Haystacks and sunflowers

Beep, beep, there goes the alarm its time to get going to St Pancras station to catch the Eurostar to Avignon. Oh, it looks like half of London is going to Europe today, its all sun hats and bike helmets. Maybe these people are going to the same place as me?

All aboard the 7:19 to Marseille, stopping at Lille, Lyon and Avignon.

What a nice seat, my seat selection plan worked and I am sitting facing the direction of travel with an aisle and a window. Time to ring Stephen and bother him. Right on the dot, the train glides out of the station. There is good wifi and laptop power time to finish off work and get through some emails. I want to finish by the time we get to the other side of the channel so I can stare out the window and see the countryside. 

Before I blink we are out of the tunnel and into France proper, its green and lush. Looks really hot as the sun is baking down over the landscape. Those sunflowers are divine, fields and fields on them. More working, nearly done, just a few more thank you’s and lunch has arrived. Well that’s it lets shut up that laptop and enjoy the ride.

The sunflowers are huge, and appear to turn to face the sun. I wonder if that is true or not? Will have to find out. Haystacks are in every field, I wonder if I am in a Van Gogh painting.

6 hours later right on schedule, we glide into Avignon and Jane and Russ are here ready and waiting to whisk me back to their home. Its hot, 39.6 degrees.

It's supposed to be an hour drive but with so much chatting and things to see we arrive in no time. I settle in and then we head out on a walk into the local bush, called the garrigue. What's that big bird panicking behind us its a pheasant! Chalk up a new bird! Lets keep going down this track, a danger sign appears that must be interesting, yes its a limestone cave. Lots to explore here bees and bugs galore. I am like a kid in a candy store. Back we go to base and sit out in the shade and have an extended many course dinner, drinking, solving the problems of the world, bird watching and star gazing (we even saw the ISS my first time in Northern Hemisphere!). What a wonderful night.

The whirlwind of work

Hanging out at WeWork office before my first meeting

Facebook's new London headquarters

With Elena at The Wallace Collection

We liked the look of this blue door
and thought it was a good spot for a photoshoot

Kicking off the awards session

Mark from Lloyds Bank
sharing his award-winning work

The happy winners, from London to Moscow
and everywhere in-between

Heading to work with Jane
have not done that for many years

Raining! forgot my brolly, so had to buy one,
rookie mistake!

So happy with thank you chocolate from Nigel

Final session doing my thing

Entry to the new rooftop garden
 at 120 Fenchurch Street

Finally a decent view of the Gherkin

Working and holidaying is an interesting adventure, but here I go….

Day 1 let's head off for a stack of meetings. The DLR is my chosen mode of transport, arriving at a bank and into the throngs of people. Google maps save me, which way do I go? I think its this way lets get out of this peak hour throng. Eventually, I find my rhythm and manage to get to each meeting on time.

The standout has to be at Facebooks London Headquarters, lots of cool stuff here including:

• the building sits on the old Royal Mail headquarters and the rail mail train goes underneath!
• old post boxes and nods to the heritage of snail mail vs using Facebook are everywhere
• they have regular artists in residence and there are crazy installations on every floor
• posters, colour and breakout areas everywhere, my kind of psychedelic, most of the communication is by posters, interesting twist in a digital organisation
• a big canteen with free food and micro kitchens on each floor, they say you put on 15 pounds when you join Facebook, the magnum doughnuts looked amazing
• a big red bus full of lollies, called a pick and mix
• there is a whole floor with meetings rooms named after ' things the British don't like' eg. 'rail replacement bus' or 'MM/DD/YY' they are very funny
• the roof is all exposed cables, and this is on purpose to send the message that Facebook is only 1% created, its a visual reminder to aim higher and do more
• wont bore you with the actual meeting details, but I did learn a lot about Workplace for Facebook

17,000+ steps so far I am now ready to return home to Ladywell Lodge answer a million and one emails from tomorrows winners who are speaking and burn the midnight oil on agenda changes and presentation updates.

Day 2 after lots of preparation the day has finally arrived, today we celebrate the UK and European winners of 2019 Intranet and Digital Workplace awards and share insights on new ways of working. I am a bit bleary-eyed, but let's check emails first - oh oh Steve from Edinburgh is unwell and can’t get on the plane, let's just rejig that agenda, again. Hair done, makeup on, trophies packed let's go. First up is a lunch with my willing bands of helpers, Adam (host), Elena (a friend from Moscow), Steve (UK colleague) and Lisa (photographer and organiser extraordinaire). Then setup, then the big event starts, on-time (well done us) each winner is glowing, sharing great insights and getting trophies, with 10 speakers in 2 hours we managed to wow the crowd and finish on time. We all deserve a drink and some hangout time.

Day 3 another presentation, for a different audience. Thankfully this time I am not organising so I can just rock up and do my thing and enjoy the day. They are a great crowd with lots of questions and are pretty keen on the Caramelo Koalas I brought along with me. Pleased with my session, all questions answered and lots of good contacts made. Now its time to escape and fit in a little tourisitying.

