It was an early morning start for us today, well about 9.58 when we had to catch our (not so) early train down to London. The journey was swift and realtively uneventful thanks to all the work they've done on the west coast mainline service. two and a half hours to London from our little provincial backwater is superb by anyones reckoning.

We dropped the stuff off at l'hotel and headed to Westminster.

Westminster tube station is awe inspiring. they left evrything on show all the pipework and ducts all the massive slabs of concrete that are usually discretely hidden and left on full view almost showing off in its starkness. And I Love it! It reminded me of the pomidu center in Paris.

Anyway we met my friend Al there and headed to Parliment where he works as an Parlimentry outreach person. He used to be one of the team that transcribed the offical record of ever word that was said whilst Parilment was in session. If you've ever watched a debate in the house of commons you'll know what an ardous task that must have been.

So now he works with groups talking about parliment and how parilment works for them.

We went through a series of checkpoints and Em got frisked AGAIN. Every airport we've ever been to she get searched. She seems to be a frisking magnet we laugh and joke about it but occasionally I have to fight off the urge to shout 'Get your hands off my WIFE!'

From there we walked into St Stepehens Hall I think which is the only place in the Parilmentry grounds that you are allowed to take photographs. After that my camera stayed in my pocket and what a pity it was too. We walked through the opulent rooms surrounding the houses of lords all gift and ermine and plush red velvet and then through the houses of commons where I stood next to the dispatches box, right by Gordon Browns seat . It was an awesome tour and Al is very funny and well versed in the History of Parliment. It was quite an experience.

One thing that surprised me was the balance they have to strike. Theres a masive statue of Oliver Cromwell outside which is fair enough but inside its all Kings and Queens! I don't think Mr Cromwell would have been happy about that but being a Puritan I can't imagine there was much that would make him happy. And even if there was he'd probaby feel guilty about it.

After leaving Al we headed north to towards Covent Garden. We stopped briefly for a swift pint in the Duke of Wellington (Excellent Ale friendly locals) and spent some time looking at the shops in Covent Garden proper.

After that it was back to the hotel for a swift brushup and then back out for the night that nearly never was.

It must be everyones nightmare to reserve a table in your favourite resturant and for them to have no record of that reservation when you get there. Espically when you know you're from the sticks and want your city friends to get the impression that you're at least cultured in some ways!

In fairness to the staff at Belgos they found us a table fairly quickly and sat us with the minimum of fuss. I was expecting gestures and frumps and frowns but I forgot this is a Belgian resturant not French.

We met with Jane, Wez and Simon for beers and chats and had, what I belive Bertie Wooster would have described as a spiffing time.

The mussles were, as ever superb and the Beers with names such as Satan Gold, Judas etc were uniformly excellent. Except for a monstrousity of a beer called Something Something Duchess. It tasted how I imagine Fergie from Black Eyed Peas tastes. Sweaty, salty and which a air of Vinegar. Yeuch! Reading that back it is possible that the beer had gone off but I didn't want to appear stupid and ignorant AGAIN!

Having said our goodbyes with the prospect of seeing everyone in a fortnight for l'Rugby we walked back to the hotel in the rain.