I knowingly risked my life today. I was waiting on the platform at Oxford Circus for the Bakerloo line train and, when it arrived, I got a good look at the driver and I am pretty sure he was asleep at the controls. His head was resting in one propped hand and his eyes were closed. I got on the train anyway. After all, it was only two stops. Between Oxford Circus and Picadilly Circus, we seemed to be going extremely fast and I imagined a runaway train, but he managed to stop. Then we went at a crawl to Charing Cross. Thankfully, we arrived safely. As I walked through Trafalgar Square I thought about how we put a lot of trust into Transport for London and its employees.

I was headed to the National Gallery and the exhibition Australia's Impressionists. I went in through a different entrance than I have in the past and got lost trying to find the box office. The signage at that entrance was non-existent. The exhibition, I discovered, was only open to members today, it doesn't open to the public until Thursday. I typically check the website before I venture out, but I didn't today. I briefly looked at some of the permanent collection and went in the museum shop, but my heart wasn't in it. I wasn't sure where I should go instead. It was already late when I left the flat because I had spent the morning working on a photo book and checking into shipping a couple of boxes home. I went outside and took a lot of photos, then started walking in the general direction of home.

I ended up on some streets I hadn't been on before, with lots of shops and no Oxford Street crowds. I went into one that looked interesting, but the small, wool scarf I picked up was £495! It was pretty, but you couldn't even wrap it around your neck twice. That was the extent of my time (about 40 seconds) in the Swedish store Gudrun. I eventually caught the #91 bus home from Southampton Row after walking about a mile.

In the middle of writing my post, this happened.

I accidentally changed the view from landscape to portrait when I was trying to punch in the number code to make a £ sign. It happened again just now when I tried again. Instead of alt 0163, I typed ctrl alt 0163. I now know how to change it back, but it took some time and a sore neck to Google the directions.

On December 1, last Thursday, Thames Water was doing a valve exchange outside our gate in the footway (sidewalk). We know this because we got a notice two days before informing us of this and indicating that it should take no longer than three days to complete. They worked on it all day Thursday and Friday. We left for our dinner on Friday and they were still working on it, in the dark. When we returned home, they had left, but water was spraying out of the hole they had made. I mean a lot of water. Gallons per every ten seconds. This continued all weekend. Nobody seemed concerned about it and we just figured they would be back today. Well they weren't back and the water is still gushing out. I should have taken a photo. I hope we don't get swallowed up by a massive sink hole. I may have to call the number listed on the notice if they aren't here tomorrow.

About to watch:  episode 4 of The Crown