Just across the road, a new rooftop garden has opened at 120 Fenchurch Street. The line is empty, win. Straight up in the lift and I am here, its only 15 floors up so actually gives much better views than the taller buildings, I can see Skygarden, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. What's this? Around the corner is the best ever view of the Gherkin. I have tried to get a decent photo of The Gherkin for years.  Now its time to get home to Ladywell Lodge, hang out with Jane discussing Sicxit (a new nickname for Brexit), poltergeists and the Royal Family, oops its 10pm time to finish pack for the next adventure.

Normal programming how now resumed, I am writing this post on a train heading to a new (for me) part of the world, a demain.

The Governor and Torchie

Train driver ready to go

Locked and loaded

In the tunnels

Sorting the mail, the floor was moving,
mail just keeps coming through the slot
it's hard to keep up

Putting a call through to the palace

It's a tough job but
someone has to get the mail around the city

New tea shop, Mariage Freres

The Petersham, part of Petersham Nurseries

Exploring Covent Garden

Loved these flowers

We have made it to Phoenix Place for a special excursion underground. We have tickets for Mail Rail and are about to board the little red train to experience how the mail was transported under London for nearly 70 years. 

All aboard! Well, no, first we need a photo with the driver and to check out the controls, now we have slowed down proceedings with the whole train laughing with us, or at us? And off we go, down, and down and down, we are right under London now, I wonder how deep this goes. A turn, a tunnel and now we are at a station. An interactive display is projected onto the station walls sharing letters from different people, I like the one from the little girl who sends birthday wishes to Princess Elizabeth in the 1930s.

On we go to see where the men loaded the bags, they had 3 minutes to fill each carriage before it automatically moved on. This is a brilliant bit of complex human/machine design to move up to 4 million letters a day.

All good things must come to an end and before we know it we are back at the station. Time to go on and explore the museum, eagle-eyed Jane spots the dress up rack and before you know it she is the Guv’ and I am Torchie (a worker). 

We start by sorting the mail. The floor moves and we have limited time to put the mail into the correct slots. Beep, wrong slot Catherine try again - they must have data codes in them. Quick this one is for Kent, another for Edinburgh, this is fun. Oops, out of time, start again. Success. Now to move onto shunting trains, this is much harder, pause, forward, switch. Gee, lucky one of the other train riders is an expert and he helps us. He is about 30 and thoroughly enjoying showing us how to do - I wonder did his Dad teach him how to do this. Eventually, success.

On we go to the gift shop, Rosco scored a good present today. Now across to the postal museum for more dress ups and shenanigans. What a fascinating story about a lioness that attacked the Exeter Mail Coach and after all the palaver the lioness was eventually found hiding under a building. How cute a little hole for kids to put their hands in to find the lion under the building. Must do that. Ahh, that was NOT what I expected. Am now screaming like a schoolgirl - that got the heart pumping!

Feeling a bit hungry now, we have a nice place picked out of lunch so let's go. Onto the underground at Russel Square and then pop up at Covent Garden. Jane is in charge we are going straight to lunch. Oh, oh a detour there is a new tea place. Maison Frères, divine. Finally, we arrive at our lunch destination, this is nice, flowers everywhere, such a nice place, let start with a rose petal bellini. This is the life. Now to decide the menu and sit back and enjoy this gorgeous afternoon before we go on and explore all our favourite places in Covent Garden area. Then it's back to Ladywell Lodge to get through some work.

Update: The Londonist site shows how to find the above-ground locations for mail rail.

There will be a short break from blogging whilst I do a few days of work. Back on the tourist trail at the end of the week.

Another perfect Sunday

Royal Academy 

First room ready to explore

One of the whimsical parts of
The Garden of Earthly Delights,
this had funny and rude sections

Apart from us, these are the only people in London
 not watching the Wimbledon tennis final
 or cricket world cup final on today

Loved this piece, the tiger pattern
is actually chocolate tea cake wrappers.
I had one of these last night with my cuppa!

Lots of shops all decked out for Wimbeldon

Regent Street closed to traffic, bliss

Reviving with an elderflower drink
after book shopping

One of the fan bases for Wimbledon,
everyone gasped after each point

Celebrating a great day out with a Pimms

Its time to get moving but first I have to laugh at the squirrels running along the back fence. Out into the world, we venture without jackets, getting much more daring in my old age.

Today we had planned to go to Brighton for the day however some of the train lines are under maintenance so we have swapped to my favourite thing to do in the summer in London, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  It’s the world’s oldest open-submission art exhibition with emerging and established artists. Each year it has serious works, crazy sculptures and political statements. Jane and I have this exhibition stuff down pat nowadays, we do the first room together then set off independently at our own pace to discover and wonder. I head onwards always on the lookout for Tracey Emin and Banksy.

