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charles dickens, charles dickens museum, pickwick papers, the centre page pub st pauls, historical pubs of london, recommended pubs in london, where to eat in london

Charles Dickens lived here 1837-1839 - now the Dickens Museum

Last week Thursday; April 26th, I set off on a magical #walkabout through the streets of London to discover more about Charles Dickens (blog to follow shortly 🙂 ).  We started off from the Charles Dickens Museum and the route we followed took us through some amazing areas, areas full of history where we crossed paths with the ghosts of London.  After about 5.5 hours of walking (we took a lot of diversions and stopped at loads of places), my companion and I were famished, and since this was a Dickens walk we were doing, we decided to stop off at one of my favourite pubs in the City of London; especially as the tour ended nearby and the pub was mentioned in The Pickwick Papers: When Mr. Pickwick was visited in Fleet prison by his friends Winkle, Snodgrass and Tupman, they ordered “a bottle or two of very good wine, for which a messenger was dispatched to the Horn Coffee House “

charles dickens, the centre page, historical pubs in london

The Centre Page

Every time I visit St Paul’s Cathedral or go #walkabout in that area I always stop off at The Centre Page Pub for hot chips which I usually have as a take-away and then sit on the steps and enjoy the sunshine and hustle and bustle of folks walking by while I eat my treat.  Yesterday I decided to have the ‘Charles Dickens Posh Pie and Mash’ specifically the Steak Ale and horseradish, and we requested to eat in the Dickens Room downstairs. 🙂

charles dickens, the centre page, historical pubs in london

Charles Dickens Posh Pie & Buttery Mash - steak ale and horseradish

The last time we ate there I had the fish & chips which were just delicious and this meal was even better.  I do not normally eat beef, but I have to say that the meat was tender and juicy and just yummy.  So if your’e in the area and need something quality to eat in a historical setting, I can highly recommend this delightful pub; The Centre Page, 29-33 Knightrider Street,  just down the way from St Paul’s as if heading towards the Millenium Bridge and Tate Modern. Every photo in the slideshow has a link with Charles Dickens.

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History Note: The Centre Page began life as The Horn Tavern founded in 1660 after the restoration of King Charles II. The origins of the name may have come from the King’s celebrations or as there were several coaching inns around St Paul’s the sound of the coaching horn may also have given inspiration.

Nearest tube: St Paul’s on the Central line

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st georges day, leadenhall market st george, morris dancers

St George and the Dragon

One of the bonuses of coming to live in the UK was discovering that not only did I share a birthday with Shakespeare but my birthday falls on the same day as the Patron Saint of England; St Georges day…..all those years and who knew?? 🙂

In the past I have endeavoured to be in another country on my birthday but since I am London bound this year I decided to investigate ‘what’s on in the city’ and head out to participate.  To my delight I discovered that one of my favourite places in the City of London; Leadenhall Market was hosting a celebration of the day with Morris Men dancers and attempting to set a new World Record for the greatest number of people to toast St George…..how could I resist.

leadenhall market london, st george world attempt

Leadenhall Market decked out with the English flag for St George's day

I set off relatively early and made my way along streets, not paved with gold but splattered with rain…yes you guessed…it was the wettest and coldest 23rd April in something like 26 years….why!!!!!!! LOL  Ah well this is London after all 🙂  So I arrived at the venue and meandered about taking photos and then discovered that the 12noon dancing was in fact at 1.15 pm so I decided to visit the Bank of England instead.  Maybe get a loan from yer man….Melvyn! hahahaha.  Seriously though the Bank’s museum is a brilliant place and I managed to lift the gold bar…shame you don’t get to keep it if you pick up, but there you go, win some; lose some!

bank of england, old lady of threadneedle street, london history

The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street - The Bank of England

It’s really interesting to read about the beginnings of the banking system in the UK and how bonnie Prince Charlie bankrupted some banks by not paying back his loans… tut, tut. Thankfully our present Monarch has more bucks in the bank and seems to be quite comfortably well off.  ‘what! what!’  Now it’s the Politicians who seem intent on bankrupting the country, never mind the banks.  But I digress…..

