On April 24th the telephone wake up call came at 06:15 hrs. I stumbled down to breakfast at 07:15 so that I would be ready for the 08:00 “Coach Wheels Rolling” for the city tour.
We did a three hour “quickie” tour of the essence of central London. Fortunately, most of the group knew the area quite well as the barrage of detail was rather fought for jet-lagged brains to absorb. I had the GPS tracking it all, but I am sure the track will just show us going around in circles. We visited Buckingham Palace first, the front only. We were along and got some nice photos.
Along the way we passed Canada House on Trafalgar Square. I first visited CH with my parents in 1952 or 1953 when the family was emigrating to Ottawa and needed to be “processed”. Equally, we passed the Tower of London which the family visited during that visit.
There was the mandatory stop to photograph Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
We drooped into the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral for a biological break and a chance to grab a coffee.
We were at Kensington Palace at 11:00 for a visit to what will become Prince William, Kate and Kid’s home. It is nicely located on the west end of Hyde Park, or more precisely, Kensington Gardens.
Back at the hotel I had a light lunch of green apples and instant coffee.
Then I worked with the hotel concierge to work out the Tube and Brit Rail details for my trip to Tonbridge on April 25th.
We gathered in the Holiday Inn lobby at 17:45 and walked about ten minutes to the venue for our Pub Dinner.
On the coach as we rolled in from Gatwick the Tour Manager had asked us to select the meal from a choice of five options. I had chosen fish and chips as my doctor had told me I have to eat more fish.
It was about a ten minute walk to the Hereford Arms on Gloucester Street. Young folk were out on the pavement swigging their pints and puffing their fags. Inside it was full. The scene was slow and noisy. The meal went slowly as the crowd kept building. This pub is not going out of business.
The fish and chips, complete with malt vinegar, was excellent. I had a sticky toffee with ice cream to complete my contribution to my diet featuring a five pound loss. In my dreams.
After a full breakfast I waited until 09:30 as the Concierge had told me not to before before that time to take advance of the off-peak fares.
The Travels of David Ironsides 