Brad's England Journal- March Entries 

Tuesday, March 4, 1997

Nothing too exciting has happened this past week, although I did go to the Tamworth Anker Rotary Club International Night this past Saturday, which was a lot of fun. I'll describe that in a minute, but first I will go over some minor milestones in the week. This past Wednesday I went in for my final physiotherapy (physical therapy) session for my shoulder. My physio looked over my shoulders and was satisfied they were both in good shape for flexibility and muscle balance. Now it is up to me to keep working on strengthening it in the gym.

I also got my scanner back up and working. I wrote email to Storm Photo, the people who make the scanner and they agreed to send the adapter for England to my Mom's house in the US, free of charge. It was then shipped over here, and as of last Saturday I can scan in pictures once again. Hopefully I can get the backlog of pictures finally scanned in for my journal.

Yesterday I met with my research advisor, Dr. Poli, to discuss my mini-project. I had finally figured out how to play back musical sequences on the computer, and was ready to move on to actually using the computer to evolve pleasant musical sequences. We came up with some software packages that I might use for the project, and also decided that I would try and create simple melodies of around 30 seconds in length. I am happy to have things more defined, and hopefully the project will start progressing more rapidly now.

Looking back at my previous entry, I figure I should also write something about my ankle which I hurt running through the Christmas Trees two weeks ago. Fortunately it has healed as rapidly as I thought it would, although I didn't go to Aikido last week because it was sore. I have been running some on it since last Wednesday, however, and while I wouldn't say it is back to full range of motion, it is doing very well.

A Can Pyramid Made by One Group
Working at the Irish Bar
Some Irish Dancers

Tamworth-Anker International Night
As I mentioned earlier, this past Saturday was International Night at the Tamworth Anker Rotary Club. It is an annual event put on by them and their corresponding Inner Wheel Club (the club for spouses of Rotarians). This year their theme was European Union, so they had foods from different countries in Europe. The Night is open to the public and raises money for charity. All who came enjoyed a dinner and participated in various games. The dinner started with a Swedish Smorgasborg, followed by British Beef, Greek Salad, and German dessert. There was also a French Cafe, an Irish Bar, and Scottish Tombola (a sort of raffle). All Rotarians and affiliates worked for the evening, and I was assigned to the Irish Bar. It was a fun night, and between serving people I had a good chance to talk with many of the other Rotarians and their wives who were working at the bar.

Wednesday, March 19, 1997

Two weeks have gone by in a hurry, although not a whole lot interesting has happened, mainly just the routine of classes and the mechanics of living. Two weeks ago I had a German test, the result of which I got back last night-- I got a 67 which was worse than my first by 20 points, but still better than most of the other students. I think our whole class is past the point where we have gotten the basics of German, and moved on to the point where we are overwhelmed by the amount we need to know. Classes also have ended, one last week, and one two weeks before. The Parallel Computer Architecture course will have a couple review courses at the end of April when the 4-week spring break is over, but the other won't have any more sessions. Exams will be in late April for 'Computers and the Mind', and in mid-May for Parallel Computer Architectures.

There were two interesting non-scheduled activities over the past couple weeks, one a week ago last Sunday, and one this past Sunday. Two Sunday's ago was an ecumenical service at St. Francis Hall with Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists. After the service we had a Roving Quiz, which was put together by some of the members of AngSoc. It was quite different from the MethSoc Quiz of a few weeks ago, although again it was in teams of four. It was myself, a fellow AngSoc person, and two Catholics on our team. The quiz had two sections, one on general and religious trivia, and another that required you to go around campus to find things, such as the phone number to a telephone booth. I had brought my Roller Blades, so I went to find the answers to the roving section which required one to go farther afield, while another girl went to find some answers related to the Guild of Students, and the other two worked on the trivia. It went pretty well and our team came in second, which was not too bad. The important thing was that it was enjoyable, and we had a chance to hang out with people from the other societies.

This past Sunday I went on another outing with the Orienteering Club, this time to Cannock Chase. This time there were no mis-haps, and I finished the course in an hour and forty minutes, although it was only a 6 km course. There were a couple times I was disoriented, but I quickly found my way again. That was my last race until the student championships in Sheffield coming up the weekend of April 6. I also helped a couple of other members to design the 'kit' or uniform we will wear to Sheffield. It is pretty outrageous, with trousers (pants) that have mesh in the back, and the letters 'BUOC' on the rear-end (for Birmingham University Orienteering Club).

