Odds, Ends, London

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Firstly, the last of the New Zealand details.
We received a surprise e-mail from HSBC the other day. They have set up our bank account, we just need to go in to their offices in Regent Street to start the account. OK, something went right for us for a change. Instead of the normal six week wait - we have our bank account in 2.5. What is more, this is going to tie in beautifully with our arrival in London on the 18th and having nothing to do for a few days until our tour of Wales.
We've had an offer of a flat in Golders-Green. The timing seems perfect and it is a gift which has literally fallen in to our lap.
Thank you to all of you that helped see us off at either the farewell party or at the airport. Although I suspect that those of you that came to the airport were there to make sure we left. Our flight over was good. The Auckland - Singapore leg was empty. Just about every person had a bank of seats to themselves. No kidding. Cheri and I had 4 seats between the two of us. I went for a couple of walks up and down the plane, most people were laid out fully on the seats. Unfortunately for us - that was the flight we wanted to stay awake. The 3 hour stop over in Changi was uneventful. The next flight was full. That was the flight that we wanted to sleep on. Lucky for us most of the other passengers did too - so it was a fairly quiet flight. The only annoying part of the flights over was the turbulence. There wasn't a lot of it - but it always, ALWAYS, coincided with dinner. Every single meal had us splashing our coffee/tea/juice all over our trays or selves (that was me).
Amber met us at the airport and spent most of our fist day with us. She's looking well and you'll be glad to know she still has her kiwi accent. She's also looking tanned. What can I say? Obviously touring Egypt, Turkey and the English summer suit her well.
London. London is freaking hot at the moment and it really isn't geared up for it. As I write this it is 7am and already it's starting to heat up and remind me of Australia. According to the papers the subway gets up to 47 degrees and the busses get up to 52 degrees. In case you're interested, human protein starts to denature at 45 degrees - that means that at that heat, you're dying. On the tube, as well as saying "mind the gap" they have periodic voice overs about taking water with you, keeping hydrated and helping people off the train that have passed out.
We've checked in to our hostel - it's fairly basic, but it's clean and has a good atmosphere. Last night we lay down on our bed at 4pm for quick wink before dinner. We woke up at 10 to 2... Hopefully though we're past the worst of the jet lag now.
Today we are booking some accomodation for Scotland, setting up our bank account, meeting Amber for lunch, buying a cell phone (or 2), seeing the Lion King. In other words: taking it easy.

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