Reviews

Here's a quick summary of the last week in the form of one-line reviews of the things I have seen.

Singapore Airport: I think I have already covered this. Shiny, big TVs, empty of people. Why does everyone assume that the only thing people want to do in airports is shopping? Baggage limits mean that the truth is exactly the opposite. Why are there no pool halls, libraries, museums, even a good pub would be welcome.

Singapore Airlines: Excellent. Good food, good stewardesses, good aircraft.

Airbus A380: Much enjoyed. The economy seats are a little bigger than on other aircraft. It was also the first aircraft I have flown on where it didn't feel small. Usually I look out of the window and think, "My God, it looks so small; will it get us there?" None of that with the A380. In fact, every time we hit a little bump of turbulence I thought, "This train track could do with some work. Wait..." I was on the top deck, which I don't really recommend. The lower deck has more head room. This aircraft also has bigger screens at each seat than most.

In-Flight Movies: Gory. I saw Sweeney Todd, which is very gruesome, as well as dark, sad and nasty. The fact it is a musical makes it a bit surreal, too. Also Casino Royale (1967, Woody Allen, Orson Welles etc). Funny and weird. Also Elizabeth: The Golden Age. A bit so-so. There were a few minor details of the history that they got right, otherwise a nice piece of fiction.

Heathrow: Big. Thank God I was not going through Terminal 5.

British Immigration: Summary. After all the checks they do before you get there, I don't think the guy even checked that I looked like my photograph.

British Cities: Not as I expected. They are undoubtedly big, but they don't feel big. I think it's because all the roads are small. In Adelaide, you know when you are getting close to the centre of the city because all the roads get big. I don't think I actually saw a road bigger than one lane in each direction in London (or Bath, for that matter).

London: Much better than I expected. Not as crowded as I'd been warned. I walked a long way in London. I was badly mislead by a tourist map into believing that St Paul's was somewhere near Piccadilly Circus. This is not the case. I asked a guy selling newspapers in Piccadilly how to get to St Paul's, and he looked at me as though I was barking mad and said, "Saint Porrrls??? Cor blimey, you don' 'arf mind a bleedin' long walk then, do you." He gave me directions, and I later found that I'd got most of the way there, but got lost. I ended up walking most of the way to St Paul's, then back up the Strand to Trafalgar Square, down to the Palace of Westminster, across the bridge to the London Eye and then down to Waterloo station.

British Trains: Fast, clean, relatively on time. This is relative to Australia, remember. The only problem I've had is when some lout smashed a window on a train I was about to catch and it was delayed.

The London Underground: Brilliant. Except when it isn't. The idea of a train service that leaves every two minutes throughout the day sounds fantastic. But I find that it only works in me to make me more impatient; suddenly if it takes four minutes for a train to arrive, I feel very put-upon and desperately late.

St Paul's: Magnificent, without being really beautiful. It lacks the elegance of some other church buildings, but is very rich. It must be hard to maintain Christian humility working or worshiping in a place like that; I know I would spend the whole time thinking what a wonderful place we'd built for God. Stupid of me, but there you go. I heard evensong here, which was beautiful.

Various other churches: Bath Abbey and Bristol Cathedral are very beautiful buildings. If you want to hear good acoustics, go sing in the chapter house of Bristol cathedral.

British Food: Not as bad as its reputation, which isn't saying all that much. I've had some pretty good meals in pubs, and they are not all that expensive, either. The Bayswater Arms (near where I was staying in London) had rump steaks for 8 pounds - not bad. The beer is good, too. I went to the Bayswater the first night I was here, thinking I'd try a real British pub. It was, too: The staff were all Australian.

Hyde Park: Stunning.

Palace Court Hotel: This is a little hotel on Princes Square where I stayed my first night here. For anyone who wants a flash, all-features hotel, this ain't it. For anyone with a few romantic ideas about London left, and who wants a comfortable bed and a reasonable breakfast, it is good.

British Weather: Very mixed. Today is really beautiful: Sunny, clear, warm (17 degrees). It feels warmer than 17 in Australia, because in Australia 17 degrees would be wet and windy, where here it is sunny and still. The sun warms you. I've also had a couple of days of 8 degrees with an East wind that bites through anything.

English Countryside: Green. Lush. Wonderful.

British Keyboards: Weird. I have to change my keyboard layout to be able to type the pound sign, but then I can't find any of the other symbols. The British layout for my laptop keyboard doesn't have the pipe sign ('|') at all, as far as I can make out.

3 Mobile: Pretty cool, but their coverage map is a lie. I get 1GB downloads in 30 days for 10 pounds, which is pretty good. They claim that I should get 2Mb download speed at my house in Somerset; 50kb would be nearer the mark. My house is on the side of a steep hill, and it seems this blocks the signal.

The Avon River: Resembles the Torrens River in some ways it should not be proud of.

Me and Cameras: Not good. Every time I go somewhere interesting, it is because I got lost trying to go somewhere else and I don't have my camera on me. My long walk around London was actually trying to find a church saying evening prayer - not the occasion for a camera. My long walk around Bath was actually trying to find the train station to buy a ticket. Now I'm in Bristol; I'm here to get a National Insurance number (a bit like Medicare and superannuation rolled into one for those familiar with Australia) and wish I had a camera here. Hyde Park is the only place I have good photos of; I will post some when I get my laptop and camera in the same place.

Laptop Batteries: Not long-lasting enough. I need to go now, or it's going to run out.