I am also looking forward to the coming week, as three friends from the US will be coming. My roommate from Cornell, Jeff Hart, and Alex Holt, another friend from Cornell will be arriving on Saturday. Carrie Sorensen, a friend of mine that I met at Stanford is coming over late Sunday night. The tentative plan is to take it easy on Saturday, and only go to see Warwick Castle on Sunday. I figure keeping things easy will help with the jet-lag. Monday we go to Stratford-on-Avon, and will see the play "Much Ado About Nothing" by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. On Tuesday we will see Oxford, then head to Bath for the night and see it the next day. The next three days we will spend in London. Hopefully the trip will go well, and everyone will get along with each other.

Monday, March 24, 1997

My friends came, and kidnapped me this past Saturday. Well, perhaps kidnapped is to strong a word, but they did drag me on a whirlwind thirty hour trip of Scotland. Jeff arrived Saturday morning at around 8am, his flight having arrived one hour early due to a tailwind on the trip over. We walked around campus and went out to lunch while we waited for Alex, who had arrived the previous day in London, and was now driving up in a rental car. Originally, the plan was to just hang out in Birmingham on Saturday, and then see Warwick Castle on Sunday. When Alex arrived at about 2pm, though, he suggested that we just go up to Scotland, spend the night and Sunday and come back, since Carrie was arriving on Sunday night (well, Monday morning early). To put this in perspective, Scotland is 300-400 miles from here, the equivalent of driving to LA for a day. I argued with them, saying it wouldn't be worthwhile, but they still wanted to go out on an overnight trip. Eventually we agreed we would go to Wales, which is considerably closer. We all hopped in the car and headed out, and about one hour into the trip, Alex looked at the map, and said to Jeff, "You know, the M6 [the motor way we were on] goes all the way to Scotland. You want to go?" To which Jeff replied, "Sure. We're going to Scotland!" At this point there was little that I could do, but, knowing them well I had grabbed a copy of the Scottish Hosteling guide before I left, so at least we could find a place to stay the night. And to think that we laugh at British who come to the States and think of doing a day trip to Los Angeles from San Francisco!
Mirror Smooth Surface of one of the Lochs we Passed
A Hill Side Near the Glen Nevis Hostel
Hill with Mist Near the Glen Nevis Hostel
Alex and I with some Spectacular Scenery

Scotland Scenery
Having said all this, I will admit that we saw some spectacular scenery on the trip through Scotland, although 95% of it we saw outJeff and Alex by the Glen Nevis Hostel the window of the rental car considering we were driving most of the 30 odd-hours that we were gone. Having established that we were going to Scotland, whether I liked it or not, we all collaborated on choosing where to go. We decided on Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Great Britain, which is located near Fort Williams. We dragged ourselves into the Glen Nevis Hostel at the foot of Ben Nevis around 11pm, determined to climb the mountain the next day. Unfortunately, Jeff and I near a Stream by Ben Neviswe never made it up the mountain, since we read the mountain report, which said something to the effect of: "Periodic Blizzard-like conditions and gale winds can be expected on the mountain. All climbers should wear multiple layers of clothing, and carry ice climbing equipment." Since we only had light jackets, and Jeff only had tennis shoes, we decided to give it a miss, and just had a look at some of the scenery around the base of the mountain instead. It was a gorgeous sunny day, however, so the scenery even at the base of the mountain was quite impressive (see photos, above, left and right).
Alex and I
Jeff and Alex

Views from Anoch Mor
We were still a little disappointed at not having been able to climb the mountain, so we decided to take the tram up a nearby mountain, Anoch Mor. Anoch Mor is almost as high as Ben Nevis, but since there is a ski resort at the top of it, you can take a tram to the top. Once again we had some impressive views since the day was so clear. We didn't stay long, however, since Jeff and Alex had decided they needed to see Loch Ness and Edinburgh before the day was out, and it was almost noon already.

