Holiday coming to a close: London 3-4 Aug

Tues 3 August
Today Mike dropped me off at West Wickham station and I headed into town to get some tickets for a show tonight. I went to the discount ticket office in Leicester Square and bought tickets for Jersey Boys. Then I went back to Waterloo and me up with Richard Mallett. I used to work with Richard back in 1988 with the Australian Youth Orchestra. I also stayed with Richard in 1990 when I first came to the UK.

Richard took me back to his place for lunch and I was able to meet his family. We had a lovely catch up, covering all sorts of things, and then Richard took me for a short walk to the Thames, including going through a small market place where Di has a little massage/aromatherapy business.

After that I walked along the Thames past the South Bank arts centre (Royal Festival Hall etc) and then across a footbridge to Charing Cross Station. From there I wandered up to St Martin in the Fields church and had a quick look around. I had arranged to meet M&L at St Martin’s. I had a little bit of extra time so finally got onto Char (boss at New Holland Publishers, 1990-1991) and at least had a telephone chat.

After meeting up with M&L we went down into the St Martin’s crypt, to their cafe, for dinner. Then it was up to the Garrick Theatre for Jersey Boys. It was a great show, and I enjoyed it and found it interesting, not knowing the story of Frankie Valli. But Sister Act is a difficult one to follow, speaking subjectively of course.

After the show we walked back to Charing Cross station via Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square currently has a (temporary) hedge maze in the middle of it. Also Lord Nelson has been cleaned since I was last here and is looking very good! There were lots of people around. London really has such a great buzz.

We then caught the train but did not get too far when the driver announced that the line had been closed due to a factory fire further on, and the train would terminate. Unfortunately where the train terminated did not give us many options. We ended up catching two buses to get us back and eventually arrived home about 12.15am.

Wed 4 Aug
This morning I struggled out of bed a bit after 8.30am knowing that I was going to try and Skype my sister about 9am. It turned out Mum was with Karen so I was able to talk to, and see, both of them which was great. During the conversation dear Leslie brought me in a cup of tea in an exquisite bone china cup and very large saucer/plate, along with a liqueur choc. There were lots of FB messages and a couple of text messages. I am very blessed!

We had a very late breakfast. The weather was not looking promising but I needed to go shopping for an extra piece of luggage for my books! So Leslie and I popped into Croydon and I hoped to find something cheap in a Pound shop (equivalent to a $2 shop). I eventually found something that will do that wasn’t too expensive. We needed some sustenance so ended up in the cafe of a local church. They did a great job there. As we left the church to catch the bus home the clouds burst. We had both taken umbrellas and they came in very handy.

When we arrived home Mike had returned from an appointment and we re-convened as to our plans for the day. I had thought about going back into town, having a wander through Hyde Park, and perhaps another show, but the weather was not conducive to this idea. We were all still weary from yesterday’s adventures too, so we had a siesta instead, planning to go to a pub in a country village for supper (dinner) instead.

The drive to the pub was lovely, as was the pub and meal. Then it was home again to a cuppa and birthday cake! A relaxing day really, and in good company!

Holiday: London 31 July - 2 Aug

Sat 31 July

Nicky and I had thought about trying to see a West End show today leaving the boys with Greg, but it all got too hard. Instead Nicky found a free Croydon Summer Festival, just near Mike & Lesley which we thought we’d try. It had a bit of a world music flavour to it, which is always good for me.

It took us about 1.5hrs to get to Mike & Lesley as we came a bit of a roundabout way. However they welcomed us in, cooled us down with drinks and then drove us to the Festival so Nicky could leave the car. As Nicky put it, it was like being dropped off by Mum and Dad! The Festival was great. It’s put on by the Croydon Council and had several stages, workshops, childrens activities etc. We heard a couple of bands and watched a Caildigh (sp?)- a barn dance - before finding our way back to M&L’s on public transport so Nicky could get home. It was sad to say farewell to Nicky, not having any idea when we might see each other again. But it was lovely being back with M&L.

Sun 1 August

This morning the three of us went to Lewin, Streatham Baptist Church, where Mike baptised me back on 1 Dec 1991. Mike retired (!) a few years ago so there’s a new Senior Pastor now but M&L visit occasionally. It was lovely to visit and there were still some people who remembered me from 1991-1992 so it was great to say hello to them. Also great to see 2 of the musicians from back then still ministering.

It was very difficult for M&L to extract themselves as they are still much missed, and loved there. Eventually we did and in the afternoon Sally and Dennis visited. S&D were members of the same housegroup back then, and got married in 1992 just before I returned home. I helped Leslie in the kitchen at the wedding.

We spent a few hours catching up, and reminiscing. They like to remind me of a particular picnic we had at Crystal Palace at an outdoor screening of Robin Hood when I took some homous in film canisters. I obviously didn’t have any other plastic containers so resourcefully used what was at hand, to the great amusement of my friends! Apparently I entertained everyone at a 10 Pin Bowling night as well - I don't remember that at all...


Mon 2 August

M&L had booked for us to go on the London Eye and river trip. We travelled up to London and then joined the masses of people doing the same thing. M&L had done the trip before, but not in peak tourist season! The river cruise went for about 40mins but was great as it went from the western end of the Houses of Parliament to the eastern side of Tower Bridge. There is much to see, on both banks, of that section of the Thames, and the commentary was both interesting and entertaining.

Despite ‘booking’, we still had to join a long queue for the London Eye itself. Essentially it’s a very large ferris wheel, but is an amazing structure, and very tall.

We boarded our ‘pod’ and it takes 30mins to do one complete revolution. If you don’t look down, you don’t notice that you’re moving, but if you do look down, you realise how high you are! It was a great trip, and on a good day you can apparently see for 40 miles. We had a grey day with only bits of sunshine, but it was still great.

After that we wandered around Covent Garden and into a pub well known for its Cornish Pasties, in which we of course had to partake. Monday is not a great day for the markets in Covent Garden, nevertheless there was still quite a good vibe in parts. Again it was nice to re-connect with these places.