hah! i am quite amused by my typo in the entry below. it amuses me so much that i'm not going to correct it!

yes, pictures soon. i promise. they're kind of "noisy," as i was shooting in very low light, and i'm trying to improve that situation.

but i couldn't let another minute go by without letting you know that the wonderful holiday concert we attended Monday is now available on BBC 2 Radio. You know, the one featuring John Barrowman.


Just go here and listen. But you'd better hurray, as it's only up for a week.

I just hied over there myself, and it sounds wonderful. A great mix of showtunes and holiday music, with the BBC Pops Orchestra, and a 50 (or so) person chorus. (BTW, there are many shareware programs that allow one to save real player files, not just the pointer file. find one, and enjoy this great concert)

wow, looks like we came home just in time. My flight out of London Tuesday was delayed because of fog. At 12:40 PM! Here, we usually only see that kind of problem in the early morning.

But things haven't gotten better. I just read that British Airways has cancelled all domestic flights out of heathrow today and tomorrow,as well as pulling the plug on some european service. Things aren't as bad at gatwick, but there have been cancellations there, too.

Those flying across the atlantic are a bit luckier, unless they're heading through, or to, denver. Which has been socked in by snow.

i really did want to post those photos tonight....but i'm having problems with the batch uploads on ofoto. I mean "kodak gallery." I'll keep trying, and you'll just have to wait a little longer to see this installment with embedded photos. In other words, come back for a second look.

as for the trip: it was a wonderful break! I took the daytime flight over on thursday, and I've decided that even though it means taking another day off work, it's much easier on my old body than the o'night flight is. The only downside is how early things get started. I flew on AA via boston, which meant leaving DC at 6a. in other words, up at 4. I arrived in London at 830pm, nkk and rek arrived about 90 minutes later, and we caught up at one of the sheraton hotels near heathrow. I managed to stay awake until 130am, which is only 830 pm our time, so it's not as thrilling as it sounds!

Up in the am and got a call from NM telling me that they'd arrived, and would be making their way in town. We all agreed to meet at the k's hotel at 1 for lunch. I made my way via tube to my favorite haunt: the Churchill Hyatt on Portman Square. If you're mapping things, it's 2 blocks from Selfridges and the madness of oxford street, right between the bond street and marble arch tube stops.
My lovely friends at the Hyatt upgraded me to a suite, and i was very comfortable for the weekend.
We had a quickie lunch somewhere, didn't we? And then I went off to the shops before meeting up with everyone again for dinner at Roast. It's a modern british restaurant above the old borough market, which is a nice tourist attraction itself. They'd been swamped with holiday parties, and we waited for about half hour for a table. No one grumbled however, as the Roast folks treated us to a nice glass of Mumm's while we were waiting. I believe they were charging about 20 bucks a glass.

NM didn't think the meal was up to Roast standards. The rest of us really didn't know what we were missing, and had a fine time. I hurried off after tea to pick up some magazines at Selfridges, i think everyone else walked back to their respective hotels.

more later....

contrary to your hopes, i am still here!

the london trip was a grand one, details and pictures to follow. Perhaps later today.

yes, i am still alive. And i really do think I'm getting better, though those who've spoken with me in the past few days may disagree.

I was planning on taking a vow of silence over the weekend, but just realized i'm going to a concert Saturday. and to another on monday. or maybe it's sunday. Anyway, trying to talk over loud music usually does a number on my voice box, i'd best learn sign language by then.

mony and i were talking nicknames earlier this week. I'm starting to think mine should be croaky. if possible, i sound worse today. off to the drs tomorrow, i'm thinking i've probably been walking around with the aftermath of a sinus infection, something that has happened in the past.

hmmm. my brain seems to be working a bit better today, though I had a hard time getting myself to actually sit down and write something. It all came together in an energetic burst about an hour ago, and i've been tippy tapping on the keyboard since then.

and for once I am glad to have had a bit of writers block. kept me out of the studio, and off the phone....and when you're as croaky as I am today, that's a good thing.