So after the museum visit I set off once again through the streets of London back to Leadenhall Market and along the way I visited the Heart of the City, the Royal Exchange, St Mary Woolnoth Church (The church’s site has been used for worship for at least 2,000 years), Pope’s head Alley, the site of Lloyd’s Coffee House 1691-1785, Mitsubishi trust House (has the most amazing sculptures above the entrance), the Crosse Keys Pub (A plaque on the front of this pub recalls that a famous coaching inn, called the Crosse Keys, stood near this site) and thence to Leadenhall Market and behold the Morris Dancers!

Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two men, steps are performed near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid across each other on the floor.
Claims that English records, dating back to 1448, mention the morris dance are open to dispute. There is no mention of “morris” dancing earlier than the late 15th century, although early records such as Bishops’ “Visitation Articles” mention sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities as well as mumming plays.

Most entertaining and I was delighted to finally get to see a performance. Then it was time for the World Record! A toast to St George

“I see you stand like
greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start.

The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit,
and upon this charge

Cry ‘God for Harry,
England and St George!”

Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, scene 1.

And I believe that a new World Record was set 🙂 hee hee and I was a part of it!  Loud cheers followed this lusty outburst.

Just before I left I decided to buy a red rosebeing sold by some chaps in fancy dress……one of whom was St George.  When I mentioned that it was my birthday, he said ‘go on! give us a kiss’, and so the Dragon kissed St George 🙂

St George circa 2012

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well now. this was meant to be kept private!!!!!! but since it has been splashed across youtube & facebook and so many people have now seen it…… I may as well share it with you too! my mortification is complete especially as this was only loaded on Saturday night and by the time we went to bed it had 48 views…..it now has over 2,000 and not only have friends and possibly family seen this…but so have 2,000 other people!!!! hysterical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arW19A92waY

oh and p.s. Cemanthe has been sleeping in a tent in the backyard ever since!!!
p.s.s. the background to this is Britain’s Got Talent and a contestant that appeared on Saturday night. if your’e on twitter check out the hashtags #wheresmephone #wheresmekeys this will explain more 🙂

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faberge big egg hunt london, guiness book of records

the big egg hunt; north, south, east and west

Aiming to break a Guiness World Record – The Faberge Big Egg Hunt in London made great strides!!! And kept us entertained.
With tantalising titles like ‘Scramble for giant eggs is set to begin’ & ‘Humpty Dumpty sits on a wall’ or ‘Egg beats crime’, you could not fail to be curious when opening your newspaper of an evening in London in February.

The first of these titles had a fab photo that showed a group of girls sitting on an open-topped bus, amongst a group of over-sized decorated eggs with Houses of Parliament in the background…..how could you not be curious.
Then a group of beautifully decorated eggs in Potters Field with Tower Bridge behind and the by-line: Ready for the great London egg hunt! & the hunt is on. Sponsored by Fabergé and organised Mark Shand, a number of artists have designed and created 210 wonderful 2.5ft fibre-glass eggs to raise funds for Elephant Family organisation and Action for Children.

Amongst the delightful collection are characters like Humpty Dumpty, who does indeed sit on a wall at Clarence House; commissioned and signed by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, there is also a Busby, a red letter-box a Union Flag and many, many other delightful and beautifully decorated eggs.

It was hoped that 10,000 or more Londoners and visitors would join in the hunt with an aim to break the Guiness World Record for the biggest egg hunt. 30 of the eggs have since been auctioned off to raise funds and you can bid online for the others; with a starting price of £300 the value of these eggs have climbed considerably.

Along the way a couple of the eggs have been stolen and retrieved and returned to their rightful place, and between the 3rd and 9th April they will all come together at Covent Garden to amuse and amaze us.

The eggs were scattered about London, mostly in zone 1 & 2 and the hunt has taken us from Canary Wharf in the east to South Bank in City of Westminster, the City of London, St James’s Park and Green Park, through Mayfair and Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, Berkley Square, Grosvenor Square, & Sloane Square to Covent Garden, Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials, Carnaby Street and St Christopher’s, along side streets, into buildings and shops and fancy pants stores (think Fortnum & Mason’s and Liberty’s) and along the way some of the eggs were very cleverly hung up high and unless you are observant, you could walk right on by……I did; a number of times 🙂 This usually entailed a return to the area!!!

