tvordlj | It was nice to see the sun

Out of the window of the coach!!! We only saw a patch of blue sky once or twice while in London. The rest of the time it was overcast and hissing and spitting rain though we managed to avoid some of the downfalls by sheer luck and timing. It teemed down on Monday afternoon but we were on a bus back to the hotel and it stopped just before we got off. The Hyde Park picnic was damped out but we met up with some lovely people at the Marlborough Head pub. what a fantastic place! Gargoyles, skulls, a Grim Reaper in a case on the wall, and best of all were the toilets behind secret bookcases. It felt very Harry Potterish to walk towards a bookcase and have it turn into a door when you pushed on it. In the ladies' room i could hear creepy sounds and a shriek or two as well. Graham was jealous, there wasn't anything like that in the gents'! Met a few LJ'rs that i had seen in others' comments many times including (but i don't remember everyone's name so forgive me if i have missed some),

incy, d_floorlandmine, valkyriekaren (didn't tag them because if i stuff up the spelling, you can't tell who it is at all). I know there was another fellow with long hair and specs but i didn't catch his lj nick and a lovely lady who taught tango (Beth?). And of course

zoo_music_girl who was so kind to organize the rain-out backup and

childeric and

kekhmet! Great to see you all!

We spent a lot of the time otherwise doing touristy things. We buzzed through the V and A which is massive! We loved the cast courts with all the stone carvings especially and i liked the british galleries as well. Sunday we explored some of the Natural History museum, particularly taking in the dinosaurs along with every other family in the kingdom i think. Rainy sundays you know!

Sunday night

naturalbornkaos cooked us lovely fried rice and we spend an enjoyable evening with him and

kixie and Monday we took a walking tour of the south bank as it focused on Shakespeare, a bit of dickens and the history of the area from Elizabethan times and theatre history as well. It was chilly and windy and she took us in to two pubs just for a few minutes to talk there while we got warm. Rain mostly held off other than a bit of spitting while some of us quoted the bard at the site of the original Globe theatre.

We then had lunch in the Anchor pub that does a very nice carvery lunch and then zoomed up to Camden but both of the shops we were after were closed. Should have guessed as weekends are busy in the market so they take Mondays off i expect. Back to the hotel and then over to Canary wharf to meet

sparklielizard and

stevenothing for a meal there in a weatherspoons. They were very jet lagged so we didn't make it a late night but it was good to see them!

The bus ride back yesterday was fine though it was lovely and sunny all the way pretty much. Some big puffy clouds sprinkled a little but the sun still shone. Figures. Although it looked like the journey was going to be problematic when the coach broke down about 3 blocks from the bus terminal in the middle lane of Park Lane at Hyde Park Corner. In the end the driver turned it off and on again and it accelerated normally. Then at a rest stop, a fire alarm screamed out, literally catching me with my pants down as i was in the toilet. False alarm though. We were allowed back in the building in a minute or so.

We had a nice relaxing night in last night with a few bevvies, a kebab, Doctor Who and another movie, In the Bleak MidWinter which was brilliant.

Today we're doing some errands made easier by a lovely little rented ford Fiesta and maybe a drive out in to the country. Meeting Grahamj's step daughter at the Trafford Center later. I shall endeavor to catch up on all your news later when i have more time to read, as it's Graham's turn on the puter!