I ARRIVED in London today ahead of tomorrow’s Science Onine 2009 meeting. Having a bizarrely uneventful travelling experience, both to and within London, was a great start. London in August seems to have a special kind of heat, hot and stuffy in a way that only large cities can be, but then you descend into the lower tube lines to discover yet a new flavour of heat, slow cooked.
I remember walking through the tube tunnels as a child and being deeply flustered, owing in part to having just seen ‘An American Werewolf in London’, and we all know what happens when you encounter a Werewolf in a tube tunnel don’t we? This time however I was too occupied thinking about the pressure differentials through the tube network as I enjoyed the tremendous cooling winds as you ascend the levels. Perspectives change.
I’m staying next to the Albert Hall at Imperial College’s Beit Hall, with the above scene (taken today) available within 1 minute of leaving my room; a pretty good location really, near Knightsbridge, and opposite Hyde Park.
I have memorised the Piccadilly Line, so it will be my linear feature for navigating London this weekend. I got myself to Piccadilly Circus, and from there to The Royal Institution, and then on to Soho where I made a bee-line for Flat White (to finally renew my love for the antipodean ‘Flattie’ coffee), and get some food at Princi, a most excellent Italian delicatessen, owned by London’s Armani of bread.
Mental Indigestion 