The best fun ever, this egg hunt has taken me to places I have never visited before, into buildings I usually walk by and back to places I love…again and again. In my quest to find them all, I confess I have returned to some places a number of times! And others I have walked around till my feet fell off determined to find them all in one go!! You would be amazed at how easy it is to miss a 2.5ft egg that is displayed on a big black box that is at least 2ft high and 2ft wide…..just walk right on by!

faberge big egg hunt

how easy to miss this! 🙂

I have been amazed and amused by the number of people who have joined the hunt, some folks found all 209 within a week, and others are still discovering them. I have met folks from all over the world and it is amazing how many are going at this with guns blazing….the prize; a Fabergé Egg with £100,000. One lass did a 24 hour marathon to raise funds for Action for Children and found 207 of the eggs (2 were not at their posts); very impressive. I have done the hunt in stages and finding 48 on one day nearly killed me! My legs and feet were decidedly unimpressed! I managed to find 187!!! Will I find them all? Not likely!

However they will all be together in Covent Garden starting from today and then I shall get to see them all. 🙂 for your pleasure and delight I have made a video of some of the eggs

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the latest offerings from my sister; a bit of a giggle.

An elderly gentleman….
Had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%
The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, ‘Your hearing is perfect… Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.’
The gentleman replied, ‘Oh, I haven’t told my family yet.
I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I’ve changed my will three times!’

Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: ‘Slim, I’m 83 years old now and I’m just full of aches and pains. I know you’re about my age How do you feel?’
Slim says, ‘I feel just like a newborn baby.’
‘Really!? Like a newborn baby!?’
‘Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants.’

An elderly couple had dinner at another couple’s house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen.
The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, ‘Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great.. I would recommend it very highly.’
The other man said, ‘What is the name of the restaurant?’
The first man thought and thought and finally said, ‘What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love?
You know…. The one that’s red and has thorns.’
‘Do you mean a rose?’
‘Yes, that’s the one,’ replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, ‘Rose, what’s the name of that restaurant we went to last night?’

Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet, who insisted he didn’t need my help to leave the hospital.
After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator.
On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him.
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘She’s still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.’

Couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things. During a checkup, the doctor tells them that they’re physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember …
Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. ‘Want anything while I’m in the kitchen?’ he asks.
‘Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?’
‘Sure..’
‘Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?’ she asks.
‘No, I can remember it.’
‘Well, I’d like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so as not to forget it?’
He says, ‘I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.’
‘I’d also like whipped cream. I’m certain you’ll forget that, write it down?’ she asks.
Irritated, he says, ‘I don’t need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream – I got it, for goodness sake!’
Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, The old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of sausages and eggs.. She stares at the plate for a moment.
‘Where’s my toast ?’

A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy:
‘So I hear you’re getting married?’
‘Yep!’
‘Do I know her?’
‘Nope!’
‘This woman, is she good looking?’
‘Not really.’
‘Is she a good cook?’
‘Naw, she can’t cook too well.’
‘Does she have lots of money?’
‘Nope! Poor as a church mouse.’
‘Well, then, is she good in bed?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Why in the world do you want to marry her then?’
‘Because she can still drive!’

Three old guys are out walking.
First one says, ‘Windy, isn’t it?’
Second one says, ‘No, it’s Thursday!’
Third one says, ‘So am I. Let’s go get a drink..’

A man was telling his neighbor, ‘I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it’s state of the art.. It’s perfect.’
‘Really,’ answered the neighbor . ‘What kind is it?’
‘Twelve thirty..’

Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.
A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.
A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, ‘You’re really doing great, aren’t you?’
Morris replied, ‘Just doing what you said, Doc: ‘Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.”
The doctor said, ‘I didn’t say that… I said, ‘You’ve got a heart murmur; be careful.’

A little old man shuffled slowly into an ice cream parlor and pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a stool. After catching his breath, he ordered a banana split.
The waitress asked kindly, ‘Crushed nuts?’
‘No,’ he replied, ‘Arthritis.’

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……..drumroll…….”The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful”.

england vs ireland Saturday dawned grey and cold….a typical spring day in the UK and although I had planned to go find more easter eggs for the Big Egg Hunt, it was cold and wet so I decided to change my plans. Thats what plans are for…the be changed 🙂 Church Street looked cheerful & gay with the England and Irish flags lining the street; a rugby game was due to kick off at Twickenham stadium later that day.

