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Epilogue

Overall it has been a superb holiday in lovely surroundings with fantastic friends. The debacle at Heathrow with the Hoppa bus and security was soon overcome. Our flight with American Airlines was comfortable and our reception at US immigration was delightful, smiling face and good humour. However it remains a mystery as to why I was allowed in without having my fingerprints taken but the other three weren’t and had to provide them. We saw things in New York we may not have otherwise witnessed. I now have a new perspective on ballet and would certainly go and see another. I know Americans can’t get the hang of pantomimes but if shows like the Rockettes any anything to go by, they have a fairly good Christmas show alternative. It was a particularly proud moment to be permitted to place wreaths on behalf of the British Police in memory of our American colleagues at the Ground Zero memorial. The illuminated houses were something else too. It was the first time Val and I have done such a c...
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Cruise Home

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Cruise home Day one 3/12/22 We had our breakfast then returned to our room to pack our final bits. At the allotted time the four of us met at in the lobby and waited for the coach to arrive. We assumed we had a short trip to the piers in Manhattan but no, the Queen Mary 2 is too big to dock there so we had to travel to Brooklyn to board. The pre-boarding administration and security were slick and once we were cleared we sat in a waiting area ready to be called. We didn’t wait long before we boarded and found our cabin, sorry state room. We then had to carry out an obligatory check in at our muster station. We then met up with Sandra and David and had some lunch. Afterwards we discovered the observation deck so as to take some photos of the Statue of Liberty and the New York sky line. We returned to our respective cabins and unpacked.  The ship then set sail and after passing under the Verrazano Bridge and disembarking the pilot at the Sandy Hook pilot station the ship came to an Ea...
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Day Four

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Today we had time to ourselves so today was the day we would visit 9/11 Ground Zero and place the blue (for police officers) wreaths. So we set off armed with instructions from my granddaughter, Lauren, on how to navigate the NY subway system. We walked to the station boarded the train and travelled the seven stops to the World Trade Centre. We found the memorial and placed the two police blue wreaths at the Tree of Life. I placed mine on behalf of the Thames Valley branch of the International Police Association (IPA) and Sandra, whose father was PC Bill (Dixie) Dean of the Norfolk Constabulary, on behalf of the British Police. We took our own photos but there was plenty of other interest. I knew there was once a police patch collection in the nearby church so I found a nearby cop and asked where it had been relocated to. He informed me it is in O’Hara’s pub next to the church. We entered the pub and was greeted by the guv’ner I told him what I wanted to do so he gave me a staple gun ...
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Day three

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Today the tour organisers had arranged a two hour walking tour of the city. This concerned Val so she decided to let it go whilst Sandra, David and I went on it. However the Gostlings came up with a cunning and brilliant plan. Why not forgo the walking tour and take a bus tour. We jumped at the chance and fortunately the tour starts right outside our hotel. We boarded the bus and despite the temperature went and sat on the open upper deck. The bus set off through downtown Manhattan along Broadway, past Maddison Square Garden and Penn Street station. We then headed for the Empire State Building with its 102 floors and standing 1454 feet tall. We then drove along 5th Avenue passing the odd looking Flat Iron building, so named for its triangular shape resembling a flat iron. It was build in 1902 and is 307 feet high ( tall for its time) it is covered terracotta Medusa heads. The tour continued through Little Italy and China Town. We then drove along the water edge passing the Manhattan a...
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Day two

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Before I start today’s blog I want to point out that I am having difficulty in writing them in the third person particularly as the opinions and observations are usually mine. So from hereon in all the blogs will be in the first person. Sorry about that but hopefully it will make easier reading. Day two After breakfast we met with our courier and took a walk up to Central Park and had tea in the Plaza where we had a brilliant “afternoon”tea with all the trimmings albeit in the morning. The hotel reminded me of the Beverly Hills Wilshire and I kept expecting Miss Vivienne and Barny to walk in ( film buffs will know what I’m talking about) after we left the hotel on our own we took a walk along 5th Avenue in the rain. On one corner was a Donut stand and guess who were standing there, New York’s finest, so I had to have a photo op. We continued our exploration and at Broadway found the Disney shop so in we went and of course we didn’t come out empty handed. As It was still raining we dec...
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Journey out

The day has arrived, our taxi arrived and took us to Thorne Hill where we boarded the Oxford Airline coach to Heathrow. On arrival at Heathrow’s central bus station we navigated the concourse and found the bus stop for the Hoppa Bus that would transfer us to our overnight stop. We checked in and went straight for a meal. We were up early for our transfer from the hotel to the airport. It was horrendous as the bus got more and more crowded as the journey progressed, pocket book entry next time use a taxi. Anyway we arrived in one piece and were priority checked in. After arranging assistance for Val we had breakfast. We were then taken to security, it was an awful experience, we were treated like sh1t. After letting those behind us in the queue go past us Val was taken through, at other airports as her “carer” Bill was allowed through with her. Not here even his sunflower lanyard carried no weight. We did eventually get cleared but it took its toll on Bill’s anxiety. After a lovely bre...
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Getting Closer

Now only a few months away so getting excited.
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