Farewell London Town

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Hi guys.

It’s just me again, with my last installment before I head off home through the good old US of A (providing we can get there with Vaughan’s visa dramas). Things here have been really good, but busy. Sometimes it’s been hard to believe that we have actually been living in London all this time - it’s not like we go into the city to see Big Ben daily, so I guess it’s been pretty normal really. Of course though, often even the smallest (or seemingly easy) things seem the most different, and it will also be a bit strange for me to get used to everything back home again as well. Sometimes it’s the most mundane things that you never bother to talk about which I will miss the most from over here - I’m sure I will cope - I sure have enough to do on my return!!

The Chemical Brothers Concert

Anyway, what have we been up to? Well, a couple of Thursdays ago we went to see the Chemical Brothers in concert. For those of you who don't know, they play electronic club music (I guess, if I could describe it simply) & I have liked them for ages. I think they are from the USA. It was really, really good & everyone seemed to be having a great time. Not long after Vaughan & I arrived, someone set off the fire alarm - at the time I had gone downstairs to the toilet, & we both got hearded out into different evacuation areas. After about an hour I went looking for Vaughan in the upstairs section (I had to get through an outdoor security gate) & I was able to find him quite easily in the end. We finally got back into the building 1 1/2 hours after the alarm first went off, so things were running a bit late, but it was still fun. There was a good, friendly atmosphere & it was awesomely LOUD! There was also a massive screen at the front, with probably the best graphics display I have seen at any event. And of course, the argon laser is always a favourite of mine - the show was quite spectacular. The tubes had stopped running by the time we wanted to come home, so we had to catch the bus, but it didn't take much longer to get home.

Camden Markets

The next day (Friday) I went to Camden Markets with my friend Lee. I had been there a couple of times before but I kind of like the place, so I thought I would pay it one more visit before I head off. It’s a massive (indoor & outdoor) market that operates 7 days a week. There are all kinds of nooks & crannies to it, & you could easily spend all day just trying to find your way around - it’s quite a lot of fun. Mostly the stores sell punk clothing & jewellery, as well as having a tattoo or piercing (or both) parlour downstairs, but there are many other things to see as well - ethnic jewellery with all kinds of origins (including New Zealand), loads of stores selling t-shirts with amusing slogans, bag stores, art shops, & of course, many food places selling eats from all around the world. It’s a really exciting place to be & it’s always incredibly busy no matter when you go. There’s a lot of music playing, & interesting people to look at. It’s starting to get a bit commercial there, but it’s still the home to a lot of the punks that many people associate with the UK.

After we finished up at the markets we headed back to our place - Vaughan had taken the day off work to go back to the dentist (for appointment number 5 of 5 billion, to get his teeth fixed from his Santorini escapade) so we met up with him, & he seemed to be feeling much better about his temporary teeth (they just look normal) & wasn’t in any pain. So we headed off to this large Chinese buffet, which is fairly close to our house in this large cinema/bowling/restaurants complex, & Lee & Vaughan certainly gave the food a good go. I couldn’t seem to eat much more than one plate, although I tried. After that we went to see the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean film in the cinema complex, so we had a really busy but enjoyable day over all - nice!

The Wedding

We even managed to make it to a wedding (yes, I know - & we missed everyone else’s back home). We met Dave & Elke through my friend Sara about a year ago, I guess - Dave is from the UK & Elke is from Australia, & they were nice enough to invite us to their wedding. On the day it was so hot. We met up with another friend, Ash, & headed into the city where they were starting the ceremony at 1pm. Time for a quick drink since we were early! We made it to the registry office in Marylebone just in time! Sara was the head bridesmaid so we didn’t get to see her beforehand - she was with Elke & the other bridesmade (also called Sarah). The wedding went really well - it was short, sweet & pretty straightforward. Elke looked great in a large silver dress, & Dave looked, well short kind of, in his big suit. The Best Men (yes, there were two) & Sara/Sarah looked fantastic as well. I was a bit sceptical when I heard that the bridesmaids dresses were black, but I am sure most of you will agree that it all worked together quite well, with the red flowers & black suits of the boys.

Afterwards all the guests jumped on a hired bus & we were taken down to the water front (pooey Thames River) for a river cruise, which was a great idea, especially since I hadn’t been on one before (being slightly afraid I might catch a disease just by being in the vicinity of the river - & people tell me it’s better than it used to be!). We had to wait a while for everyone to get sorted out but eventually set off for our 3 hour trip. There were snacks, music, & drinks onboard, & I just plonked down in one of the seats & stayed there pretty much the whole time - it was a bit choppy, so racing around wasn’t high on my priority list. It was so hot onboard with the sun streaming through the glass roof, & I ended up with quite a bad headache, but I had a good time. There was an early dinner, a few speeches, & then they cut the cake. Elke looked a bit hot & uncomfortable in her big dress, but everything went really well & I was pleased for them to have had such good weather on their big day. After we docked, many people headed off to have a few more drinks because it was only 6pm - I had really wanted to go, but my headache had turned into a massive migraine & I wasn’t feeling very well. However, I still encouraged Vaughan to go & I think he had quite a good time, apart from the £4 pints at one bar (it’s too expensive for us to drink in the city). All in all, a great (but hot) day! Thanks for the invite!

