On Tuesday afternoon we went to the Science Museum in London. The highlight was going to the iMax theatre to see the 3D movie about the Hubble Telescope. Stephen looked at other exhibits afterwards whilst I enjoyed reading about the Hubble. Being close to Earth it was possible for teams to do repairs and upgrades and it is still operating after being launched in 2009. A replacement is planned which will be much further out and not able to be reached by astronaughts.

We caught a bus through to Hyde Park and spent a pleasant time in the warm late afternoon on the Serpentine. Our goal was to see an exhibit, very large and very silly, floating on the water. We were able to enjoy the warm weather just sitting. The lack of airconditioning means travelling by public trans;port can be quite uncomfortable. Our train journey home was comfortable as it was cooler.

When the weather warmed up here, we were finding the house very warm and stuffy, and it was difficult to sleep even though we had the sliding door in the bedroom open. We could only open the windows very slightly. However, Stephen emailed G and found out how to open the windows properly. It means going through a very stiff part, then the windows open. For the last couple of days the house has been much cooler, especially since we are waking up to mist insteading bright sunlight. The mist clears by late morning, allowing the sun to really warm things up. During the ‘heat wave’ our house was already very hot by 7.00 a.m. when the sun had been on the glass for about two hours.

Yesterday Stephen wasn’t feeling very well with renewed cough and cold. I did some shopping and we went out later in the day to enjoy a cup of tea at the M&S cafe. We both bought some underwear, not cheap, but good quality.

Today (Thursday) is our designated cleaning day. We have done the big jobs, with some more to do tomorrow. We are spending our last night in a hotel near the airport, but checkin is not until 3.00 p.m. and we plan to do our packing in the morning and travel via the very slow bus to Heathrow. From there it is a short journey on another bus to the hotel. I thought I might do packing today, but can’t get motivated.

We are both feeling a bit anxious about leaving as we have been in one place long enough to feel quite settled and it is unsettling us to feel we have to move on. Also, I don’t think anyone these days looks forward to long flights, especially when travelling economy. At least arriving home means we can relax at the end.

Tonight we have an outing to the theatre to see ‘Kiss me Kate’ at the Colloseum in London. We plan to have dinner somewhere first. We felt we needed a reward after cleaning the house. Plus, it is a lovely way to spend our second last evening here.