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DAILY
REPORT 12 - 16/1/06
Thurs 12Jan 2006 0700hrs
Departed Cumbrae on the 0730hrs ferry,
having been taken there by "Herbie 2"....not a VW Beetle, but
a rather nice, new Renault Scenic with auto - everything. Herbie 2 was
so keen to get there he left his driver, 2 passengers, one holdall and 3
onlookers standing in Glasgow St and headed for Marine Parade all of his
own accord!! Herbie 2 was re-captured a short distance away and able to
take us to the ferry.
Via Tesco, Irvine for breakfast,
flight caught without incident and made our way back to Best
Western Phoenix Hotel, Bayswater.
An orientation visit made to the Rat
& Parrot prior to a stroll through Hyde Park. A third valiant
attempt was made to try and find that fountain, without success.
The call of beer from the Hoop & Toy was much stronger and the search for the
Princess Di watter feature called off again. After watering and
feeding, arrived back at the Phoenix just in time for the first of the
Happy Hour (5pm-7pm) visits.
Decision made that we would have
Italian and headed for Zizzi's,
which despite being mobbed, were able to provide a table some 20mins
later. This allowed a visit to the Courtfield
for liquid aperitifs and for 2 members of the group, a visit to the Prince
of Teck (£6.30 for one Bud, one Vodka/Lemonade).
Good meal at Zizzi's than Tube back to
Bayswater and the Kings
Head (£20.17 for 3 Buds, dbl Vodka/Lemonade and dbl dark rum/coke).
Then back to the Phoenix for nightcaps and emboldening Scots-Norwegian
links with Bjorn and his IT group. These Norwegians can drink !
Fri 13Jan 2006
Despite sustaining a minor head injury
trying to negotiate low doorway for breakfast, secretary managed to
continue with his day!
Visit to London
Boat Show, expansive show within Excel at Docklands. President was piped
aboard HMS Grafton and managed not to cause International security
incident before being poured off. Plenty of exhibits, no major
purchases made other than the President securing a good discount on
illuminated display nav. chart. Its arrival eagerly awaited !
Afterwards, Indian food decided upon
as the choice of the day and an annual return made to the Maharajah,
Bayswater, where this time, we managed to secure seats downstairs. No
more elbow room than last year, but no climb up the stairs! Despite the
Chief Fotiegraffer insisting on vegetable soup for starters, he
managed to get vegetable samosa!
Our waiter (from Bangladesh) on
hearing our accents was able to extol the pleasures of Scotland and
question our collectively extensive knowledge of Fife for his intended
visit to S. Queensferry (??), that Mecca of the East Coast! Very
knowledgeable on Central Scotland after attending a short course at
Glasgow Uni. (10mins).
After an excellent meal, we adjourned
to the Rat & Parrot. Everything finds its own level as they say and
we were joined momentarily by the local vagrant prior to his swift
removal from the premises. We drank up, just in case we were
next!!
Guess what, back to the Phoenix for
too many nightcaps.
Sat 14 Jan 2006
Secretary v. hung over, nuff said!
Visits to Natural History Museum and
National Science Museum. Natural History Museum, bit dry, ideal if kids
with you, not too great for hung over adults who know what elephants
& giraffes look like!!??!!
Now, the National Science Museum, that's
a different story! A gadget lovers heaven with concise explanations on
everything. Set plenty of time aside for this visit.
Turns out its also Phil's London
Garage, couple of MOT's have run out, but the cars are still running
fine!!!
A return to the Hoop & Toy for
lunch/beer and then an afternoon siesta for 2 members, other 3 off to
Tottenham Ct Rd to see electronics/more gadgets - no bargains so
.........back to the Phoenix for Happy Hours!
American style food the flavour of the
day , off to Bayswater's TGI Friday. Good food (£16.25 for 5 buds
though).
From there 6th on the right and 1 left
turn (depending which way you turn leaving the restaurant) might take
you to the Cock
& Bottle without a doubt, the best pub encountered so far. Mine
Host, "Taffy" Richard , undoubtedly entered into the spirit of
our humour and was a generous, welcoming and entertaining host.
Seriously, if ever visiting this area, this is the place for a pint or
6!
After several drinks here, at closing
time, headed back to the Phoenix for too many nightcaps (again)!
