Can't complain abot the weather

Another lovely Saturday that we made the most of. With our trusty book of self-guided walking tours in hand and a packed lunch, and replacement thermos for our lunchtime coffee we trotted down to Crystal Palace Station.  With our usual knack for timing the train pulled in as we got onto the platform.  So off we go.

Yes it was cool, even a bit cold in the shade, but hey us colonials are a hardy lot. Our first ‘find’ was in Bunhill Fields. The name apparently coming from Bone Hill. , An ancient cemetery holding the remains of Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan and William Blake. Never heard of them? So google them. Here cheeky squirrels approached us every time we stood still. The Man broke a chestnut open and we were rewarded with a close encounter.

Following our guide we found ourselves waking through Liverpool Street Station. Oh look there’s a maccas, tie for coffee and apple pie to take the chill off us.

Wedged into the corner opposite, hunched over and obviously asleep, was a young woman, hoodie up hiding her face. It wasn’t long before one of the table hands gave the game away and set the manager on her.  She just collected up her things with a good natured shrug and a smile at us and left.  

Fortified with caffeine and sugar our next find was St Botolph’s church, not the most beautiful from the outside. In the warm interior we watched the last of a wedding party having their pictures taken. The Man chatted tot eh caretaker while I wandered and enjoyed the beautiful interior. One of the Stained glass windows was commissioned to mark the restoration of the church after the IRA bomb damage. Almost all the windows in the area where blown out and another little church was totally destroyed. Very Sad. The man told me afterwards the he’d been discussing rugby with the caretaker who said he didn’t like the game, too much violence against each other, he preferred boxing! Go figure that one.

Anyway. Onward past some amazing glass panelled building. Their facades ripe for reflections and I think I got one or two good pictures. Past the London Monument, build to commemorate he great fire of London. Designed and built by Christopher Wren (yes the one that did St Pauls) in the late 1600’s. We’ve climbed its 222 steps for a breath-taking view of the city. We found a sheltered seating area for lunch with the bells of Westminster pealing out across the river. The last time we lunched here they were ringing out too. Very nice accompaniment to lunch I must say.

Across London bridge, not the original (that’s somewhere in America) but this is the oldest Thames crossing. We gave the crowd along the bank a miss and diverted from the tour along much quieter streets ending at waterloo underground

Now Sunday was a different story altogether, anyway it was a bit more overcast and windy that yesterday and we had a good excuse to stay in.  I’m not usually much of a fan of football (here when you call a game football they mean soccer) but who could resist a Rugby world Cup final. Certainly not me. Just had time for a shower and breakfast before the traditional God defend NZ and haka.

Talking about God Defend, just what does ’guard Pacific’s triple star mean’? Well according to good old Wikipedia…

There is some discussion, with no official explanation, of the meaning of "Pacific's triple star". Unofficial explanations range from New Zealand's three biggest islands (North, South, and Stewart Island/Rakiura),^[2] to the three stars on the shield of the New Zealand Anglican Church, and to the three stars on the flag of Te Kooti (a Māori political and religious leader of the 19th century).^[6] Another explanation is that Bracken was referring to Alpha Centauri, the brightest triple-star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus, but this seems dubious since that system's third star (Proxima Centauri) was not discovered until 1915. There is also a joke that the phrase "Pacific's Triple Star" refers to the three stars on the Speight's beer logo, and T-shirts can be purchased especially in the South Island with the line "Guard Pacific's Triple Star" above the three Speight's stars.

Whatever it means the song always makes me feel patriotic.

And those black shirted men did the same this morning. What a game that was, it even had me on the edge of my seat, groaning when kicks were missed and cringing when the French seemed to be getting it their way. At not stage did I think that the outcome was a foregone conclusion. It was a hard won hard fought for match but The Blacks found the strength and determination to keep on pushing back against a very strong opposition and held their ground.

Well done Blacks. Makes me more than ever proud to call New Zealand home.