Woke up at 6.30. Blood Pressure 132/67. Pulse 64.
Spent an hour doing emails. Listened to another Gresham College lecture on the Wilson Government of the late 70's. What problems they had. We left home at 10.30 and went to Oxford Street. Got distracted in H & M and Marks and Spencers. Went into the same M&S Shop I went to a few days maybe the day before I left 46 years ago. I wanted to buy some good trousers and a jumper which I did. When I came back to Australia I put on weight and so did not much wear the clothes. Yet I was proud of them. The shop is much different now. Then it was very basic. Clothes in bins. All good quality at good prices. Now its like any retail shop in the world. Although I would say they have a wider range than most and they do have some genuine bargains. And they sell groceries as well as crockery in the basement. Jenny bought a top in the H&M. tried on a dress in M&S. I talked to the shop assistant guarding the fitting rooms while Jenny was trying on the dress. She was born in England but went to Nigeria when she was 6 and came back when she was 20. She is 26 now. She has a blog site called The Black Mannequin. We had a short philosophical discussion about the joys of living in London - although she says she loves to travel as well. We then went to Soho and lunch from a street stall. Lots of stalls and obviously all good because they all had large queues. We had salted brisket with salad. Not too bad. I wanted to have chicken but of course Jenny does not eat chicken. Further on was a stall selling Spanish food. We walked through Covent Garden Market. Can remember distinctly when I first walked this area. One lunch time the first week I was here. Not near the same number of people around. Covent Garden was still here. Right next to Drury Lane theatre. We went to the Transport Museum but did not go in. Looked through the store. Prices in the Covent Garden Market are high which reflects the high content of European tourists. All languages. French, German, Italian. Some American. We were even asked directions by a French couple. They are only here from Friday to Sunday. Walked down to Australia House. Locked and bolted of course. Had a cup of tea in a Pret that is on the spot where The Extension was. Paid all Australian Pensions in Europe from this building. Arranged for one payment a month to Beijing from this building. New building now of course. Talked to a woman from Shepparton whose daughter works in DFAT. She is visiting her daughter in London. Walked past where The Surry was but no blue plaque advising its historical significance. We walked back to Trafalgar Square and went into The Canadian High Commision to see some paintings that the mother of the DFAT woman recommended. Had to go through full on security to get in the building. Hardly worth it. Very feminist paintings. But one was OK. The rest were much the same and derivative of other painters. One was like Klim without then gold. We had a quick trip into the National Gallery to look at the shop and go to the toilet. Postcards could be the best value in all of London. Came home at 5.30. One of the trains we took was fairly full. We were approaching peak hour. Bought some new finger food from our tame Afghan shop. Watched Prunella Scales and Timothy West in their longboat in Birmingham this week. Looked wonderful as usual. We then watched my Travel Man in Duboi. Like he says you could watch it all on google and be just as satisfied. Very expensive place. We then watched a documentary on The Bay City Rollers. This was quite a detailed and long documentary. Only one - Woody - has aged well. And he was the least good looking of them. Didnt go into any of the distasteful stuff about them. Least was not when I was looking. I went to sleep early on. Blood Pressure 132/71 Pulse 74
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