(Winter) Postcards from London

Today has been quite a day! When G had her birthday meal in November, we were joined by a friend who was visiting Dubai. He is the Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and in his role, had to organise the Carol Service. As we were in town, he invited us as his guests.

I was introduced to a whole new side of London life and got an education on Guilds and Livery companies in the process. Fascinating stuff. We decided to drive in rather than use public transport, and it was a really good decision. For starters, I was able to get pictures of London at dusk, and as the trees have shed their leaves, I am in awe of how stunning they look, so there are quite a few pictures of bare trees here!

The Carol service itself was faultless. Again, I am amazed at how well things are organised here. Perfect timing for everything. Our friend David told us later it is how livery companies do things. We had an amazing brass band and choir, an excellent sermon and it was followed by a reception in a church a short walk away on Lombard Street where we enjoyed chatting with a few people whilst tucking into some very good food and wine.

As we were in the area and had some time to spare, we popped into The Royal Exchange. First time ever for me, I had no idea what was behind the iconic building on the junction that I have known as Bank.

What a stunning building and I love what they have done with it on the inside. G & I decided to treat ourselves to a spritzer, and I got a demo on Phantom speakers which produce superb sound for their size. New tech developed in France that has only been around two years; it uses both analog and digital technology to reproduce brilliant sound. So pleased I got to see them. As you can imagine, they cost a bomb.

We got back to the car with fifty minutes to spare on the parking, so decided to drive around Central London a bit, just looking at the lights and taking in the sights. We drove up Northumberland Avenue to Trafalgar Square, down the Mall, then on to Constitution Hill. Not sure the names of the roads after that (as I was on a call to my nephew) but we looped around and ended up on Picadilly, the Circus, back to Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall and finally South to cross the river on Chelsea Bridge. (We came over Battersea Bridge on the way in).

Good journey back once we got on the right road but home too late to even look at the pictures I'd taken, let alone blip anything. :)  My blip is of Westminster Abbey (in case you didn't recognise it). The extra gives a flavour of the rest of the afternoon/evening.