Notes from the May - June 2009
Tour of Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia and England

London, England - June 24 We continued our tour on a trolley - we got off the trolley at the Temperate House

Tinkerbelle had to dance

After finishing at Kew Gardens, we headed for the commuter train station (not the tube) across the Thames.

The Express Tavern - Free House, Est. 1882, was just across the Kew Bridge. We were thirsty, so we walked in.

One guy in his 50s was sitting at the bar, talking with the woman bartender, also in her 50s. A small, old guy, 75?, was slouched in a booth nearby. Everybody stopped talking when we came in. What to do? Sit or turn around? We sat. What came next was one the best experiences we had on the trip. I went to the bar and asked for a pint each of 2 tap beers. I brought them back to our table against the wall. The guys started talking after a while - it was as though we were not there. A big guy came in, got a beer and sat down, complaining that someone had nicked his newspaper. We had more beers. --- The big guy said something about cholesterol and that shrimp was bad for your heart. Kenith was listening intently and finally said `Cholesterol? I could cook you a meal of shrimp sauteed in butter and garlic, dressed with chopped parsley and poured over fresh pasta. Yes, you might die, but you`d die very happy.` The three men looked at her and laughed - that was our entre into the pub conversation. An hour later, we parted company all quite happy with the time spent chatting in the pub.

The train took us to Waterloo Station where we caught two buses back to Marsham Court. We went out later to the neighborhood laundry. While Kenith watched the clothes go around, I bought cheese, crackers and wine from the Tesco Express for our dinner.

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