On the river

This morning was a bit chilly with a little rain. I planned to take a boat ride along the river from Hampton Court. Monday is the recovery day from the weekend, and boats only go to Kingston - about 35 minutes up the river. On other days they go further to Richmond.

I planned to go on a round trip to Kingston and back. Unfortunately I decided today to experiment, and take photos with my camera instead of my phone. I figured, since the hotel has a computer that I have been using to write my blog, (in light of the terrible wifi), that it would be simple to plug my phone into the computer using a usb port. It looks, however that either the computer is set up to avoid this happening or I have a faulty connector. The obliging receptionist has just tried to download from my camera to the computer in reception. No go. She is in the early shift in the morning ( in 10 hours time) and will bring in her card reader to see if that works. 

Another reason to love this hotel!







So at the moment I am not able to transfer my photos from the camera to the blog. If, in the morning, before my transfer to Ely, the card reader solution works, I will add the photos.

In the meantime, hats off to Laura, the hotel receptionist who has pulled out all stops. 

Until I retrieve the photos, you will need to imagine that on the way to Kingston, the southern bank of the Thames is mostly houses and houseboats - a really interesting mix of old, faded, decrepit, spruced up, carefully tended, modest, grand and opulent.

The river is obviously not just used for tourism, but a way of life for some.

The northern bank is park and path. The path is well used - lots of dog walkers, cyclists, walking groups and families,


I had intended, on my return, to sit in the sun and stitch for a bit, but the weather wasn't kind. I therefore repaired to my comfortable room and worked on my Sheep and Daisies from yesterday. I have managed to repair the leaf I got wrong yesterday and finish the five petals. I am now ready to cut them all out and construct the little scene. My magnifier helped as did some natural light.

Even if I can't share my photos taken on the boat, it has been very pleasant using the hotel's library to write - and meeting Laura.