Oh, happy day! Somewhat long and OT

I had a LOVELY day today.

I went to London, and met Big Sis Anne Marie at Victoria. Haven't seen her for a couple or three months, so it was great to catch up. We then fought round 1 with the London Underground* and went out to Gloucester Road station... We trotted out into the sunshine (it has been BAKING all day! I feel steam cooked, like factory bread!) and up the road, and round the corner, and into one of those big ole London houses that has been knocked together with three others inside and turned into a hotel and met our own dear Karen Maslowski! :)

I'd roped AM in as 'Native Guide' for the day, as I'm not good at London

- duzz me 'ead in, innit! We toddled off and fought round 2 with the underground, then walked the tunnel to the Victoria & Albert museum, where we wandered through the India/Raj section, admiring the workmanship of the costumes, delighting over fabric and details, and marvelling that one man's coat has a 75 metre hem! It was made of the lightest and finest cotton muslin, with every tiny stitch set by hand. Cloud like and incredible! AM earned her stars for the day with the bits of history that went with things like Tipoo's Tiger

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(a musical organ beast that growls and mauls a soldier! One of my favourite things in the museum!).Then we trotted off to the costume galleries, and once again our eyes were out on stalks at the fineness of some of the workmanship and the hand worked buttonholes to die for on the Tommy Nutter suits, and other glorious things. We exclaimed over the tiny costumes of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the exquisite stitching that went into some seriously ugly garments! We discovered that some designers and some pieces were loved by all three of us, and we diverged markedly on others. I could spend MONTHS in there with such company, jest gazing and speculating...

Two things all three of us wanted was mirrors so we could see the backs of things, and corners turned up so we could see the finishing on the insides!

Lunch was delicious and friendly to my diet! We ate salmon or chicken in the V&A cafe, and salad with lovely dressing.

Then we trotted off through the shop and back down that lovely cool tunnel (always a cool breeze in the tunnel from South Kensington station to the museums!) and fought round three with the underground! This round we almost lost... The train was PACKED and hot and evil... But we didn't let it defeat us, and we made it to Liberty! :)

That shop is almost a museum by itself! Karen looked at the lovely scarves, and then we trotted off and lazed in the tea room, eating scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, washed down with Earl Grey tea!

And we chattered... and chattered and chattered! Like a trio of busy sparrows! If any donkey had wandered past, he'd have lost all four legs and the tail, and needed help getting home!

Karen bought her scarf, and we left the shop as they were closing the doors! I've never needed to be let out of Liberty's after closing, but this came close! We none of us bought fabric, though it came close with the vinyl coated stuff... A couple of us were slightly tempted for bag making. But it just wasn't *quite* right, and the selection was nothing like as good as the last time I was there when they had fabric. They had a few years when they didn't sell fabric at all...

AM and I escorted Karen back to her hotel, more to prolong the conversation and the pleasure of her company than to stop her getting lost (*I'm* the one that can't tell left from Tuesday, after all!), and I got back to Victoria with AM in time for the 21:03 from platform two to Dover. AM waved me a fond farewell, and trotted off to get her train to Balham.

It was a HOT day...

It was a BUSY day!

It was a truly LOVELY day - and I am all walked out and talked out!

*So hot that they were sending teams round with water to revive fainting passengers!
Reply to
Kate Dicey
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And will this be the plan for when I manage to drag my sorry Yank butt over to see you??? LOL not to worry, the children have to get a bit older before I can leave them with grandparents for a long time.

Larisa

Kate Dicey wrote:

Reply to
off kilter quilter

And will you be spending the rest of the week in bed?? I would be, after a day like that. It sounds wonderful, wish I had been there. I dunno how long it is since I was in the V&A.

Glad you all enjoyed yourselves.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Reply to
Olwyn Mary

Very glad to hear all three survived the heat and enjoyed yourselves. Someday, I do hope to see your country. Emily

Reply to
CypSew

Indeed it will, if that is what you want. I shall wish for somewhat cooler weather! The underground in a crush is hell in holes!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Oh, no! I have too much to do for that, though I may go and put my feet up for a while. The fibro has been playing up recently and I have a blister on one toe!

