A few days in London

Our final driving experience in the UK was thankfully uneventful. It was such a big change experiencing the British countryside from the M4  rather than hedgerow after hedgerow. We decided to drop the car at Heathrow and take the tube into London. Sophie suggested she meet us at Hammersmith and point us in the direction of our planned accommodation for the next few days. She actually works above the station so it was no trouble…and it was great to see her smiling face.

After we had offloaded our gear and cleaned up a bit, we wandered down to The Swan, a pub on Hammersmith corner, where Sophie and ex- Drama Adviser friend Sarah Marino met us for dinner. We had a lovely meal and we were able to catch up on our travelling news

The next morning S and I caught the train to Leicester Square and we managed to acquire some reasonably priced tickets to Warhorse. I’d arranged we’d meet another ex-colleague, Siobhan. She was looking very rested having travelled for a good proportion of the year and has found a job in outer London, starting in September. After starting with a real flat white, we all headed for Southbank and the Tate Modern. We opted for looking through the basement exhibitions. They included Susan Lacey’s: The Crystal Quilt, which was a fascinating look at stories from women over 60 and Lis Rhode’s cross-arts exhibition of film, poetry and music.  S and Siobhan got fascinated with the building & began talking about the architecture. It is a fantastic space. We continued along the Thames and find a place to eat. There’s plenty to choose from of course, and we picked one which would give us a view of the river and some sun if we wished. Then we headed back over the Jubilee walk bridge and said our farewells. We needed to head back to the hotel, freshen up a bit before making our way back into the city to see War Horse. If you know nothing about this great show and horse puppets click this link.

On Saturday morning we found the local Laundromat across the road. I now had a place to recommend to Sophie. All our washing was done in about an hour and we found a different hotel to enjoy a fresh fruit breakfast while it washed and spun.

Sophie called to say we could go to The Walkabout (her local) for an All Black vs Australia experience. After a quick tour of her abode (above a bottle store), a hair trim, quick makeover, and meeting some of her flatmates we were down at “the Walkie” among many Aussies and a number of Kiwis watching the game. It was packed, and S (who had walked ahead of us) had already found a drinking buddy from Te Awamutu to enjoy the game with. There was barely room to move.

Sophie and I had organised some time together in the massive Hammersmith mall. I managed to find a few tops and we had a lovely Greek lunch together. I was pleasantly surprised by the space, with its undulating roofline and unusual shop exteriors so thought I’d bring S back later for a meal.

Sunday we needed to pack out of the hotel, store our luggage and meet Elise by 10. She was staying very close to us which made our rendezvous easy. She’s been over from New Zealand helping her mother make souvenirs for tourists and Olympic equestrian supporters in Greenwich. What an effort! Sophie arrived on time at 11 and we needed to say quick farewells before heading to Hyde Park to meet a very old friend Tessa and her family. Tessa had last seen Sophie when she was two and a half, and now has six year old twins of her own. We arranged to meet by the Serpentine opposite where the Olympic Triathlon took place. It’s still all there waiting for the Paralympics. It was really hot (well over 30) and humid. After a brief lunch and thunderstorm, which dealt briefly with the precipitation, we took a walk over to the Diana Memorial Fountain which was the perfect place for the twins to cool off.  Sophie rested, and Selwyn, Tessa and I took wander over towards Kensington palace.

Once we were back we all grabbed a very expensive ice cream, wandered and talked some more and generally caught up on the last 24 years. It was lovely to see Tessa again and we hope we can meet much sooner next time.

After saying our farewells we continued our walk through Hyde Park in the opposite direction towards Oxford Circus. It was still really hot and muggy so we left S in a pub to cool off while Sophie searched for a top in Top Shop. They were easily found, and soon we were heading back to Hammersmith to collect our luggage, give  a big hug and say farewell to Sophie, and jump on train and a bus out to Stansted for the night. It was actually our fifth anniversary so a way of ensuring that we celebrated in some way we decided to pop down to the local supermarket for a bottle of wine. Much to our surprise, we were asked to show our ID. The very straight faced checkout operator wasn’t going to give an inch. The ONLY way to buy our wine, was to leave the premises and send a very kind 32 year old next to us (who had ID) back into the store to buy it for us. I think by this time we were in stitches with the absurdity of it all; however, even in the dark as we walked back to the guesthouse, I did notice S was grinning from ear to ear perhaps feeling maybe he might actually look a bit younger than he thought.

I’d recommend a stay at Stansted Lodge if anyone was looking for a very reasonably priced place to stay and good service as far as transfers go. Our ride was back early in the morning and we reached Stansted Airport in good time…thank goodness as the dramas which followed with Ryanair left us little to smile about. First, after queuing in the wrong queue for half an hour, we were directed over to the right queue. Twenty minutes later, the woman behind the counter could find no evidence hat we had paid for our luggage. Apparently it is something you do within 15 days of flying and something I had neglected. Damn.  £210 later…we were finally winging it to Limoges. We were greeted by a smiling Kate and Mick, and whipped away in their Mercedes Coup to the River Creuse for a swim and picnic. So grateful to be able to relax and cool off after our Ryanair experience. So glad to be seeing a bit of K & M’s piece of France. Lovely.