We bought our country train tickets for Brighton at Gloucester Road tube station, which was time saving, as we ran up from Victoria underground station across a long concourse onto the first carriage (he means the last carriage) of the Brighton train with only minutes to spare. The trip down was speedy arriving in just under an hour with only three stops. All the carriages in the train were designated "first class". We think that's just a ploy by the private rail operator to charge more. But nonetheless, a steward did wander up and down with a trolley selling coffee, tea and snacks. There was even a conductor who checked tickets and chatted with passengers. And he was by himself. A bit of a change from the ticket checkers on Melbourne trains who travel in groups, apparently because they feel that they need the numbers as they issue fines to anyone without a valid ticket regardless of the reason, ie wretched ticket machines not working.

On bank holidays if these platforms all filled with trains, then Brighton must be packed with people.

The weather forecast had predicted rain, wind and cool conditions and they weren't wrong. As we made our way out of the station we were hit by the freezing wind which went straight through us, dressed as we were in a couple of layers of our "spring" clothing. As we crossed the street we felt the rain. What a day to visit the beach!! The winds were so strong that at times we closed our umbrellas (newly purchased from the umbrella store in London) as they bent and threatened to break as we were whipped by the Arctic gusts.

We made our shivering way down West Street towards the water. Then we both noticed it together: A Damart store! A place to purchase warm, dry, protection-from-the-wind clothing. We picked up our pace ... and then the disappointment ... It was not to be, the sign was there but the store was closed. So as to make the empty store not look derelict the owners had pasted a wallpaper scene of a shop filled with tables and chairs on the windows.

Undeterred we continued battling the winds until we were finally at the seafront. Where the wind and rain were even more fierce. As we looked back towards the shops and hotels, everything appeared to be shut, and in some cases shuttered. It didn't look very inviting, but rather sad and tired.

We looked along the beachfront to decide where to now; as we'd seen the sea. We could see the burnt-out shell of West Pier to our right and Brighton Pier and an aquarium to our left. It seemed to us that we shouldn't leave Brighton without promenading along the pier. It should only have been a short stroll to the pier, but the ferocity of the winds made it seem much further away. A case of two steps forward and one step back, so to speak. Even had there been verandahs on the shop fronts, they would have been no protection from the wind and rain.

There was a line of people from a tourist bus, waiting to enter the aquarium, but we wandered past them and over to the pier.

We walked down the Pier, a Victorian pleasure park. We passed small kiosks selling holiday foods (ice cream, fairy floss, doughnuts, fish and chips) souvenirs and t-shirts and caps etc. These kiosks are open to the weather, so the ones that were open today were manned by really hardy old salts. Next on the pier we enter what we are disappointed to find is a large area devoted to poker machines of many kinds, with a few video games on the side to entertain the children, while the parents lose the rent money. As the weather remains cold, windy and wet, we are pleased to find a video game for the oldies. And we spend a good half an hour and almost 10 pounds defending Britain against the Luftwaffe in a Battle of Britain video game. Andy's contribution to the war effort was crashing for Britain: "If I had been in the RAF we would all be speaking German". In my own case, it is to my shame that my few hours of real flying experience made little difference to my contribution to the war effort.

Continuing along the pier, we leave the warm and dry gaming hall and return to the cold and wet. A little further along are side show stalls, balls in the clowns mouth, coconut shys etc. These stalls, which are undercover, are painted in a garish style just like the amusement stalls at the show. Unfortunately, there were no takers today for these amusements.

We stay under cover and look further along the pier, wondering what might be in the next building. Was it the sign from above "England's best fish and chips" or that the Palm Court Restaurant was out of the rain that beckoned us to go in for lunch. Fiona tried the plaice and I the haddock. Nice fish, no bones but the English batter is so thick that you seem to end up with a mouthful of batter and little actual fish. Still we dried off a bit, finished lunch and headed back.

We walked back to the street on the other side of the pier this time.

The other major attraction that we knew of in Brighton was the Royal Pavilion. We were blown away from the seaside and up a broad street called the Old Stein on our way to find the Pavilion. After several blocks we eventually found it. Protected from the wind and rain by a bus shelter we looked across the garden and noticed that all the windows appeared to be boarded up. And we could see that the gate in the fence was closed nor were there signs of any kind.

So as the day had proved so miserable thus far we decided to return to the station via the shopping area known as the lanes. We walked around the block and turned the corner, looked up a wide tree-lined street with shops and outdoor cafes and then we saw it! A portico and a small crowd! Could this be the entrance we had been searching for?

