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Thursday 13th December On my ride to work this morning I spot layers of ice on the road, footpath and cars for the first time. My fingers and ears copped the 1°C temp the most (note to self - buy some full finger gloves and wear beanie next time!) and it was a bit sad to be happy at entering busy Marylebone St with it's abundance of warm exhaust fumes. Luckily I had my riding mask filter on.
Tonight I had my Christmas work dinner at a restaurant/bar called Browns a few streets from work in Bank. I grabbed a seat next to Paul, Sean and Mark some of the highest positioned traders in the company. I soon found out that they were probably some of the biggest drinkers as well and it wasn't long before the drinking games started, namely Par 100. It's a bit of a numbers guessing game - higher...lower...bingo! , and the person who guesses it has to scull. I thought I was doing pretty good until I got hit three times in a row with a half a pint of red wine going down the hatch each time. That was after about 6 pints
of Kronenbourg. Well, the rest of the night was a bit blurry, but I do remember playing against the head of Treasury which was quite funny seeing the usually distinguished Japanese boss knocking a few back. I did get home, but at this stage the method by which is still unclear.
Friday 14th December Ooooo. Oooooooo. Arrrgghhh. I was on earlies today with a merciless 5:50am wake up. Slithering to the bathroom I managed to expel some of the red substance that had poisoned my temple. On the tube, I had to jump off at the Embankment stop to further jettison my nasty cargo (luckily I packed a plastic bag). And upon making it to work, I spent the next few hours either driving the porcelain bus (I should have purchased a multi rider) or in the faetal position on the bathroom floor. As soon as Eiji arrived at 10am I informed him of my incapacitation and legged it. I will never drink again! Well...red wine anyway.
Saturday 15th December For tea we treated ourselves and went over the road (literally) to "The Little Bay" restaurant. Inside, it was cosy and lavishly decorated and
we were escorted downstairs to our own little cubicle with curtains that could be pulled shut for that romantic touch. The food was good and reasonably priced at only £30 all up. If you're in the neighbourhood check it out 😊
Sunday 16th December Today we rode into Southwark (on the south bank of the Thames near Tate Modern) for the Christmas Winter Festival. The 2°C temperature sure helped the atmosphere and everyone was layered up with beanies, scarves and coats. Ice sculpturers were busy chipping away at big blocks of ice and the smell of chocolate dipped Spanish churro's scented the air. Small stalls selling everything from toys, beanies, precious stones, food and drinks lined the walkway and we stopped for some ginger shots and a warm apple drink. Cockle warming indeed.
We found ourselves outside the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and a guy was advertising today as having free entry. I'd always wanted to have a look inside so in we went, finding several more stalls and a frantic Romeo running around yelling out for Juliet. The real action was going on in the wooden multi-levelled Round Theatre where we sat and watched a few
short acts just like they would have hundreds of years ago in Willies heyday. On the way out we ran into Cambo & co, stopped for a quick chat and then got pedalling home. As Hyde Park was on the way, we cycled through and thought we'd have to stop and check out the even bigger Winter Wonderland complete with an outdoor ice rink, a grand old Ferris Wheel (with one VIP car), kiddy rides, gingerbread and other sweet treats and other gift stalls. It was quite packed and a lot bigger than I thought it would be.
We weren't home long before we had to head out again back to Waterloo and the Imax theatre, with the biggest screen in the UK. Tonight's screening was Beowulf in 3D, so we donned the glasses (they haven't changed much) and took our stolen lolly stash into the mammoth cinema (the line was too long!). Even 8 rows back was too close and I found myself looking up a bit, but oh my god, how 3D technology has changed since I saw one last! It was an awesome experience, it was so clear and at times I felt like I had
a cameo part in the movie with swords being pointed in my face and bodies being thrown over my head. Amazing and not a bad movie either!
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Cambo
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Xmas antics
Words cannot describe the hangover hey? Wish I could of seen the state of ya! Love the sunnies Em!