Les 'Day-trippers'....

This is the city of Lille in northern France. Just a short trip away by the Eurostar..... a train that goes under the English Channel.

Simon is a manager on the train and kindly surprised with this opportunity to brush up on my French....

"Une Grande Verre de Vin Rouge, s'il vous plait!!"...... some things never change!!!

Another Birthday comes and goes...

It was fun to reunite with old friends....
Jody, Simon, Isabel, Dawn and Tim.

Cowgirl and 'Indians'!!!

The Notting Hill Carnival

For Rich in Ramah, New Mexico..... your t-shirt made it to the 'worlds biggest street party!!'
Since 1966 this Carnival has taken place in Notting Hill as a celebration of West Indian culture in an area that was heavily populated by migrants from the 'windrush' of the 1950's/60's. It boasts 3 quarters of a million revellers who enjoy spectacular floats, steel bands, massive sound systems and a huge variety of West Indian delicacies.....plenty of rum and Red Stripe!!

Pamela gets into the groove.


What a lovely bunch o' coconuts!!

A friendly 'bobby'....
more costumes
Notting Hill is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Sometimes i wish i were a boy!!!

Chase on the Southbank

My second Texan visitor in 2 weeks!! This is great!
Chase was on his way home after a filming trip to Prague.... A visit to the National Film Theatre and Tate Modern semed appropriate.

Sleepers in the Tate Modern.

American Connections

The American Embassy in Grosvenor Square was due to be the scene of a demonstration today by Muslim Protesters. We missed the action, but had a nosey round....
Statue of President Eisenhower .....
(born in Texas in 1890, dont'ya know!)









...and one of President Roosevelt.









...and the gardens were full of 'Bushes'....hahaha!


(For more info on US Presidents try www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ )

Madonnas Local

Tucked away in a corner of Mayfair, 'The Red Lion' is reportedly a favorite watering hole of the "Queen of Pop"! (another American connection)

The Rolls Royce of Rolls Royces!

The Chauffeur was very amiable and informed us that this Roller was originally owned by Edward VII..... the one who abdicated from the throne in favour of his American lover Wallace Simpson. Who would blame him really....(yet another American connection). I guess they must have 'made-out' in the back seat!!

The Silver Lady.
They say that "The Lady" must never be made either to 'fly' or to 'curtsey'. That is, a Rolls Royce should never accelerate sharply or brake suddenly... it should always 'roll' smoothly. Nice!!











Apparently, the two 'R's are red on pre 1928 models, (this vehicle is 79 years old, and can still do 85mph!), but when Mr. Rolls died in 1928 one R became black. Then, when Mr Royce died in 1929, both R's became black. Therefore, there are a very few (rare) models with one black and one red R! So, now you know!!

Brighton Rocks!!

A day out to Brighton with my friend Simon,






I've decided to start collecting pictures of sleeping people.....now that there are no more signs for me to collect!!
Look - you can see the Granny's knickers!!!

'The Fourth Plinth' - Trafalgar Square

The other 3 plinths have traditional military statues on them, but for some reason the Fourth plinth remained empty for many years.....until recently that is, when London Council decided to use modern sculptures to occupy the space. The sculpture changes periodically, and is usually controversial.
I was pleased to find this piece by Marc Quinn being displayed at the moment.

KOLBI DOES LONDON

Kolbi was my first Texan guest, and he had just spent 2 weeks up north in Manchester staying with my friend Rachel and her son Sam, on an exchange they set up themselves.
We did the sights in 2 days.....
Westminster Abbey...
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We got to do a tour through the Commons and the Lords....highly recommended!







Fish and Chip supper.....
Buckingham Palace.............

The London Eye...
The Tower of London....
Shakespeares Globe Theatre.....









Sir Francis Drakes 'Golden Hind'......
























....and my personal favorite...Bridget Jones' street....as featured in Both films!!!
My favourite quote from the film (the message on her ansa machine)...."You have NO messages - not even from your mother!!"

(Please feel free to leave comments......ha!)