Thursday 19 October - London


I am home in London and as ever, plan to write my blog a few times a week, but already the rhythms of home taking over and all too easy to

posted at 16:37 in /where (permanent link)

Tuesday 17 October - London


I am home - the floor covered in bags and bits and washing to be done tomorrow. I started the day in Ely wandering around the cathedral. Few tourists, a party of school children and mainly people going about their daily lives, very different to York where the tourists were flocking (but it was a Saturday).

I then went to Norwich, on a less direct and less fast road than I had hoped for and managed to get stuck behind just about every wagon filled with beet in the county. I wanted to go and visit the Francis Bacon exhibition and only when I was on the campus did I realise that the gallery is part of the University of East Anglia. Fantastic buildings, very modern architecture and set in the landscape. The exhibition was good, as was the cafe which was another treat. The gallery has the collection of the Sainsburys, lots of wonderful sculptures from around the world.

Then heading homewards via lunch with friends. The road home seems to take a long time. Now I am so close I want to find a timewarp and be back with everything unpacked and lounging on the sofa with a cup of tea. But it takes a few more hours as the roads are slow and the beet wagons still about.

Then the culture shock of driving in London. A battle between different forms of transport. Bikes to the left, motorbikes to the right. Buses from all directions. Pedestrians drifting into the road on a whim as if living in a parallel universe. Traffic lights and road works to add to the confusion and sets of instructions and warnings. It is the end of the rush hour and the cyclists are out in force. Competing with one another, a lot of 'white van' behaviour, trying to overtake everyone else. The cyclists who switch between road user and pedestrian in an instant. Cycling beside me apparently on the same road, then without any warning doing a sharp 90 degree turn onto a zebra crossing and demanding all traffic to stop. The cyclists who choose to ride without lights always appearing to choose dark coloured bikes and dark coloured clothing.

But at last I am home, the car is unpacked, the floor is covered with bags, the washing machine is on and the tea is made. Home.

posted at 16:29 in /travel (permanent link)