Sweating on it

With this stupid head cold hanging around & still running a high temperature & a sweating fever, I really shouldn't have been out of bed on Monday but some very important paperwork I have been sweating on arrived and had to be witnessed so off I went to the Australian Embassy.
Can I just say that after working in Australian government departments for around 26 years I was blown away by just how similar the office felt to all of my previous offices!! If it had not been for the view of London buses & cabs out the window, I swear I could have been back in Oz!! Especially with all the Australian accents all around. Very weird & kinda homesick making.
No photos allowed inside but the outside makes up for it. Does anyone remember the Goblin bank Gringotts in the Harry Potter films?? This is the building & you can see why when you look at the over the top statues & gilding.

As I was already out & The Prince's office was on the way home I called and arranged to meet for lunch. We had a lovely Chicken Pad Thai overlooking the Tower Bridge, Tower & the Thames. Tons of tourists milling around almost to the point of bloody annoying on the bridge LOL.
Despite all good intentions, I didn't manage to get to the bridge to see the Olympic rings lit up but as I missed the same thing in Sydney, I seem to have started a trend. However as I went across the bridge I did manage to get some pics of them in the upright storage position. Use your imagination & you can see them hanging down LOL.

Old London Style

New London style

Love this building & the sister Gherkin, the panes of glass are just gorgeous!

Just squint & tilt your head for the full impact LOL

 I love having spur of the moment dates with The Prince, it is so good to spend some time together that does not centre around the house. We are both looking forward to having more time to spend together where we are not both exhausted.



Have I mentioned I am so over being sick?? I have had several yucky side effects you can imagine from the steroids & antibiotics & I can't even read or watch telly comfortably cause my eyes are still streaming like open taps. I know a cold is not the worst thing I could have but gee they are annoying! Between the sneezing, coughing & crashing from the medication I have been completely unproductive. Well unless you count still cooking, cleaning & washing etc. Must be Femme Flu. LOL

Hoping tomorrow is a better day & I can get onto the bee blocks & charity quilt.

Would love to be loving what I do.

Lush x

Change of plans.

We had intended to go to visit friends in Brighton this weekend but plans changed & we were left with a free day to do with what we chose.

So after we played the "Mmmmm, so what do you wanna do? Um, I dunno, what do you wanna do??" game for a few minutes, we decided that since it was such a lovely sunny day we should take a walk to the Design Museum & then have a river cruise on the Thames.
We were at the London Bridge Station & I took these snaps of the building work going on there. Just a few wee buildings then?? Some people still have money obviously.

I felt like I was on a Star Trek set - very space like

The signs on the planters say "A Blossoming Community" - One wonders what it will blossom into??

We wandered off towards the river. I love the buildings in London, the architecture here can be pretty amazing both old & new. (and yes some can be appalling!!) We wandered through an area that still has an amazingly Dickensian feel. Later on the river cruise, the guide pointed out the actual area where they filmed Oliver Twist in the 60's.

This is a fountain in a swish shopping mall in the city. Felt very Jules Verne/Steampunk. Shame the water was off for the day.

No photos allowed at the Design Museum but for the shoe buffs there are some photos on their website.
Our reactions were very funny, The Prince just did not get it at all, he thought people who buy the original for so much must be peeved that Primark & the like are selling knock off copies for a tenth of the price?? & my response was, so much money for all that pain?? LOL. Mind you I just love shoes!!!

We had a terrific lunch at the Blue Note Cafe. I had a pork terrine followed by chicken breast with kale & mashed potato. Sounds boring but let me tell you I would rather have a chef really nail a classic flavour meal than all your fancy foams etc. & this chef really nailed it! Lovely terrine & chicken with the best gravy. The Prince had the crab salad followed by wild salmon with sorrel sauce, again both a hit. (although there could have been more salad LOL).

After lunch we wandered over the river again to get in line for our cruise. We both noted that even though the economies of several EU countries (ahem Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal) are supposed to be in the toilet, there seems to be loads of tourists from those same countries, roaming around London. Again, some people still have money.

One of my all time fave buildings has to be the Gherkin in London. I just love the faceted window glass. We got to see a different view to the usual of the "Egg" also by the same architect. This is London City Hall. I love the way the building seems to hug the land.  They both remind me of Faberge eggs for some reason??

We also got to see the Tower Bridge being raised to allow ships passage. Pretty cool & very fast.

Then we rode the ferry to Greenwich. Whoo hoo!! Sunshine & a young man giving an old fashioned Carry on style commentary then prompting for tips.
Apparently some other Queen turned up at Greenwich the other week. I made a more subdued entry. LOL. Here is a pic of the ship she opened.

The garden is exploding into a riot of greenery.

This is a "borrowed" plant leaning over from the neighbours yard. Not sure what it is but oh the smell is heavenly - very honey like.

I saw another type on our wanderings yesterday but this one is much deeper blue almost purple.

Massive noxious weed in Australia

Here in Engrand?? We are loving the dainty flowers LOL. It's all relative. Just like the weather. The Prince was laughing at me yesterday for saying that it was a lovely sunny warm day. 14 degrees is warm here.

Loving what I do. Doing what I love. Off to enjoy some more sunshine with a wander around our local park.

Lush xox