Some of my favourites this year include:

• An oil painting with all kinds of people and animals including a polar bear and an owl, Waiting and Wondering by Micky Rooney RA
• A tiger made from M&S chocolate tea cake wrappers (I have had a few of those on my trips to London)
• A strong and timely political statement from our favourite, Banksy on Brexit being about keeping people out of the UK
• A transparency displayed on a lightbox that was a pile of buildings in the style of Verhaechat called Babel Britain

I must say a lot of dogs this year, Rosco would approve. Being a Sunday I am amazed how empty the rooms are, but that’s the brilliance of big sporting days in London. Who’s that spunky girl over there in the orange shirt? It's Jane. She has the guide book in hand and has picked out a piece for 90,000 pounds, This girl has expensive taste. Now its time to redo the rooms each sharing our favourite bits, you like that? Really?  And finally, we find Tracey Emin another pathetic attempt to contribute to the art world. But I do love her.

Time to move on, there are shops to see, bits of London to explore and photos to take. Louis Vuitton for an important mission for an important person failed. Liberty, be still my beating heart.  Regent Street is closed to cars and there is a party atmosphere with music and pop-ups shops. Very nice of the local council to time these events for when we are walking by. Jane says we need to just turn left here, hmm I sense we are in for another Jane Smith font of all knowledge London treat. Yes, a little quiet lane off the main drag where the famous photo of David Bowie was taken for Ziggy Stardust album cover.

Heading for the train now past anxious tennis fans watching a big screen and gasping as every point is won and lost. Now onto Trafalgar Square, it is heaving with cricket fans an almighty cheer goes up and it looks like someone one, who? Oh, England, really? Well done pommies!

Back home to catch up on the day of high tension and drama in sport that has gripped the country and figure out what actually happened:

• Cricket world cup going into a super over (I had to google what that was)
• Eventually, England winning the cricket on the last ball
• The Wimbledon men's single battle that was the longest match in history

Many sporting fans will never forget this day.

Flowers and Sunshine

Great Qantas crew on both legs of the journey

Kew Gardens summer colour

Chihuly glass sculpture looking over the lake

Had a photo frenzy at this spot

These ones looked like snakes
rising out of the grass

My fav piece, suspended from
one of the conservatories

The peacocks found us again

In the Japanese garden

How does Chihuly make this stuff?
A man climbed over the fence here
to get a closer shot, got yelled at
by the garden workers but just ignored them.
His wife was so embarrassed.

Everyone was having icecreams in the sunshine so we did too!

24 hours of enforced rest, with yummy food and funny movies, is good for the soul. Lots of little delays in Sydney, Singapore and London pickup so arriving at Ladywell Lodge much later than anticipated, but lets’ go with the flow and get into the sunshine.

We are at Kew Gardens to see the Chihuly exhibition, back to nature. Dale Chihuly is a glass sculptor and there are many of his pieces dotted throughout the garden to discover this summer. But first, we must get some sustenance to stave off jet lag, yeah, the traditional egg sandwich there is one left on the shelf. No elderflower drink so let's try a ginger kombucha and into The Orangery, we go to enjoy our lunch in the sunlight bathed pavilion. 

Time to get walking, down the long avenue, the flowers are divine, the bees are buzzing and kids are in overdrive. There’s something new, right turn down this little path and we have discovered the Hive. Its represents a beehive and resonates like a buzzing bee, also there are a thousand LED lights that glow with the vibrations of bees. But we must move on we have not found a Chihuly piece yet. 

Jane is in full Dora the Explorer mode and finds the first Chihuly piece around a fountain, then she leads us on and on, the red sea monster beside the lake is striking. The crowds get thicker and we are in the zone. Let's go up this path, it leads to the conservatory, inside, wow, there is one from the ceiling, this is so my favourite the glass is delicate but ginormous and the blue is stunning. I like this Dan guy.

15,000 steps later we have discovered every piece, we deserve an icecream.

Leaving on a jet plane.....

Rosco helping pack

Checking out the French words
 I learnt in 2012, not many!
More to come on this trip.

2019 trophies

Finally, everything fits in, 37 kilos in total

Stephen is making up funny ditties, “leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when you will see your schnauzer again” I prefer “leaving on a jet plane, won’t need to wear a jumper again”.

This is a combined work/holiday trip so I am loaded down with trophies and medals for winners of the 2019 Intranet and Digital Workplace Awards. Stephen deposits me at the Qantas counter with my two bags weighing in at a whopping 37 kilos. The check-in lady thinks he is the best taxi driver ever, I agree. Now a tearful (on my part) goodbye and its time to do the customs thing, the glitz of duty-free and escape into the relative quiet of the lounge.

My favourite spot in the lounge is free, I am such a creature of habit. Important research to do, what is the latest on Brexit and Boris? OK BBC has filled in that gap. Now, what is the name of the other contender is for British PM? Jeremy Hunt, I learn he is two years younger than me and a rational optimist (whatever that means). We seem a long way from 2016 when I landed as the Brexit vote was announced and political correspondent Mary Smith filled me in on all the details.

Ding, ding they are calling QF1 its time board and enjoy an uninterrupted 24 hours of bliss. Then emerge into the spectacle of fun that is July in London, this weekend is the Wimbledon finals.

Singapore - the wrap up

9 days of fun and sun exploring this little island with lots of contrasts. From modern buildings like Marina Bay Sands that look like spaceships and 21st century light shows to traditional Hawker Centre food and Raffles Hotel. Also, the first time exploring a new country with Rebecca!