The Royal Pharmaceutical Society

My Grandfather- E Saville Peck - died in 1955. He was a Pharmaceutical Chemist and owned three stores in Cambridge. As well as his many other interests he was a collector of Pestles and Mortars and anything to do with the history of pharmacy. He assisted the Royal Pharmaceutical society in their collections. In his will he left a large number of objects to the RPS. Recently the RPS moved to East Smithfield in the City of London. I visited and was very pleased to meet with the Archivist and view the recently rearranged museum and many displays including this one.

Statue of Sir John Franklin

 Walking down Waterloo place, close to Pall Mall, I came across this statue of Captain Sir John Franklin. It was in 1845 that he commanded HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to try and navigate the North West passage. 129 men including Franklin were lost. The search for the two ships, sponsored by the British admiralty began in 1848. It was not until 2014 that the wreck of HMS Erebus was found and then only this year 2016 that HMS Terror was found. 

East Kent 72nd Ploughing Match

This visit to see my sister Anne, who has been a farmers wife for 52 years, was arranged to coincide  with the East Kent 72nd Ploughing Match. These "ploughing matches" take place all over England. They are events where all the farmers get together and the local countryside people for a day of fun and of course an opportunity for all the businesses associated with farming to show their wares or meet future customers. They are events that most tourists would never see.
There are demonstrations of vintage ploughing and competitions. In addition there is such events as terrier racing, the appearance of the local foxhounds and the local beagle dogs. The tossing the sheaf competition was very popular. The  Women's Institute had a tent and gave out many prizes. I met several people I had known more than 47 years ago and one lady, Marianne Fox-Pitt whom I remembered from going to a dance at her house about 58 years ago. Her son William Fox-Pitt is a well known British eventer. He has won several Olympic Gold medals, but not this year, for Britain.
The following are pictures from the day.

A few days in England

Six degrees of separation? On the plane from Toronto to Gatwick I was sitting next to a young woman who it turned out that she was a Senior House Officer in Psychiatry at St Richards Hospital, Chichester. I was a Senior House Officer in Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at St Richards Hospital Chichester in 1965! It was interesting to talk about to-day's NHS and the fight the Junior Doctors are having with th NHS on their contract. In 1965 the Junior Hospital Doctors Association was formed and I was a representative from our area!
I spent the night at the Oxford and Cambridge Club. (A reciprocal with the Union Club). Very convenient location on Pall Mall. Superbly grand meeting rooms but a minute single bedroom!
Took in a live performance of Les Miserables at the Queens theatre on Shaftsbury avenue - a short walk from Pall Mall. A greatly enjoyed three hour performance.

Planning a trip to St Petersburg

A friend said to me there are three things about going on a trip. It is the planning, the doing and talking about it afterwards. I enjoy the planning as much as the doing and telling. As an independent traveler there is a lot to pay attention to - getting the best air fare with or without points, hotels, visas etc and then when you get there what are you going to do?
Why go to St Petersburg? I belong to a men's book club and a couple of years ago we read "Peter the Great" by Robert K. Massie, then I read "Catherine the Great" and then just before leaving I read  "Nicholas and Alexandra". All by the same author who as an historian is a great researcher and provides amazing details. The books are lengthy and with Peter the Great at 846 pages our book club decided to make a rule that 300 pages was the preferred length for our monthly book discussions.
This year after an annual trip to the UK to visit my sister I decided to spend a week in St Petersburg. Penny had decided that she did not have the energy to accompany me so I went on my own as an independent traveler.  Getting a visa from the Russian Embassy in Canada is a first step - you have to have an invitation (from a travel agent in Russia), to be able to show ones flights in and out and your hotel booking and even all the countries you have visited in the last ten years. However that is done (at a cost) and it was time for the travel to begin.
I left on Sunday 25th September. For starters the Eyewitness Travel "Top 10 St Petersburg" booklet lists - The Nevskiy Prosekt, the Hermitage, the Church on Spilled Blood, Mariinskiy Theatre, Russian Museum, Peter and Paul Fortress, St Isaac's Cathedral, Peterof , Tsarskoe Selo and Pavlovsk. So - the adventure began.