London's big moment - don't cock it up!! Part One

Ah Londinium - how I loved it as a youngster.  I moved there all by myself many moons ago and stayed for 20 years - north, south, east and west - I hope that I  made the very most of living in that tremendous city - in my time off I would carefully select a new corner to explore and off I would go. Every Monday night I would travel on the underground from Kentish Town to East Acton to go to study at evening classes - two years of hard graft but worth it.  I hope that I used my time well and the great opportunities that it presented - working shifts meant that I could go to the early morning markets and then tra la la off to work later in the day.  Working nights meant that at the end of work I could go to down Brick Lane (before trendiness set in), Camden Passage (before prices went up!),  Columbia Road (well before it too became trendy - I went there for plants!!), best of all was Bermondsey (I still have many of the lovely things that I bought there in the early morning gloom) and Greenwich on a Sunday (went there again recently - not at all how it used to be sadly).  By the way I loved going to work and would arrive all cheery at 07.00 (poor sleep has its advantages!) even when I had got drenched on my bike.

Nowadays I get worn out just thinking about it! Anyway I still like London 'stuff'

A tablecloth with the London Underground map on it can be very handy don't you know!!

And of course a London tin or two...

For many years we lived not far from Streatham Common and my district nursing 'patch' covered that area

Lovely colours I think

I was a 'nanny' (selective use of the term) for a while but I did not dress like this!

Roll out the barra!

I loved London by night and by day - staying up all night and then going to that pub in the old fruit and veg market that opened up at 5 in the morning for the stallholders (can't remember its name now), going to Trafalgar Square New Years Eve (when the fountains were still splashable), going to Live Aid (first time around!), going to Lord Mayor's Show, helping out at the Marathon (in its early days!), cycling to work across the Thames and past Westminster - tra la la'ing on my bike.  Lucky enough to go the theatre several times a week for free and meeting the cast if I wanted to!!! Attending all sorts of first nights and last nights.  Meeting all sorts of great and not so great - from Anthony Hopkins to  Peter O'Toole - all sorts of off the wall happen stance - all sorts of stuff that build up memories and pleasant times.

 I got to know London like the back of my hand (though this tea towel is handy if you are a little unsure)

I loved jumping off the bus.....

If you live in London make the most of being there - I do miss it still but glad to be by the sea nowadays

Part Two another time


Thank you to http://mrsblacksthisnthat.blogspot.co.uk/  (I don't know how to do that proper link thingy)  for sending me a Kreative Award, very kind of you - I am a bit thick when it comes to such things so please bear with.   Thank you also to Katy http://lovelemon1.blogspot.co.uk/  for nominating a Leibster Award - sorry Katy but my brain could not follow all that I had to here - sorry for my denseness.  I will draft something on another posting I think to try and cover it. I am not very good with  instructions!


Here are 10 things that you might not know about me:

Circa 1979 I had a streak of pillar box red hair

Circa 1969 I won a Tree Lovers League badge

Circa 1971 I won a Blue Peter badge

Circa 1970 I won a national newspaper competition for art

Circa 1975 I came last in the school discus sports event....topical!

Circa 1970 I won a knitted poodle cover in the school raffle....I no longer have it

Circa (now I have started with the 'circas I have to finish'!) 1980 I travelled round Europe by myself

Circa 1984 I had my bottom pinched by Professor Robert Winston at the Christmas Ball

Circa 1986 I joined the Medical Corps for the Territorial Army - selfishly I wanted to learn how to drive a lorry and be part of the Remembrance Service at The Albert Hall

Circa 1990 the man in the flat below us was an actor in 'Eastenders' and used to leave his scripts out for recycling

Circa 1992 I watched sunrise at Tiger Hill, Darjeeling - spectacular and tearful

Circa 1992 I watched albatross flying above our heads at the Otago Peninsula, New Zealand - double spectacular and treble tearful

Circa 2004 I was 'live in the Westminster Studio' on the ITN main news

Yesterday the producer of BBC 'South Today' asked me to get in touch with them 'asap' for an update on a news items on the lunchtime news (as Elaine knows I was going to rapidly rustle up some 'No to Pinsect' t-shirts and wear them....no the article was not about Pinsect but something very, very different!).  I had to go to the bottle bank and get some bread (not from the bottle bank!!).....

I really could go on all day so thank you for listening....

I will try and add in blog favourites though I find that a painful thing to do - I would hate to hurt anyone's feelings ("Jenny funnily enough the world does not revolve round yourself"...oh dearie me)

PS Another 10 days or so of work and then tra la la all done! Hurrah and hurray!!!