Miffy!! The tour caravan is quite amazing, but not particularly generous in terms of freebies - unless you like madeleines, in which case they will be thrown at you constantly - we saved ours for dinner last night.

So we have made it to London again. We saw the end of the first stage of the TDF in Harrogate and yesterday we went to York, just outside the Minster watching as the tour went through after the official start at the Racecourse, but before the race proper kicked off when they left the city. And then travelled to London via the M1. It was a four hour trip, which apparently is equivalent to doing the Nullabor, judging by the response to our plan. We found the flat we were booked into without difficulty, and although it is not in a particularly stunning location it does have a washing machine (which leaks). We dropped the car off this morning at Islington, a day early, but then we don't have to worry about car security or parking fines- not that either has been a problem, but there is always a first time, especially when we can't park out the front.

We are now set up on our newspaper rugs in front of the screen just on the finishing straight on the mall. We didn't get here particularly early, but seating is already becoming an issue. No one respects your personal space! I have just watched a very respectable middle aged lady basically set up her plastic sheet on which to sit virtually in the lap of a total stranger. Unbelievable.

The English are expecting a heat wave - 22 - 25 degrees over the next few days so they are getting a bit anxious.....

LATER
So we sat along the Mall, after walking down to Buck palace - I was hoping Phil and Liz would pop out to watch the race, but I didn't see them. Huge crowds. Were next to a lovely group of young Germans who came from Turingen and were barracking for Marcel Kittel, so they were pretty happy by the end of the day. Of course it rained, but not enough to annoy. Having dinner near Covent Garden to wait until the crush disappears, and then we will try and find our way home.......