Sunday | 17 June - Church, Equipment Failure, Four Seasons Restaurant, Science Museum, Lily White to buy kites..

Went to church with Cat today. It was a very good service (worship was led by Tim Hughes) and the message today was very very apt and fitting, and ministered to me much. The pastor spoke well, and very down to earth - pragmatic with strong basis on the word - which I really enjoyed. If I were living in the UK, I'd probably go worship at that church.

The message today was "How to handle anger". Scripture reference was Matthew 5:21-26.

He made six main points, chiefly:
1. Consider the CAUSE
2. Press the PAUSE
3. Watch the WORDS
4. Master the MIND
5. Couting the COST
6. Pursue the PEACE

Very thought provoking, and I left feeling a sense of peace and desire to work on how I manage my emotions and respond to situations. How apt, considering it's father's day as well.

Have yet to call home, and tell my dad that I bought a 1:43 model of the Vauxhall Victor F Series, and to wish him happy fathers' day.

There were tons of beautiful flowers in full bloom on the road to church today. Changed to my macro lens to take some nice lovely photos of them. Then walking back out - we see a lovely classic Jaguar parked on the street, along with a nice BMW. So I make a lens change from my macro lens to a wider-angled lens.

And then when i switch on the camera - 'Err CF' displayed on the status panel.

Equipment fault - the CF just wouldn't work. And I didn't have another CF because it was lying back home with yesterday's photographs. I'm going to check the card to see if there are any photos which could be recovered.

Otherwise, today went on fine (aleit without photos). Went out for lunch with Cat to this Hong Kong restaurant called 'Four Seasons' and they served pretty good duck rice ("the best duck rice you'll ever eat," according to Cat). Was not bad - I had mixed meat while she had duck rice. Split the tab, and we each paid £8 for lunch - decent by UK standards.

Walked through Kensington Gardens while walking Cat back to her hall. Was a nice long walk, and we saw many kids and dogs running all over the place. Cat mentioned she'd have trouble keeping a pet, cos she has enough struggles feeding herself in UK - things really aren't cheap there!

Except for some things, like clothes during sales. Or Thornton's chocolates which we got from Bath yesterday.

After seeing Cat back, I went to the science museum to finish off where I'd left off. Was so amazed by the collection of model boats. They're so beautiful and intricately made, and I didn't have my camera to take photos ): The war ships and diving vessels really intrigued me - how they're so sophisticated and.. cool! Haha - i mean, everything's built for action. Weapons. Hatches. Gadgets. So exciting!

I saw the exhibit on the Spitfire planes, which Britain made throughout the Great War from 1936 all the way up till 1945. It's amazing how much spending the poured into the craft, as well as how many improvements they constantly made to it [There were 24 marks (revieions) of the craft].

It celebrated the human spirit of faith, perseverance, courage, comradeship, loyalty, unity, ingenuity, and great engineering design. From the great ambitions and clever design of RJ Mitchell (who sadly, died of cancer, living only long enough to see the prototype fly), to how Joe Smith carried on the project .. And how many women were recruited and TRAINED to work in production lines to build these crafts from scratch. It's just amazing how the country united in such dark times. There were many stories of pilots who were drafted from all over the world - New Zealand, Thailand, Jamaica, India, Scotland, Czech Republic, etc. Some of these men had escaped their countries (which had been occupied by enemy forces) to come and continue the fight from Britain as pilots. Some of these men were allies, and come from diverse backgrounds and even distant shores. I found this exhibit very enjoyable.

The museum closed at 6pm, and I went off to Lily Whites at Picadilly Circus to buy a kite and some games to play for picnics. Then I went to WHSmith to browse photography magazines - still deciding which one to buy, cos there are a few issues which deal with the same things - shooting and composing landscapes, portraiture and (most importantly) common photoshop techniques for photographers. That'd be very handy to me, with practically no Photoshop knowhow!

Saturday | 9 June - with Cat at the British Museum, Library, Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College, Hyde Park

Will update with photos in time to come.. but here are some from last Saturday:


Joe, this little friend I met on the tube on the way to meet Cat.

"Hello," I asked.
"Hel-lo," the little one replied.
"How're you?"
"Aw-right," in his child-like timidity.


The Crowded Tube (I've been in worse)

British Museum, with Cat and the Christian Fellowship at Imperial College

Joel, dressed in a long sleeve shirt, led the tour.


