We
both felt a little the worse for wear after last night, but a cooked breakfast
from the buffet at the Royal Hotel saw us back to near normal.
After
breakfast I had my most frustrating call yet with DVLA (and most have been very
frustrating). It started by me being told I was not allowed to drive a vehicle
on UK roads if I had bought it VAT free for export. Instead, it had to be
delivered directly to a port on a low loader. I tactfully suggested that was
incorrect, but the guy insisted on reading the regulations regarding direct
exports to me. He even told me not to interrupt when I tried to stop him. Not
only was that nothing to do with DVLA as VAT is a matter for Customs and
Excise, but he was reading the wrong information. When he eventually finished I
asked him to check the information on personal exports. There was a long
silence at the end of which he agreed I was right.
Turning
to the matter in hand, I was told that 10 working days hadn’t elapsed since my
application would have been received and therefore he couldn’t look into it.
Responding that this was Day 9, and surely he could check out where things were
at, gained a reply that I hadn’t allowed for public holidays in arriving at Day
9 and there were three public holidays in the last three weeks. It took a while
to convince him that only one of those three days fell in the period in
question, and that made today Day 9. He then disputed that saying to call back
Thursday! The words “banging”, “head” and “brick wall” came to mind!
Feeling
quite depressed we decided we should head south to be closer to Banbury in the
hope that we could get Mabel this week. We booked an hotel in the Cotswolds at
Chipping Norton.
Checking
out, I asked the receptionist about a large (over 2 metres long) photograph of
a Lancaster bomber in flight hanging outside the hotel’s restaurant. The
photograph was covered with autographs (including one with NZ after the name).
Many of the names were preceded by an air force rank and often followed by a
squadron number It was just one of a lot of World War II aircraft memorabilia
in the hotel. Others included a map showing all the airfields, squadron
photographs, etc. I was told the hotel was used by the RAF during the war for
training and as a hospital. After the war reunions were held there and those
attending signed the Lancaster photograph. The hotel eventually had to cover
the photograph with glass because visitors were adding their names and graffiti
to the photo.
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| Lancaster Reunion Photo (Apologies for the quality and it being only part of a very impressive photo - the corridor was narrow and there was glare from a window) |
The
drive south was uneventful, initially over Lincolnshire’s flat fenlands passing
Boston with its famous stump that can be seen for miles across the fens. The
“stump” is the tower of St Botolph’s Church and at 83m high is one of the
tallest medieval towers in England.
 |
| Boston's Stump |
From
Boston we took a route around Peterborough and Northampton and into the rolling
countryside of the Cotswolds. En route we stopped at another M & S food
outlet tacked onto a service station to buy a similar lunch to yesterday –
salad and a mini pork pie.
The
Cotswolds is a range of rolling hills which rise from the meadows of the upper
Thames to an escarpment, known as the Cotswold Edge, above the Severn Valley
and the Vale of Evesham. The Jurassic limestone (for Ella) is quarried for the
golden coloured Cotswold stone which is the predominant building material used
in the many villages, historic towns, and stately homes in the area.
 |
| Pony and Trap In Stow On The Wold |
Our
first stop in the Cotswolds was Stow on the Wold to visit the Cotswolds’
Cricket Museum. This small museum houses Andy Collier’s private collection of
cricket memorabilia that he has accumulated over 20 years. Andy greeted us,
gave us an overview of his collection and asked if we would like to do the
quiz. He recommended it as finding the answers to his 25 questions would
require us to look at the detailed descriptions accompanying his collection. It
was a good idea and we spent nearly two hours finding 24 of the 25 answers. The
collection includes bats, balls, uniforms, scorecards and dozens of historic
photographs. Playing in one corner were recordings of after dinner speeches
given by Don Bradman. In addition to being a great cricketer he had a wicked
sense of humour. I particularly liked the following story:
A batsman was having a
particularly torrid time at the crease, playing and missing. A waft at a ball
that was also missed resulted in the players box being dislodged. As was
customary in those days (presumably before a box slotted
into a pocket in the underpants) the
fielding side formed a circle around the batsman to give him the privacy to
drop his trousers and re-arrange himself. As this was happening one of the
crowd shouted “That’s the only ball you are going to touch today!”
For
anyone that’s interested there is a video about the museum on its website at:
 |
| Stow On The Wold Cricket Museum |
 |
| Player's Blazers |
 |
| Museum |
 |
| New Zealand Team - West Indies 1985 |
From
Stow it was a short drive to Chipping Norton and the Crown and Cushion Hotel
where we were booked in for two nights. The hotel has an interesting history
being originally a coaching inn dating back to 1497. It is alleged that Robert
Catesby, one of the main conspirators in the gunpowder plot to blow up James I
met there with the other plotters, including Guy Fawkes, around 1604. In more
recent times the hotel was owned by Keith Moon of The Who. Keith,
affectionately known as “Moon The Loon” for his eccentric ways is remembered by
locals for his lavish parties at the hotel.
 |
| Crown and Cushion Hotel, Chipping Norton |
While
having a pre-dinner drink in the bar a man sitting at the next table struck up
a conversation with us. As he turned his chair to face us he winced and held
his back. I then made the fatal mistake by asking if he had a bad back because
he then launched into a monologue about an armed robbery at the local Co-op
supermarket where he worked and how he received a debilitating injury when he
punched one of the robbers. His story was interminable with him pouring out the
minutiae of the robbery and his apparent role as a hero. (More than a touch of
Walter Mitty there we thought). He struck as both as stupid firstly, for
hitting one of the robbers and secondly for not handing over the keys to the
safe when told to. I tried to stop him after about 10 minutes into the story
asking whether the robbers were caught but he just ignored me and continued
with his monologue. By this point Jane’s eyes had glazed over and I was
thoroughly fed up with his lack of consideration. He was still going strong
when I suggested to Jane it was time to eat and we left him to it. If boring
was an Olympic Sport, then this man would have won gold!
We
ate dinner in the bar in relative peace and quiet. Jane had shoulder of lamb and
I couldn’t pass over the opportunity to sample pie of the day. (steak and
mushroom). There was a group of four young builders at an adjacent table
celebrating a birthday. They had the strong accents of East Enders and were
very quick and funny, all talking over each other. We enjoyed that much more
than the monologue earlier in the evening. We also had a brief conversation
with a couple from Perth, WA.
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