4 hours in London

Annoying woman in the office is going on about a spam mail that's made it through to her mailbox, despite "IT telling us they block them". We do, would you like to see the thousands that DON'T get through each day? And it's not my fault if you've used your work e-mail address to order something, which means you now get the odd spam message ... I also suggest you re-read your terms of employment which states that company e-mail addresses aren't to be used for personal use (Says he who is at work, using his work computer and internet connection to update his blog!) ... So now is as good as time as any to put on the iPod, reacquaint myself with the Bernard Butler album I used to listen to incessantly about 10 years ago, and drown out annoying woman ...

As last Friday was a 'Non-pupil' Day at the girl's school, I took the day off so we could go and do something as a family. Now Bethany has been banging on for the past 6 months about going to see the Tower of London, and Charlotte is doing a school project on World War 2 and just across the river from the Tower is 'Winston Churchill's Battle of Britain Experience' so that was her sorted.

We got the train into London, then the underground across to Tower Hill - all the way B was telling me how she was looking forward to seeing the Crown Jewels and the Beefeaters at the Tower, so imagine my surprise when she sees the Tower of London and says that she's not going in there! No amount of persuasion whilst walking over Tower Bridge to Winston Churchill's would get her to change her mind, she just looked genuinely scared. So after dropping Mia and Charlotte off at WC's, I asked Bethany what she wanted to do. "I want to go up that ...." she said.

So up that we went.

I like Tower Bridge, my Dad took me up the bridge when it re-opened to the public back in 1982 so me taking my daughter there seemed quote fitting. Bethany LOVED Tower Bridge, running up the stairs in the North tower so we could get to the walkways - as I was being 6 again I didn't get to look at all the exhibits showing how the Tower was constructed as the view out of the walkways was far more exciting.

View to the east from the tower walkways. Pleasure boat doing 3 point turn in the middle of the shot, and for all you Doctor Who fans, that's Torchwood in the top left of the picture.

View to the west. HMS Belfast in the foreground of the picture, something else B considered instead of the Tower of London.

Whilst waiting for Mia and Charlotte, we took some pictures utilising the 'art' outside the Mayor of London's office - Bethany liked the ball (Even though I was bricking it incase she fell) and was concerned that I'd actually push over the big raisin looking thing ... Oh to be 6 again. (Andy, mate you have all this to come, and I envy you!)