On a personal note ...

When you have a significant birthday with a zero at the end you can just keep on celebrating for the whole year.  Thanks Jon & Pauline for my fab day out at the House of Commons and House of Lords.

But let me back track ... firstly Sonali took me to see this beautiful statue in St Pancras Station. It's so lovely and all the intricate work around the base was fascinating to look at.

Then we went off to Baker Street, in search of a market that didn't appear to exist :-(   But we got to see Sherlock Holmes on route.







We'd set off early'ish so it was soon time for coffee and brunch. This may not look appetising but it was scrumdillyumptious. Toast with ham and melted gruyere cheese and a fried egg :-)  Sonali had melon and parma ham. 


Finally, off we went to Parliament.

Our tour was an hour and a half long and took us through the route the Queen takes when she visits parliament, including the Queen's robing room. We saw the House of Lords - amazing carving within the woodwork and much gold bling!  Then to the House of Commons. 


Our guide was very knowledgeable, lots of information about the history, the architecture and the artwork.  Sadly, we weren't allowed to take any photo - I guess the tour would've been twice as long if we did. But we also weren't allowed to sit down, other than a few designated places ... so in much pain by the end of the tour :-(

Included in my lovely gift was afternoon tea for two. There was quite a delay and some people got super grumpy and rude with the wait; I was just happy to be sitting down.  And trust me it was worth the wait  ...  possibly the most scrumptious afternoon tea I've ever had (and I'm well experienced in these things).

I didn't get this man's name. He had some official title and was the one who led us down to the dining area.  That's over £40k of bling around his neck!!

MENU

Cheddar cheese scones

with red Leicester mousse, carrot chutney and lambs lettuce

Pork sausage roll with English mustard

Flaked salmon

with lemon yoghurt cream, dill pickled cucumber and rye

Egg and mustard cress brioche roll

Plain scone with a hint of brambly apple

with strawberry jam and Devonshire clotted cream

Black Forest tart

chocolate cream, cherry, vanilla panna cotta

Blood orange shot

orange posset, orange compote

Miniature fruit cake

Almond macaroon

Selection of teas and coffees

food coma!!!!

  

One of the new things we were able to take a photo of is this new art installation entitled 'New Dawn'.  This discs of coloured light change in accordance with the tide. But don't ask me how it works.

All-in-all Sonali and I had a fantastic day out. Good food, good company  ...  what more could you ask for on the weekend :-)

University of Greenwich Graduations

The two hottest days of the year so far and we've had two days of Greenwich student graduation ceremonies. At least inside Rochester Cathedral it remained fairly cool.

Graduation ceremonies are a wonderful event. The culmination of LOTS of hard work, hours in the campus library or the lab, deadlines galore but students have finally made it.  It is such a privilege to see students reach this point.

Well done, David

Anthony and Sona, what an
amazing achievement!!!

 

Sona and Robbie, it was great to see you both.

 

Jerminah, really wasn't expecting to see you,
it was wonderful!!

Souad, what a blessing to see you and your mum again. Lebanon is still on my list of places to visit :-)

Congratulations, Raluka

 

Maha, what a wonderful surprise. So glad you were

able to come from Egypt to celebrate this day!!

A few of my girls :-)

Areti, Afaf and Maha

Lahiru and Nishtha ... well done!!!

Chi, what a fantastic achievement!!  You always make me smile. Congratulations :-)

Muritala and Darvesh, great to see
you both on your graduation day.
Well done on your jobs!!

On Thursday, between ceremonies, I took myself off to Tiny Tims
for this cracking Ploughman's lunch. I'm kind of hoping that
clapping burns calories cos I've done a lot of that in the last few days.

'My three months in the UK' by Sonali Mishra

My name is Sonali Mishra. I'm from Lucknow in India, where I'm doing my PhD in natural product chemistry. I have been here, at the University of Greenwich, for three months for an internship.

The UK has treated me very well!! I am delighted to be a part of University of Greenwich and a member of Prof. Jeremy Everett's group. During my time here I learned and explored a lot in this country. The first day itself I met with Ms. Lynne Martin, the Campus Chaplain, and that was the best thing that happened to me here. Without her support I don't know how would I able to manage myself in this completely different 

surrounding. My first visit in UK was to Rochester for the Sweeps Festival. I loved the cathedral, the dancing and the crowds. 

11^th May was my birthday and Aiste, a PhD student from Lithuania, took me to the Capstone Country Park for a toboggan ride. It was so fun for me. On the same day we visited Dobbies Café, the Dockside museum and went inside the historic HMS Cavalier ship, used in World War II and ended up with my birthday celebration at a restaurant near dockside. I really felt overwhelmed at the end, as I was missing my family badly that day. 

Next, I visited the University of Greenwich, Greenwich Campus; which was supposed to be my study place (in dreams lol). On the same week, I went to the Dover Castle and White Cliffs. I can never forget the beauty of the white cliffs, it was mesmerizing. 

Next, I volunteered at the GKU Medfest event and participated in face painting and balloon modeling as well, along with some crazy rides. 

My next destination was Leeds Castle which was huge and very beautiful. It was 900^th anniversary of the castle on the day of our visit, with displays of medieval era events (Eg-war recreation, gun show, cookery etc.). However, Jousting was the main attraction. 

Now it was time for the Food and Drink Festival in awesome weather with yummy strawberries at St Mary Island. An evening of ten-pin bowling was also a first and the great experience for me. 

At the Dickens Festival I really enjoyed the parade in which you can see all the characters of Charles Dickens' novels come to life. It looked beautiful. 

I enjoyed a marvelous day at the Hythe Imperial Hotel. Lynne took us for spa, sauna, pool sessions followed by an afternoon tea, that was yummy. We visited the beach too. It was such a different environment for me, that I will always cherish that day in my life. 

I finally got to meet with another wonderful friend Sonali, from Sri Lanka, thanks to the TABLEtalk. I went to the Gurudwara (a Sikh temple) at Gravesend with her, saw the Pocohontas statue and strolled near the sea. 

The next weekend it was the River Festival at Chatham and there I witnessed the Dragon boat race and water show along with some traditional dance performances. After this, I planned my first ever solo trip for Scotland (Edinburgh) in a weekend and visited the Edinburgh airport, Queensferry, Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, North Berwick, Cramond Island and climbed Arthur’s seat. The view and beauty of the place was so worth it. 

The most unbeatable experience for me in UK was attending the Science and Policy making Summit at the Palace of Westminster in the presence of UK MP’s. The invitation came from the British Council and we attended one day session discussing the various aspects of science in making policies. At the end of the session, they arranged a tour to visit different areas, such as, the House of Commons, House of Lords, Library, 

etc. We also witnessed the live discussion going on the 2022 Commonwealth games. In the same trip, I visited the famous attractions of London including- Madame Tussauds, London eye, Sea life, Tower bridge, Shrek life adventure, Dungeon, Thames river cruise, change of guards ceremony in Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Iskcon Temple. 

My last two trips were to Hever Castle, where I loved the boating most, and to the Hastings which has an awesome pebble beach.

I have had an amazing experience in the UK.  During my stay here, I felt so blessed to be surrounded by such nice people. With this platform, I would like to thank everyone for making me feel at home here. I will always cherish my memories of this time. Miss you and Love you all!!!