Happy Birthday Helen.

Yesterday I took advantage of having the 'Pets At Home' store just by the lock as they have a vet on site. I had booked Macy in for her yearly check up and jabs. It is not something she relishes but was very well behaved with the nice Australian vet. She seems in good fettle and at 9 and a half is doing okay. best of all it was only £32. I think one year I paid £70 at Berkhamsted!

Macy is not looking too pleased with me after being crammed in her carrier and then injected but I made it up to her with some nice treats when we got back.

I don't know what I have done to deserve her but I'm glad that after a quick visit home she returned to the boat as it was here birthday today. It is amazing to think that now we have known each other for longer than we haven't. if you see what I mean. I got up to make her her usual cup of tea in bed and brought through the cards that she had brought from home with her. I gave her my card, from Morrison's and also the bunch of flowers I had bought, also from Morrison's (but only because the florist that I was going to get them from didn't open on Monday for some reason). 

Helen was talking about walking to Isleworth through Syon Park but as we had done this and the weather was a little iffy I suggested catching the bus and going to Richmond for the day. It turned out it was only one bus if we walked to Waterman Park so that is what we did.

In the old Richmond Town Hall, that was made redundant when Richmond amalgamated with several other local councils to become Richmond on Thames with the new Town Hall in Twickenham, was the library and on the top floor a small, free museum about Richmond. It turns out Richmond was Sheen until 1501 when Henry VII built a Royal Palace here and called it Richmond Palace after hisearldom in North Yorkshire Richmond! ( Feel a little like that 'Goodness Gracious Me' sketch when everything can be said to be 'Indian', but now it is 'Yorkshire'). It is well worth a visit and is informative. There is an exhibition at the moment about Capability Brown who landscaped many of the houses around and ended living at Hampton Court as the Royal Gardener. It also seems that Burton Constable Hall east of Hull is one of the best examples of an unchanged Capability Brown Landscape left. There you are, 'Yorkshire'!!

The old cinema was a good example of Art Deco theatres that used to be built rather than the shopping shed that house them now.

We walked up Richmond Hill through the Terrace Gardens to get the view from the top. This view of Pertersham Meadows and the Thames is apparently protected by and act of Parliament. This view has been the inspiration for many famous artists over the years and can be seen at the museum. We popped over the road to the Roebuck for a pint and a spot of lunch that just found the spot.

With the coming of the railway the nature of Richmond changed from a place of big houses where the rich and famous lived out of London to a Suburb with more 'affordable' housing. The streets wind up and down the hill and are quite cute, but I wouldn't like to live here. It would be like living in the Cotswold's. I like a bit of rough and ready thrown in.

The only bit of Richmond Palace left is this bit of the gatehouse and through the arch a bit of the old Wardrobe. It became a reclamation yard after Henry VIII had it closed during the Reformation. It did get re-opened for a very short time when Mary came to the throne but Elizabeth soon saw that off.

Twickenham Road and Richmond Railway bridges taken the Old Palace Wharf.

The more beautiful Richmond Bridge is slightly up river and is Grade 1 listed and was built between 1774 and 1777 to replace a ferry.

The tide was rising and it must be coming up springs as the roadway was flooding. This car couldn't make up his mind whether to risk it or not. It was only a couple of inches deep at this stage though.

A quick look on the interweb about these 'houses' in Victoria Place in Richmond didn't reveal much other than the last one to be sold went for £470000. I thought they may be alms houses or similar as they are of a small and unusual design.

I don't want you thinking that I only bought Helen a bunch of flowers and a card for her birthday. I did also get her some florentine biscuits and a four pack of Mars Bars (her very special treat when they are straight out of the fridge). She is also a lover of Bombay Mix and as we have traveled around this summer we have noticed that there are other varieties to be had. I noticed that Morrison's had a very wide variety so bought the full range of them for her. As well as Bombay Mix there is London, Jalfrezi, Balti, Karachi, Cornflake, Gujarati and Karachi Mix. On top of that there is Chana Dal, Chevda, Green pea and Peanuts and Sev Mamra. Now we have to make sure that we don't eat them all in one sitting now.