Angela's Andean Adventures.

Christmas and New Year 2001.

The Christmas holidays were really fantastic and pretty hectic from the time I finished work in the afternoon of 21st December until I went back to work on 3rd January. First of all there was the big anxiety of the car breaking down with a seemingly serious repair. Colin had to pick up Adam and me and take us to work on the morning of the 21st as my car started and got to the nearby corner and then conked out and it would not restart. A passer-by pushed it to the side of the road and Colin came and took us to work, and then let the garage know where the car was so that it could be collected. I didn't expect to get it back before Christmas.

Friday and Saturday night with Colin were great fun - especially Saturday as we went to the Turkish restaurant again. We keep going back as we both like those Turkish guys running it so much as well as the excellent food. They always give me double portions of those lovely sticky desserts, a double size cup to everyone else of the Turkish coffee along with complimentary liqueur and Turkish delight. I can even choose which liqueur flavour I want.

Next day, Sunday Colin picked up Adam and me, taking him to work first and then me to the station. My train was quite early at 9.15 as all the later ones were already fully booked. With Colin picking us up at 7.20 I was up at 5 am getting ready, which ultimately proved a mistake as I struggled to keep awake later on.

The journey to London was pleasant and soon whizzed past with the help of music and a good book. At Paddington it was then an underground trip to Elephant and Castle and then a bus to East Dulwich where Johnny's family lives. I arrived there about midday and it was great to see them all again. I always feel immediately at home there. The two children (Johnny's son and his youngest brother, both aged about 8) were practising a song they would play later that night, one of them on the guitar and the other on keyboard and they looked and sounded so cute, I just had to take photos of them. Later Johnny's Mum Flor gave me dancing lessons in the kitchen - the huayno - with the table pushed back out of the way. She produced a couple of flared embroidered skirts that we put on and we had fun dancing to huayno music, although I found the steps a bit difficult to master. Meanwhile various other of the band members were arriving including Marco who was at my house on the 7th, and Kieffer who I had not seen for over a year.

Then I helped Flor cook for us all before going out as we knew the meal would not start until about 10 pm. We ate about 4 pm and the band went off to the restaurant to get ready, taking the two young boys with them. I left with Sandra, Johnny's wife, his sister Tanya and Flor about 6.30 and we travelled into London by train which stopped at London Bridge from where it was just a short walk to Tito's, the Peruvian restaurant. We were there before 7.30 and having popped downstairs to see the band we then went upstairs and had a couple of drinks in the top bar until nearer the time everything would start.

When we went back downstairs afterwards I was delighted to see that Veronica had come as well - Johnny's friend from Cornwall who also came along to see them and stayed that night with me in Bath. After speaking Spanish all afternoon it was nice to revert into English and she sat next to me at a table from where we had a perfect view of the stage, with all Johnny's family and a few friends on the same table as well. The band started playing at 9 pm and continued until about 10.30 with the meal starting at 10 pm. I enjoyed the starter best out of the food which was a seafood relleno. The main course was roast chicken Peruvian style with Peruvian salad and chips - nice but I love the Peruvian stews the best. The dessert was awful - a very sweet rice pudding that reminded me of school dinners when I was a kid!!!! A lot of other people must have thought the same as hardly anyone ate it. The band had an interval in the middle and that was when the two boys did their solo act - two songs - with Johnny's son playing guitar in the first one and flute in the second. They were absolutely adorable and everyone loved them.

Then the band played again and continued until midnight and up until then I enjoyed myself immensely. After that, however, the disco music started - really awful Latin music and it went on for hours. I got up and danced with the others to some numbers, mainly to keep awake as having been up since 5 am, by 2 o'clock I was struggling so hard to keep awake that it was impossible and I know I dozed off here and there. Luckily I managed to stay on my chair without falling off!!!! Finally the disco finished about 3.30 and we got back to the house by just after 4 am, along with the whole band, who were going to continue playing all night. Much as I would have enjoyed that I simply couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and after a quick cup of coffee I went to bed where I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow as I don't remember more than just a few bars of the music!!!!