We drove up to Fort Augustus, located on the southernmost point of Loch Ness, took the compulsory photos (see left), ate lunch, then headed down to Edinburgh. It was very beautiful driving through the mountains and hills of Scotland, and it was startling how desolate most of it is. Unfortunately, we Parade Ground of Edinburgh Castlearrived at Edinburgh at 4:45pm, just missing the last entry time for Edinburgh Castle (see photo in the parade ground at right). We did get a chance to see the city views briefly, though, before heading back to Birmingham, in a desperate attempt to make it in time for 'The X Files', which was on TV at 9pm.

Unfortunately, we did not make it until 9:30pm, so we had to settle for "Millennium" which was on at 10pm. In a thirty hour period we had put over 800 miles on the rental car, and been all over England. Admittedly the scenery we saw was fantastic, but I am not sure it was worth spending that much time in the car for me, as I probably will see it again this summer. For Jeff and Alex, however, it was probably worth it, since they may not be back for quite some time.

Finally, last night at 1:15am we picked up Carrie at the downtown bus station. I unfortunately took us to the wrong bus station, and there were a few minutes of panic as we tried to figure out how to get to the right one, but we did make it eventually. Carrie's trip had gone fairly smoothly, and soon enough we were all home asleep.

Today we have decided to go to Warwick Castle, instead of Stratford, and then we will go to Stratford to see "Much Ado About Nothing" tonight.

Tuesday, March 25, 1997

Group Photo at Warwick Castle
We are now in the Hostel in Bath, and it has been a busy couple of days. Yesterday morning we headed off to Warwick Castle (see photo at right), which is about a 30 minute drive from the University of Birmingham. Warwick Castle is one of the best preserved castles in all of England, although much of it is only reconstructed. It has all of the typical things you would expect in a Castle-- a moat, a drawbridge, towers, great halls, a torture chamber, dungeons, and a magnificent garden. We toured through most of the sights at the castle, including walking on the castle walls, seeing the dungeon, and visiting the living quarters. Carrie was not as interested in the Torture Chamber and Dungeon as Alex, Jeff and I were, and conversely I think we found the Halls of State less interesting. We went to the gardens as well, where they had peacocks (photos at left and below right). One had managed to fly up into a tree and was perched on a low branch (see photo at left). You don't expect to see peacocks off the ground, and one Rugby player from a team that was touring the castle looked up at it, then looked at us and asked, "What the hell is that thing?"

We went back to Birmingham to change into nicer clothes, and immediately turned around and drove back down to Stratford, which is near Warwick. We got their barely ten minutes before the play started, and we still hadn't parked the car. Alex (who is driving for the trip), let us out to pick up the tickets and went to park the car. I let Jeff and Carrie head in to get their seats, and waited for Alex, who ran in, having parked the car a quarter of a mile away, literally seconds before they closed the doors. The play was "Much Ado About Nothing," and it was very well done and humorous. It told the tale of romantic intrigue in an Italian court, and ends up with several happily married couples after the usual twists and turns.

Jeff, Alex and I at the Botanical Garden
Carrie at the Garden

Around Oxford
We got back late last night from the play, and everybody was fairly tired, so we agreed to sleep in until 9:30am. We got out the door fairly quickly and headed down to Oxford. Since I've already been to Oxford, I won't bother to describe it again in much detail. We went to Christ Church College again, and also walked through the Botanical Gardens which had some very interesting flowers in hot houses.
On the Small Gauge Train
Walking Back to the Car Along the Tracks of the Small Gauge Railroad
Playing Chess in the Blenheim Garden

Around Blenheim Palace
Instead of heading directly to Bath, we decided to stop at Blenheim Palace, which is near Oxford. It is the family home of the Duke of Marlborough. Since we got there 25 minutes before closing time, they let us in for free, but we could only see the exterior and the grounds. The exterior architecture was gold gilted, but a marked contrast to the French style I had seen in Paris which was much more ornate and gaudy. We took a miniature-gauge train over to the Palace Gardens, which feature the worlds second largest hedge maze, which was surprisingly small. The hedges were also only about chest high so you could see over them. There was also a butterfly house which was fun to go in. We saw quite a number of interesting butterflies, including some Monarch butterflies which I hadn't seen since I left California. Alex and I also played a game of chess on a giant chess board, but we had to stop when the place shut down.  Unfortunately since we had stayed until the last minute the train had stopped running and we had to walk back along the tracks.

