Souvenirs of London

Last week Mr A gave me one of his looks. He was in the middle of planning for his Open University seminar on Saturday, while I was planning a treat for me and the kids.

He lifted his eyes from his computer, glanced in my direction with that look, the one that comes with semi-disapproval mixed with disbelief.

"Are you mad?" he said.

Followed by.

"I can't believe...

you're taking the boys...

.... single-handedly to London!"

Yes LONDON

I suppose, the fact I struggle to cope with taking the children anywhere single-handedly added to the element of surprise.

"Why on earth London?" He asked, trying to get to the bottom of it all. After all, the journey isn't the most straightforward, involving two train rides with a very prompt changeover in Cambridge.

I'm not quite sure whether I reassured him.

"I'm off to see the Baglady," I said.

"So, you're going to take the kids to London to see a baglady". By now he was getting a tad concerned.

I can't blame him really. I have been demonstrating bouts of odd behaviour of late. He's still bemused that two weeks ago I navigated through Essex despite the fact my car has hardly experienced life outside of Bury St Edmunds.

Anyway he needn't worry.

I'm perfectly sane.

And it wasn't any old baglady I was off to see, it was THE Baglady, my friend Shirley, from Northern Ireland, who was in London, making her West End debut.

And here she is, the fabulous Baglady herself, parading her gorgeous outfit in Trafalgar Square.



After a couple of months of phone-chat and emails, it was a true delight to meet her properly and after a quick interview for her TV channel GLO TV, I stood back and watched her interact with passers-by. With a background in journalism, she's a true natural and it was a real pleasure witnessing how people came up to her to chat about rubbish, offering their commitment to support measures for ending world waste.

Regrettably we had to part company after a very brief meeting. While Baglady wandered off to Buckingham Palace, the boys and I followed our noses in the direction of a kids' art workshop.




And on a very hot day in the middle of Trafalgar Square ... we sat and made a couple of cardboard buses, which were duly placed on a newspaper map of the capital city itself.




Of course the boys insisted we brought the buses home. So after getting the 91 bus back to Kings Cross, the train to Cambridge and the second train back to Bury St Edmunds, to Mr A's relief, we arrived safely ...

...with our very unusual souvenirs completely intact.



So a grand day was had by all, the last fling of Summer before going Back to School.

Yes the first week of September is a biggie. Not only are the kids going back go school, but it's the start of the Big Tidy Up to Keep Britain Tidy.

And what fantastic timing eh! Couldn't be better. Not only is Baglady talking about Ending World Waste this Monday at Stanfords in Covent Garden, but Mrs Green is embarking on her inaugural Zero Waste Week at MyZeroWaste.com.

So whatever you're doing and wherever you are, please find a few minutes to pick up some litter, recycle it if possible, drop into Stanfords and pop over to support Mrs Green.

With so much to do, there's only one thing left to remember...

I mustn't forget to pick the kids up from school!

SIGH - no wonder Mr A was anxious about London. Who could blame him eh?

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Almost Mrs Averages leaves Suffolk!

NOW THAT'S A HEADLINE THAT WOULDN'T SELL NEWSPAPERS!

But yes, the news is that I'm getting out of town today and even venturing out of the region.

Destination LONDON! The UK capital of the freebie paper.

One of my memories of working in London during the nineties was how the tube trains were often used as surrogate recycling bins, with newspapers abandoned on the seats, the floors and even tucked away near the windows. The buses were no better!

I wonder if anything has changed, particularly in light of new titles that have since been launched. If my memory serves me well, we only had the Metro at the time. Since then, there have been a range of new titles, including thelondonpaper and London Lite, which were both launched in 2006.

There is a list of current London newspapers on the Wikipedia site but if you look at the above photo, there are obviously many others that aren't accounted for.

I have read that following the launch of thelondonpaper and London Lite, Associated Newspapers and News International agreed to pay for 64 recycling bins, in an attempt to manage an estimated extra 1,000 tonnes of waste resulting from their distribution. Now that really is a lot of wastage and makes me very glad that our little town of Bury St Edmunds only has two weekly freebies!

I wonder if I'll spot one of those bins today, hardly a major tourist attraction I know!

Anyway, I'll soon find out...and if I can track down a free wi-fi hotspot (suggestions welcome), I'll publish the photos later on. (An opportunity to blog from London....how exciting!)

So, it's a case of HELLO LONDON...and without further ado, let the rubbish tour begin.

P.S. Take a look at the creative designs that promote the message of recycling on the London Lite site. http://www.thelondonlite.co.uk/advertising/recycling.html. My favourite is the Tower of London version. How cruel of me!

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ADDENDUM
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It's almost 6pm and I'm still in London, having a fab time.

I've seen some rubbish bins and the odd freebie paper, but I've been rather distracted by loads of other things:

....including buying some strange fruit in Harrods and refusing the carrier bag. Yes, refusing a Harrods carrier bag, in preference of using my own! I bet that's quite unheard of!



But do I really need a bag that says I can afford to shop in Harrods?

NO! I don't...

...especially as I can't afford much more than some opulent fruit from the even more opulent Food Hall.

Later, I was also distracted by the fact that it's my uncle's birthday tomorrow and I'd forgotten to buy a card...so with Paperchase on hand, I quickly popped in for an emergency purchase.

But could I find a card that didn't come in one of those unnecessary plastic wrappers? Could I heck! So I plumped for a 60p cheery postcard instead! So much cheaper and much less waste...


And now...onto my final distraction. Before I head back to Sleepy Suffolk, I'm spending the last hour with my lovely friend Ruby, indulging in my favourite restaurant...the very opulent Sarastro on Drury Lane. It's the place where I had my 30th birthday celebrations and celebrated my hen-night, so is very close to my heart

And if it's a choice between documenting bins at Kings Cross or "indulging" in Sarasto's with a very decent meal for just £12.50, you can bet the restaurant wins hands-down!



But don't worry...there's always time for bins later...because with my new lifestyle, Almost Mrs Average can never take a day off!

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