rich_jacko

Just been away for an unbelievably hot and sunny weekend in London.

edy_ and I went to the British Museum to see the "Treasures of Heaven" exhibition. There was an impressive amount of really amazing stuff, although there's only so many fragments of the True Cross / bits of the Crown of Thorns you can see in one place before you get a bit jaded ;o) The Reading Room had been lit and filled with music to create a cathedral-esque atmosphere, which was a nice touch.

The exhibit took over two hours, leaving just enough time for a quick whistle-stop tour of the museum's other greatest hits (Rosetta Stone? Check. Elgin Marbles? Check? Lewis Chessmen? Check - five minutes before closing time!). Then we met up with springmaker and Mel for dinner at a fab Belgian restaurant near Covent Garden, where we were spoilt for choice by the food menu, and even more by the beer menu. After dinner we had a pleasant evening walk down to the Thames before heading back to the blissful air-conditioning of our hotel.

On Sunday we split up and went our separate ways. As the weather was still incredible, I took an impromptu boat trip down the Thames, from Westminster to Greenwich. I wandered round Greenwich for a bit, finding the Observatory and the Meridian Line, then caught the train back to Charing Cross.

Then I visited the London Film Museum, which I wanted to go to for the current Ray Harryhausen exhibition. That exhibition was great, and there was some interesting stuff in the rest of the museum, but it was quite small and I was done in an hour and a half. Possibly it's bigger when it isn't disrupted due to Danny Boyle filming there (although that did mean I got compensatory postcards).

I had a late lunch in Trafalgar Square and sat with my feet in the fountain - soooo nice! - before meeting up with edy_ back at St Pancras and promptly splitting up again due to a packed train home. It was raining when we got back.

P.S. - Doctor Who? Worst. Season finale. Ever. And that includes The Twin Dilemma ;op

This morning I was paddling in the sea as I watched the sunrise over Llandudno Bay. Now I'm back in Sheffield and it keeps drizzling. Bah!

The wedding was a fantastic day and the holiday as a whole was really enjoyable. I'll do a full post in a day or two, once I've had time to sort through my many, many, many photos :o)

For now I just wanted to mention that some of us are definitely going to the Walkley Cottage for a SFS this Friday - Please come and join us!

A glorious sunny day for sitting outside and having lunch.

Steak pie, chips, peas, a pint of real ale, and fiddypee change all from a fiver.

I love the Harlequin :o)

The phones came back on at some point overnight. Still no power, although the lights on in the distance seem to be creeping ever closer to Chez Rich.

Huge thanks to longhairedhippy and soul_rider for letting me use their fridge space and their shower, and feeding me stew and dumplings last night :o)

It was good to see so many people yesterday evening, but sad that it was because we were all refugees. I hope no one's suffered too much or had anything at home damaged. Let's hope for a dry day and for things to get back to normal again soon!