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pensnestIt was such a beautiful day in London on Tuesday. The sky was perfectly clear of clouds, there was a little wind but gentle, not biting. Grand day for a trip down the river to Greenwich!
I metnopseud, ephemera and letterboys on Blackfriars Pier at about eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning. There was a brief confoozlement when we realised that the boats don't stop there in the middle of the day, and repaired swiftly to Embankment, where we got on a boat and chugged happily along to Greenwich. The banks of the Thames are very interesting to look upon, even where there are not spectacular things like the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and the Globe Theatre lining the way.
We reached the Old Royal Naval College in good time, and went in to the Painted Hall, which is very spectacular. Apparently the artist was paid by the square yard (£1), and he covered every possible INCH of the place in paint. Those pillars? painted. The stonework above the windows? Trompe l'oeil. Plus a very splendid ceiling (at £3 per square yard) featuring William and Mary, various mythical creatures, signs of the Zodiac (the Leo looks in a bit motheaten) and so forth.
We proceeded to the Undercroft for Afternoon Tea, which was a very nice AT, definitely worth having and reasonable value, too. We had two teapotfuls each and squirreled away the leftover cakes for my Beast, then strolled on at quarter to four to see the Pirates exhibit in the actual Maritime Museum, only to find it had closed at 3.30pm. Hmph. Well, back to the Queen's House, which... also closed at 3.30pm. Hmph again. So we went to Greenwich Market and found a café that could providenopseud with a matcha latte, and had more time to chat, which is always the best bit anyway. Eventually we made our way back to the boat, which was just arriving as we were, perfect timing. Back to Blackfriars (now open for business) and home by way of Thameslink and the Elizabeth Line, variously.
It's so nice to get together with these lovely people!
*
I didn't have time to write the above yesterday, as it was off to the gym for Yoga—in which I managed a Happy Baby for the first time in many months!—then after lunch, a haircut followed by quite a bit of singing practice. My chorus has a coaching weekend starting the day after tomorrow, and the following weekend there is a LABBS day near Cambridge. We're sending more than 20 people, which is nearly a fifth of the total (!), and we got together chez moi to rehearse yesterday evening. It went very well.
Beast had had a somewhat miserable time on Tuesday, as lots of plumbing-related difficulties came up. The downstairs loo, straining under the extra usage with workmen in the house, decided not to flush. There was a small flood on the kitchen floor near the sink, which seemed to be traceable to the boiling tap. And the washing machine, a trusty servant for so long, declined to turn its drum.
So he ordered new innards for the loo and checked out the Which? recommendations for washing machines. Meanwhile I called a friend who enjoys mending things, and he turned up an hour or so later to collect the washing machine. Fortuitous timing: he'd taken our previous wm when it failed in the same way as this one, and happened to have a washing machine vacancy at this moment, so it is going to a good home.
I should add, the machine (a Bosch) that just failed this week was bought in 2002, travelled here from Hemel and had a hiatus of 5-7 years while we used the similar one that was installed already, and was transferred into the house when that one failed. So it had done a good 17 years of service, we reckon, and it is probably heading for prolonged life in its new home, as our friend is quite competent at fixing these matters. Anyway, yay Bosch. The new machine (also, and not coincidentally, a Bosch) arrived this morning and Beast is putting it through its paces.
Beast has also serviced and repaired the boiling tap. And, as the requisite part arrived today, repaired the downstairs loo. What a Useful and Industrious person he is. Fortunately for my conscience he has Warcraft scheduled for tomorrow. I, meanwhile, did less useful but still worthy stuff, namely some baking as a thank-you to our bathroom fitter. He has been cheerful, friendly, efficient, and a pleasure to have around. We don't know if he's interested in wine or spirits, so, he shall have cranberry and orange flapjacks and tiffin instead.
I meant to note on Monday that it was the tenth anniversary of our arrival in Norwich. Beast and I spent the first night in our new house on an air mattress, but the lorryload of Stuff arrived the next day and we settled in. Ten years. And no regrets. The only disadvantage of Norwich is the inconvenience of travelling into London.
PS I uploaded a couple of mini stories to my AO3 account because of a story challenge, and because to my surprise I didn't seem to have uploaded them there already. (Is it possible to organise one's AO3 stories in a sensible manner, or are we just stuck with chronology?) Anyway, don't get excited, they're quite elderly. Utter crack, both.
