The past couple of days in London have flown by, thanks to the brilliant company I’ve had. Tuesday, surprisingly unjetlagged, I went for lunch with Joanna and Roger at Côte Bistro in Wimbledon. Joanna is a high school friend of my mum’s and Roger is her husband.
Having moved to Canada and done so much travel meant there were plenty of things to talk about, as well as hearing what had been happening to them, discussing Glen and my wedding plans, and just general catch-up.
The food was good, we polished off a few Kir Royales between us, and before we knew it, the restaurant was practically empty and the staff were going off shift. They dropped me off at Jackie’s and came inside for a cup of tea and so I could show them the videos from our Galapagos Islands trip.
The trouble with doing such a whirlwind trip is that there are so many people to see and only really the chance to see many of them only once. I felt very sad saying goodbye to Jo and Roger.
In the evening Jackie returned from Essex and Laura and I had dinner with her, having a brief catch-up before Jackie went off to her book club. I read most of the evening, and subsequently had half-awake, half-asleep dreams about the characters in the book and what was going to happen next. It was a restless night.
Wednesday morning I was up at a reasonable hour and heading to Winchester to meet mum’s cousin, Pauline, and her daughters, Verity and Nadia. Donna and I missed seeing them last time so I was very glad we had the opportunity this time.
The train journey down to Winchester was fast and smooth, and I read along the way. I arrived at 11am and Pauline and Verity met me soon after. I rather embarrassingly called Verity Nadia as I thought only Nadia was coming, this is despite meeting Verity last time. It was a cause where my brain hadn’t caught up with my mouth. (Sorry again, Verity!)
We met Nadia at the car then walked into the town centre and then to Winchester Cathedral. I had no idea that Winchester used to be the capital, but after reading a bit of the history of the place around the cathedral, saw that it was a really important part of the country. Old kings were crowned and buried here.
We went inside the cathedral, a stunning building constructed over three main time frames (Norman, early English, and Perpendicular). It houses the Mortuary Chests, six chests containing the bones of bishops, a queen and early kings, including Canute. Unfortunately, they were off-display, being restored or conserved or whatever. The high altar was stunning with a 15th century screen done in such detail. We also saw the Winchester Bible, a 12th century illuminated bible.
Along with all the very old bones of bishops who were brothers of kings and chancellors of the realm, there is also Jane Austen’s grave in the floor on the left side of the cathedral. We were there just as a guided tour group was standing around it and one of the men who works there was trying to put chairs out – over her grave. I thought that was a bit funny.
After a wander around, we went for lunch at the Slug and Lettuce, caught up on the news, of where I’ve been, of where they’ve been, and of the fox cubs they have in the garden. And of course we talked about the wedding and tried to convince Nadia to come over for it. 🙂
We walked back up to the train station at about three so I could get back to London in time to meet Noel. Another sad farewell at the station, though very glad to have seen the three of them during this trip. If only Australia weren’t so far away. I wonder if I can squeeze in another trip to the UK before we return to Oz…maybe this time with Glen.
I got back to Putney, showered, dressed, and headed up to Leicester Square to meet Noel, an Australian friend who I was in choir with in Perth years ago. We met for dinner with his boyfriend Marcus at Tokyo Diner, everyone getting the same thing – chicken katsu curry. Tasty food, busy place, recommended.
After dinner, Noel and I went to Tattershall Castle on the Thames for a friend of Noel’s birthday gathering. Tattershall Castle isn’t a castle at all, it’s a boat, but it has a great view of the London Eye and Houses of Parliament. The friends were all people Noel sings with in the London Philharmonic Choir, and were a fun bunch of people. There were even a couple of Aussies in there (from Brisbane, no less), called Angela and John.
Lots of good chats with people, I did the very naff thing of handing out my business card, which has the cover of my book on it. It proved a talking point, especially the guy on the cover. Still find it difficult to talk of myself as an ‘author’ but I’ll get used to it.
Most of the group drifted off over time, leaving Noel, Angela, John, myself and a Brit called Joanna to have one last drink on what was a pretty beautiful night in London. We left at about 10:30, bidding farewell to Noel with a big hug, then walking to Waterloo Station. John, Angela and I then had McDonald’s. It was tasteless and I had guilt the whole time I was eating it. That should do me for another five years. It was nice to just sit and talk crap for a while.
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Then we caught the train home and I got in about midnight or just after. I think that’s a pretty good effort for me. As a result of the late night, I didn’t wake up until 10am on Thursday. Just as well I didn’t have any plans.
I was thinking of going to check out these benches that have been designed to look like books but considering the grey sky and the light drizzle, I was fine with staying in. Especially as it looks like the cold is on its way out.
Instead I Skyped with Glen, catching up on his news and then generally annoyed each other by being silly. I then had lunch, Jackie came home, we chatted, then she went out. I did some laundry, half-packed my bag for Friday’s train journey to Telford, and then got ready to go out to meet Charlotte and Joe.
We met for drinks at Ku Bar then on to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Food was good but when we paid they didn’t give us our change, even though they’d included a service charge already and we’d asked for the change. When we did get the change, it was short so we had to ask again. What a cheek! Following dinner we went to Edge Bar in Soho Square for more drinks. We had plenty to talk about, running the whole gamut of conversation. It was a fun night, sadly over too soon and unable to continue on to a club because they had work the next day. All the more reason for Glen and I to return while they’re still in London.
We parted at the Underground and I was home and in bed by midnight. Up at 7:30, packed and ready to go up to Birmingham.
Goodbye, London, for a few days at least. Next stop: Romance Novelists’ Association annual conference and Nikki!
Travels with Dan 
What do you say, eh?