Arrived at Heathrow 2pm to be met by Craig (Vicki's brother) who had organised express train tickets for us - within an hour back to his house in South Tottenham (5 minutes from the starting place of the recent riots) We don't think either Craig or his partner Ivan were involved as they don't seem to have much in the way of new electronic equipment!

Pleasant evening with a short trip to a Tapas restaurant for a quick meal and another early night to catch up on some sleep/time zone changes.

Tuesday 7th. Up at a leisurely hour - first exercise of the trip 9km run around the Tottenham area - drizzley weather but quite warm. - the area varies from average housing to industrial areas with rubbish everywhere to a pleasant couple of kms along what must be the orginal tow path for the Lee River. Lots of canal boats tied up - through Springfield Park, a really beautifully kept park and into Stamford Hill which has the biggest population of Hasidic Jews in the world. Interesting to see young boys with ringlets and skull caps and adult men all dressed in the same white tieless shirt, long black coat and bowler hat. Not much future owning a trendy men's fashion shop in this area!

Left Tottenham by subway to Covent Garden where we visited the Courthauld Art Gallery.The Gallery is administered by a trust set up by the Courthauld family in the early 20th century to display the amazing collection of mainly impressionist artworks that had been collected over the previous 100 or so years by generations of this wealthy family. Originally they were silversmiths and goldsmiths and then changed to textiles in the 1800s. Obviously ultra successful as they had an amazing collection of art from Degas, Manet,Cezzanne, a Picasso, and the main attraction was a brilliant exhibition of Henri Toulose la Trec. Well worth visiting.

Walked around Covent Gardens and onto Waterloo bridge and then to Somerset House. Photos outside Australia House and then a short bus trip to Trafalger Square - Nelson's Column, statue of George 1V on horseback (was he the nutter? - maybe that was George III) and an almost overload of famous buildings and streets. Into China town for a yum char lunch (Dim Sum over here) back to Craig and Ivan's to prepare for a meal out.....it's a hard life but someone has to do it!!!! Another great meal to celebrate Ivan;s birthday with Craig and Ivan's sisters Jackie & Suzanne. End of another interesting enjoyable day.

Wednesday 7th we left Tottenham for pleasant train trip sth of London to Lingfield to visit my godfather Roger. Towards Lingfield on the train we were in some of Englands nicest countryside - very green and leafy with some quaint little villages.

We arrived at Lingfield and after realising we had got off a station early we cabbed the last 15 minutes to the St Barnabas College where Roger lives. This is a retirement home for retired Church of England clergy where they live in great style in a beautiful English rural surroundings. Roger was a Vicar then a Canon in the Church of England. For the uninitiated that's a seriously important "God Botherer". Roger is 91 and although he describes himself as an "ancient wreck" is in fact as sharp as a tack mentally and we spent a few hours discussing everything from Social Policies, the recent riots, to his travels over the last 70 years starting with a bicycle trip in 1936 with a friend through the Rhine when he was 16. He has been to Russia, Turkey, Spain, Budapest, Venice, Rome plus many other places I now can't recall. He gave us a few must sees in Rome and Venice. We also discussed at length the 5 years he spent with Dad in Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt during the 2nd world war (hence the godfather connection)

Travelling back to London we stopped at Camden Town and walked through the markets (huge) and the interesting array of "weirdos" walking the streets and running the stalls. Actually as we had no brightly coloured hair, tatts, piercings or dreadlocks probably we were the weirdos! Watched a couple of - canal boats negotiating the locks -amazing engineering when you consider the number of years they have been in use - maybe a couple of hundred years.

Onto Tufnell Park for a stop at The Junction Gastro pub which Craig manages, for a pre-dinner drink. Then to Euston to meet Sue and Tom Downie for drinks and dinner at St Pancras station. This is an amazing Victorian building built originally as a Station in a style similar to a St Petersburg palace. Unbelievable that it was earmarked for demolition in the 1960s and saved due to a vigorous campaign by the writer & poet laureat (1972) Sir John Betjeman. It now houses the St Pancras Renaissance 5 Star Hotel, shops, restaurants the depature point for the Eurostar to France and of course local train services. Very impressive.