This Time Last Year

Trawling my Facebook archives I wondered why there were no posts between the 2^nd and 6^th January.  Then I realised that this is when we usually go away for a few days before the start of school/college.  The last few years we’ve gone down to London to see Bigsister, staying in a nearby hotel in Muswell Hill.

 

In early 2019 we lost Paula, a dear old university friend.  Later in the year I drove down to Kew to collect some things she had left us while her brother cleared her flat ready for selling.  I’d only met him at her funeral, but she’d told us a lot about each other and we had a surprisingly enjoyable day.  I hope it helped him to have someone to talk to about her.  When she was well enough Paula had enjoyed walking in Richmond Park, so he took me there for lunch.

  

3 January 2020 at 14:28  

Last Summer I went to Richmond Park with Paula's brother and was so entranced by its deer and jackdaws I was determined the boys should experience it too.

Thunderthighs took photos of the deer.

I concentrated on the jackdaws, who have learnt that the tea room patio is the place to be.

Once a table is vacated by humans, down they come to clear the plates and see if there's any milk left.

This one on the table here will catch crumbs and nuts in mid-air, something I've only ever seen kittiwake do before.

Last time we were in London we took the Thames River Bus from Embankment to North Greenwich.  This time we went from the Tower of London to Battersea.  It's a brilliant way to see central London, and you can do it all on Oyster cards.   In theory, if you timed it right, you might be able to get from Putney to Woolwich.