Next day when I awoke the whole house was silent so I turned over and went back to sleep and it was about 10.30 am before I finally went downstairs and joined Flor for some coffee and breakfast before going on my way. I had allowed an hour and a half for the trip back to Paddington, and was all set to make my own way, with the bus stop just outside the house, but Johnny's Mum insisted they would give me a lift to Elephant and Castle from where I could get a direct underground train to Paddington. Unfortunately the traffic was horrendously busy, with traffic almost at a standstill - stop start, stop start - and on one occasion the cars in front stopped so suddenly that we couldn't stop in time and we hit the car in front. We didn't do any damage to the car but the car we bumped was damaged and I felt terrible that something so unfortunate happened while they were giving me a lift. We exchanged insurance details with the other driver and then continued on our way, but I was continuously worried, not realising until then that Tanya was a learner driver only and didn't have a full licence. I promised to telephone when I got back to Bath.

The traffic was still horrendous and more than half an hour before getting to Elephant and Castle I knew I had already missed my train, without the journey from there to Paddington. By the time I reached Paddington I was in time to get the one leaving an hour after the one I was booked on, which clearly stated on the announcement board 'no advance supersavers' so I knew it would be an anxious time until seen by the ticket inspector, with a high risk of having to pay for the fare again at the non-advance super-inflated prices. The train reached Reading without the ticket inspector appearing so I was just starting to relax when he appeared and looked at my ticket and then looked at me and did not look at all pleased. I had to practically grovel in order to get my ticket clipped and certainly heaved a big sigh of relief when he continued on his way!

Back at Bath Colin awaited me and it was then a hectic rush to get to Safeway supermarket so that I could do some last minute food and drink shopping before they closed for Christmas. My son was still working so we were able to give him a lift home afterwards as well. Whilst waiting for him I hand-delivered my Christmas present to Ann (a fellow Andean music fan) but as she was not at home I had to undo it and put the items one at a time through the letterbox. She lives in a block of flats so there was no way I could leave it safely outside the door!

When I came back from London it was to find that the the garage had repaired my car already and as they were closing at midday on Xmas Eve Colin had already collected it on my behalf. He had to pay the £300 repair bill in order to get the car back so I have to find this money to repay him as soon as I can. Although a lot of money and I could have done without that additional expense at a time like Christmas which is already expensive, I was still at the same time relieved that I still have my car and don't have to start looking for another one. Hopefully within a couple of weeks I will have two thirds repaid him (as luckily I had some money purposely left in a savings account which had originally been intended as the start of my savings for the next Peru trip). I hope to have repaid him in full by the end of January or as soon as possible thereafter. It was risky spending that much on a 13 year old car especially as there was no guarantee that the inside of the head wasn't cracked and no way of getting it checked because it would have involved sending it away and at least a three week wait for the result because of the Christmas and New Year break. We took he risk however and so far the car appears to be okay. The cam belt wasn't replaced though and it should have been as it is at least 6 years since last time so I will probably keep my eyes open for a car bargain anytime from the summer onwards.

Back home I just had time to do the second side of a C90 tape of Andean music promised for a friend we would be seeing in the pub that night and then Colin was arriving and we were off out again. We spent a very pleasant evening in the usual pub we go to on Christmas Eve each year, joined by our friends Jenny and Colin, their daughter Becky and other friends joined us later. We had loads of drinks and I was quite the worse for wear when we got back and fell into bed and didn't know another thing until Christmas morning when I woke up with an almighty hangover!

