London

 A morning trip to the East India Docks by DLR to listen to a music piece composed to play for 1000 years non-stop.

 

The Longplayer has been going on for 13 years and 233 days when we were there.

 

This is the light house at Trinity Buoy Wharf  where the music is playing - one of the London's secrets.

 

The wharf is extremely quiet - with old warehouses are making ways for these quirky boxes.

 

From the wharf, a good view of the business district at Canary Wharf.

And the Millennium Dome - where people were seen climbing on top - like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

 First time for me taking a river cruise on the Thames starting from the Eye Pier and ending at Greenwich.

 On one of these Thames Clippers

 passing by the iconic buildings of London

 The Shard at London Bridge -a 87-storey glass skyscraper completed in 2012 and

presently the tallest building in the EU. 

Quite a few high rise buildings under development are seen sprouting up among the old low rise chimney buildings in central London

The changing skyline - from Toby's flat in Greenwich

View from Greenwich Park

Besides these outdoor locations,  the art places - Royal Academy of Arts where the summer exhibition was on, National Portraits Gallery and Tate Britain is part and parcel of our round in London. 

A new Turner Gallery was open at the Tate. 

Another place we visited this time was the Sutton House at Hackney - a tudor house built by a courier of Henry VIII in the 16th century.

Family Memories

Nearly all the family members are in this photo taken in Lacock Village.

 This is the boy missing from the family photo.

Undeniably, father and daughter

 The sisters don't meet often even though they are both in the UK.

The youngest grandson has ginger hair -like the grand-dad, used to have.

Meeting Paul -  potentially a new member of the family?

How tall will they be in two years?

Not many opportunities to have a  photograph of us together - take it when someone offered.

What an atmospheric photo  (taken with Polly's iphone) on the eve of our departure.

Bath

Before leaving UK, we put on the hats of tourists.  We went to BATH, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is not dissimilar in terms of architecture from the City of Cheltenham.

 The Royal Crescent - a street of 30 terraced houses of Georgian architecture built some 230 years ago.

 This row of houses sloping down from the Crescent.

Old warehouses along the River Avon converted into office spaces.

A shopping street in Bath

 The iconic red box has been modernised for a different usage.

 The view near Pulteney Bridge

 

Pulteney Bridge

Excursions

 We had numerous outings with the grandchildren. 

Our first outing was at the Natural History Museum, London. Next was Dyrham Park.

 

The first photo taken by Noah using the Canon at Fresh Air Sculpture Show.

 Newwark Park where as it happened, a vintage car exhibition. Boys in the old Fiat 500.

Spotted a red Morgan.

 Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway - steam and diesel heritage train ride.

The boys playing with their cameras, our presents to them, while waiting for the train at the station in Cheltenham.

 A canal boat trip in Gloucester.

 Gloucestershire Waterways Museum - where we boarded the boat.

Noah and Isaac checking how strong they were in the Museum.

 Lunch at Pizza Express, Gloucester Docks

 Climbing up one of the Malvern Hills after a visit to the Morgan Factory in Malvern.

Malvern Hills - a miniature mountain range. The Welsh hills are visible on a clear day. 

Pity that Jamie was not with us that day.

We spent the most time with Isaac, the youngest who stayed with us for three days at Stinchcombe.

Other outdoor venue - Westonbirt Arboretum which we visited when their mother wanted relief from the boys for a little while.

Silverstone

Two days after visiting the Morgan Factory to see how cars are made, we took the boys to a motor race.

The Silverstone circuit - the place where the first race took place in 1948.

 Cars coming.

Looks like a Morgan.

Prefer this to watching the car race?

 All lined up - ready to race.

I like the 3-wheeler - cute.

 

A snack on arrival, a lunch at the cafe and then shop for the model cars - all happening at Silverstone

-is it a perfect day for the boys?

Morgan Factory

The original factory at Malvern Link

 The first 3-wheeler Morgan was designed in 1909, and production started in 1910.

 The Plus-8 - old and new models

 The Chassis Department.

What a neat and tidy production floor. 

Only 15 cars are produced a week - all hand-made to order, mostly to international clients.

 Working on the body in the factory.

Wooden frame on the car door - ash wood, I was told.

 

The Aero 8 model in the Morgan Museum

Definitely an educational tour - an induction for the boys. 

Cant leave without a photo with the distinctive Morgan.