The Race for Life

The next morning I had to get up early to get back into the city for the Race for Life, one of many 5km sponsored walks/runs for women that take place at this time of year all over the country, to raise money for the Cancer Society UK. I had really wanted to do it last year, but didn’t get sorted out in time, so I made the most of it this time. I entered into the central city race, although London had plenty to choose from. My friend Sueanne came with me & we met up with her friend Jen once we arrived. It was really hot & sunny, & quite exciting really, as the starting point had large speakers blasting out music which loads of people were dancing to, & they were giving away all kinds of goodies - lots of fun. All the ladies at the race seemed really supportive, & reading all the signs on people’s backs (which said ‘I Race for Life for….’, & then you wrote whatever you wanted), was quite upsetting as well as inspiring. They had divided the women into two sections of runners & walkers, & then the race got underway. There were about 7000 people I think - a really fantastic effort. The walk was really easy, & Sueanne went on ahead, managing to jog about half of the track - good on you, love! The route took us all through the financial district & around some of the museums - it was pretty hot out there though! I was surprised at the number of older or ill people that seemed to be making an effort. It really was a great day, & of course, it was so encouraging to see so many people out there raising money for Cancer Research, just in our race alone!

Later in the evening we met back up with Sueanne, & also Pete who had both come out to Ealing to see us. We went for a drink at a local pub called Finnegan’s Wake - it’s got loads of outdoor tables so it’s pretty cool. From there we went back to our place to get the car, & then went out to the Prince of Wales pub where Sara works - I was hoping she would be able to come with us as well, but in the end it was just the four of us & we had a few more drinks & then ordered some dinner, including introducing Pete to Vaughan’s favourite: The Indian Mixed Grill. The Prince is a really good pub because the food & drinks are so cheap, & the food is of a really high standard (even better than many places that charge much more for their food). It was Sueanne’s turn to have a headache so we headed home after not too long. It was a really successful & enjoyable day.

Hampton Court Palace

I finally made it to Hampton Court Palace on Monday. If you have seen the travel blog from a long time ago you will know that I have been there already, but just to the outside. I paid a quick visit to take some photos last year, because my Great-Great Grandparents both used to work there. The trip out to Surrey (South West London) was really nice, as the palace is near Kingston, which is actually on a nice part of the Thames. Hampton Court Palace is famous for being the home (more recently) of Henry VIII, & for it’s giant gardens. It is also very deceptive when you are standing at the front of it - it looks like it has a large entryway, & that the limits of the four outer walls are quite spacious - however, even the inside areas are filled with buildings (apart from two small courtyards), so the whole place really is just so massive! I went in & picked up an audio guide (little commentary headset thing) & went bolting around the place, venturing through all kinds of areas such as the Georgian Apartments, the Queen’s Apartments, the Tudor Kitchens, and Henry VIII’s Apartments (a lot of which had to be restored after a large first broke out in the 1980’s) - it was all really impressive. I thought there was quite a lot to see for your money compared to some of the other places we have visited. The gardens themselves were also large & spectacular - there was a enormous pond that I couldn’t even see the end of, as well as (my favourite) Henry VIII’s private gardens, around the side of the palace - these were very formal & immaculately sculptured. It was all quite beautiful really & I was glad that I went, even though the skies were threatening rain. There were loads of people around setting up for a concert week in one of the courtyards, where people like Tom Jones & Van Morrison will be performing - it would be a really cool place to watch a concert! When I went to leave they had the entrance blocked off & lots of Police were around. Then a motorcade transporting Prince Charles came through into the grounds, but they turned into a private section of the palace, so I only saw his car (with dark windows). All the people who were outside were clapping & cheering him - I kind of felt like yelling out for him to get his ears pinned back instead, but of course I would probably just get a stern talking to from the Bobby right beside me. I would have preferred to see Queenie really.

Goodbye Party

Last night I had a farewell dinner/goodbye party, which started off at a pub just down the road from us - Finnegan's Wake, where we went with Pete & Sueanne last Sunday). Vaughan & I went down there with Lee, to meet up with Sara, who was proud to show off her new Captain Jack (Pirates of the Caribbean) bag. It was incredibly muggy so it was nice sitting out at the BBQ tables for a while. At 7pm Lee headed off & Vaughan went home to cook himself some dinner, while I headed off for my own dinner with Sara & some of our other workmates who were joining us. Unavoidably, about half the people who were coming to the dinner or to the drinks afterwards all cancelled pretty much at the last minute, but what can you do but enjoy spending time with the people who do turn up. Hopefully I can catch up with some of the others another time before I go. Anyway, in the end there was just 4 of us for dinner & we went to Old Orleans in Ealing, where I have been a few times before. The meal was nice enough, but dessert was better (cheesecake!), & of course, the party balloons (the long ones that make a big noise when you let them go) were a blast, especially when the waiter gave us more to take across to the pub with us afterwards. But most of all, the company & the laughs were great, & I really enjoyed myself.

We then went to O'Neill's pub (with our balloons), & met up with a few other people who were coming from drinks. It was really nice to see who had turned up, & within an hour there was a decent group of us & were wreaking havoc from the mezzanine floor with the party balloons. The music was pretty good & there was a live band as well for a while. I think it worked out really well & I enjoyed myself loads. Everyone else seemed to as well (apart from Vaughan, when his temporary front tooth fell out & he ended up looking like Cletis the Slack Jawed Yokel!), so it was a really nice farewell kind of thing for me. We stayed until the pub closed & then had a chat outside for a few minutes before heading off. Ash came over to hang out for a while before heading home himself. The evening was really quite successful - thanks for that everyone. I will miss you!

So, for now - that's it! We are off to the USA (hopefully) on Friday, or at least, we are off somewhere on Friday. It won't be long until I am back in NZ, & I will put some holiday pictures up here at some later point as well. It will be strange to come home but I do look forward to seeing all of you who are back there. So until then, please take care. This is Toni, signing off from London Town.......

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