Christmas day itself (despite the hangover) was excellent. I enjoyed opening various presents given by friends and then got ready for our day out. Colin came to pick up Adam and me at 10 am and our first stop was a garage to buy some strong painkillers that were so good that the hangover vanished in 10 minutes and luckily did not return. With very little traffic on the road it was a very fast drive down to Weymouth and we arrived there in only an hour and a half. It was great to see Elizabeth and her family again and she gave me a present as well, some delightful earrings that she had bought in the Peruvian shop in the town. Her husband along with another priest were busy over in the kitchen of the church hall cooking the meal for everyone and when Colin's ex wife Diana and her husband Bryan arrived we all went over to the hall and enjoyed the most fantastic meal together, I think about 16 of us altogether. After the meal Adam went off to see his friend Lee for a couple of hours and we all returned to the house where we stayed until about 8 pm, before driving back to Bath.

Next day my own family were getting together for a nice Christmas celebration and present exchanging. Colin picked me up at 2 pm and then we picked up Justin and Ceri and went to my sister Kathryn's house where we spent the rest of the day with all my family. It was the first time Ceri had met the family properly and they enjoyed meeting her and we all did our best to make her feel at home. It was a lovely family get together with an excellent spread of food which everyone enjoyed immensely.

27th December I spent a quiet day at home getting ready for the next trip to London and later in the morning I went to our local post office to pick up a package they had tried to deliver Christmas Eve. I was delighted to find it was a big package from Jacco with a C90 tape of lovely music (Otavalomanta's 'Culla Quillac' on side A and Atusaya on side B. Also the Savia Andina CD he had got me at the live concert in Houston, autographed by the singer of the band. It wasn't their latest one - it was a 1990 recording - but luckily was one I did not already have called 'De Bolivia con amor' Savia Andina - 15 anos. Also in the package was a beautiful hard back book which is a Tribute to the Twin Towers, a complete set of the photos he took during his holiday with me in August and a lovely card which he had clearly chosen for the words, indicating how precious our friendship is to him. He underlined this in an email later as well and said that I was his greatest friend ever and I felt really pleased about that. In the evening Colin and I went out for a drink in Bath, searching everywhere for an internet cafe open and they were all closed!

On 28th December I went up to London again and spent a brilliant few days with Aquiles and Claire. I arrived in Covent Garden at 2 pm and as soon as I exited the station I could hear live Andean music and recognised by their style that it was Migracion, so I followed the sound and there Aquiles was awaiting me. We listened to a couple of songs and then I left my things with Polo and Aquiles took me off to China Town to one of his favourite restaurants where we had a late lunch. We then rejoined Polo until he finished playing and Claire joined us shortly afterwards and I went with her to the cafes above Covent Garden market while she had something to eat and then all of us walked around for a bit looking in shops until it was time to walk down to the beautiful church at St Martin in the Fields where she was performing in concert that night - a Vivaldi Four Seasons concert by candlelight. We were still a bit early so all went into the cafe in the crypt below the church.

A bit later Claire led us upstairs into the church and left us to find seats. Our mistake was trying to get into the central area and thus drawing attention to the fact that we had no tickets. The doorman would not let us pass so we went to the back of the church and found somewhere there and were waiting for it to start, with the church filling up really fast when the doorman reappeared and said we would have to leave if we couldn't produce tickets. He was really officious so I popped down to the front, spoke to a chap on the door between church and crypt who was happy to let us stay. Claire came up ready to go on, along with the other performers at this point but it was too late for her to do anything and it was too late to go back to the box office and buy tickets by this time because the church was already full. I was really disappointed when the doorman made all three of us leave. Aquiles and Polo weren't too worried as they were only there to give her support anyway, not much liking classical type music, but I felt sorry to be missing what looked like a quite magical performance.

