Settling back in to London

From the lofty heights of a prolific 80+ posts since the USA Roadtrip began at the start of May, I have comparatively little to mention of what has been a very pleasant first week back in the UK. Being quite familiar with the place I haven't even taken any photos - shock, horror.

In amongst the sorting & storing in my room (which has had a great makeover since I left) I've managed to get a couple of trips in to the city already. Saturday afternoon was a great catch-up with Levi, a school friend from my earliest, & in fact all of my, Te Puke days. We wandered a round a bit, I finally had a curry on Brick Lane (which was prolonged as we waited for the rain to pass - which it did) & was in the strange position of giving a brief London history lesson. Somehow we ended up on Charing Cross Road, with a bus ride back & a brief Tesco stop (alcohol is so much cheaper here than in Canada) we were back at Levi's where Marki soon had a huge roast chicken in the oven. Although still quite full from the curry, it was a great meal & very good company.

Monday I do remember actually getting stuck in to updating & revising my CV (including getting rid of 26 ampersands - I do like ampersands!) and even sending one off. But that enthusiasm has fallen by the wayside as birthday season settled in. Trish & I dashed off to London one afternoon to catch the matinee of Mousetrap in the West End. Catching a show was one of those things that never quite happened last time I was here, so with the recent (& still going) Agatha Christie spree it was appropriate that I went & saw the Mousetrap. It was great fun to be sat high up on very steep seats & see typical Christie characters come to life on the stage. It was funny in parts, as the books most assuredly are, but a little odd being set all in one room. A few of the plot devices, particularly the identity of whodunnit, reminded me throughout the play of a few of her books I'd read recently - but I'll say no more on that subject. Good pleasant fun - followed up with great cake, hot chocolate & a wander to Trafalgar Square. Alas, the New Zealander, Sir Keith Park has gone from the Fourth Plinth (another statue of him can now be seen in Waterloo Place).

The rest of my birthday was pretty quiet - but it did clear up nicely in the afternoon & Trish & I spent a good while strolling around the beautiful grounds of Hall Place. Followed by scones with clotted-cream & jam - very nice. Here's a picture of Hall Place from my visit almost two years' ago - I assure it looks the same.