Bilbies Banter

Photo: pushbikes, Dutch-style - for young families We’ve had an exceptionally quiet day today - and done a few things in preparation for tomorrow. However, we did meet a Dutch friend for a lingering lunch - a former colleague from our time in Egypt and how great was it to catch up with her; and swap stories of how life has taken us down our respective paths since then. I’m really not sure what our internet connections will be from tomorrow and for the next 2 weeks as we start our Arctic Circle cruise with Holland America Line (HAL). We are being joined on the cruise with my cousin (and her husband) from Cambridge - it should be great fun. If and when we get connections then I’ll do updates - otherwise, we will be back in touch when we return to the UK. Love from us both… ❤️🤗❤️ ⚓️🛟🚢🛟⚓️ Note: I still can’t upload any photos 

Photo: It was haircut time for himself, in Rotterdam Another quietish day for us and yet we still clocked up a lot of kms, without really trying. The day itself was a beautiful 15°-16°C but as we crossed the major canal the wind certainly whipped up a cutting temperature - it felt like it was coming straight down from the Arctic Circle. All in all it was another great day.  Tomorrow we meet a colleague from our time in Egypt for lunch. We are so looking forward to catching up with her.

Photo: The Eurostar at St Pacras International Train Station Today we travelled from London to Rotterdam on board the  Eurostar (train). We’ve not been on it before and it was quite the experience in a subtle, quiet way. After all, it is only a ride on a train going from A to B and yet the fact that it goes under the English Channel makes it a very different experience.

Photo: surely everyone knows what this is??? Today was another easy day for us  - we had bought a 2-day pass on the Hop-on/Hop-off, which included a river cruise; so today we availed ourselves of a few minutes on the Thames which was most pleasant. We needed to top up some of our meds today and popped into a little pharmacy in Holborn, who’s shop was actually quite small - and it wasn’t part of a big chain - just a little independent guy eeking out a living. He was able to deliver the goods and then in conversation we commented how we had left our European and USA adapters home - with that he turned around and showed us a twin pack of exactly what we needed. What a little treasure of a pharmacist was he! Tomorrow we leave for the Netherlands on the Eurostar! Another interesting experience for us! Sorry, still not able to post any pics?

Photo: Trafalgar Square with 2 iconic London busses to top it all off. We had a relatively easy day today - we bought ourselves a 2-Day pass on the hop-on:hop-off bus and spent most of the day being driven around London with a couple of hop-offs, to get some exercise. It did us both the world of good.

 Photo: Fish & Chip shop in Whitechapel Today we not only nailed our unofficial steps count but doubled them - and can’t we feel it tonight! We met my cousin Tina Carver Mead and her husband Graham Carver for lunch at the Hoop & Grapes pub, in Whitechapel - we stayed with them when we first arrived in England (in Cambridge). This pub was built in 1593 and survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 by a mere 50 yards! Tina and I have common ancestors who lived in and near Whitechapel at the time of the Jack the Ripper (JTR) murders; and so she took us on a personal tour of where the family and subsequent families lived and worked. And then the 4 of us did an official JTR tour, which numbered about 18-20 people. The tour was excellent. If ever you get the chance to do it, then do it! And that folks, was today! Commentary from some pics I posted on Facebook but without the pics: Photo of a shop called Jack the Chipper (fish & chip shop) -  There are places around the i...

Photo: of the piece of Liberty fabric I bought today. Today has been a day that we won’t forget in a long, long time. As we were having breakfast this morning in ghe hotel in which we are staying, a man stole my handbag. In it were my credit cards but not my phone or passport. As soon as I noticed it was gone and it was only minutes later, Norm immediately cancelled my cards and then while I scoured the local streets in the hope that he tossed it , Norm reported it to the police. But alas there was no sign of the bag. The man was caught on cctv and so if there’s any chance of finding him, then the police have got a good chance. He was Caucasian and in his 50s or maybe 60s, clean shaven and looked every part your regular tourist, strolling in the dining area of a tourist hotel - which is on the ground floor with no checks of who is availing themselves of breakfast. However, his modus operandi was one of an experienced opportunist, as the cctv clearly showed. And “no, I didn’t leave my b...

