At London City Airport

While James was having his shower this morning I popped out to nearby Caffe Nero to pick up breakfast of coffee and muffins. What a different London I stepped into! Instead of crowds of tourists milling about there were lots of London office workers stepping smartly along the narrow streets of Southwark. In the coffee shop they were ordering coffees "to go". It was snowing lightly and the cobbled street looked very pretty. I felt splendid.
Today was our tour of the Houses of Parliament which I felt was very appropriate for David, who will be old enough to vote in the next election. Our tour guide was very informative but not as much fun as the guides who escorted me and my pupils last summer. We still enjoyed being shown around the different rooms, like the robing room with its private toilet for the Queen where she gets changed before she makes her speech to parliament. He also told us that the heir to the throne does not usually attend the opening of parliament but rumour has it that Prince Charles will start attending this year because of Prince Philip's deteriorating health. He also said that the second throne used at the opening of parliament is not kept permanently at the House of Lords but at a country house just in case the monarchy is ever overthrown it can be used as a rallying point for royalists. We were the only people on the tour who had arranged to meet our MP; Tom Greatrex met us in the lobby and took us for coffee in the Pugin room. We had a nice chat and he was very friendly. He seemed very young - maybe we have been spending time with our future Prime Minister!
We had a snack lunch in the café downstairs from Westminster Hall, where tv screens informed us of the breaking news that the Pope has resigned - the first pontiff to resign rather than pop his clogs for 600 years. Not that this had anything to do with our trip to London, it's just that I tend to remember where I was when I hear certain news stories.
Anyway we then went to Abercrombie and Fitch to buy David a new hoodie. I went upstairs to the balcony then when James and David looked up I started dancing, a joke that never gets tired, which amused me a lot more than it amused them!
On the way to London City airport James took us to the Emirates Airline which is a cable car across the Thames from the O2 Arena to Docklands. It seems very strange; it was absolutely deserted and went from one very quiet area to another. I wonder how well used it is at peak times? At the airport (first time I have been to London City) a disappointment awaited - our 6 p.m. flight was cancelled. So here I am blogging while waiting for the 8.15 flight. It is a very small airport with just a few shops and a couple of eateries, and seems to cater mainly for business people. James and Davie are using their iPads and I am about to get my Kindle out and do a bit of reading.