England 2026

Tuesday, May 12 – London

Today we are off to West Sussex, a county south and a bit west of London – the real point of this adventure. 

This morning I returned to the neighborhood Starbucks for a really fine coffee. On the way back, I photographed a couple of huge Ralph Lauren ads. We had seen similar ones on arrival at Heathrow. They are stunning!

We met Duncan Aviation representative Tim Barber for lunch at Bacchanalia. Tim has been with Duncan for 10 years, helping us buy and sell aircraft in this part of the world. The restaurant was incredible – the decor, the food, the bottle of Sancerre – all excellent.  We will definitely return. As always, Tim is very enthusiastic. He told me several times how great it is to work for Duncan. Perhaps we will return for the large customer gathering that Duncan hosts in November.

Our rental car was delivered to the hotel – a small Range Rover. Off we go with confidence, driving through central London, on the opposite side of the road through intense traffic. Thank goodness for the onboard map (providing you enter the correct destination!) You guessed it – we ended up 26 miles away from Petworth, because we entered the destination of a possible excursion listed in my paperwork. The drive was on motorways until we embarked for the last 26 miles. The countryside was really beautiful – rolling hills spotted with cattle or bucolic (“of, relating to, or suggesting an idyllic rural life” – Karen came up with that word) sheep. The downside was the very narrow roads with lots of traffic, including large trucks moving at, what I consider, a fast speed. Some places have hedges almost touching the car that were double the height of the car; other spots had very tall stone fences, again super close to the car. I made just one “wrong side of the road” mistake that did not result in any damage.

Again, our onboard map took us to Petworth, and we found our parking spot. We could not find our house, “The Nook.” I finally set out on foot and did find it down a narrow walking alley. Then I could not get the keypad at the door to work. A call to Tessa and her call to the rental company told me I needed to wait after pressing the code. Finally, we are in! The lesson to be learned from this entire experience is “read all your instructions before you depart.” I am too used to “winging it.”

The Nook is a rental house tucked in behind an antique shop. It is spacious (three bedrooms), modern, clean, and beautiful. The only downside is the bedrooms are upstairs. We get settled in and decide to walk to dinner. The flowers along the street are beautiful. We spot a bakery truck – something to check out tomorrow. The first dinner spot is closed (Many close on Monday and Tuesday.) With help from a local on the street, we find “The Angel Inn.”  I order a DuncanTini, in a wine glass, because that is all they have, then we enjoy a delicious meal of fish & chips and a pot pie. We are going to survive.

Robert