Signs

They love signs and notices in this country. They must be the most signposted people in the world. This all came to head yesterday, when I brought in some left over chocolate trifle made over the weekend by bwo. The squints here at Squint Central UK (Egham Branch) seemed to look on this free food with some suspicion. I was greatly surprised when there was trifle left over by lunch time. Back in the old country at Squint Central Holy Land (Yakum Branch) this would have been polished off within an hour of arrival. On further investigation (during the informal lunch "social" chat), it appears the mob were confused as there was no signage announcing this as free food. The fact that it was placed next to the free fruit, on the table where all free food is usually placed, seemed to go unnoticed. They needed a sign! Apparently a post it note would have been enough, but permission needed to have been given.

There are signs everywhere in the UK. The road signs are huge and extremely visible (this is good). Here at Squint Central there are dozens of "Now wash your hands, please" all over the place (at least they are polite). The door next to my office has a "Fire door, Keep Shut" sign, a "Please Use Door Release" sign and a "Push" sign on the door. A "Fire Exit" sign above the door and an "Emergency Use Only" sign on the button next to the only relevant button for daily use, the door release, which has no sign.

Around the house there are many, many signs. On each walk I get to see at least 20 signs warning you what will happen should you not pick up after your dog (£500 fine), signs warning we are being observed as part of the "Richmond Watch" program, signs to "Save Our School" (complicated issue where some of the land of the local school is being sold to developers for "high density housing") and, of course, the notices explaining why there are no dogs allowed on Petersham Common (it's due to the cows).

The best notice locally though, was the hand written rant I photographed below. This was posted on a tree at the edge of the cute little "copse" next to our house. The cynicism is probably wasted on whomever picked the purple flower, but it's a classic. "You was seen so look out"!!!!

It's Raining Again

It's been a month. I have no excuses. We were in Israel, I dug at Jezreel. It was hot. We came back to the UK and it has been raining since we arrived. I'm not unhappy as I really suffered in the heat. While we were gone Roxy spent two weeks with some friends - two Great Danes  Merlin and Talon (see above). She seems to have had a wonderful time with them and Jenny's family, who so kindly looked after her while we were away. She has been moping around since we came home looking for something or someone to play with. I got soaked walking her to the river this morning, but she did not seem to mind in the least, happy to be out in the open.

I really suffered with the heat in Israel. For the first few days of the dig at Jezreel we did not have shades and I worked in the open with only shorts, a tee shirt, sun block and a black hat to protect me. I had a migraine every day no matter how much water I absorbed. I got my work done and managed to train Nate to take my place. I hope the dig goes well for the team, they are really good people.

Being home in Raanana for an extended stay was interesting. Our house does not really feel like our house that much. The boys staying there with Gilad are very nice and surprisingly organized, but still there is a different feeling, more like college dorm rooms than our little house on the prairie. Spending time with the kids is always great though. I am proud of both of them, they have grown  up well.

It was nice getting back to our uncluttered house in Richmond. It has a good feel to it. I do worry about bwo leaving her family and friends (and jumpers) behind. It is important for her to get out and be active. Even though it gets light here at 4:30am and dark at 9:30pm, the grey rainy skies  will get her down. She must keep busy.

The Dog in the Park

While I travelled to Poland and Israel, and bwo flew off to the family wedding in San Diego, Roxy spent the time with Clive. Clive, "Deputy Dawg" the dog walker is great with her. He walks her at least once or twice a week, and she is always excited to go out with him and his pack. Unfortunately he is also a little too expensive for us, and with the amount of travelling we will be doing over the next few months we will need to find an alternative. Yesterday evening after work, Clive dropped Roxy back home. We were very happy to see each other (Roxy and I, not Clive) and her black and white body shook and shivered while she panted happily. We went out on our regular walk, down to the river and played catch with the tennis ball for a while. It's a reasonable place to let her off the lead as it's a huge open field. She even came back when bribed with doggie treats. So I was feeling like I had this whole dog handling thing down.

