London Lights, Part Two

Seven Dials, Covent Garden

21 December 2015

I have to make a correction to one of the pictures I posted yesterday. Jack and I went out to dinner tonight with our friends Mazz and Graham, both Londoners. When talk turned to the city skyline, Graham asked if we've seen the Cheese Grater.  We said we didn't think so, but it turns out we have seen it.

Zoom in and look at the building next to the Walkie-Talkie:

Today we visited the Cartoon Museum, a tiny place with exhibits that change constantly. Today's lesson was on James Gillray, an English political cartoonist from the early 1800s. My English history knowledge being what it is, I spent more time reading the explanatory cards than looking at the cartoons.  Now, though, if I ever see a political cartoon where two opposing heads of state are seated at a table and carving into a globe, I'll know where the spoof came from.

Over lunch, we tried to figure out which parts of the British Museum we wanted to see. The place is huge, and we've been there before. We decided to go for the weirdest thing listed: "Life and Sole: Footwear from the Islamic World." Well, that's mighty specific, we thought, so that's where we went first.

If you follow the link and look at my pictures, you'll have seen a significant portion of the exhibition.

Shoes from Turkey that forced the wearer to require assistance in walking:

For the Indian elf on your Christmas list:

We wandered around the museum for another hour and then headed out.

Sunset on the shortest day of the year:

We were on our way to a tube station when I spied what looked like a large but serious bike shop. "I bet we won't see any steel," I said to Jack as we walked in.

A salesman spotted me and came over.  "We have ladies' bikes over there."

Oh, no he di'int. You know what's coming next, don't you?

I put on my best smirk.

"I have four road bikes," I smiled. "Three are steel and one is carbon. I have a Waterford, a Tommasini, a LeMond, and a Cannondale."  It was all deep bike geekery after that, except for when he attempted to impress me with electronic shifting on a $10K carbon toy.  He did show me some steel: a fixed gear Pinarello, lugged, the model that Infoguy has. He didn't know what to do with "I built a wheel."

We stopped again at a small market so that I could pick up some caramel Digestives and some Ribena. Adding to the Digestives and Hobnobs already in the hotel room, we're ready to hole up on Christmas day.

Then we were out again, to meet Mazz and Graham for dinner. We met in a pub in Leicester Square and walked past a carnival on our way to Covent Garden:

Before we went into the restaurant, Mazz and I walked up towards Seven Dials to get some pictures:

By the time we left the restaurant, we were the only ones left and it was close to 11:00 p.m. Now it's midnight and I should get ready for bed.