Wednesday -London

We were up and ready for our day in London though it wasn't an early start as we could not get a train till after 9.30 - off peak.

We drove down to Audley End and parked the car though it took sometime to sort out the parking ticket as we didn't have enough change and Jon had to register it on his mobile which, as it turned out, was a good thing as he thought it was seven pounds for the day but as it was off peak it was only three pounds sixty - he should have gone to Specsavers! Always read the small print!

A train was just pulling in as we got to the ticket office so we had to wait for the next one which had a change at Stansted onto the Stansted Express so it was very fast into London.

We went down to the underground and the station was crammed with people and children. I had forgotten it was half term when I booked the theatre!!!!!

We managed to squeeze into the train with our faces pressed to the door and nothing to hold on to although there was no chance of us falling over as the train was too full. When we arrived at our station everyone poured out onto the platform with the same idea as us - going to see the poppies!

We managed to get out of the station and into the street but when we got over to the pavement around the Tower moat it was at least eight deep and everyone shuffling around like penguins. We decided to give it a miss and go again next week.

We walked back to the station only to find it had been closed due to overcrowding and they advised us to go and get a train at Aldgate which was a ten minute walk but at least it was a way from the crowds.

We got a train much easier at Aldgate and made our way to Tottenham Court Road and the Dominion Theatre where we collected out tickets.

We then went into Café Rouge for lunch. I went to the loo and when I came back to my seat and put my hands on my bottom to smooth down my skirt and sit down there was no skirt there, it was tucked in my tights! I could have died! I managed to untangle it but I didn't dare look around as I didn't want to see who had seen my rear end. So glad I was wearing dark tights and not three quarter socks! At least I can laugh about it.

We had a good lunch and then we had a walk around the shops though there aren't that many around there.

We went into the theatre which has been refurbished and it looks very plush inside. We had good seats and no big people blocking our view and no pillars in this theatre either.

The show was amazing and had Marty Pellow playing Chen, he was OK but nothing special. However, Madalena Alberto, who played Evita, was spectacular. The scene where she is dying was heart breaking and I cried!! Such a shame it finishes this week and has only been on since September, I feel lucky we were able to see her playing the lead role.

We came out and straight into rush hour and slowly made our way back to Liverpool Street station to get the train home. We got on a surprisingly empty train as soon as we got to the station but it soon filled up. It only takes 50 minutes if you get on the right train but some stop at every station and take forever.

We got back and drove to Newmarket and as we were earlier than we thought and I had nothing out for our dinner we decided to stop by the pub and have dinner which was very good.

By the time I got home I was shattered. I don't know how people manage working in London and commuting every day, it's not much of a life!

WEATHER
Overcast with some drizzle 17 degrees