So I've spent my first night in Germany but that'll be the subject of the next blog I've fallen behind a bit and need to tell you the details of my last proper days in London.

Sunday

Weather was pretty poor on Sunday so didn't end up going to shakespeare's hole which was a shame so me and lela ended up going to kensington gardens and visit the palace there with an exhibit to queen Victoria. Now I know that people were shorter back then but my god this woman was tiny, like Roz height (sorry Roz needed someone to compare her to) I don't know about you but I'd find it difficult to follow a queen of that short a stature. there was also a smaller exhibit to princess Diana and a couple of others but nothing else of real significance. Went home and watched England lose the football not really much else to so on that topic

Monday

Went to the churchill war museum with uncle rich which is in the old cabinet war rooms underneath parliament and they have a free audio tour set up which is very handy because there's too much to see and do. In a big mess hall they've set up a museum dedicated to the life of winston Churchill with interactive panels and things like that and it took a seriously long time to get through it all. The thing that surprised me the most about the museum was that the entire thing is privately funded there is no government funding of the exhibit at all which is really strange considering the impact this guy had on the country and the world.
Afterwards I parted ways with Richard and made the long and arduous journey to tottenham court road and caught up with Lauren McDonald who, for those who don't know, has been living in London since last April and I had no idea I didn't even know she'd left the country. It was so good to see a friendly face. So we went for food at a place called hummus bros. very simple idea for a restaurant. Slap some hummus in a bowl put beef or chicken or whatever in the middle of it then consume with lots of bread and another bonus, it was really cheap!!! afterwards we wandered to covent garden for ice cream and sat down and had a look for nearby bars. Chose the closest one with the weirdest name. The Dog and Duck. Got there and there was a huge crowd outside so naturally thought the place was packed. No. Everyone was just standing outside, inside was empty bar three or four people. So we stayed there for a bit then went our separate ways but not before she invited me to a comedy show on the Thursday night.

Tuesday

I don't think I did anything during the day or if I did I can't for the life o me remember what it was probably a gallery of some kind or a walk through a park I don't know. But that night went to a gig with rich and John Middleton, the other current inhabitant of the Ward residence.

Went for Mexican food beforehand at a place called Wahaca. Beautiful food and really small portions of everything so you end up just about having one of everything on the menu.

Ingrid michaelson was the person we went to see.Seriously look this girl up on YouTube. You might recognise a few of the songs but she is an amazing singer-songwriter. It was just her and two other girls on stage with a guitar each and Ingrid had a ukulele and at times played the piano as well. Nice and simple. The venue itself reminded me a lot of the forum in Melbourne just not as big and the worst ventilated room I've ever experienced it was unbearably hot and sticky and sweaty, like more so than festival could ever be. Afterwards wet to a pub closer than home and they kicked everyone out at 11:20 so we just wandered back home.

Wednesday

I took a day to myself and went to the national portrait gallery which is pretty much entirely portraits for famous people in all different fields and there's a whole floor dedicated to portraits of the royal family like the Tudors up until now. Beyond there isn't much else to say about that day, went for a quick beer whilst the sun was out but then in true London fashion it rained so I wandered home and watched the football again. Spain won.

Thursday

Lisa and rich were going to Wimbledon so I had to stay home most of the day and watch the dog (patch is getting a bit old) she was a few weeks old when I first came to London in 1997. So yeah she needs attention when possible. I did still manage to do a walk through Hyde park in the morning which was great because the weather had cleared up and was perfect for a park day. It's bigger than I thought it was on the map and just started at one end and kept walking until I got to the other side stopping briefly at a cafe on the for a beer just after lunchtime. Then on the way back home picked up a six pack for €5 and that was the expensive stuff. Sat at home watching movies and drinking beer until about 7 when I went out to te aforementioned comedy show with Lauren. I won't tell you about all te acts because that'd take too long but it was a lot fun and it was one of their final 'test material' shows before going to edinborough festival next month. And the best thing was they weren't much older than me which was brilliant. Stayed out until 11:30 then wandered home because I needed to be up at 4am for the flight to Germany but that's for the next blog which I'll put up later today and sorry that this one took so long to post

A la prochaine

E