"The wedding"

We got up early, set the alarm for 7am, and were on the tube by 8, heading for Charing Cross, the tube was quiet and there didn't even seem to be many people at Charing Cross, a few, flag wavers, but nothing much. We came up out of the warren and there were people. People and people in fact.......

 On the underground, Hilary warming Di's hands.

                                       Wellington Arch, people trying to get through to The Mall

An interesting door handle

A great rabbit statue

We got given flags by one of the newspapers, this is beside Trafalgar Square.

Mounted policeman at Trafalgar Square

We tried to negotiate our way through to the Mall but after trying on the left side first we were directed around to the other side as the police had it fenced off for crowd control. We had to walk all the way around Trafalgar Square and through back streets, we got to some steps but the crowd was so thick at the front even with the advantage of height you couldn't see anything of the road or therefore any of the parade. We decided to headback to Traflgar Square where at least there was a big screen we could watchand a very boisterous patriotic crowd. Though it was like watching a large t.v. the experience of being in the crowd, with singing, cheering, confetti machines and general enjoyment and good natured celebration was worthwhile. The security guards were a bit flustered at times and kept changing the rules about where you could and couldn't be, but they were dealing with huge crowds so it was hardly surprising some nerves were a little frayed. They estimated close to a million people on the streets watching... it doesn't surpriseme, I'd never experienced anything like it.

               Some of the crowd at Trafalgar Square watching the big screen,from the steps of the National     Gallery

William and Harry on the big screen

Us at Trafalgar Square

After the service we went and sheltered in the National gallery for a while while we waited for the roads to be opened. The Mall was still blocked off to further pedestrians and the bobbies said they wouldn'tbe opening the fences for quite a while.

Illicit photo inside The National Gallery

I was keen to get down to The Mall as soon as we could because I wanted to see the "Fly over". We managed it with a few minutes to spare, just happened to be in the right place at the right time when they opened up a wee gap in the fencing.

World War II planes low flying down The Mall. I got video of the modern planes but can't put video on here.

Us in The Mall

The crowds in The Mall

One of many sets of patriotic Brits

We negotiated the crowds and fencing and managed to get ourselves down to Westminster Abbey and environs as the crowds were dissipating.

Nelson Mandela statue outside Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey, with bells peeling

We walked back across Westminster Bridge to the Waterloo underground and caught the train back to Finchley. Yvonne and her neighbours were having a street party so we joined the end of that before dinner and bed. I waited for the fox, but he outsmarted me, arriving only after I had given up. I kept falling asleep sitting up in the dark, waiting. After an hour I gave up, he must have slipped in quietly later because this morning all the food was gone again.
How sad to be beaten by a fox!

A day in Finchley

We had a quiet day at Yvonne's on Thursday. In the morning we negotiated our way up to the North Finchley shops where we bought some groceries from a Waitrose supermarket (not very exciting and very expensive), and then organised a "dongle" which sounds a bit suspect, but is a USB connection thing which gives you broadband access throughout the UK. Hence the current connection. We will still use McDonalds too because Hilary has become addicted to the monopoly game where you get stickers on some products to stick onto a monopoly board with the hope of winning prizes. She has won lots of instant prizes (by going up to likely looking people and asking if she can have their stickers), so hot chips, McFlurries, apple pies and coffees are often on her! She is hoping for the Mayfair sticker which will win her 500,000 pounds, I've told her not to hold her breath but she seems determined. She obviously has that gambling streak which pops up in the family every now and then. We also got a sim card for Di's phone so she is now connected which is good because we have been either not contacting people,or else using public phones, which hasn't been satisfactory.

In the afternoon we all went for a walk in the woods, from here. We saw robins, huge magpies, and squirrels all playing in the trees. The woods are really pretty with red and white hawthorn flowering, bluebells and wild garlic covering the ground, and all the different soft greens of the English trees.

