London

It rained all day Sunday and turned to snow overnight. Monday was bleak and drizzly and I only got off the boat to get coal.  Tuesday was cold and gry and the smattering of snow that had settled stayed put.  So did I.  Wednesday was the same with more snow forecast.  I had to go to London for a couple of days work on Thursday and Friday so, because of bad weather forecast, I decided to book a hotel for the nights of Wednesday and Thursday. It was wonderful: comfy bed: TV: hot shower: central heating: big fluffy towels.  I could get used to this, much preferable to boats on cold grey rivers. I was in Richmond, I wouldn't mind living in Richmond, it has a river and hills, wide open spaces and interesting old architecture, lovely pubs and restaurants.  One of those little terraced houses behind Sheen Road would suit me fine.  Now where did I put that spare million quid.

Then the second day of work was postponed because their server had not been configured correctly. The sun was shining and it felt warm.  The sort of day it is good to spend on a riverbank but I went to Kew Gardens instead of going straight back to the boat.  In the olden days I used to go to Kew Gardens a lot and it only cost a few pence to get in.  The price has increased dramatically since then but even so it is worth the money.  The glasshouses, old and new, are stunning, the exhibition of sculptures by David Nash are beautiful although sometimes I felt his wooden sculptures were outclassed by some of the magnificent trees that stood around them. There was an exhibition of orchids. Orchids en masse were garish blocks of colour (that’s OK I like garish) but when you look closely at the flowers they are delicate and exquisitely beautiful.  Even the planes coming into Heathrow etched against a clear blue sky seemed part of Kew’s performance.  I had a lovely day and wondered if I should leave the isolation of the river and move to London. Then two hours stuck in traffic on The North Circular put paid to that idea.