We walked back to Covent Garden and then Polo gave us a lift to New Cross Gate where Aquiles lives, stopping on the way as he wanted to phone his family in Ecuador at a special cafe with telecommunications link at bargain prices. They left me to look after the van while they went into the cafe and I listened to music on my Walkman whilst I waited. Aquiles reappeared after half an hour as his phone card had run out on a call to Peru, but the Ecuadorian guy's phone card lasted at least a half hour longer, so it was quite a long wait. By the time we reached Aquiles' flat it was getting on for 9 pm so we didn't have too long to wait for Claire. She phoned when the concert ended at 9.30 and said she would make her way to his place. We ordered an Indian takeaway meal for the three of us and she arrived just minutes before the food arrived. We then stayed there until ten past eleven when we set off on quite a long walk to the nearest underground station and travelled to Whitechapel which is a bit further than the Bethnal Green station where she lives but was a direct trip without changing anywhere. We had to get back while the tubes were still running as it was much more complicated going by bus. At the other end we had quite a long walk through quite eerie East End streets which quite frightened me to death and I was very relieved when we reached her home without incident. When we got in and put on the light the fuse went and we had no light anywhere in the house so the first half hour was spent isolating the problem in the fuse box and then repairing the broken fuse with wire. So it was pretty late by the time we got to sleep. I knew we were leaving at 7 in the morning so set the alarm on my phone for 6 am, so that I would have time for a shower before going out. When I switched off the light and moved back to my bed I forgot about my suitcase and fell over it, falling into bed a lot quicker than originally intended!!!

Next day I dressed up warmly before leaving the house, knowing the forecast was cold - trousers, three sweaters, a fleece jacket topped by a Bolivian jacket, hat, scarf, gloves, which was okay whilst on the move but not enough later. We travelled by underground to Portabello market, with me helping Claire with her half of the equipment up and down stairs - which proved disastrous at first as the whole thing tipped up where I wasn't holding my end evenly on the first flight of stairs - luckily we picked it all up without mishap.

We reached our spot at the market at about 8 am where we knew we had a two hour wait before Aquiles would join us. Although relieved to reach the spot before anyone else it was a cold wait. Claire had included two fold up stools with her equipment and she left me guarding everything whilst she went off and returned with hot bacon butties and hot chocolate drinks. It was great to be there seeing the market come to life all around me as normally by the time I get there everything is already in full swing. We were both feeling cold even with all the layers of clothing and had to keep taking it in turns to go walking to keep warm. All the while I was looking forward to the nearby pub opening at 11 o clock as I knew there was an internet room upstairs, and was mightily disappointed at 11 o clock to find it would be closed all day. Once Aquiles arrived just after 10 and they set up the equipment and started playing I listened for a little while and then decided to do a big tour of the market, partly to keep warm and also to buy thermal socks as mine weren't warm enough, plus a pair of leggings to put on under my trousers.

I was gone a couple of hours, enjoying browsing around, although with no success in finding leggings until almost at the end of the market when I found a stall selling some that were a horrible colour with an awful style one would never wear but were good enough to put on under trousers so I bought them. Whilst exploring the last few stalls at that end of Portabello road I also fell in love with a sheepskin jacket that was a really bargain price. I tried it on and although a roomy size everywhere else was a bit tight on the hips once the zip was done up, so I decided against it. I walked all the way back and rejoined the others and decided to make myself useful by selling their CDs for them and although feeling shy at doing this, Aquiles and I were laughing and joking between songs and I think our fun was infectious as quite a few people were buying. When he reached his target of 10 CDs sold (the most one can expect on such a cold day) we decided to reward ourselves with a Thai take-away meal.

We left Claire guarding the equipment and walked down to the Thai stall but the usual one wasn't there and we had to make do with another one instead which was serving much smaller portions which put Aquiles off. Finally we decided to just have mugs of Thai spicy soup instead and bought three to take back and enjoy all together. It was so delicious that I walked back twice more to get it again for us, the lady cooking it quite surprised to sell so many to the same person! I'm going to have a go at making it myself at home, after watching what went into it and memorising the ingredients. Despite the bitter cold weather, people were enjoying their music and they sold a lot more CDs than they had expected to before we finally packed up the equipment just as it was starting to get dark - for Claire and me over eight hours since we had arrived!

