NCPS News

Fifteen entered Gate 20B at Manchester Airport on Wednesday 10th May 2006 at 7.50am to be Jetcommed2Rome. We had an uneventful flight, noting that the airport, Flumicino, is very close to the sea. We scanned the airport for the man with the Pickles sign (or would it be Lancelot, the name of our hotel?). We were only slightly perturbed when, all other passengers having been picked up, our Pickles man was still absent. Colin retired behind a large pillar to consider the problem of phoning the Hotel from his mobile, so he was the last person to see the jolly man with the sign beckon us across the road to the two 8-seater transits. Colin’s case went with Jolly man whilst Colin travelled with the Mute driver. A gentle race ensued between Colin and his case, Colin winning by entering the Hotel gates in his transit. Happily a NCPS volunteer carried his case in.

The Hotel Lancelot was in a quiet, back street (Via Capo D’Africa) not far from the Coliseum.. Quiet, that is until the day we departed. Having driven around several times without being able to stop, our jolly man, now in a 15 seater minibus, phoned the hotel to ask that we be on the pavement outside when he came round again. He stopped in the middle of the narrow street to load the bags and travellers. But immediately a car came up behind and started blowing its horn. Our driver explained to the man that he was being as quick as possible. A second car came and the lady driver started blowing her horn, to be joined quickly by a third car, driver and horn. This wasted more time as the driver tried to placate them instead of loading the luggage. It was now time for the NCPS party to start shouting and jeering at the horn-blowers. In retrospect, Colin had let us down by failing to warn us that we should each have taken a horn so that we could join in the concert. Mrs Khan, our pleasant hotel owner smiled in amusement. The Lancelot was a homely place with adequate food and a family atmosphere. We awarded Colin extra points for a good choice. Our initial two night’s meals were taken at the Hotel. On the first evening a Norwegian lady had her Birthday and the Hotel decided on “champagne all round” We sang “Happy Birthday” to our unknown lady, and tried to get in on the group photograph that Don insisted on taking for her. We then looked forward to the next night of revelry when it was Tony Redford’s birthday. Tony, however, is too bashful to encourage such a fuss, and we had to be content with the “house wine”. Later on it became clear why Tony was refusing extra wine. Four of us (Tony, Dorothy, Milly and Bill) got in the lift to ascend, but the lift failed to move. Bill noticed that a small red scale had lit up in the control panel, with an arrow pointing to maximum. The maximum lift weight was given as 320 Kg. Gallantly, Bill got out, at which point Colin nipped in smartly and the lift ascended to the 4th floor. Bill ran up the stairs as fast as he could to meet them as the door opened. So the question is “Do Tony, Dorothy and Milly need to go on a diet?”

NCPS members were encouraged to write a few words about the trip.

Roy Cheetham comments:

Firstly I should like to say, how much I enjoyed the short break we had in the city of Rome and thank Colin Pickles for organising this wonderful trip, which I know took a great deal of time and patience to get underway. Although a four day trip, with two half days spent in travel, does not leave a great deal of time for a budding photographer to get clicking, it was, nevertheless, surprising how much we managed to achieve in so short a time. I, myself, took 360 pictures, and enjoyed taking every one of them. The pleasant and happy go lucky members of the North Cheshire Club were fun to be with, and clearly enjoyed themselves tremendously. We did a lot of walking about which was a little fatiguing but at the end of the day, you could relax in a hot shower and then eat a nice meal in the hotel dining room. On one of the days, four of us, (Geoff Robinson, Don Stafford, Phil Riley, and myself) made our way by taxi to the Spanish steps, and were able to enjoy the atmosphere, surrounding this picturesque location. After a while we decided to move on to a new location, and set off walking down the main street, until we came upon a small café where a large menu outside gave the price of a cappuccino coffee as one Euro twenty cents. We thought our luck was in, and as there were not enough seats outside, decided to go inside the café and sit in a small room where they made us all very cosy, wiping down the table and laying mats on the nice clean surfaces. The small Menu appeared from nowhere, and as we casually glanced at the prices, we noticed that the same cup of coffee was now four Euros fifty cents. Needless to say we asked why the difference in price, They said if you drink it inside you have to pay the extra price for the service. You can imagine what we did - we walked smartly out and went up the road where we ended up paying two Euros fifty cents a cup. This was more than we expected to pay but as they say “when in Rome do as the Romans do”. So we drank it, paid up, and went on our way.

