Posted 3:12 PM by Paul
London Stuff

A few thoughts on London over the last few weeks

- London Zoo. The elephants may have gone to Whipsnade where there is more room but it's still a great English day out. Last week we learnt that the only way sure you can tell a penguins sex is by sending a feather off for DNA analysis. We also discoverd that alliagtors used to live in Alaska 110,000 years ago. On the way home on the tube I noticed Emily muttering under her breath " Bad has not defeated me" as she approached the train door. I wonder how many other kids are still struggling to cope with the fear of the bombings. She told me that the bombers had done their worst. We all hope she is right.

- Hundreds of people have taken to cycles to avoid going on the tube. An understandable emotional reaction but not really a sensible risk analysis given the amount of accidents on the roads. Many of these are caused by motorists but others are caused by people like the young woman I saw cycling at speed over Waterloo Bridge. One hand on the handlebars, the other on her mobile phone.

- We spent the morning in Covent Garden whilst the kids were at a club at the Theatre Museum just off Drury Lane. It reminded us just how lovely London can be on a sunny day.

- Most weekday monrings I walk from Blackfriars station along the Riverside Walk to the Strand where I work at a job I enjoy. It's a beautiful start ot the day when the sun is shining. Rough sleepsers are often sheltering under the war memorials along the banks of the Thames. I wonder how many of them are ex-soldiers.