We hurried up to the portico, purchased tickets (just slightly ahead of a large French school group), got our audio tour and entered another world!!!

Unfortunately, photos and filming of any kind were absolutely forbidden. So most of the photos we have are taken from the guide book we purchased from the gift shop, and they really don't do justice to the scale and decoration of the rooms of the Pavilion. Which are truly spectacular, some in fact jaw droppingly impressively beautiful!!! No kidding ... But how to do justice to it all, so that you can appreciate it as we did?

The Royal Pavilion was the seaside palace of King George IV. In 1786, seriously in debt and intent upon a very public display of economy, George retired to Brighton to a modest farmhouse. The following year, his financial position resolved and with his debts paid, he asked Henry Holland to transform the farmhouse. The resulting small neo-classical structure with a central domed rotunda surrounded by Ionic columns was known as the Marine Pavilion.

The tour begins

The Banqueting room is breathtaking and literally a feast for the eyes! And the further one ventures into this magnificent room the more magnificent it is.

Unfortunately, this photo doesn't show the shallow dome ceiling nor the enormous 30 foot chandelier, which weighs one ton. It's held in the claws of a silvered dragon suspended from the apex of the ceiling. Below, six smaller dragons exhale light through lotus glass shades.

The copper leaves stand proud of the ceiling adding to the illusory effect.

The Prince Regent would delight in showing guests the Great Kitchen adjacent to the Banqueting room. This was unusual because cooking odours and the risk of fire meant the kitchen was placed well away from the dining room. One of the innovations included a large steam table to keep dishes hot until they were taken through to the diners. This must have been welcomed especially since the Prince regularly gave formal banquets; one of which featured 36 entrees. I wonder how many desserts there were?

Dinner guests left the Banqueting room, played cards and chatted in the saloon before joining their host in the music room. Music was another of George IV's great passions and in this extraordinary room, lit by nine lotus-shaped chandeliers, the King's own band would play selections from Handel or Italian opera.

This splendid room was severely damaged by fire in 1975. After a decade restoration work to the gilt dome, coving, clerestory windows and their surrounds, east wall and chandeliers had barely been completed when the hurricane of October 1987 dislodged a stone ball on top of one of the minarets which then fell through the newly-restored ceiling, embedding itself in the newly laid, hand-knotted carpet.

And having just completed the painstaking work of restoring the ceiling's 26,000 cockle-shells, it all had to begin again.

How lucky we had been to have looked down that small street and seen the Pavilion's portico. If we had been looking the other direction we'd have returned to London without having seen the wonder of Brighton's Royal Pavilion. A very pleasant end to our visit to Brighton.

In our eighth despatch retelling our adventures in Clerkenwell, we included a photo of the sign above the Three Kings Pub, and asked readers to identify the three kings on the sign.

Sorry that the photo was a little small to make identifying them seem more like a pressure test on Master Chef than a simple stroll through someone's holiday snaps.

And the answer is ...

The tour of the Museum begins with a lift ride up two floors and back 200 years to 1800. Opposite the lift we see a horse drawn omnibus of the era. Seated inside are two costumed mannequins. We climb aboard and as we sit being swayed side to side in a simulation of the carriage’s movement we listen to the rules of occupancy being read out. And we are transported back to London 1800 AD, but without the smells or the corsets. The swaying movement is a reminder, that there seems to be very little difference between a 19th century London omnibus and a 21st century Connex train, except of course omnibuses had staff to assist passengers, unlike Connex’s goons, other than that the speed they travel at is about the same.

London had both omnibuses for city travelling and stage coaches for travel between cities, on an omnibus you paid as you entered while on a stage coach you had to book and pay beforehand. The later horse drawn buses were drawn by two horses and were double decker to accommodate 24 people. When Queen Victoria died in 1900 there were so many horses providing transport to Londoners that these animals produced 1000 tonnes of manure per day. Maintaining these horses was a major operation involving a small army of stable hands, vets, farriers as well as bringing in tonnes of horse feed per day. Cambden Lock was one of the industrial sites which provided for London’s working horse needs, including areas that supplied saddlery, feed, shoeing etc. Horses also pulled London’s early trams. They were more efficient at pulling the trams because the effort required to pull a tram on rails is less than that required to pull an omnibus on the open road. With the switch to petrol buses these horses were sold off in large horse sales of up to 400 animals at a time.

