a real date but I plan to go check it out if the crowds will allow me to. 

So on the eve of the Olympic flame arriving in Kingston and the upcoming Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday, I thought I would write and tell you a bit more about this little spot called Kingston Upon Thames.

Kingston in the UK is nothing like the stinky seaweed town of Kingston in Oz (apologies if you like stinky seaweed). It sits in South West London on the edge of the Thames and borders some of the more famous areas such as Richmond, Wimbledon and Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace gardens

It’s centre point is an ancient market square which still houses markets every day. I can get my fruit and veg down there during the week and on the weekend they tend to have a few extra stalls ranging from clothing, jewellery and other bric-a-brac.

Market Square

Near to the market square is the mall filled with a wide variety of shops. I’ll just add, particularly for the girls reading this, that yes it has a Zara, TopShop, Accessorize to name a few! If you get sick of shopping there are a number of bars and restaurants nearby and along the Thames. Of course if you want peace and quiet then just a hop skip and a jump over the bridge are the parks.

What I didn’t know until I did some research is that Kingston is an ancient market town where Saxon Kings were crowned. It was first mentioned in around 838 when it was called Cyninges tun. It had a few variations on the name until it became Kingston Upon Thames. I still find it bizarre when reading dates here because so many of them exist well before Australia was even a spot on the map.

The apartment where I’m living edges on the River Thames and so it’s walking distance to all the nice things that Kingston has to offer. 20 minutes from Waterloo on the train we can be in central london quite quickly. Below are some pics for you. Enjoy!

View from the roof of our apartment block

Kingston Bridge

 

Other roof view!

The red apartment block is where we are!

Front of apartments - Kingston Bridge in distance

Bushwalking in Blighty

Across the Thames from where we’re living in Kingston are numerous adjoining parks that lead onto Hampton Court Palace. 

One of my favourite places to visit in the UK, Hampton Court Palace was the home of the famous Henry VIII. When we have visitors I tend to take them on one of the local boat rides along the Thames from Kingston to Hampton Court Palace, but yesterday in the hope I could gain some inspiration for my writing course homework, I decided to go for a walk.

Home Park being the destination of choice is a mere 700 acres compared to its neighbour Bushy Park which is 1099 acres. I share with you the size because the expanse of these parks is surprising considering how close they are to what I term the city.

Walking across Kingston Bridge I can disappear out of urban life and into tranquillity within 5 minutes.

The Ice House

Past the entrance into Home Park I am greeted by a large brick structure to the left, it's actually an old Ice House from the 17^th Century. 

Looking at where its located Henry must have had a long long walk from the palace to get ice for his Gin and Tonics!

The Big Trees : Sherwood Forest?

Wandering along I pass massive tree’s, they remind me of Sherwood Forest not that I’ve actually ever been there but it just has that feel about it.

I suppose the one real difference that gets me every time I go for bush walks in Blighty is the long grass. In Oz we typically mow it where we can, or back burn it where we can’t to protect ourselves from bushfires and venomous little creatures such as the tiger snake. I utterly refuse to walk near long grass particularly in warm weather back home but here I find myself almost running through it in utter delight, yes it is a bit of a novelty.

Deer in the long grass

As I keep walking I come across deer roaming freely. They can do that here and feel utterly safe because it is illegal to hunt them thanks to the Queen. At home we’d be adorned with our rifles hoping to get some nice venison for dinner, well my brother would anyway.

The random hole...odd?!

The lake (or one of them)

Continuing on I get distracted when I find a few holes randomly scattered not far from a lake. What ever could be living here? I can’t see anything worth investigating further so continue on enjoying the view of the swans on the lake.

Passing a Golf Course I was just wondering where next to go when I see them..... hundreds and hundreds of rabbits. It is quite rare to see so many in one place so I quietly creep along trying to get as close as possible to take some pictures. It doesn't work of course because one step and they run and hide in their burrows.  I did try and take a picture but you probably cannot see the rabbits, you'll just have to believe me when I say there were lots.

The Rabbits

Actually it brings back memories of my childhood on the farm, standing on top of the ute and shooting bunnies with my Dad and brothers. Back then they were vermin to the farmers so we’d have competitions on how many we could shoot. No apologies to those animal Liberationist's as that was how we did things back then. 

But back to the topic at hand, bushwalking in Blighty is probably less challenging than in Oz as there are no mountains to climb and no venomous creatures to avoid. It's easy to just get lost in your surroundings and enjoy.