In London

The flight to London via Dubai was uneventful. I refused supper, slept soundly for about 6 hours, dozed a little more, read and stitched. ate breakfast. In Dubai I caught up with email. The Women's toilet had an interesting tiled mural - would adapt easily to embroidery!


For lunch between Dubai and London I have pumpkin soup, sea-bass and ice-cream.  Someone forgets to bring my sea-bass course. When it eventually arrives it is very good.

London is grey and wet but not especially cold. 10C is a lot better than it was a week ago! The immigration official asks why I am here. I say "For an Embroidery Retreat". He asks what that is, what I will do when it is over, if I am being paid. He decides it is 'leisure', stamps my passport, smiles, hopes I have a good time. I'm pleased I bought the carry-on with wheels. I walk about a kilometre inside Heathrow.
The drive from the airport takes me over the Hammersmith Flyover then through quiet streets of Kensington and Chelsea.

I am struck again by the layers of apartment buildings - from at least Victorian times, successive efforts to fit people in, to improve services - but to pack them in.






It is the story of all big cities but really obvious in London. I've always been a city dweller - but this is not attractive. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the proximity of living, the scale, the question "Is this enough for people?". Maybe I'm brainwashed by Escape to the Country. Or maybe it's part of what my father rejected by staying in Australia after WWII.

My objection to the proposed nine-storey apartment block next to mine in Adelaide seems overblown. Then again, Adelaide seems very precious and  special in the light of this speeding snapshot of  London.


I wonder if these are apartments.









33 hours after leaving home, I checked into the Wesley Hotel, 200 yards from Euston Station. Yes, I have been here before. I'm a creature of habit. I want a clean, quiet place to recover from the flight, within walking distance of my train to the Lakes District.  The Wesley more or less fits the bill.

As I explained when I stayed here last year, this was once a Methodist International Hostel, later converted to a hotel and operating on sustainable, ethical principals.The rooms are small, but clean and compact. I liked the food in the bar.

I say more or less, because there are extensive road works going on around Euston, traffic is diverted and I can hear various tapping and rumbling noises. Nothing that would keep me awake should I succumb to sleep. It seems to be a universal condition. Reminds me of home!

I am now feeling really tired - and trying to stay awake until at least 8 pm. Tomorrow I'm catching up with Christine, a friend from the Crewel Work Company Scottish Embroidery Tour in 2015 - the best possible use of a day in London. We will have so much to share.

The book I read on the plane was Murder on the Lake by Bruce Beckham - set in Cumbria with the action on Derwentwater. It was a good choice - a good read and lots of local lore to get me in the mood for Windermere (discounting, of course, the murders!). Maybe I'll read the rest of the series on this trip.

I also progressed my Estense Embroidery experiment  on the flight- learned a lot from it - but that's a story for my embroidery blog!


Artichoke soup (delicious) for dinner + icecream and a glass of wine.
trying to stay awake just a little bit longer.