Thursday 19 February 2015

The year of the sheep - Happy Chinese New Year!

Tuesday was a nightmare - I was at Hospital. Robyn had things to do and we were up at 6-30 in the morning. My appointment was messed up because the last time I was there they didn't do the blood test they should have done.

So I hung around the whole morning. I got out at 2-30 and we hadn't had lunch. We got so fed up we lost our appetite.

We came out angry at losing the first nice day in about three months - the sun was shining in a bright clear sky. It could have been Madrid, except it was cold.


We ended up at St. Paul's Cathedral and walked round it to take a look at Christopher Wren's masterpiece. It was built to copy the Duomo in Florence except no one knew how to build such a big dome. Wren didn't know either so he played a trick - there are two domes, one inside each other. It's like a false ceiling.




It's still a magnificent building.




We took a walk through my old London - past The Old Bailey (built from the stones of Newgate prison), Fleet Street where the newspapers were once printed, The Chesire Cheese Pub where Samuel Johnson drank and planned out the first dictionary. Down to 'The Temple' to look at the gas lamps and the barristers chambers, along the Thames and through Somerset House.

We had a meal at my old university - that's changed a bit.

Then we headed down to Soho and Chinatown. We may come up on Sunday for the New Year's celebrations if we can but we thought we'd have a look now. Gerard Street is busier than ever. They are all ready for the 'year of the sheep';




On Sunday, the lions will be dancing and trying to catch cabbages (or if they are lucky...money) hung out by the restaurants hoping for good luck.


 
 
 
Happy New Year!
 
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop  production)
 
 
 
 

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