London’s greatest transport revolution was the development of the world’s first underground railway in the 1860’s. Initially the underground linked the major country terminus stations that were then on the edge of the city. The first tunnels were constructed by the 3 step, cut and cover method. First a trench is dug, a brick tunnel is constructed, then the trench is backfilled allowing the land to be built over. The cut and cover method involved significant destruction of existing buildings which included some slum clearance.

The early underground was a huge engineering achievement and very well used, but had one big disadvantage. Pre electrification the underground traveller had to contend with the smoke and steam put out by the engine. Its steam locomotives created a permanent sulphurous fug in the stations and tunnels.

Another diorama showed the digging of tunnels by hand by using cast iron plates for temporary support. I don’t think I could dig an underground tunnel in cramped conditions that existed in those early days. A modern tunnel drilling machine makes the process of expanding the underground a lot easier for those working underground.

The tunnels of the Underground’s later lines are in a larger diameter to allow larger above ground trains to run underground. The original lines have a smaller diameter tunnel that allows smaller underground-only trains to operate in them.

One exhibit was a map of London that showed how the underground system had expanded each year from 1863 until today. Note to Brumby/Kosky, this is how a public transport system should be run - Melbourne's train system hasn't been significantly expanded since the 1930s. Each new line was represented by its colour on the London Transport map, which is so familiar.

The ground floor of the museum, needed its larger floor area for the story of London’s buses and trams. I was unaware that depending on the line, London's trams were supplied with electricity from either overhead wires or from underground cables set in conduits below the road. New York and Washington had similar conduit systems. The conduit system was more expensive to maintain than the overhead wires we have in Melbourne. This increased expense was a contributing factor in the demise of London's trams. The replacement of the tram system began with trolley buses in the 1930's and was completely replaced by buses in the 1950’s.

The museum is very hands-on. For the little boys of all ages there were train driver simulations. There were many train coaches to board, and buses, and engines. If only the little kids would make way for the big kids, we would have had a much better, not to mention shorter, visit to the museum.

The exit was via the book/gift shop where we escaped without buying a book or souvenir, not for lack of trying. The store was designed, much like the museum itself, to appeal more to children. Which is a pity, given that mass transit systems are so vital to the future of all cities.

Back into the crowded stalls of Covent Garden Market which was once London’s wholesale flower market whose proud boast was that it was open everyday except Christmas Day. The flower market moved to South London and today the buildings have become a tourist market filled with speciality retailers, jewellery, souvenir stalls and one lone fruiterer. Fiona looked in vain for a new piece of jewellery. Although Andy did get himself a lovely leather wallet; plenty of places for all his bits of plastic. The market was incredibly crowded and moving around it was quite difficult; it must make pickpockets’ work easier.

We wandered along Long Acre, a street only the English could name where we discovered an English tailor, Hawes and Curtis. Their window display showed beautiful shirts and ties and they were having a sale! We were drawn in to see more, but left with only one new shirt.

It was getting late, we were foot sore and the Tube beckoned. So we returned to the hotel and a nice hot cup of tea. This is the time of day we regretted that our hotel room did not have tea/coffee making facilities. So it's either tea in the lounge, or at one of the many and varied food places in Gloucester Road, but either way we still had to keep our shoes on!

We meet Jean at St Paul's tube station, and there are over 50 other people, making this the largest walking tour group we have been on. The simple act of paying took on monumental proportions. And crossing roads with a party of this size was an exercise in crowd management. Lucky it was a bank holiday Sunday, so there was very little traffic.

Our first stop is Postmans Park, named because it adjoins the GPO and is where the postmen would rest. This small green oasis, with its tinkling fountain contains a very moving memorial to ordinary people who have died while saving others. It's shielded by a low canopy on the boundary of the park and is very easy to overlook. We're certainly glad that Jean pointed it out to us. Painter and social radical GF Watts, had an idea to commemorate “heroic men and women” for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee year in 1887. No one supported the idea so he did it himself, with his wife Mary continuing to add tiles after his death in 1904; a tradition that continues today.

