the london diary 2

When the sun rises at 4am its but natural that we wake up and with jet lag hitting us,our bodies are confused as is our mind.The view from the window however makes up for it.Apple and pear trees,bright flowers all out in summer colours and green grass all set in a little garden with just that nip in the air.Its something we are not used to so we dash off to make tea and soak in the atmosphere while the rest of the house sleeps.Then for a walk around the town with the sun shining bright and easy and as its Saturday the food stalls are out and every produce found locally is there.Pots with herbs,fresh summer vegetables and lovely meats.It sets the tone for the day.The we get our first dose of England.The newspapers are full of the current hot topic of MPs and their expense accounts and for someone used to corruption in high places this seems tame in comparison.We are due for lunch in Westminster so we take the car(bad decision,even on a Saturday) and soon find ourselves bang in the middle of a protest.The sri lankan Tamils are out on the streets of London in protest and that means that most roads are closed.Our poor friend takes us around all the many streets that will take us to our final destination and in the process we see the big Ben,the London eye,the Westminster abbey and all the rest of it.At Knights bridge we are stuck in front of Harrods and find that its still full of Japanese and Arab tourists who are busy spending money.Of course its hallowed gates almost makes you want to run in the opposite direction.Lunch is in covent gardens and for me my mind filled with the scenes from My fair lady,this is a bit of a comedown.The streets are narrow and the square itself is crowded with stalls,entertainers and what have you.Not a sign of the flower girls or the flowers,but of course at 3 in the afternoon its silly to expect them.Lunch is Italian as the English have given up their identity and the typical English foods that we have read so much about has all but been buried.In fact finding an English person in London is really a hard task.There are more Europeans,Chinese and Indian than English.Since we are in the theater area we decide to see a play.Once again we walk the narrow streets and get ourselves tickets for Peter Pan the play that is currently on in London.Coming as we do from a country that has clear differences between day and night,we are rather foxed by the fact that the sun doesn t set on the British empire until well after 9 pm and therefore we have lost track of time.Nevertheless we buy our tickets and make a mad dash for the tube,suddenly realising that we are bound to be late.British tube though lives up to its reputation of punctuality and we arrive in Kensinton gardens with ten minutes to spare.However we haven't accounted for the size of the gardens and we walk and half run just to find that we have missed the deadline and are a minute late.We stand outside and watch the play on wide screen and hope to go on in soon when the husband who has been strangely silent till that moment,asks me if i recognise the woman standing next to me.I look at her and realise that here is the famous Wimbledon champion,Martina standing there next to me waiting to be allowed in as she is late.I marvel at the fact that in my country she would be have been taken in to the theater at once with out any delay,she may have arrived with bodyguards and much fan fare but here she was standing next to me.I am dying to take a photo but the decent person in me says that i shouldn't impose on her privacy so i talk to her and tell her how much i enjoyed watching her play and am happy with that.We enter the theater and then all is magic.Here in a tent in the middle of kensington gardens we are transported(thanks to some excellent special effects) into the world of perter pan and tinker bell.As we watch in sheer wonder at the actors,we realise why the stars of the English stage are so sought after.Here were a set of people so talented not just as actors,but they knew dance,technology,acrobatics and the excellent light and stage design could only have happened in the drama capital of the world.I went to the play based on a review on the bbc and I must say it was worth every pound.We walk back through the streets,stop to take in the sights of the royal Albert hall,the beautiful trees and greens that dot this part of London and wind our way back home satisfied that we managed to see a lot in one day....and so goodnight