It was just getting light at 05:00 when Cat and I got up to head to Heathrow. I had to be at the airport for an 08:00 flight, which was too bad as Cat pointed out other flights that left later in the day…why didn’t I find one of those…she asked? She also suggested that next time I should use Skytrax which is better than Expedia for flights, in the UK anyway. Oh well, not a lot of traffic so we arrived with plenty of time and I was able to get a nice breakfast after getting through security and the inevitable extra scan.
The flight itself was short and sweet, we actually made it in just over an hour. At the Dublin airport I figured out which bus to get and that too was relatively short and sweet and I was dropped off a Heuston Station in the city centre, which is just across the river from the Ashling Hotel, where I’ll be staying for the night. The Ashling is located via what3words at ///myself.sock.liner.
I was able to check my carry-on at the hotel but my room wasn’t ready so it was time for a walkabout. I should point out that the weather is quite unbelievable, sunny and relatively warm. The big advantage is that there is no biting wind like there was in Dorking. I had really not expected this kind of weather and I sorely wish I could remember what I did with my sunglasses.
I walked east along the river, the Liffey, and took a couple of snaps, especially of this weird shaped building on the other side with strange lettering…Guinness…not quite sure what that stands for but I’m sure I’ll find out shortly.
It was getting past repast time but I couldn’t see anything resembling a restaurant or a pub. A block north of the R148 I spotted a corner shop that had a large group of young people standing around outside. It was worth a look so I headed that way. The place was called “Wuff” and it was hard to say what it was as it had a tiny door at the corner and essentially bars on all the windows. It turned out to be a very nice wee restaurant full of very young people, but with a table and chair just right for Moi.
Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich, with double fried chips, and a pint of….you guessed it…Guinness. What a treat the pint was and the food was quite nice too. It was a bit pricey, especially when the transaction machine decided to tell me what it was in Canadian dollars…whince…whince…but what the heck…I’m on holiday.
I was getting a bit knackered, probably that magic brew, so I headed back to the Ashling, got my room and had a lie down until 17:00. The tour group was meeting at 18:00 so after a refreshing shower I went down and joined them.
I didn’t meet all of them in any detail but most of them are from Australia while there are two couples from Canada, so a friendly group. After handshakes all around we headed to the dining room which allowed for a bit more intimate chatting with seated neighbours. I sat across from Peter the tour guide, who in his spare time runs a cattle farm in Ireland. He’s been doing the tour bit for about 20 years so I think we are going to be in good hands.
Irish stew for dinner and it was really quite good…even the carrots. I didn’t have another Guinness as it was getting on and I was hoping for a good nights sleep to start the trip well refreshed. So..after instructions from Peter about breakfast and the departure routine for the morning, it was off to bed at 20:00. Tomorrow we head off to refight the Battle of the Boyne and then head to Belfast to the Titanic Museum. Sounds good.
The trip to the old sod was uneventful but a bit uncomfortable in some ways. A city bus to the intercity bus and some wonderful views from the top of the double decker Megabus on the way to Toronto. It’s amazing what you can see along the 401 when you have the height.
Security and check-in at Pearson was easy but I had a bit of a wait as I arrived several hours before the flight. It was enough time to grab a bite and a pint and read a couple of chapters. I highly recommend “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks. An enjoyable and fascinating mix of pre-US civil war slavery, horse racing, art, horology and osteology.
The flight itself was quite uncomfortable. I had hoped to doze a bit but I couldn’t seem to settle in. The young lady beside me had her earphones on with wave lapping sounds, she put on an eye shade and that was it…she woke up in London/Gatwick. I didn’t watch any movies as nothing appealed but I read a bit and played solitaire….oh I also made googly eyes at a 6 month old across the aisle. I got him laughing a couple of times before he too took the hint and fell asleep. Not sure whether I hastened that or not.
Some of you know about “what3words” so here’s where I am while in Dorking., ///limp.strong.holds.
Thursday was a wipe out as I was tired and for some reason got chilled. Cat and Neil decided to celebrate my birthday so after a wee afternoon snooze on the couch, we walked around the corner to the “Queen’s Head”. I enjoyed a traditional fish and chip dinner and a pint of Fuller’s London Pride. That just about did me in and when we got back to The Highlands it wasn’t long before I headed to bed and had a very fine sleep.
I got up at 07:00 on Friday to a lovely view of the back garden. Since Cat and Neil are re-doing the guest rooms I got the luxury of using their room. The room has double windows facing the back yard and the sun was shining and it looked gorgeous out. That didn’t stop me from snuggling under the duvet for another few minutes.
In the afternoon I went walkabout in Dorking. I stopped at the model shop and had a nice chat with Andrew about model making and stuff. He asked why I was interested in the 25 pdr gun with quad tractor and limber so I told him about Dad and Italy. He replied that his Dad had also been in Italy with a British armoured unit. As it turned out he was captured near the Gothic Line when his tank lost a track in front of 2 Panthers. I gave him my blog address and he said he would enjoy the reminiscence.
I then ambled along the High Street to “Arto” a nice little café that I discovered on my last trip. Pancakes, with bacon and bananas and cappuccino for lunch. It rained a bit but I had on all my clothes so I wasn’t worried about getting wet. I also ventured into the local butcher and managed to find a scotch egg which I intended to have for lunch on Saturday.
