Another weekend, another early start. I had planned to catch the non stop train to London Marylebone just before 9am. I got to the station with a good ten minutes before the train arrived. The train was packed, but we had been warned over the tannoy a few minutes before the train pulled up to platform three. Luckily I found a seat and spent the journey reading the Daily Express. I rarely buy, let alone read newspapers these days, but it was more of an impulse buy. I wanted to read about Ashley Cole, Galas and preview of the weekend Premiership fixtures. The train pulled into Marylebone, on time. Chiltern Railways do run a highly punctual service. I topped up my Oyster card before heading under ground. My destination was Westminster station, crossing Westminster Bridge towards the London Eye. I collected tickets and it was a few minutes before 10am. Walking out to the boarding gate, the queue was about fifteen people long, so we would be on within a few minutes of joining. I called Dave and he was a few minutes away. I then waited for him to appear.

I thought he was wearing a retro styled England top, when I first noticed him walking down towards the Eye, past County Hall. Great to see him again after three years. We were scheduled to board half an hour before our scheduled flight, but I had been informed by a member of staff that we could just join the queue. For a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, it was not that busy but there were a big crowd of tourists gathered around, most without tickets, many just to make use of the photo opportunity. The ride around on the world’s largest observation wheel takes about thirty minutes and the best way to get the a full panoramic view of the capital. Some amazing views and the best pictures have already been uploaded to a fresh new FlickR set.

After the main attraction of the weekend, we headed down towards St. Paul’s Cathedral, waking down by the river. We planned what we were going to do for the rest of the day. I thought we might go and catch a movie in Leicester Square. We headed to the Millennium Bridge which crosses the River Thames over to St. Paul’s and my old work place in Blackfriars. Ideal time to catch up, during a quiet stroll. For a change, I did not have to rush around to make it somewhere at a certain over the other side of the city. I could actually relax and enjoy the company of my best friend. We then headed further down towards Embankment tube station and caught a tube to Leicester Square. It was here we looked at what movies were available in the afternoon. There were a few movies on but looking back now it was a good decision to instead just go for a meal and have walk around the West End. We went to Chiquitos, it was quite busy and I think our waitress was new. She did not understand what I meant when I said ‘Garlic Bread with Cheese’ and had to consult the menu! After a big lunch we headed down towards Piccadilly Circus and then Oxford Street. While walking down Regent Street, Dave asked me about any famous people I had seen on my recent trips to London. My only examples were Reggies Yates and Hardeep Singh Kohli. Within a minute later, Russell Brand walked past us and Dave looked back saying, “Was that?” Well it would be difficult for it to be anyone else with that distinctive hair and strong voice. How random was that? We started talking about famous people and then one just appeared. Strange.

We went over to Hyde Park, which was under going the final preparations for the last night of the BBC Proms. From Speaker’s Corner we walked a few hundred yards and took a seat by the fountain. Time to chill out and talk about all those things you talk about when you have not seen your best friend for over three years. Dave has a Nokia 6680 with the Sky Sports package, so you can download and watch goals from the Barclays Premiership. I was not really bothered about watching the goals, it was more important to know the scores. When I heard Arsenal were losing to Middlesborough, I was annoyed. Dave felt the same when he found out Crystal Palace were losing to Luton. We decided what to do for the rest of the afternoon. As Dave was based over near Victoria we decided to head up in that direction for few drinks before heading our separate ways. A great day, even if the football results did not go our way.