Ill but trying to ignore it

I've had a sore throat for over a week but I've been doing my best to ignore it in the hope that it will go away. It seems to have gone up a notch today though but I'm still not letting it get to me. Toby was collected from school to have tea at his friend Teddy's house today and I don't pick him up until 6pm so I've had the whole day to do whatever Rosie and I wanted. I couldn't waste that.

We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks (don't tell the guys at Costa!) and took the train into town. First stop, National Gallery. This is the kind of thing I did all the time with Toby when he was tiny but just haven't managed that often the second time around. We strolled through the galleries and I would ask Rosie if she could find a dog or a baby or a boat in a painting and she would walk around looking at everything until she found what she was looking for. It was a lot of fun and we found lots of babies since we were in the Renaissance section most of the morning.

After the gallery we took my usual path through Leicester Square down to Waterstone's and spent another hour in the children's section reading books and choosing treats for Tobes and Rosie. Then lunch and Rosie passed out. I retraced my steps and managed a quiet cup of tea at the National Gallery cafe while Rosie slept and then we headed back to Blackheath. A lovely afternoon.

Things we saw today:

A group of tramps sitting on the steps of the National Gallery singing at the top of their voices along with Madonna's Holiday being played on a cheap jam box.

A very elderly woman in full Goth mode including purple eyeshadow and black fishnets.

Leonardo's cartoon for Madonna of the Rocks which has been moved from its special little viewing room for some reason.

Japanese tourists buying cartons of tea in Fortnum and Mason (the Queen's grocery store)).

The new signs in Trafalgar Square warning of a five hundred pound fine for feeding the pigeons. I remember when they used to sell dried peas from a little booth in the square expressly for that purpose. I'm getting old.