London is a dainty place

My iPod rang this morning to the dulcet tones of Maddy Prior singing, 'London':

London is a dainty place
A great and gallant city
All the streets are paved with gold
And all the folks are witty

... and it is a great city. Especially as it was today with sunshine and blue sky even though it was a bit chilly.

I walked across St James's Park to meet Christopher for lunch in deepest, darkest Soho (well, the New Piccadilly caff). The park was full of glorious beds of daffodils with cherry blossom trees spread around, lots of what looked like school trips wandering round enjoying the spring sunshine and the beauties of London. Ducks were splashing in the pond, the odd squirrel scurrying around, pidgeons hunting for seeds and bread... quite delightful.

After lunch I went to pick up Christopher's birthday present (yes, I *am* taunting) and then strolled back through the park to be half an hour late for my 2 o'clock meeting...

Isn't London lovely?
This evening I went for a drink with Janet in a basement pub at the top of Whitehall in which we set the world to rights, shared essential data (gossip) and plans for world domination (job applications) and slagged off various bosses (as you do).

I made two important observations on my way to the pub - the guy in full dress uniform at Horse Guards Parade was a little titch (even in his heeled boots I was taller than him) and Nelson's column is covered in scaffolding. Whatever happened to the good old days when John Noakes would swoop around it tied with a string with scrubbing brush in hand to clean it from top to bottom?