I got up early this morning and decided to take Roxy to Richmond Park. Clive told me he lets her off the leash and lets her run when he takes them to the park, so I thought what the hell. She immediately took off like a bat out hell and promptly disappeared for 20 minutes chasing squirrels and rabbits. You could just barely spot her tiny silhouette in the far distance as she darted from tree to tree and burrow to burrow. Luckily there were no deer around. All the while I paced back and forth calling out from time to time, offering treats and water, even the tennis ball - she was just not interested. She would spot another squirrel in the distance and would take off with single minded obsession. All this reminded me of the video below, that went viral in the UK. Basically it's a guy shouting "Fenton! Fenton! Fenton!!!" after his dog as it chases deer in the very same Richmond Park. Everyone in this country has seen it and I can even say that Roxy went all Fenton on me and most people would smile knowingly (I like the whole "JESUS CHRIST, Fenton!" thing). Roxy finally came skipping back, happy with herself, tongue hanging out, eyes sparking, with a huge smile on her face. I don't think I can let her loose in the park too often, I just haven't the nerves.

  

Dan+ lounge

Today I am sitting in the Dan+ Lounge at BG airport (note the plus). This is because I have finally reached silver status on BA. Not to say that it's all plane (haha) sailing, as the BA web page says that even though I have enough points, I am still bronze. Apparently, according to a very nice Indian guy called Craig (I swear), their computers take 48 hours to update, so I'm in some sort of twilight zone. I slept in Gdansk on Wednesday night, Richmond on Thursday, Raanana on Friday and Saturday, and hopefully tonight back in Richmond.

Of all the times to pick to visit Israel, I had to pick Lag BaOmer during a bad hamsin. My least favourite holiday. It's the one where kids are taught to steal wood from building sites and then burn it in huge bonfires which threaten to burn down our house. I was expecting a night full of smoke and cinder as in previous years, and was overjoyed when I saw these signs placed in strategic spots in the open fields around the house.

For the Hebrew impaired, it reads something like "It is totally forbidden to light fires in this area. Whomever (or the law breaker who) does not follow this order can expect to be legally prosecuted". Signed by the City of Raanana. Finally they are doing the right thing. Now that we have left.

On top of it all it has been boiling hot here in Israel. Highs about 35 Degrees C both days. With a hot wind. Horrible. But there is nothing like coming home and seeing my kids. Nothing. I am happy to report that the house is functioning perfectly. The kitchen and common areas are spotless, and no thanks to Azziza. The boys (G and Oren and Vardi) are into "maintaining". You clean once and then maintain by dealing with each mess as it happens. What a concept. The boy is actually doing dishes. We should have gone away years ago.

It's not all perfect, you know.

It's not all perfect here. Looking over the last few posts, you could get the impression that I am blissfully happy in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. There are some minor issues that do bother me. More than the strange fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road, it's just weirdness that while all of the UK is completely metric, car's speed and distances are measures in mph and miles. Then there is the over enthusiastic use of signs. They love signs, the British. At work there are signs reminding you to wash your hands after you go to the bathrooms, signs to remind you to take your dirty cups to the kitchen, signs to remind you to recycle. At the local railway crossing there are signs to ask you (politely) to turn off your engine while waiting for the trains to pass. There is even a "pelican crossing" sign near the house (seriously).

There are some other quirky things I have noticed. Why in all their years of world domination, have the British still not figured out how to make a toilet that you don't have to hold down the handle when you flush in order for enough water to clear the bowl. Then there's these strange taps.

They make absolutely no sense. Either you get blistering hot water or it's so cold you freeze your fingers off. I'm really just getting started, more will follow shortly.

Around

That's Ham House behind bwo and the broxyo. It's 10 mins walk from the house and overlooks the Thames. The walk takes one out the back gate onto the little path behind the houses on Petersham Road, through the grassy area of "The Copse",  down tree-lined Ham Avenues, alongside the Ham Polo Ground (and the practising polo horses) and over the wooden bridge to the Thames towpath. I have been walking mostly in the early morning or late evening with Roxy-girl, there are few people around, just lots of birds. Some dogs and their people, but it seems English dogs are less friendly (as are their people) than we are used to. So all Roxy's excited shaking and wagging typically goes unheeded.

I feel very lucky to be able to enjoy these views and surroundings every day. I am sure the uniqueness will wear off after a while - but in the mean time, I'm enjoying myself. 

White Cliffs

We got to Dover yesterday. It was a fine spring day, sunny from time to time, and warm. We took Roxy for a walk on the cliffs and she had a good time smelling everything  particularly enjoying the sheep poop. We got stuck in horrendous traffic on the way back (near Chessington World of Adventure or something like that) and after sitting stationary for an hour or so, we pulled off and had lunch at "The Shy Horse". Not bad actually (bwo had her usual bits of cow).

