London life - September and October 2009

Something we had been looking forward to for a long time was finally here - the start of September and the arrival of Warren's little sister Janine to London (and surrounds) for a two month holiday.
Showing Janine around Putney on Saturday the 5th.

Sunday the 6th was Warren's other sister Carolyns (and her husband Glenn's) 30th birthday party next to the River down the road in Wandsworth. Lots of Warren's family were there, including the son of Warren's cousin who we hadn't met before.

The following weekend we took Janine to Bath (see seperate post), before continuing the party theme for our friend Nic's 27th on the September the 18th.

Having Janine around was a good opportunity to up our London sightseeing. So on the 26th we went through the staterooms at Buckingham Palace. Ange and I have now seen a lot of palaces over Europe, but Buckingham was certainly right up with the best.

The girls (Ange and Warren's two sisters) then went on to Portobello markets for some shopping.

That night was another of Warren's cousins 30th birthday, held at one of the many awesome pubs in Putney.

Sunday the 27th was a very hot day in London, not the greatest timing for Warren's half marathon (that's his excuse anyways). Set out in east London and starting and finishing at the o2 arena, at least it made for a lazy sunny afternoon in the park and a trip back west along the Thames.

Another busy weekend on the 3rd and 4th of October, starting with a tour through the Houses of Parliament and a wander through Westminster Abbey on Saturday before more partying, this time at one of our good friend's leaving do.

Sunday morning Ange and Warren's sisters again went shopping, this time at Camden markets.

...which took its toll on poor Janiney.

Thursday the 8th of October was Janine's birthday, so we took her to a medieval banquet held near the Tower of London. Great night and great costumes made getting up early the following day for our Cambridge/Cotswolds roadie (see seperate blog entry).

After 10 days or so in Ireland, Janine had one last week in London, so we crammed in a west-end show (Wicked) and a few laughs at the Comedy Store on the 21st and 22nd, before a last weekend of London sightseeing. Kensington Palace on the 24th:Plenty of Diana's dresses:

Superbly timed was a Kiwis vs Aussie rugby league game down the road at Twickenham, which for some reason meant we had to wear blue wigs! Great game which we nearly won, pesky Aussies!

Sunday the 25th Ange and I left Janine with Carolyn and went up to Wembley for the one NFL game played outside the states. Watching a one sided match between heavyweights New England Patriots and also-rans Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it felt like every US person in London was in Wembley! But at least the action was good, and we saw an impressive pre-game show.

The last few days with Janine we had a curry in Brick Lane on the 27th and a night out in Clapham on the 28th before she boarded a plane early on the 29th.

But we weren't going to let that stop us partying, and so we had our own little Halloween party on the 31st with 15 or so of our close friends and family. We even had a go at scary decorations and pumpkin carving!