London

A few weeks in London, reunited with Ally after a year apart (except for our Lake District and Scotland  and Italy trip in 1996) before heading off on my travels.

Hello Ally

• Ally and I are reacquainted. I stay with her in North Acton with Eilean, Teresa and Helen.

Friends

• Lunch with Pippa to meet Rob, then walk in Hyde Park and visit Harrods.
• Go drinking at an Irish Pub with Colleen and co. Guiness!
• Visit Kew Gardens with Colleen (Victorian greenhouses), followed by a braai and X Files at her place. Oldest pot plant in world (1700s) is SA.

Theatre

• Jesus Christ Superstar
• The Importance of being Oscar (Savoy Theatre): One man show with big bits out of all his book, poems and plays. Played multiple parts. How did he remember the words?
• Miss Saigon
• Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre

Museums

• My first solo journey on the "tube" to visit the British National Museum to see ancient statues and relics including Egyptian mummies.
• Imperial War Museum: Trench and blitz experience for World Wars)
• Museum of the Moving Image: A fascinating history of cinema and television, even video games.
• London Dungeon:  Torture, punishment, and Jack the Ripper - sit in car, plunged into darkness, lifted up , face firing squad, then whoosh down water slide.
• Science Museum
• Museum of Natural History
• Theatre Museum

Stratford Upon Avon

• Visit Ally's aunt, Carol. Day trip to Stratford Upon Avon to see Shakespeare's birth place.

Greenwich

• Dock Road train to Greenwich - no driver - to see the gardens and the Observatory - sunburnt! Jump from east to west instantly.

Open air bus tour

• Views of Big Ben, Parliament Building, London Tower and Bridge, Westminster Abby, Fleet Street, HMR Belfast, The Bank of England, Trafalgar Square)

Walks

• Walk through Soho
• Walk in Regent park

Landmarks

• Visit to St Pauls and Buckingham Palace
• Pepsi Trocadero - entertainment complex of the future
• Sat in the Royal Courts listening to an undue leniency case for professional bank robbers - bewigged!
• Speaker's Corner at Hyde Park - some so serious, others taking piss. Black brothers talking racism, other topics were battle of sexes etc.
• Tower monument to the Great Fire of london - 311 stairs to a wonderful view
• Porchester Turkish Baths (steam rooms, jacuzzi, sauna and cold plunge pool)

Eating out

• The Hilton for a night of dinner and dancing with Ally
• Waggamamas (Japanese noodle bar with computerised ordering and green tea to finish off)

Memorable

• Nearly arrested for making a bomb threat while making a phone call.

Farewell Ally

• Starting to really think about my trips - visit travel agent
• Delicious farewell dinner and romantic goodbye with Ally.

Next stop

• SW England, Wales, Scotland