1 year, 291 since the start of the 1st lock down in March 2020.
We had two appointments up in town today and after the disaster with trains last week, we decided to set off just after 9.30am. Typically the trains were on time so we changed at Clapham Junction and then walked from Victoria to Piccadilly. It was a beautiful day, bright sunshine and very cold. This is a photo of Stella the harris hawk who was on duty with her handler outside of Buckingham Palace to scare away pigeons. I’ll be honest, as she sat waiting to be flown a pigeon literally walked underneath her rail almost waving two claws at her but I am sure she will be more intimidating when in the air.
We stopped for coffee at one of my favourite and not very well known stops in Caffe Nero tucked down the side of St James church. It used to be an independent cafe but even though it is a chain, it is comfy and quiet place in the heart of London. Then onto Boots in Piccadilly for Colin to visit the mole clinic and not the small burrowing variety.
We needed to be at South Kensington for Colin’s follow up appointment at the Royal Marsden for 2.15pm but just as the trains had improve the tubes let us down a little as the Piccadilly line is not currently stopping at Such Kensington. We got off at Knightsbridge and walked the twenty minutes or so from there in the winter sunshine and lunched on baguettes in a branch of ‘Pauls’ sat outside.
Yet again I was not allowed into the hospital and I had to wander off on my own. Unfortunately Colin was delayed and so for over an hour I wandered around South Kensington and Chelsea. The cafes seemed pretty busy so ever mindful of avoiding potential Covid hotspots it was not for some time that I finally bought a hot chocolate to drink outside of a church cafe and had literally just sat down when Colin called. We met up and made out way home for a good journey with few delays. Colin has another visit in six months and will have to decide then whether to go ahead with the surgery that the consultant is obviously keen to do.
Having walked almost 20,000 I was pretty tired and could have done without having to get dinner early and head over to Kew for my photo club but I was on lock-up duty so I had o go. Luckily the speaker was very good so it was worth the effort and no sign of the ‘ghost of St Luke’s’ this time!
