500 Years! . . . Sherlock Holmes . . . Water Wonders . . . Dri Buddy

Phase 10 -- Phases of Living in London - Experiences




Hampton Court Palace Celebration

Happy 500^th Birthday to Hampton Court Palace!  It’s a spectacular place that once was home to King Henry the VIII, among others.  There was music (lutes, flutes, bagpipes and such), food (stews, stuffed jackets – potatoes, meat pies), fire dancers, a through-the-ages media show projected across the entire side of the palace and a fantastic fireworks display.  It was a celebration to remember!  Yes, that is a picture of us in our new carriage (all we need now is a horse and to learn the royal wave ;)  hahaha!).

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, I Presume. . .

We “detected” a desire to join in the special exhibit at the London Museum entitled:  “Sherlock Holmes. . . The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die!”  Entering through a secret passage in a bookcase façade, we came upon original manuscripts by Sir Arthur Connan Doyle, periodicals Sherlock stories were featured in with accompanying artwork, and 3-D pieces representing his life – like the hat and pipe, a violin, a hansom cab, spectacles and miscellaneous period clothing.  These all made for an interesting look into the popular English detective’s life.  Victorian London came alive for us as we ventured through the set up.  A Go-Pro film versions mapping out locations of three different books was intriguing to follow, as well.   Ashley, Chris, Jackson and I are now ready to take on our first mystery, too (see story below these pictures. . . ).

Water Wonders

Being ready to take on that mystery – Sherlock Holmes inspired – may prove very helpful in short order as we attempt to help any number of incredulous plumbers unravel the water mystery we are currently having at our flat.  Seemingly for the first time ever (according to the landlord agents – who have been very helpful throughout the process, but who are just as flummoxed as the rest of us) issues with hot water, no water and no warm/cold mix have become a constant circus.  

Each day  we’ve been experiencing different water wonders:  we wonder why we have no hot water, we wonder why we have no cold water, we wonder why we have no water at all.  Pretty crazy and ever inconsistent, no two water days are the same.  Hoping that the adjustments plumber #4 made to the pumps have solved it and we can happily be “all washed up!”   ;)

Two-week-later P.S. to the lingering water mystery. . . Upon arriving back home one day recently, I found a beautiful gold envelope in my post (mail).  On the front was written “Mike and Melanie” but with no address.  Curious.  It’s not like we really know anyone here yet.   A fantastic surprise unfolded upon opening it though.  It was a “thank you” note from the landlord’s agents for being so patient with the water issues and a very generous gift card to Harrods iconic, extravagant and enormous department store.  Wow!  Patience will indeed be rewarded!  That'll be a field trip to remember!  Plumbing section first?!?


Dri Buddy

A new friend has come to live with us; his "dry" sense of humor is fantastic!  We'd like to introduce you to: The Dri Buddy! Yes, in fact, we invited him to join the family when we found the regular un-vented tumble dryer struggles to take less than 3 hours to dry light clothing.  Simply unzip the blue bubble, hang up to 18 items on the umbrella-like frame inside, re-zip, crank the knob to 1 ½ hours and ta-da!  Dry clothes.  Infomercials do have their place after all!  Where else could we have found such interesting “modern art” to grace the room?  NYC's MOMA would be proud!