Londinium

Well this morning we expected rain, but none appeared. After we sorted outsides out, we headed to Islington to meet Lisbetta, a friend of Boronia who is a dance choreographer and artist. We spent an hour or so at Yotam Ottolenghi's Islington cafe chatting, and then she too us on a walk along the Regents Canal, a wonderful surprise in the centre of the city: peaceful, quiet, we watched a boatman drop his vessel through one of the locks, walked past some police divers exploring for some unknown object hiding beneath the waters surface, and generally enjoyed the ambience of the canal.

Next was a visit to the Barbican Theatre to see what was happening there: short answer is not much, or at least not much that fits our interests and time frame. But just around the corner is the London Museum, so we popped in there and spent a pleasant two hours examining the displays and objects recounting London's history, from prehistoric times,through to the Roman occupation (veni, vidi, vinci!).

I was particularly interested in material relating to Shakespeare's time, and Samuel Pepys, a diarist and public servant who wrote about his daily life in London in the middle 1600s, including famously about the Great Fire of London. There was some material relevant to these interests, but not a lot. Nevertheless, it was very interesting and enjoyable.

It reminded me of one of the first books I read as a young boy, a three volume school textbook of English history which had belonged to one of my my father's parents, and possibly to one of his grandparents. I read and reread these books when i was about ten, learning about King Alfred, the battle of Hastings, the Duke of Wellington, and much more. I remembered a funny story my mother told me about my school days. I had a lovely teacher in Grade Three at Blackfriars School i Adelaide, Mrs Berowksi, and one day parents hd been invited to come to school to see what was going on. My father was in the classroom, reading some students work pinned to the wall, not really listening to the lesson, when Mrs Berowksi, in a forceful tone, said: "Mr Dillon, who was the Queen of the Angles who fought the Romans?" My father was rather startled, as he thought he was being addressed, and hadn't a clue as to the answer. But suddenly, I piped up and responded: " Queen Boudicea, Mrs Berowksi". Apparently my Dad gave a sigh of relief! He hadn't realised that at Blackfriars, in Grade Three, the students were referred to as Mr so and so as a matter of course.

After the Museum, we spent an hour walking the two kilometres or so back to our accommodation, via various markets, a street demonstration of abut twenty people making a din and racket that resembled two hundred, crowds of drinkers spilling onto the streets from the many public houses, and throngs of workers heading home. We arrived here about six thirty, making it a nine hour day.

All in all, a very pleasant day.