the sunshine

According to my colleagues, summer has finally hit london - and boy can we see it. I wandered down to Greenwich last weekend with my flatmate and my friend from Melbourne, Vicki where we checked out the Maritime Museum (worth visiting, if only to see the actual portrait of Captain James Cook) and the Royal Observatory Building where we got a picture of me with my feet smack back in the middle of Prime Meridian Time. But back to the sunshine. It was unbelievable walking through the (admittedly very pretty) park where women were clad only in bikinis, men were playing frisbee shirtless and children in their nappies running around. All that was missing was a "big swell, mate". I have since been told that this is a perfectly natural reaction from the British, who at the first sign of a glimmer of sun, fire up the barbecues and apply the sunscreen.

It's been a pretty busy week at the flat, described by Vicki as "gorgeous", although I'm sure she was referring to the view of the sunset from our place, rather than the empty fridge, the messy kitchen and pile of clothes inhabiting the entrance to my bedroom. My cousin from Leeds also wandered down to London, so it was nice to enjoy some company, and for someone to cook for me for a change! I managed to impress my temporary flatmates with my rendition of chicken and tomato-based pasta sauce with green beans, potatoes, olives and fresh rocket - and am now perfecting this dish for when I manage to meet a "special" person worthy enough for me to cook for. Heh.

On the whole, so far, so good. London is an incredibly dynamic city ('cept the trains which always have "severe" delays). One afternoon I went to the theatre to watch a play about the election of Pope John Paul and all the politics of the conclave - heady, interesting stuff for which I am richer for the experience. Prior to the show I was waiting for my flatmate and her friends from Australia and along came a parade celebrating the independence of Pakistan 60 years ago, all complete with a British Marching Band to start it off. Later that evening while sitting in my flat, I heard an enormous explosion and raced to the balcony of my flat to see "what the HELL was that?" - only to find myself watching an incredible fireworks display that was happening in our apartment compound! It was so loud I had to cover my ears, and not squeal like a girl.

I guess I should mention that the area which we live is a site which is being re-developed. It was the former site for the Ministry of Defence and the site of the Royal Arsenal where they stored munitions. It's apparently an up-and-coming area, and I guess this fact was underlined when the Tour de France race went through our street a few weeks ago. One Saturday morning we literally walked outside our flat to the street where we watched the cyclists roar past within 20 seconds. We blinked the dust from our eyes, and was promptly back in our flat within a minute, having a cup of tea.

I must be turning British.