Week 67 in London

Week 67: 11 - 17 July 2016

This week, Snapchat’s latest update included a filter that turns your face into a while at the same time turning your voice to sound like you’ve inhaled helium.

On Tuesday, instead of hitting the gym with her usual work friends, Roslyn went to Flip Out in Wandsworth with Florence and Katka. Flip Out is a large indoor trampoline park, complete with giant foam pits.

Roslyn also managed to score, through work, tickets to Secret Cinema’s screening of Dirty Dancing on Friday night. The sole clue they were given was to head to Leyton tube station and then follow the crowd to “Kellerman’s Mountain Resort” (which turned out to actually be Leyton Jubilee Park). Technology was banned at Kellerman’s, Roslyn was told off by one of the camp staff for having her phone out.

Just prior to going to bed on Thursday night, news was breaking of a truck crashing into crowds gathered for Bastille Day celebrations in Nice. On Friday morning when we awoke, the atrocity of what had really happened was unfolding. It is saddening not only that such tragedy could strike this picturesque holiday paradise, but also that the country of France would fall victim again so soon.

More shocking for us was the fact that we’d been in Nice only days earlier, and had spent the majority of our time in the beautiful Promenade des Anglais area, where the truck drove through.

On Saturday Roslyn went for breakfast with Gayle and Ella at Ben’s Canteen, meanwhile Brendan headed over to Southbank, where a zorb ball marathon was running. Sadly, most of the zorbers were children so Brendan was put off joining in.

We went back to Southbank on Sunday, getting lunch from the regular Southbank Markets and then climbing on the amphibious London Duck tour vehicle. In between, we did try to go zorbing but the line-up was too long. This was a gift from Nola and Stacey after their visit in April. Part bus, part boat, the Duck is largely aimed at tourists however it’s something that Brendan has wanted to do for many years, since seeing them in Sydney as a child (although on doing some research for this blog, it seems that the Sydney operator no longer exists).

Starting just near the London Eye, we cruised around on land passing by the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, up to Trafalgar Square, back around past Westminster Abbey, and then splashing down into the river adjacent to Secret Intelligence Service MI6.

Promotion of the new Ghostbusters movie had also taken over at Waterloo station, with extensive branding and a giant ghost emerging from beneath the tiled station concourse.

Highlights for the week:

- Snapchat voice changing videos

- Roslyn went to Flipout indoor trampoline park

- Dirty Dancing at Secret Cinema for Roslyn

- Didn’t get put in the corner

- Bastille Day attacks in Nice

- Roslyn’s brunch at Ben’s Canteen with Gayle and Ella

- Zorb ball marathon

- Southbank markets

- London Duck tour

- Ghostbusters at Waterloo