After a few days with my mum last week, I travelled to London to stay with Will and Greg before flying out from Heathrow on my next adventure.
It had been ages since I’d seen them, and I was keen to catch up. Will and I started as we meant to go on, heading for a cuppa at the old booking office at St Pancras station. Well, that was the plan, but they didn’t serve tea, only alcohol! So we moved to the hotel lobby. That actually turned out much better: it was more spacious, quieter and brighter, and we could admire the architecture. We even spotted a famous person. It’s difficult not to stare when they’re sitting opposite you!
Then it was on to Sainsbury’s to pick up a few things for supper. What a disaster. We walked round and round looking for vegan food. After a few laps, we felt we’d certainly got our steps in for the day. With little success, we picked up a couple of pizzas and went home.
Will introduced me to Ann Droid, a BBC comedy series about robots caring for older people. I did wonder whether he was trying to tell me something about what my future might hold. Cheeky!
The following morning, I woke at 8 am and decided to have another snooze. Imagine my surprise when I next woke up and it was midday! I was really happy, as it was the first good sleep I’d had in ages.
Unfortunately, Greg was working nights all week, so I wasn’t going to see much of him. It was his birthday on Wednesday, though, so I popped out and bought a traditional Colin the Caterpillar birthday cake from M&S, along with some balloons, a banner and a card. I left everything outside his bedroom door for him to find when he woke up.
The following evening, I met Will at work. His workplace is in an absolutely beautiful building, and I can see why he enjoys working there. It’s an old department store that has been stripped back to reveal the original features wherever possible. He took me up to the members’ bar on the top floor, which has a lovely outdoor balcony overlooking the neighbourhood. Inside, a roaring fire made me realise how much I missed mine.
We headed into Brixton Market for noodles at Noko’s. The wide, ribbon-like noodles reminded us of the ones we’d enjoyed during our time in China.
For the following evening, I’d asked Will if we could try the immersive VR experience of climbing Everest in 1953 with Tenzing Norgay. I really enjoyed it, especially as it followed the story of Tenzing, the film I’d recently seen with Bridget.
Wearing the goggles and headset was a strange experience, particularly when we were supposed to be climbing Everest. It took a little adjusting to feel as though we were walking uphill or crossing crevasses when, in reality, we were just walking on a flat floor!
Afterwards, we popped into Camden for pizza at one of Will’s favourite restaurants. Mine was described as roasted vegetables with cranberry. I was expecting peppers, onions and that sort of thing. What arrived was topped with roasted carrots, sprouts and other things you’d usually find on a Sunday roast. In fact, it was more like Christmas dinner on a pizza.
The first mouthful was rather strange, as I hadn’t realised there was a sprout on it! But it was surprisingly tasty and very filling.
On the Tube home, our carriage was fairly quiet when a man tried to board, caught his foot on the step and fell forwards in what seemed like slow motion. He landed on both knees and then an elbow, miraculously keeping hold of his phone the whole time.
He quickly got up and stood by the door, still engrossed in his phone. We realised he was playing chess!
I had all on trying to contain my laughter. I just about held it together, but every time I thought about it afterwards, I started laughing again. If Bev had been with me, there would have been no stopping us. We’d have been in hysterics. Will said he would have died of embarrassment if it had happened to him.
On my final night in London, Will had been at Friday drinks in the members’ bar at work and asked me to meet him at Oxford Circus. I always arrive a little early, and directly opposite the Tube exit was IKEA. What better place to wait? I made myself comfortable on a sofa until he arrived.
We also saw some of the Christmas lights on Regent Street, but the ones on Oxford Street weren’t switched on. Perhaps they hadn’t paid their electricity bill!
We then met up with Will’s friend Pedro and went for something to eat in Chinatown. Pedro wanted to take us to his favourite club in Soho, The Admiral Duncan, so off we went. We danced and sang along with the drag queens—a fitting end to my London visit!
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