24-Hour Chocolate Ukuleles

The simplest things can turn out in unexpected ways. Take our newly purchased clock radios (for the spectacular price of £3 each, we splurged and got "his and hers"):

We've never owned clock radios that could tell James-Bond time before--in Canada, we use the 12-hour clock, with A.M. and P.M., but here our clock radios only tell 24-hour-style time. On our way to Fiona and Gerald's for dinner tonight, we decided to get off the bus a few stops before Angel and walk down a side street that we had noticed from the bus: Camden Passage.Although most of its businesses were shut today, we found a wonderful assortment of shops, pubs, restaurants, and a chocolate shop that looks very promising indeed. The short street had a wonderful feel and reminded us how many treasures there are to be found off the main streets in this urban labyrinth. After our short walk, we took the tube from Angel to London Bridge and then the train to Sydenham, where we were treated to a delicious dinner of beef casserole, leeks, and potatoes, followed by a multi-course finish of hot mince tarts with clotted cream, a cheese platter, fruit, and after-dinner drinks! Fiona's parents, Grahame and Josephine, are in town for Christmas and so, together with Gerald, we all had a lively time talking about England, how to distinguish different types of cream, what "agistment" meant, whether Bob is related to Robin Hood, whether there really is a Robin Hood, Winnie-the-Pooh, and some of the interesting and unexpected things that Bob and I have encountered three-and-a-half weeks into our adventure. Some of us even got musical.