The Times in London

Shaw's Corner

Goodness me, how time is flying by! I need to fast forward this blog, since I haven't been doing daily updates. On Sunday, EGI took the Tring Football to Verulanium Park and kicked it round. We were too early to view the Roman floor, but we walked and walked and ended up at the Courtyard cafe on George Street for lunch. In the afternoon, E went on an expedition with J and I to Shaw's Corner where we toured through GB's house and garden. We also visited the church and pub at Ayot St Laurence. Lovely! See the pics...

On Monday, J dropped EGI at the St Albans railway station with Immi's clear instructions to get off at Farringdon and take the Circle line to Piccadilly, then change to the Bakerloo line etc etc. Only problem was that we didn't know to press the button to open the train door at Farringdon, so on we were swept to whatever the next station is... Anyway, it wasn't too much of a drama - we made it to our hotel in the end, dropped our bags, and headed off in search of Sights. We are staying just off Baker St, and we wandered, all wide-eyed and innocent, down past Selfridges (I've labelled this "unknown building" in the photos, and am too lazy to change it) to Grosvenor Square.

By then I was starting to grizzle because I hate walking so much, so we decided to tackle the Boris Bikes. Three pounds for EGI for 24 hours, with no further charges if you dock your bike and take another within 30 minutes. We were a bit lucky because it was a bank 'oliday so there wasn't much traffic. The Boris Bikes are BRILLIANT! We zoomed off to Buckingham Palace, then stopped for a drink, then treddlied off to Westminster. I managed to make the lads wait while I nipped round the stunning Cathedral. Amazing how many RCs were in there actually praying or being reflective or whatever, not that I'm making comparisons with the C of E outfits, no certainly not.

Then we crossed the Thames at Vauxhall and I made the lads wait while touring the garden museum at Lambeth. I loved the 1719 plaque to the memory of Bryan Turbervile who "bequeath[ed]... a hundred pounds for ever to be laid out...for the putting out yearly two poor boys apprentices". There are a few conditions attached, including "none to be put to chimney-sweepers watermen or fishermen and no Roman Catholic to enjoy any benefit thereof".

After threading our way through the crowds near the London Eye we tubed back home and checked in to our little bedsit, where we are sharing a room. George has the most uncomfortable bed but we are doing our best to knacker him each day so he sleeps anyway.

On Tuesday, I didn't take many photos because my camera wasn't fully charged. We had a great day which included more Boris Bikes (although we had our troubles getting three, so Ian did a lot more walking than us - we biked slowly and he walked fast). We spent a lot of time in Hyde Park and Kensington, where GI had a second look at the Science and Natural History Museums while E went to the V&A and managed to scratch the surface. We lunched at L'Opera on Brompton Road and then spent a happy hour in Harrods, where we all discovered how the other 1% lives. That evening George stayed in - he longed for a little peace, a Tescos pizza, and time continuing his work learning C. So Ian and I scrubbed up slightly and walked to St Christopher's Place where we found a pleasant French bistro. Then we strolled through the Tuesday nightlife on Oxford Street, and wended our weary way home.

Coda: we had a little trouble operating the washing machine/dryer that evening, so when the fire alarm went off at 11:45 pm, waking the entire building, I dazedly thought it was my fault and ran around panicking and trying to figure out what to turn off. Someone finally made the siren stop, whereupon we all returned to our beds - Ian thinks it was probably set off by our hosts, smoking on the balcony...