It is If we were having Coffee time again how are you all and what have you been up to this week! I am late again so I must apologize I am always chasing my tail these days!

So come in it is lovely to see you all here again. The fires are lit the cushions are plumped up and we have the coffee and tea on the go and the cakes and sweets are all set out. We have tea and coffee from all over the world not to mention all our cakes and muffins and as Paul calls them sweets! Every single one is calorie free! Plus of course we now have spirits and liquors to warm the coldest of you.

If we were having Coffee: I would ask you what has been going on in your world this week, has anything deeply affected you, have you need a sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on or just needed someone to make you laugh! If yes feel free to talk it out here with us. We will all help if we can.

Join in !

If we were having Coffee: I would remind you that there are lots of other coffee mornings all shared and organized By Diana and Gene’O over at,Part time monster

If we were having Coffee: I would tell you that I had a very unusual experience this week. Now LindaGHill was talking about a similar experience on here SoCs this week read it here. do read it, it is an excellent post.

OH! I am rambling again I had better refill your cup and get you some cakes or biscuits …. Let me see were was I . Let us start at the beginning. On Thursday my friend L and I set off on another trip on the bus , the Green Line up to London. I am London born and bred and though Louise was not born there she grew up there and lived there for most of her childhood and teens. As we both live in the sticks ( outside of London) is lovely to go in for a day… neither of us would want to live there anymore..too busy!

Look I am off the subject again ( well this is my Coffee party so if I want to wander off I can, blows raspberry). Right so we were on the bus and it passes the steeple of the Church where I went to Mass each week and then it passes the bottom of the road I used to live. The park the school ( which I did not attend but is part of my memories). A little further along we pass the road that lead to the old Drs surgery. I felt a pulling sensation to be back in time when I was a child. A strange homesickness for a home that sadly no longer exists, to an earlier time when everything was simpler and I really had no huge decisions to make.

My Brother sold the house I grew up in several years back and so all ties to that place are sadly gone but still as we passed it on the way into London I felt a pang. I also felt it stronger pang as we passed it on the way home. Yes my home where I have lived for over 40yrs ..I have lived in plenty other places too but of course were I live now is my home but I still long for childhood home sometimes.

I think my friend Immie puts it perfectly in this song , words here

Would you like more tea, coffee or cakes or perhaps you would enjoy some an alcoholic drink? Now, L and I went up to Victoria Bus Stn and I had planned a few places to visit. So we headed off past Buckingham

Palace to Birdcage Walk to the Guards Chapel . To the side is a photo I took of the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace it looks amazing as if someone had been up there all night with a spray paint gun!

Well we trotted up Birdcage Walk and found the Chapel was closed! The Dean was holding a meeting and no one knew when it would be finished!

There was nothing for it we just retraced out steps but it was a good dry and not too cold day and we like walking and talking! It was about 1.30pm so we decided to stop and have lunch. We found a cafe/ restaurant that was busy it was opposite the Queen’s Gallery . We were very lucky as the food and service were excellent ! After lunch we set off to visit Westminster Cathedral. L knew the Cathedral very well because as a child this was a church her family went to Mass at very often.

I took a few photos of the Cathedral here are a the best. We were not allowed to take photos inside but I have to say it is breath taking. Wonderful mosaic ceilings in the chapels, beautiful blue and green marble on the walls. It is truly amazing .

We spent an hour or so just looking around and talking to the vergers who were very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. We noticed when we looked up the top half of the walls and the roof were of plain bricks , we asked why they had a charred look about them. The answer was that the smoke from the candles had done it’s work on the bricks and all the soot and smoke from the years of the steam trains black smoke had found it’s way into the abbey!

Our Next stop was a brisk walk away in Eton Square St Peter’s Church. This is a beautiful church so light airy and modern inside. It is very high Church of England. In fact we were

Looking down from the alter to the Organ — Looking down from the Alter to the Organ

surprised because it had statues of the Virgin Mary and St Peter , this is unusual for Church of England Churches. Here are four photos I do hope they can give you the feeling of the place.

If we were having Coffee : I would replenish your cup and say that I hope you are not bored with my wittering on about my day out.

Yes I know I am going on but I do love to share! As I said St Peter’s was a beautiful oasis of light and peace slap bang in one of the noisiest and busiest parts of London.

When we came out of the Church we decided we were getting tired and so we decided to catch the bus home that left from Victoria Bus station at 4pm. It was 3.20pm so we thought we could easily get back in time for it. As it was, as we neared the Bus Station we saw our bus coming towards us and just a few yards back we had passed a bus stop, we looked and yes it was where our bus would stop and people were hailing it so we did an about turn and caught it! So we on the bus and on the way home past my ‘no more home.’

Hubby was there to meet us from our local bus station and so home !

If we were having Coffee: I would say the rest of the week has been busy too, what with the gym, housework and visiting a friend who is recovering from braking her leg before Christmas! Also yesterday, Saturday , I met an old friend who I had not seen for months so we had loads to catch up on.

If we were having Coffee: I would say lets go and see how Paul and his crowd are doing . I am sure that they will have lots to tell us !

And of course the