Emma's move to London

Another milestone in our daughter's life today. After a week of debauchery based around "Suicide Sunday" and the two "May balls" at Trinity and Johns, Emma has, this weekend, moved from Cambridge to London for the next couple of months. Today was her moving day.

For me it is a long day of driving, carrying boxes up and down stairs, and trying to do what I can to get Emma settled in and confident that she can cope with everything that living in London will involve. She has a room in a student flat in Bloomsbury and will be sharing with Priya, her best friend from school days. However, Priya won't be moving in for a couple of weeks and there is Emma's first challenge - she has some time living alone.

Our journey goes quite well. I reach Cambridge just before 12:00. We are packed up and on our way by 1:30. Down the M11 and past some of the places I used to live - Capel Road in Forest Gate, and Trumpington Road at the bottom of the Leytonstone High Road. Down past the Olympic village in Stratford, through Mile End and Whitechapel, then the City itself. We reach her flat around 3:30. As these things go, it is not a bad place. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that if Emma could get something like this when she starts work in London, that would be very good.

And the location is very good, tucked away in one of the quiet roads close to Great Ormond Street hospital and very close to the Brunswick shopping centre. Emma has nabbed the big room (as she is there before Priya) and this should be fine for her.

A quick unpack of the car and then off for a wonder round. Brunswick has really changed since I lived in this area (as one might expect since that was 1981/82). It has quite a community, village feel to it, not least because of the large number of stalls selling food in the centre. We find the gym Emma wants to join for the next three months, buy her some food and are just about to hop on a tube to Canary Wharf when we discover that the Jubilee line is closed for the day. So we drive instead and Emma is very happy that we did as she now knows where she'll be working from Monday. She only has a few days there and then switches to an office in Mayfair.

We are back in Bloomsbury after our long drive by 7:00 just in time for some food at Carluccio's. By this time I am rather tiring but manage a little more sorting out in her room. Emma manages to get her internet running, her bed made, and some other stuff sorted out. Her other flatmate, Acol, is around tonight but will then be away till Thursday. I make it home by 11:30 or so, totally shattered.

For Linda and myself, it is another step in Emma's departure from us. The day went very well and for the first time in along time, I feel quite useful as far as Emma is concerned. And she bought me nice Father's Day and birthday cards!