My Life's Ingredients

Started early as I had to meet up at 9am with the Browns to catch the train down. :) And after the last problems we had with National Express to London I really wanted to make sure everything is sorted ... Fortunately, Nikki & Dave reserved a table so I was able to go online, keep in touch with DH and check FB etc. Trip was quick and uneventful, and we arrived in London without troubles, put up some money on the Oyster Card and off to the hotel we went (President Hotel at Russell Square). After checking in we decided to go to some of the official shops for NFL merchandise ... and were thoroughly disappointed! The space the shops (Reebok & Footlocker) had set aside for the merchandise was about half my kitchen!!! :o You'd think they'd push the sale a bit more, considering the influx of foreigners coming from America and mainland Europe for the "International Series" game!!! :( Only a couple of jerseys of the main teams (not even all), no kids sizes, no fema...

Wonder if he's still there? Or maybe we can see him at Wembley?? Gosh, what the Americans come up with, eh??? And is it just me or does the commentator have a slight Australian twang?

Well, actually ... since I moved to Edinburgh I supposed that's what I am in London. :) A tourist/visitor. After yesterd ay's trip down memory lane I wanted to do some sightseeing in the city centre. Things like St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey and Temple Church (and I was interested in it BEFORE "The Da Vinci Code" came out!) sprang to mind when I tried to figure out what to do. I don't get the fact that you have to pay entrance fees for the churches though - that puts off people to visit them I'd say. So ... it will be the usual looking from the outside, although one day I am going to pay the £8 - £13 for those places to see the INSIDE as well. Went to meet Sharon for lunch before my sightseeing, and we had a nice chippy. Got a sole with chips and a ginger beer (that stuff grows on me, but I couldn't drink more than 1/2 pint really!). We wanted to go to Blade Rubber after Sharon's work, but in the end I was still trundling around places so we...

Today I've planned to go and see my old "haunts" ... i.e. Beckton (where I lived in October 1998 - May 1999), Exchange Tower/Canary Wharf (where I worked) and then - if the weather is kind to me - spend some time in Greenwich. LOVED to go there for a wee bit to the Observatory and just look out over the Docklands really. :) Well, the trip started with RAIN! After the sunny Sunday a bit of a downer, considering I was going to do A LOT of walking today! Took the District Line to BANK (i.e. Monument) and then switched over to the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) - my old transport from my flat to work! The DLR map looked quite a bit different to 1998/1999 - they extended the route to City Airport and now even got further than Greenwich! In 1999 they were just BUILDING Island Gardens. :o And new thing: Had to change trains at Westferry, so from Monument there's no direct train to Beckton anymore. Arrived at Beckton and could for the life of me not find a swipe out machine...

After all that rain we had a wonderful day today! Just in time for us going to Kew Gardens !!! Sharon and I went there early-ish (well... think we took the bus at 11??? ;) ) - first time that I went by bus and it was quite interesting to see more of West London. They still had the Moore exhibition there and quite interesting statues. For "lunch" we went to the Orangery where we both had 2 small treats (actually ... 1.5, we shared one! ;) ). YUMM! Graeme joined us afterwards and we went to the Temperate House (Sharon's never been!!) and the Mediterranean Garden (how fitting's that!!!). And we tried to see the stag beetles but couldn't detect any - but impressive area for them. And then see those beautiful golden pheasants. Aren't they colourful? And they do whistle quite funnily! That's the male ones btw, the females are probably just a drab brown, as usual with most birds. I just LOVE Kew Gardens and I am soooo jealous that Sharon lives so close and c...

Today was Ally Pally day! :) Had my list with things to buy and tried my best to keep the spending low .. but I did shop for the crop as well (not too much though) and for my Secret Santa. Shame we couldn't get any of the DCWV Pads at all... :( Will have to check online at some point. Got lots of other stuff though. Shame I have to leave it with Sharon until 27th October when we're coming back to London for the Dolphins v Giants game. Ah well... that's the problem with weight allowances! :( After we came back to Putney I've been stitching a baby card for my friend Heather while Sharon made a stamped card for her. We're a little bit late, but better than never. :) The chart is from The Cross Stitcher and it's easy to stitch - only takes 3 different colours as well.

Today we went to see the Terracotta Army at the British Museum ! FAB!! I'd seen the program about the exhibition on BBC two weeks ago. They showed how they had restored the warriors and how they built the exhibition area in the Reading Gallery. Shame there was no Photography allowed, but can understand that. I still took some photos outside the rotunda. The statues are fascinating, and there were lots of smaller items as well, as the exhibition was not called "Terracotta Warrios" but "The First Emperor". Amazing things, like how Qin changed the writing to just one standard, and the different types of payments (did you know they had KNIFE COINS?) to just one coin (round with a square hole in it). After the exhibition we went to Ponti's for a late lunch (4pm!!) - nice baked potato with cheese. YUM! Sharon and I had been there last year when we went to the British Museum to see "Tabu". A nice long search in Borders completed the evening, i.e. my...

I'm on my train and enjoy writing back-dated blog entries. Shame that GNER does not offer FREE WIFI! Ach well, it just has to wait until I am at Sharon & Graeme's. :) Soooo looking forward to meet Sharon again! I'm missing her quite a bit, but at least it means I have a "base" in London for trips down there. Shame that I am not able to get in touch with Tigger, so a meet up with the old WXC crew is not going to happen this time. Maybe next year. 1 Have packed LOTS, bag is heavy and I still have the rucksack and laptop bag! I just hope I am still within the 25kgs for the big bag - I weighed it at 20kgs yesterday evening but added my flip flops, a jumper and my photo bag since then. And believe me, the bag feels heavier than 20kgs! ;) Ah well, I'm sure leaving my paper carrier bag with Sharon and giving her her birthday present will tip the scale a bit back. ;) Currently at Durham ... was supposed to arrive at King's Cross at 15:44hrs but due to a col...