Later in the day Cat and Neil took me to Leith Hill. It’s not far away and they both often run there or take their bikes. There are lots of trails for bikers, hikers and horseback riders, although we only saw the former two. From the car park we climbed up to the tower. Leith Hill is the highest “peak” in southern England and if it wasn’t for the hills to the south, you would be able to see the English Channel. Neil called me over to the north facing side and I was stunned to see London in the distance. It seemed a bit fogged in but the Shard and other buildings were clearly there. Neil said that was about the clearest it was going to get so I had to settle for the foggy view.
Another treat was in store as we drove back thru Coldharbour and visited “The Plough”, a lovely little pub with some very fine food. This time I had a Dorking Brewery Best Bitter and I hate to say it but it was better than the London Pride. It’s a good thing Cat agreed to drive home as the second pint put Neil and I in a deliciously warm frame of mind.
Saturday, April 20th, has been quite relaxing although the temperature has taken awhile to get up to 10 C. At 07:00 it was 3 C but sunny. Cat ran over to the Denbigh Winery to participate in the Saturday Park Run, while Neil and I drove over with Millie to cheer her on. It’s a 5 km run around the vineyards, quite hilly and there were tons of people out as this was the first dry day in quite a while. Cat was 3 seconds slower than her best time which is not bad given how cold and windy it was.
In the afternoon Neil and I had the option of going to the Dorking Wanderers football game or staying home by the fire and watching York play Solihull. York is Neil’s team and was facing relegation so it was an important game for them….also….it was still cool and windy out so we opted to stay home. The game was a bit of a bore as, according to the standings, a draw would have satisfied both teams. In the end Solihull scored with 4 minutes to go…after which York just passed the ball back and forth until the game ended.
The good news is that I got to eat my scotch egg for lunch.
The three of us are sitting in the living room with the fire blazing and we are not expecting to go anywhere else today. Cat is talking to her sister on the phone and Neil is getting ready to leave for a long bike ride. I plan on going to bed early as we will have to get up at 05:00 to travel to Heathrow for my early flight to Dublin.
Welcome back folks to another travel adventure. It’s been some time since I’ve written about my adventures although I have posted some videos on my YouTube channel so you might check some of them out.
Today I start my 78th trip around the sun, which in itself is something to celebrate. On Wednesday the 17th of April, only two days away, I’m heading off for a 6 week adventure to Ireland, Scotland and England. The first leg of this trip will involve a 2 week trip around Ireland, both the Republic and Northern Ireland, with Blue Road Tours. I’ve heard some good things about them and this will be my first organized tour with a group. In this case its a relatively small group of 18 people, with a small travel coach and excellent accommodations…at least that’s what they said in the brochure. There’s a good chance that some, if not most of them, will be Aussies as the tour company is Australian.
I’ll be leaving from Toronto and heading for Gatwick airport, south of London, then on to Dorking to stay with Cat and Neil for a couple of days. I have an early flight from Heathrow on the 21st to Dublin where the tour starts. It’s essentially a tour around the perimeter of Ireland, north and south, with a number of the stops being 2 day layovers so lots of time for rambling and photos. I’ll post more on that as the trip progresses. The tour is over on the 2nd of May and I hope to stay over in Dublin for a few more days as I’ve been advised that it’s worth the visit.
I’ll be flying from Dublin to Aberdeen, Scotland and taking the overnight ferry to Lerwick in Shetland. I’ve got accommodations’ booked in Scalloway and I’m hoping to spend 4 days there then off to Kirkwall in Orkney for another 4 days. After experiencing a bit of North Atlantic weather, I’ll head back to Aberdeen by ferry and take the train to Edinburgh. I’m not sure whether I’ll spend any time in Edinburgh as I do have plans to head south to visit my cousins, Colin and Moira, who live in Clovenfords, which is not far from Galashiels in the Borders Region.
After Scotland I’m heading by train to London for at least 4 days. I’ve got a room booked at the Victory Services Club and I’ve got a list of neighbourhoods I want to visit and photograph. If I can find another fun thing to search for in London, like the Deep Level Air Raid Shelters, I’ll do that as well.
The trip will eventually end in Dorking in the Surrey Hills where Cat, Neil, Carrot and Millie live. The latter two are new additions…meow and bark in that order.
Keep an eye on this blog for more rambling, photography and the occasional wee dram of Irish whiskey and single malts.
As threatened, here’s the final part of my adventure discovering and photographing the entrance ways to London’s Deep Level Air Raid Shelters.
I should preface this by telling you that finding the remaining eight entrance ways that are north of the Thames was not that difficult. The previous internet research and aerial searches using Google Earth made it quite simple to identify the entrance ways to Belsize Park, Camden Town, Goodge Street and to some extent Chancery Lane. The Chancery Lane shelter is actually not under the Northern Line but under an extension that went to St Paul’s and is now part of the Circle Line. It lies east of the Northern Line. More on that particular shelter later.
