Traveling to Writtle

We left Portsmouth and traveled by train to Waterloo Station in London. Our good mate Steve picked us up in his cab, and we additionally picked up his wife Lyn and daughter Emma from work in London. We traveled the 30 miles to Writtle via the A12 "dual carriageway" where we passed the new construction of the 2012 Olympic Stadium and surrounding sites. We had a wonderful dinner and relaxed in Steve and Lyn Parson's beautiful English garden amongst the Koi fish pond, bonsai trees and amazing fragrant flowers. Ed has discovered his new favorite beer is Greene King IPA. Much of the evening was spent talking about stories from previous visits.

Maritime Museums and Harbor Cruise

Next we toured a couple of the museums on site, including one that honored the incredible career of Lord Nelson, and another that contained one exhibit only: an enormous sail from “Victory’s” foremast that saw action at Trafalgar, filled with holes and tears from the battle. It is treated as if it were a piece of the Holy Cross, and it should be.

Within sight of the “Warrior”, which is still an impressive-looking threat after a century and a half, is “Gunwharf Quay”, a large and wonderful collection of harbor-side outlet shops, where, oddly, one can find many American stores like “Claire’s,” “Oneida,” the “Gap,” and “Starbucks,” as well as famed British institutions like “Boots” pharmacy and “Marks and Spencer,” equivalent to perhaps Marshall’s. The “Spinnaker” is there, a huge new monument in a fanciful interpretation of the shape of a triangular sail, which has an observation deck looking out over the harbor. Since it has a glass floor, we avoided its challenge, and took a harbor cruise instead, where we were introduced to some of the frigates, destroyers, and supply ships of Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, as well as all three of her aircraft carriers, including the latest in a long line of historic flat tops dubbed the “Ark Royal.”

We finished our day with a fish and chips dinner at the Quay’s “Custom’s House,” all lubricated with a “shandy” (lemonade and beer), and a pale ale. Then off to bed.

Portsmouth Harbor

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The dream continues. At 7 AM, Donna and I disembarked from the Queen Mary 2 in Southampton. We were now on English soil!

Normally our section of the QM2 would leave its baggage in the corridor by our “stateroom” door, where it would be collected during the night, and prepared for evacuation from the ship next morning. We would eat between 5:30 and 7 AM at King’s Court amidships, and then gather in the Queen’s Room for a wait of almost, perhaps, two hours. By approx 10 AM we would then disembark.

But passengers do have the option of disembarking at 7 AM if they transport their own luggage. Knowing that this would give us more time for sightseeing, this is the option we chose. This is made possible by having one’s passport stamped on board a few days before. It was here that Ed made a serious error. I wore my red “Brittonkill Teachers’ Association” polo shirt, and happened to be carrying the paperback I was currently reading: Leon Uris’s novel of Irish rebellion, “Trinity.” I’m sure Great Britain feels I now have designs on them, but rest assured I have no desire to kill any Britons!

We were up early by mistake. “Crossing” to England creates a “day” of 23 hours. One needs to advance one’s watch five times. Ed mistakenly advanced his six, and so we were up early to shower, eat, and stand on the deck shortly after sunrise as we sailed majestically up the channel to the dock. Millions of mariners across history have sailed this leg, thrilled with the sight of their home turf, and we were lucky due to our mistake to have experienced it.

A ten minute taxi ride to the rail station, and a train ride of less than an hour brought us to Portsmouth, for centuries the home of the British navy. A five minute walk from the station brought us to the Keppel Head Hotel, a venerable, slightly worn, but wonderfully English hostelry filled with historic prints and overlooking one of the world’s most famous harbors. After leaving our baggage, we headed for the museums. Five hours after leaving the Queen Mary, we had walked the decks of the world’s most famous wooden warship (the “Victory”, ca. 1805), and of the world’s first ironclad warship, (the “Warrior”, 1860). We also had viewed the remains of Henry VIII’s favorite warship, the “Mary Rose” (1535), now raised from its sinking then and undergoing a lengthy conservation process. While on board “Victory,” Ed stood on the spot where the world’s most famous naval hero, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, took his fatal bullet during his most illustrious triumph, the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), and we saw where he died in the ship’s hold. “Victory’s” massive triple gun decks would have made short work of the entire 16-ship American navy of that era without any help from the other 599 ships of His Majesty’s navy. No wonder the U.S. was reduced to a type of naval guerilla warfare during the War of 1812.