And The Winner Is...

I know you're all dying to know what I ended up doing on the weekend....

Saturday I slept in and had a lazy morning - wasn't feeling particularly great. Got the lead out at about noon and headed down to . . . . . the Tower of London!! I got off one stop early, at "Monument", where the monument to the Great Fire of London in 1666 was. The height of the tower is equal to the distance from the tower to the place where the fire started, in a bakery. It was surrounded by large modern buildings, and was cool to see this monument from the last half of the 1600s still standing with the original inscriptions on it. For a couple of quid, you could climb up inside it and look out over the city from the top, but I wanted to get to the Tower.

There were a lot of people and kids there; I had forgotten about half-term. But it was fun and interesting. Looking forward to going again (I have a yearly membership to Historic Royal Palaces). The crown jewels were amazing, and so was the White Tower, which is the armouries and had a lot of other displays. Very historic and interesting stuff. I think my favourite place was the Beauchamp Tower, where most of the prisoners were held. There were carvings in the walls that were done by the prisoners, some of them famous like Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen for 12 days and then beheaded. It was very cool to see this "graffiti" from hundreds of years ago! Also cool was the Bloody Tower, where Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned for something like 16 years, before he was eventually beheaded. So many of these people were imprisoned for crimes no more heinous than following the "wrong" church (Catholic instead of Anglican), or being born into or marrying into the wrong family, in the case of Lady Jane Grey. There were even two young boys, the eldest being 12 years, that were imprisoned and eventually "disappeared" (read "murdered") simply because they were the offspring of a king that was defeated by an aspirant to the throne. How sad is that - those poor boys being murdered simply because their dad was defeated in a coup. It was ever thus.

Anyway, enough depressing stuff. So, after the Tower, I grabbed a quick bite, because I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and headed out to St. Paul's Cathedral. I got there about 4:30, when it was just closing to tourists, and getting ready for the Evensong service. I decided to stay for that, and was very glad. It was gorgeous. We were seated under the famous dome and the choir was all in the choir stalls. The singing echoing through to huge vaulted ceilings was an amazing sound, very ethereal. I closed my eyes and felt like I was listening to angels singing in heaven. What an experience - evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral. I wouldn't be surprised if I go again.

On Sunday, I went to church in the morning, and met some more people and went to the "community" lunch, which was at the house of one of the deacons, Nigel. There were a few other people there, all quite young, and we had a nice afternoon. I was also invited for Sunday lunch on the 19th of November by the woman who runs the sound with her husband. It is really a very friendly church!

Anyway, must go. Have a fantabulous day!!

Happy Friday!

Well, it's been a week since my last published blog. I have actually been constructing a blog during the week, uploading pictures of the inside of my flat, but the blogging website is giving me grief, so I'll just leave that for now. I have too much to write about!

Paul's twin daughters stayed with me last weekend. I met them with their mom at Waterloo station on Friday and then took them on the train back to their house on Sunday. We had such fun, but it was very tiring! Friday night I took them to my office because they wanted to see where I worked, and then we took the bus home because they love riding in the double-decker buses. We stopped for ice cream along the way (we ate supper at Waterloo station). When we finally got back to the flat, they climbed the tree outside the front of my building and then finally came inside and played until bedtime.

On Saturday, I decided that it would be their birthday with me. Their birthday is actually the 28th, but they are having a party out at their house, so we did a birthday celebration in London. We did some shopping in the morning - went to the farmer's market, the grocery store and to Woolworths, where I got them some Halloween costumes. Back to the flat, and then off to Covent Garden for the Lion King at 2:00. The girls loved it! I got them souvenirs, which I thought were fairly reasonably priced. Then it was home quickly and then off to Disney on Ice, Princess Classics. They loved that too (and so did I!). It was a long day, and they were getting a bit stropy towards the end, but we all had a great time!

Sunday was a lazy morning. We had to leave at 11:30 am to catch the train to their home from Waterloo, so we spent the morning doing craft projects, having baths and packing. I took them all the way to their house, and they were so excited to show me their room and the house. It was very nice - backs onto the canal. I came back into London and spent the rest of my Sunday relaxing and cleaning up the flat, which looked like a cyclone hit it! I was shattered (exhausted)!

This week has been pretty relaxed, with most of the executive out of the office. It is half-term here, which is a holiday week for the schoolkids. So they were working from home so they could spend more time with their children. I had a lot of paperwork-type things to do this week, so I wasn't bored, but it was nice and quiet in the office!