We continued down a street named Little Britain, passing between some of the buildings of St Bart's Hospital, reassembling in the park near the entrance to the church of St Bartholomew. In the middle ages this park, then located outside the city, was the site of jousting tournaments and fairs. What remains of the monastic church of St Bartholomew is entered through a gateway in a three-story Tudor building adorned by a statue of St “guess who?”. Originally the hospital was an arm of the monastery. But the monastery grew in size until it was appropriated by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries. Very little remains of the monastery today, just the small park, a small parish church and one wing of the cloister. Although the hospital continues to grow to meet the needs of the community. I'm sure my (Andy's) father would be pleased, as this is where he did his medical residency.

We learn about the body snatchers of the early 19th century who provided St Barts medical students with corpses to dissect and study, by removing bodies from fresh graves. A profitable business for local villains.

Smithfield Green was a place of execution for several centuries. Among the most notable to be executed are William Wallace, and the Protestant Martyrs under Queen Mary's rule.

Across the green is Smithfield Market, originally a live animal market on the outskirts of the City, it is now a wholesale meat market. Meat has been bought and sold at Smithfield for over 800 years, making it one of the oldest markets in London. A livestock market has occupied the site as early as the 10th century. Approximately 120,000 tons of produce pass through the market each year, including meat and poultry, cheese, pies, and other delicatessen goods. Bargaining between buyers and sellers at Smithfield sets the guidelines for meat and poultry prices throughout the UK. The ancient meat market has recently undergone a major refurbishment resulting in the creation of a thoroughly modern temperature controlled environment inside a magnificent Victorian building. Units are divided into a number of temperature controlled areas. Customers are able to walk along the central avenues choosing from the goods on display. If however they want to take a closer look inside the shop they must be dressed in clean protective clothing in order to comply with hygiene regulations.

We turn next into Cloth Fair, a very narrow one-way street, whose evocative buildings and lanes have survived both the Great Fire and the Blitz, including London's oldest lived-in house. From the middle ages until Victorian times the green fields of Smithfield held an annual fair and it was in Cloth Fair that the Guild of Mercers (cloth sellers) set up their stalls. There were even courts that followed the fairs to settle disputes between buyers and sellers. Sorry it was too narrow to take any meaningful photos.

We walk through back alleys to Charterhouse Square. The square has a beautiful key garden in the centre, surrounded by Regency period town houses. The garden, like other enclosed gardens is owned by the residents, who pay for the upkeep of the garden and receive a key that gives them access to the locked garden. The Charterhouse Square garden is built on the site of a plague pit, where victims of the black death were buried in a communal grave. At the edge of the park a monastary was built to house the monks who were to pray for the souls of those who died without the benefit of clergy or absolution. The original monks came from Chartres in France and from this name is derived Charter House. And at the eastern edge of this park stands the Art Deco building that is the home of TV’s Hercule Poirot.

It was slightly surreal to be standing in such a lovely square, with the sunlight glinting through the beautiful trees and listen to Jean's tales of the horrors of the black death, bringing to life tales from long ago.

The tour was taking longer than planned because of the large group of people, many of whom were dawdlers. It seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for the last of the stragglers to catch up again at each new stop, and allow Jean to continue with her fascinating commentary.

But we did eventually make our way to St Johns Gate in St Johns Lane. The Gatehouse is home to St Johns Ambulance Museum. Which is closed on public holidays. But for the record here is the address, as you'll see it's an easy one to remember: The Museum of the Order of St John, St John's Gate, St John's Lane, London.

We continued our walk to the Karl Marx Library, an unimposing lightly-rendered brick building that fronts Clerkenwell Green. Now Green is a misnomer, as the green seems to have been long gone. Today Clerkenwell Green consists of a concreted area in the centre of a wide street through which several trees are growing. Today London's May Day and other protest marches begin from this location.

Originally this area was named Clerkenwell Green because it was the last place to graze the animals being herded to Smithfield Market. Yes the fresh water well still exists in Clerkenwell. It is located in the basement of a building in Clerkenwell Road.

We pass a pub with a traditional name, but named untraditionally. See if you can work out what we mean in the photo below:

The walk ends at Farrindon Station which was built as part of the first Metropolitan underground railway line opened in 1863. The station and its surrounds are now rather run down, but scheduled for refurbishment works, as is much of London, for the 2012 Olympics.

And so our tour of Secret Clerkenwell ends some two hours later and Clerkenwell is a secret no longer.

A beautiful spring Sunday on a bank holiday weekend. Perhaps not the best day to go to beautiful Greenwich. Especially if you don't like crowds and waiting. Our visit to Greenwich started with our arrival at Embankment underground station, a walk to the river at Westminster and a long wait in line to buy tickets to the ferry. There followed a long wait for the ferry itself, while watching other ferries come and go and take off their lucky passengers.

