Linda and I had originally planned a weekend in London to end the "notional" two weeks we have been considering our summer break. But of course Emma is living in London at the moment and, in the absence of several of her friends and various other factors, was keen to make it a family weekend event.
So we travel down first thing and spend a couple of hours in Covent Garden prior to meeting up with Emma. I have time to pop in LSE and pick up a couple of books, while Linda spends some time in Zara, etc
Emma has just one week to go on her summer internship and is beginning to look ahead to the following week when she is off to Minnesota to stay with her boyfriend. The work experience has taught her a lot about all sorts of things. The work itself has not been all she had hoped and she has a range of new plans for applying for jobs over the next few weeks. Also the various aspects of flat-sharing have been a useful experience
After a brief time in Covent Garden we began to make our way across to the London Eye - today's main tourist visit - stopping on the way for cake at a cafe close to the English National Opera. I have the first slice of Black Forest Gateau that I have had for perhaps 20 years.
The London Eye is a very slick operation and is very impressive all round, though we were stuck briefly at the top and had a brief reversing moment that did make me ponder on what would happen if a fault developed.
Our evening event is to see the new Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds. This is a surprisingly thoughtful film with siginificantly less gore than one might had been led to believe. The performance by the actor who plays the SS officer is exceptional. It reminded me of a European art-house type film rather than a typical Hollywood film. We were all much impressed.
.
Back to Bloomsbury via perhaps the oldest cab driver in London. Some red lights jumped, only a vague idea where he was going. Very odd. Perhaps a sign of the recession?
For much of the day I suffer from something like the IBS symptoms I have had before. I wonder if this was caused by the two milkshakes I had today - could I be becoming intolerant?
No doubt the sort of view that millions of people have taken from the London Eye
Charing Cross Station
Emma and Linda looking very relaxed .
Sunday
.
An improvement in the weather with a day of hot sunshine forecast. Emma has her own plans and we are not meeting up for another family event.
.
We have been staying at a "boutique" hotel in London called The Academy. This is made up of five Bloomsbury townhouses that have been knocked together. There are quite a number of these and we were very pleased with our choice (though it hadn't been our first).
.
So Linda and I have another walk around the centre of London, taking in Soho, Chinatown, and quite a few bookshops. I am forced to write down the details of two books that I was very excited about when I saw them in Blackwells - William Clark's Academic Charisma (a book on the development of Universities) and a stunning book by Clemens and Graham called An Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Both will be sought out on the internet as soon as we get home
.
We met up with Emma briefly in Coram Fields, the park near her flat. As promised, it is a hot and sunny day. I take one or two cloud photos - I wonder if the Cloud Appreciation Society is still going?
.
England regained the Ashes this afternoon, providing me at least with an interesting drive home and two hours of cricket watching when we got home. A newsletter from the Maes-y-Neuadd hotel in Wales that we have been to a few times over many years, has suggested to us a possible trip later in the year. I am very up for this - as usual, Linda is less so.
Our hotel - The Academy in Bloomsbury. Very nice indeed
I am always happy to lie on my back and look at clouds
No comments:
Post a Comment