Watching Woodstock on BBC 4 (40th anniversary…Ritchie Havens, The Who, Hendrix…yeah baby!) and felt that I should tell you what I’ve been up to. I got to London yesterday and did a lot of grunt work like getting railcard applications for you and filling out applications for your Oyster cards (subway and bus passes). Today was fun though. I practiced my tour on the ruins of Londinium (Roman London) that we will end at the Museum of London. From there I walked through Canary Wharf, an area that used to be docks and shipyards. Twenty years ago it began development as a financial hub with skyscrapers for Citi, HSBC, and Barclays (which we will visit with a Trustee), among others. I walked under the Thames (yes…you read it right) to Greenwich and practiced that walking tour. I’m glad I did. I had never been to Greenwich before and found that the route I had devised was akin to climbing Everest. I decided to take it easy on you. I’m replanning the route with nearly all the same locations. While there I had to stop into a pub (The Spanish Galleon), get some bangers and mash (just the right amount of rosemary in the bangers, and the sweet onions in gravy were excellent. Washed it down with a pint of S. Africa’s finest (Bishop’s Finger) and watched Chelsea win in extra time. Have I told you how much I love my job! Walking from 08:30 to 18:00 leaves the calves a bit tight. I hope you are walking and bringing good, broken in shoes! I decided not to post photos today because I don’t want to spoil the novelty for you. I can only hope that the weather is as glorious next Friday when we go to Greenwich as a group and stand on the meridian line, from where all time is measured.
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