London and Back

We left the boat last Wednesday to travel by train to central London where we were to stay in the Travelodge at Waterloo. The principal reason for the trip was so that Mike could attend meetings from Thursday through to Saturday afternoon. We opted for the laid back schedule and stayed that night as well - if we had been returning to Cornwall it would have been a tight schedule and late return as the meeting was originally not expected to end until 5pm. In fact it concluded an hour earlier but plans were already made.

On the Friday evening we met up with daughter and grand daughter for a meal at the South Bank which was most enjoyable. Christine spent time during the day exploring various parts of London and took in the new special exhibition at the Royal Academy that has brought together many of the paintings that once belonged to Charles II but which were dispersed following his execution.

On Saturday evening we went to a concert at the Royal Festival Hall given by the London Philharmonic and featured Petrushka by Stravinsky as well as a violin concerto by Prokofiev. Most enjoyable - it was Christine's first visit to the RFH and probably the last time Mike was here was when he was about 17!

A return to the boat was made on Sunday afternoon - it is remarkably quick by train via Birmingham New Street and there is useful low cost car park adjacent to Droitwich station.

We stayed just overnight and packed up the boat against the cold the following morning, ready for the drive back to Cornwall which was, fortunately, most uneventful (the following day there was a long delay after a serious accident on the M5).

We are now beginning to plan our trips for the first part for the year, making sure that we keep suitable clear space in the diary although we both have a number of fixed commitments to work around. We have taken out a Gold Licence as we hope to get across to the Middle Levels as well as the Nene and Great Ouse which we last visited in 2010. OK, so there are long, flat stretches but that might just suit us for a limited period! However, our schedule probably will keep us clear of the IWA event at St Neots on August Bank Holiday. Additionally, we have to contend with the fact that the Worcester and Birmingham is closed at Tardebigge until near the end of March.