I'm trying to decide what I want to do this weekend! It's not that I don't have options, I'm just not sure what I feel like doing. And if I don't plan something, I'll sit around like a slug all weekend. Some of my options are: the Victoria & Alberta Museum, the Tower of London, painting my bedroom (which is a hideous orangey-yellow colour), St. Paul's Cathedral, or go to a movie (I'd love to see The Queen). In fact, I'm taking votes, faithful blog readers. What do YOU think I should do? Pick one of the above things, or give me some other ideas. I'm depending on you to help plan my weekend because, of course, you realize that whatever I do, you're going to hear about. So . . . the gauntlet is thrown, the challenge is given!! I need feedback, people!!!!

Bombardier

So, I'm standing on the Picadilly line train, right at the end of the last carriage. I didn't pick up my free newspaper before I got on, so I have nothing to read. I'm glancing around and what do I see - the trains that run on the Picadilly line are made by Bombardier!! A little bit of Canada on my daily commute. How cool is that!!

So, I promised a photo essay of my trip to work. Here it is! In true photo essay style, there will be no words.

Paradise Found!

I had a little experience of heaven today, in the form of a hamburger, believe it or not. It all happened like this...

I decided that I wanted to see the musical "Footloose" (yes, they made a musical from the movie) before it closed on 11 November. So on Friday I bought myself a ticket online for the Saturday matinee. This morning (Saturday) I got up at a decent hour, and went out to do my Saturday shopping - farmers market for produce, Sainsbury's for milk and bread, Woolies (Woolworths) for some household stuff, hardware store to get some keys cut. Stopped off at the Old Packhorse (pictured) for a rest and a chinwag with my favourite bartender, Magda. It's such a nice atmosphere there, very relaxing and enjoyable. Anyway. I digress.

So I head into town in the afternoon to go to "Footloose". I stopped at the Lyceum Theatre to buy tickets to the Lion King. Paul's twin daughters are coming next weekend to stay with me and I promised to take them to Lion King. They are very excited. They love coming to London and they love hanging out with me. I love them too - but they're exhausting as only 8-year-old twin girls can be!

I had some time to kill, so did a bit of browsing in Covent Garden market. The show started at 3. It was ok, but I wasn't blown away. It's the second time I've see musicals made from movies, and I'm not terribly impressed. They tend to be quite "over-acted". Fortunately, the ticket was cheap. Unfortunately, that also means the seats were lousy!!

Afterwards, I realized I hadn't really eaten much all day, so decided to go and find some food. One of the struggles of doing stuff out on the town by yourself is the problem of where to eat. Do you got to a restaurant and sit at a table by yourself, or do you got to a fast food joint and eat junk food? It's a frustrating dilemma. So I started to wander towards Leicester Square wondering what to do, looking for something to eat. I saw this place called "Hamburger Union". It looked fairly casual; you to the counter to order your food, take a number and find a table. They then bring your meal and beverage to you. It was a great solution, so I go in and put in my order. Just an ordinary cheeseburger with chips (fries). My burger soon showed up, and I took a bite. Immediately a heavenly chorus started singing. It was one of, if not the, best burgers I've ever had in my life. It was lean and tasty, with just enough cheese and large helpings of toppings on the burger (lots of pickles, mmmmm). I almost wept, it tasted so good. I even considered going back to the counter and ordering another one!

I was in such a good mood after that experience, that I decided to go to a movie. Leicester Square is very lively, with lots of movie theaters and restaurants. I stopped at the first one I came to and found "The Devil Wears Prada" was playing right away. So I went in. Great flick - very enjoyable. Meryl Streep is in it, and she was fabulous.

So, that was my Saturday. What a great day!!

Skiing

So, I have a few friends that are avid skiiers and always want me to come along. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy skiing. I'm just not crazy about it. And then there are other people (especially over here) that think that since I'm from near Banff, I must be a great skiier and go all the time. Not so much. Here, finally is a good summing up of the reasons I'm not crazy about skiing. I got this via email from my former boss in Calgary; it hits the nail right on the head!

Ski season is fast approaching. Following is a list of exercises to get you prepared:

16. Visit your local butcher and pay $30 to sit in the walk-in freezer for a half an hour. Afterwards, burn two $50 dollar bills to warm up.

15. Soak your gloves and store them in the freezer after every use.

14. Fasten a small, wide rubber band around the top half of your head before you go to bed each night.

13. If you wear glasses, begin wearing them with glue smeared on the lenses.

12. Throw away a hundred dollar bill--now.

11. Find the nearest ice rink and walk across the ice 20 times in your ski boots carrying two pairs of skis, accessory bag and poles. Pretend you are looking for your car. Sporadically drop things.

10. Place a small but angular pebble in your shoes, line them with crushed ice, and
then tighten a C-clamp around your toes.