Photo: today’s mode of transport from Edinburgh to London  Today was an easy day which nearly became a Griffin moment BIG time! We arrived at the railway station and it seems we might have asked the wrong questions of several people. Not long after we sat in our seats, the train pulled out of the station. Phew!!!!! We made it with only minutes to spare.  However, we had arrived at the station a good hour before departure but they didn’t post the platform number till 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time. What we should have been asking were which platforms was it most likely the train would leave from and then we could have positioned ourselves close by - as it was, we were actually quite a distance away and had to move quickly to catch the train - and of course, our carriage was way up the front, wasn’t it!?! Anyway, all’s well that ends well and we’re here in London right on schedule.

Photo of us standing next to the ship’s bell on board HMY Britannia. What a day! Today was our last day in Scotland 🥲 We have loved our time here and have done lots that we haven’t done on previous visits. Of particular note for today was going on board the royal yacht Britannia - that was an awesome experience. Edinburgh offers 3 hop-on / hop-off bus routes and we did all 3 of them! Another amazing experience. While there are overlaps in the routes, there are also differences and there’s no way we could have seen what we did on foot or via public transport. Most of the time we had the front seats upstairs! What a brilliant way to see the best that the Cities of Edinburgh, Leith and Queensferry have to offer - we hopped off a couple of times. Along the way we also saw the Spirit of Tasmania IV which is awaiting its wharf in Devonport to be built 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️ By day’s end we are both totally stuffed and worn out and ready for a good nights sleep!💤

Photo of a Piper in The Royal Mile  What a magnificent day to travel from Oban, Argyll to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. The weather was faultless, the roads were excellent, the traffic was light and we had plenty of time to return our hire car, so there was no rush. Until, that is, we hit the inner streets of the city with its one-way roads and 4, 5 and 6 roads coming off its roundabouts. The satnav was giving instructions of turn right, turn slight left, turn slight right and when you’re in a foreign city and not really knowing where you’re going it’s sometimes difficult to discern a slight left from a turn left, etc. Fortunately, we had left Oban early, so we had time up our sleeve and in the end, it was all good! We’ve had a bit of a walk around where we’re staying - which is pretty well Edinburgh-Central and amongst other streets, we wandered down part of the Royal Mile, along with thousands of others. The weather had been outstandingly glorious, so we’ve tried to make the mos...

We’ve had a rest day today - a leisurely morning, which included getting our laundry up to date, followed by sitting at a cafe for the rest of the day watching life pass us by. It’s felt good 🤗

Photo of 2 Hope descendants: Deb from Canada and Maggie from Australia meeting in Scotland, the ancestral home of the Hope family. Today was the last of 3 Hope descendants’ reunions, each from different lines of the family. My Canadian cousins are staying in cottages attached to Duntrune Castle, near Oban, so it was an easy 50-minute drive for us to see them. Duntrune Castle was built in the 13th century and has been the seat for several Scottish clans including the MacDougalls, Campbell’s, McDonald’s and is currently the seat of Clan Malcolm. We joined some of my cousins for a walk through the beautifully maintained garden before joining all of them for lunch - “them” was 10 cousins who eventually made the trip together. After lunch we all drove to some nearby Rock Art locations before we made our departure and they were going in different directions. It was a wonderful day but the time was way too short. Deb and I made an instant connection and it was sad to leave her and the others ...

Photo: Eilean Donan castle We’ve travelled from Erbusaig, Kyle this morning to Oban, Argyll which is the unofficial capital of the Western Highlands. En-route we stopped at Eilean Donan castle which must be about the most photographed castle hereabouts - it is spectacular in its almost simplicity. It was first built in 580AD and has been a bastion for many centuries - it has been partially destroyed and rebuilt several times, the last rebuild was completed in 1932. From the castle we wended our way through the spectacular Highlands, stopping at several vantage points to soak up the enormity and beauty of these lands. We finally arrived at our destination mid afternoon and once settled in, we set off on foot to explore Oban and hit the shops and cafés. Another family history note: some of my recent ancestors come from hereabouts - I know names, places and dates but this is not the time to f/u on those lines. I am content, family history wise, with what we’ve done. However, it’s been gre...

