Capital ideas...

From Belfast I left for my annual pilgramage to the Capital.  

Thanks to Airmiles, my journey was once again without cost!  Though my travels did give me something to think about.

I have taken to flying in shalwar kameez, traditional Pakiatani dress, as  it is very comfortable and contains no metal or belts that need removing at security.  However, it has made me more noticable to security staff.  On each of my last 6 flights I have been stopped at least once for extra security checks!  I may be being paranoid, but I suspect my attire is what is causing the extra interest!  I wonder what would happen if I travelled in my dog collar?

I stayed at the Highbury Centre whilst I was in London, which is a Christian Centre set up to provide accommodation for missionaries on furlough.  They also let rooms to others when they have spare capacity.  It provides a nice place to stay at a very reasonable cost.

Friday I made my way to the British Museum to met my friend James for lunch.  We ate in the museum restuarant which was superb, expensive, but superb.  It was great to catch up with all his news, as James lives one of the most interesting lives of anyone I know!  

He is currently working as a Manny (a male nanny) whilst at the same time running a stall at Brick Lane Market at the weekends.  In his spare time he is a food critic and has a couple of other sidelines as well!!  In fact the day after we met he was drive a dog to the South of France, but that's James!

Friday evening was my fourth and finally trip to the theatre when along with Kirsten I went to see Sister Act.  It was a fantastic production, very similar plot to the film but with all new music.  The sets were fantastic and the cast superb.  Also it was apparent during the final number, how suitable the vestments of the Church of Rome are for decoration with sequins!

Saturday was a trip out on the train up to High Wycombe to see Rob, Elizabeth and Emily.  It was amazing to see how much Emily had grown in just the few short weeks since she had left Karachi.  It was good to catch up and hear their plans for the future.

Saturday evening I was back in the West End for dinner with David.  David is one of my former pupils who is now living and working in London designing, 'spaces'!  This can be sets for theatrical performances or spaces at festivals like Greenbelt.  As coincidence would have it, David's latest project is preparing the sets of Sister Act for its UK tour and transfer to Broadway!

Sunday it was once more to the airport for a flight back to Manchester and to collect another hire car.  I have never been particularly bothered by cars, but I have to confess I really did enjoy driving two very new cars whilst in the UK.  They were nothing special just very new and a pleasure to drive.

My fourth week in the UK started with another lunch to catch up with a friend.  This time it was Jane and we met up in the Trafford centre for a bite to eat and a little light retail therapy.

The following day I met up with my mum and her friend Barbara for our 'last' lunch before I returned to Karachi.  You see although I had been able to extend my summer holiday by two weeks, I hadn't mentioned this to mother.  My reason being that she and her husband were celebrating their Silver Wedding anniversity on 7th August.  I had already told her that I wouldn't be able to be there, so I decided to let her carry on thinking that so that I could surprise her, but more of that later...