Hot City Days

It was 32 degrees in London yesterday. In May. Thirty two degrees. That is just mental. I went into London for the last time. I had paperwork to sign at the bank- get me! Then I pottled around for a bit before going down to Embankment Gardens near Charing Cross.

Even though it was early in the afternoon, it was the start of a long weekend so the garden was filled with people lounging on the grass, many of them with glasses of chilled white wine. It was the day after my birthday, ten years to the day that I sat in that self same garden with my friend, Martin, nursing the mother of all hangovers after my 21st birthday celebrations the night before. Yesterday I was fine, having drunk nothing the night before. Maybe that's what growing old does to you.

I met Heather and then we went into Soho to find a bar that was rumoured to be the workplace of a girl I know from Naju in Korea. Much spinning round of the A-Z later, Heather got us there and we surprised Victoria just as she was going on a two hour break. We decided that Korean food was definitely in order.

Heather bid us goodbye and off we went to Jin restaurant, which was closed. Onto Nara, which didn't have any dak galbi on the menu outside but did have my second favourite, dol sot bi bim bab. We went in to be told that the kitchens weren't open so we settled back with a couple of OBs to wait.

Victoria opened the menu and something wonderful happened

A couple more beers later and we were tucking into some London dak galbi. It was missing the best bits- no rice cake and no sweet potato- kimchi was extra so we forwent it. But it was not bad.

Unfortunately, Victoria had to go back to work and I went off to Leicester Square with a small OB buzz and took photos of my shoes

Yes, these are the ones that have been mutilated my feet but I do love them. I lay on the grass at Leicester Square for a while, surrounded by people from every nation. It was warm and I was sleepy. Nice.

I got up and went to Trafalgar Square, followed by this strange Spanish guy who wanted to go and have a drink with me. Trafalgar Square has all changed since my day. Well, not all. But instead of it being surrounded by busy roads on four sides, now one side has been pedestrianised from the National Gallery to the Square. It looks great and is much improved. Despite the heat of the day, or maybe because of it, there were signs in the fountains denying entry. I noticed a caravan just in front of Nelson's column whic my sister later told me was an art display and not the bunch of travsllers I thought it was. There is also a clock counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until a decision is made on who gets the 2012 Olympics. Fingers crossed for London.

The maple leaf flag was fluttering on top of Canadia House on one side and the South Africa flag on the other side of the square. It felt like it was never going to get dark. Finally, I bid London goodbye and got on a train back to Essex, for the last time for five months. It was dark by nine.