9. Buy a new pair of gloves and immediately throw one away.

8. Secure one of your ankles to a bedpost and ask a friend to run into you at high speed.

7. Go to McDonald's and insist on paying $8.50 for a hamburger. Be sure you are in the longest line.

6. Clip a lift ticket to the zipper of your jacket and ride a motorcycle fast enough to make the ticket lacerate your face.

5. Drive slowly for five hours - anywhere - as long as it's in a snowstorm and
you're following an 18-wheeler.

4. Fill a blender with ice, hit the pulse button and let the spray blast your face.
Leave the ice on your face until it melts. Let it drip into your clothes.

3. Dress up in as many clothes as you can and then proceed to take them off because you have to go to the bathroom.

2. Slam your thumb in a car door. Don't go see a doctor.

1. Repeat all of the above every Saturday and Sunday until it's time for the real thing!

So, now you know. . . the rest of the story (with apologies to Paul Harvey).

Autumn

Well, it appears autumn has finally hit here - the evenings and mornings are cool (I suppose the nights, too, but I'm a boring homebody). The days vary between cool and warm (22 today!), with the constant being uncertain cloudy/sunny skies and occasional rain. Always advisable to carry an umbrella (I have a cool "Chat Noir" one I bought in Paris).

Paul leaves in a few weeks for Iraq, so he's quite excited - he really loves his job, especially the overseas assignments. He loves the challenge of living in a different country and dealing with what they deal with. I have made my peace with it - it is what it is. It's out of my hands and I've put him and our relationship in God's hands. He'll work it out for the best.

Speaking of God, I went to church on Sunday for the first time since moving to London. I really hate finding new churches, so even though I kept saying I was going to go to church on Sunday, and had even scoped out a few, I had never actually gone. There is a little baptist church just a block and a bit from where I live called Gunnersbury Baptist Church and, for the first time, I really felt an impetus to go - I even tried to mentally excuse myself from going, but it wasn't to be. I was going and that was it. It is quite a small group (well, compared to Linden and Calgary), but friendly and nice. The preaching was intelligent and the pastor had a very nice accent to listen to. The church is probably an old Catholic or Anglican - beautiful woodwoork and whatnot. Not particularly old - maybe a hundred years or less. I left straight after the service, but might stay a bit next time. It's a very bible-believing, prayer-focused church, which is exactly what I need. The worships is not "exciting", but I can see myself having a place there and being somewhat active (they really need a children's story-teller!). I do feel that I was led (pushed?!) to start attending there. We'll see what happens.

I had an idea today, that I hope to put into play soon. I am going to do a photo essay of my trip to work each day. I will, of course, post it on the blog. There are always interesting little things I see, so don't expect a bunch of pictures of streets that I walk down or anything. It will be little details that I've noticed over the months or interesting buildings or businesses. I hope to do it in the next couple days and post maybe on the weekend.

Anyway, my lunch break is just about over, so must get back to work. A woman's work is never done - or, as my grandmother would say - no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any. I'm not sure which I am, because I sure seem to need lots of rest!

Ciao for niao!!

Picture time!

So, I thought I would post some pictures of my buildingthat my dad took when they were just out. I don't have any inside pictures (I keep forgetting to take pics after I've cleaned it!), but these are some of the building and the yard.




My front yard (or garden, as they say here).













My mom looking out my bedroom window onto the back garden. The window to the left is the spare room window and the bay window to the right is the living/dining room window. Just on the other side of that is the kitchen window and back door, and then the bathroom on the other side of that.







Looking at my back door (leads into the kitchen) and porch area. The plants in the planters aren't mine, I think they belong to my neighbour.











This is my building from the street. It was built in 1929, so it's not particularly old by UK standards!











This is my back garden. If you look to the left towards the back, there is a "hump". That is the bomb shelter put in during WWII. Just beside the bush along the path, you can see the entrance to the stairs that take you down into the shelter. It's all locked up, so I've not been in there.

Hogarth Singers

Mom and dad left yesterday, and I went into work for the afternoon. I was so tired!

I can't remember if I told you this, but I have joined a community choir called the Hogarth Singers. We rehearse on Monday nights for two hours (with a little juice & biscuit break in the middle) and put on several performances a year. The autumn performance this year is at the end of November and we are performing Brahms' "German Requiem" and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise", sometimes called "Hear My Prayer", (click here for more info on these pieces of music), both sacred classical pieces. The music is very hard, especially the Brahms, and I feel lost a lot of the time. But it is very beautiful.

Our conductor is David Bray, who is brilliant musically and exciting to sing for. He makes you work hard, and feel proud of your accomplishments. He's forgotten more about music than I ever knew! The accompanist, Andrew Wells, is also amazing. The two of them make a great team and really help us get our parts sorted. It is so rewarding to sing under the direction of such talented individuals!

