Things can only get better.

This is the hat I bought on holiday, washable foldable and made of paper

So, to borrow a phrase from Flanders and Swan: ''Twas on a Monday morning the gas man came to call', he came and he stayed for a few hours, he had permission to seal the leak on the meter and not charge us, and he changed a part on the boiler which needed replacing, he also said my cooker had as good as had a servicing, and he would not leave till he was confident that we were all safe. There have been a few times when I have wondered if we were doing right in continuing to pay the monthly fee for the maintenance contract, but having had at least 7 hours labour, which would have  been £70 a hour, plus the parts supplied, suddenly the monthly fee didn't seem too bad at all. Plus the fact that without the insurance we would have had to shop around for a Gas safe engineer who was free to do the work. So I won't be cancelling the agreement.

I had asked a friend from church if he knew of a plumber who didn't charge the earth, and he had asked what we needed doing. I said, 'fitting a shower, like for like'. He said he could do it for us,and called in on his way home.  He didn't charge us a lot, I had  the chicken in the oven which I had planned for Sunday, and life was beginning to feel more normal.
Tuesday, I got up and had a shower, bliss! There had been a shower in the cottage we rented, but the water pressure in the bathroom had been poor, so it was good to have a decent shower again. I went out to the paper shop and got the Telegraph, then we got changed, got in the car and drove to the station. I had asked husband what he thought the likelihood of rain was, and he didn't seem to be expecting any, but after the Brownsea episode, I decided to take a small folding brolly with me. I have a small UPVC bag which I picked up in the British Museum shop when we went up to London 2 years ago. This is ideal for a small bottle of water, brolly etc, so I took it with me.
We bought tickets for Euston, and duly boarded the train. Husband suggested we got sandwiches, and then eat them in a park. He had a particular park in mind. So we got sandwiches in Pret a Manger,  waited ages for a bus, which then crawled along. I said to husband 'I'm sick of this start stop, how far is this park?' he said 'Not to far from here', so I said 'Right, I'm getting off at the next stop and we can walk there'. So we did,and we beat the bus, the park turned out to be Lincolns' Inn Fields. so we found a bench and enjoyed our lunch.
For my Birthday I had received quite a lot of money, which was still unspent, so I had decided to buy myself a good leather bound bible. We went to the Protestant Truth society bookshop, where they didn't have one, and we had a discussion with the manager on the merits or otherwise of leather bound bibles He said that the NKJV was not a popular translation, but as we use it in church it seems logical to continue to use it. I'm all for supporting Christian bookshops, but it is frustrating when they don't have what you want. He did however point me to the best publisher.

Lincoln's Inn fields

I always used to go to CLC in Holborn years ago, when I taught Sunday School, to buy books as Christmas presents/class prizes for my class, but I had read that they had moved. Husband has the internet on his phone, so he checked and found them. For anyone who is interested, they are now in Ave Maria Lane, near St Paul's. We found the shop quite easily, it was uncanny, apart from the door being in a different place, the layout is almost exactly the same, with little offices at either side, but there is no downstairs. They didn't have what we wanted, so we decided to go for a coffee.

Royal Courts of Justice

St Paul's

It is many years since we had coffee in St Pauls' Square, the place is in fact unrecognisable. We wanted to avoid Starbucks for personal reasons, and instead found a cafe Nero, where we had coffee. We then went into the nearby underground station, to get a train to Oxford Street, which was nearer to our ultimate destination.
Oxford Street was pretty crowded as usual, but as we approached John Lewis, I asked if we could go in so that I could find haberdashery, and look at the materials. husband said 'I suppose so', so in we went. Haberdashery is no longer on the ground floor, they have had at least one revamp,and it is now on the 4th floor. Husband found that technology was on the 5th floor, so he said I could meet him there. There was a disappointing array of dress fabrics, I wandered around, spotted a delightful Minnie Mouse style dress, but it would have been too small for a certain young lady. I looked at the children's dressing up costumes, but didn't buy, as I didn't want to be carrying lots of shopping. Then I got the escalator up to the next floor to look for husband. I was astounded at the size and price of some of the TV sets on display, huge things, on stands, up to £3,000. One would need an enormous room to accommodate one, but then I guess not everyone lives in a rabbit hutch, or doll's house as one friend once referred to mine.
I found him, and we found the little boys and girls rooms, then got the lift back to the ground floor. 'Oh dear,' he said, 'I've just seen people with brollies going past', so he bought himself a brolly so as not to get his lightweight summer suit wet. I used the fold up one I had brought. We ventured out,and made our way to Selfridges, to dodge the rain. It was incredibly noisy in there loud pop music blasting out. I complained that I needed to sit, but shops rarely provide seats these days for customers. We made our way to the technology dept again, and I was threatening to sit on some furniture on display, however one piece was an ancient chaise longue, at a ridiculous price, with tatty covers, obviously in need of tlc.
I was wearing my 'best' sandals, which I normally wear for church, but even though they are comfortable, hot London pavements made my feet sore.
There were some small  sofas in front of demonstration TVs, so I plonked myself on one of those,and watched the pretty nature pictures for a while, but when the football pics came on, I decided I was rested enough to go and find husband. We made our way back to Bond Street, then his personal GPS directed us to the Ritz.
We were early, but I said I was sure they wouldn't mind, and we went in. There were people outside being photographed by the concierge, but husband took my picture. We found the Palm Court quite easily, and a waiter approached, and said that they wouldn't be too long. I was quite happy 'people watching', and soon the waiter came back, and we were the first to be seated for the 5.30 afternoon tea. He took my voucher, sadly it also had the greeting on from our family who had bought it for my Birthday.
As we sat waiting we decided for once in our lives to be silly, and husband took a 'selfie' to send to our Daughter. I tried to be discreet  with some photography, but there were flashes going off all over, and people using various tablet devices to take pics. I rarely use flash, as it can be so disrupting.
The finger sandwiches were lovely, except cucumber which we both dislike. There was an interesting combination of egg and spring onion, and other various fillings. I had Assam and husband had some sort of green tea. The waiter brought more finger sandwiches, then later they came with the scones. The jam and cream were in pots on the table. I was beginning to feel full, when we saw a trolley coming around with lemon drizzle cake and what looked like a chocolate cake. Husband had the chocolatey one, but I had to refuse as there were still some dainties sitting on the stand.
We divided those up, with husband having the chocolate one, and another, and leaving me to finish off the mini maccaroons after my dainty cream slice, and another which I can't recall We had drunk lots of tea, and been given fresh pots, and eventually, we laid down our napkins and felt it was time to leave. a pianist had been playing songs from the musicals, and there were other ensemble members arriving, so presumably the 7.30 sitting would have the full ensemble.

Glass sculpture Berkely Square

Outside The Ritz

Husband in palm court

Tea for two

me leaving palm court

palm court

We thanked the waiters and left, no bill to pay. We had to use our brollies, but Green Park isn't too far, and soon we were on a Euston bound train. There was a seat, which I was about to take, but another lady seemed to want it so I stood back, then she insisted I have it so in the end neither of us sat; too much British pride I think.
Husband used his knowledge to bring us out by the ticket barriers, but I explained I needed some mints, so had to turn up the slope to get to Smith's. I was back in plenty of time,and husband insisted on walking right to the front carriages. It was after 7 pm, but there were still commuters on the train, I feel sorry for them, they must see so little of their families. When husband used to commute, I used to keep the children up in their pyjamas till he got home,at around 7.15, and it was his job to do their bible story or catechism, and prayers and put the to bed.
The first stop was Watford Junction, so the journey was a bit quicker, and the newer train made it smoother. It was nice to be home, I can only take London in small doses.