My cold got worse during the course of the day and by nightfall I was really miserable. Not even Manchester City's FA cup victory helped. So I went to bed really early and slept well. Got up early and went into work. All in all, looking back, it was a great weekend. I walked a lot, spent time with my two girls and generally just rested. Somehow having a Saturday and Sunday seems much more relaxing than the Friday and Saturday weekend in Israel. 

Walking

It was a hell of a week, last week. It started last Friday with the trip to Israel, then on Saturday I met the boss. After a stressful and work-filled few days in Israel, we flew to the UK (on one of the worst flight ever). Spent a lot of time with the UK squints, drove west to meet the special Bristol variety of squints, and finally some time after lunch on Friday my week work week was over. To make matters worse, I caught a cold from the sad French Canadian that sat sniveling next to me from Ben Gurion to Heathrow. I collapsed in my bed on Friday night, miserable, with a full head, stuffy nose and streaming eyes. It was raining.

Saturday morning, I awoke not feeling much better but decided I needed to walk off the cold. So early in the morning (7:15 am) I dropped bwo off in Richmond, parked and went walking along the Thames with Roxy. We started at Richmond Bridge (actually I parked on the Twickenham side), walked under Twickenham Bridge, all along the Old Deer Park, past the Mid Surrey Gold Course, alongside Kew Gardens all the way to Kew Bridge. The views along the river were spectacular (see pictures). Just my dog and I and a lot of rowers. On the way back the sky clouded over and a light rain added to the atmosphere. I guess we're in England now.

After that two hour trek, I collapsed on the couch for a nap, with Roxy sleeping at my feet dreaming of romping with her friends back in the old country. Later in the afternoon, I took pity on her and we went for another walk. This time out the house, down Sandy Lane (there is a nice house for sale on Sandy Lane for £1,125,000), down Lock Lane, to the Teddington Lock on the Thames and then in the direction of Kingston, past the footbridge to Twickenham, along Lower Ham Road to the Kingston Rowing Club, before turning back. It started raining quite hard and the dog and I got quite wet. We arrived home out of breath and dripping, quite full of mud. It was awesome.

This morning (Sunday) I want to try make it to Dover. I have never seen the White Cliffs in person, and so have some plans. These rarely work out as we usually give up after about a half hour of driving. But I have hope. 

On the way back

It's time to leave Israel again. It was a very short stay. I arrived Saturday morning and am flying out Tuesday morning. I was busy running around the whole stay, but it was very good to see the kids and the Israeli squints. The house is still standing and the boy and his house-mates seem to have it together. I was most impressed to find one of the boys awake and making sandwiches at 4 am this morning, preparing his lunch for work. He left a few minutes after I did a 5 am. The girl's was home for all of my stay and she seems to be dominating the army and to really have things in gear. So far it seems there is little to worry about as far as they are concerned.

It was hot and dusty - a big difference from the snow I left in London. Bwo says the weather has improved, I will find out in a few hours. So in general, it's all good and I am looking forward to getting to the house on Petersham.

Terminal 1 again

Here I sit once again in Heathrow Terminal 1 awaiting a 10:30pm flight to Tel Aviv. On one hand I am happy to be going to see the kids who I have missed terribly, but on the other I hate to leave bwo on her own for the next few days. We only just moved into the house on Petersham, Roxy only just arrive on Wednesday, our shipment (of which I have one of the twenty or so boxes) arrived this morning while I was at work, and I am tired. It's been a lot of early mornings with lots of varied transportation. Then busy days and back home to walk the dog and wife. So all in all I could do with a weekend, but it probably won't be much of one seeing as I am going to meet the boss and then spend time at work in Israel before flying back on Tuesday for some long days in the UK.

I did get to have my Pret, Moroccan Falaffel sandwich here in the terminal, so not all is bad. What will be completely strange is I am due to pick up a rental car at the airport in Tel Aviv, because I had to return the Prius once the relocation started. It will be interesting to see just how efficient Hertz is in Israel, here in the UK they rock and it takes just minutes to get your car. I suppose I will have to put on my 80% glasses again. At least it's a lot warmer in Israel at the moment.

