2024 London 

“On the road again.” On Wednesday, the 11th morning, we drove to Ystad, parked, and took the train to Kastrup. Open sandwiches for lunch, and then British Airways took us on a delayed and quite bumpy ride to Heathrow Terminal 5, my least favourite airport. The Elisabeth line conveyed us to Paddington. Our hotel is, at best, OK. Fitted carpets everywhere, high ceilings and the constant rumble from Paddington train station.

We wandered around the area, which is very much Arabic, and on to the fine terraced buildings just north of Hyde Park. We found a pub showing England being trounced at cricket by Sri Lanka. We then went to a fish and chips shop for a quite good example of the species and then on again to a new pub for a pint of Speckled Hen.

Thursday, the 12th: Breakfast was a full English prepared individually for us by two energetic ladies. The coffee was distinguishable from tea, so you could say breakfast was a success.

We walked across Hyde Park to the Victoria and Albert Museum. On the way we watched a horse being schooled and a squirrel posing. We were in the quiet green centre of London. The museum was outstanding. We saw Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection. You can see it until the end of the year. After this superb exhibition, we were totally exhausted. We enjoyed an Abbot Ale and fish and chips in the Bunch of Grapes. I can recommend both the exhibition and the pub. We then walked back past Harrods over Hyde Park to our hotel.

This evening, we went to the New Wimbledon Theatre to see War Horse. It is an unforgettable theatrical experience that takes you from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. It is based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo. At its heart are life-sized horses by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company. The piece is full of music, dramatic scenes of war, and, of course, the heroes of the piece are the horses. The author was at the performance to explain how the book and theatre piece came into being. We were delirious for the second time today.

Friday 13^th: Today was a wool day. We sought out three knitting shops in the centre of London. We took buses, the metro and, of course, walked to Camden Passage, Liberties, and Pimlico. Once again, we visited a war memorial for the Royal Air Force crews of World War II. These larger-than-life statues always evoke sad thoughts in me. Lunch was at a French restaurant in Shepherds Market. The last time I had eaten there was in the eighties. Then, there was an occasional working girl walking slowly and hoping for someone who wanted a light lunch.

Dinner was Korean. The restaurant was full of Koreans, and our food was not as interesting as that on the table beside us. It’s a problem of knowing what to ask for, I suppose.

London is a beautiful city. The expression “If you are tired of London, then you are tired of life” seems correct to me.

Tomorrow is Chinatown and Soho.

Saturday 14^th: After breakfast, we took the bus to Soho. It has changed somewhat since I first came here in the eighties. Carnaby Street is still a tourist magnet. Regarding current fashion, young ladies are wearing very short skirts and riding boots of the high variety. It gives them a flirtatiously dominant look. Soho is much less seedy and a lot more fine dining now. In general, London is clean and well-organised, with a transport system that is impressive.

We wandered into Chinatown. An Old Chinese Proverb says, “A man without a smiling face must never open a shop.” The waitresses in our chosen lunch restaurant have not been taught this. No smiles but excellent Dim Sum and Peking Duck. We continued our ambling by bus to Westminster, where we wandered among the impressive houses of the powerful. Coffee and cakes were consumed beside the Thames within sight of Big Ben and the London Eye.

We had a pre-dinner drink at the Royal Exchange Pub. This evening, a DJ was playing Japanese pop. At the bar was an over-middle-aged man in a shiny suit and tie, wearing a Stetson hat. With him was a slim, attractive younger woman whose nails were bitten down. They looked incongruous.

We ate in an Iraqi restaurant. The food was good, but we ordered too much and were forced to leave half of it. The Lamb fell deliciously off the bone, and the flatbread and hummus were excellent.

Well, goodbye, London. It is an impressive city. Even if I wanted to live here, property prices in the interesting areas are ridiculous. We did not see an apartment advertised for under a million GBP.

Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Square.

Sunday 15^th: After breakfast, we walked to Paddington station. A Royal Scott steam train was waiting to take its Steam Dream passengers on a slow journey to Wales while they enjoyed food and wine served at their table.

The flight to Copenhagen was fine, but our luggage took a long time to arrive. We made it home at around 18:00 and were both quite tired.