12 & 13th July

The tourism has begun! I’ve gone from jet-lagged wretch, to camera-wielding tourist.
Tuesday began with a rainy trip to Hyde Park. We passed the old block of units where my great grandparents used to live. Many family photos had been taken on the front steps. Across the road is currently a construction sign with the "Davis" name- unrelated but a pleasant coincidence.
Robin and I visited the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, where Etel Adnan was exhibiting. Adnan’s work is colourful, and focused on abstract landscapes. One work in particular caught my eye; “Family Memoirs At The End Of The Ottoman Empire”. These memoirs were scrawled

across a concertina style paperwork, and I couldn’t help wondering how similar they might be to my own family history. My maternal grandmother and her family fled the Middle East, whilst still under Turkish rule.
It poured while we followed the path to the nearest Summer House, where I decided it was better built for shelter, rather than Summer teas. Someone had left a black umbrella at the end of the three archways, and in many ways it looked more artistic than the large sculptures surrounding us. Beauty is in the everyday, as well as art on display.
The Serpentine Pavillion was next. A structure built new each year for Summer, this year it was comprised of hundreds of rectangular boxes, forming a simultaneous concave and convex wall. It was quite impressive to walk through, each angle made the building look different.
On to Govindas for a trusty vegan lunch, and a slice of cake so large

that I finished it from a sense of duty alone. Robin keeps wondering where all my food goes, but I’m sure it’s just fuelling me for all the walking we’ve been doing.
Robin has a membership for the Royal Academy of Arts, and we went to see their Summer Exhibition. There were several giant display rooms, each with a unique theme. One of them was a re-display of works, which were considered highly controversial in the past, given their violent or sexual nature. In 2016, I doubt anyone blinked.

Wednesday was a more family oriented day. We visited my grandfather in his home. He has advanced dementia, and I’m still unsure whether he recognized me or not. There are still noticeable aspects of his personality showing, but he spent most of our visit staring at his lap, giving one word answers. I’ve not seen much of my grandfather, growing up, as Australia is a long distance from London. It was hard, sharing memories of childhood visits, in the vain hope

that he’d remember something of them. He didn’t.
We left him to meet his first cousin and her partner, neither of whom I had ever met before. They were kind, intelligent and most welcoming, even given that our Indian meal was far too spicy for their palates.
Wednesday evening, we met Robin’s brother Jonathan, and his wife Lauren. They took me for a short run, following the final leg of the London Marathon. Beginning at Embankment Station, we ran towards the Houses of Parliament, arriving at Downey Street the day Theresa May was sworn in as the new Prime Minister. There were loud protests outside demanding “Out with the Tories”, so we took a quick selfie, and ran on. Past Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and down Birdcage Walk to Buckingham Palace. According to the flag, the Queen was “in”. We ran down the Mall and finished at Trafalgar Square. It was quite a buzz running in the very centre of London,

with so many major sites seen along the way! It was the slowest run I’ve done in a while, just because I kept stopping to take photographs.
It gets dark very late here, and after dinner, Robin and I spent the night wandering the streets of London. There is so much contrast between the old and the new. Modern buildings with names such as “The Gherkin”, “The Cheesegrater” and “The Walkie Talkie” stand right alongside centuries-old structures such as The Tower of London. The Tower Bridge is now lit up with neon lights, and pubs with all the modern trimmings are fitted out to be as red and Olde English looking as possible.
At 11:30pm we decided it was probably time to head home, where I all but fell into bed. Between the walking and the caramelised peanuts I devoured along the way, it was time to play catch up with sleep. Robin is being a fabulous host, and I’m most grateful for his tour-guidance and friendship here.