Mum - Lost in London

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London (5th - 10th April, 2007))
I met mum at Heathrow Airport on Good Friday. Rupesh and I were holding up two signs, one that said “Mum” and the other “Black Forrest Chocolate Wanted Here!” It was great to see her and the chocolate! Mum and I then went and sat by the Thames in Richmond and she had her first Pimms and lemonade, a drink she said she hadn’t had in over 30 years. She said that Pimms used to be the drink that everyone would smuggle in to balls which is when she last had it!

For the next four days we did lots of things in and around London. The annual Oxford vs Cambridge rowing race was held on Easter Saturday and we watched this from the banks of the Thames in Mortlake with thousands of others after I’d shown mum the culinary delights of the Borough Markets. Rule number 1 - don’t eat anything before you go to the markets because you spend the whole time sampling everything in sight. Rule number 2 - you must buy the best chocolate brownie in the world when you see the brownie tower and the roast pork and seasoning rolls aren’t bad either, speaking from a wealth of experience!

On Easter Sunday we enjoyed lunch at the White Lion (traditional English pub in East Finchley) after we’d walked around Hampstead Heath and along Bishops Avenue. Bishops Avenue is full of one multimillion dollar house after the other where some well known celebrities reside.

Mum and I really enjoyed the Jack The Ripper Walk around the East End of London with Ronald Rumbelow who is a crime writer and has written several books on the investigations. No nightmares to date!

I’ve now been introduced to another great spot in London, St. Katherine’s Docks. We had a really lovely lunch with Rupesh and his friends before going to watch Mary Poppins in the West End. Mum was in awe just at being in a theatre in the West End and even more so when Mary Poppins started pulling all those bits and pieces out of her bottomless bag!

As far as mum getting lost in London goes, this is my version of events and the most accurate! Mum went to Madame Toussauds and Rupesh literally dropped her off at the door on his way to work. The plan was that I would meet her in Oxford Street in the afternoon and would text her when I was on my way. I texted mum about 12.30, no reply. I then tried ringing her but just got the message bank. So, I made my way to Oxford Street. By 2pm I was thinking that she had spent an awfully long time at Madame Toussauds but I couldn’t contact her so I just kept shopping. About 2.30 my phone rings and it’s mum. She was in a phone box in Marble Arch alongside a policewoman. I went and rescued her and to find out that her mobile wasn’t working and that she needed help to dial my mobile number from the public phone! And it wasn’t once but twice that she had to seek assistance from a police officer and it was the same policewoman on both occasions!

The events of the morning were soon forgotten (but not erased from my memory!) when we walked under the Thames to Greenwich and I introduced mum to ‘Shake-Up,’ a great milkshake and smoothie shop with over 80 flavours. That evening Rupesh joined us for a champagne flight aboard the London Eye with great views over central London as the city lights were coming on.

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Comments

[Miranda]

Pimms revenge?
Perhaps the Pimms from 30 years ago was getting its revenge and putting gremlins into the phone! How could it know?!?!