Last night I really didn't feel like going - I was tired, not feeling great, and just wanted to stay home and relax. But, knowing how difficult the music was, I felt that I really shouldn't miss any rehearsals, if I could help it. Well, I ended up enjoying myself and was very happy I went. There's something cathartic about working hard to master something, like this music. We would work on a piece, getting all the different parts sorted out, and then when it all came together I would be amazed at the beautiful sound we could make! It's very rewarding and exhilarating, especially at the end when we sang a whole movement all the way through! I purchased a CD that has the soprano parts of the Brahms on it, so I can practice at home, since I don't have a piano to practice with. Now I just need to use it. It showed up in the mail a few days before my parents arrived, so I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

Well, it's looking like I'll be back in Calgary for a board meeting on 7 November! It's crazy how that works! I will probably only be in Calgary for a couple of days in November, since I'll be back out for almost 3 weeks at Christmas! Maybe I'll fly out on the Saturday before and get a few extra days in Calgary, anyway. We'll have to see.

The weather has been very uncertain here - sunny, followed by dumping rain, followed by cool weather, followed by rain, followed by...well, you get the idea. I have no idea how to dress for work! Fortunately, except for one day, we had great weather when mom and dad were here. It poured rain on the Sunday we went to Greenwich, but was nice later on in the afternoon. Other than that, the weather was sunny and cool, although rather humid most of the time.

Well, must get back to work.

The Parent's Visit

So, Mom and Dad have been here for the last nine days. Glad that they came, and glad they're leaving!! And I know they feel the same way! So, it's all good.

Unfortunately, Paul was working the whole time they were here, and they weren't able to meet him. We even went up to York (close to his base) for a couple of nights, but he couldn't get away. York was pretty cool, though. Very old city, with a medieval wall still intact around it. It has a huge church, called a minster (the picture shows mom and I in the York minster). It is like a cathedral. Very beautiful and old. The foundations have Roman origins. The middle of the town itself has lots of narrow cobblestone streets with shops and pubs. We stayed at a bed and breakfast just a short walk from the town centre. We took the train up to Thirsk (it was only about half an hour each way) for the morning to see the James Herriott Museum. That was a highlight for mom and I, since we are big fans of the books ("It Shoudn't Happen To A Vet", "Vet In A Spin", "Let Sleeping Vets Lie", etc.) The Yorkshire countryside is gorgeous - very green with lots of livestock. I am looking forward to my next trip up there. There is a lot more of York I'd like to see, and I'd also like to spend some time in the Yorkshire Dales and the Yorkshire Moors. Another corner of England that needs some exploring!

Back to London for a few days (I had to go into the office for a half day) and then off to Paris for two nights. We went to the Eiffel Tower and took a bus tour around the city. We went to the Basilique de Sacre Coeur and explored the Place du Tetre, an artists market. The basilica and the market are in Montmartre, a well known district for the arts - famous poets, writers and other artists have lived there for centuries. If you've seen the movie, "Moulin Rouge", that's where it all takes place. In fact, the Moulin Rouge is still there in operation, in the Pigalle area of Montmartre, which is the "red light district". Mom and dad loved touring around Paris in the bus, especially when it got stuck in a traffic jam. Dad just couldn't get over the crazy way the French drive - no lanes, no rules, everyone just goes. It is quite nuts - I don't know why there aren't more accidents. We also saw Notre Dame Cathedral, which is quite something. We ate at little cafes around the city - one outside Notre Dame for lunch, a Greek restaurant in the Latin Quartier, breakfast at a cafe near the Metro station before we headed out for the day, etc. The last time I was in Paris was my first time, and I was fascinated. This time, I realized how much I truly love the city. I am looking forward to spending a lot of time there over the next few years! We took the Eurostar down and back - what a great way to travel!!

I ended up having to go to work on Friday after we got back to London - we're finishing off a debt financing and we needed to get some signatures and whatnot. Anyway, I put in a few hours at the office Friday afternoon, and then we went out for supper when I got home. Then the weekend - Greenwich, the home of the time zone and the Prime Meridian (Dad loved that); Camden Market, Covent Garden, Picadilly Circus (it's a circus all right!). The picture at right was taken in Greenwich looking down on the Royal Park from the Observatory.

My parents wore me out! I'm exhausted, and I have to go back to work tomorrow afternoon. Mom and dad leave for the airport just before 1:00 pm - my driver, Patrick, is going to take them to the airport (it's not as posh as it sounds - he runs a car service and lives in the building I used to live in). In the morning we are going to take a walk down to the Thames. They they'll go off to catch their flight and I'll head off to work for the afternoon. Back to the routine.

Well, time for bed - ciao for now!!