First off CJ and I headed into Twickenham; Church Street to Sweetie Pies to partake of Guiness cupcakes and tea…seriously, the genius cupcake maker had concocted a mixture of chocolate and guiness for the St Patrick’s Day cupcakes. My conclusion…they were delicious.St Patrick's Day cupcakes...Guiness flavour!! Initially I turned my nose up at the prospect of guiness in my cupcake and on arrival declared that there was no way I could eat a cupcake that contained guiness…..urgh, I cant stand the smell of guiness and the thought turned my stomach. But, when I had a look at the dainty little creations…I though hmmmm, well maybe. So the ever so delightful ……..let me try a wee bit of hers….and voila, 10 minutes later I was tucking into what turned out to be a scrumptious cupcake. Very rich, and certainly very filling and totally delicious. Never say ‘never’ hmmmmm. The reason for our visit was of course Mother’s Day (on Sunday) and CJ was treating me to an outing….what a treasure she is.

Whilst we were chatting and partaking we got to discussing movies. I havn’t been to the cinmea in well over a year and am always bemoaning the fact that I get to miss so many great movies. I love going to the cinema, it’s like you are transported into another world.    However, the cost has become a bit prohibitive, so I dont get to go as often as I would like.
So on Saturday we were talking about the latest offering….”The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful” Oh my word, what a treat and am I sooooooo glad I went.The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

It was a delight from beginning to end.   Sad and funny and poignant and so very typical, not only of the age group but also of the British. I felt the characters were beautifully portrayed and the essence of their age-group; the middle upper-class, and the characteristics of the typical attitudes and quirks of the British were captured perfectly.   In my previous job as a carer, I cared for every one of those characters portrayed in the movie.   What struck me as the most sad was of course how people shut themselves off from life and emotions and restrict themselves from enjoyment and experience.   Full of prejudice, and unbending ‘this is how it should be’, they make themselves so very lonely.   Unable to imagine that there could be a different way of being.

The rascism of the age was captured very well without being over the top or blaming, it melted in the face of experience and some of the characters opened and bloomed like flowers after rain in a desert.    Joyful, and fun, silly and noisy, vibrant, colourful and yes….exotic, it is a must for everyone.     A fabulous journey through a microscopic sliver of life, it made me want to sell up everything I own and go to India.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was enchanting, the Indian characters a delight, with their own prejudices and rascism, the characters well portrayed without going over the top. The central character played by Dev of Slumdog Millionaire was a delight and he was perfect for the role; bursting with energy and enthusiasam with a head full of dreams. For one, I hope to see him in many more films. I am also now itching to go to India. I realise it is probably not like it was portrayed in the movie, but I would love to experience the colours and the noise, the hustle and bustle, the exhuberance and the craziness the food and definitely the sounds and smells……..the only thing in my opinion that was missing. The rest was just right. Not too much, and not too little.

Judi Dench was an absolute treat, Bill Nighy played his character just right, Tom Wilkinson was perfect, and Maggie Smith almost stole the show…although that honour definitely goes to Dev Patel…., enthusiastic, charming, disorganised and filled with dreams……..

A class act, in the same genre as Fried Green Tomatoes, Driving Miss Daisy and Tea with Mussolini. No doubt if I sat and thought about it some more, I could come up with a list of films in the same category…..but these will suffice for now. Go and see it if you can…it is just wonderful.

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My daughter recently bought me a magnetic weekly to do list.  I had yet to fill in any things to so. She decided enough was enough and I came home to this tonight……how can I decline?

my to-do list

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the big egg hunt golden egg faberge

my favourite so far 🙂 #77 Blackberry Moon

Okay, so if I don’t kill myself finding these eggs, I am gonna have to #RIP my feet.

There is nothing I like more than a challenge, and boy has this easter egg hunt been a cool challenge.  There are over 209 eggs dotted about the city from Westminster to Southwark, Canary Wharf to the City of London and Bloomsbury….and I am determined to find them all.

