Date: September 2012

Position: 51.5N 0.1W

Conditions: Grey…

I was in London, and some mates suggested we meet up at Charring Cross for dinner. Consequently, I toddled off to spend the day hanging out by Trafalgar Square and Westminister Abbey. Awesome. Taking a circuitous route via bus from Balham, I took in the sights. Tower of London – check. Tower Bridge – check. Both pretty cool. And then, around the next corner was Big Ben. I had a complete meltdown! In my mind I was going OMG, that is actually Big Ben. It’s not on postcard, puzzle or TV show; there it is in REAL LIFE!!! It was tempting to grab the arm of the person next to me but restrained myself. I didn’t want to start an international incident on a bus!

I mean, I knew about Big Ben (and I know it is the bell, not the clock face but hey) but it had never been on my dial of things to see before I die. And there it was. Reduced to a mental age of about six, I felt like I did when I found mums secret stash of Scorched Almonds. A quick scan of the bus, I couldn’t see anyone sharing my level of excitement. Alas, judging by the bent heads, Candy Crush was the winner of the day. I guess, when you drive passed a whole pile of history every day on your way to work, it probably fails to eliecgt a visceral response. Or all those poor bugger where busy catching up on work emails!

Most of the day was full of pleasant surprises. I had no idea just how many historical places are within that couple of blocks. Met my friends for dinner, regaled them of my Big Ben meltdown and they just laughed at me, with the comment that “we forget, your probalby the last person we know to have been to london!