APRIL 24 - This morning is about as boring as it gets. Get on to the M42, and carry on to the M40 south to London. The countryside is rolling farmland all the way. Stop once outside of London to fill the tank, at GPB 1.65/liter. Drop Janet and Odette off at Dorset Park with most of the luggage so as not to enter the ‘Congestion Zone’ with the rental, and sit in traffic for the next 30 minutes to St. Pancras Station to turn it in. Once that albatross is off my neck, can relax and make my way back to Gloucester Place, to the same hotel we stayed in on Day 1-3. Go down to our food street and eat Italian.
Its a nice day, partly sunny, so head west to Hyde Park (first opened to the public by Charles I in 1637), at the corner where the Marble Arch sits. It is Sunday so the orators are out in force on Speaker’s Corner, and the higher profile ones are surrounded by cameras and cell phones on tripods. There is a lot of shouting. This practice was officially allowed at the park starting in 1872. At the entrance there are Islamic prayer rugs, and a few people are praying as we enter the park.
