Not the most perfect weather to watch the Lord Mayor's Show, London - 8 Nov 2008

Today ie, 8 Nov is the Lord Mayor's Show. This Lord Mayor's procession is an annual event after a new representative for the City of London has been appointed. This tradition of a procession started way back to nearly 800 years ago! The event typically draws big crowds and it is also broadcast live on British television.

Instead of watching it on TV, we decided to experience this event in person. It wasn't raining when we left our residence but the downpour started the moment we reached the City of London (we dropped at Bank Tube Station) where the midpoint of the three-mile long procession is. We tried to orientate ourselves among the blocked roads to our meeting point (we are supposed to meet 2 friends there) but eventually gave up and decided the catch the remaining of what is left of the procession. Thank goodness there are 2 processions so we can always catch the return journey later.

The crowds started to disperse when the starting journey of the procession ended. The fickle minded rain is turning his tap on and off and so are our brollies! At least, the roads are cleared as we made our way to Mansion House which is 2 tube stations away to meet our friends. Here's my chance to also take some (rainy) shots of the streets of London without needing to watch for traffic! Rare opportunity as some of the roads are closed to make way for this event.

Wet, cold and windy streets!

The red and blue British flags did bring some vibrancy to the wet and grey streets of London!

Not the most delightful walk with the rain and the wind! We finally made it to our meeting point but we couldn't locate our friends nor did they pick up our calls. Since the return journey of the procession is starting soon, we found a spot along the road and waited for the parade to commence.

This cute baby is waiting patiently for the parade to begin...it is amazing to observe how engrossed he is with the procession! He never cried once even though he was woken up from his nap.

Brrr! What a cold and rainy day! Our protective measures - umbrellas, our hoods ... unfortunately weren't sufficient in this dreadful weather. Our shoes (seeping into our socks as well) and hemp string of our jeans are now damp with rain water...it did really dampen our moods a little!

Finally, we hear music and cheers as the return journey of the procession begins! Despite the rain, the crowd line the road and cheer and wave as the parade goes past. Here's some highlights of the parade - floats, carriages/coaches, bands, military and delightful music, horses, morris minors, old London bus etc etc etc. plus many policemen keeping the law and order. The rest of the photos are posted on facebook...

Band of the Welsh Guards

Morris Minors - some of them are over 50 years old!

Float from Dogs Trust - cute huh? They had some of the furry fiends participating in this parade as well!

Old London red bus! What a rare sight!

And finally, here comes the Lord Mayor waving from his 251-year-old gold State Coach...

It's the end of the parade as the Lord Mayor finally makes his entrance. As we still have some time to kill before the firework display begins in the evening, we decided to do some grocery shopping, head home for a fresh change of clothes before making our way back to Central London.

Tomorrow ie ,9 Nov is remembrance day service and parade when the Britons commemorate those who fought and died in the two World Wars. Poppies are worn by the Britons at this time of year to remember those who died in wars.

We didn't go and watch this event but we saw the day before 9 Nov, poppies are already being displayed (see photo before) or worn by the public. In fact, some Britons are dressed with the poppies pinned on their garments as early as October.

This arrangement of poppies was displayed at the foot of the memorial.

Well..it has been quite a wet day today but I was glad to be able to catch the Lord Mayor's Show. Come to think of it - the show reminded me a little of Ching gay parade in Singapore. Don't you think so?

It's Bonfire Night on 5 November 2008!

Today's Bonfire night! a.k.a Guy Fawkes Night. This is a British event when they "celebrate" the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot against the King and Parliament in the early 17th Century. The first Bonfire Night celebration took place a year later after Guy Fawkes' capture under the Houses of Parliament in year 1605, when an effigy of Guy Fawkes was burned on a pyre, leading to today's tradition of placing a guy on a bonfire.

While the Britons celebrate the present time with firework displays, a good bonfire or a feast of sausages, the Americans are bursting with excitement at their first elected black US president - Mr Obama! So much so that my internet server was hung during election time - I guess it must be sightly before the result was announced!

With the countless firework displays (I lost count of how many I caught tonight from my apartment window), it almost feels like it is saying 'Hurray to Obama's victory!'. In any case, the sights and sounds of these firework displays had helped to lighten up the depressing mood a little..It won't make the rough ride ahead any smoother but it it did bring some cheers to the contrasting economic crises.

I very much wish to share with you these wonderful pyrotechnic displays but my photographic skills are rather limited (or perhaps I am absolutely clueless to the different functionalities of my digital camera). Below's my best attempt to capturing one of the firework (yes..just some white dots against a black backdrop). You could perhaps make out the very blur skyscrapers and a lonesome baby firework on the left and right of the pic respectively! Well.. guess u can't expect too much when I haven't figured out how to switch the mode of my camera to night scene or something!

So kindly use all your imaginations please! ok ok... I will try harder the next time!

While the rest of the British population (excluding mostly the accountants, the workaholics (if there are any left still) and the night shift workers) are setting off and enjoying the fireworks, my hubby and his colleagues were still coped up in the office slogging over their PCs. Having survived on delivery dinner and burning midnight oils in the office for the past few days, my dear is adamant to return home to join me for dinner tonight. I caught a little of the festive bug and decided to cook something different tonight. Nope! It isn't going to be a feast of sausages.

We ended up eating supper rather than dinner but nevertheless an enjoyable meal of baked breaded chicken goujons, mash potato topped with creamy fresh mushroom sauce, spinach and rice together with orange juice and fresh grapes for a balance diet. My first unplanned attempt to making my very own creamy mushroom sauce. I happened to have all the right ingredients and it's only a matter of downloading the right recipe! And did I enjoy my fruit of labour? Definitely a Yes! :D

And if you think we are turning into gluttons and growing by the minutes..we are happy to say that the fats are burnt off relatively faster (or at least that's what we think!!) as we do more walking in this cold weather. In fact, we are glad to experience a couple of cms off our waists..unless we are bluffed by the illusion of the contraction of our pants during the winter seasons! Haha!

A stroll to East Central, London - Tuesday, 4 Nov 2008

When I was in my school days, I used to dread the 2.4 km run. The lack of stamina and the extremely hot weather often cause me to feel slightly out of breath and sticky with perspiration after the run. It is therefore rather surprising that I enjoyed the close to 3 km walk from my house to the Job Center Plus office where I had applied for National Insurance.

The only mode of transport to my destination is via bus. The risk of getting lost (not sure where to alight, drop at wrong bus-stop...) and missing my pre-scheduled appointment with the Job Center and having to bear the consequence (re-dial their hotline to get hold of a customer service officer with British accent to reschedule another appointment) is definitely too much of a hassle for me to handle! I decide to take the safer path - to take bus '11' instead ie, WALK armed with my map! Thank God it didn't rain during my walk!

I reached my destination with ease and ironically was approached by a passer-by for directions along the way. My Singaporean friend (after sharing with her this little happening) commented that I must have look like a local! Haha! Well..thanks to my map, I was able to provide the road directions to the passer-by.

The meeting with the Job Center went smoothly...thank goodness I didn't need to wait too long for my appointment. In fact, I was quite impressed by their operations and process. Very structured and efficient! My meeting with their staff started quite punctually and the entire process took only about half an hour! The staff even ensure women with kids get a place to sit at the waiting area, followed by women and then men if there are any seats left.

Now, I am crossing my fingers the approval of my National Insurance application will be as smooth as their application process... X :D