Day Four: London - Rocking With It

Photo: That's a man, baby.

Good God. The children's television is worse here than at home.

It was a long day yesterday, taking the train from Carlisle to London. We were taking a first class coach, and lucky me, I got the odd single seat a few rows up from everyone else. I read and dozed on and off for four hours. They do have an awful lot of sheep here.

The sheer excitement of being on a train eventually wore off for the kids, and Zelda simply could not get comfortable or get to sleep. Hideous breakdown in King's Cross.

Toni, as ever, finds the best places to eat. We took a great early evening walk through Bloomsbury to Abeno, a Japanese place that specializes in egg pancakes called okonomi-yaki, which they cook in front of you on the table. Big metal hoit plates in front of my kids make me very, very nervous. So I drank a lot of sake.

This morning we led Adrienne and MP on "the basics" tour of London. Yes, there was a ride on a double-decker bus, and a trip around the Eye.

That's my third go-round on the London Eye. I almost pulled a Dad and told Toni they could go, and I'd stick my nose in Foyles for a half-hour, but I didn't. There will be no fourth trip on the London Eye for me, even if someone puts a gun to my head.

A walk past Buckingham to St. James Park, where we got sandwiches and camped by the river where Toni can make those noises she makes when she sees water fowl. Z. and O. got very excited by chasing pigeons, but I didn't think they'd catch one. I had to warm them against the larger birds that might not find flying away worth the effort and choose instead to bite them.

Goose bites hurt, you bet.

(Thank you.)

Sue from SANDS met us back at the hotel before three to walk Kelly and I to the Royal College of Physicians so we could tech the show. The auditorium we will be using is quite big, and they hope it may be two-thirds full. The acoustics are super, but the lights aren't really made for performance, it will be a number overlaping spots. The screen is possibly the biggest I've worked with and that's saying a lot.

Thanks again to Nick for re-engineering the slides and sound. Our lives are so much easier, it's ridiculous.

I was a little stunned to hear there wouldn't be a rocking chair. Someone apparently decided we didn't need one, I could just use an office chair with a sheet thrown over it, it's not that important.

Hmn.

I hate to be rude, I really do. And maybe airing this in public is inappropriate. But seriously ... have you seen the show?

Regardless, I insisted to Sue that we need the rocking chair. Any rocking chair, but a real one, one that rocks (I mean rocks, not rawks.) And I know she's doing her best to find one and to get it to the RCP.

It's a simple show. I don't ask for much. Except the rocking chair.