No rest for the Helen

I spent a day relaxing yesterday after Wednesday's exertions. In fact, I got myself so good and tired from all that running around that I was out of the pub before ten. Very sad. So Thursday was spent at home, mostly updating this thing without the use of broadband. It took over an hour just to put those photos below on. But today I am back in broadband land as I am back in Felixstowe for the weekend.

Turns out that going to watch a movie at 6pm on a Thursday is not a very popular thing to do around here as me and Penny found out last night. We were just two of around half a dozen people out to watch 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' which I must admit I quite enjoyed. Which is good as going to the cinema was my single biggest acheivement of the day.

Today was a different matter, however. I have been feeling a little neglected at times this week, most particularly by my friend, Heather, who hasn't replied to any of my text messages. Feeling rather defensive it took my sister to persuade me that I should just call her and I was glad I did when I found out that she hasn't received any messages from me. All that bitterness for a breakdown in the network. So we made up for lost time by meeting today.

Now Heather is member of an exclusive club with only the two people in it- that is to say, friends of mine that don't drink. Plus she had an important engagement to go to later at Lambeth Palace (get her!) so there was no retiring to a pub for the afternoon. So we met at Charing Cross Station.

It was a fantastic day today. So sunny that everyone had left their offices to flaunt their ankles on any bit of grass they could find. I arrived into London and tried to keep my jacket on as I didn't want to carry it all afternoon but realised that it wasn't a good idea eventually. It was over 20 degrees today after all. In my eagerness to get out of the house and away from the daytime TV that I had gorged myself on the previous day (more reality TV, more makeover shows, more of people sitting around talking about books they have read, less plastic surgery shows, please) I arrived at Fenchurch Street a bit early. Which gave me the fantastic opportunity to run across Tower Bridge for a photo or two.

Now Tower Bridge is the one with the two towers on it, the clue is in the name really, London Bridge, at least the original, is in a desert in America somewhere.

Of course I took photos of me since you guys seem to like them so much, despite how silly I must look trying to take photos of myself while not drawing attention to my Billy No Mates status

This is the Mayor's office, another of those funky new buildings that has appeared since I went away.

Even I was trying to ignore me taking photos. Then I walked around the outside of the Tower of London. I wish I could show you lots of photos taken of the inside of the tower- where the Crown Jewels are kept and some torture instruments which gave me nightmares for weeks after a trip there with the Brownies an aeon ago. But it cost the princely sum of fourteen pounds and fifty of our finest pence to get an adult in there. Think that I would rather save up and spend it all on Vietnam visas.

And in answer to James's question about the price of 99's these days, I found this just outside the Tower

Nearly ten of those or the entrance fee? Think I know what I would choose.

Then it was off to Charing Cross to meet Heather. Charing Cross is a mainline station (which means that the trains going out of it travel above ground) which covers most of the areas that I have ever lived in while in London. I have spent a LOT of time there over the years so it is good to go back and know that any signalling failures I can walk away from

Though the sound of the flickerboard still sends shivers down my spine. Heather was nice and early so off we went. We walked around Covent Garden, Leicester Square

Near Piccadilly Circus and into St James' Park, which you can think of as the Queen's front garden. We stopped a minute there to admire the ducklings

Hum, forgot to mention the envitable stop for a panini and Mars Bar

Heather seemed to take me taking photos of my food in her stride which is good as I do a lot of it. Though, weirdly, the paninis never seem to hang around long enough to be photographed. Strange that.

After our spot of baby duck admiration it was onto Westminster and over the bridge to drop Heather off at Lambeth Palace. I barely had time to take a dozen or so photos before I had to go and meet my sister at her office.

Just can't get enough of those Big Ben shots.

These are the Burghers of Calais which, if my brief history lesson from kids' TV serves me correctly, were a bunch of people who surrendered themselves to save the rest of the city from the siege they were under. I think that the queen took pity on them and spared their lives, so noble was the sacrifice.

Tonight we drove (well, Penny drove and I talked) back to Felixstowe, stopping at the 24 hour Tesco at Copdock just to take this photo for you

Warning, there maybe another of these tomorrow. I did spend a lot of time looking for a postcard to send to my friends in Gangneung but have not found the perfect one yet. By the way, looks like I won't be flying back to Korea as it will cost me 300,000 won to change my ticket and then another 500,000 won to get to Singapore. Will let you know if anything else turns up. How much is a return from Vietnam to Korea.....?