Come together

My parents were due to arrive at the hotel very early this morning, but the transport gods had other ideas in store for them. A late plane, a broken train, a replacement bus and some intrepid decision making left them somewhere between Heathrow and Central London at 11am. At 1 pm they were getting assistance from two police officers while standing outside “the Porcupine”. Luckily my mother took a photo of the moment for posterity. Also the “Derry girls”who helped them in their wanderings.

Pinpointing their location, I collected them for a personal escort to the hotel. It was already mid afternoon and our morning plans were out the window. Once they had showered and changed we revised plans and headed out for a late lunch at the Seven Stars, a pub owned by a friend of their friend. Cam and I sorted lunch and drinks while they had a good old chat with the proprietor, about various mutual acquaintances and places. We walked by the London  School of Economics - could be a future education option for me. 

Dinner options were challenging, as the Pride parade is on in London tonight. The streets are crammed with people in some pretty spectacular outfits - sequins, platform boots, glitter and very fancy wigs. People are spilling out of restaurants and pubs and I wouldn’t want to be a taxi driver trying to drive down the pedestrian filled roads. We scored a walk in at Dishoom, my favourite Indian restaurant. I know my parents are not huge fans of Indian food but I was thinking this might be a hit and it was. We had a delicious meal, albeit with an ambient noise level well above the possibility of any conversation. One of those meals where everyone yells across the table and the other person nods sagely as if they actually heard you. I scored a free dessert to share (4 spoons) as I told them I was celebrating my graduation. Team Starrett has a long history of sourcing free celebration items, so I’m pleased to have honoured the tradition. We emerged back into the streets, London still buzzing at full volume, which was actually quieter than the restaurant. 

We finished the day with a quiet drink in the hotel’s courtyard bar. This was not the smooth, carefully planned first day I had imagined but it didn’t really matter. We are here, together , and tomorrow London awaits.