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Posted by Seeker on June 18, 2006, 11:43 am
On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 00:53:37 +0100, Kate Dicey
>I had a LOVELY day today.
>
>I went to London, and met Big Sis Anne Marie at Victoria. Haven't seen
>her for a couple or three months, so it was great to catch up. We then
>fought round 1 with the London Underground* and went out to Gloucester
>Road station... We trotted out into the sunshine (it has been BAKING
>all day! I feel steam cooked, like factory bread!) and up the road, and
>round the corner, and into one of those big ole London houses that has
>been knocked together with three others inside and turned into a hotel
>and met our own dear Karen Maslowski! :)
>
>I'd roped AM in as 'Native Guide' for the day, as I'm not good at London
>- duzz me 'ead in, innit! We toddled off and fought round 2 with the
>underground, then walked the tunnel to the Victoria & Albert museum,
>where we wandered through the India/Raj section, admiring the
>workmanship of the costumes, delighting over fabric and details, and
>marvelling that one man's coat has a 75 metre hem! It was made of the
>lightest and finest cotton muslin, with every tiny stitch set by hand.
>Cloud like and incredible! AM earned her stars for the day with the
>bits of history that went with things like Tipoo's Tiger
>http://tinyurl.com/fu8fq (a musical organ beast that growls and mauls a
>soldier! One of my favourite things in the museum!).
>
>Then we trotted off to the costume galleries, and once again our eyes
>were out on stalks at the fineness of some of the workmanship and the
>hand worked buttonholes to die for on the Tommy Nutter suits, and other
>glorious things. We exclaimed over the tiny costumes of the 18th and
>19th centuries, and the exquisite stitching that went into some
>seriously ugly garments!
>
>We discovered that some designers and some pieces were loved by all
>three of us, and we diverged markedly on others. I could spend MONTHS
>in there with such company, jest gazing and speculating...
>
>Two things all three of us wanted was mirrors so we could see the backs
>of things, and corners turned up so we could see the finishing on the
>insides!
>
>Lunch was delicious and friendly to my diet! We ate salmon or chicken
>in the V&A cafe, and salad with lovely dressing.
>
>Then we trotted off through the shop and back down that lovely cool
>tunnel (always a cool breeze in the tunnel from South Kensington station
>to the museums!) and fought round three with the underground! This
>round we almost lost... The train was PACKED and hot and evil... But
>we didn't let it defeat us, and we made it to Liberty! :)
>
>That shop is almost a museum by itself! Karen looked at the lovely
>scarves, and then we trotted off and lazed in the tea room, eating
>scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, washed down with Earl Grey
>tea!
>
>And we chattered... and chattered and chattered! Like a trio of busy
>sparrows! If any donkey had wandered past, he'd have lost all four legs
>and the tail, and needed help getting home!
>
>Karen bought her scarf, and we left the shop as they were closing the
>doors! I've never needed to be let out of Liberty's after closing, but
>this came close! We none of us bought fabric, though it came close with
>the vinyl coated stuff... A couple of us were slightly tempted for bag
>making. But it just wasn't *quite* right, and the selection was nothing
>like as good as the last time I was there when they had fabric. They
>had a few years when they didn't sell fabric at all...
>
>AM and I escorted Karen back to her hotel, more to prolong the
>conversation and the pleasure of her company than to stop her getting
>lost (*I'm* the one that can't tell left from Tuesday, after all!), and
>I got back to Victoria with AM in time for the 21:03 from platform two
>to Dover. AM waved me a fond farewell, and trotted off to get her train
>to Balham.
>
>It was a HOT day...
>
>It was a BUSY day!
>
>It was a truly LOVELY day - and I am all walked out and talked out!
>
>*So hot that they were sending teams round with water to revive fainting
>passengers!
What a vicarious pleasure it is reading about your meeting and
adventures. Thanks for sharing the joy. I can't think of anything that
could be more pleasant than to be in both your company, and in London
too.
Sharon
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