Fri, 08 Nov 2002

author Tim	location Beckenham, Kent, London, England
posted 22:06 GMT	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/London 2 ( all photos )

Science Museum ( 12 photos )
Today we visited another of Margaret's old friends - Dorothy in Chiswick. Yet more great hospitality and another nice place to relax in.
Some time was spent today wandering around the Science Museum. All of us were blown away with what was on offer - in the four hours we only just covered the first floor out of seven, and even that felt like we were skipping things. Displays included Space, Making the Modern World, Power, and Liz looked at what was apparently a fantastic "Glimpses of Medical History". The number of original items there was staggering - the first X-ray machine, Stephenson's Rocket (the first train, of sorts), the first Cray Supercomputer, etc. Now we need to spend more time there looking at the remaining floors!
Dinner tonight was at the local Indian restaurant, which we didn't think much of given the price.
Tomorrow we head off South from London, probably heading towards Dover for a look around the South-East, before we head West along the South coast. After that it's North towards Carlisle for Peter's birthday party!

author Tim	location Beckenham, Kent, London, England
posted 22:06 GMT 08/11/2002	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/London 2 ( all photos )

Wandering around London ( 12 photos )

Well, we have done quite a bit in the last few days. To summarise:

• We have visited one of Margaret's old friends - another Margaret in Purley. Treated of course to the typical wonderful English hospitality, we saw her nice place and surroundings.
• I spent a few hours wandering around the Museum of London. This gives a great account of the history of London itself, right back to 450,000 years ago. Suffice to say there was too much to look at in one day, so we'll have to head back there at a later date.
• Liz has had a mild degree of success with her nursing registration and work. She went in to see them and had a good chat, and as a preliminary measure saying that she/we might like to work in Reading, with her friend Siobhan from Uni.
• I have applied for a couple of jobs, but heard nothing back. Talking to Jade (from uni, working over here) last night, she suggested a few tricks which may help out my cause. Intend to follow this up more soon.
• We ended up back at brb bar in Chinatown with Jade, taking in some more of those evil two-for-one cocktails. This was made yet more evil when Jade discovered that she knew some of the people behind the bar. It then became three-for-zero cocktails. We also met some interesting people who we had never found before, and ended up giving us a name and address in case we ever want to crash somewhere in London, along with some tips and help on finding jobs! See, drinking isn't all bad...
• Dinner has been at the local Indian restaurant, and Poons Chinese restauraunt just off Leicester Square.

author Tim	location Beckenham, Kent, London, England
posted 19:16 GMT	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/London 2 ( all photos )

The Real Guy Fawkes Night ( No photos )
Just a quick update. Liz and Margaret spent the day wandering around Bromley shopping for various things, while I opted out. Liz bought a replacement pair of shoes for the ones which have fallen apart she brought over with her.
Instead, I went to the nearby internet cafe and spent a couple of hours online chatting to people and looking for work. I'm about to send off a couple of applications, so who knows what will end up happening.
We did some washing at the local laundrette (as they are called over here), which ended up being quite expensive, but it was almost all our clothes we have with us, and hasn't been done since we were on Orkney!
We went up to one of the local pubs for dinner again tonight, where we all had the same - Steak and Ale pie.
Tomorrow will probably bring a trip around the county of Kent if the weather is reasonable. Lots more fireworks tonight for the real Guy Fawkes night - the other night was just an excuse to blow things up.

author Tim	location Beckenham, Kent, London, England
posted 23:16 GMT	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/London 2 ( all photos )

London Eye ( 28 photos )
Slowly awakening this morning, we breakfasted before taking a trip into Charring Cross (near Trafalgar Square) for a guided tour from Margaret. This took in the Royal Festival Hall (lunch there), National Museum, several bridges across the Themes, and then the two most important things:

1. The London Eye: obviously very touristy, it was however a great thing to do - the weather was strangely clear and sunny, we could see for miles. Just like a huge ferris wheel with enclosed cabins.
2. The Australia Shop! We stocked up on the most important things we can't get anywhere else here - Vegemite, Cherry Ripes, Caramello Koalas, a real vegetable peeler (British ones are very silly), Twisties, etc. The prices were obscene, so we took it fairly easy.

author Tim	location Beckenham, Kent, London, England
posted 23:16 GMT 04/11/2002	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/London 2 ( all photos )

Farnborough Again ( 48 photos )
Yesterday was spent driving (via an alternative route) to Farnborough. This is the village (now a suburb) where Margaret grew up.
We visited where her parents are buried, and took a nice walk around through some parkland which was beautiful to Liz and I, but "not quite like it used to be" to Margaret. It was still quite a change from elsewhere in London, and even from last time we were here - huge quantities of Autumn leaves are everywhere.
Next was Sunday lunch at the Change of Horses pub, where Liz and I visited last we were here. A huge roast meant that dinner was not a hugely important proposition.
We visited a few more of Margaret's old haunts, before going our separate ways for the night - Liz and Margaret took a walk around the Beckenham area before relaxing at the B&B. I was off to a party in West Kensington for friend from uni Marty, who's share house is breaking up. Suffice to say, a good time was had by all, and I made it back to Beckenham on the last train around 1:30am (after waiting at the station for an hour, though). I met a few good contacts for possible jobs, so here's hoping.

author Tim	location Beckenham, Kent, London, England
posted 21:15 GMT	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/London 2 ( all photos )

Back to London, Hello Margaret! ( 6 photos )
(Continued from The Cotswolds)
Well, Margaret is here, safe and sound. Apparently her flight was not bad, but she's pretty tired. I'm going to try and get her to write a bit for the journal, as well as reminding Liz that people like to hear from her as well!
The drive into London was not to bad - the motorways are very good, and signposting makes everything very obvious. We arrived at Heathrow terminal three, parked and headed off to the Arrivals area.
As we waited for the plane to land, we were both quite excited. Since Meaghan has left, it's good on our own, but always a little bit more fun with others around to talk to. Eventually, Margaret arrived!
The drive from the airport to Beckenham was one of the most challenging so far. The fog, heavy rain, and confusing motorways combined to keep me constantly on highest alert. Heavy traffic meant we made the last ten five in about an hour. Not good at all.
Arriving at the Goodwood B&B where we were last time, we were all very happy to get out of Percy, unpack our things and then head off to one of the pubs for dinner. The rain has been quite heavy all around the area, so the walk was brisk back to the B&B where Margaret is tacking the jet lag, Liz is watching TV and I'm typing away madly.
The batty old women who run this place are fun to be back with - their dogs can get more walks from us tomorrow, and in turn we listen to the same stories over and over again about the dogs' operations, and how they don't serve sausages any more since the mad cow crisis.
It is Guy Fawkes night here tonight, or just plain cracker night, so not sure how much sleep we will end up getting.

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