A selection of "woods" shots

The last two days we have taken the tube into town (London) and done the touristy thing. Yesterday we went in mid-morning  and got off at Westminster.

                                                         Beside the Thames, London Eye in background

                                                              Westminster Bridge  (a bit chilly)

                                           

               Souvenir shop with tea towels with William and Kate and other patriotic paraphenalia

We headed straight to a McDonald’s beside the Thames, outside the London Eye, for a coffee and to do a bit of internet work. It wasn’t particularly warm, especially after the heat of Malaysia and France, wind-breakers  over  jackets weather in fact so we went inside rather than sitting out.  Mid-way through our coffees there was an interruption in the loud music and a siren came on accompanied by, “this is an emergency, evacuate the building immediately”, which being good girls we did. We wondered why only half of the customers moved but assumed that the others were people for whom English warnings didn’t mean much. I left them to fry I must admit, especially after we had just a few minutes earlier talked to a Metropolitan Police officer toting a large automatic rifle, who had responded to our questions about why he was so heavily armed that they had extra security in place due to “ the wedding”  and the increased security risk. I did vaguely notice that the workers weren’t leaving the McDonalds but didn’t really stop to rationalise, but Di stopped me and Hilary as we headed out, telling me it was part of the song which was on the radio. No, I didn’t feel like a wally, just thought what dorks having a song like that on the radio (or writing a song like that more to the point), what’s the point of that? And no, I’m not getting old.

We walked around a bit before heading towards Parliament buildings and the Big Ben tower and Westminster Abbey. Just had a quick look and photo opportunity

Hilary with Horse Guard

as we headed off towards St Martins in the Field and The National Gallery.  We did the “photos with

the lions at Trafalgar Square” thing,

had our home packed lunch amongst the Londoners and pigeons on the grass outside the National Gallery, before heading across the road to the brass rubbing centre. Di and Hilary each did a rubbing while I wandered around and had a visit inside the church.

St Martins in the Field from the National Gallery

Inside is looking particularly glorious, I know we met mum there last time we were in London, for a service and I don’t remember it looking quite so grand, so I suspect like much of London, it has been spruced up lately.

Inside St Martins in the Field

                                           

       

Doing the brass rubbings took quite a while, so we had time for only an hour or so at the National Gallery, which was probably long enough anyway as we were all pretty tired. We spent our time with the Monet, Pissaro, Turner, Renoir and such like, mid to late 1800s to mid 1900s, which I enjoy. I find the light incredible in some of those works, some a bit gruesome too, with birds being experimented on, and headless people with swords being swung around.

No photos because I wasn’t allowed.

Bodica



Hilary and a Field Marshall

                                                        Going home on the tube 

                                  

After we had our fill of culture we walked back through the streets to Westminster before catching the Northern Line back to West Finchley, where Yvonne was waiting with dinner all cooked, for us.

Yvonne has a fox which visits each night from the woods or golf-course nearby. She has been feeding him each night for a couple of years, sometimes he takes some food home to his wife and children. She isn’t sure how many kittens he has this year (if any) she didn’t see any last year either, but the year before he had about 5 which he brought over about this time of year. Hilary (and we) have been hoping to see this elusive fox, who doesn’t like any change and therefore is pretty cunning at sneaking in for his food when no-one is looking, last night she helped prepare his dinner (dog-food, dog biscuits and sausages) and waited hopefully to catch a glimpse, to no avail. He came and got his food, but we didn’t see him or any sign that he was around, much to our disappointment.

Today we went to town again. I had planned (and communicated) an earlier start, I was hoping to get away soon after 8 as the trip into central London takes the best part of an hour, and the cost is pretty high so you need to make a day of it (£10 each for me and Di, free for Hilary). We didn’t get on the train until just after 9 so it was just after 10 when we reached our destination of Knightsbridge, where we had gone to visit Harrods. I hadn’t intended staying long here as I can’t cope with looking at shops for ages when there is a whole city to experience, but I guess Di and Hilary were right to be cross with me for being grumpy, because Harrods in itself is an experience. We probably spent close to two hours there looking with pleasure at the food court, chocolates, teas etc.  incredulity at the pet spa and pet accessories and great delight and interest at the toys.

