It is hot here in London. I don't want to complain because I know that soon I will be taking my umbrella out with me each day and wearing layers. But our flat has no a/c and it is hot. The high was over 32 C today (or almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit). Our flat is still hot and it's 11:40 PM.

I went to the London Canal Museum, which is a half block from our flat. It was hot there as well. The museum covers the history of the canal system in England as well as the ice trade (because the building was an ice warehouse built in the 1860s).

The museum is very child-focused and there were many children running around having a good time. They had a narrowboat you could board and there was a recording giving you an idea of what it was like to live and work on the canal. Unfortunately the recording was difficult to hear over the sounds of the happy kids.

Regent's Canal is 8.6 miles long, extending from Paddington to Limehouse, and it was built in sections. It has 12 locks and 3 tunnels. This year and month mark 200 years of the opening of the first section of the canal, and there was a special exhibition about it.  I learned that until World War II most barges on the canal were pulled by horses.

There are guided tunnel boat trips that go through the Islington tunnel, the longest in the south of England. It is about 3/4 mile long. I may sign up for it another day. There are also walking tours along the towpath, which I may do as well.

The museum had a large well in the middle (and another hidden one) that was used to store the ice that was originally brought from Norway on boats and barges. On display were tools used in moving the ice, some iceboxes, and information about entrepreneur Carlo Gatti, who established an ice importing business among other ventures and who was famous for his ice cream.

We went to a nice dinner at Caravan in Granary Square with Brea and Marty. The food was very good, the company even better, but it was hot in there, too. I learned from Marty, among other things, about Branston pickle and I will have to try it. It is made from a variety of diced vegetables (carrot, onion, cauliflower, turnip), with tomato, vinegar, apple and spices. I wonder which is more loved here, Branston pickle or Marmite. I'll have to take a survey. And I wonder, for those of us not raised on either, which would we prefer. I'm not sure I want to buy Marmite, but for the purposes of my study I really ought to.

It's now 12:45 AM and still hot.

No photos today. I was going to use a photo of a Branston pickle jar that I found online, but I was warned by a pop-up message that that wouldn't be a good idea.