Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Fatigue, and a Torpedo


Well, we made it back home yesterday in one piece, but Dave and Olga were both so exhausted by the time we walked in the door that they collapsed into Dave's recliner and took a nap together. I always say I like to exhaust the dog, but I wasn't aware I was also exhausting my husband!

We had a great day, though, and a busy one, so I can see why they were tired.


Olga and I started with an early-morning walk along a rhododendron-lined path through the forest. There was plenty of running and squirrel-chasing.

Then we joined Dave for breakfast at the hotel. Olga spent so much time staring at us longingly from under the table that the waitresses brought her an extra sausage and a strip of bacon. She snarfed them down eagerly. Such a manipulator!

She got to work off the calories after breakfast with another lengthy romp through the woods. Then we all went back to the room, packed up our stuff and checked out, depositing the bags at the hotel for storage.


We made our way to the Harrow Viewpoint, across the main road from the hotel. I visited there in March 2018 when I passed through on the London LOOP walk. I remember being appalled at all the litter.

This time, it was tidier, but the view was similarly gray. I appear destined never to see the Harrow Viewpoint in good weather.


Fabian's memorial log is still there, bedecked with fresh flowers and growing its own bright orange mushrooms.

We walked in the fields below the viewpoint, and then along some nearby neighborhood streets, past quaint farms, a collapsing barn (optimistically posted "refurbishment in progress") and cottages with stained glass windows.


At noon we stopped at "The Case is Altered," a peculiarly-named pub I spotted on my last visit, for drinks and a light lunch. I had a ploughman's "sarnie," a word I've never seen before -- informal British for a sandwich, apparently. And behold, the sun came out! We haven't seen it for days and days.

The woman behind the counter said the pub is called "The Case is Altered" because it used to be two separate bars, and one of them was popular with barristers (a type of lawyer). I have no idea whether this is true but it's as good an explanation as any, I suppose.

After lunch we walked back to the hotel, picked up our bags and ordered a taxi back to Stanmore, and then took the tube home.


Here's my souvenir, which I found in the woods near the hotel. It's known as a torpedo bottle, from the Victorian era, and although the top is broken it's still pretty cool. It reads, "Codd's Patent 4, Barnetts & Foster, Sole Agents, Londonn." I have no idea why London is spelled with three n's, but it is.

A so-called Codd bottle was stoppered with a glass marble. It probably held a carbonated beverage, and the pressure generated by the fizzy drink held the marble in place against a rubber gasket at the bottle's lip. The lip and marble are gone now, but you can still see the unusual structure of the neck. A super-weird bottle and an interesting find, now resting on our dining room windowsill.

15 comments:

David said...

What an interesting and beautiful short trip away! Thank you for the great pictures and informative description, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Did you have a holiday or did you both take time off from school? Were you celebrating anything special?

Frances said...

Nice to see Dave.....not really seen him before! Glad you had a nice break.

crafty cat corner said...

We always had sarnie's when the kids were at home, lol. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them before.
The bottle is beautiful, I have never seen one before.
Looks like it was a good trip.
Briony
x

Yorkshire Pudding said...

A great trip - not too far from home. It's nice to see a plan, a notion, an idea come to fruition. I love the picture of Olga peeping over the table edge. If there was a caption, it might read, "I want squirrel!"

Ms. Moon said...

That bottle is so cool. I love it! I've never even seen a picture of one like it!
"The Case Is Altered" is a long name for a pub. The explanation seems logical though.
I think Dave and Olga may be homebodies at heart but I'm sure they had a good time.

ellen abbott said...

cool bottle. love that picture of Olga peering over the edge of the table.

Dee said...

Awww...who could resist Olga's eyes? And that bottle - so very cool. A great find!
Dee

Anonymous said...

Looks like a lovely little vacation there. It's so nice that Olga gets to come along and that kind waitresses bring her treats. Love that bottle. What a very cool find.

Sharon said...

That sounds like a very nice day spent exploring. I love that photo of Olga peeking over the table. It would be hard to resist those pleading eyes. I've never even heard of a bottle like that. What an interesting find.

e said...

What a nice mini vacation! Sorry Olga and Dave are so tired. To answer your question, yes, when I was in the hotel in 2013 it was for a tenting. As for the mail, it is a very insecure system and anything could have happened to it.

Catalyst said...

I would have liked to see a photo of Dave and Olga napping but I suppose you could call that An Invasion of Privacy. (thinking of the name of that pub)

The Padre said...

Love Those Eyes Below The Table - So Focused

Cheers

gz said...

A good trip, good to have different walks.
Very interesting bottle... intriguing history!

Edna B said...

What an interesting bottle. I've never heard of it before. I must say that I just love that photo of Olga peering up from under the table. She's such a cutie! I'm glad that you take her everywhere with you. I take my little Pogo everywhere I go too. It sounds like you had a really nice mini vacation. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

jenny_o said...

"There was plenty of running and squirrel-chasing." And what did Olga do while you were busy with that? lol

Love that photo of Olga at the table. And love the fact the waitress gave her some treats :)

Sounds like a good time was had by all.