Monday 2 January 2012

random musings to start 2012

I had wanted to see 2012 in on the banks of the Thames watching the fireworks bringing in the New Year.

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We parked up about 5pm, and made our way to a Prezzo restaurant in a quite location we had earmarked. It was empty except for a few couples. We walked in to be asked if we had booked, as they were fully booked !! The place was empty ?? So off we ambled to The Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. I ended up with a portion of chips and Hubby a jacket potato. Mmm. This was followed by McFlurrys a few hours later. He sure knows how to treat a lady !!

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I did ask someone to take a picture of us against a perfect backdrop of huge snowman and the big Ferris wheel. I even commented to the person that it made a good backdrop. So he kindly took the picture and cut out the backdrop entirely .Thanks mate ! So I’ve had to make do with an arms length picture, as we went in.

We walked very s-l-o-w-l-y around trying to kill time.

Then we walked very s-l-o-w-l-y across central London, through China Town, around Covent Garden, back to Leicester square and then Trafalgar square. That’s a fair few miles.

We then ended up, where everyone was beginning to be herded into lines to go down on to the Embankment. Chris wanted to wait at the end, but it was right near all the portaloos. His sense of smell doesn’t work, so he hadn’t noticed, but there was no way I was going to wait there. So we pushed our way along a slim tunnel of humans, until we couldn’t go much further. The heat went up a few degrees. I was a bit pissed off, as I wanted to be near to where we were on Millennium Eve. But we had sat that out from 5pm before, not budging. So this spot would have to do. We were hemmed in on all sides, stuck fast.

I moved to try and lift my arm to look at my watch and the man next to me said “,it’s only 9pm! 3 more hours left "

3 hours. stood squashed on that spot. It was far worse that the Millennium night. People were still coming in and pushing through in the little spaces left and then becoming stuck.

Chris said to me, “imagine if people suddenly panic and start pushing. People will get crushed.”

That was it, the thought of me, with my newly fused spine being pushed over, made me decide on the spot to push our way back out and go home. ………

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All those hours walking around London wasted. Not really, I had wanted to do something other than just sit at home as usual watching TV and then in bed ,being woken up by fireworks. We had absorbed all the atmosphere. I had sat in prime spot before and seen the fireworks, so I wasn’t really missing out.

So off we walked in the opposite direction to everyone else, except all the mounted police coming out of Scotland Yard. My pace on the way back was significantly slower, it was like someone had let all my energy out. It started to rain on the way back to the car, so we were even more pleased we had decided to head home.

We rang Tasmin in the car and she was laughing, thinking we were stood in the rain on the Embankment. We told her we would be home in 50 minutes and we were. In fact all tucked up in bed by that time. I never heard another thing. I was pooped after all that walking.

So anyway, Happy New Year to everyone.

2 comments:

Amanda said...

He he :-)

Happy New Year! x

Scrappi Sandi said...

Love it!! I always wanted to do Trafalgar Square on New Years eve & jump in the fountains...one year, many moons ago, Lee took me & we did exactly what you did...there was a great atmosphere, but all I could see were the dangers if things turned sour! Happy New Year!

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