It was then a fair walk, and two underground trips to reach Bethnal Green to offload the equipment and have a quick coffee before Claire and I walked to the nearest supermarket to get the necessary items so that Aquiles could cook for us that evening. He had decided to forego his usual night out with the boys and stay with us instead and he cooked Trout and a delicious potato dish to go with it which we enjoyed with some Argentinian wine and followed that with glasses of hot mulled wine as well as a selection of fantastic cheeses that the supermarket was selling off at great reduction after Christmas. All of us were too full to go out again so had a nice lazy evening watching the television. Aquiles ended up staying over as well. We had decided they would have a day off if the weather was bad and go first to Brick Lane market and then on to the Greenwich observatory.

Claire and I also had plans to have a bike ride around the park, but we woke up to a fine day, sunny even though cold, so the day off plans went out of the window as Aquiles decided they would play in Covent Garden instead. Being Sunday we were quite a bit later than usual and travelled here by underground, reaching Covent Garden around 11.15. Having ascertained there was an internet cafe about 15 minutes walk away in the Strand, I went off to reply to all my messages - the nine read in Weymouth on the church computer on Christmas day plus a few others received since. By the time I replied to that lot it was starting to get dark when I left the internet cafe. I couldn't get over how cheap the internet cafes are in London. I had paid only £2 for the hours spent there and that ticket was valid for a full 24 hours! One can get email and internet access there for only £5 per month as well. It costs that for just an hour in Bath.

Whilst walking back to Covent Garden I received a call from Claire to say they were starting their last show and that they would be packing up to go after that and by the time I reached them I was able to listen to their last few songs. No time to look around the market or sightsee in the area that day which was probably just as well as I had spent quite a bit the day before. Having thought about that sheepskin jacket for a few hours, I went back after the Thai soup snacks and tried it on again, managing to do the zip up with a struggle, and ended up buying it. It proved an excellent buy because even wearing it undone I was as warm as toast in it thereafter.

Towards the end of their last show Aquiles' friends Polo and Carlos (of Kausary) arrived as he would be going out with them afterwards. Claire and I set off back to Bethnal Green with our half of the equipment (Aquiles putting his half into Polo's van) and to make life easier we walked to the next underground station - Holborn - from where it was a direct trip to Bethnal Green, with only one lot of steps up and down each end to manoeuvre the equipment. Once home we had a cup of coffee and a slice of Christmas cake with it as we were starving after being out in the cold all day with no food other than the snacks on arrival at Covent Garden that morning. We then got ready and set off out again.

I had been invited to my ex husband's house that evening, so we decided to walk to a Chinese restaurant on Bethnal Green road and had a nice meal there, continuing onward to Brick Lane and then into Whitechapel afterwards. Although Labu had mentioned eating there I didn't want to count on it. On arrival it was nice to see him again - the last time being before I went to Peru - and especially nice to see his best friend Khali who had arrived that day from Algeria for a short holiday. Khali used to live in our house when Adam was a babe in arms so it was brilliant to see him again around 22 years later. I then got my camera ready and broke the news to Labu that he would be a Grandad soon (capturing his expression of amazement on film to show Justin later!!!!). He was thrilled, especially when I told him it was a grand-daughter we were awaiting, and Khali teased him saying he would call him "Grandad" from then on. He is going to Bangladesh next week but will do his best to get back in time for the wedding on Valentine's Day, hopefully bringing Rekah and Ryan with him as well, neither of whom have yet visited me in Bath. I know Rekah would enjoy a day out like that and it would be great for Ryan to see his half brothers. He absolutely adored Adam that year he spent living with them.

Although we were offered a meal there, we declined as we were so full of Chinese and after about an hour said our farewells and walked back to Claire's flat, stopping to buy a bottle of wine on the way and we watched a film on TV until bedtime. We were both hoping that Aquiles would have a fair few drinks with his friends and not feel like working the next day and made tentative plans to go cycling in a nearby park in the morning.

