Writer's Blog and Travel Log : Part One

I have been suffering from an acute case of Writer's Blog with nothing willing to open itself to me since returning from two consecutive weekends away.I guess it is tantamount to a mild case of constipation one develops while travelling due to a change of food and routine...
My sister and I went on our monthly trip to London where upon arrival,an hour late and under the pouring rain, we were treated to an unprecedented race of North London by the driver Saied "The Lone Ranger"in his slick Mercedes. Normally when you hit traffic on the highway, you expect to ride it out while listening to the soothing tones of Magic FM and staring out of the window in silent contemplation. What we got instead was The Stig (ex Top Gear)speeding through the wet streets, taking hairpin turns at breakneck speed while extolling the virtues of his Tom Tom navigator. Just as over talking something generally leads to disappointment, we were lead so far off the beaten track that we were soon avoiding all semblances of civilization let alone traffic.It soon became blatantly clear ,even to the driver,that we were losing the battle when we found ourselves on the very same roundabout we had just been told to exit...Tonto/Tom Tom was taking us on a royal ride.Once we finally hit Hyde Park narrowly missing hitting a cyclist in the process of a very abrupt U turn,did our journey soon come to an end.
"You see? Tom Tom told us we would get here in 45mns...and we did!"
I finally got to see the fabulous Manolo Blahnik room on the ground floor at Liberty's and it did not disappoint. Manolo himself will be in store next week (check Liberty's website for details) to sign the sole of his shoes,(in the instep obviously for longevity) ones he expects you to buy naturally and not an old pair from your closet! We had lunch at the seafood bar  in the basement,tucked within the folds of menswear.What could be finer than a glass of champagne and a tasters platter of oysters...sheer indulgence and my idea of Sunday perfection.
The rest of the stay went by at breakneck speed and soon we were back in a car barrelling up the A4 towards the airport and our version of Hitchcock's " Strangers on a train/plane"...Criss Cross,remember?
A 60 year old American woman sat beside me on the aisle seat and proceeded to hijack my attention during the entire flight. She discussed her love life and very active libido with wild abandon: "I love sex you see and have to have a lover who can keep up." No dark plots were hatched other than the murderous looks my sister gave her and upon landing she simply slipped on a pair of dark glasses,asked me whether she needed to re apply any lipstick and we parted ways...her towards a future lover and me to my BF waiting to take me home.... Criss Cross.