I'm off out again on Thursday, for a trip to the hobby place and a session with Ikea!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Well, give me a shout when you do, and we'll plan a similar trip! :)

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Wow, Kate. It does sound like a lovely -- and wonderfully busy -- day. It doesn't get any better than that :)

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

--------------

Reply to
IMS

Well that all made me very homesick for London. For some reason I felt the heat there much worse than I do in Australia - maybe it has something to do with the fact that we're geared up for the heat here. Then again, I feel the cold here more than I did in England because we don't dress properly for it and the homes are built for it! Glad you enjoyed your day.

Reply to
Viviane

Well, I've just gotten back from my trip to London (visiting my youngest daughter, who is going to school there this summer). Kate may have had a lovely day on Monday, but I had a fabulous one! She and her sister Anne Marie were excellent tour guides, and I learned so much from both seeing the costume gallery at the V&A with them, and from going to Liberty. And who better to have a real cream tea with? (We had one at the Orangerie at Kensington yesterday, and it wasn't nearly as good!)

Over the years I've met dozens of online sewing acquaintances (including Juno, just a few weeks ago, who brought me a delicious lunch!), and have always enjoyed it thoroughly. Somehow, writing reveals more about one's personality than usual social interactions, and almost everyone I've "met" online first has turned out to be just the same in person. Kate was no exception, and we had a great day together. The trip went way too fast, though!

I wish we could all meet someday, wouldn't that be a blast?

Reply to
Karen Maslowski

It really would be. I have been lucky enough to meet several people that I've known from email lists and forums, and they were delightful, just as they are on-line. The first time was funny - we picked a very public place to meet, both of us being cautioned by family to be careful, you know how that Internet is.....well...what a laugh! I guess people interested in sewing and sewing machines are not magnets to the sick and weird. Or perhaps it's just that our weirdness is shared.

Reply to
Pogonip

I certainly intend to put the word out on future travels. Five years ago when ds was to be married in Sacramento I mentioned to him that I might see some people. He got very bossy and said "NO Mom, you NEVER NEVER NEVER meet anyone you only know over the internet". Not wanting to upset him at his wedding, I acquiesced, but Oh boy do I wish I had ignored him - it might have made a little bright spot in the week. His bride was Bridezilla incarnate!! We knew she didn't like us, but at the wedding she made it clear she would rather we had fallen over a cliff sometime between paying for his college education and her meeting him (of course, I later found out by a very roundabout manner that she was six figures in debt). Her own father told us that during the week she was home before the wedding, he several times suddenly remembered an urgent appointment, got in his car and left.

If we go out there this fall to see the new baby which arrived last week, I will certainly be putting the word out that I am available for morning coffees, lunches, afternoon teas etc., as I will only go to the house when ds is home from work.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Reply to
Olwyn Mary

Well, if Katrina hadn't put an end to our plans, we would have had a jolly meeting last October, Olwyn Mary! Which was a double blow to me, since I had also never been to Nawlins. I'd really been looking forward to meeting you, too.

Someday!

Sorry to hear about the Bridezilla in your own family. How awful for you, and for your son.

Reply to
Karen Maslowski

I've met several internet friends now. A couple of sewing ones, and 5 couple of others. Excellent time had by all concerned. if you're worried, meet somewhere neutral, like a local fabric store. Have coffee/lunch at a quilt show...

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Sounds like you had a very nice visit. I'm so glad you had the chance to go! V&A must be a grand place. I have a couple of book specifically about their resident textiles.

Indeed it would!

Reply to
Phaedrine

Phae, the V&A is every bit as grand as I always thought it would be, and then some! And the best part is that it's free admission! Not much in London is free, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Reply to
Karen Maslowski

What a vicarious pleasure it is reading about your meeting and adventures. Thanks for sharing the joy. I can't think of anything that could be more pleasant than to be in both your company, and in London too. Sharon

Reply to
Seeker

Thank you Sharon. It really was an excellent day, even if we did cook a bit! :) The museum was nice and cool, and Liberty's air-conditioned! Made a big difference on the hottest day of the year so far.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

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