Dog muffins and pupcakes

Dog couches

                                                       Party boxes for a dog party

                                                             A Harrods selection.

From Knightsbridge we caught the tube again to South Kensington so as to visit the Natural History Museum.   We spent a couple of hours there, especially around the geological section where there were many fascinating exhibits about our changing earth, and its power with displays about earthquakes, volcanoes, floods etc. There was an exhibit called “supermarket in Kobe” which had a moving floor to simulate the 1995 Kobe earthquake. It had CCTV running which had been filmed in a supermarket in Kobe during the quake, running simultaneously with the moving floor. Well to battle wearied Christchurchites it was a bit of a fizzer. In fact it didn’t feel like much more than a 4.0 on the Richter scale, certainly nothing like how I’m sure it felt to the poor people of Kobe.  The rest of the displays were great though, and Hilary was engrossed in movies and interactive  and static displays alike.

  

I was fascinated as much by the amazing architecture of the building as the exhibits, really huge elaborately decorated ceilings, carved stone animals everywhere, and an immense cathedral-like feel to the central hall and entrance foyer.

From here we caught the tube to Hyde Park corner where we sat in the sun, had a bit to eat, and worked out what we wanted to do.

Hyde Park Corner

 Hilary was very keen for a McDonald’s stop for a McFlurry, I was keen on a coffee and some internet use, so we decided to walk towards a place where we thought we might find one. It was lovely and warm by now, so jackets came off, and we wandered through Green Park to Buckingham Palace, stopping to see the ANZAC memorial  on the way (big NZ influence with poetry by Katherine Mansfield, and talk of cabbage trees, etc.), and admire many other impressive statues/sculptures.

It was crazy around Buckingham Palace with tourists and the media in a frenzy before the big day. One crowd was particularly frenetic so we stopped to see what was going on, only to discover Dame Edna Everidge hanging out with camera crews.

Hilary with a couple of Coldstream Guards in Green Park

There was someone else famous too, I recognised him as someone I had seen on t.v. but don’t know his name, maybe someone will recognise him? I think I’ve just worked out who he is, I don’t know his name but there was a documentary about him, he runs a paparazzi business, I think he is Australian, but judging by his hairdo now identifies as British.

We made our way through the crush, popped in at the Guards Museum shop (the museum was closed), The Mall in all its finery, in the sunshine

past Westminster Abbey which was also packed out (not the Abbey as it is closed at the moment, but all around people had set up, some with tents and sleeping bags for the long wait, others with large t.v. cameras and the usual crowd of tourists (like ourselves), and then walked to the London Eye where we knew there was a McDonalds and internet.

                                                                   Hilary playing outside the Guards Museum

                                                     The camera crews outside Westminster Abbey

We spent a good hour and a half there, drinking coffee, eating McFlurries and fighting over internet use. Blogging seems really slow, pictures take forever to upload, so my postings are a bit behind.

I’m typing this, lying in bed at Yvonne’s, but I can’t upload the pictures as I’m using Word and it won’t let me transfer the photos to the blogspot, just the text.  Oh dear I’ll just have to go to McDonalds!!! And have a coffee.

We are going to have a day around here today, doing some chores, walking in the woods, and trying not to kill each other. I think I might have a walk by myself at some stage, time for some alone time, oh and I must find my pills!!!!

 Oh I forgot, I started to tell you about yvonne's fox. He came to visit last night and we all got a great view of him wandering around in her back-yard. He was really close, just sniffing around for extra food only about 5metres from us all "twitching behind the curtains" he put on a grand display for us. It was so exciting as we hadn't ever seen foxes before alive. He looked dogish, he didn't have a bushy tail but it was long.I'll try toget a picture if he does his thing again tonight, but no promises.