Consequently we both groaned when the phone went at 9 am next morning as Aquiles wanted to work. Although still freezing cold the sun was shining and was set to continue all day. So after a quick cup of coffee and fruit juice we set off for Covent Garden again and got there about 10.15, where we had to wait for Aquiles to join us. Claire went off and got hot ciabbata bread stuffed with bacon and cheese for us and large cups of hot chocolate and it was fun to watch all the other street entertainment acts getting ready for another day of performing for the tourists. The sun was shining so brightly onto the area where we were waiting that it felt quite warm even though temperatures were still below freezing. Then we received a telephone call from Aquiles who had not managed to get out of the station as ticket inspectors were on the warpath. So I lent Claire my travel-card and waited while she went off to meet him at Charing Cross so that he could use my ticket to get out there. Once they arrived back, in no time they were playing their first show which I listened to all the way through, Aquiles choosing all my favourite songs to keep me there as he knew I would soon go wandering off again.

Later on I did explore the market and several shops on the periphery for a couple of hours and then rejoined them and stayed with them the rest of the day, listening while they played and chatting when they took a break. As it started to get dark Aquiles and I went off and paid half each for a bottle of Jack Daniels and some coca cola which proved an excellent winter warmer. The guy who reads palms arrived around the same time and as he was totally skint and dying for a cup of coffee I had my palm read which was quite good fun. Aquiles had his read as well while Claire did a solo performance to finish off their day's play. The palmist had come complete with his own portable heater run off butane gas, which I found highly amusing. Polo joined us then and was going off with Aquiles for a drink with Claire and me joining him later. We had the daunting task of getting both halves of the equipment home to Bethnal Green in order not to be lumbered with it that night and set off with it on the two trolleys. Aquiles was worried that I would not be able to handle my half up and down the steps of the underground but I assured him I would stand at the top or bottom of the steps looking helpless and that I felt sure someone would help. This actually proved excellent in fact as there were no shortage of men willing to help both of us manoeuvre both trolleys up and down flights of steps. The only awkward parts were the two of us lifting two trolleys into and off the train in the short length of time allowed at each station stop but we succeeded without mishap.

Once home we put everything away and spent 15 minutes getting changed and ready for the evening and were soon on our way back to rejoin Aquiles and Polo for a fun New Year's eve together. Aquiles had phoned in the meantime to say they had moved on to Leicester Square and when we got there and found them we all went to a restaurant in China town and enjoyed a good meal together. It was very evident everywhere that the police were out in force as I've never seen so many policemen in my life, not just in Leicester Square but everywhere else we went in London that night.

Back outside we intended to walk through to Trafalgar Square next, although not to stay all evening after all as we had read the disappointing news in the newspaper that day that there would be no fireworks or music laid on. Before we even reached Leicester Square again however, Aquiles bumped into a friend of his, an older gentleman from Lima who was in his snack wagon "Umberto's Snack Wagon" and we all piled into the van - me in the front and the other three got in the back and sat on upturned cool boxes which were all so close together that they looked like three sardines!!! They climbed back out again and Claire separated the boxes so that when they climbed back in they had a little more space. We were all undecided where to go, and decided to drive to a Peruvian restaurant first and see what was going on there. It took a while to find it but we eventually succeeded, parked nearby and went in, only to find that entrance was £30 each which included a three course meal. Had we not already been so full up with Chinese food we probably would have paid it and gone in, but Aquiles being friendly with the owners negotiated that we could get in without having the meal for £15 each if we came back about an hour later.

So we piled in the van again and set off to investigate a party that one of them had heard about. It was quite a long drive and both Claire and I could see there was no underground station anywhere near so we were not too keen to go in. We both still hankered after going to celebrate the New Year in at Trafalgar Square but unfortunately Aquiles did not want to once he knew no entertainment was laid on. So after discussion we decided to give the party a miss and return to the restaurant (from where Claire and I knew we could get home quite easily by train or bus if we wanted to later - she knew that Aquiles would be prepared to stay at the restaurant all night or as long as they were open at any rate).