Another thing that made the search easy was the mapping software I use on my phone. I use Locus, which is really intended for hikers and bike riders, but which I find perfectly suited for other forms of transit. Locus was the main map based GPS app that I used during my three week trip to Italy. One of the beauties of it is that the maps are resident in the phone and I only need a GPS connection to pin point where I am and where I might want to go. As it turns out, while setting way points for the north of the Thames adventure, I discovered that Locus had already identified several of the sites as points of historic interest. Wish I’d known that a few weeks ago.
Tuesday dawned a bit overcast with a threat of rain but I set off up the Northern Line anyway. I decided to go to the furthest northern station first, Belsize Park, and work my way south, possibly with a walk between stations. This is part of London that I’ve never been to and I didn’t venture very far from Haverstock Hill which is the main road.
Belsize Park Tube Stop on the north side of Haverstock Hill
The northern and southern entrance ways are on the same side of the road as the tube station. The northern entrance is a few yards off the street but with easy access down a small alleyway.
Belsize Park northern entrance to the Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
The southern entrance on the other hand sits right on the street and is quite obvious. You will note the “Abbot Datastore” name and logo on the side. Most of the shelters were sold by the government to Transport for London (TfL) in the 1990’s and some, like this one, are used for archival storage.
Belsize Park southern entrance to the Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
It started to drizzle as I made my way back to the tube stop and apparently rained while I was traveling south to Cambden Town. When I emerged from that station the sky’s were clear and the crowds were abundant.
Camden Town Station on Camden High Street
You don’t have to wander far from the tube stations to find the entrance ways. The north entrance at Camden Town is just up the High Street and east along Buck Street.
North entrance to Camden Town Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
The south entrance is a bit trickier to find as it’s on the opposite side of the street down a narrow walkway and hidden beside a car park. It has a sturdy metal fence guarding it but I was able to squeeze the camera through the rails.
South entrance to the Camden Town Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
My daughter Cat had advised that if I was going to Camden Town I should wander around a bit as it is quite the funky part of London. She was absolutely correct and I will be putting together a slide show on my YouTube channel at some point but this is just an example of the sites you see along the High Street and Regent’s Canal.
Camden Town High StreetFood vendors along the Regent’s Canal in Camden Town
A good amble about then I’m off south on the tube to Goodge Street Station. This station has a series of “lifts” (elevators) to whisk you from street side to track side. I passed the stairwell which advised there were 189 steps leading back up to the top…and the Deep Level Shelters are below that.
At this point we are on Tottenham Court Road and the north entrance is just up the street. It’s located beside the American International Church and they seemed to be having some sort of fund raiser as there were food stalls and quite a few people milling about eating off of paper plates.
North entrance to the Goodge Street Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
I couldn’t resist having the BT Communications Tower in the background. It’s another iconic London structure.
The southern entrance is almost across the street from the station just down Chenies Street and it is currently used by Iron Mountain for archival storage of film.
The Eisenhower Centre aka the south entrance to the Goodge Street Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
The building is called the Eisenhower Centre to commemorate the fact that this, in 1942, was the headquarters of the Allied armies. This entrance was the access to this HQ. In the lead-up to D-Day, it was a signals installation used by the US Army Signal Corps, one of several in central London. There is a suggestion that Eisenhower used this site but it’s a bit of a controversy whether he was actually ever there. The locals seem content with the story though so there you are.
The monument in front of the building pre-dates the building of the shelter and is a Grade II listed memorial to The Rangers, 12th County of London Regiment, which dates from shortly after the First World War and includes additional inscriptions relating to the service of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) in the Second World War.
At this point in my day I was getting a bit peckish and thirsty. I know where the Fitzrovia Pub is on Goodge Street and although they have Timothy Taylor Landlord on tap, there not serving food. The landlady very kindly directs me back to the high street and along to the Rising Sun…not the House of the Rising Sun as that surely spells disaster.
The Rising Sun is a quiet corner pub with a nice pint of Greene King Ale and scampi’s and chips…so all is well in the world. As I sit by the window watching Tottenham Court Road go by…the rain comes down, umbrella’s out and hoodies up. Fifteen minutes later it’s over and the sun has come out. That settles it for me…I need to walk off the pint anyway so I’m off on foot searching for the Chancery Lane tube stop.
It’s a pretty straight forward hike, down Tottenham Court Road to Oxford Street, east on Oxford to New Oxford and on to Holborn Road. I’m looking for 31-33 Holborn Road as this is the site of the original Chancery Lane Station.
I decided to take a side bar walk down Kingsway and over to Lincoln’s Inn Fields as I promised Neil the picture below. He had worked in the Chancery Lane area for years and went past the corner frequently but never spied this wee gem. It is suspected to be the same shop that Dickens wrote about as it dates back to 1567 and was in an area known as Clare Market. The building is now owned by the London School of Economics which has grown immensely around it.
The old tube station, Chancery Station House, is now an apartment building and home to some tax accountants. The station itself was the west entrance to the deep level shelters.
Original Chancery Underground Station and entrance to the Deep Level Air Raid Shelter
To the left of the station is Fulwood Place, a narrow walkway leading to Gray’s Inn Gardens. If you walk a few yards down that lane then turn around this is what you see.
