By Slanted Light

Happy holiday days are always happy, but on this occasion I also got to meet ariss_tenoh and have a lovely wander with her around Greenwich... *g* And if anyone spots the Pros connection in the photos below, I will totally write them a Pros fic all of their own, to their specifications. Go! *g*

I must admit the day was looking like it might be a bit grim when I hit London Eye Pier, but I managed to miss rush hour on the tube, somehow, and had time for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien at the Southbank Centre, which I have to say was very good. Even the coffee was really nice!

( We headed up the river... )

Today's wanderings saw me spending an awful lot more on buying a pair of comfy shoe/boots than I mean to (although it was then bliss to be able to walk around again, instead of hobbling!) And I do need them really, since my favourite Croc boots are properly leaking now... *sighs sadly* In the end I didn't do any more locationing after all - I didn't even get to the Embankment, cos although I'd planned to, I accidentally started walking the wrong way... *headdesk* But it meant I got to see some cool bits of London that I venture towards less often - thanks too, to my new shoe/boots... *g*

Street art...

...and arty streets (well, St Pancras tunnel thingie)

( More pics under here... )

And then the nighttime park to match this morning's park!


I wonder if the lads would ever have looked at London like this - well, lots of it wasn't there, of course - no Shard or Walkie-Talkie building (though the Mithraeum actually was there as a display, though it was above ground (they reconstructed it away from its original site so they could build something, and it's recently been moved back and incorporated into the building by the new owner). I know it's partly the film stock, but London always looked so grey and brown and sort of grim in Pros - it seems to have perked up alot these days. Maybe it's just clearing away the last of the WWII bomb damage, and a penchant for more sparkly lights everywhere, but... I dunno. Does it seem to be differently coloured, you-people-who-live-in-London, or is that just an artefact of our old (beloved) tv series?!

... heading to London, home of the lads! Its looking quite autumny in the countryside now - all faded russet and dimmed golds. It was about this time last year that I headed back from Australia and was in London again - same as this time, for a working weekend in Cambridge, ready for Job 2. I remember London looking very pretty, so we'll see! I think there was less rain than is forecast now, mind...

But still - there will be at least a little Pros locationing, because I'm meeting a Pros-y friend at one, and then... We'll see! I've got two days off, so maybe I can find cool things, rain or not... *g*

How're you doing? *g*

Well I was sort of in an office, and worked hard actually - all that thinking about Rasch graphs, and Wright Maps and... quite brain-exploding stuff it was... and now of course there's the coursework about it - eeep! We finished early though, and I didn't get a headache today, and then I ended up deciding not to trog around London when I had no particular plans and did have luggage, so I walked over the river (well, on the bridge, not actually... *g*) and caught the train and was home in time for archery, but then I was quite tired and didn't go after all. I would have had to rush, and miss dinner, and... so no.

But London was lovely and London. Here's the view out my hotel window, and a London-y contre-jour (thanks gvenanne!) photo...

( And then... )

Last pics for tonight, and they're really just an excuse not to settle down quite yet to work again...

Just outside the hotel, a wet London night...
...and the hotel is just around the corner from the Brit Mus., so I got to take my favourite light-and-railing pics again! Still on my camera phone, cos I couldn't get two of the screws undone to fix it when I tried the other day - gargh. Oh well - hurrah for camera phones!

Hmmn - in case I finish work and don't fall asleep straight after, does anyone fancy giving me an odd random-word type prompt for if I get really write-y (for something brief and different (in a Pros-y way) before I carry on with other things)?

I managed to completely forget that if I wanted to post pics I had to take them on my phone, so I only have one to post today. And its been quite the day...

Found my way to trendy coffee place that owed me a free coffee for breakfast, and had coffee and porridge (which they do with prunes and honey and cinnamon - nicer than I was expecting!), and then found my hospital appointment, and all is good (apparently my Hashimoto's thyroiditis comes with the sensation of someone's hands around your throat as standard, but it should eventually fade as the thyroid atrophies and shrinks - erm, hurrah?) So I set off happily via the bank so that I could pay for my parking, all pleased cos I'd get to London early. And the roads were clear, and all was good. Except that I got there and for the first time ever there was nowhere to park! And then I saw I had a missed call, so I thought maybe someone'll move whilst I'm checking - only it turned out to be the bank all apologetic cos they'd forgotten to give me my card back, and could I come and get it...? But... I said... but I've just got to London... Only she couldn't quite grasp the concept of posting it to a branch bank for me to pick up, so I headsteeringwheeled a few times and set off back to Cambridge... Got my card, got back in the car, and drove back to London again. Gaaaargh! So three hours after I first got there I arrived again and on the bright side at least there was parking by now... But did I mention gaaaaargh? I knew everything'd gone too smoothly...

This time though I managed to get myself onto the tube too, and headed for Tower Hill to meet a Pros-y person for wanderings and chat. And there was both, and there were poppies at the Tower of London looking just as amazing and sad and spectacular as all the pictures had suggested they would, and all was finally good again!

And now there is Holland Park YHA and being too tired to do anything but sit here and type! There's actually a couiple of big high school groups (of the noisy age group...) here too which is a bit of a bugger, and I'm in the "new" bit rather than the nice old bit, but hey-ho. Therse will shortly be sleep, and when I wake up I will be in Kensington, where my older-lads live(d). It was funny walking down Kensington High St from the tube - it actually felt like the place where they lived, as if I'd see them walking down the street any minute! I must write some more about them in those years... *g*

And now I shall brave bed, I think, and perhaps have a wee thinks about our lads in their flat together... *g*

Stoopib code... It just appeared today... a Somerset cold? Or maybe a hospital cold, from my appointment the other day. Or maybe... just a cold. Stoopid code. If only it had waited until I'd finished the two day professional course I'm here in London for! 'snot very impressive to sit sniffing, is it... (geddit? 'snot very... *g*)

On the bright side, everything else went smooth as very smooth clockwork again (I'm getting worried... maybe the cold balances it out, though?). Drove the van back to Cambs. (very fun, I like driving big high vehicles. Maybe I should be a trucker... *g*). Dropped it off okay. Popped into Duxford, and found some books to inspire my WWII fic again (and stretched my legs - I'm starting to feel the road-equivalent of having land-lubber legs!). Drove into my normal parking place in the far reaches of London - didn't find one, so had to park in the tube station carpark and pay for it, but that's okay, cos it's work. Tube to Euston. Made the mistake of coming out the entrance where all the smokers in England go to smoke (bleuchhhh). Wandered down to my hotel. Was given my room. Wandered down to Foyles (new and shiny) and had a sandwich and a browse. Wandered back and was tempted by Baskin Robbins (ice cream is nice for sore throats...) Bought cold remedy and cold remedy and tissues and tissues and throat sweets for the course tomorrow. Took some night-time London pics. Home to hotel!

And now I have to go and finally read the reports I need to read for tomorrow, and try to remember what statistics are. I much prefer the B/D kind of standard deviation... *g*