Blue Plaque: Sir Douglas Bader

Not bad... for a man with no legs.

Recently I took a stroll around the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, visiting various places that I hadn't yet seen.

One of the things that I wanted to see was the English Heritage Trust Blue Plaque, to commemorate Douglas Bader, on Petersham Mews. I have been fascinated by his story since I was about 8 and thought that it was time that went to see where he had once lived.

MillenniuM Wheel (London Eye)

The World's tallest cantilevered observation wheel.

The London Eye has become synonymous with the London skyline, becoming the focal point of the New Year's Eve fireworks.

I have walked beneath it countless times, but did not get to take a flight on it until November, 2017.

Booking in advance we managed to get a deal whereby we got two flights on the same day; One in the morning, the other in the evening. And, it was far better than I thought it was going to be, even though the weather wasn't the best.

Embassy of the United States of America (1960-2018)

Home to the Diplomatic Mission of the USA, from 1960-2018.

Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, has always held an odd fascination with me. Whether it is because of the area, or the history of the square, I do not know.

However, one of the most imposing, and I would say magnificent, buildings around the square, is the old Embassy of the United States of America, with its gilded bald eagle sitting on its roof. 

June 2020

Now that the embassy has moved to Nine Elms, you can get quite close to the building and see it in all of its glory, before the developers move in.

Piccadilly Arcade

The finest Edwardian Arcade left in London.

Considering the amount of times that I have walked along Piccadilly, I can count on one hand the amount of times that I have walked through the Piccadilly Arcade.

It is one of those hidden gems that so many people miss, but it is well worth visiting, even if it is just to escape the hordes of tourists, or escape from the London weather.

Lumiere London, 2018

Westminster Abbey looking glorious at Lumiere London 2018.

As soon as the dates were released for this years Lumiere Festival, I knew that I would be attending. Falling across four nights, Thursday 18 - Sunday 21, we decided that the Friday would be the best night for us.

Fortunately, I was allowed to leave work slightly early, thank you to my manager for that, so that I could pick up the girls, with my wife. This afforded us the luxury of being able to leave for London, earlier than expected.

As we had all had a long week, and knowing that Erin (6) and Keilyn (4) would be tired, I had planned a route that would allow us to see some of the installations, while staying close enough to transport links, should the girls become too tired.

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