Bank Holiday weekend

Public holidays in the UK are generally known as Bank Holidays. Today was the last such holiday until Christmas. I find it odd that the UK has two public holiday weekends in August and then nothing for four months. I later read that today's holiday was created by a cricket mad politican, the extra day coinciding with the end of the cricket season.

We've had a very relaxing weekend. Saturday was spent shopping for house plants and wandering IKEA's market hall. The evening was then spent in town with friends enjoying dinner and a show. Pam Anne was as funny as ever. The recent terror plots have given her plenty of new material to work with.

Sunday was spent at Hampstead enjoying a lesuirely afternoon with friends. The Foremason's Arm was delighful. After a delicious meal, we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the garden bar drinking crisp, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Antipodean wine is every where in London so we're never too far from a taste of home.

While sitting in the garden bar I noted that London often feels older and more established thanks to the overwhelming number of mature trees. Every tree on every street is fully grown. The resulting streetscape gives a sense of majesty and timelessness I rarely recall in Australia. Down Under, mature trees are generally restricted to a few central city parks or remote rural scences.

Today also marks the end of the first week of our diet program. Garry and I are currently doing the CSIRO diet. It's more of a healthy eating plan than a fad weight loss program. The last time we did this I lost more than five kilos over three months. One week into this latest burst of healthy eating and I'm one kilo lighter. Only nine more to go.