My lovely god-daughter, Lilia, and her mother have been staying with me for a couple of days and yesterday we spent a few hours at the London Wetland Centre. The weather was as perfect as possible for the time of year – crisp, blue-skied and sunny – and the Centre itself was starkly beautiful. I am always amazed that a place like this, 43 hectares of wetlands – wide open stretches of water and grassy walkways, teeming with wildlife – can exist in a corner of one of the busiest cities in the world. I love taking visitors along there to see the surprise in their faces when they enter the observatory, a glass-walled room, two storeys high, that looks out across the main lake. On a day like yesterday, so bright and clear, the view really is breathtaking and each new visitor’s astonishment at the sight mirrors my own. If any non-Londoners out there are planning a trip to the capital soon, then I recommend that you pencil a visit to the Wetland Centre into your itinerary. And if there are any Londoners reading who haven’t yet paid it a call, then what are you waiting for?
I have just booked this year’s trip to the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival and I am already looking forward to it. Just as last year – which was, astoundingly, my first ever visit to a literary festival – I will be staying in Christ Church College, at the heart of the action. And again, just as last year, I’ve booked more events than are probably good for me: in the space of a day and a half, I’ve committed myself to five different events and a Carvery Lunch! It’s bound to be a hectic couple of days, but also, I’m sure, extremely interesting and great fun at the same time. Another experience that I can highly recommend!
‘Sonnet: For the 14th of February’
Thomas Hood (1799-1845)
Thy bright eyes govern better than the Sun,
For with thy favour was my life begun,
And still I reckon on from smiles to smiles,
And not by summers, for I thrive on none
But those thy cheerful countenance compiles;
Oh! if it be to choose and call thee mine,
Love, thou art every day my Valentine!
Happy Valentine’s Day, one and all!
Thomas Hood (1799-1845)
Thy bright eyes govern better than the Sun,
For with thy favour was my life begun,
And still I reckon on from smiles to smiles,
And not by summers, for I thrive on none
But those thy cheerful countenance compiles;
Oh! if it be to choose and call thee mine,
Love, thou art every day my Valentine!
Happy Valentine’s Day, one and all!
6 comments:
The Wetlands Centre is fab - we've been several times!
A
xxx
It's fantastic, isn't it? And it changes so much with each season. I love it!
Emma xx
Having friends visit was about the only time I did the 'tourist thing' in London. Always good fun showing other people around the city.
We never made it to the wetlands centre though.
Having friends visit was about the only time I did the 'tourist thing' in London. Always good fun showing other people around the city.
No one ever really seems to do the tourist thing in their own town, do they? I visit the Wetlands because it's virtually on my doorstep and because it's such a lovely place to spend time outdoors. Yet, despite being a Londoner all my life, I've never visited the Tower of London, the Science Museum, Buckingham Palace (when it's open), or even the London Eye, to name but a few places! Must try harder...
We never made it to the wetlands centre though.
It's never too late! ;-)
EFK said: No one ever really seems to do the tourist thing in their own town, do they?
I did a bit when I used to work in London but it was often a drag going back into town on Saturday after being there all week. I did visit some of the museums & art galleries that I walked past nearly every day.
I did a bit when I used to work in London but it was often a drag going back into town on Saturday after being there all week.
Urgh, yes, if only public transport was 'better' (by which I obviously mean 'cheaper, faster, cleaner and less crowded'), then the idea might be more appealing. As it is, I do my very best to avoid travelling into central London whenever possible!
I did visit some of the museums & art galleries that I walked past nearly every day.
I did a similar thing when taking a secretarial course in my gap year. We had a free two hour period in the middle of day - not long enough to go home, but too long to just hang around in a cafe - and I used to pass the time visiting all the nearby museums etc. Still never made it to the Science Museum, though...
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