Saturday: We spent time shopping all day, went to Covent Garden again but this time I did not take the stairs, we got off at Leister Square instead. I found some really cool shoe shops in Neal Street the other day. We also went to Regent and Oxford Street and I bought a really nice black summer coat. I only have one summer jacket and really needed something neat to wear in case I will have to go for a job interview. We ended up in a pub at Duke Street called The Barley Mow where we had a well-deserved pint [of cider, in my case] and a pub dinner later that evening.
Sunday: We went to Addlestone, Surrey to visit SS. and JS. for lunch. IS. and CS. were invited too. Had a great time playing croquet with nine year old, C. who was there for the weekend to visit her dad. Later that day I have been practising driving the VW TDI in a nearby Tesco’s parking lot. Driving the car is alright, I don’t have a problem sitting on the ‘wrong’ side. I do have a problem with traffic: I have no clue where to expect traffic from so I tend to look in the wrong direction. I wish I could erase my subconscious and program the right direction for the UK instead of the mainland… Why did someone decide to drive on the wrong side of the road in this country and how on earth did I manage to drive from the airport to Cranleigh on bendy country roads, with pissing down rain, in the dark and exceeding the speed limit without realising it?
Monday: Tried to sew the dress that I’m gonna wear at CH. and TH.’s wedding in June but unfortunately I was given the wrong zipper, it looks terrible. I’ll have to go on another ‘mission impossible’ to sort out a -more elegant- zipper so I can finish the dress… I was so totally annoyed by this. It will take me another day to sort this out, time I could spend on more important things. So I decided to [finally] prepare Sushi for dinner, which is kind of relaxing to do and therefore sets my mind at ease. AS. had to work from home all day even though it was a bank holiday [Mayday… Mayday… sorry I find it such a weird name for a bank holiday, so I make fun of it because I can *grin*].
Category Archives: Out And About
Covent Garden
I’m still working on my portfolio. I need to finish one online and a physical one and since I have a five years of backlog it seems to turn into a never ending story. Also because I’m working on both at the same time. I need to reorganise, rebuild websites so I can print them on photo paper and collect some of the freelance stuff that I’ve done over the years. I realised some of my stuff is still in the Lowlands in storage so I needed a workaround and decided to leave out some projects.
I had lunch with AS., the day started grey and cloudy but by the time I arrived at Tower Hill the sun was out and it was warm enough to sit outside. I waited for him at the gate and then we walked over to ‘Pret a Manger’ where we bought lunch, I had the mouth-watering Smoked Salmon and Egg sandwich [plus horseradish sauce] and a Mocca. I seem to be addicted to these sandwiches…
We sat in the park enjoying the sun for an hour, talking and watch people, then AS. had to get back to work and I had to go to Covent Garden to the London Graphic Centre to exchange some protection sheets that I ordered a week earlier. They were delivered right on time but unfortunately with the wrong holes so I sent an email Wednesday evening and Thursday morning they called me to arrange something. I’m happy with the good service! While I was there I noticed a 55% discount on the Artcare portfolios so I got myself another A4 portfolio for only £ 11,- which is cheap! I paid a lot more in the Lowlands but I reckon that’s because it’s made in the UK…
When I went to Covent Garden the Circle Line train was suspended and I ended up having to use four trains just to get to Covent Garden, it was so crowded on the Piccadilly Line that people were waiting in the corridors and on the platforms, then when I finally arrived, the same crowd decided to get into the three elevators of Covent Garden: like cattle, no way I would go in the elevator so I decided to take the stairs instead, 193 steps to the top [193 x 22cm= 42 metres]. Boy… that’s the equivalent of climbing to the top of a 15-storey building. But I did it, better the climb up than packed like sardines in a tin. I was totally out of breath when I finally saw daylight again, I didn’t take a break, I kept climbing those endless spiral stairs.
I only severely f*@£$ up my knee again, just like I did climbing that munro in Scotland, but then again, it was all worth it… I had a great time walking around Covent Garden and took the train back at 15.30 before rush hour. When I got home, the sky had turned grey again but it didn’t matter, I had a lovely day!
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Covent Garden Tube Station
A tall man in a frock coat, tall hat and gloves is said to be pacing the tunnels and has been seen since the 1950s. When he appeared in the staff rest room the staff demanded a transfer – no wonder they look so miserable.
The ghost is supposed to be actor William Terriss who was fatally stabbed near the Adelphi Theatre in the Strand in December 1897. Apparently William regularly visited a baker’s shop which stood where today’s Tube station was built. It is also said that if you are on the last train he can be seen sitting in the next carriage along.
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