Guess who I met at the British Museum? Alvin Soon and Shermyn!




The Legendary Royal Albert Hall


Prince Albert Memorial ("Uncle Al" as the locals call him)

Tuesday | 12 June - Millenium Bridge, the Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, Oxford Street, Fame the Musical with Grace and folks.

Woke up a little later today.. 9.30am. Had a shower and fixed myself some breakfast, and talked to cousin Andrew for a bit before setting off just before 1pm.

Had originally planned to go to South Kensington today to see the three museums (Science and Technology, Natural History, Victoria & Albert Museum), but figured I'd go someplace nearer Tottenham Court Road where the musical was. So I went to Tate Modern. Quite an interesting place - big, spacious, and filled with paintings, scultpures, installatiion art, and other displays in various galleries and exhibitions.

Though modern art often is beyond me, the grapic designs are just so appealling - the colours, the patterns, bold statements.. I guess there's some with 'meaning' and 'symbolism' or 'philosophy'.. But I believe all the same, they can be taken intuitively, or at face value, and still be as pleasurable and, if I may, artistic.

Spent the afternoon at the Tate. Covered all the free exhibits (they have a very good layout) and thereafter proceeded to visit the Millenium bridge. This footbridge conveniently connects me to the St. Paul's Cathedral which is on the opposite bank. Saw the Salvation Army international headquarters there as well.

The Cathedral is currently under renovation, so some parts were covered by canvas and scaffolding. The facade was fine, and i had some photographs taken. I was just in time for the St. Paul's Cathedral Evensong Service. They welcome people to join them in worship, so I went in to observe. They had an all-male choir, which was very good. Their voices angelic and full bodied as it resounded in the catheral dome, throughout the grand arches of the church. This was the same for the pipe organ, which itself was quite a sight to behold. I was truly quite amazed at the architecture.

Left at about 6pm, and made my way back to London Bridge, to catch the Northern line to Bank, where I could take the Central line to Tottenham Court Road. Along the way, I got myself a £1.99 seven-inch pizza. Doggy bagged it, and made off for the Underground. Reached Tottenham court road just 10 minutes to 7pm! So i sank my teeth into the pizza and took a walk down Oxford Street to find Andrew's book. Which I couldn't ): Grace called me and told me how to get to the theatre, so I started making my way down. Turned out to be quite a distant walk. But Grace was nice enough to wait for me outside the theatre with my ticket.

And so at last I got to Shaftesbury Theatre in time, with 5 minutes to spare. FAME The Musical proceeded with gusto and youthful vibe, with a very talented and energetic cast. The music was tight and well arranged, and the whole performance was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

Ending close to 10pm, we took a walk back to Tottenham Court Road to take the Tube back to Victora to get our train back home. Along the way to Tottenham Court Road, I noticed a drag show inside a pub. And a policeman speaking to a street beggar. Alot of interesting things I've seen and done in London..

Saturday | 9 June - Beckenham, British Museum, British National Library & Royal Albert Hall

Today was rather rushed. Left London bridge at 7am, just after helping Yujia with her luggage and sending her off in her cab. Managed to get to London Victoria in time for the 7.52am train (: which saw me back at 8.10am. I had woken up Aunty Amy and Uncle Peter prematurely - they were clearly not impressed. Aunty Cynthia came to fetch me at 9.40am, so I had about an hour plus to pack and freshen up.

Beckenham is a nice town. It's a little busier than the place at Sydenham Hill, with restaurants, pubs, and lots of shops. The walk from the Beckenham Junction Station is about 10 minutes wheras Sydenham Hill is just a matter of crossing the road. Aunty Cynthia stays in a very lovely and cosy flat on the first floor. Arriving at her place at 10.10am, I unpacked and settled down before leaving at 10.40am - in time to catch the next train at 10.54am!

The train was fast and I arrived at Victoria just after 11am, and was able to meet Catherine at Holborn at 11.30am, what was originally arranged.

It was really really good seeing Cat after so long! Her hair's much longer, and she's looking forward to getting a haircut back home! Apart from that, she looked great, and I trust her studies are doing just as fine. We went for lunch at the nearby Subway (£4.75 for my footlong with drink and chips) and then went to look for the British Museum, for a Tour conducted by one of her mates at Imperial.


Cat and me, at the British Museum

Will write more later as we all have to sleep here at home! Church tomorrow (:

Love to all!