Clara's Day 1 in London (the blog entry to make Skiver A. green with envy!)

It may seem a little odd but we started Clara's 1st day in London by attending the women's bible study at our church, AllSouls @Langham Place. It was my first time at the session so I reckoned it would be less 'intimidating' if I had a friend in tow.

We set off at 9ish (am) and I was glad Clara was able to get 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Best she's had in months, she said.

The session, we both felt, was pretty good. The study & discussion on the book of Ruth was altogether riveting. There were quite a few attendees, some were mummies like me, with one or 2 tots in tow. Best part is there's a creche to leave your children so sans Danielle, we managed to enjoy a meaningful bible study. But during the prayer request, I totally embarrassed myself by breaking down. I gave thanks to God for bringing so many friends to me in the short period of time we've been here. In the hustle and bustle of looking after a household and a hyperactive 2YO, one hardly finds time to mull over things (not necessarily a bad thing) but when you realise what you actually miss, that's when it hits you - WHAM! I think that's what happened, thus the waterworks. And here are women I'm meeting for the very first time and they have to see me all dribbly and teary. Sheesh-aroos. But Clara teared too. So the embarrassment was somewhat spread out. Ha!

After bible study, I brought Clara to Kensington Park where we had tea at The Orangery. Eat your heart out, Skiver A! We had our 'cuppa tea' (with 'stiff upper lip' poise and all) in that charming, quintessential English setting! Clara had a lemon tart with creme fraiche and a side accompaniment pot of lemon & ginger tea, while I had a thick slice of fruit cake with clotted cream and Earl Grey tea (on your behalf, Skiver A!). Even Danielle had fruit scones with strawberry jam and cream. So you see , EVERYONE had their fair share of English tea! Jolly good!

After tea, we took a slow stroll down the park, catching squirrels on camera, admiring swans & geese (who thought we were going to feed them and were frightfully close) and watching other strollers traipse by... It was an ideal day for a stroll - weather was cool but the sun was still out. Simply perfect.

After Kensington Gardens, we bravely ventured a walk to Knightsbridge. I was certain - gauging from my London Guide - that it was not too far a walk from the Gardens and thankfully, I was right. It took us approximately 20 min to get to the 'home' of Harrod's and other fashionable shops. We browsed through Harrod's ground floor - decked with beautiful Christmas coffrets/hampers & Harrod's own merchandise, its gourmet food section (where Clara bought 130g of white bait to munch on, yums!) and the branded goods section. Afterwhich, we visited shops like Office, H&M, Zara, Accessorize, and Harrod's 'supermarket' (a downsize of the mainstore that sells only food and home products but for the life of me can't remember the actual name!) before heading home via the Tube.

Dinner was home cooked by moi, but of course. The night's menu consisted of rice and 3 side dishes - steamed egg (with mincemeat), pak choi and baked plaice a la Saggs. Nothing fanciful. Told Clara this was food I'd have cooked on a normal day. But she was a fabulous guinea pig and thankfully, lives to tell! So I guess she'll let you guys know her real verdict when she gets back! Heehee!