Cars!

Canary Wharf, the tallest building in the UK, one of the first to be put up in docklands, hundreds of square metres of office space and some nice modern architecture.

Some nice modern architecture.
Oh, stuff this, LOOK WHAT'S ON THE GROUND FLOOR!!!

Isn't that the prettiest Aston Martin you've aver seen?

Kim's new runaround. It's not orange, it's a proper blokes manual and it doesn't look like a bloody midget ice-cream van. Sayonara to the Mazda, then.

Think I'll slip this though customs on the way back. Two things in it's favour; it goes like stink, and there's nowhere to hang a number plate on it so you don't get caught by the revenue collecting safety cameras.

Docklands

London Docks have been closed for decades now. Once the centre of British imperial power, Britain didn't just rule the waves, it kicked their arse.

Sadly, the docks are no more. However, from a filthy, derelict area, it has been reborn with new offices, shops restaurant and yuppies. Drawn, like a woman to a shoeshop, we went down for a look-see and a whirl round the museum.

It's all concrete, steel and done-up warehouses, these days.
A lot of water about the place, too. And that means boats.
A couple of buoys. As this is not Darlinghurst, these buoys are straight.
A model of a great big ship that was built around here somewhere when the UK built stuff to beat the French up with. Happy days.
The Romans dropped in for a while.
As did the Germans.
They use to make lots of metally things.
And sometimes they would sit in them. A two-man air-raid shelter apparently. Presumably, very friendly men - or men from Darlinghurst.
A couple of bombshells.
The fifth Beatle shunned the rock and roll lifestyle for that of a nerd. Stil, kept me away from unipedal super-models.

Natural History Museum

Grotty day on Sunday and it's just a short hop to Exhibition Road - museum central round here - so we went down for a shufty.

The building itself is a bit of a star.
It was finished in 1880, the height of the Victorian era.
Purpose build, it has these little animal statues all over it.
The inside ain't bad either.
As you can imagine, it's full of stuffed animals. They had a space for a morbidly obese dog - but they told me that I would have to do my own stuffing. Can't wait!
There's baby dinosaurs.
Grown-up dinosaurs.
And dinosaur bottoms.
The sort of Aussie you wouldn't like to meet down a dark alley.
Likewise. And a big ugly dinosaur.

Wimbledon

Most famously famous for it Wombles, of course.

Apparently, some other stuff goes on here too:

My (Kim) dream to one day see Wimbledon, of course begins with the shop.
The famous Hill - many an aussie fan has taken over with inflatable kangaroos cheering Pat Cash, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt, apparently.
Outside Courts - otherwise known as champions graveyards.
All ready for 2006 Grand Slam - starts last week of June.
Press Interview room.
Court 1 - the second most important court at Wimbledon - they play a lot of the top matches of the championship on this court.
Centre Court - the most hallowed grass in the world. Even though Wimbledon Club is actively used all year around, centre court is only ever used for 2 weeks a year - just for the championship.
Let me have a game , please?
52,000 slazenger balls are used for the 2 week event.
Ladies Winners Cup.
The museum is crammed with history.
Mens Singles Trophies.
Old style wooden rackets.
New graphite rackets on a funny wheel thingo that goes around.

Westminister

Some come for justice, some to make the world a better place, others to blow it up. We went to the Mother of Parliaments 'cos we missed the Abbey last time round.

Sadly, you can't take piccies in Westminister Abbey - so I got some pretty ones around outside.

The Clock Tower, of course. Looks like we arrived just in time for breakfast. Big Ben is the bell inside this thing - the one that goes; BOING.
Following the recent drubbing the government got at the local elections, Tony Blair forcibly ejects Deputy Prime Minister John (lardarse) Prescott from parliament as part of his cabinet reshuffle. A smaller crane would have sufficed were it not for the fact that they had to pry him off another one of the secretaries he's been rodgering. Ew!
Churchill, of course. Story is, he didn't want a statue 'cos he didn't want pidgeon poo all over him - so they build one anyway and wired his baldy head up to shock the birds. He stands there and growls at the public, these days.
The Abbey itself. You get to here when you're alive if you are getting crowned monarch, marrying someone who might become monarch (though Charlie opted for St Paul's for his first, mad wife), or you pay the bloke on the door FIFTEEN BLOODY QUID.
You get to go there when you are dead if; you're a really nice person (Newton, Darwin, Wilde [Oscar even though he was a little, well, you know]), an ex-monarch (there's a bit of a theme going on here) or bloody rich.

The chick in front doesn't look all that dead though.
Just a pretty shot, really. There's a big red bus, the London Eye, a building with chimneys on it that is only about 7 years old, and some of the great unwashed masses milling around in the foreground. Unless it's election time when they are the heroic working class.

Little Venice

Well, we've been to Big Venice so we knew what to expect. Stunning architecture, ancient backstreets and gondoliers texting their wives and girlfriends (each others, for the most part). So, when we heard about the Little Venice annual fair, it was; grab a gelato, open a pizzaria, and make them an offer they cannot refuse.

Who can mistake the magnificent vista of Piazza San Marco?
Gondolas, gondolas, gondolas.
At least it's not some poxy English folk band!
A shot from the Bridge of Sighs.

Skin and Blister

Went to my sister, Debbie, and mum's place in Northampton. It wasn't much of a day so I only got a couple of snaps - and none with my mum in them, which I didn't realise until we left. Oh well, next time.

Water feature. Every English home is required to have one under Manga Carta.
Debbie with their minature King Charles spaniel puppy, Pebbles - cute, huh.
I mean REALLY cute.
Nice one of the garden. They live right on the edge of the countryside and get a lot of wild birds coming round.