Nuala's weekend on " Middle Watch"

 

Saturday  to Monday 27—29 July 

Another memorable weekend with Nuala passed too quickly.

 





Tourists by the Bridge



A meeting of cousins



Nuala and Dad

 Chatting, laughing, walking, eating all interspersed with Nuala going off on independent runs, walks, and even a cycle ride to Greenwich (thus justifying the carriage of the bikes, which haven’t been used so far) 

Nadine and Molly arrived on Saturday to see their “big cousin” (who is now not at all so big!), and while the lash-up tarpaulin kept  us dry in the afternoon, it didn’t prevent Nadine being drenched to the skin in a thunderstorm on her way home.





A beach by The Tower?





Sunday saw us meandering around Butler’s Wharf, Tower Bridge and Shad Thames, where Gill produced a Prosecco voucher which washed down a meal at the local Pizza Express. Sunday afternoon’s excitement was the bicycle adventure, when Nuala set off to visit some friends at Greenwich, some 5 miles distant.



A happy tourist trio



On Monday, another lazy morning (including a photo-shoot of the Queen’s barge “Gloriana” )preceded a superb lunch (Nuala’s treat) at the Little Ship Club, and then she was off to catch her train home while we walked back, passing the unveiling event for the new BMW i3.

 

 



Gloriana



All set for lunch
 



Nuala's Guest Blog

What a fantastic summer weekend it has been for my first visit to St Katherine's Dock.  I've watched with keen interest the length of time it takes for boats to come in and exit via the lock and have a theory that this is all part and parcel of ensuring that marine time (governed by tides and weather - "it takes as long as it takes") is maintained in this location within telephoto lens distance of Shard and Gherkins. 

So, what can a visiting land-lubber do but enter into the swing of Marina life.  We have had fantasic meals on board, great chat and banter, and I've delighted in the visual feast of Southbank architecture and happy tourists swapping cameras to accomplish group photos.  I have been delighted to chuckle with Nadine and meet the georgous Molly.

To complete my nautical understanding the ship's bike was deployed for a trip to Greenwich.   Unfortunately Sustran's Route 4 was difficult to find, so more yatch like transit on the Shard proved helpful on return.  I submit evidence here that I did make it to Cutty Sark - rather than consuming WiFi in a local cafe.

As ever being with T&G as part of Middlewatch's adventures has been fab-u-lous and del-ic-ious.  Where next?

A Family & Friends Day

Friday 26 July 

East dock residents

Off to the picnic

In the morning, a quiet period between breakfast and lunch, with a stroll around the fast-food market which had sprung up in the Central Pool square.

A great afternoon out

 

 

 

 

Nadine and Molly arrived, as expected, with sister-in-law Helen and 8-yr old Lewis, and as an extra pleasant surprise, Karen, Alice and Carrick dropped in on their way to the anniversary event in the Olympic stadium.

 We all set off to our picnic spot nearby, on the grass which by now the sun had turned as brown as a beach. K,A & C left after about an hour, and eventually the rest of us returned for some larking about - harmonica blowing, Frisbee throwing, dinghy rowing, and general chilling.

Molly gives a frisbee lesson

Nuala arrived at Kings Cross around 8.30, and soon after that we were back on the boat happily chatting until bedtime.

 

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Thursday 25 July

We had previously booked 2 slots at 11.10 am for the Pompeii & Herculaneum exhibition at The British Museum, so we set off early to walk to Aldgate station to catch the no.25 bus.

 

At the British Museum

 (I saw a sign for “Petticoat Lane Market”, and I realised that we were now staying less than a mile from where I was interviewed and hired into the computer business 50 years ago).

The Pompeii Exhibition

A  Pompeii family, from a plaster cast



The Pompeii exhibition was excellent, and we saw as much of the rest of the museum as energy permitted before meandering back to the bus via Jeremy’s restaurant on Kingsway.

We declined an invitation to a busy pontoon party, and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the boat, gathering up enough stamina  for the weekend. (All the walking has caught up with us, so we need to recharge our batteries)

A pontoon party in the East Dock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had another nice (and economical) dinner in the pub / restaurant across the way, and then  filled out the evening with 2 more episodes of “The West Wing”.

 

Ankle-weary on Oxford Street

Wednesday 24 July 

Today was set aside for some “list-ticking”.

A million calories per slice

 

Another royal tribute

There are some activities which must be done when in London, and these include having tea and cakes in “Valeries”,

 walking on Oxford Street, and shopping in John Lewis Department Store. (We know how to live!).

We briefly discussed buying the £35000 90-inch TV, but decided that we would also need to buy a much larger boat, so we just moved on.

“The baby” is everywhere, including even on Google, who are composing “the biggest congratulations card ever”. Boats in St Katharine Dock are dressed overall, and the nation holds its breath as the bookies constantly reset the odds on what the baby's name will be.


Only at John Lewis - a revolving sun-trap!



