London Calling

ES

Leaving New York brings mixed emotions like being glad to get away from the total chaos that is being a pedestrian in the city and being a touch sad that there was still so much to see and do. London calls however and even at 6 in the morning the British Airways lounge at JFK is a soft introduction, softer than the crowded 747 in which we made the journey.

A beaming Greg Ussher greets us at Heathrow and made the journey worthwhile. Arriving in East London revealed a horizon resplendent with the Eye, the Gherkin and the Shard impressed but sleep took over. Morning has us refreshed and on the tube to catch up with two of Mary's friends Denis and Phil who had come over from Ireland just to catch up and do a nostalgia trip to some of the old haunts. They are amongst those who all shared a house in Baron's Court 40 years ago. In fact Denis and Phil met in Barons Court and had their first ( and probably only) row in High Street Kensington. A quick coffee and then a journey down memory lane including a call on the former landlord who still lives there, a 98 year old Croatian gentleman made us all appreciate his manifesto of all things immoderation! He is off to Croatia in a few days for a holiday! It was a day of much chat and "do you remember so and so..... And what happened to". All helped along by Denis's amazing memory and tendency to burst into song at the drop of a hat. The Roses of Picardy will never sound the same!

Around the corner and on the Thames is the aptly named River Cafe famous for being the training ground for many of the current celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver but without having become as pretentious as its progeny. Once again the third world debt changes hands but in return we are treated to a culinary feast and to top it off we bump into Maggie  Beer who was there for lunch as well. We were delighted when she came over and had a chat! Confirming the long held view that she is a genuine living treasure. The River Cafe is in a great spot, overlooking the River Thames and housed in an amazing building with their own vegetable and herb garden out the front. Mary was reminded of the last time she was in this area was visiting Fin who lived around the corner in Riddoch Road.

Walking off the lunch finds us all in Holland Park where we soon believe we are in the countryside a million miles from anywhere let alone being a stones-throw from Kensington High Street as we soon find out. We had a wee bit of rain so we had to repair to a lovely coffee shop for some more food and chat. A lovely day was had and it was with some regret we parted ways at the High Street Kensington tube station.

Back on the tube we are convinced it has it all over the NY subway system only to discover that we didn't really pay attention to which station we got on the tube in the morning so we had the opportunity to see a little more of London until a kind jogger set us straight. Makes mental note: bring map, bring address of where we are staying, bring phone number and get UK SIM !