Sorry, Ella, it was a sunny day in London Town yesterday. We walked through The Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and saw snowdrops.
The warning lights on the car have become intrusive. First it was the tyre pressure. Inflation was required and that’s what I got. It used to cost £1, now £1.50. Who knew the price of air has gone up? Satisfied the tyre pressure was more or less satisfactory the warning system continued to pester me. It asked for an oil change, a full service and for the track transmission to be checked, or was it the train transmission?
There are more than twenty halogen down-lighters in the house. They were fashionable twenty years ago, obsolete now. LED (light-emitting diode) lights rule. Apparently they use less electricity, emit less heat, don’t cause fires and last forever. The early models emitted a stark, white light. Now there are ones that cast a warmer hue and I have opted for three of them in the hall and first landing. I suppose I will replace the other halogen fittings as they break.
I love watching Gromit. He walks and often looks just like Bertie. Like the Harry Potter books I find the W & G films formulaic and repetitive but I can see why they appeal to children. They appealed to me to begin with. I have never seen a Paddington film but read the books as they were published.
Christmas cards seem to be getter smaller and smaller. I sent a few this year and the only ones I received larger than mine were from my sister and the Kildare Street Club card from a friend. The House of Lords card is dreary – it is of Pugin’s peers’ staircase, though I thought it was Guy Fawkes heading downstairs to light the gunpowder. The (hereditary) sender said it is dull but wanted to use up stocks prior to the government lighting the gunpowder. The number sent and received is in equilibrium.
Two of the listed buildings in Margravine Cemetery have been wrapped up to prevent damage from rain and frost: the Reception House and the Frederick Young Mausoleum. The cemetery wall on Margravine Gardens is like the T of P leaning over and remains barricaded. The council have a long To Do list, starting with Hammersmith Bridge.