One of the ventilation shafts of the Chancery Lane Deep Level Air Raid Shelters
This ventilation shaft is about all that’s left of the original entrance system and the reason for that is in the 1950’s the Chancery Lane shelters were converted to a deep level communications centre known as the Kingsway Telephone Exchange. This secure site was in response to cold war antics at the time.
The image below is a 1959 Land Registry plan that shows, in pink the layout for the west part of the Kingsway Telephone Exchange. Note the pink box at the corner of Fairfax House.
I believe that this entrance way, the only one on the north wall of the back of the old station, is that area in pink on the plan.
There is another ventilation shaft which formed part of the eastern entrance and it is further east and south on Furnival Street.
Entrance to Kingsway Telephone Exchange
This section of the land registry plan shows this entrance at 39 Furnival Street.
The plan also shows a tunnel leading across the street on an angle to this building on the corner of Furnival and Took’s Court. The main body of the exchange is below this building.
The plan also shows a tunnel going from the southwest corner of the building, on an angle, to Took’s Court. I believe that this “fire exit” on Took’s Court may be part of that tunnel exit.
So, there you have it. Another busy day of walking, photo shooting, pint drinking and scampi snacking.
I hope you have enjoyed the adventure. I certainly did and it made for a most interesting way to spend holiday time in a place you don’t really know. I’m now a tube traveler “sans pareil” and I know a few more things about London than many Londoners. As a reward there’s a pint of Fuller’s London Pride waiting for me and I don’t like to keep things waiting.
If you read the first part of this adventure you know that I discovered and took photos of three entrance ways to two of London’s eight Deep Level air raid Shelters (DLS). I had not really intended to go much further than that until the day I decided to go to Clapham Common for a walkabout.
Exiting the tube station and crossing the street to the east side of the road I ran smack into another entrance way.
The small plaque on the wall on the left confirms what this is a Clapham Common Deep Level Shelter entrance.
I really hadn’t expected this and wasn’t sure which entrance I was seeing. Given that there are four shelters south of the Thames and that each shelter has two entrances I had now discovered four of the eight shelter entrances. My blood was up for the hunt.
Since the original plan had been to walk north along Clapham High Street I decided to keep going to see what I could see. It was almost 3/4 of a kilometer before I passed the Clapham North tube entrance and further on encountered another deep level entrance, this one quite obvious and lovingly decorated.
Now I’m really very curious as I don’t know what I’ve just discovered. These two entrances are too far apart to be from the same DLS so they must form a north or south entrance to one of the other shelters.
I’m very quickly back to Google Earth to see what I can see. Using the Clapham South entrances as a guide I have a rough idea of how far apart they might be and that is about 600 feet. Using the entrance I discovered at Clapham Common I go 600 feet south and 600 feet north and on the north projection I can clearly see the outline of an entrance. Going to street view it’s quite obvious, so why did I walk past it without seeing it. The answer is simple…I was walking on the same side as the shelter and it’s just another wall at that point.
Photo taken from the west side of Clapham High Street, Clapham Common Deep Level Shelter north entrance.
It appears that I’ve uncovered the northern entrance to the Clapham Common DLS.
So what about the other one I discovered further up the road. This one has to be related to Clapham North as it’s too far away from Stockwell. Once again I’m at Google Earth extending a line north and south 600 feet. I can’t find anything that vaguely looks like the shape I’m looking for but the line 600 feet south is very close to the Clapham North tube stop. More research is needed to figure this out.
Meanwhile I’ll extend a line 600 feet from the Stockwell entrance to see what I can see. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but eight tiny….no…no… I’ve found the Stockwell south entrance from the air. It’s west of the high street behind some buildings and by going to street view on the street next over I can just make it out. It will need some exploring to find.
My internet search continues and reveals that the Clapham North south entrance is indeed near the tube entrance. It’s actually behind a bunch of buildings and it may not be possible to get a photo. A street view only shows a number of buildings and a high gate and fence. It also appears from the internet material that the only things left standing on the ground are the two ventilator shafts.
In summary to this point, I’ve discovered the north and south entrances to the Clapham South DLS, the north and south entrance to the Clapham Common DLS, the north entrance to the Clapham North DLS and the north entrance to the Stockwell DLS. Next challenge is to find the two remaining spots, Clapham North south entrance and Stockwell south entrance.
I’m soon off again starting at Clapham Common heading north this time on the west side of the high street. Soon enough I have my photo of the Clapham Common north DLS entrance.
As I approach Clapham North tube stop I veer across the road and down a side street to flank the next objective. There’s the large metal gate blocking the view that I want but the gate also has an opening for the huge chain that’s just big enough for my camera. The result??
This is all you can see of the Clapham North south DLS entrance. To the right is a second ventilator shaft.
As I move along the street I see a crack in the wood fence and I’m able just to see a second ventilator shaft. The crack is too small for a good image but I’m confident that I’ve found the Clapham North south DLS entrance.
Next stop is Stockwell but the Northern Line is experiencing delays due to activity further south and it takes 30 minutes before a train arrives to go to Stockwell. I could have walked it in that time.
Once at Stockwell I’m off around the corner and down the little side street that has seven police cars parked in a line. There is either a police station near or they’ve just raided the creche in the leisure centre.
Stockwell DLS south entrance.
