Watching the AB's v Portugal. Riveting.
There's always part of me that's sorry to leave London but as I'm facing the prospect of several months of family life, I'm feeling good. Things I won't miss about London: the weather - this summer was unusually bad with an early burst of heat in April and some more sun for the last couple of weeks, but nothing really hot and lots of rain and grey skies; the traffic; the queues; the underground (and conversely the problems of not being able to use it when they strike); trying to sort anything out by phone; Oxford Street; the cost of rail travel; the cost of lots of other things. Things I will miss: the rellies, the culture, the countryside, the walks, the shopping, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, the parks, The Thames, Mildred's (vege restaurant, Soho), the buzz, the South Bank, Pret a Manger, cheap books, the huge variety of food, the newspapers, the proximity to Europe and lots else. Not sure when I'll be back. My final tourist moment was to visit the Tower of London, something I'd been meaning to do for years. It was obviously full of history - the Traitor's Gate, the Bloody Tower, the White Tower, the place where several Queens had met their end, a beautiful very old church, a lovely tudor house, more armour and weaponry than you could poke a sword at, battlements, ravens, beefeaters, a torture chamber, a moat etc etc. Just what you would expect. Except for the first female beefeater, but I didn't see her anyway. So I have farewelled my Lord yet again (for the fifth or sixth time?) and arrived in Dubai yesterday. It is still hot. Hard to tell that is actually cooler, but Bec assures me it is and that we will be able to go for a walk at 6pm. I sat in the shade for 15 minutes earlier and nearly melted but did have a short early morning waterplay session with Daisy about 8.30am. It's Ramadan for the next month, so no coffee shops or restaurants open before 5.30pm. What to do with the day?? Coffee in the cool mall was a regular feature. I'll be in Auckland on the 26th, in Wellington for the last weekend in September for WOW, then Nelson 1 October. Lovely.
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