I am happy to say it is either getting warmer or I am getting used to it because I now rarely put on a jumper. people keep telling me I am lucky the weather is so good and sometimes I agree with them, for instance yesterday I took a picture of the lovely blue sky and it was nice and warm in London. We have been lurkng at home allowing Martha to do her life but there has been plenty of activity with visitors coming and going and we have done two jigsaws in our spare time already. The jigsaw is in a case on the coffee table and it is not unusual for three people to sit around talking and fitting pieces together over a nice cup of tea or coffee.

Tuesday we headed into London on an insect bus. It is not really an insect but the way their rear view mirrors hang down from the roof it makes them look like antennae on insects. They have these park and ride places where you can park your car (some for free) and get on a bus going to major cities. It helps keep congestion down in cities and it is cheaper than paying for parking in such places as London even if you were lucky enoght to find somewhere to park. London is about 1 hour 20 minutes from here which makes Oxford an attractive commuter district which, in turn, pushes up the price of real estate.

Having arrived in London we decided to get around using the bus system as Martha had a free pass and everyone kept saying how awful the underground was. It was at this point we found ourselves playing bus lotto or lottery. It seems you buy a day pass for three pounds fifty and get yourself a London bus route map and then the object of the game is to identify which bus will take you to where you want to go. The buses themselves are clearly numbered but you have to trace those numbers on the map to see where they go. Sometimes you have to catch one bus to one place and change to another which makes the game more like a puzzle than a day out. Once you have identified your desitnation and found a suitable bus number then you have to find the bus stop at which that number bus is likely to stop. Sometimes these are clearly marked and sometimes not. Having identified your route number and found the bus stop you then have to wait until that number comes along. Like lotto, often the number you need does not get pulled out of the barrel and so too the buses that come past are not your numbers. Sometimes three buses with the same number will pass by and still yours does not arrive. When it does you hop on, flash your day pass ticket and begin your ride. Then you have to figure where you need to get off as most of the buses do not have announcements although one we rode on did.

It took us most of the fist day to master this game and we had decided that perhaps the river was a better way to get to the Tower of London. We then played boat lotto for a while, there are not as many boats in this game but different companies that stop at different wharfs. We did have a nice ride (or two) up and down the river and we did get to the Tower but it was near 2.30 pm amd we were shattered so we decided instead to go to Martha's friend Patsy who lives near Euston for a cup of tea and a sit down and come back the next day to do the Tower. We tried to catch a bus and failed except for maybe a couple of blocks and it seemed we would never win at this game of bus lotto. At Patsy's we were made welcome, Patsy was born in Ireland but has lived in London for ages, she shares her flat with Faiyez from Guyana but also living in London for some time and Hroon who was born in Guyana but lives Jamaica, Hroon was just visiting for a short while. We had a jolly old discussion and a few laughs and then Faiyez kindly drove us to Euston station and Patsy told us what bus to catch, we needed a number 15 to Victoria and a 24 to go to New Cross which is where we were staying the night with Carol, another friend of Martha's. We went out and around the Elephant and Castle Pub (this name came about because of misinterpretation of the name Inphanta of Castille) and then up The Old Kent Road. I found the contrast from the city to the 'burbs quite interesting and it was obvious there is a huge mix of races in London by the businesses and restaurants there. We had a very nice evening with Carol and talked about all kinds of things, I have met so many people since I arrived and all of Martha's friends are very welcoming and easy company.

On our second day we began to win at bus lotto and didn't put a foot wrong all day. We arrived at the Tower early before the crowds and we got the best guide I have ever had. It was difficult to believe he was actually a Yeoman of the Guard (Beefeater) he was so funny and so dramatic in his delivery that he would have made a very good actor. he insisted we interact in his story and we had lots of fun which is not something you expect when you go to The Tower of London. His name was Adam Dodd so if you ever visit the Tower make sure you get him as a guide, even one of the actresses from a later presentation said he was the best.

The tower was interesting, my favourite thing was the 15th century wooden horses but trudging up and down the funny stairs made me wonder how they managed in those days and how cold it would have been. Not much plumbing in evidence although The White Tower did have three or four guarderobes (medieval toilets which empty directly into the moat system). Enough gabbing here are some pictures and remember to point at them for the name tags.

Radley Village and Church Fete