I’m in luck and the picture is better than I expected. I certainly didn’t get the same picture from street view with Google Earth.
Well, that just about wraps up all of the Deep Level Shelter entrance ways that are south of the Thames. At some point on my bucket list will be a tour of the Clapham South DLS as these apparently are offered by arrangement. We’ll see about that.
I’ve already communicated my successful findings to my Facebook friends but they wouldn’t be friends if they thought I should quit here, so I’ve been challenged to see if I can find and photograph the eight DLS entrances north of the Thames.
I came to London, England on December 15th 2021 for a brief Christmas visit with family but circumstances have kept me here until late February. I’ve taken advantage of this “holiday” to do a bit of exploring of the City of London and I’d like to share one of the more interesting discoveries that does not typically appear in the guidebooks.
I’m staying in Balham which is in south London and in chatting with my son-in-law discovered that during the Second World War (WWII) the Balham Tube/Railway Station was bombed and 68 people were killed, one of the worst single bombing tragedies in London during the war.
This lead to other local oddities from the war and Neil pointed out a structure in Clapham South that is an entrance way to a Deep Level Air Raid Shelter. This, of course, piqued my curiosity as I knew that both my Mom and Dad had been in London during the Blitz and would have been very pleased to find a deep level shelter. I do know that Mom was a frequent night visitor to one of the tube stations during the Blitz.
An internet search revealed a number of facts about these shelters, specifically that there were eight of them, four located south of the Thames River and four located north of the Thames River. The shelters essentially follow the same route as the Underground Northern Line and had initially been built with a sense that they could be used as part of a future high speed tube line. This didn’t happen. It was also the case that construction began in 1940 but they were not completed until 1942 and by that time the blitz was essentially over. Each one of the shelters was approximately 1,200 feet long and could hold up to 8,000 people. There were two entrance ways, one north and one south and each entrance way also had at least one large ventilation shaft.
The locations south of the Thames are Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham North and Stockwell. In a rough line that would cover about three kilometers along Clapham Road and provide accommodation for 32,000 people. North of the Thames they were located at Chancery Lane, Goodge Station, Cambden Town and Belsize Park. This group would cover about six kilometers and again provide shelter for 32,000 people.
The Deep Level Shelters (DLS) did come in handy later in the war when the German’s launched their V1 and V2 attacks on the city. Some of them also served after the war as temporary shelters for immigrants, accommodations for the military or as a deep level communications centre (Kingsway Telephone Exchange) during the cold war.
I was very curious about the entrance way structures as it appeared that they could all be seen at street level so I started to do a bit more internet research and aerial searching using Google Earth. From the air these structures have a very distinct shape and I was able to spot the one at Clapham South very easily. Google Earth is a great way to do such reconnaissance. You can spot what looks like a likely subject then go to street view to see if the aerial view matches whats on the ground.
Using this technique I also discovered the southern entrance to the Clapham South shelter. Neil informed me that there is one at Stockwell and it too is quite easy to spot using Google Earth. Not content to find them on a map I wanted to see them up close so I’m soon off up the Northern Line to Clapham South then Stockwell.
The distinctive ventilation shaft is on the left.
The southern entrance way to the Clapham South Deep Level Shelter has been integrated into the lines of the building that has been built over and around it.
A ride up the Northern Line to Stockwell and just outside the tube station is the entrance way located at the Stockwell Memorial Garden. The building itself has been decorated by high school students as a memorial to Britain’s war dead…and apparently James Bond.
The Bronze Statue is also part of the Stockwell Memorial Garden and is the first statue of an African-Caribbean woman in the UK. It celebrates both motherhood and the mother’s ethnic origins. The theme is taken from a poem by Caribbean poet Cécile Nobrega who lived in Stockwell and wrote the poem “The Bronze Woman” about 50 years ago.
This has been most interesting to me but I’ll leave it there for now. You should know however that this adventure has really just begun.
I thought I would take a stab at introducing the third issue that interests me and that is whisky…so here goes with a bit about me and my introduction to whisky. Later on in some of the blogs I’ll chat about the drink itself.
When I was a lad I knew my father liked to have a tipple or two. He didn’t drink a lot but he did enjoy a whisky of an evening as he sat in his favourite chair and read his latest book. He was quite well read and made regular trips to the local library. We never had a lot of books around the house but Mum and Dad always had a book at hand.
Dad had two favourite tipples, one was The Famous Grouse and the other was Bells. These are both fine blended Scotch whisky’s. I doubt that he ever had a single malt and he would only consider rye whisky if it was in a glass with lots of ginger ale. I know for a fact that rye and ginger was a staple in the Sergeant’s Mess and Officers Mess at the Lake Street Armoury in St Catharines.
I never developed much of a taste for whisky as I grew up, I stuck to beer. I really like beer and although beer doesn’t like me as much today I still really enjoy a fine English bitter or proper IPA. The Kingston Brewing Company has one of the nicest IPA’s around and Fuller’s (yes that’s right) London Pride or Best Bitter is right up there as well…not to mention Tank House Ale from Toronto…but this could go on for quite a while.
