Sunday 24 August 2014

Getting to like London

 

IMG_3268With a small crowd starting to gather opposite our mooring we knew it must be Rolling bridge time in Paddington Basin. It is lifted every Friday at 12.00 by the security staff in the basin.

IMG_3270Up she goes. The idea is for it to rollover to allow boats to pass through , but as you can see its a dead end and its not big enough to moor any boats there.

IMG_3272Its amazing what you can do with a few Hydraulic rams and some good old British engineering.

IMG_3274The whole process takes a couple of minutes and it is a great to watch. The bridge was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and completed in 2004. It won the British steel structure award in 2005.

IMG_3282The walk of shame.  One of the joys of Narrowboating is emptying the toilet cassette and with 4 of us on board we are filling them at an alarming rate , and guess who has to wheel them all the way from Paddington to Little Venice. At least it is early on a Sunday morning and there are not a lot of people about.

IMG_3283Sunday was Daddy and Daughter day, Carolyn and Curly stayed on Inca while we went off around London , Chloe was so desperate to get me out and about in London. I am 55 years old and have never been on the Underground so guess what i had to do. Me and Carolyn now have Oyster cards which should make it easier to get around. I must admit i did enjoy the Tube and don't they accelerate fast and stop quickly. I am more used to 2 miles an hour.

IMG_3291After going over and having a look at The Shard we came back over to Westminster. Chloe tried to get me on the London eye , but i am not that good with heights and also you have to pay, and don't forget my middle name is Thrifty.

IMG_3309It was then down to Downing Street to meet my good mate Dave.

IMG_3328Now i like this place The National Gallery (its free). I did ask the Grim Reaper if he wanted to take Chloe but even he refused to take her.

IMG_3337I must admit i really enjoyed The National Gallery it was a brilliant experience and i was amazed at how much Chloe enjoyed it . She especially enjoyed Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh and when she heard how much it was worth she nearly said a rude word.

IMG_3342The other thing Chloe wanted to do was get me on a Bus. I have not been on a bus since 1976 .When i was 16 years old i got my moped and that was the end of me and buses. Don't they go bloody fast, i am surprised you don't have to wear seat belts.

I am now absolutely knackered and i am now back on Inca and sitting down with a rather large glass of the red stuff. With Niece Sally and her Daughter Orla on their way up from Devon it should certainly be a busy few days ahead.

 

                                                   Happy Days

4 comments:

  1. What a busy day you had with your daughter :)

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    1. And what a lovely Daughter she is !!!!! For a change........

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  2. Gary, Thanks for the notice about the Ashby. As you know we were there last September too and love it. Don't know what we can do from here in Hawaii but I'll have to see what we can do to support keeping it open. Speaking of being on the canals, we will be back on the Coventry and Trent & Mersey in September. If fortune brings us together again I'll make sure to have plenty of red wine. Looks like you and Chloe had a great day. Glad you finally made it onto the underground. I find it so handy for getting around. Aloha, Amos

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  3. Hello Amos Hopefully common sense will prevail with regards to The Ashby canal and I know it is starting to be reported on several internet sites , so word is getting around.. If we don't get to meet up please let us know how you get on when you do the Coventry and Trent and Mersey. They are both lovely canals and I know you will both enjoy them . Regards Gary

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