A Cold and Frosty Morning

After three years of telling Koreans that it really isn't that foggy in London, I have woken up to a world of frost and fog AGAIN this morning. Guess I was wrong. I don't think that I saw a foggy day the whole time that I was in Korea except when the yellow dust from China came over and obscured the landscape but that really wasn't actual fog. This was the view from my sister's window this morning.

I went out on Friday night to meet my mate, Matt, in central London. I do like to see Matt and not just because he actually asks to see my photos- more fool him! Fortunately for him meeting in the pub means that I can't subject him to the DVD that my brother made for me with all 3,500 photos on it. I just brough a handful of my favourites with me.

Earlier that day I had met up with my sister and we had walked down Oxford Street, Regent Street, Picadilly Circus, Chinatown, Soho, Covent Garden and out onto the Strand to see the Christmas lights. Penny had also looked up the train times for me so that I would be able to stay in the pub for as long as possible. The train website showed the last train as 23.45. Plenty of time. Since I am now a proper watch-wearing part of society I felt that I could leave it right up until the last minute to get back across Tower Bridge to Fenchurch Street. What I hadn't counted on was that the bridge being open to let a big boat through. I don't have any photos of the bridge open unfortunately since I was more worried about missing the train than missing the shot.

I have never seen the bridge open before so it should have been pretty exciting. Almost soundlessly, the middle of the bridge raised in two halves and the boat sailed through. Then the bridge dropped down once more to restore the road and our path across the river. Worrying that this had eaten well into my time to get the train, we legged it as fast as we could. I could imagine having to call my sister from some far flung part of Essex to beg her to come and pick me up. In fact, this didn't happen until Sunday.

Running into Fenchurch Street station I clocked myself in at 23.42 only to discover that the train wasn't leaving until 23.52. Lovely.

Getting off the train at Purfleet, I was treated to a gorgeous visual display as the lights twinkled off the frosty lawns, cars, bits of garbage like minature disco lights all the way home. It really was very beautiful and I was almost loathe to go into the house. But it was a bit cold.

Saturday I spent the afternoon watching the Ireland vs Australia rugby match. I would have been watching the England game but it wasn't on terrestrial TV.

And I didn't have the appropriate mascots, of course (I have an All Blacks kiwi but my collection is missing anything England related).

Yesterday I went into Central London to meet some friends. It is a challenge to get into London at the weekend here in the UK. In fact, my wonderfully generous sister drove me out into the country to find a station that had trains that weren't being disrupted by engineering works. I got to London Bridge and walked along the embankment to Blackfriars Bridge. If I was a little late it was probably only because I had to keep stopping to take photos.

I was meeting Amanda, Des, Robin and Reg- the guys I used to live with in Sydney. It was a good afternoon for a long overdue reunion.

On the way back I had to take more photos and a tube to West Ham, mainline train to Barking where I was due to get onto a bus replacement service.

However all of the coin operated ticket machines were out of order and everyone in the ticket queue was renewing their weekly train pass so I had to wait for ages to buy a ticket. And missed the bus in doing so. My lovely sister then dragged herself out of her snug house and picked me up at Barking Station and brought me home.

And so begins my last four days of freedom. I start work on Friday! It has been a while since I worked so I am a little scared!