cold hot cold hot

Grey skies, rain, hail, momentary glimpses of sunshine (if you look up at the right time!). Of course I'm in London. Love the red double decker buses and the red telephone boxes. They are so iconically London.

Food and drink are criminally expensive. Just a modest snack sets you back an arm and a leg, and most of the fare is very ordinary so one resents having to pay for it. We've had a few nice meals, but they seem to be the exceptions.

Checked out a Kevin Spacey play at the Old Vic; 'Complicit.' Theatre in the round. Minimal set, very talky. The play dealt with the moral issue of journalist non-disclosure. The script didn't get to the nub of the problem and was somewhat shallow. We were disappointed and thus can't presently bring ourselves to book another play - we should though before we leave.

The Tube is fantastic - easy to navigate and trains arrive the instant you set foot on the platform - I think a footfall triggers the trains' appearance. The pace of the city is frenetic. People rush by at a great rate of knots. They've obviously got places to be and things to do!

Galleries and museums being free is fantastic. I gained a new respect for Gainsborough. I'd always thought of him as 'the landscape guy.' Seeing his work up close, I loved it. The detail and brush strokes are stunning.

Today's plan is to take in The Globe, Millenium Bridge and St.Paul's amongst other landmarks.

The weather is icy, especially when the wind picks up, but is quite bearable when wearing lots of layers. The problem is that the indoors are heated/over-heated to the point of being stifling and one doesn't want to strip down to one's undies for fear of offending others! Or maybe I'm just too prudish and should just do it and be comfortable. ('Maybe not' I hear you say.)