I met
nopseud, ephemera and letterboys on Blackfriars Pier at about eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning. There was a brief confoozlement when we realised that the boats don't stop there in the middle of the day, and repaired swiftly to Embankment, where we got on a boat and chugged happily along to Greenwich. The banks of the Thames are very interesting to look upon, even where there are not spectacular things like the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and the Globe Theatre lining the way. We reached the Old Royal Naval College in good time, and went in to the Painted Hall, which is very spectacular. Apparently the artist was paid by the square yard (£1), and he covered every possible INCH of the place in paint. Those pillars? painted. The stonework above the windows? Trompe l'oeil. Plus a very splendid ceiling (at £3 per square yard) featuring William and Mary, various mythical creatures, signs of the Zodiac (the Leo looks in a bit motheaten) and so forth.
We proceeded to the Undercroft for Afternoon Tea, which was a very nice AT, definitely worth having and reasonable value, too. We had two teapotfuls each and squirreled away the leftover cakes for my Beast, then strolled on at quarter to four to see the Pirates exhibit in the actual Maritime Museum, only to find it had closed at 3.30pm. Hmph. Well, back to the Queen's House, which... also closed at 3.30pm. Hmph again. So we went to Greenwich Market and found a café that could provide
nopseud with a matcha latte, and had more time to chat, which is always the best bit anyway. Eventually we made our way back to the boat, which was just arriving as we were, perfect timing. Back to Blackfriars (now open for business) and home by way of Thameslink and the Elizabeth Line, variously.It's so nice to get together with these lovely people!
*
I didn't have time to write the above yesterday, as it was off to the gym for Yoga—in which I managed a Happy Baby for the first time in many months!—then after lunch, a haircut followed by quite a bit of singing practice. My chorus has a coaching weekend starting the day after tomorrow, and the following weekend there is a LABBS day near Cambridge. We're sending more than 20 people, which is nearly a fifth of the total (!), and we got together chez moi to rehearse yesterday evening. It went very well.
Beast had had a somewhat miserable time on Tuesday, as lots of plumbing-related difficulties came up. The downstairs loo, straining under the extra usage with workmen in the house, decided not to flush. There was a small flood on the kitchen floor near the sink, which seemed to be traceable to the boiling tap. And the washing machine, a trusty servant for so long, declined to turn its drum.
So he ordered new innards for the loo and checked out the Which? recommendations for washing machines. Meanwhile I called a friend who enjoys mending things, and he turned up an hour or so later to collect the washing machine. Fortuitous timing: he'd taken our previous wm when it failed in the same way as this one, and happened to have a washing machine vacancy at this moment, so it is going to a good home.
I should add, the machine (a Bosch) that just failed this week was bought in 2002, travelled here from Hemel and had a hiatus of 5-7 years while we used the similar one that was installed already, and was transferred into the house when that one failed. So it had done a good 17 years of service, we reckon, and it is probably heading for prolonged life in its new home, as our friend is quite competent at fixing these matters. Anyway, yay Bosch. The new machine (also, and not coincidentally, a Bosch) arrived this morning and Beast is putting it through its paces.
Beast has also serviced and repaired the boiling tap. And, as the requisite part arrived today, repaired the downstairs loo. What a Useful and Industrious person he is. Fortunately for my conscience he has Warcraft scheduled for tomorrow. I, meanwhile, did less useful but still worthy stuff, namely some baking as a thank-you to our bathroom fitter. He has been cheerful, friendly, efficient, and a pleasure to have around. We don't know if he's interested in wine or spirits, so, he shall have cranberry and orange flapjacks and tiffin instead.
I meant to note on Monday that it was the tenth anniversary of our arrival in Norwich. Beast and I spent the first night in our new house on an air mattress, but the lorryload of Stuff arrived the next day and we settled in. Ten years. And no regrets. The only disadvantage of Norwich is the inconvenience of travelling into London.
PS I uploaded a couple of mini stories to my AO3 account because of a story challenge, and because to my surprise I didn't seem to have uploaded them there already. (Is it possible to organise one's AO3 stories in a sensible manner, or are we just stuck with chronology?) Anyway, don't get excited, they're quite elderly. Utter crack, both.