Wimbledon - Lawn Tennis Championships 2009

We went to Wimbledon today... we sat in a queue for an hour and a half... (and yes we sat... We had Margaret with her who is still recovering from her hip surgery, so we were all taken in a buggy to sit in a tent until the queue caught up with us!!) - Despite such a long queue the courts seemed eerily empty and with minimal difficulty we watched matches on Numbers 2 and 3 courts.... where was everyone???






and finally we find why there are so many empty seats around . . . Andy Murray is playing Stanislas Wawrinka on centre Court and everyone is sitting on Henman Hill or Murray Mount (doesn't quite trip off the tongue does it) ... we watched for a while and when Murray looked home and hosed we decided to go home.. little did we know he would be so aghast at our leaving that he would struggle on for another 80 minutes... whoops.. sorry Andy.. better luck in the next round!

and just a final note.. a big thank you to this taxi driver who refused to take us in his cab, because he wasn't interested in going to my part of town......

Battersea Power Station

For as many years as I have lived n London this wonderful building has dominated the sky of SW LOndon. Sadly it has become more and more dialpidated while rumours abound as to what will happen to it.. The Tate Modern is a great example of how these tremendous buildings can be preserved... Come on Wandsworth Councillors get it sorted

Snakes on a bridge

Saw this bloke walking across Waterloo Bridge yesterday and couldn't believe a) that he appeared to have a handbag that was actually a snake .. a large snake and that b) absolutely NO-ONE gave him a second glance - apart from me of course

Stormy weather

Went to see Oliver in the West End on Saturday and the temperature was through the roof. I nearly melted and was in danger of slithering over people in the more expensive seats!! Imagine my surprise when I saw the sky when we got outside.. with a large BBQ party planned I was worried but we didn't have a single drop of rain!!

British Airways - Nation's Favourite Airline or just crooks???

Very unusually for me no photograph's tonight -

This is a rant about the crooks who run British Airways. In January I paid for 3 flights to Malta in October 2009. I always buy my flights early as this is the best way to afford them ..... Imagine my horror when BA cancelled them yesterday. I will get my money back (eventually) but to book with another airline will now cost me double (being no longer ages in advance). I will end up approximately £300 - £500 out of pocket. However this is the SECOND time that BA have done this to me. IN June 2007 I booked flights to Iceland in May 2008 which were cancelled 3 months before we were due to fly. That little scam left us £400 out of pocket.

Legally of course they can do this.... morally I think that the directors are a bunch of crooks. If I wanted to cancel the flights BA would not have let me do it, but they don't even have to apologise. They don't even have the decency to make an immediate refund.

So if you are thinking about where you may vacation next year, and the slogan 'the nation's favourite airline' floats into your head, think again. They take your money and then renege on their contract without so much as a thought for the loss we will suffer. Hang your heads in shame you theiving crooks!

Walk along the London Southbank

Saturday afternoon found me walking off a couple of glasses of Pimms.... Pimms is scary stuff, it slips down like apple juice and then when you stand up it all appears to hit your legs.... still I guess it also affested my head as this was one of the first sights. . . .


Nearby is the statue of Nelson Mandela, which I walk past every time I head into central London. Today it was catching the light nicely and I asked him to pose nicely (Pimms still doing the talking you see)
These two were pretty in pink . . .

and then further alon, my more usual shots. . .





and then an evening meal later . . .

West End Live 21.6.09

I was out and about early today with Rhianna and Mark to see West End Live - see here for the official website. The programme for Saturday looked amazing - lots of current musicals plenty of variety, but teh Sunday programme looked poor. If the Jersey Boys hadn't turned up I might have stayed in bed for a while longer -

First I had to admire Rhianna's (lack of ) tooth


and then we'll leap straight to the fabulous Jersey Boys.. I really want to go and see this now . . .



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The crowd were mesmerised . .

Stopm actually opened the show and were pretty awesome. I have seen Stomp a few times at various shows, and although I really enjoy the sets I am not sure how I could sit through an entire show??



This was a set from the stars of the future.. the West End Kids -


The final set we saw was Thriller Live. I have to admit I am not a big Michael Jackson fan, and I wasn't too keen on the set. but this lady I think stole the show.....

Royal Ascot - a day in the Silver Ring

As a treat for Tom working so hard for his GCSEs (I have very low standards you realise) I took him to one of his alltime favourites - Royal Ascot. However he didn't work that hard, so we went into the Silver Ring. Do you know if you want a really good day out, spend it in the Silver Ring at Royal Ascot. Everyone was up for a good time, very friendly and having fun. There was a brass band in the background, lots of room and a good view of Brenda and the rest of the Royal party and the racing!





Very irritatingly I forgot to take my medium lens, which is the best for this kind of photography, so I am soooooo disappointed with myself and these photos... Never mind, we'll just have to go again next year



The Silver Ring does ot have a formal dress code, but most people made an effort, and I have never seen so many feathers outside of birdworld!!






This couple were so kind to Tom- giving him one of their programmes, and they were delightful company. The gentleman was there celebrating his 65th birthday... so congratulations to you Sir!


This was the first race - the rail was in the way, making the shots pants.. but I like the jockey's expressions



I think they might be winners!

Things always stop for a good hat!


This lady was my beautiful lady of the day, I thought she looked stunning and won Tom and my prize of the day!!
although this lady was pretty impressive too -