Hope

We opted for a quiet train-strike Monday to head into London. Coffee and bread basket at Monument, then a whistle stop mini tour of the Tower - crown jewels, bloody tower, Beauchamp tower, white tower. Extra interesting to be lead by arja, full of enthusiasm. 

We followed this up with a windy, rainy visit to Fenchurch rooftop garden. I really got into this - just the sense of a particular place you get from seeing it all from above. And you don't get many chances to see the construction of skyscrapers when you live in Edinburgh.

Then off to Ottolenghi for lunch, with arja very kindly using the voucher that we gave her. That felt a bit cheeky! The food was really good, but over-seasoned for my taste, which is my usual problem when trying to enjoy upmarket food.

And as if those three things weren't enough in themselves, we then travelled over to NHM for Wildlife Photographer of the Year, which was very calming, and also a little depressing. It is very hard to go a day without being reminded that we seem to be well on course to self-destruction. I only hope that that everyday message helps spark change. Speaking of Hope, I hadn't seen her yet, in Dippy's place. The blue whale that hung at Chamber St always blew my mind as a child, and I felt that same thrill. The sheer scale and otherworldliness. Even easier to imagine Hope living, as they capture the diving movement so gracefully. She's there to remind us that we do have the capacity to turn things around, and I will try hard to remember that.