There are often problems with the subway lines, where some will not be running due to switching problems, an object on the track, weekend construction, delays for whatever reason. As frustrating as it can be they are always clear about relaying this information. There are boards at every station listing each line and its status, either good service or no service, long delays, etc. And someone will come on the loudspeaker with the same information and suggested options in travel, if necessary. On the way to the play yesterday, it was announced very matter-of-factly that the Victoria line was down because of a person under a train. People carried on as usual. But what else could one do? We were nowhere near the Victoria line. We were merely being told in case we were planning on transferring to the Victoria line. But did we need to know the cause? Would it have been enough to know it was not in service at this time? We will probably never know what happened to the person.

Today Cathy and I visited the London Silver Vaults below the city on Chancery Lane, with store after store of antique and some not-so-antique silver of all kinds. We were intrigued with the jewelry, especially these silver Victorian stamp containers. Just large enough to hold a stamp or two, they were worn as pendants, back in the day when people actually wrote letters! Some looked like tiny envelopes with a top flap that opened. Some had the word "STAMP" printed across the front. Only the prices deterred us from making any purchases. I did see a beautiful ring that fit my finger perfectly. Oh well. I've acquired enough beautiful rings of late.

We left there to partake of afternoon tea at The Orangery at Kensington Palace. We shared one fancy tea, the one that came with a glass of champagne, and ordered an extra pot of tea on the side. It was perfect. One person probably couldn't and definitely shouldn't indulge in the whole three tiers--one for finger sandwiches, one for scones, and the top for the little cakes. I have always wanted to do the high tea thing. But the timing never seemed right. Is one supposed to have dinner after this? Well, we skipped lunch, had tea at 3:00 and still had dinner.

We met this cute little man in Kensington Gardens who was feeding the squirrels. It was obvious that this was a regular pastime of his. They were crawling all over him, up on his shoulders, up his legs. I found it fascinating and Cathy thought it creepy--after all they are rodents. He was talking about Dieppe and Normandy and what happened to the Canadians and how most kids nowadays don't know about it (I'm not sure that he was talking about us as though we were kids, but I'll take what I can get). He also talked about one of the squirrels, the one guarding his pack of nuts, and how she is mean to the other squirrels if they come too near. The other squirrels keep a safe distance from her. Anyway, because of her behavior he calls her Camilla Parker Bowles!

Close by, within the park, there was a beautiful flower garden being tended to by a couple of royal gardeners. The public was not allowed inside because, as one of the gardeners said, people will steal the flowers and then it won't be so nice. We thought it was like the Secret Garden.

We walked up Kensington Church Street and back down, looking in all of the antique stores there. One of them had a couple of modern replicas of those stamp pendants, at a much more affordable price. But again, no purchases. There were two charity shops that we looked in as well because I had heard that they are good places to shop. Not this time, however.

Went home whereupon Gord and I left to do the shopping for tomorrow's student dinner. Picked up Cathy and walked to the Elephant and Castle for fish and chips and a pint. Cathy's pedometer indicated that we had walked just under five miles today. But the bad news? We burned only 286 calories. I know that those things are not totally accurate but how can that be? It's a good thing we shared the afternoon tea.

(Okay Katie, you wanted a picture of us. Here it is.)