Trains, Buses, Snow and Such

Bwo needed the car today and so I decided I would use public transport to get to work. I woke bright and early at 5:30 am, took the dog out (she is very good), got dressed warm and set out around 5:45. The number 65 bus comes right past the house, and the stop is a few hundred meters from the door. I should have realized I was going to have to wait when just as I left home a 65 bus roared past me. The sign at the bus stop said the next bus would be coming in 18 mins, then 6 mins, then 15 mins, then 9 mins, then back to 15mins (sort of like watching a file download). The bus did eventually arrive and we made our way to the station and another 25 minute wait.  Once the train arrived it only took 22 minutes to Egham and then another 22 minute walk from the station to work.  All in all an hour and a quarter trip.

But... now it's snowing heavily (everyone assures me that snow after Easter is very unusual, but these same people keep telling me the 22 minute walk to the station is actually 10 minutes, so I question their estimation accuracy). I will need to do the opposite journey in an hour or two, and am not really looking forward to this.

Roxy has Landed

Yes the sign says "Fish Border Inspection Post" (but what does the 28 mean?). This is where we went today (actually next door) to pick up Roxy. She arrived in good spirits and was very happy to see us. She is currently sniffing every cornet of the house making herself at home. I took her for a short walk and I think she was a little shocked by the cold. She seems to have traveled well and is the same high energy girl we know and love.

There is a busy road outside our front door, and I am in constant worry that Roxy will run out into the street. We are going to be very careful with her in this house and make sure we keep the front door closed. There is a sort of double door to the outside - a place to keep coats? This should help.

Strangely enough when we arrived at the ARC (Animal Return Centre), some young chaps were waiting for us. They had filmed Roxy's removal from the plane and wanted to film our reunion with our girl. They work for "Animal Planet" and were filming a show called "Animal Airport". We will let you know if we ever make it to the big screen. A few days back a different film crew cornered bwo while we were shopping at HomeBase. They took some film of her answering some questions and said they will contact her if they want her for more. It's the big time here in Richmond.

I am just very happy our lovely girl is here and safe. She seems to have handled the flight very well (so far). Now she needs to learn to talk with an English accent.

Walking About

Today was Easter Monday and it's a "Bank Holiday" here in the UK. Which means it's a public holiday by anyone's standards. Most importantly I do not work. So I took the opportunity to continue exploring the Petersham, Ham and Richmond areas. This morning I set off bright and early (it was pretty cold) and walked from the Petersham gate to the Ham gate in Richmond park. It is a wonderful wild and green park and Roxy is going to love it (I believe it's best to avoid the deer, as they can be vicious). What is strange is that even though I passed a number of people on my walk, only a few said "morning" most avoided all eye contact completely - one old lady did smile at me and say that it was a lot less cold than yesterday. On my way back from Ham gate, I noticed on a number of "diverted traffic" signs, I was rather surprised to find out this is for the local toad migration - where they are moving to, I have no idea. I am not sure if the signs are prevent you running over migrating toads or migrating toad patrol volunteers. Either way the roads were closed.

This afternoon, I grovelled enough so I was relieved of another trip to the shops, so while bwo went one more time to TK Maxx (It's TK in this country), I set off to see how long it takes to get to downtown Richmond by foot. From Richmond station back home takes 34 minutes - but it is a very pleasant walk along the banks of the Thames. There were many people out on the streets today, despite the chilly weather.

Tomorrow is work and I get to experience just how long it takes to drive into work in Egham and then back in the evening. Then on Wednesday, the Roxy girl arrives. I hope she likes it here, she is surely going to miss the doggie summer camp at the kennels in Nof Yam.

The House on Petersham

We are in our new place. After a bit of a mix up yesterday we got the keys. We were only supposed to move in next Tuesday, and had arranged with the real estate agent to meet on Saturday between 10-12 to unload some of our stuff.  So we packed the car to the gills and set off from Egham to Richmond. We arrived at the house at 10:30 and there was no sign of a living being. We waited around for a 1/2 hour in the cold (it actually started snowing), when finally bwo needed the bathroom so we set off for Richmond town. I then received an email from the agent, who had completed his check out of the house in 15 mins and had set off back home to Swindon (more than an hour away). No one told him we were expecting to come to the house.

I was pissed off.  He luckily understood just how unhappy I was and decided to come back and meet us. So instead of having to wait until Tuesday, he felt so bad he gave us the keys and let us move in on the spot.  Today (Easter Sunday) it took two more full car loads to bring all we had in Egham (mostly bwo's clothes) to the house.