Photo shows the bridge over the River Tay at Aberfeldy. We’ve covered a few kms today but we really wanted to see the Eilean Donan castle, which is up in the Highlands and so we set off early this morning. On-route we passed the turnoff to Aberfeldy, which was on Norm’s bucket list to visit, so we took a left turn much to the satnav’s displeasure 🤗 However, what I hadn’t realised was that we would pass through the town of Grandtully. The town is significant coz it also has a castle  - and my g.g.gf was one of 3 Gamekeepers there, along with his older brother David and their father also called David. The 3 of them were there, at the same time, for about 3-4 years. Sadly, while the castle is still there, it’s now a private residence and is deep within a forest, such that it cannot be seen from the roadway. As we drove to our destination we passed varying landscapes including lochs, rivers, streams, glens, forested mountains, bare mountains and snow-capped mountains. We also noticed ...

This photo is of Linda and I  standing near the headstone of a Hope ancestor, symbolically extending gratitude, thanks, appreciation and love for those who have gone before us. May I add something, for those who don’t know, of why it’s been special for me as I’ve been meeting and catching up with cousins these last 2 days. These are all my 4th cousins - which is the result of many years of family history research by several of us. To find a 4th cousin, one must first find one’s great,great.grandparents and then find their siblings and then work one’s way down their tree/s and locate a living descendant or two. In many cases 4th cousins will be scattered across countries and continents. These last 2 days I’ve met 14 4th cousins and tomorrow there will be another 11 to add to that number, all being well - but that story will have to wait till then… I’ve been doing my family history since I was 24 years old and when I started I didn’t dare think that these past 2 days would ever happe...

Today was another special day for me as Norm and I spent a second day with cousins and their respective families - Linda had invited 9 of her extended family (siblings, aunts and cousins) to join us for lunch at her home. However, beforehand she had taken us to 3 of the local cemeteries to view the places of burial of some ancestors (some in marked graves, others were grassed sites).  We had a wonderful afternoon - they were all so welcoming of us - one person had travelled across from the west coast to meet us; the others were relatively local.  It was a real privilege to meet them and our conversations were lively. Thanks Linda for organising the day. It’s a shame Jacki couldn’t have joined us coz I know she would have loved to have been there as well. Tomorrow we head north-west… Photo of Norm and I with siblings Linda and David Hope at the family reunion.

Photo: we are family (L-R: Linda, Norm, Micheal, Zilla, Jacki, Maggie) Another great day for us in Kelso. We started out with 5 Hope descendants from 3 different family lines - each of us have a common ancestor in David Hope (1777-1856). After lunch we spent the afternoon with cousins Jacki, Zilla and Michael before going to the first of two sessions, with Jacki, of the Kelso folk club. From 8-10pm it’s a more formal session at one pub and then everyone migrates to the pub around the corner for a foot-stomping, casual session till midnight - both are good for different reasons.

This morning we caught a taxi from our B&B to the Belfast City Airport for our domestic flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. Our driver’s name was Norman which immediately gave the 2 fellas a link with one another. After all, Norman is not a very common name. They chatted all the way to the Airport about all sorts of things and it was almost sad when we reached our destination. The flight across the Irish Sea was uneventful, which is the way we all like our flights to be. Once landed, we decided to have a bite to eat at the Airport coz once we secured our next hire car, it would be difficult to find a place to stop and eat. Well!!! We ordered a Ford Focus but finished with an upgrade to a Mercedes A180 (see photo). We immediately drove south to near Kelso, in The Borders, where we are staying for 3 nights.  We arrived at our B&B around 2.45pm and were welcomed by our Mine Host, Gordon; who is a friend of my cousin Jacki.  He showed us around and then invited us to join him f...