Off down the M6...

Last Saturday I had to go to London for a camp meeting. I decided to make a weekend of it and see a few people en route...I stopped in Birmingham for tea with Bex. Couple of hours catching up in TGI Fridays was well worth the little detour off the M6.

Back on the M6 and off to London...I eventually got to the M25 after a diversion from the M1 due to a serious accident. As the accident was just ahead of me then the diversion signs weren't up so I just followed the lorries ahead of me thinking that they'd know where they were going. My map was in the boot so I had to ring Bex to check that I was on the right road - which thankfully I was. After that and then getting lost once I'd got into Dagenham then I've finally decided to invest in a sat nav...

I was reminded over the weekend how much I hate driving down south. No-one (well it feels like) indicates to pull into your lane. No-one thanks you when you let someone pull into your lane. And if you want to pull into someone else's lane then no-one lets you voluntarily!

I was also reminded of the parking issues in London. Lee & Fai live near a tube station so that meant searching for a road that did not require a parking permit. Eventually we found one and still unsure that it was fine to park there I took a photo to show that there was no sign to indicate otherwise.

It was lovely to see Lee & Fai and catch up with them, albeit far too short a time.

Then it was off to Oak Hill to see Grace who's just gone there. We had lunch in Miracles - a lovely cafe by Cockfosters tube station and then we headed into London to potter round and do some sightseeing.

Buckingham Palace was our first stop. Then off through St. James' Park...
Some pretty palace looking building that we could see from St. James Park

We stopped in horse guard's parade to watch what was going on as a crowd had already gathered. It has to be said it wasn't really that exciting, not London's top tourist attraction!

These horses stood around for a while...

...then out tropped this little lot. They stood around for a while.
The clock chimed 4 - what would happen next? We waited in anticipation.

This man came out. Inspected them and then marched away. All a bit random really!

After all that excitement (!) we decided we needed something a bit more sedate and went for a stroll by the Thames...

Walking across Westminister Bridge - Big Ben in the background...

Lots of street performers along the South Bank. These people freaked Grace out...I liked them. I have no idea who the kid is though - note Grace how young he is and not freaked out!!!

Then it was down to business and the reason why I'd travelled south...Foremarke 2010 only 10 months away :-)