First Visitor

My friend, Helena, was visiting for the week - and it was so much fun to have her here.

She accompanied me to the first meeting I attended of the St. John's Wood Women's Club. We drank tea and listened to a speaker from Kew Gardens. Most of the members of the Women's Club are Americans or Canadians; in fact, they describe themselves as an ex-pat group. Everyone was very friendly - and they plan lots of activities. I paid my dues and became a member. I exchanged telephone numbers with another woman from California who has been here only two weeks.
(By the way, Kew Gardens is an impressive institution that is doing great work; it is creating a database identifying all the plant species on the planet, and it has begun creating and maintaining a seed bank of all the plants.)

During the week, Helena and I spent lots of time shopping, with Helena helping me to select decorative accessories for the flat - pictures, pottery, housewares, etc. We went to Ikea, to Harrods, to every department store on Oxford Street, and to the gift shops at three museums, and we came away with lots of good items and /or good ideas.
(On our way walking from the underground stop to Ikea, we met a woman from Toronto who had just moved here last week. She lives only one stop away on the underground, so she and I exchanged phone numbers also.)

It has been a wonderful whirlwind week (and our apartment is looking more like someone lives here).