Once inside, a couple of tables had been laid up for us at the side so that it looked as though we were part of the main gathering. We pooled our remaining money to buy beers but we knew the money would run out so had to make our beers last as long as possible. Once everyone had finished their meal, people were beginning to dance. All throughout the meal an Afro Cuban band were playing and I was dying to get up and dance to such hypnotic music so Aquiles and I ended up being among the first people on the dance floor, from where I spotted another good friend - Victor - with a few of his friends and waved out to him.

Soon enough it was midnight and everyone mingled throughout the restaurant, hugging and wishing each other a happy new year. I came across the main guy of the band who played at Sol Andino when we were there for the Peruvian Mother's Day celebration in May. He asked me if I could remember him and I said yes - it would be impossible to forget such a bubbly person whose big heart was amply reflected in his big beaming smile. For the next three hours I danced a lot, mainly with Umberto - even when the band had finished the disco music was quite good, mostly Cuban/Salsa and later on even a Huayno dance, so the lessons I learned from Flor before Christmas were put to the test and I think I managed reasonably well. The evening was especially nice as Aquiles proposed to Claire and although they are not going to rush into anything quite soon, it is great that they now have that commitment to each other.

By 3 o clock both Claire and I were really tired although Aquiles and his friends wanted to stay a fair bit longer. Umberto wanted to leave then as well so offered to take us home to Bethnal Green, and knowing we could get home safely without him Aquiles didn't mind too much at us leaving him behind. The main doors of the restaurant were closed and locked and it was pretty obvious that the celebrations would continue all night. Back home we had a last cup of coffee before bed, both knowing we could sleep in as they definitely would not be working the next day.

We were up again about 10.30 and decided we would definitely go for that bike ride in the park, knowing that Aquiles would sleep for a few more hours yet. It was equally as cold as the preceding days so we dressed up warmly and set off for the park about 2 miles away. I was scooting along on Claire's micro scooter and she rode the bike until we got to the park. Once there we swopped and I had a go at riding the bike - the first time I had ridden one for about 30 years. I soon got the hang of it though and the next hour or so was most enjoyable riding around the park, sometimes swapping so that we each had turns on the bike. We walked down to the lake and found that it was completely frozen over. Claire stepped on the ice and said it seemed quite thick - I didn't dare step on it though as I knew it would never bear my weight!!! Even the canal was completely frozen over and we could see where a boat had gone through leaving a trail of broken ice in its wake. We finally ended up at a deer farm at the far end of the park, where people were feeding the deer. They looked really beautiful and I regretted leaving my camera back at the house.

We got back to the flat at 1.30, having worked up a big appetite out in the cold and whilst I packed my things ready for the journey home, Claire cooked a dish of pasta which we had with sliced garlic sausage in a spicy sauce which was really delicious. Then unfortunately it was time to go and she accompanied me to the underground station where I got my ticket to get back to Paddington. I had an hour to get there, having allowed for a less regular Sunday service of trains on New Year's day, but they seemed as frequent as ever and I reached Paddington with 25 minutes to spare. My train home left on time and I was glad as we approached Reading that I was on the correctly booked train because the ticket inspector was the most officious experienced yet. There were a party of four Japanese on the train without tickets and he would not let them purchase the lower priced day tickets from him.  They had a choice of either staying on the train and paying the inflated prices or getting off at Reading to buy cheaper ones and waiting for the next train to continue their journey. The price difference was so great that they all got off at Reading. I'm sure this was one occasion I would have had to pay again if I wasn't on the right train! I arrived back in Bath on time where Colin was waiting to pick me up and take me home and we had lots to talk about to catch up on each other's news. Back home I found that another six CDs had arrived from my friend in Yugoslavia so spent a very pleasant evening at home unpacking whilst listening to this lovely new music. Altogether it was the most fantastic Christmas and New Year break and I will look forward to my next trip to London which I hope will be around the end of January as I want to find time to explore Brick Lane market again and visit Rekah again next time. I also hope to visit London on 16th February and be present at the I love Cuba Cabaret at the Camden Centre, I had such a fantastic time there last year.

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