A trip to London

It has been a long but interesting day. The Gorse Fox had procured tickets for the Sonning Sirens to attend the ballet at the Royal Albert Hall. The Birmingham Royal Ballet were performing The Nutcracker and it seemed the sort of event that they would enjoy. So it was that we met up at 9:30 and the Gorse Fox drove them up to London.

As an aside - the SatNav usually directs us up the A3 and through south-west London, across one of the bridges (usually Putney or Hammersmith) and on. Today, Google suggested that we pick up the M25 and whip round to the M4 and then approach London from the West. This really paid off - it was such a direct route in to Kensington that we arrived significantly earlier than expected. In fact the journey had only taken about and hour and forty-five minutes.

The Gorse Fox had booked parking at the Royal Garden Hotel and we swept into the car park and wound our way down the screw-like ramp into the basement. Upstairs we settled down for a coffee then returned to the car where the Sirens had a picnic. (Not knowing how the timings would work out, we had suggested that they bring a packed lunch). It seemed as if we had survived the apocalypse and they were munching on rations in a bunker. It served its purpose however.

We set off on foot to the Royal Albert Hall. It was about half a mile due east and on the same road as the hotel. The girls (and the Gorse Fox says that without the slightest hint of a raised eyebrow) were deposited at the door and the Gorse Fox headed into Kensington Gardens. It soon became clear that he had not dressed appropriately for the chill in the wind, so he headed back to find the warmth of a restaurant. Then a bright idea struck - there’s a M&S near the tube station… so he headed to menswear and purchased a fleece that he could wear under his outer jacket.

Next on the agenda was lunch. He tried Wagamama’s but they were queueing out of the door - he did and about face and crossed the road to find a small Prezzo down a side street. Just the job. A coffee and pizza later he headed back into afternoon and on to Kensington Gardens. He had decided he would spend the rest of the afternoon walking.

First stop was Kensington Palace itself. Built originally for William and Mary and now home to Prince William and his family, and also home to Prince Harry. The state apartments were open to the public, but the Gorse Fox thought he’s save that for another day when the Silver Vixen was with him.

He head off from there to walk anti-clockwise round the park. Plenty of people were enjoying the open space - well wrapped up against the cold wind. The gardens were a treat and must be absolutely gorgeous in the spring and summer. In mid-winter, however, the beauty was in the frameworks of the trees and shrubs, sitting there devoid of their leafy splendour. The Gorse Fox carried on as far as the bridge that separates Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park, then turned to walk along the side of the Long Water towards Queensway, passing the statue of Peter Pan and the ornamental fountains. He looped back towards the Palace remembering how he used to drive down the Queensway to the ice rink back in the early 70s. It’s all gone now.

As he approached the Palace from the other side he saw a sign for The Elfin Oak. Intrigued, he diverted and went to find this. It’s actually the gnarled remains of a once mighty oak tree. In the gnarled surface people have attached small ceramic models of elves and woodland creatures. It really is quite magical. The whole thing is surrounded by a mesh cage to stop prying fingers, but the lens of the camera was small enough to see through without a problem.

He headed back past the Palace then looped back towards the Long Water. He had noticed the Serpentine Gallery and wondered if it was open and what it was showing. It was open and he made the most of the spare time to have a look around. He has concluded he is either a philistine, or the gallery was filled with a buch of pretentious idiots. It’s not that he didn’t “understand” the paintings - it’s more that they were totally unremarkable and lacked any apparent skill or merit. Even the Gorse Fox can paint a large canvas in a single shade of blue. Even the Gorse Fox can blow up a collect made from New York Times headlines. Even the Gorse Fox can print the same page of internet several times until the ink runs out on the printer.

He left, pleased that he hadn’t had to pay to see the exhibition. He wandered back to the western end of the Gardens and then, with about 30 minutes to kill, wandered back towards the RAH where he would meet the Sirens. In all he had walked about 12 kilometres, so it had been a good afternoon.

The Sirens soon turned up. They were absolutely bubbling. They had clearly enjoyed the ballet and were quite emotional. Apparently the Gorse Fox had chosen the seats well and they had an excellent view. They were absolutely full of it and chatted away the whole way back to the car and most of the way home.

The journey home was just as quick as the journey up and we were home soon after six-thirty. A great day.