Sun 15 Jan 2006
If you are good at reading between the
lines (above), you'll no doubt realise that a late breakfast was the
order of the day!
After breakfast, Tube down to the
Embankment and boarded riverboat down to Greenwich. A good tip here is
that if you have bought a 3 day Tube ticket, this counts as a travelcard
and entitles you to a third off river trips!!
During this journey, the Secretary,
obviously overcome by the sights from the river, managed to mistake the
MI5 building for the MFI building
At the Gipsy
Moth, for the 3rd year in a row, enjoyed an excellent roast lunch
and couple of beers before setting off thru the Craft Market to the
Maritime Museum. The lure of a massage was of course, too tempting for
one member of the group (no names, no pack drill), but they did catch up
with us at the Museum!
The National
Maritime Museum well worth a visit and passed the rest of the day.
Journeyed back into city centre where
the delights of the Sherlock
Holmes and the Bear
& Staff were sampled....big style!!
Two of the regular haunts of the group
during London visits, both serve good drinks and have good staff (Bear
& Staff house vodka is Stoli....how good is that!??). In the Bear
& Staff, joined by Karen (aka Medicine Woman) who managed to drink
us all under the table (that's our version and we are sticking to it!!).
Hope you got home safely Karen, we very nearly didn't
!!!! (Nuff said).
Mon 16 Jan 2006 0610hrs
As a result of the over-indulging by
some, an early start to the day prior to travelling back North. Some
even managed some breakfast. 1430hrs arrived back in Cumbrae and raised
a glass to Temperance!! (Didnae last long though!)
Once collated, some more edited/scrutinized
photographs will be displayed on site.....keep checking!
PHOTOS
(Clink on the
hyperlinks throughout to view foties, ENLARGE the new window if required
to read captions!)
As promised here are the
1st batch of photos. More are awaited from the Chief Fotiegraffer, once
he gets the hang of this email malarkey! Herbie 2
was the driving force of the group before we even left Cumbrae.
Firstly, better start
with the poor soul who had to endure all Happy Hours with us, Jesus,
barman from Brazil. Not only did he have us to contend with, but also a
group of thirsty Norwegians who thought London drink was cheap (£8 for
a pint in Norway!!)
Friday at the boat show,
the Secretary made a small purchase (gratuitous
boat picture). The President and Chief Fotiegrafer boarded HMS
Grafton, but were less than impressed with the marquee!
Here also, the group were
able to find a suitable vessel for unlucky boat owner and former
Homebase manager, Scott of the Predator, no
watering necessary!!!
Sunday was the trip
doon the watter, a custom we started in Scotland and imitated
throughout the World now. We started off on the banks of the wee stream,
Thames, near to the Big Brother House,
well known for its full complement of comedians. Unfortunately though
Gorgeous George, Barmy Barrymore were not at home as they were on
holiday at a Channel 4 resort!
Further doon the watter,
we took in sights such as Fosters
Folly, a monument to strength & stability
and an unusual inviting building entitled EAT(?!).
Further doon stream, a
striking building designed & built by Lego,
allows every occupant an uninterrupted view down the river, however,
some residents report difficulties with the Plasticine kitchens and the
Barbie furniture!
We also saw the Canary
Dwarf, now a London landmark, which, contrary to belief has no
connection with small yellow budgies!
On arrival at Greenwich
(pronounced gren - itch), Secretary toyed with a 2nd purchase (2nd
gratuitous boat pic), but decided it was impractical as Ryanair are
very strict regarding hand luggage weight.
Further on, we recreated
a picture from 2yrs ago when we featured our Professor at the School of
I.T. Two years on and it couldn't be more apt.
After providing visitors
to the Maritime Museum the full benefit of
our extensive knowledge, we headed back to the West End of the town
centre.
Sherlock
& Holmes made a return visit for the benefit of the tourists,
before heading for the Bear & Staff, hats off
to the staff!
We were joined there by
Medicine Woman, who after being introduced to Laurel
& Hardy, (who had come out of retirement), was able to assist
with a diagnosis of bus electrical problems and suggest remedies, prior
to escaping to sanity. The Presidents dietary requirements were abandoned!
The following day, it
has been alleged, that 2 members of the group were a little under
the weather, however , as can be clearly seen, there is probably a very
good excuse for the deceptive appearances....decide for yourself here!
More will follow, you
have been warned!!
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