The Greenwich ferry left from St Catherine's, not from Westminster we were told, so when the ferry finally came we were told to alight at St Catherine's and wait for the Greenwich ferry. So another wait in line, but at least Greenwich was that bit closer and we were at last on our way!

As we cruised along the Thames our ferry captain began his commentary. We're sure that his strong cockney accent must work a treat on the American tourists, but for us he sounded like a villain from The Bill. And his commentary included lots of well rehearsed and frankly slightly tired jokes. See what you think: "Here we see the Tate Modern Art Gallery, now if you want to see unmade beds and piles of rubbish, save yourself the entrance fee and come to my place". While we're on the topic of the Tate Modern, here is the disused power station in which it is housed.

As we passed the old School of London building, which features statues of four former pupils between the arched windows, our captain identified them as Milton, Bacon, Newton and Beckham. Beckham being the statue holding the "football".

And he continued with the joke, "but of course we all know that it's not Beckham, Beckham didn't go to school".

The statue is of course of Shakespeare holding a globe, representing the Globe Theatre.

On arrival at St Catherine's we all disembark, only to be told that there is only space for 25 passengers on the Greenwich ferry which is waiting there and there were at least 55 of us. In view of the wait we had already had, it was suggested that we return to our ferry and return to Westminster and join the next ferry to Greenwich there. So back we go to our starting point, we figured that it's not such a hardship to be cruising up and down the Thames on a lovely spring day.

On board the new ferry now and to our horror, we hear the PA crackling to life ... NOooooo we think, please no more corny commentary, as the captain begins his cockney guide to the buildings lining the river. Here are some of the sights we saw including some old original pubs, the City of London building, HMS Belfast, now a museum, and the building with the bulge:

And finally some three hours later we arrive at Greenwich. There is a flea market being held near the river and it's so crowded that, you may be surprised, we choose to follow the signs to the National Maritime Museum instead. Through the grounds of the old Royal Naval College, still following the signs to the Museum, we come to the end of the park-like grounds and see people eating and drinking outside a pub. This reminds us that we hadn't had lunch yet. So we walked a little further and ate at an old pub, the Yacht, with windows opening onto the river. It was lovely to eat by the riverside watching the various boats slipping by. As we leave we ask our waitress how to get to the Maritime Museum, only to be told walk back this way ... you can't miss it ... To which we replied in unison: Oh yes we can!! Apparently we had walked past it.

As we retraced our steps we notice again the many barriers up at various places, lots of security people, cranes, old carriages etc. Apparently they were filming the next Harry Potter film there. Luckily for us they were only filming overnight, so we were free to wander around the area. Perhaps you will see this wall when you see the new Harry Potter film:

Or some of these buildings:

We passed again the Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor designed Hospital. Originally a home for old navy seaman, in 1869 it became the Royal Naval College and today is part of the University of Greenwich. This area of Greenwich is World heritage listed because of its collection of intact Baroque buildings.

Still heading back towards the Maritime Museum we detoured to see the Chapel and dining room of the Naval College. As you can see the Chapel is highly decorated.

But the dining room is magnificent. The painting on the ceiling is an allegory that proclaims the virtues of Britain's Constitutional monarchy and how Britain's sea power provides riches which flow through to the people and the King is on his throne, Blessed by God. The painting is by James Thornhill, took 11 years to complete, and he was paid the enormous sum of 6,685 pounds and awarded a knighthood for his efforts. When finished in 1725, it became an instant tourist attraction, with visitors paying a small fee to enter.

In the photos below you can see the dining room, and below two photos of several mirrors, designed to assist appreciation of the beautiful ceiling. The mirrors are set into the top of trolleys which can be moved around. They are also slightly magnified, therefore one can see details of the ceiling painting in greater detail in the mirrors. And all without straining one's neck. How very civilised

At last we made it to the National Maritime Museum. Unfortunately, the Museum was on bank hours, and closed at 5.00 pm, regardless of the sunny skies outside and the many, many visitors still wandering the galleries. That left us with barely an hour and so much to see. We did see the uniform Nelson was wearing when he died at Trafalgar, his blood still evident. A bit gruesome. We had time only to visit a couple of galleries, very quickly. They started announcing the closure of the museum from 4.20 and at 10 minute intervals; that really puts a skip into your step to see as much as you can, but only fleetingly. Apparently the museum's collection features over two million items; I think we'll have to return another time to see the rest.