After that we raced down here to Bath, since our reservation was only good until 6:30pm. We had tried to call several times to confirm the reservation, but unfortunately it was always busy. We didn't get there until around 7pm, and by then they had given our quad room away. Fortunately they were able to shuffle some other people around and get us into another quad. We have just returned from a nice Italian dinner, and a close encounter between Alex and the traffic police. Tomorrow we will tour Bath, but for tonight it is time to sleep.

Wednesday, March 26, 1997

The tour of Bath went fairly well today. We bought a ticket to see the Roman Baths and the Costume Museum at a discount combined price at the Hostel before we went out this morning. Our first order of business when we got into town was to find breakfast, which we did at small bakery which served fairly bland (but also cheap) rolls. There is no Cathedral in Bath, since the church seat for the area is in Bristol about 20 miles north-west of Bath. That being said, however, the Bath Abbey which is there instead is at least as impressive as the Cathedral in Bristol. We toured the Abbey first after breakfast, and then headed over to the Roman Baths which are right next to the Abbey.
Overhead View with Abbey at the Left in the Middle, and Baths at Bottom Right
The Inside of the Bath's when Drained.  Notice Lead Lining at Bottom

The Roman Baths at Bath
The Baths were very impressive to see, with construction that has lasted since the Romans first came in the 1st century AD. During the Victorian Era, the ruins of the buildings were cleared away so that the underlying structure of the Baths could be seen again, and since then much of the complex has been reconstructed. One interesting thing to see was the actual spring where the boiling hot water escapes from the earth. The water exiting the spring is rain water from 10,000 years ago which has filtered down through the rock to the magma where it is expelled back up to the surface. The complex was set up as a walk with many exhibits and displays, accompanied by an audio guide which explained what you were looking at. I was the last of the four of us to make it through the tour since I listened to all of the audio guide, while the others stuck to the more interesting bits.
Inside Bath Abbey
Jeff, Carrie and Alex at the Roman Baths
Alex on the Bus Tour as we go through the Royal Circus
Bridge with Buildings on It

Pictures from Around Bath
After the tour we went to Pizza Hut for their all you can eat lunch buffet (except Carrie who went and grabbed a sandwich instead). By the time lunch ended, it was drizzling, and after some discussion we decided to take the Guide Friday tour bus around the city so we could see some of the more removed items of interest. The tour was hop-on, hop-off, and passed by the Costume Museum which we already had tickets to, so it seemed like a good idea.

There was some debate as to whether we should go to the Costume Museum or not. Carrie was interested in seeing it, and Jeff and I were fairly neutral, while Alex was completely disinterested. In the end we decided to go since we had already paid for the tickets. It was another audio guide thing, and by this time even I was getting tired of the "press 33 to hear about the type of paint used on the ceiling of this room." Alex hardly listened to his guide at all, and I skipped most of the stuff on mine. In addition to the Costume Museum we got to see the meeting halls up stairs which were a popular social venue in the 1800s. The Costume Museum was okay (I enjoyed seeing some of the gowns which were 400 years old!), but overall not terribly exciting. There were a couple of gowns worn by famous people, including one worn by Queen Victoria which demonstrated just how round she was at the end of her life.

Overview of Bath with UFO in Middle
Me in Front of the Hostel, which was an Old Georgian Mansion

Miscellaneous Bath Photos
After the costume museum we got back on the bus and continued our tour around Bath. We got to see the Royal Crescent (at left), which is one of the most famous housing complexes in Britain. Built in the early 1800s by John Wood the Younger, it is a half circle of houses all in a common motif which faces down into the valley in which Bath lies. The tour also took us up into the hills on the opposite side of Bath, where we could see the city in its whole (see photo at right). Almost all of the buildings are built from Bath stone, which is local to the area and has a unique tannish color. The view of the city was spectacular, and we could see the Royal Crescent and several later crescents on the hills opposite.

Tonight we went out to a pub, The Forum and Firkin, which is one of the Firkin chain of pubs. Jeff was disappointed that the pub was so well lit. He had hoped for something a little more dingy and smoke filled! We ate there anyway, and the food was not bad-- nourishing but pretty bland. We checked out Monopoly from behind the bar, and all played a game. It was interesting since all of the properties have British instead of American names, like St. Pancras station for one of the railroads. As Monopoly tends to do, the game dragged on a bit, and Jeff folded and gave all of his property to me, and Carrie withdrew and gave everything she had to Alex. The two of us, both perhaps too competitive, carried on playing, putting up Hotels, and letting the momentum change from one to another as we had to pay 2000 pound rental fees. Eventually it became clear that Jeff and Carrie were both bored of the whole thing, so I withdrew allowing Alex to win. He was sorely disappointed that he hadn't had the pleasure of crushing me completely, but I guess he will have to deal with it.