Janet and Ted Wilson add:

We loved Rome – an even more interesting city than we expected, especially the Pantheon (a real Roman building still in use), the Vatican collection (what would Christ have made of this fabulous cornucopia?) and the Castell d’Angelo (a really quirky place, whose café afforded the best views of the great city). But we did not like the present-day Romans! One example will suffice. We went to the Modigliani exhibition at the Campidoglio and saw a rather limited display for a rather large entrance price. Halfway round the exhibition an official marched over to Janet and began demanding our tickets. Not expecting to have to show them once inside, Janet had secreted them away in her handbag and had difficulty locating them. Jobsworth continued shouting at her for the tickets, which of course she eventually produced. Jobsworth did not apologise for his mistake. On the way out I went over to him and expressed my opinion of him very forcefully, but unfortunately his Anglo-Saxon was no better than my Italian! The incident with the taxi as we left the hotel was a pure parody of Italian impatience, but at least we were able to turn it into a good old English farce! The previous day, as I photographed the Renaissance sculptures of the allegorical characters depicting the world’s four great rivers in the Piazza Navona, I had heard an American woman tourist say to her friend: “Jeez, those Roman men must have been very muscular!” For me this helped make it all into a great trip, and Janet and I would like to thank Colin for organizing it so well!

The weather was generally excellent, raining only a little on the Thursday afternoon. On the Wednesday afternoon, having settled into the hotel, a group took the scenic bus for a quick look-around and to get their bearings. Apparently this was not as efficacious as it might have been as there are many streets that the bus cannot negotiate. John, Bill & Milly decided to start with a thorough investigation of the Coliseum, having first tried out the sandwiches and coffee at a local café on the way. At the Coliseum they observed several school parties, each party distinguished by having its own brightly coloured baseball cap (bright red, bright yellow etc).

Having fought off the Roman soldiers who were claiming one euro for having their photographs taken, they joined the queue to enter the ruin. Here they were accosted by strangers, telling them that if they joined the group the strangers were assembling they could get in quicker. It further transpired that if they paid the 3.50 euros for an audiophone they could go straight in. Since senior citizens were let in for free, they decided to take the audiophone route. This was a wise decision since they could linger for photographs, at will, whilst still getting the relevent information about the building. Getting out proved more troublesome than getting in. The audiophones had to be returned to the entrance booth, however “no-exit” signs meant we then had to traverse the length of the site to the exit at the other end. John and Milly managed to get through the no-exit barrier before an official could stop them. But said official, a foreigner with no English! stopped Bill’s exit. So Bill saw more of the Coliseum than the others.

We visited a variety of churches, including, close to the hotel, San Clemente, a 12th century church built on top of a 4th century one, built on top of an ancient shrine to Mithras. Also close by we saw the remains of the ancient Roman aqueducts. We then followed Ted’s advice and had coffee at the Castell d’Angelo, and spent time in the Pantheon. It seemed obligatory to see the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps. The Steps themselves are basically a good meeting place, but the pedestrianized streets around are a joy for shopaholics. We were told the 117 bus from the Spanish steps would take us back to near our hotel, but discovered it actually returned from several streets away. It was one of the small electric buses with more standing room than seats. Having waited in vain, as several such buses passed the stop fully loaded we decided to walk to the start point the Piazza del Popolo, where they were waiting, empty, to start their journey. So it was that we had prime seats on our journey back to the hotel. Though several of the party got up early to be first in the queue for the Sistine Chapel and Vatican generally, others thought it too much hassle in the short time available.. But having enjoyed this “sampler of Rome” we shall definitely have to go back. and the Hotel Lancelot, in Via Capo d’Africa will be first choice when we visit again. Seen on the trip were: Colin Pickles, Roy Cheetham, Roger Dye, Phil Riley, Geoff Robinson, Don Stafford, Ted Wilson & Janet, Tony Redford & Dorothy, Bill & Milly Chadband, John Ranson, Dave Akers, Steph Clack,.

