Last chance for some shopping. Very slow trip into the city on the bus as there were road works at Notting Hill and then a motor cycle protest at Oxford Circus. Eventually went out to Toys R Us on Old Kent Road to see if they had the last of Tom's Dr Who characters (which they didn't) before busing back into the city. Went to Primark and M&S before finally succumbing to the heat and crowds and headed home to start packing. Booked a minicab for the trip to ...

Ted had rung the other night to invite us out for lunch. We met at Wimbledon station and walked up the hill to Wimbledon Village, pretty good going at 88! It was decided that the Dog and Fox looked good. A bit early for lunch we started off in the bar. Again a wonderful day of conversation, laughs and good food, the next thing we knew it was 4pm! A little explorative walk around the village before heading back down the hill. Very interesting looking in the estate...

Had to wait around this morning for the man to collect our box of excess baggage. Sally stayed behind while Tom and Ian took the bus to Hammersmith to collect a DVD and look in the shops. After lunch we all went into the city with the intention of going on the Eye. It was a lovely sunny day again so the queue was very long and we decided that we'd skip it. Tom enjoyed the human 'statues' along Southbank though and the ice creams were lovely. Went instead to Ripl...

Time for a day in the country and a visit with Norma and John. Originally we had intended to get the train to New Romney but then we found we could hire a car from around the corner for a mere £37, so much easier and less hassle. As usual it took a couple of hours to get out of London and on to the M20. It wasn't long after that when we came across the remnants of Operation Stack, a result of the chunnel fire. That must have been one heck of a queue! We were gr...

Mike and Claire are in town for one day only on their way to the Munich Beer Festival, so we all met at Piccadilly Circus to find somewhere for lunch. After a short walk to Leiscester Square we ended up back at the Rainforest Cafe. It's a resturant Ian and I found a few years back behind the Trocadero. The resturant is decorated so as you feel that you are sitting in the forest with elephants that trumpet, Gorillas that dance and monkeys who swing. It was great t...