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Another day where we thought we’d go see a bit of London history.

The Brunel Engine House is just a few blocks from us, so on another cold wet Saturday, it seemed like a good idea to go visit. We’ve walked past it so many times saying “we should go there one day” so it was about time we did!

I think the word for it is quaint? Our lounge is about the same size as the museum (oh alright, it’s a tiny bit bigger than our lounge), but at ony a couple of quid, who cares. Some interesting stuff about the Thames tunnels and things. All interesting enough for us to buy a little book to read while we were sitting in the nearby pub afterwards.

After our wander around the chaotic Cairo museum, we were told that the British Museum here in London had Egyptian display that was much more clearly labelled and organised.

So as we had a Sunday with nothing planned, we thought we’d go have a look. And they were right!

It was interesting to wander round there having seen all the stuff in Egypt. We’d point items out going “we went there” or ” that looks like the ones at Karnak, and sometimes we’d even be right. Some of the other displays such as the Egyptian burial ritual displays were put together with a whole heap of information alongside and really told the story well.

While there certainly a lot in the Cairo museum, the sheer volume of it all, and the way that very few items were labeled, made it all a bit overwhelming and almost disinteresting. That said, there were some areas there that had obviously had a lot of work put in to them, and were a joy to walk through, like the Tutenkhamon display.

We also had a wander through some other bits of the British museum, but after about 2 hours we’d had about enough, especially as we kept getting lost due to some of the linking galleries being closed, and so we decided we’d have to go back and finish wandering around some other time.

But at least we’ve had a recent dose of London culture!

I figure if you’re going to be weather forecaster, you should try to forecast the weather. I love the quote from the forecasters in this article on the BBC news to do with the current drought.

“According to the Met Office, there are equal chances of dry, normal or wet weather for the south of England over the next few months.”

Thanks! I think.

I guess it had to happen. When there are as many of the bloody rats with wings in this city as there are people I guess that paths must cross sometimes….

Yes, as you might guess, today was “let’s crap on that guy” day. And the little bastard had obviously been saving this up for a loooooong time, just wating for the right victim.

Fecker!

Really makes your day. I really hope that they do some good somehow like keep the rat population down, because otherwise they all deserve to be forcibly removed. Fast. Please?! Before this happens again!

Today is the day that the crocus flowers (just what is the plural of crocus?!) burst into flower outside the front door. Must be getting close to spring then, or they’ve just got a bit confused with the relativly warm weather lately.

They are amazing though. On Thursday last week they were just little spouts of green stuff, and now there are about 10 flowers out. I swear you can almost see them growing.

But it’s nice to have a pointer to the season to come.

YUM! Friday night down Brick Lane for a good ol’ curry with friends.

Always a fun experience running the gauntlet of the hard sell boys all trying to entice you into their particular establishment. “Free pompadoms!” “First drink free!” “25% off your food!”…

Hard to know when you’ve got the best deal you could, but it’s all so cheap anyway that it really doesn’t matter. We ended up with the first drink free and 25% off the food…. But then there were only 4 of us. The more of you there are, the harder you can bargain!

It is one of the experiences that make London, London, though.

Well, it was quiz night down at one of the local pubs (The Ship and Whale) where we just happened to be for a friend’s birthday.

We got third!!

Yeah, ok, so there were only 4 teams, but you know….. At least the birthday girl got a Spitfire towel as a prize/birthday prezzie!

Time for a trip through the Guinness book of records and the top 40 for the last few decades before we go back! But I think we may have to sometime. All good fun.

Good food too!

Well, you can really tell Christmas is coming now. Just about every third house has some form of Christmas lighting up in windows, or hanging from the house or bushes.

Not all that surprising when it’s getting dark at 4pm and any way to light up the gloom is appreciated by all. Some do go just a bit overboard though!

Not as overboard as this guy though! Check it out!

Makes me think that I should get more lights for our tree. 2 Sets just doesn’t seem enough when faced with the multitude outside. But at least one set does all sorts of fancy flashing things.