October | 2016 | Michael S. Moore

Sooo…though circling Heathrow is no longer the fuel-siphoning nausea-inducing cliffhanger of years past, it still took some maneuverings to land us on the last Thursday of September…

We were collected by a black Mercedes at the airport and transported to the Porsche-and-Audi-encrusted heights of Hampstead…

to be welcomed by our old friend Mr. Watson, host and tour guide extraordinaire, who led us on a sunset walk to Golder’s Green with Border Collie Tycho [not [yet] shown]…

followed by the first of many memorable Aga-cooked dinners. Then, next day,

studiously minding the bollards,

a more ambitious amble to Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath

[the aforementioned Border Collie, Tycho]

and back,

…ending at Kenwood House for lunch in the cafe. L. and I walked home from the Village with avocados

[and yes, this really WAS the weather in London all early October of 2016]

noting the Consequences of overly wide vehicles on unsuitably narrow streets

as well as a Figaro, of which only some 20,000 were made, by Nissan, in the early nineties…many of whom seem to have ended up in London.

Saturday Rick introduced us to the eclectic wonders of the Wallace Collection, or a brief overview anyway;

[many galleries of paintings upstairs as well, unfortunately undocumented]. We left in a rare rain,

followed by sun, lunch home,

Parliament Hill by another route

and back via a Moore [no relation] to dine on small birds.

Sunday on the way to the Marylebone Farmer’s Market I failed to get a picture of a low and mean matte olive-drab Bentley with blacked-out wheels and brightwork but we carried on…

to Hyde Park, General Waste and

General Wellington’s manse, Apsley House, right across from the Queen’s.

Apsley House had some terrific seldom-seen paintings, worth a trip for the Velasquezes alone…but much much more; the interior containing fabulous piles of stuff, spoils and tributes of war galore. Not shown here as photography was not permitted.