London part 2 - the end

7th Oct

Manor Road and our regular 106 bus - credit:S

Today was a quiet one for me: a slow start followed by spending the rest of the day with Mad (Ross was working), helping to pack things up ready for the decorator on Monday. I also baked a gin and tonic lemon drizzle cake, which worked quite well (and I'm not known for my cake baking!)
Meanwhile Jeremy went museum hopping: the Imperial War Museum and the RAF museum at Hendon, arriving back about 5:30.

That evening, we met up with friends of Ross and Mad's (Nathan, Jan and Andy) at a nearby Thai restaurant called Yum Yum's - and it was yum yum, especially the cocktails. In spite of two Zombies, Jeremy was remarkably unscathed. It was great to meet up with people we usually only have contact with via FaceBook, and we had a great evening.

8th Oct

Chez Barkman/Acey - credit:S

We had a very slow start thanks to last night's indulgence, and had a family day at Ross and Mad's, again helping with their decorating prep - they sensibly took advantage of Jeremy's height and strength. Jeremy and I went cruising supermarkets in Stamford Hill for cardboard boxes. As it was Shabbat, the Stamford Hill Jewish community was out in force in Saturday best. A bit of googling has established that the spectacular furry hats are called Shtreimel, worn only on Shabbat and other festive days and paired with shiny dressing-gown-like coats. The women and girls all wear thick white stockings and flat shoes, with dresses/skirts that often look like they have been made from curtain fabric. Married women must wear wigs (for modesty).
Lunch was takeaway pizza from Franco Marca, and of course, the cake I baked.
That evening we watched a movie on TV and grazed on leftovers before an early night.

9th Oct

Our temporary home - credit:S

Our last day, and we started by getting up at 5:30am in order to watch the Japanese Grand Prix with Ross. Not a great race, nor were the Bathurst and Formula E results - wished we'd slept in!

Then it was back to the flat for washing and packing, which took a while as this was the first time we'd had to work out how to pack all our purchases, especially the variety of whisky glasses purchased on Islay. A quick stop for something for lunch, and some more assistance with the decorator prep before meeting Caro for afternoon tea at the French patisserie, La Duchesse. Caro is an old friend of Ross' from way back, and it was great to see her again - another who we normally only make contact with on Facebook.

Ross very kindly drove us out to Heathrow (took just over an hour) to our hotel. We decided that coming out to the airport the night before made the 8:30am check in time more manageable.

So good bye to the UK - it's been a wonderful 5 weeks, especially catching with with all the friends and family along the way.

10th - 12th Oct
 The trip home always seems to take forever, but was stress free. I even had an empty seat beside me on the longest leg. We got a good sleep in the Changi Transit hotel, before touring all three terminals and having a delicious Ramen for breakfast/dinner (night time, but we'd just woken up!) at the Ippudo Express stall - must remember for future visits. I binged on the War and Peace TV series on the flight to NZ: 8 hours of it! The 3 hours at Auckland Airport was a complete waste of time - must make sure we have a shorted transit time in future, as the new self service immigration processes are so much quicker.