Bob & Betty go British

Wandering in Wandsworth

Robert and I have been feeling unwell again. I've been terribly tired and we've both got headaches and a tickle at the back of the throat. So this weekend has been all about taking it easy and catching up on sleep.

In a bid to relax and to help us feel better we went for a wander down to the local park. Wandsworth Park has been in existence since 1903. Can you believe it cost 33,000 pounds to buy just over 100 years ago. The park runs along the edge of the Thames and has a lovely avenue of trees. We sat and read our books and watched the people with their dogs wander by. I took these photos with my phone camera so they aren't the best, but it adds that nice soft focus effect well :-) If you want to know more about Wandsworth Park you can on the Wandsworth Council website.

This week has been seriously busy at work. I wrote my first full specification and attended my first 2 real client meetings. I also experimented with catching the bus to and from work for 2 days. The trip takes pretty much an hour and I did get a lot of reading done. However, I'm back on the train next week as Robert has determined that it's going to be more tiring and more expensive to ride the bike to and from Milton Keynes each day.

On Friday night we caught up with Suzanne and Chris and bought them dinner for helping us in our first two weeks. I needed red meat so we went to a restaurant called "Sticky Fingers". It was originally opened by one of the Rolling Stones. It had lots of memorabilia, loud rock music and lots of BBQ meat - ribs, chicken, prawns, steak - and not to forget the deep-fried onion rings. It was pretty good value and we probably ate just a little too much. We finished off with Sticky Date pudding which was very good. The restaurant was in Kensington so it was a quick journey home on the tube.

The summer sales have started in London. We caught a bus down Oxford St on Friday afternoon and the place was jam-packed with shoppers. The footpaths were positively heaving with people. I'm a little reluctant to go to the shops during the sales. It's busy enough when there isn't a sale. Good thing I bought my outfit last week. I have noticed how difficult it is to walk down the street on the footpaths without having to duck and weave around people. I know that almost the entire population of Australia lives in London but I sometimes wish they would all go home so I could just walk in a straight line for a few minutes! Did I mention that the footpaths are also dotted with chewing gum? Luckily the streets are so dirty it gets worked into the concrete quite quickly so it doesn't stick to your shoes!

This weekend will have been our last weekend to relax and get organised as next weekend starts a relentless regime of motorcycle events, travel and visitors. Next weekend we're going to Donnington Park racetrack which is up near Manchester. I also have a social event with work people on Saturday. It is meant to be a pool party, but given Wimbledon starts this week, it is likely that it will rain (the forecast for the next two days is rain by the way). I did manage to buy a motorcycle jacket off ebay yesterday so hopefully that will arrive in time for the big trip up north next Sunday - it's waterproof.

Another early night is in order I think. We've done our weekly shop (although half the shelves were empty as we got to Sainsbury's 1 hour before closing time) and even managed to pick up a couple of bottles of Australian wine for a reasonable price. Here's hoping we both wake up feeling brighter!

posted by Elisabeth @ 9:08 PM