London, and the South. UK
It makes a pleasant change to spend some quality time back home, especially with the weather improving.
I had planned a few camping trips, but with my car conking out on the way back from Anglesey, it meant that was completely out of the question.
So it ended up being a mixed bag of stuff.
London Marathon 2025
The first weekend managed to coincide with the London Marathon. We knew two people who were mad enough to enter. Stuart, who was running for Parkinson’s and Alice, for Samaritans.
Both charities are close to our hearts too.
So a group of us met up at the Parkinson’s cheer station in Limehouse to cheer Stuart along.
After miraculously spotting him among the thousands of other runners, the group spit up in the hope of finding him again further around the course. Sally and Alison headed for the finish line – which was probably the better idea!
We headed for the 18.5 mile marker in Canary Wharf, but ended up missing him, mainly on account of being late, as the GPS tracking app was lagging.
It was lovely to see Niki, who has been living with Parkinson’s for decades, climb out of the wheelchair and stand up it in order to get a better view. BUT It did feel a little like a Monty Python sketch – I was waiting for John Cleese to jump out and declare a miracle!
But it didn’t matter that we missed Stuart, on this second attempt, given that we’d seen him earlier. It was just wonderful to be there and see the effort that thousands of others were putting in.
We then set our sights on seeing Alice!
She was showing on the GPS as being a little behind Stuart so we headed off to find the Samaritans cheer station which was near Cabot Square. We missed her – same reason as Stuart!
So we then high tailed it for Poplar High Street, thinking we had plenty of time, but we missed her again! Shame, but we did try. Nice to know that she finished in a respectable time and smashed her charity fund raising target!
Lots of pictures (like the ones above), of Alice on TV and other social media platforms.
It was a lovely day out and my first ever experience of the London Marathon – which I usually watch from a distance (TV). Not sure you’ll get me doing one, so huge kudos to Stuart and Alice, along with all the other mad people from around the world who entered this amazing event.
Kent Cycle
The beauty of Emma’s place being right on the very edge of Central London, is that we get the very best of both worlds. Fifteen minutes from the local train station and we’re in London Bridge, and five minutes in the other direction (by cycle) and it’s possible to ride clean through Surrey and onto Kent. The picture below shows the country lanes not far from South Croydon.
So with the weather being so nice, I thought I’d head on a 20 mile round trip, which took me through acres of bluebell woods, rolling green hills, open farm land, and onto a place along the Pilgrims Way that Emma and I found last year.
The North Downs is a wonderful place, straddling the Kent Countryside with its vineyards and fruit farms, criss crossed by empty roads. We discovered long ago that the two most under-rated counties of England appear to be Somerset and Kent, mainly because people are travelling through them to get somewhere else. Their loss!
We often travel further into Kent to camp, but for today, the northern edge did the trick. The North Downs Way is on our doorstep and the Velo Barn Cafe, is an ideal place to stop half way.
Fantastic meal with Emma’s brother and sister in law
Memories last a lot longer than material gifts, so we’d agreed to join Lorrayne and Jonathon for a Birthday meal last weekend. We headed for the Coriander Lounge and had a great night all round.
This great venue is a only short bus ride from my home in Southampton.
As ever, the company was great and the food, off the scale. We ate far too much!
We ended the night with a few drinks at the Dancing Man Brewery, a 14th Century building, constructed after a French Raid in 1338 and now a great Ale House.
Night with Zillah and Jeremy
We alternate between hosting meals with this wonderful couple who live nearby, and have been doing so for years. These are always special nights and usually end up with us woring our slurds and talking well into the small hours.
VE Day – a night out with my daughter, Sarah
We were going to head off for a VE Day themed night out, but as we had only recently got around to securing the date, discovered most “themed” venues were unsurprisingly booked out…. Our plan was simply to play it by ear.
We’d agreed to meet after Sarah had finished work, but as the weather was stunning, so I jumped on a much earlier train. Arriving at Victoria, I meandered across central London to Sarah’s base at Great Portland Street.
It was lovely to take in many of the sights that people come half way across the world to see. Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden to name a few.
On arrival at Fitzrovia, I found our meeting place at The Smuggler Tavern, grabbed a pint and set it down on the table literally seconds before Sarah arrived. We then decided to check out a few more watering holes, including Guy Richie’s pub, Lore of their Land.
THEN…. Brainwave, let’s head off to TOP SECRET COMEDY CLUB in Dury Lane, in London’s theatre district. So after knocking back a final pint in the Queen Charlotte, where we hastily booked tickets on line, we jumped on the number 29 bus and headed off.
Arriving late the club was completely packed, and the ONLY seats left were on the front row! So hesitantly we walked across and plonked our arses down!
What a great night!
It is SO nice to see such incredible talent, which included Sikisa, the host. She had a field day with almost everyone on the front row, including us!
I cringed when she asked Sarah to explain our relationship.. Oh, “he’s my Daddy”, she said, walking into the perfect trap. That said, I think we got off lightly!
The five comedians we saw included:
Andrea de Freitas, Josephone Lacey, Jonas Jamarik, Kate Barron and Scott Capurro. At least three of them would have upset any “precious” Gen Z cohort in the crowd.
I love the fact that these places exist and have comedians taking the audience to the absolute edge of their comfort zone. Scott Capurro managed to do that on more than a few occasions, with the audience collectively wincing whilst glancing around for approval to laugh… “did he actually just say that”?
Oh and Josephine Lacey’s “Autism Mama” set should be on every school curriculum, and included in workplace training, particularly for the younger generations (and HR community)! Well worth a watch!
It was such a great way to catch up with Sarah too. My sides ached in the morning.
oh.. and Emma and I have been out to London a few times over the past few weeks. Here