 

Oxford Street is as fascinating as ever, although it seems to take longer to traverse each time, so it was a relief to get back to the Dock, and dinner at a nearby eating place

 

An open air gig in Canary Wharf

Tuesday 23 July





"This is London"

Today’s news was still eclipsed by the royal baby, and when we heard that there would be a 61-gun salute from the Tower, we decided to make an outing of it.                                               

 

A 61 gun salute

 We crossed over the bridge and found an excellent viewpoint in “Strada”, where we lingered for a couple of hours over a long lunch.

Larking about

Keeping cool

Later, we set off on the DLR, (first topping up the Oyster cards) to Canary Wharf, where there was a free outdoor concert on the grass of Canada Square. This was a lively nostalgic experience of 50's swing stuff from the warm-up, and a tribute to the memory of the Andrews Sisters of even earlier years - they had them jiving on the grass!

 

Vintage doo-wop

 



The Puppini Sisters

 

This was a great evening, with a picnic in the middle, and we arrived back at the boat early-ish to find a lively party on the boat next door. We declined the invitation, pleading exhaustion.

 

We slept, by thunder!

Monday 22 July 

This was the hottest day for 7 years in the UK, and we were in complete meltdown. It was also the day of the Royal Birth, so all other news went on hold between the announcements of the labour and the birth of the future king.

For us, it was a “boat-day”, apart from a trip to get the new glasses sorted out (for Tom) and catching up with laundry, etc  (not for Tom).

 

A visit from Mike and Betsy (from Pittsburg) 

 

Our new-found friends Mike & Betsy of Pittsburg PA (whom Karen had kidnapped for the photo shoot of yesterday) came round for a drink and we had a very pleasant get-together. After dinner we sat watching the lightning until the rain came around midnight. We slept, by thunder!

 

A day of two halves

Sunday 21 July  - Part 1  The Opera

Interval refreshment

A popular covent Garden entertainer

A day packed with contrasting joys! After a peaceful morning on board, and saying goodbye to our neighbours of the last 11 days we set off, again in strong sunlight, for the opera at Covent Garden.

 

  Angela Georghiu was singing the lead in “La Rondine”, which we hadn’t seen before, and Gill had managed to get two really good seats some weeks before. The performance was excellent, and the sets were particularly stunning. The music was reminiscent in many ways of  the type used in older MGM Technicolour movies, so it was easy to see how the Italian composer had influenced Hollywood.

The curtain call as seen from ourseats

 

Sunday 21 July  - Part 2  The Family

All aboard

A family dinner

During the previous week, we had been to-ing and fro-ing with texts and emails, trying to co-ordinate a family get-together. Karen, Jason and family, with Hayley, had planned a day out at The Natural History Museum, and of course we had already booked the opera matinee. However, we went directly back to the boat, arriving shortly after 4pm, and the family arrived about 20 minutes later, parking in the pre-arranged disabled slot just behind “Dickens Inn”.

 



The photo shoot

We had a pleasant interlude on board before proceeding across the dock to the newly-opened “Cote Brasserie” for a big family dinner, followed by a lengthy “photo shoot” in which Karen roped in some passing American tourists, whom Gill subsequently invited back to “Middle Watch” for drinks. Happy days—SWWYGI !

Growing up by the minute

 

 

 

The Natives Are Friendly, and other stories

Saturday 20 July

A distant Jan & Rod

 

This was a very peaceful day spent in and around the dock. Our friends Rod & Jan had told us of their planned “Rib Experience”, so we went to the riverbank at The Tower and managed to photograph them in both directions. In fact, the rib skipper brought them especially inshore so that we could even speak to them from the railings.

Somebody's big day

 

This seems a good point to observe how much we have been impressed by the general friendliness and helpfulness of most of the people we have been meeting so far. Whether it be the riverbus ticket agent who takes time in a busy queue to explain the workings of the timetable, or the skipper of a 40 ft motor yacht who give helpful hints on how to save a few pounds buying marine diesel, or even the Waitrose staff who trustingly unlock a loaded trolley en route to the Marina, everyone is just so neighbourly, including also the berth-holders, temporary and permanent along our pontoon.  It's just lovely!

A Thames barge enters the lock

 

While we were waiting, we watched the arrival of a grand Indian wedding,  and a complete cycle of lock operations (always fascinating). The afternoon was balmy enough to play cards on deck, and the evening passed in “The Wheelhouse Cinema”, after yet another  fine dinner aboard.

 

The mermaids of St Katharine

Friday 19 July

Kieren pays a visit

The torrid summer Sun beats down, and it feels more like the Tropics than downtown London.

The pop-up maket

 

 

The mermaids

The little mermaid

Our first visitor of the day was Kieren, a work colleague of about 15 years ago, and we spent a very pleasant hour or so catching up on all that had happened in the past decade. 

There was a food market on the piazza of the Centre Pool today, although we opted for the Waitrose alternative.  After lunch we had another delightful visit from Nadine and Molly.

The dinghy, when hauled out and filled, made a passable paddling pool, much to the amusement of our neighbours, and after afun-filled afternoon, we all had tea on board. Jeremy arrived after work to escort his family home, and we rounded off the day with “The West Wing”. Super!