My first real experience with whisky happened some years ago, after my Dad had passed in 1997, when my sister and I took Mum back to the old country for a visit. We were on our way north in Scotland and stopped in Inverary for a “tea and pee” break. I had need of either so walked down the main street (which is actually called “Main Street”) toward a tartan shop I’d seen on the way in….fancied myself in a kilt didn’t I.
As I ambled along I came to a shop that had nothing but bottles of whisky in the windows. I was intrigued so wandered in to look around. Loch Fyne Whiskies was indeed nothing but whisky, wall to wall. I didn’t know there were that many different whiskys. The owner finally asked if I needed help and I said I was just browsing but he wasn’t letting me get away with that. “What kind of whisky do you favour?” I mentioned the Grouse and Bells and he indicated they were fine blends but what about malts…what about malts indeed.
I confessed to knowing nothing except that I did try some McClelland from Islay and that I really liked the smoky stuff, at which point he reached under the counter and pulled up a bottle of Ardbeg. He poured a dram and said “Try this”. The nose alone was enough to tell me that heaven wasn’t far off. I took a sip and immediately went there. Where had this stuff been all my life?
We chatted quite a bit, he told me how to pronounce “Islay” and he gave me a copy of his newsletter and a “price list” which was really more of a catalogue explaining the benefits of each item. I ended up buying two wee bottles, the kind you get on an airplane, one of Oban since we were going that way, and the other of Talisker, since we weren’t going that way.
That evening in a B&B looking over the harbour of Oban I had my very first private nosing of two very fine single malts. A week or so later we ended up in Leicster, England and while Mum, my sister and my cousin Carol were sipping red wine, I was provided with a very nice bottle of Highland Park 12 year old, part of my late cousin Ivor’s collection. In this very short period of time I had sampled whisky from Islay, the West Highlands, Skye and the Orkney’s, as diverse a range as you could fine…and I was hooked…and I still hadn’t even heard of the Spey River Valley.
I’ve sampled quite a few malts since then…even had some Port Ellen…which is to die for. I joined one of the local Single Malt groups in Kingston and have done a few nosings of my own. I also have an extensive personal cupboard…but I don’t think I’ll forget the kind treatment I got at Loch Fyne Whiskies or that special evening all alone with two new friends.
One of the things I’ve been working on over the last few years is the printing and mounting of my own photographs. In part this stems from experience many years ago when I was shooting film and joined the Queen’s Photo Club. This was long after graduation but I joined the club so that I could get access to the darkroom. I never attended a meeting but did spend a good deal of time in that darkroom up to my eyeballs in various chemicals. It was all very tedious, smelly and at the end of the day not the most rewarding experience. I did learn a bit about developing and things like dodging and burning but I only had one photo that I ever thought was a nice print.
So today my darkroom is on the laptop and the only smell is coming from the coffee cup cooling beside me. Since I spend a good bit of time carefully editing my shots it only makes sense to try to maintain some control over the finished printed product. I have experimented with numerous printing services but none have provided me with a satisfactory print.
Another concern is the size of the printed image…actually the dimensions…but…as we all know size is important too.
The dimension issue is simple…my camera take images that have dimesions of 1:1.5…which translate as 4 X 6; 8 X 12; 10 X 15…you get the idea. There’s not a lot of quality paper out there that comes in the 8 X 12 dimension…lots of quality paper in 8.5 X 11 but if I use that paper I have to make an 8 X 10 print which means I have to crop my image. And for some of my images, especially the landscapes, if I crop I end up with crap. I’m not against cropping per se but I usually like to keep the same dimensions that I saw through the lens.
For some time I used 8.5 X 11 paper but I used a printed dimension of 7.25 X 10.825, which gave dimensionally pleasing printed images but made matting and mounting a pain. So…while I was doing this I also started cutting my own mats to fit the images. Having moved to somewhat smaller accommodations I don’t have room for my mat cutter etc so image dimension has once again reared it’s ugly head.
I have discovered a few mats at Michaels that are 11 X 14 overall matted for 8 X 12 and that work just fine. I simply take a large 13 X 19 sheet and cut it in half…the 19 not the 13…and I end up with a 9.5 X 13 sheet that can easily take an 8 X 12 print and still fit the 11 X 14 mat.
I have discovered that some images lend themselves very well to a 1:1 ratio (see…I’m not against cropping), but finding a mat at 1:1 is also a bit difficult. I have purchased mats cut to a specific size from MatShop on the “inter-web” and I may have to go back to them and try again with their speicialized service.
There’s a downside to all of this perfection seeking and that’s the fact that you have to do a lot of experimenting to get close to what you want. I’m not there yet but I am getting a bit closer.
There’s also a cost involved that initially can be daunting as you go through reams of various types of photo paper and gallons of printer ink…not to mention the ruined mats when you use the right handed mat cutter with your left hand.
I was reminded of some of this wastage recently as I fired up the old Epson Stylus Photo R2000 after a rather lengthy hiatus from printing. The reason for not printing (aside from the Italy trip) was the fact that one of the 8 ink cartridges this thing uses (the Cyan T1592) was empty. When this happens with the R2000 you can’t print anything…which I guess does help with all that experimentation as at least the ink colour variable stays the same.