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		Fifteen entered Gate 20B at Manchester Airport on Wednesday 10th May 2006 at 7.50am to be Jetcommed2Rome. We had an uneventful flight, noting that the airport, Flumicino, is very close to the sea. We scanned the airport for the man with the Pickles sign (or would it be Lancelot, the name of our hotel?). We were only slightly perturbed when, all other passengers having been picked up, our Pickles man was still absent. Colin retired behind a large pillar to consider the problem of phoning the Hotel from his mobile, so he was the last person to see the jolly man with the sign beckon us across the road to the two 8-seater transits. Colin’s case went with Jolly man whilst Colin travelled with the Mute driver. A gentle race ensued between Colin and his case, Colin winning by entering the Hotel gates in his transit. Happily a NCPS volunteer carried his case in. The Hotel Lancelot was in a quiet, back street (Via Capo D’Africa) not far from the Coliseum.. Quiet, that is until the day we departed. Having driven around several times without being able to stop, our jolly man, now in a 15 seater minibus, phoned the hotel to ask that we be on the pavement outside when he came round again. He stopped in the middle of the narrow street to load the bags and travellers. But immediately a car came up behind and started blowing its horn. Our driver explained to the man that he was being as quick as possible. A second car came and the lady driver started blowing her horn, to be joined quickly by a third car, driver and horn. This wasted more time as the driver tried to placate them instead of loading the luggage. It was now time for the NCPS party to start shouting and jeering at the horn-blowers. In retrospect, Colin had let us down by failing to warn us that we should each have taken a horn so that we could join in the concert. Mrs Khan, our pleasant hotel owner smiled in amusement. The Lancelot was a homely place with adequate food and a family atmosphere. We awarded Colin extra points for a good choice. Our initial two night’s meals were taken at the Hotel. On the first evening a Norwegian lady had her Birthday and the Hotel decided on “champagne all round” We sang “Happy Birthday” to our unknown lady, and tried to get in on the group photograph that Don insisted on taking for her. We then looked forward to the next night of revelry when it was Tony Redford’s birthday. Tony, however, is too bashful to encourage such a fuss, and we had to be content with the “house wine”. Later on it became clear why Tony was refusing extra wine. Four of us (Tony, Dorothy, Milly and Bill) got in the lift to ascend, but the lift failed to move. Bill noticed that a small red scale had lit up in the control panel, with an arrow pointing to maximum. The maximum lift weight was given as 320 Kg. Gallantly, Bill got out, at which point Colin nipped in smartly and the lift ascended to the 4th floor. Bill ran up the stairs as fast as he could to meet them as the door opened. So the question is “Do Tony, Dorothy and Milly need to go on a diet?” NCPS members were encouraged to write a few words about the trip. Roy Cheetham comments: Firstly I should like to say, how much I enjoyed the short break we had in the city of Rome and thank Colin Pickles for organising this wonderful trip, which I know took a great deal of time and patience to get underway. Although a four day trip, with two half days spent in travel, does not leave a great deal of time for a budding photographer to get clicking, it was, nevertheless, surprising how much we managed to achieve in so short a time. I, myself, took 360 pictures, and enjoyed taking every one of them. The pleasant and happy go lucky members of the North Cheshire Club were fun to be with, and clearly enjoyed themselves tremendously. We did a lot of walking about which was a little fatiguing but at the end of the day, you could relax in a hot shower and then eat a nice meal in the hotel dining room. On one of the days, four of us, (Geoff Robinson, Don Stafford, Phil Riley, and myself) made our way by taxi to the Spanish steps, and were able to enjoy the atmosphere, surrounding this picturesque location. After a while we decided to move on to a new location, and set off walking down the main street, until we came upon a small café where a large menu outside gave the price of a cappuccino coffee as one Euro twenty cents. We thought our luck was in, and as there were not enough seats outside, decided to go inside the café and sit in a small room where they made us all very cosy, wiping down the table and laying mats on the nice clean surfaces. The small Menu appeared from nowhere, and as we casually glanced at the prices, we noticed that the same cup of coffee was now four Euros fifty cents. Needless to say we asked why the difference in price, They said if you drink it inside you have to pay the extra price for the service. You can imagine what we did - we walked smartly out and went up the road where we ended up paying two Euros fifty cents a