Enjoying the heat in London

Well it hasn't been easy, but after joining two libraries, here I am in a grotty internet cafe in Hammersmith so I can write this blog. The things I do for my adoring fans. London is great. The weather, believe it or not, is great - 20+ degrees every day over Easter and still up there and meant to be getting hotter. I have no doubt winter will reappear at some stage. It seems as if I've been here forever, but it is only two weeks. I started off by meeting Errol Shaw, from Nelson, over here chasing Bob Dylan across Europe, for coffee in Knightsbridge, which was good. On my first day off I went to see The History Boys at Wyndham Theatre in Charing Cross Road. It was a different cast from the movie, but really good. I was quite high up in the gods on a £10 ticket but strangely enough I got a really good look at the female lead actor later as she was sitting next to us in the restaurant in Barnes yesterday, along with her actor husband who I've also seen in Harry Potter films and lots of other things. Barnes is well populated by the luvvies. I can cope. I had lunch that day with cousin Sue in our usual pub, The Counting House, in the city and I managed to walk through St James Park and Green Park and see the daffodils before they finished and get to The Tate briefly. On Easter Friday I went to nearby Richmond, which is on The Thames and always beautiful. It was packed, but a really nice atmosphere. I wandered along the river and up Richmond Hill and sat in the sun and drank coffee and felt good to be alive. The Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race was on Saturday and it was surprisingly enjoyable. I was from a household that cared about who won when I was a child so I had some immersion in it from an early age but I thought how interesting can two boats be rowing along the river, that happens all the time, but it was amazing. For a start the 250,000 people along the 4 miles of the course did create an atmosphere of some excitement. What I wasn't prepared for though was the huge flotilla that followed the boats right behind them, making a huge bow wave. I had time to watch the start on TV, go over to the river and watch them, then get back to watch the finish. Once is probably enough, but it was fun. View from my window of The Thames
I went out to Egham on Sunday and had lunch with my Lord and his carer, which was lovely. He is still as bright as ever and it was really good to catch up. I'm hoping to get the chance to work there at some stage this year. Other than that, I'm just enjoying the new walks, the cheap clothes and things at Primark, and being in London generally. Anne took me out to lunch in Barnes yesterday for my birthday and made me dinner that night - quite nice seeing she is paying me plenty to look after her. She's good and I'm happily settled in, though missing Daisy of course.