Last weekend saw me scurrying about Westminster for 6 hours, here and there across the city, I crossed the river more times than I can recall. Some I found, and some, to my dismay I walked right passed!   Which means of course that I have to go back again. In all I found 27.

Today was no less exhausting as I travelled for miles in my quest to find some more. After 5 hours I had only tracked down 19 😦 and next weekend will see me walking the length and breadth of Bloomsbury and Westminster to track down some more. Thankfully many are clumped together in close proximity, but that is no guarantee you will find them.  Some are so cleverly hidden as a window display that you can walk right passed and not even see them

So here are the photos.

Last weekend

Today.

I would love to describe my walk, about how last weekend was lovely and sunny and the daffodils are beginning to peek through, and today it rained and rained and I got soaked, and how I met a lovely young man from Estonia at egg #9 in Canary Wharf and how he joined me for my hunt through the City of London and how we rushed up and down the streets and jumped in the air when we found another one! About how I discovered dozens of super cool new sculptures, how this egg hunt has taken me to different parts of the city, that believe it or not I have not yet seen……but…….I am toooooo tired…..in fact I am so tired I am falling asleep at my computer. So now I am going to bath and bed, and when I recover, if I recover, I shall set out to find some more 🙂

Oh yes, and before I forget….this is meant to be a competition with the prize being a Fabérge egg worth £100,000-00 but guess who hasn’t entered?? hee hee, yes I am doing it just for the fun of it. Shame I don’t have my super duper new phone yet, then I woulda been able to scan in the code and post it to facebook (on their page). ah well.

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Today surely heralded the start of spring….a sky that started out grey and dull and as the morning progressed turned into a blue skies and balmy breezes kind of day, the sun beating down, sparkling on the river like shards of diamonds.

a walk along the thames path

sunshine sparkling on the water

The day started real early, my daughter had a course in town to attend so we rose early (but not too bright) and had tea together before she set off.  I hopped online (what else) and before I knew it, twas time to go.  I had a meeting/catchup with a friend I met through twitter.  It was months since we last met up…way too long.  The day was developing into one of those amazing spring days, days that you can only appreciate after a long, dark and cold winter.  The air was filled with the thrilling, trilling of birds tweeting!  A wonderful sound, albeit the sound of defending territory.

I headed towards Twickenham.   Along the way my eye was captured by the daffodil faces dancing in the breeze in Oak Lane Cemetery.

oak lane cemetery twickenham

even in death there is life

My immediate destination was Sweetie Pies Boutique Bakery in Church Street – a favourite venue, a frequent place of merriment and munchies…..english tea and the best scones and cupcakes in town.

sweetie pies boutique bakery twickenham

cupcake heaven

Today was no exception!  The meeting was fun, filled with chatter, plans and ideas – the time flew by way too fast.   All too soon our time was up, goodbyes were said with a promise to meet again soon.  Church Street looked gay and cheerful, lined with Welsh and English flags, bustling with shoppers, the pubs packed with revellers preparing for the days rugby game soon to start.  I strolled down to the embankment, the smell of barbecued meat hanging heavy in the air.

Church Street, Twickenham

By now the line of the sky was hard to distinguish from the water, blue blue blue.  The sun sparkled diamond bright on the waves, ducks and geese squabbled noisily on the banks.  The alabaster white of the York House statues glowed eerily in the shade of the trees.  White blossoms on the trees by the bridge a splash of joy after recent cold, dark days.  On the lawns of York House a little boy played, screaming with delight as he kicked the ball.  From there I headed off to Orleans House Gallery; currently being refurbished.  The whole of Twickenham was out for a stroll, dogs bounding along, children running and shrieking, filling the air with joy.

york house twickenham

York House, looking splendid in the sunshine

On an impulse I decided to cross the river with the ferry! For just a £1, you can cross from one side to the other.  Once there, I strolled along to Ham House, revelling in the warmth of the sun, stopping to chat to a horse along the way, and whilst giving him a scratch behind the ear….he bit my hip!! cheeky chap.

cheeky chap

From there I made off along the Thames Path towards Richmond, dodging cyclists and walkers I stopped frequently to take photos, unable to resist despite the fact that I have dozens already.