There is much to say about this place.  It is as unique as my wife and has so many unusual aspects I will be blogging about it for the next year at least.  As bwo collapsed for a nap this afternoon, I took a walk down to the Thames. I got completely lost on the way back home and my hour walk turned out to be nearly twice as long. It's a wonderful area, with wild forests, green fields, quaint cottages, huge estates and the river walk (I started at Teddington Lock and ended up somewhere near Ham's polo grounds) is spectacular. I think I am going to like this area - if only the bed was not so lumpy.

The Egham United Services Club Beer Festival

In order to further my integration into English society I joined some of the UK squints at the Egham United Services Club Easter Beer Festival last night. The way it works is you visit the United Services Hall (one block from where we are staying here in Egham) pay 5 GBP (2 for a deposit on the festival glass, see above, and 3 for the entrance fee), you then pay 1.50 GBP per half pint. They have over forty of the "newest and most promising" ales on tap. It was quite an experience, I got to enjoy three unknown, but excellent ales (actually two ales and a porter). The place is sort of of ex-servicemen's club, in fact, the smell and look reminded me exactly of the folk's bowls club (Wedgewood) in the old country. There were all sorts of people, all pretty serious beer drinkers, who gazed lovingly into their pints and could discuss the pros and cons of hoppiness vs. alcohol content and such like (excellence in any form, I always say). As the evening wore on and the squints got more loquacious I found out all sorts of things about beer and serious drinking. The serious amongst you should be able to tell that the beer in the 2 pound festival glass above is not one of the on-tap beer festival delicacies, rather a regular Marston's Pedigree (Classic English Pale Ale) I bought at Tesco. The brother and I once visited their brewery in Barton-on-Trent.  It's quite good enough for me for the time being, I believe.

Keeping Pesach has not been a priority (or even possible) this year, what with the only thing to eat at work being sandwiches. So I did not feel too guilty about visiting the beer festival. Wait until I tell you about the Easter Parade, complete with a Salvation Army Band, hymns and Hot Cross Buns, we bumped into while shopping for sheets (what a punishment) in Staines today.

RAH

Today is bwo's birthday.  Last night we visited the Royal Albert Hall to see Johnny Clegg's A South African Story performance. Wow! What a venue. I think we have used up all our good concert Karma for the rest of our lives. Thanks to Suzanne (of NY) for the excellent suggestion.

I opted to drive into the city and bought some parking in the neighbouring Imperial College. The drive in was stressful as the traffic was heavy and the streets small. Bwo was the embodiment of patience and kept me calm, all the while insisting I should have used Waze instead of Fiona the Tom Tom. What can one say about the Royal Albert Hall except that it is spectacular (we unfortunately did not find out how many holes it takes to fill). We were led to our "Loggia Box number 18" and turns out that these are possibly the best seats in the house. On top of it all, we had the whole of the 8 seater box to ourselves. We moved the chairs aside and danced most of the concert away (There is even a "hostess" who will take your drink order and deliver).

The concert was great. The place has an almost intimate atmosphere, and Johnny Clegg spoke a lot about the past and his amazing musical journey.  The most touching moment for me was Asimbonanga which featured a video of Nelson Mandela (of course, there is already a not great quality YouTube video of the performance). Bwo particularly liked Scatterlings of Africa, and noted that most of the audience were indeed scatterlings out of Africa. In fact, I have not seen so many South Africans in one place since the Boer War.

All in all an excellent evening, wonderful venue, entertaining show and perfect company.  Happy Birthday Love.

Palladium

For years I have sworn by my black Palladium (Scout) Commando boots. Everyone thinks I'm a little extreme in that I buy 6 to 8 pairs at a time. You see, they are often hard to find and so my shoe man on Ahuza knows to keep me informed when they are available. They meet all my needs, they are relatively inexpensive, not leather, comfortable and, of course, black. Only one problem - they lack insulation. They are definitely made for desert wear, not for the freezing wastelands of Egham, Surrey.

I have taken to walking into work in the morning and back in the evening. This leaves the car for bwo and her shopping (I secretly hope she will complete all her buying before the weekend, so I can be left in peace). It's been below freezing each morning around 6 am when I set out on the 23 minute walk. Now I have the clothing worked out, it's all about layers. But, by the time I get to work my feet are solid blocks of ice. On top of this the heating here at squint central UK is rather rubbish, and so I spend the day with cold feet. Not even two pairs of socks help.