Friday, March 28, 1997

I write this from my room in London, at Hughes Parry Hall, one of the dorms for the University of London, where we are staying. This trip has continued to be a busy one, and I can't believe that we have finished our second day in London, and we only have one full day left before Alex and Jeff return to the States. The view from my room is quite nice, and I look towards the south and can see the dome of St. Pauls Cathedral lit up against the sky line, with a full moon overhead. I tried to take some pictures, but I doubt they will turn out very well, since my camera does not have a very long exposure time.

Yesterday morning we left from Bath fairly early in the morning, in the hope of getting to London at a reasonable time. Although it was a little bit out of our way, we decided to swing by Stonehenge on the way to London, as it is one of those things that you just have to see. We also figured it wouldn't take to long to see it, as it can't take to long to see a bunch of stones (albeit very old stones). When we pulled in there were lots of signs indicating that there was a free audio tour of Stonehenge, and the surrounding area, which seemed like a nice change from having to pay for everything. Just as we were getting out of the car, though, my contact lens fell out, and I ran to the bathroom to put it back in while the others went to check out the details of the tour. By the time I met back up with them they had found out that the "free" audio tour was just a ruse-- it was free if you paid the 5 pound admission fee, which none of us were willing to do. Instead, we were forced to cross the road and stare at the monument from behind a fence (see photo at left). Overall, we wouldn't have seen much more even if we had gone in, since the actual stones are roped off and you can't get Where to next?near them anyway.

After our stop at Stonehenge we headed on in towards Heathrow, where we were going to return the car. Unfortunately we were distracted by signs for Legoland, and decided to go see what that was about. I can remember reading about it in World magazine when I was a kid, and remembered thinking it must be really cool. We were all expecting a sort of museum with lots of huge sculptures made out of millions of Legos. Instead, when we got there it was a Lego themed amusement park, and the admission was around 20 pounds, which wasn't worth it since we wanted to get to London anyway. We took a few photos with some Lego sculptures near the gate (including a cute one of a little boy and girl rushing to the bathroom at right), and then were back on track for Heathrow.

We made it to Heathrow this time, checked the car in and took the Tube into the city. Getting from the final station to Hughes Parry Hall (HPH) where we are staying was a little bit of a chore, since we had to lug all our bags, and I chose a somewhat inefficient route to get there, but we made it there and got checked into our rooms. We all have singles here, so we don't have to worry about disturbing anybody else.

Carrie and I Near St. Jame's Park
Carrie and I with Big Ben in the Background
Carrie and I in front of Westminster Abbey
Jeff and Carrie with one of the Trafalgar Square Lions

Touring Central London
After this, we headed into the central London area to see the main sights: Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Parliament, etc.. Unfortunately when we got off at Leicester Square, Alex went to transfer to another train, while we went up to the street. Carrie, Jeff and I waited for a while, but then gave up and went around on our own. We started at Trafalgar Square, then walked down towards Parliament, detouring through St. James Park to see Buckingham Palace. We then wound our way back around past Westminster Abbey, before catching the Tube back to HPH. When we got back Alex was waiting and we found out how he had gotten lost. Fortunately he had gone and seen most of the same things on his own.

Then, Carrie and I ate here, since as students our dinner was included, while Alex and Jeff went out to a "fancy" dinner, since they have jobs (we later found out they just went to a cheap local restaurant). After dinner we all went and saw "The English Patient" which was showing at a a nearby theater. I think everybody thought the movie was good, although it certainly wasn't an action film.

