The weather has not changed. Every day we dress in summer clothes but take along jerseys and jackets. When the sun comes out it is quite warm but mostly the skies are overcast. Today it did not rain.

When one is used to driving everywhere, taking buses, trains and underground tubes can be exciting but also a little scary. The Earl was with us today and was a tad nervous about the whole procedure. Of course, he wanted to know how it all worked too. Tapping his card to get in and out of the underground was completely confusing. How does it know where I’ve been and how much money to take off? I have no idea but I told him to trust the system and soon he was happily tapping like the rest of us. All the walking was a challenge too. He seldom walks anywhere! Well, today he clocked up over 14000 steps!

We walked to Clapham Junction, took the train to Vauxhall, changed to the underground then used the tubes to get us to Green Park and then St Paul’s where we met Lollz’s cousin, Kevin for lunch. After lunch, we took a bus to Covent Gardens and then took the tube and train back to Clapham Junction.

Green Park and Buckingham Palace

Click on the first photo, then use the arrows to watch the slide show.

I find the King’s Guards fascinating. Imagine being clad in those red tunics and strange bearskin hats and standing to attention, not moving for ages. At first glance, they look like statues. The two we saw had a break from stillness and marched up and down a few times. Phew -that must have been a relief.

St Paul’s, Paternoster Square, and The Millennium Bridge

After disembarking at St Paul’s Station we found ourselves in Paternoster Square where we were to meet my nephew, Kevin. Having only heard the word Paternoster associated with a small West Coast Town I wondered what it might mean. Google is such a help – The Lord’s Prayer. That made sense as it was in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral! We ate lunch at the Paternoster Pub. Kevin and Lollz ordered sandwiches – Kevin had a BLT which was fine but Lollz’s cheese sandwich was inedible. I shared my Caesar salad with her instead. The Earl had pork bangers and mash which was excellent. They did not charge us for the cheese sandwich!

We found Paternoster Square quite fun. They had some wildlife sculptures on display. These sculptures are done by a husband and wife team who are very much into wildlife conservation. You can find out more here A Wild Life for Wildlife – Gillie and Marc®↗

Covent Garden

I wanted to go to Covent Garden to see street performers like mimes, acrobats, magicians, etc. I was disappointed that not much was happening. We only saw a magic act and an artist painting a portrait of Amy Winehouse while playing a recording of her singing.

Some photos Lollz took with her phone.