Room with a view

Well, it certainly isn't Arnside. This was the view from my 8th floor room in the Waterloo Travelodge. I watched the sun rise over the buildings with London's newest skyscraper, the Shard pointing at the sky.

Somehow from this viewpoint, the Shard doesn't look like a 300 metre plus building. This is the "tallest completed building" in Europe, though the Eiffel Tower is taller and so is the Emley transmitting station in West Yorkshire. The Guardian published 23 facts about the building, so you can read it on their website rather than me regurgitate it.

I travelled down to London yesterday for a meeting. In the interests of travelling light, I didn't take the big camera. I regretted it a bit later, as we spent this morning at the London Wetland Centre, an inspiring place that I would have liked a few more photographs of. But a good excuse to go back sometime at our leisure.

On the home front, Wifie has located Reg and he has been brought into the house to keep him warm overnight. The new outdoor shelter which I mentioned on Tuesday is intended to provide him with a warmer spot to retreat to on the colder evenings, but we have to persuade him to use it first. It won't be his winter quarters, he will be spending the colder months in hibernation in the fridge!

It's good to be home, it's cooler but the air is fresh, the cat is on the lap, Wifie is baking a cake, and all is well with the world.

Post-script: yes, Reg really will spend the winter in the fridge, a second one that lives in the cellar. It provides the constant low, but not too low temperature that he needs. The cellar might be ok, but I suspect it gets too warm at times, and in very cold weather it may be too cold. He will be tucked up in an insulated box.