I had been getting ink from Henry’s but they moved out of town. I’ve also gone to my very trusty friends at Camera Kingston for ink but decided, since I only needed one cartridge, to buy direct from Epson using the “inter-web”. It was reasonably priced and very quick as it was delivered right to the door…well actually the mailbox in the lobby.
Sooo….all systems good to go…Right? Wrong! It seems that leaving your printer all by itself for a few months really pisses it off…so much so that it clogs it’s own nozzles without any help from you. To add to this wee issue my wireless connection seemed to have developed a glitch and only part of the image I was testing was getting through. So the first test print, an absolutely magnificent monochrome production of mine (he said with a smirk), came out in a lovely robin’s egg blue…well half of the image came out in that colour.
Unclogging the nozzles is done automatically by the printer but had to be done several times before they actually got unclogged. This uses ink. Solving the wireless glitch never really happended. After making several adjustments and running off a few prints in various stages of development from half way there to nearly there except for the last quarter inch…and of course chewing up some nice photo paper in the process…I resorted to hardwiring the damn thing into the router. Works fine now.
This wireless problem is a mystery to me as the laptop is 5 feet from the router, which is 2 feet from the printer. Perhaps we’re all just too close together. I should also point out that at this stage of the process I’m starting to run out of the other inks as well and I haven’t yet decided which way to go with the next purchase, although I’d better not delay too long in getting more ink…I think the printer can read this now that it’s hardwired in.
The good news is that after all the fuss I managed to print 4 reasonable offerings for the Kingston Photographic Club 2nd Round Competition which is due today. I did compromise by going the 8 X 10 route as I had a few mats of that type lying around. They won’t win any prizes but I am happy with the results using 3 different types of photo paper for the 4 images.
Next photo blog I’ll chat a bit about the things I’ve discovered about photo paper and those wonderful things called ICC profiles.
In the meantime if you have any comments or suggestions or advice please fee to send it along to furrasan@gmail.com.
I set out on this trip to follow my Father and the men of 10th St Catharines Field Battery who spent 19 months from July, 1943 until February, 1945 fighing in Sicily and Italy. Along the way I visited the grave sites of the 5 gunners from 10 Bty who were killed in action and as a form of remembrance I left a stone from the Canadian Shield with a red maple leaf, on each man’s marker.
I also left a stone at the site of my friend Pat’s uncle who is buried in the Catania War Cemetery, Catania, Sicily. I visited 3 other war cemeteries to pay my respects to the Canadians and other allies who rest there.
I solved a mystery about where my Father was in February and March 1945 when he should have been with his unit in North West Europe. I stood in the same place he stood at Castello Lancellotti in Lauro during that time and I met a very dear man who helped me solve that mystery. I even managed to find the Grand Hotel in Riccione where my Dad had a 7 day pass in October of 1944.
I visited our good friends Dave and Barb in Modica and they introduced me to a number of very fine Italians who were quite interested in this adventure. I met Cat in Florence and we spent four delightful days together, including dinner with Ian and Judith and there friends. We all went to St Marks Church where we met Franz and Ilse and the company who performed a wonderful rendition of “Carmen”. I learned a little bit about Italy along the way. All of it pretty darn good…magnificent food and incredible wine aside…this is a lovely country and all the people I met were kind and gracious. Every time I said “Mi dispiace ma non parlo Italiano” I was greeted with a smile and a helping hand.
I travelled a lot on the roads of Italy…3,690 km to be exact…some of them good roads, some of them a bit worn…I got lost a bit….but all of the roads eventually took me where I wanted to go.
Other numbers to consider: 21 days; 12 hotel rooms; 9 Michelin maps; 8 war cemeteries; 5 airports; 4 aircraft; 1 ferry; 1 opera; 1 jazz quintet; a ton of photos; 0 Ducati motorcycles brought home.
Some people believe the Italian Campaign was a wasted effort. The Russians had been clamoring for a Second Front in order to drain German troops from the Eastern Front. After North Africa, Sicily and Italy seemed the logical next step to the invasion of Europe. After the surrender of Italy in September 1943 the Italians provided a Corps of over 330,000 to fight alongside the Allies…this Corps could have equally been going the other way if it had not been for the Sicilian Campaign and the landings on the Italian Mainland. On the other hand at least 160,000 Italian troops of the Italian Socialist Republic continued to fight for the Germans until the defeat in May 1945.
The fact that Italy became an ally forced the German army to maintain about 430,000 men and over 700 aircraft in Italy to counteract the invasion. These troops and aircraft were therefore not available on the Eastern Front to fight the Russians, or the Normandy Front after June 6, 1945 to fight the allies.
After June 6, 1945 Italy was pretty much forgotten by most people. Some of the Canadians were resentful that there government pulled them out of Italy in February, 1945 when defeat of the German forces there was so close. Most probably did not really care. This had been a grueling and tiring and deadly campaign and if nothing else, the move to North West Europe took them even closer to England and eventually the home most of them hadn’t seen in 6 long years.
This remembrance day will be quite different for me. I’ll still attend the Artillery Cenotaph in City Park, attended by serving and ex gunners of all ranks, but it will be a bit more personal. I’ll be thinking of Stanley Cobourn, Arley Burke, Don Reid, Edward Thomas and Joe Jaillett.
