Roald Dahl Museum and Hometown

For those of you who don't know who Roald Dahl is, I have two words for you: Willy Wonka.
Now do you know? Roald Dahl is best known for his children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but has written scads more children's books as well as some very dark short stories for adults and two James Bond screenplays! I took the train to a little town called Great Missenden, where Dahl lived in his home 'The Gypsy House' for many years. There they have The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. I was the only adult there not attached to a school group or pram;) It was heavenly! Below is a HUGE photo of RD, as well as a portrait. Don't know why the lighting in this shot is funky but, whatever! This is a model of RD's 'writing shack', a little shed he built behind his home where he did all his writing. The funny green board atop the chair is his writing 'table' he made himself. Having been shot down in the war, he had back problems so he devised this chair and lap table (with a roll of corrogated paper under to prop it to just the right angle) so he could write for long periods of time w/o hurting his back. This museum is for kids, so all the items were interactive and told a bit about him/his stories, etc.
This is a typical street in the town, just a few blocks from the musuem. I decided to walk to his gravesite, which was only about 3/4 mile away. As you can see, it was a beautiful day for a walk!
Ok, this seems wierd that I took a picture of his grave. BUT, let me explain!
The bench you see in the background has a quote from one of his children's books. Then, at the edge, you see an enormous footprint, pointing in the direction of RD's grave. Then there are 3 more of these (cement) footprints in the grass (they look like bald spots in the grass from this angle!) that lead right to his stone. These are footprints of a character in one of his books, The BFG - The Big, Friendly Giant. So it was like the BFG was either visiting his grave or had laid him in it...I don't know but for me it was very, very touching. I got all teary eyed! So I sat on the bench...

...and looked out on this view. I just sat and took it all in. It was wonderful!
Then, to round out the day, I went back to the little cafe attached to the museum (called Cafe' Twit, also in reference to one of his children's books) and had an incredible treat called Bread and Butter Pudding (with a side of real whipped cream) and, of course, a spot of tea. This is England, after all!

Cheers!