Extra Monday Quiz Night

 Jules invited us to an extra quiz night tonight - a couple that used to live on the mews and do quizzes with this group at another pub were back for a visit and staying with Jean and Roger at the end of the mews.  (The visitors were Steve and Margaret - Americans who both went to Northeastern and Steve works for the same company as I do).  So Jean created her own quiz and booked the upstairs library at the Victoria.  The pictures are dark because the room is as it sounds - a dark paneled, low lit room with leather chairs.  Very cosy for a party but not good for photos without a flash.

 This is our quiz master tossing one back. 

She is a fellow Archer listener but that didn't help me here.  We teamed up with Jerry and Jules and still came in dead last.  I guess it's lucky for us that a lot of these folks don't come to the quiz on Tuesday night.

Jean's Quiz Questions:

What is the busiest tube station?

How many pods on the London Eye?

What department store opened it's doors on March 15, 1909?

What skyscraper's address is 30 St Mary Axe, London?

Who are Doctor's Spengler, Venkman and Stantz?

Who in Chicago said, "Public service is my motto?"

What does a somnambulist do?

In 1938 an architect named Alfred Butts invented a game he called Lexico - what do we call it today?

Answers:

What is the busiest tube station?  Oxford Circus

How many pods on the London Eye?  32

What department store opened it's doors on March 15, 1909? Selfridges

What skyscraper's address is 30 St Mary Axe, London? The Gherkin

Who are Doctor's Spengler, Venkman and Stantz?  Ghostbusters!! (My one contribution)

Who in Chicago said, "Public service is my motto?"  Al Capone

What does a somnambulist do?  Sleepwalk

In 1938 an architect named Alfred Butts invented a game he called Lexico - what do we call it today? Scrabble

Hopefully the Saucy Orchestras will do better on Tuesday!!

Sunday Roast with Caroline

Our pal Caroline is was in town this weekend with her friend Jen.  Caroline lives in Warsaw and shoots over to London a few times a year - primarily to have sticky toffee pudding.  But you can't have your pudding if you don't eat any meat.  So first - the Sunday roast.

 I had the chicken.

 Bill had the beef.  I know everyone likes to make fun of food pictures but these are pretty blog worthy plates, aren't they?

 The pub was as attractive as the food.  I found this place on line after reading someone's review that it was the best roast they'd had in London.  That reviewer did not steer us wrong.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfectly British - dark wood, low light, old slightly worn seat cushions, ornate details.

 Even Mr. Dibley enjoyed it.  He was angry that this weekend was a whole lot of nothing (see yesterday's post) so we made sure he got to stretch his legs on Sunday.  

We walked to and from the pub (approximately an hour each way) so here are a few of the sights along the way. (Are you surprised that it was actually a bright sunny day after being in that dark tavern?)

 A hidden little garden park up a flight of stairs in the middle of Mayfair.

 A specialty umbrella store.  The few price tags I could read where over 100 GBPs so we probably won't be getting one any time soon but I loved all the different tartans.

 A little detour into Selfridges for a sniff of Jo Malone cologne.  Say that 10 times fast.

 Mr. Dibley made himself at home while I sampled.  He likes the Selfridges vibe.  

And the next thing you know, the weekend is over.  We are well rested and well fed to take on another week.

The Laziest London Saturday Yet

I know in the past i've said we had a lazy day and then there are pictures of us walking all over town.  Today really was the laziest day.  

Simon and I cozied up with a cuppa and David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks.

While Bill sat outside and painted! 

At some point we realized we had nothing to eat so we took a little walk to Waitrose.  Bill thought these two little girls were cute - they were in long pink dresses on scooters.

Look who we saw at Waitrose!! 

Ann Maria was off to a house warming party picking up wine and chocolates.  Turns out someone from one of my old favorite shows - Monarch of the Glen - was going to be at the party.  Take me with you!!!!

Not sure what Bill was going for in this photo….Ann Maria or the wine on offer?

On the way home from Waitrose there is a magic surprise waiting for Bill

It's somewhere here...

It's very close now ....

Here it is.  A cigar.

In case readers don't know this…when we go into stores, Bill finds a place to hide his half smoked cigar so he can come back to it later.   If there are any cigar smoking homeless people reading this - start following Bill to get free cigars.

We ended the night each watching our own shows - I'm watching the new series of The Good Wife and Bill is currently hooked on Whitechapel. 

And that was our day. Not one minute of it was blog worthy but it felt really good.

Friday Night on Kensington Church Street

Yesterday on my morning walk I passed two places that I wanted to go back to -- we wound up hitting them both last night. 

This was the first.  They claim to have the best brunch in London so I was going to suggest it for the weekend but then we saw it was open for dinner and went in.  

It was small and candle lit but not pretentious at all.

The menu had so many delicious options.  Hard to choose….

(Whitney -  I've come a long way since "Grilled cheese or Friendly Frank?")

I chose the venison steak and it was delicious!!!!!!

We know how much Fletch likes food photos so we took these especially for him.

Winter greens

Butter.

We decided to stop at this pub on the way home.  A lot of pubs have great flowers outside but this one is fantastic.  We've been meaning to go in so tonight was our night.

The ceiling was covered in hanging chamber pots.

And there were Churchill items on every shelf.

We got a laugh out of the graffiti on this war poster

Bill went to get our drinks and I found myself talking to a woman who was waiting for her takeaway dinner.  I invited her to sit down and we all wound up chatting away for the rest of the night.

Frances and I became fast friends. We heard about her past jobs, her ex-husband, her ex-partner, her mother's death, the fact that she is having a massage today…we covered a lot of territory.  Was it the alcohol or did we make a new friend?  Time will tell.

Friday Again? We didn't even finish posting last weekend….

On our way to the Open Studios in BERmondsey last weekend we snapped a few pics along the way that we didn't post.  

 Last weekend was also an open house weekend in London when a lot (800+) buildings were open for the public to tour.  The one we picked was on the way to our destination. It was an architecture firm who built their office into an old railway arch.

Everyone worked on this plywood bench.  I assume the executives get the one window.

It was quite small.  This is their conference room.  I'd be the poor sod stuck on the far end needing to go to the loo during a 90 minute meeting.
Not much room to squeeze in between the table and the wall.  Where do the full sized people sit?

Bill was risking his life standing the middle of traffic to get this shot.  But It was worth it, wasn't it?  You know how we love the Shard.

King Alfred in a church yard.  Jules recognized him right off the bat.  I think he needs a new PR firm because I don't think I've even heard of him.

Painted electrical…boxes…what the heck are these?

Who needs the Imperial War Museum when you have a tiger tank in your garden?

BERmondsey was having a street festival so after the Open Studios we walked up the street to check it out.  The usual assortment of cheap merch, food stalls etc.  But good energy and some live music.  Seems like every weekend there is one of these street fests somewhere in the city.

Even a swing dance floor.

Ann Maria in Bill's cap…I said she looked like a Newsie but she didn't know what that was. I just googled it and was shocked to see that the movie cast included Christian Bale, Bill Pullman and Robert Duval.

We, of course, ended up in the pub.  This is what happens when Bill tells Jerry and Jules to look like they are mad at me.  They look mildly angry - I would have gone full blown ballistic in their roles but as the source of anger I look like crap.  Is this considered "sheepish"?  

We did go to a film after a few drinks to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman in A Most Wanted Man.  It was a little dry for a late movie after a few large malbecs but good none the less.