Tower Bridge and Toys

Mike took the day off work today to play tourists with us.

We had arranged a private tour of Tower Bridge at 11am so after a causal breakfast we made our way to the bridge. Again the weather was pretty average. We met Ian, our tour guide, who was a hardcase cockney.

The bridge is obviously a big part of London history and Ian was full of stories of how it was built, some of the key players and some of the more random things that happen such as the double decker bus jumping the bridge or the RAF pilot who flew a jet through it. About 900,000 people a year visit the bridge. They have installed a glass floor on the upper crossing which gives you a great view of the traffic. They still raise the bridge about 900 times a year.

The second part of the tour is in the engine rooms which power the bridge lifts. Another great couple of hours getting a better understanding of a London landmark. After lunch at a nearby pub we split into two.

RB and Mike visited the HMS Belfast which is moored in the Thames. This ship had seen a heap of action in several wars. They report well worth a visit with plenty of stairs for RB.

Janet and I braved Regent St and headed to Hamleys toy store. Five floors of toys made for an entertaining if somewhat challenging time. Fair to say we left with a couple of bags – good fun being a Granny and Grandad.

Outside the shop we had one of those sensible married person

moments where I took the bags home and Janet continued shopping! Mike and RB had arrived home so we had a chilled out Friday night waiting for Janet to return. Dinner was reasonably late tonight!