We made our way slowly back towards the river. It was a beautiful, balmy afternoon, and although many people slept on the return journey, we once again enjoyed London by the river.

For us it started with the British Museum on our first day in London. And it's extended to the Natural History Museum, the London Transport Museum, the Museum of London, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Maritime Museum. Andy thinks that I've left out a couple ... perhaps he's meaning the Harvey Nicholls and Harrods Museums?

At the Natural History Museum Andy was drawn to the dinosaur gallery. Perhaps it had something to do with the enormous diplodocus skeleton that stands in the museum's grand entrance. It's over 50 feet long from nose to the tip of its very long tail.

The Dinosaur gallery featured all the chart topping dinosaurs: triceratops, tyrannosaurus, apatosaurus, stegosaurus and probably 500 others. Their bodies in some cases, were so enormous that they would have had to spend most of every day eating in order to meet their energy needs. The last exhibit in the gallery was an animatronic tyrannosaurus whose tail and head moved as he roared in anger and scared the hordes of children.

Notice that the dinosaurs are all lit from below, ensuring that they create really scary shadows.

The Victoria & Albert Museum is on the next block from the Natural History Museum and luckily for us is open until 9.00 pm each Friday. So we had a late lunch in the Morris tea rooms, designed by William Morris (founder of the arts and crafts movement in the UK). The tea rooms are quite spectacular and well worth visiting in their own right. They feature beautiful stained glass windows, decorative tiles and every surface is decorated.

We were lucky to be at the V&A when it was holding a Baroque exhibition - "Style in the Age of Magnificence". Unfortunately, photos were absolutely forbidden, even without a flash. So enjoy the next photo as it was taken just before we were sternly rebuked.

It is a cabinet from Versailles, made at the Gobelins workshops of Paris in 1683. It is made of ebony, marble, ivory and inlaid with semi-precious gems.

The Baroque style was opulent, dramatic and highly decorative. It had its origins in France and Italy and spread to all European colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries.

As an observer the Baroque for me is all about display. The items on show whether grand staircases, long decorated galleries, elaborate dress or beautifully laid out gardens represent the owners wealth and importance.

Rest assured dear readers, there is more museum news to come.

At the entrance to the show, we are approached for donations to the Chelsea Pensioners. The flower show is held each year in the beautiful, park-like grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home to the men in scarlet, the retired soldiers.

The show is comprised of three parts: the show gardens; the flower displays in the Great Pavillion and the commercial exhibitors.

We entered the show and moved quickly to see as many of the show gardens as we could. Thank goodness we started here, because it was only a couple of hours later that all the show gardens were surrounded by excited garden enthusiasts, three or four deep.

James May's plasticine garden was very popular. Apparently May was unimpressed not to have received a medal for his entry. On hearing this the RHS President awarded him a plasticine medal. Here's a picture of the garden, it's quite something and as you can see must have taken many patient hours:

We loved the flower displays in the Great Pavillion. Everywhere you looked there were wonderful displays of all types of flowers, fruits and vegetables. The Jersey farmers had a gold-medal-winning stand composed solely of vegetables:

There was also a competition to make a hat from flowers. The hats were so beautiful, I'm glad I wasn't one of the judges.

But Andy's favourite thing was an outdoor table that featured an inbuilt barbecue grill:

Andy says what could be more convenient, sitting down together and everyone responsible for cooking their own meal.

As the day progressed, we took so many photos that we filled up the flashcard in our camera. The first time this has happened since we bought it some years ago. Footsore and tired we made our way towards the exit.

We arrived at the Chelsea Flower Show having promised ourselves not to buy anything. Our cases were already so very heavy that we barely made it back to London from Paris and being quite old cases they don't have the nice wheels fitted to new luggage. Keeping in mind our pledge to buy nothing, we left the Chelsea Flower Show with: one pair of Wellington boots, one set of stainless steel garden tools, two books, two glass vases, four pairs of gardening gloves, a magazine subscription, a coffee mug and five other gifts. Who said we don't have self control??

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and plan to start saving tomorrow for next year's show.

By choosing a new hotel in the same area (Gloucester Road, Kensington) we knew where the Tube station was and we had our favourite restaurants and shops, all without consulting a map. So that unlike most of our time in France and Belgium, sometimes we actually knew where we were.