Alex and I with the Tower of London in the Background
Carrie and I by one of the Towers
Jeff and I with a Cannon

The Tower of London
This morning we went and saw the Tower of London, which I had been looking forward to since when Rebecca and I came on New Years Day it was closed. It was very interesting, and the Yeoman Warder who gave the tour was very entertaining. It was also amazing to see the Crown Jewels. There were so many large gemstones that it was difficult to believe that it wasn't all just costume jewelry. Jeff and I were a little disappointed though, since my guidebook had said that the chapel was the home to the headless skeletons of several of the people executed by Henry the VIIIth. We had both read this to mean that they had the skeletons hanging up on the walls, but what it really meant was that they were just buried there, which was not nearly as exciting.
Group Portrait
Alex Feeds a Squirrel
Another Group Portrait

The Flower Walk in Kensington Gardens
After the Tower we had lunch at the Tower McDonald's, located in the Tower of London Cellars right next to the tower. I guess if you are McDonald's you can rent space anywhere! Then we went and walked around in Kensington Gardens, which is actually more of a park. We stopped at Kensington Palace, home of the Princess of Wales, for a quick photo.  The best part, however, was the Flower Walk, which was a long straight path planted with lots of flowers on both sides, although most of them weren't in the peak of bloom. There were a lot of friendly squirrels on the path, and they would climb right up the fences and take food out of your hand.
By the Serpentine
Carrie and I with a Statue
In Front of Kensington Palace

Around Kensington Gardens
Jeff and Alex then went to the Natural History Museum, but Carrie wanted to do some shopping so I went with her. We walked through Knightsbridge, which is a big shopping district which includes Harrod's, perhaps the most famous department store in the world. We tried to go into Harrod's, but Carrie and I both had backpacks, and we were supposed to go in through a special entrance where we could check the bags. We kept walking, but the store is so huge that there are about a million entrances and we eventually decided it was not worth finding the right one just to go in the store. Carrie mainly wanted to find a place to buy some souvenirs and postcards, and we didn't really find anything there, so we went back to HPH, and found a store that sold some stuff right near there.
Carrie's Picture
My Attempt
Jeff's Try

Our Attempts at Photographing the Moon over St. Paul's
Carrie and I ate in again, and Jeff and Alex are supposed to be off to a "real" fancy meal tonight. I am not sure if they are back yet, but I before I go to sleep I will go and see if they want to take a picture of the moon over St. Paul's, since it really is spectacular and this is our last night here.

Sunday, March 30, 1997

Today is Easter Sunday, and Carrie and I are just relaxing around my Flat here in Birmingham, as Alex and Jeff have both headed back to the US now.
The Rosetta Stone
Alex and Jeff by a Babylonian Statue
One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from True Lies?

The British Museum
Yesterday was our final day in London, and we had reserved it for seeing the British Museum. Fortunately it was about three blocks from HPH where we were staying, so we were able to just walk over to it. The museum is huge and filled with artifacts from just about every culture in the world, a testament to the extent of the British Empire in its hey-day. We started in the Far Eastern Section, then went and saw some of the Egyptian stuff. They have the Rosetta Stone there, but it is sitting right out in the open, so we were speculating that it might be a duplicate they keep to show the public.
Out Front of the British Museum
Alex, Carrie, and I Outside the British Museum
Parting Ways at Euston

Leaving London
We took a break for lunch after a few hours there, and walked over to a nearby district. Afterwards Jeff, Alex, and I went back to the museum for some more exploring, while Carrie went off to do some shopping on her own. We met back at the museum around 4pm, and then headed back to HPH to get our bags. Alex was spending the night in London as his plane leaves from Heathrow today, while Jeff's plane left from Birmingham early today, and he had to come back here. So, at Euston Station, Jeff, Carrie and I said farewell to Alex, and got onto the train for Birmingham.

My Birthday is tomorrow, so Carrie and Jeff treated me to ordered in Pizza last night, an extravagance I can't usually justify on my scholarship. The Pizza wasn't great, but nonetheless it hit the spot and I enjoyed it.

This morning Jeff had to get off quite early, and I barely made it up to see him off to the Airport. Carrie and I got dressed and went into town for the Easter Sunday Service at St. Phillips Cathedral in the City Centre. It was a very nice service, and when the Dean of the Cathedral found out we were from California he made a special point of announcing it to the congregation before the service. It was a beautiful sunny day, so after the service we walked around the City Centre a bit before coming back here to the Flat.

We plan to spend the rest of the day relaxing here around the Flat-- a bit of a break from our hectic schedule of the past week. Tomorrow and Tuesday we are thinking of seeing Cadbury World and perhaps going to Stratford, since Carrie only saw it briefly at night when we went to the play there last Monday.