Family ties Part 2

Martin moved to London in July last year and I had never been to see him.  Not that I didn't want to, but with my Mom living with me and working full time, things are just not easy to get to London.  I felt really bad and disappointed about this because when Martin moved there, I had  visions of going down there all the time - shows, shopping, restaurants.......not to mention I really, really miss Martin and would like to see him a bit more often!

Going to Chiswick via Gatwick is not nice, in fact it is horrible - too long and much too expensive!  Martin suggested meeting us at Clapham Junction and accompanying us to his home in Chiswick.  It was fantastic to see him in the tube station, and he is always such a nice person - for example, taking my suitcase immediately.  It is the little things, but they always add up.

It took us longer to get from Gatwick to Martin's flat than it took us to get from Glasgow to Gatwick, ridiculous!  But arriving at Martin's was great!  And one of the first things that happened was Martin needing advice from his dad.  He had the chance to film at the FA Cup Final and was using a camera Alan is more familiar with. 

Alan sharing his knowledge of how this camera works.

On Saturday, we planned to go into London and see the sights.  Since my priority for the weekend was only to see Martin, I was not too concerned about what we did, which was a good thing since the day was spent in cold and rain.  We met Martin's girlfriend, Pamela, at the station and the poor thing had to trudge around London in this abominable weather with us.  I felt really sorry for her (and myself actually, this was not a day to be wandering around in London).  She was lovely though and shared her own knowledge of the city, including the Borough Market - where it is food heaven!  Too bad we had already eaten, but then again -with this horrible weather, if we had bought any food, what could we have done with it?  I also really missed my sense of smell at this market, I bet the smells were fantastic! 

We did witness a really cool protest about road safety for bicycles, the roads were all shut and it seemed like thousands of cyclists went by. What a fantastic, well organized and planned protest!

Just some of the cyclists that went by us

Pamela was really nice, but I would not have expected otherwise.  If Martin likes her, she would have to be nice!  Not only did she happily suffer along with us wandering all over London, wearing really nice grey boots and never complaining - but she also bought me a coffee.  Like I said, it is the little things. 

On Saturday night, Martin and Pamela introduced us to Franco Manca restaurant.  Within walking distance of both their homes and delicious pizzas!  The next night we all went to Boys Thai restaurant, another fantastic evening and meal. 

On Sunday, Martin had to work so Alan and I walked in with him.  We went with him for a tour of where he works and it was fantastic!  Since I am writing about his life, I am not going into detail about where he works and all, but I was so impressed and happy for him. 

We then went into town, to give you an idea how awful a day it was - we got very close to Kensington Palace, where I have wanted to go to pay my respects to Diana since she died in 1997, but I could not cope anymore and turned back.  Preferred sitting in McDonald's with coffee and a muffin to spending anymore time outside in the rain. 

London was cold and dreary when we arrived and this never improved.  I must admit this could have been  one of the most miserable weekends of my life!  That is saying something when I live in Scotland, but I was totally not prepared for constant rain and cold and wind. Not only did I not have the right clothes, I would have never spent so much time outside in this type of weather.  The saving grace was I was not there to see London, but to see my son.  And so it was a very special weekend and I would go back anytime, even in the same weather conditions!

Miserable, but still beautiful