Sunday 1 July 2007
Rain & terror
Back from my week in London, it was relaxing although yesterday’s drive from Oxford to Portsmouth to Hornchurch, followed by copious amount of beers and a chicken tikka dansak was not the best preparation for a 4am start this morning.
My flight wasn't as comfortable as it should have been today after tactically getting myself into the best seat possible by paying an economy fair I got asked if I would move to a worse seat to accommodate "two young children who wanted to sit together."
¶ 22:08 
My flight wasn't as comfortable as it should have been today after tactically getting myself into the best seat possible by paying an economy fair I got asked if I would move to a worse seat to accommodate "two young children who wanted to sit together."
My look of "No" clearly didn’t work as the steward kind of embarrassed me into moving as the two 'children' gleefully took my nice seat and the one next to me.... they were each about 18-years old!
And then after I studied the movie listings, it took me a good 15 minutes into the start of them to realise that the actual films being shown bore no correlation to the advertised list. I explained this to the snotty air-stewardess who looked at me blankly and just said "so," before strutting off.
Central London was a place for the brave, the unknowing and the resolute again last week. I spent some time in both Haymarket and Park Lane at the beginning of the week before two cars were fortunately and courageously unearthed before parasites yet again tried to deadly interrupt or end the lives of Londoners and its visitors. And then yesterday driving on the A3 listening to eye-witness accounts of people at Glasgow airport left me with a lump in my throat.
I had a lot of free time last week, which is unusual on my trips home, and I found myself glued to the television, I really do miss the box, even Big Brother. I can’t tell you how much better the programming is than here, particularly when a big story breaks such as the attempted bombings or the incoming prime minister – the 7th in my lifetime incidentially, and I can remember then all pretty vividly.
I had an amble around Barnes, where I spent most of the week. Very nice too, although bumping into the 'coming home from school crowd,' there weren’t an awful lot of London accents. In fact I spent a couple of minutes watching a loud American kid pitch a baseball to his Mum near the duck pond (right).
My son and my parents and I witnessed the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, something they are thinking of charging for in the future – bloody cheek. It’s funny I was saying to my Mum, that the old Palace needed a lick of paint.
And how bad was the weather? It rained everyday and I don’t miss that. Standing outside The Lamb in Leadenhall Market on Wednesday freezing my wotsits off was great because I was with plenty of old mates but blimey, it is supposed to be summer. And to think I used to laugh incredulously when American's used to say that it always rains in London. I actually think it does!
And then after I studied the movie listings, it took me a good 15 minutes into the start of them to realise that the actual films being shown bore no correlation to the advertised list. I explained this to the snotty air-stewardess who looked at me blankly and just said "so," before strutting off.
Central London was a place for the brave, the unknowing and the resolute again last week. I spent some time in both Haymarket and Park Lane at the beginning of the week before two cars were fortunately and courageously unearthed before parasites yet again tried to deadly interrupt or end the lives of Londoners and its visitors. And then yesterday driving on the A3 listening to eye-witness accounts of people at Glasgow airport left me with a lump in my throat.
I had a lot of free time last week, which is unusual on my trips home, and I found myself glued to the television, I really do miss the box, even Big Brother. I can’t tell you how much better the programming is than here, particularly when a big story breaks such as the attempted bombings or the incoming prime minister – the 7th in my lifetime incidentially, and I can remember then all pretty vividly.
I had an amble around Barnes, where I spent most of the week. Very nice too, although bumping into the 'coming home from school crowd,' there weren’t an awful lot of London accents. In fact I spent a couple of minutes watching a loud American kid pitch a baseball to his Mum near the duck pond (right).
My son and my parents and I witnessed the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, something they are thinking of charging for in the future – bloody cheek. It’s funny I was saying to my Mum, that the old Palace needed a lick of paint.
And how bad was the weather? It rained everyday and I don’t miss that. Standing outside The Lamb in Leadenhall Market on Wednesday freezing my wotsits off was great because I was with plenty of old mates but blimey, it is supposed to be summer. And to think I used to laugh incredulously when American's used to say that it always rains in London. I actually think it does!
