I got up early and was back up town again today as Colin drove over to Sevenoaks to meet up with some old work friends for lunch. I had a list of things to buy for Christmas, most importantly the rose preserve that my Mum really likes from Fortnum and Masons. I love this shop, yes it is touristy and yes it is very expensive but it is a British Institution. I love pottering around with a basket trying free samples and choosing some select items for presents. In the end I got the rose petal preserve along with some marmalade, piccalilli and orange chocolate for Colin. This is the spiral staircase from the lower ground to ground floor. I was shocked to get a text from Hester letting us know that she has been diagnosed with whooping cough and is not on antibiotics! This is worrying as she is flying to Australia in two days time but the doctor seems to think she will be ok to fly.
After a brief trip over to Covent Garden I headed to Victoria as I was meeting Karen and Ian to watch Charleys school concert at Westminster Cathedral. I grabbed some lunch at the Prêt a Manger and ended up sitting opposite Joe Pasquale also having his lunch. I had to Google him to get his name and he obviously liked to be recognised so I made a point of not reacting!
The concert was good but started half an hour late and went on well over 2 hours in an unheated cathedral. Afterwards we headed back to Warlingham and met up with Colin before going out for dinner to celebrate Charley’s success.