cup. This was more than we expected to pay but as they say “when in Rome do as the Romans do”. So we drank it, paid up, and went on our way. Janet and Ted Wilson add: We loved Rome – an even more interesting city than we expected, especially the Pantheon (a real Roman building still in use), the Vatican collection (what would Christ have made of this fabulous cornucopia?) and the Castell d’Angelo (a really quirky place, whose café afforded the best views of the great city). But we did not like the present-day Romans! One example will suffice. We went to the Modigliani exhibition at the Campidoglio and saw a rather limited display for a rather large entrance price. Halfway round the exhibition an official marched over to Janet and began demanding our tickets. Not expecting to have to show them once inside, Janet had secreted them away in her handbag and had difficulty locating them. Jobsworth continued shouting at her for the tickets, which of course she eventually produced. Jobsworth did not apologise for his mistake. On the way out I went over to him and expressed my opinion of him very forcefully, but unfortunately his Anglo-Saxon was no better than my Italian! The incident with the taxi as we left the hotel was a pure parody of Italian impatience, but at least we were able to turn it into a good old English farce! The previous day, as I photographed the Renaissance sculptures of the allegorical characters depicting the world’s four great rivers in the Piazza Navona, I had heard an American woman tourist say to her friend: “Jeez, those Roman men must have been very muscular!” For me this helped make it all into a great trip, and Janet and I would like to thank Colin for organizing it so well! The weather was generally excellent, raining only a little on the Thursday afternoon. On the Wednesday afternoon, having settled into the hotel, a group took the scenic bus for a quick look-around and to get their bearings. Apparently this was not as efficacious as it might have been as there are many streets that the bus cannot negotiate. John, Bill & Milly decided to start with a thorough investigation of the Coliseum, having first tried out the sandwiches and coffee at a local café on the way. At the Coliseum they observed several school parties, each party distinguished by having its own brightly coloured baseball cap (bright red, bright yellow etc). Having fought off the Roman soldiers who were claiming one euro for having their photographs taken, they joined the queue to enter the ruin. Here they were accosted by strangers, telling them that if they joined the group the strangers were assembling they could get in quicker. It further transpired that if they paid the 3.50 euros for an audiophone they could go straight in. Since senior citizens were let in for free, they decided to take the audiophone route. This was a wise decision since they could linger for photographs, at will, whilst still getting the relevent information about the building. Getting out proved more troublesome than getting in. The audiophones had to be returned to the entrance booth, however “no-exit” signs meant we then had to traverse the length of the site to the exit at the other end. John and Milly managed to get through the no-exit barrier before an official could stop them. But said official, a foreigner with no English! stopped Bill’s exit. So Bill saw more of the Coliseum than the others. We visited a variety of churches, including, close to the hotel, San Clemente, a 12th century church built on top of a 4th century one, built on top of an ancient shrine to Mithras. Also close by we saw the remains of the ancient Roman aqueducts. We then followed Ted’s advice and had coffee at the Castell d’Angelo, and spent time in the Pantheon. It seemed obligatory to see the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps. The Steps themselves are basically a good meeting place, but the pedestrianized streets around are a joy for shopaholics. We were told the 117 bus from the Spanish steps would take us back to near our hotel, but discovered it actually returned from several streets away. It was one of the small electric buses with more standing room than seats. Having waited in vain, as several such buses passed the stop fully loaded we decided to walk to the start point the Piazza del Popolo, where they were waiting, empty, to start their journey. So it was that we had prime seats on our journey back to the hotel. Though several of the party got up early to be first in the queue for the Sistine Chapel and Vatican generally, others thought it too much hassle in the short time available.. But having enjoyed this “sampler of Rome” we shall definitely have to go back. and the Hotel Lancelot, in Via Capo d’Africa will be first choice when we visit again. Seen on the trip were: Colin Pickles, Roy Cheetham, Roger Dye, Phil Riley, Geoff Robinson, Don Stafford, Ted Wilson & Janet, Tony Redford & Dorothy, Bill & Milly Chadband, John Ranson, Dave Akers, Steph Clack,. Bill Chadband
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