Boats chugged busily along the waterway.   Richmond Bridge looked magnificent, perfectly reflected in the water below as buses and cars crossed back and forth; stop-start in the queue.   The embankment was busy with strollers, cyclists, joggers and all the people that hibernate in the winter; today out on the lawns basking in the sun.  The tide was down and not expected for a while, so the rugby folks gathered in noisy groups outside the pubs, still a few hours to revel and quaff their beer.  A queue of customers lined up in front of an ice-cream van parked on the side, an easy decision in the heat of the day.

tide tables

The stream that runs alongside the old deer park was rushing back into the river as I walked by, gurgling noisily down the drain as the tide receded, a train rattled loudly across the old Victorian bridge on it’s way to St Margaret’s Station, planes flew overhead on their way to Heathrow and I made my way towards Richmond Lock, looking splendid as always.

richmond lock

what a view - Richmond Lock

Richmond Lock is surely one of the best views in London, and something I get to see every morning on my way to the station.  If it was not for the fact that I had loads to do at home……I would have kept walking all the way to the sea!

I made a video of my photos that you may enjoy!

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Friday 6.30pm finally arrived after 5 long days of waiting! Skipping out the office door I headed to the station, loving the classical music that greets me there every night (the music is apparently a ‘yob’ deterrent!).  The train was not as full as usual so I managed to get a seat and someone had kindly left their Evening Standard behind for me to read.  Reading the papers on my daily journey has become an enjoyable pastime and I am learning more about politics, the Olympics, the shenanigans of our City officials, what’s on in London and from the Metro I am increasing my stock of ‘very interesting things I read in the papers’ ….one day when I die, they are going to come into my house and have to search me out amongst the paper cut-outs! 🙂 It’s a real compulsion and has become a bit of an addiction.  I have always been an ‘accummulator’ and all through my life I have collected all sorts of things…wish I had been as diligent about collecting money…but I digress.

Back to the weekend; once home we, my girl and I had a yummy meal, watched a bit of telly and worked like demons on our respective businesses.   Late to bed again at about 1am.

Saturday it was up early and not too bright and headed off to Russell Square for the Immerse Event – #StepAhead where my daughter was to be one of the speakers.  I was so excited, to attend one of her trainings and looking forward to hearing from the other speakers too.  I met some fab people at the event and thoroughly enjoyed the day’s talks.    I especially enjoyed hearing from Elliot Kay, the Coach with the Hat; a real live wire speaker.  My daughter was a delight and I have to say that I am so exceptionally proud of her achievements and how much she has developed as a speaker of note; a resounding applause followed her talk.  We headed to the bar after and had a wonderfully funny and interesting conversation that ranged back and forth across a wide range of subjects.

Heading for home we relaxed over tea and more chat.  I had planned on doing a self-guided Dickens tour on Sunday so did a bit of research to prepare me for the walk.  We were also waiting with bated breath for news from South Africa to say my sister had delivered her baby.  Finally after a very long labour, she had a fine and lovely bouncing boy; Luca.

my little nephew...Luca. 🙂 how gorgeous he is!

What a lovely day I woke to…..sunny, blue skies. Just what I had ordered for my walkabout….except I didn’t get that far as it turned out!!! I had promised to help my daughter with some transcribing, video to word!! Urgh! Not fun.  It took hours and thankfully had a useful outcome in that I have now realised that I no longer want to be a transcriber.  It was so very tedious. But finally after about 2 hours of typing we decided to down tools and head to the river for a walk.  The day was so incredibly beautiful and we enjoyed a bracing stroll to Richmond Lock, along the Thames Path towards Kew and back again.  CJ has a new camera lens and I got papped!!! repeatedly 🙂 🙂 She is so funny and I eventually gave up and posed and smiled and did my duty as a photographic subject! hahaha.

Actually her photos are amazing and she could be a professional photographer I am sure. Tea and cake followed when we got home and then back to the drawing board. I am now seriously into pinterest and had to chuckle when I read a blog about how addictive pinterest has become and that in the near future there will be ‘Pinterest Anonymous’!! I’ll probably be it’s first customer.  I am loving it and especially love all the fabulous travel photos of some of the most amazing places.  A great weekend, albeit way too short.  Plus I didnt get to do my walk afterall…..instead I now look forward to doing it next weekend. 🙂

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