Our nation's capital...

Monday mornings have a new feel to them now; children to school, a run, return home to a husband! Normally Mondays would mean up at 5am for him, but now, as he is on garden leave, it's time at home. Spent the morning planning holidays - can there be a better pursuit that looking for the next holiday? The anticipation...

Meanwhile, we spent Saturday up in London for my brother in law's 40th birthday celebrations. Everyone is turning 40...well not me, yet...but many of our contemporaries. I am always, without exception, amazed by London. No matter how many times I go, I still get this little buzz of something...at the sheer number of people there! Everyone going somewhere...seeing something. Hurtling past the Houses of Parliament in a black cab, the cabinet offices, a peek at the bearskin hats at Buckingham Palace. It still even now feels like Christopher Robin to me...I am such a country bumpkin.

We had lunch at Berry Brothers which is purportedly the oldest wine merchants in the city. Underground in the wine cellars, we celebrated 40 years with the most divine meal and wonderful wines; he is connoisseur it seems.

My brother in law was formerly in the army and many of his military friends were there, some of whom had anecdotes of serving in Afghanistan. Being there, listening, knowing it was September 11th of all days, in my nation's capital made me feel patriotic in the extreme. So lucky are we to be able to dip into London life, and then return to the countryside by nightfall.Tragic though that London will never feel entirely safe to me; but then I suppose...is anywhere? I wish I had lived there at some point in my life so it felt more like home and less like the big city.