Heather to harbour

We spent a delightful Sunday this week. We had already planned for Mirinda to spend the night at the flat because of her first week at the new job, which included a conference which, while being the low point at the end, we decided to make as pleasant as possible.

After the usual trip into Farnham for lunch and other requirements as well as a Bob report on Claire’s latest progress, we set off for Hankley Common for a walk with the poodles.

It really is one of our favourite places. Apart from the beauty of the heathland, it is generally pretty much deserted and, on a fine day, glorious in the sunshine. And the day was beautifully blue. Hankley was as lovely as ever.

Hankley Common

The amazing thing is that, even though the heather is wearing its drab winter foliage, it’s still beautiful. It also helps mask the burnt bits by blending in perfectly.

True to form, there were only isolated pockets of dog walkers and walkers and a couple of girls on horses as we walked our usual route. It is so delightfully quiet – possibly one of the only places in Surrey where this happens with such regularity!

Back home, we had lunch and watched a few delightful episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (we love Larry) before getting ready to head into town.

I was amazed that, for the first time in I don’t how long, the Jubilee Line was running a normal service on a Sunday. It would be a first for me. And then, it happened. A train or two broke down at London Bridge and the entire line was struck dumb. By the time we reached the barriers, it was suffering ‘severe delays’. We made a quick considered decision to donate a couple of fares to Transport for London via our Oyster cards and headed back out and down to the ferry instead.

Of course, the sun was nearly down and the South Bank was as crowded as ever. The wheel looked lovely in the dying rays with a few contrails seeming to cut through it. I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

London Eye at sunset

The ferry ride was far more enjoyable than a sucky old tube train! Well, if you ignore the less than tepid coffee. According to Mirinda this is not generally the case so I can only blame the girl behind the bar. But, you can overlook such awful things when the view is so wonderful as the ferry chugs along the Thames. As we moved under Tower Bridge, all the tourists leapt forward to get photographs. It’s a lovely bridge, even with the scaffolding under it – I think they’re painting it.

We left the ferry at Canary Wharf and walked up to Waitrose so Mirinda could do her week’s shopping. On the way I stopped to get a photo of the tall illuminated buildings and their reflections in the water.

Canary Wharf on a Sunday night

Shopping at Waitrose in Farnham on a Sunday, means getting it all done by 4pm. I always thought it was a law that big shops had to close at 4pm. If this is the case, it clearly does not apply to Waitrose in Canary Wharf! Not only is it open till 6pm, it is also crowded with shoppers! In fact, the whole mall of shops below Canary Wharf was buzzing with activity. It could have been any day at any time. It felt alive. Like New York feels alive. Wonderful.

We dropped the shopping at the flat then, after settin’ a spell, we wandered down to Cafe Rouge for dinner. It was my choice and I fancied the duck. It was, as usual, delicious. Mirinda wondered what happened to the rest of the duck as Cafe Rouge only serve up a leg and thigh. I reckon they attach aluminium legs to the bodies and have Robot Duck Wars in the abattoir.

We also noticed they were offering a syllabub as a special dessert. Now, I make syllabub every now and then and it’s not normally available at restaurants (not that we’ve seen, anyway) so we thought we’d try it. We both wished we hadn’t. My tummy was still complaining by the time I made it home.

Anyway, we said our goodbyes outside the Tube station and, while Mirinda returned to her flat, I made my way back to Waterloo. Surprisingly, I made the train by about a minute. Talk about lucky.

After a long, lonely ride and chilly walk home, I managed to calm the poodles down before ringing Mirinda to say good night. What a lovely day…apart from leaving Mirinda in town, of course.