The Great Outdoors

It's wonderful to be outdoors again. Today, Garry and I spent an afternoon in the sun (well, partly cloudy sun) hanging out with two mates, Mike and Chris. Mike recently returned from two months studying in Paris so this was our first chance to catch-up again. We started with coffee at Earling, accompanied by Bondi, Mike's 70kg Alaskan Malamute dog.

Bondi attracts a crowd wherever he goes, resulting in a common set of questions. Mike and Chris have an established Q&A response that goes something like this; Malamute, Malamute, seven, no, Malamute. Typically the first question is, "What is he?" Followed by, "Say that again? "How old is he?" "Will he grow any larger?" Finally, the enquirer asks, "What is he again?"

After coffee we dropped Bondi at home and took a pleasant walk across the Thames to Kew Gardens. The grounds are ablaze with Spring flowers; daffodils, tulips, magnolias, crocus and other assorted blooms. Other highlights included a photo stop at the posing plinth (otherwise masquerading as a Victorian drinking fountain), a 20-minute queue for ice-cream at the rather dysfunctional cafe and a rather hearty plumber's crack on full display at the Easter petting zoo (not nearly as tempting as the lambs and ducklings). Oh, there were the regular sights as well, the Temperate House (the world's largest surviving Victorian glasshouse), the Palm House and Kew Palace.

We're getting outdoors more and more now. Good Friday was spent wandering around the local Stables Markets in nearby Camden, before taking a leisurely stroll home along the Regent's Canal and through Primrose Hill park. The hill gives you a great skyline view of London, including St Pauls and the London Eye. It was here that the first Martians landed in H.G. Wells' classic novel, War of the Worlds. These days camera-toting tourists are the only noticeable invaders.