A somewhat unsettled sleep last night. I think the near miss on the A11 was more unsettling than I thought…but…I’m up and at em as they say. The first thing is to find a gommista so that I can get the tire repaired. It turns out there’s one with a good reputation just up the road but I have to wait until 08:30 when they’re open. When they’re open the boss tells me he can fix the tire but…he points to my watch and the 11…and suggests I drive around a bit since there’s no parcheggio here and he already has a line up of impatient Italian drivers.
This too has turned out to be a bit fortuitous. There is one other place where I know my Dad was…but only in a general way…nothing as specific as Castello Lancellotti. I have a 7 day pass for him to be at the Grand Hotel in Riccione commencing October 27, 1944….so I know that 73 years ago around the same date, he was in Riccione too.
Riccione is clearly a summer seaside town. Hotels everwhere…most closed…parks, amusement rides, all closed….the waterfront walkway and cycle path is amazing, and lots of beachfront concessions and change areas…all closed up as well. No lithe young things prancing about the beach.
Grand Hotel is not so grand anymore. It’s quite overgrown and everything is locked up. In the back there is a large parking area with two wrecked cars. The place is still standing however and was once one of the major hotels on the beach, in fact the footprint covers about 2 square City of Kingston blocks.
The Salvation Army War Services took over the Grand once the Canadians had settled in the area. By this time in ’44 the Canadians had pushed further north across the Savio River and and were facing the Po Valley and it was time for a rest. The fighting had been intense and the weather had been the worst October weather in living memory.
It’s 11:00 and time to find out how much it will cost to get my tire back. The boss directs me to angle park my blue machine, brings out his cart, jacks up the car in 2 seconds, and with his pneumatic bolt driver has the new/old wheel back on while I stow the doughnut in the trunk…safe for another blowout.
Officina Pratelli has charged me E15 and I’m happy to pay it. I now have the right tire back on at the right air pressure…no flashing dashboard warning lights…and I have a spare in the boot in case of another road hazard. All is well in the driving world.
I’m off north along Route 16 to Ravenna. The Canadians spent another dismal winter in the north of Italy, roughly between Ravenna and Cattolica, while the Italian Campaign became forgotten even at this stage of the war. The war diary for 2nd Field has the last gun position for 10 Bty as 44 28 07 N 12 05 44 E on February 23rd, 1945 and I’m going to go there.
It’s a bit of a weary drive as the road is very busy with truck traffic and moving not very fast. There are lots of roundabouts and on one of them I go all the way around just to get a tailgating truck off my bumper…I’ll follow him for a bit.
The further north you go the further behind you the mountains are until eventually you can’t see them at all and the land is completely flat for as far as the eye can see. The mountains are still there…they’ve just turned west a bit and are angling away from the Po Valley.
The village of Mezzano is about 10 km NW of Ravenna along SS16. Turn right at Via Zuccherifico and go across the railway tracks and you’ll see a field on the left. The last gun postion in Italy of 10th St Catharines Field Battery, 2nd Field Regiment, 1st Canadian Division.
I guess I can say “mission accomplished”.
A few km back down the SS16 is a signpost for the Ravenna War Cemetery and a visit is in order. There is a small parking area and a long grass walkway up to the gates. We’re in the middle of farm country here and it’s flat, flat and more flat. Just before the gate, on the right, is a marker explaining the involvement of 35,000 Palestinian Jews who enlisted in the British army to fight Nazi agression. Thirty-three of their comrades rest here at Ravenna.
There are 956 markers in this cemetery of which 438 are Canadian. I wander quite a bit and notice the small stones on everyone of the 33 Palestianian soldiers markers. There are many personal inscriptions on these markers and whether it’s that, the end of the mission or the wind blowing across the fields…I’m suddenly very tired.
……………………
I have reservations in Bologna for tomorrow and Wednesday but I think I’ll head that way now and see if they’ll let me in. I need to stop driving and I need to walk about a bit more.
From the Cemetery I strike out across the country side heading to SS 253, the backroad to Bologna. This drive is quite pleasant, the road is flat and straight and there are very few vehicles around…a few tractors and such but no whizzing speed demons. It’s about 70 km to Bologna and on the outskirts I take the autostrada bypass and head for the airport. My hotel, the Amadeus is not far from the airport so taking that exit puts me home free.
Another eventful day, time to rest and take a breather. Once settled inI amble down the road a few hundred meters and take a left turn on the Via Antonio Cavilieri Ducati. I’m in the Borgo Panigale. Panigale…Ducati…my these are interesting names. Well…what do you know…I’m suddenly at the Museum and Factory of Ducati Motorcycles. What a surprise.
I set out on this trip to follow my Father and the men of 10th St Catharines Field Battery who spent 19 months from July, 1943 until February, 1945 fighing in Sicily and Italy. Along the way I visited the grave sites of the 5 gunners from 10 Bty who were killed in action and as a form of remembrance I left a stone from the Canadian Shield with a red maple leaf, on each man’s marker.
at Castello Lancellotti in Lauro during that time and I met a very dear man who helped me solve that mystery. I even managed to find the Grand Hotel in Riccione where my Dad had a 7 day pass in October of 1944.