I decided this must change and so invested in a pair of Clark's Gore-Tex lined boots. They cost the same as five pairs of Palladiums, but I reckon warmth of feet is important. They also (dare I confess) have some leather in the uppers, it's just impossible to find anything warm that is not in some part leather. This morning's walk was very pleasant, and at the moment I am feeling pleasantly warm in my new shoes. I will not abandon my Palladiums.  I have been assured that there are at least three warm days in Summer here in the UK.

A Quiet Seder

We held our own intimate Seder in Egham last night, just bwo and I. Bwo outdid herself with an excellent meal and outstanding matzo ball soup. We started off with onion bhajis which worked perfectly with the surprisingly strong Colman's horseradish sauce (brought the required tears to ones eyes, as it was when we were slaves in Egypt). Then soup, followed by tofu and cheese patties, with roast potatoes and peas and corn (we are Sefardy on Pesach). And we spoke.

We talked of Pesachs past, when we were young, and how each year the Seder tradition marked the beginning of Spring. How in our Kosher home in PE when I was little there was next to nothing to eat or drink except Matzo and Strawberry jam. We spoke of our very missed, absent children and Bwo spent some time on Skype watching the family Seder in Raanana. Funny, I proclaimed after last year's mayhem and noise that it would be the last huge Seder we would host for a while, and indeed it was. I was afraid it would be a sad affair for bwo, away from her Goldsmiths, but it was warm and homely and peaceful. We did commit to doing something more social next year in Richmond.  All in all a special evening as it's supposed to be and probably a lot better than going to McDonalds.

Nester the Nespresso

We set out in the snow on Saturday to do some buying for the new lodgings. You can just image how excited I was by all this. First stop was some sort of dreadful house goods store about 100 miles from home (at least that's what it felt like). There bwo selected all sorts of glasses, bedding and other "soft" goods - nothing interesting (that is nothing connected to a plug). We then made our way to Brent Cross Shopping Mall, which is much further in the car than on the map. We wandered around the electrical appliance section and there I fell in love with a Nespresso coffee maker.

Now the coffee here in general is not good (actually until we got an espresso machine here at Squint Central UK, it was basically swill). I miss my Lavazza machine daily. I like Nespresso coffee in general, and this little machine really called to me.  (I am ashamed to say I minged out and saved 15GBP by getting a cream coloured unit). We took Nester home and tested his coffee making abilities, which meet expectations. What is really cool is the "Aeroccino 3" that comes as part of the package. This little device heats and froths milk with a zen-like calm. You just pour in the cold milk, press the button on the side and watch as it silently whirs and heats - it then stops on it's own. Magic. It's almost enough to entice me to drink milk in my coffee. Nope - actually that will never happen.

Things don't always turn out as one planned

It was bwo and my first official weekend in the UK as a relocated couple. I was getting a little tired of the hot, little flat in Egham and so decided that we should visit Briton on Saturday morning. I read somewhere (in the numerous travel books we seemed to have collected) that Briton is a place to visit (in summer probably). Anyway, Saturday turned out to be cold and rainy, not really summer, or even spring weather. But, undeterred we set out (let's just say bwo took some considerable amount of convincing). I chose to drive only back roads as I am tired of looking at the UK from the highway. We had not been on the road all that long, only about three arguments worth, when bwo spotted a tea room just outside Cranleigh. So I dutifully turned around, and we stopped for tea and scones. They were excellent, although the scones were a little heavy and the strawberry jam a spot to smooth, the clotted cream was genuine and the tea room dry and warm. Needless to say, that was enough for the day and once were were done we headed home where I spent the afternoon watching five six nations rugby (thanks Yuval) - could have been a whole lot worse.

Yesterday was Sunday. We decided we would head into London to the Nation Portrait Gallery. Bwo promised that we would not have to go shopping. We drove into Richmond and parked at the station. We bought our Oyster cards (sort of debit cards for use on the London underground and buses) and undergrounded into the Embankment station and walked to the Gallery.  We were enjoying looking at the paintings of the royals, when bwo informed me that her heel on her (thrift shop acquired) boot had broken. She hobbled around for a while before it was decided she would need a new pair of shoes (Oh joy).  So we headed out of the gallery across Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly Circus - not a shoe shop in sight (only entertainment and food), so we hopped onto the underground and ended up on Oxford Street - shopping!!! Well bwo could not find any suitable shoes, so we broke off the other heel.  This was way easier than I would have expected which all goes to show you get what you pay for. So she just gave up and hobbled home changing trains in good humor and with a smile.

So nothing turned out as we expected, but still a good time was had by all (except for the shopping).