Two Days London with Husband Pieter

On October 1, after the MGA Conference, we both got dropped off by friends at the Hilton London Gatwick Airport Hotel where we would spend two nights on our own.

Pieter had previously spent one summer at the University and knew London pretty well via the Underground!

The back entrance at the Hilton hotel brings you to the airport and to the train station, so off we went by 12:30 and saw Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus. Of course checked out shops as the Underground entrance is at Harrods... What a choice! Especially woolen goods, Burberry and porcelain...

We also saw the Tower, and St. Paul's Cathedral just before they closed!

We had a pizza and back to the hotel.... With a goulash soup at the Hilton we went to bed.

Sunday, October 2. We did sleep in and went by train now to South Kensington and visited two museums. The Victoria & Albert Museum was very impressive! 
Also the Natural History Museum.

Here I stand next to the Natural History Museum South Kensington.
To the right you can see the tower from Victoria & Albert Museum.
We were so lucky with the weather!

Natural History Museum at South Kensington click link...

Husband Pieter near Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, wearing his Burberry Polo Shirt...

Such perfect weather for walking in 1988, and what I noticed is that we could be on the stairs, close to the actual monument!

Pieter took a better photo of me, seeing the marble figures behind me...

Marble figure on corner of Albert Memorial click link.
Here you can clearly see that the area is protected and now people are being kept below the stairs.

What a lovely walk it was and now I also got to see the Royal Albert Hall, across from Albert Memorial.
Pieter had the 1980 MGA Conference Reception at Royal Alber Hall, see link below post.
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We ended the day with a buffet dinner at the Hilton...

October 3, breakfast and packing in a relaxed way, no rush. At 12:45 we went back to Atlanta, this time in 9 hours! Strong head winds...

In 7 hours and 10 minutes we flew to London in a Jumbo 747 from Atlanta but now it took us 9 hours going back but with a DC-10.

That was the end of our Conference trip to Cambridge with before and after excursions!

A lovely time spent and now we could start packing up as only 16 days later, we would be moving to Pennsylvania... 
Campbell's Soup made us move!

Thanks for your visit and comment!
Wishing you all a Happy Easter Weekend 🐇

Related links:
Cambridge Conference and Newmarket Race Horses, England | previous post by me
From London by Train to Pullborough and Visiting Linfield Mushroom | previous post by me
1980 MGA Conference Reception in Royal Albert Hall, London | previous post by me

Cambridge Conference and Newmarket Race Horses, England

On September 28, we arrived from Pullborough in Cambridge and started off with a lunch together as the Opening of this MGA Conference.

Always great for seeing friends from all over the world!

Ferd Hensby had opened up his mushroom farm for a farm walk.

We end up going back to the Royal Cambridge Hotel and low and behold, now we had each a twin bed! 
Three years ago at the Cambridge MGA Conference we SHARED one twin bed!

We went for a walk and had a pizza in the city. It is cold, around frost that night!

On September 29, we had together breakfast at 7:00 and at 9:00 I departed by bus with the ladies program. Off to the studs of Newmarket...

Discover Newmarket just click link for more

Visiting Sir Michael Stoute and his stables. 

In the same year during the Queen's birthday honors, on April 21, he had been knighted.

Equine Pool in Newmarket click on link
We also got to visit a lady who had a small equine pool, filled with 60,000 gallons of water and in the center an island.
Newmarket was an entire city, filled with horses!

Just as an example to show my readers how the straw from those stables always has been collected as an ingredient for the mushroom industry by e.g. Walkro

We had lunch and visited an Abbey but I have no info...

We ended the day with dinner-dance at the Swynford Paddocks Hotel and Restaurant.
Lovely evening...

SWYNFORD PADDOCKS HOTEL AND RESTAURANT is now: SWYNFORD MANOR click link to see more about this 17th century hotel.
September 30, we went together to the conference lectures at 9:00. Lunch and thereafter we visited the exposition.
Ruud Thielen from The Netherlands did hand me the Italian study books for my Italian Language course from NTI. He is the son of Jan Thielen and both I've mentioned: Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England just click link.
We both went shopping and I've found linnen/cotton damask napkins and a black angora beret.
We had dinner with Gerard Derks (who lived in Italy and had worked for the same company we were  planning to work for in Italy) and Huub Aarts who was part of the Dublin, Georgia Campbell Mushroom Plant's construction.

On October 1, we got a ride from Mike & Mary, who dropped us off at the Hilton London Gatwick Airport Hotel just click link.

Convenient hotel, as the airport or train station can be reached from their back entrance!
We left by train at 12:30 to London... stay tuned!

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
From London by Train to Pullborough and Visiting Linfield Mushrooms | previous post by me
St. Ives - Cambridgeshire, England | previous post by me where we visited Ferd Hensby's Compost Ltd.
Cambridge MGA Conference in England | previous post by me about a three year earlier conference

From London by Train to Pullborough and Visiting Linfield Mushrooms

On September 25, 1988 we flew on British Airways, in 7 hours and 10 minutes to London.
We were again on our way to the next MGA Conference with some extra time spent visiting colleagues and friends.
September 26, arrival in London and we did take the train to Pulborough, West Sussex.

The Roundabout Hotel West Sussex click link
We arrived early at The Roundabout Hotel and by 10:30 went to Harold Linfield's mushroom farm and had lunch there.
The entire afternoon we spent with them at the mushroom farm.
By 17:00 back to the hotel and we ate at the restaurant of The Roundabout Hotel with Peter & Lydia Baker and Harold & Cecily Linfield.
By 23:00 we went to bed.
No jet lag problems and straight at arrival to work...
But nevertheless the bed felt GREAT!

On September 27, we first did go at 9:00 to the old Linfield mushroom farm to see the huge open breakfast mushrooms.
Due to the heavy spore count, they kept these open breakfast mushroom sheds far away from their regular growing rooms. Those spores 'could' carry the dreaded mushroom virus, so-called 'die-back disease'...
On the above photo I'm showing them to the viewer, wearing my silk Burberry plaid scarf and Burberry cotton sweater... Of course, honoring the British!
To the right is Mr. Harold Linfield.
I've done a harvest demonstration for them as well.
We also went to GCRI (Glasshouse Crops Research Institute in Littlehampton, West Sussex, where Pieter met with his colleagues. Always a worthwhile exchange of knowledge on both sides!
We had lunch at a local pub in Littlehampton.
We went back to our hotel by 16:00 and had a supper on our own.
September 28, we did ride with Mike and Mary Rowland to Cambridge where the MGA Conference would be held again.

Stay tuned...

Thanks for your vist and comment.

Related link:

Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England | previous post by me