Thing 8: The Duck Bus

Had a great trip on the London Duck Bus on 9th March. Always wanted to try it but it's not something you can normally find the time to do if you're a Londoner.  So when my friend Liz decided to come down from Blackpool for a visit, it seemed like too good a chance to waste.

For those who don't know what the Duck Bus is, it's a WWII D-Day landing craft converted into an amphibious tour bus - it trundles round some of the main sights of London then pootles down into the Thames at Vauxhall for a chunter up to the Houses of Parliament and back.  Well worth it!

Thing 7: Alfriston

My friends Jenny and Guy have a cottage in the Sussex village of Alfriston.  On 25th February a gang of us travelled down to spend the weekend - we all worked at Waterstones at some time (some of us still do).

We arrived in rain but by the time we'd had a coffee and a chat the weather started to clear and by early afternoon the weather was set for the rest of the weekend - cloudless skies.  We started gently - a lunch at Badger's restaurant followed by a cheeky cream tea then a walk up on to the downs to the Long Man of Wilmington. Back down a mud flume to the village to check into the Deans Place Hotel.  Great dinner at the George then off to bed.

Sunday morning saw a walk over the downs to view the frescoes in Berwick church.  On the way, the air was full of skylarks - ascending into the blue singing their hearts out.  On the way back we saw a buzzard, mewing as it soared over the fields.

Highlight of the weekend was visiting Cate and Nash at Much Ado Books - they have a barn at the back of their property in which they had laid out a huge brunch.  Considering most of us were complete strangers to them, this was a true act of generosity.  And their shop is brilliant.

After brunch another walk down the Cuckmere then a much needed cab back to Alfriston.

All in all, without hyperbole, this one was of the finest weekends I can remember - a perfect mix of weather, friends, food and wonderful countryside.

Thing 6: Illuminated Manuscripts

This is very much a part of "do more stuff" - the Illuminated Manuscripts exhibition at the British Library.  Went with the lovely Gabrielle Wallington and boy, is it a beautiful exhibition.  Have always loved medieval illumination and to see so much of it in one place was truly stunning - the work involved is awe-inspiring, given the tools and materials available.  Manuscripts from the 10th century up to the 16th - well worth a visit.  Go early, though, as it gets busy.  And maybe a clearer route round would have helped - but that's just a minor niggle.

One more highlight - the coffee and walnut cake in the Library cafe.  GOOD frosting.

Thing 5a: See More Birds

Hopefully Thing 5 will form a thread through the year as I get out and see more new bird species, so these will just be brief notes

11th February - Barnes Wetland Centre - Water Rail, standing on the ice and looking very disgruntled.
And I'm going to add Snipe - not my first time but this one was very close - a spectacular view of a stunning bird.

Thing 4: Metropolitan Line

Another ostensibly minor thing to cross off the list, but my friend Alex Ingram (@nuttyxander on Twitter) and I have been saying for months that we need to visit the Metropolitan line before the 50 year old trains get withdrawn.  So last Saturday we met up at Baker Street for the long journey north.  First catch came when every train in sight was formed of the new S stock - were we too late?  Undeterred, we boarded a Chesham train and headed out of town.  Within a couple of minutes Alex had dropped the bombshell that he was leaving Waterstones for pastures new.  This is A Bad Thing for Waterstones - Alex knows a hell of a lot about a hell of a lot - not least about half of the systems we use every day.

Excitingly (and I appreciate I'm playing fast and loose with that particular word) we soon saw a procession of old A stock trains heading in the opposite direction, so we decided to get off at Harrow-on-the-Hill and wait.  Sure enough, an Uxbridge turned up and we bounced happily off.  Quick visit to Waterstones in Uxbridge (very pleasant and VERY ex-Books Etc), a couple of sausage rolls from Greggs and a hot chocolate from the excellent station buffet and then back on a train to Harrow.  Mad dash over the footbridge to leap on to an A stock to Amersham.  Amersham Waterstones very ex-Ottakars, very tiny but perfectly formed.

Back to the station and off-piste for the Met Line as we took a Chiltern Trains service one stop to Chalfont & Latimer, to connect with a train out to Chesham.  Lovely station at Chesham but by that time we were frozen solid (unbelievably cold day with not much heating on the trains) so we just sat tight and waited for it to head back.  One last branch to see so we got off at Moor Park and leapt on a service for Watford - that station's nowhere near the town so again, we just sat and waited for the train to leave for Baker Street.  A freezing but a brilliant day - TfL want to see the back of the A stock trains for the Olympics, if possible (not great having 50 year old trains taking people to Wembley) so we did this just in time.

Congratulations if you've got to the end of this and still want to be my friend - I fear this year might be peppered with this kind of geekness.

Thing 3: Paris

Paris means a lot to me - my uncle used to live there so we'd often trot off to Victoria, catch the boat train to Dover or Folkestone, ferry across to Calais or Boulogne then clamber on board an SNCF train to Paris. Eight hours or so.  Now, of course, Eurostar can get you there from St Pancras in just over two hours, making an easy day trip.

My friend Alison and I had planned this trip for a while - she hadn't been for ages and I never need an excuse to go to Paris or, indeed, to get on a train.  Tiny trauma just as I scanned my ticket and passed through the barrier when Alison asked "so do I need my passport?"  The world slowed and conflicting thoughts swirled in my brain - among them "NO!!" and "hell, I'm through now - I'm on my way!"  Luckily, it turned out to be a rhetorical question (nice timing) and all was well.

A wonderfully uneventful journey later and we arrived at the Gare du Nord.  Quick purchase of a carnet of tickets then on to the metro to the first sight - the Eiffel Tower.  Stunning as ever and I wheeled out my usual "fact" - that all the gold discovered in the world so far could be melted down into a block that would fit under the tower - does anyone know if that's true?

Slight moment occurred when I noticed a pigeon had managed to poop on Alison's new jacket.  My laughing was choked off when I realised I had suffered collateral damage - that must have been one sick bird.

Trauma over, on to the metro to the Arc de Triomphe then a walk down the Champs Elysees.  Feeling hungry we struck off down a side street to look for a restaurant.  In a slightly dodgy example of restaurant choosing I saw a beautiful Art Deco sign and in we went. It's called Le Boeuf sur le Toit and we made a good choice.  Had some brilliant oysters, a beautiful sole and a chocolate souffle I will remember for a while.  (Not as good as my mother's, clearly).

On with our walk down to the place de la Concorde and straight across through the Tuileries gardens, the Louvre and out across the pont des Arts to the Left Bank.  Nipped into Notre Dame for a gawp at the stained glass windows, a wander round the islands then across to the metro for the trip up to Montmartre.  By that time we were getting close to the time we had to get back to the station so to my secret relief we decided not to climb the stairs up to the Sacre Coeur.  Walked back to the Gare du Nord and bizarrely bumped into an ex-colleague in the passport queue.  Having said only a couple of hours previously that I felt as if we were going to bump into someone, this was an odd coincidence.

Train home and a perfect day was had.  Alison's the best possible companion, the weather held steady apart from a couple of showers and apart from the bird shit nothing went wrong.

Next weekend - another major travel event as my friend Alex and I tackle the Metropolitan line.

Thing 2: Barnes Wetland Centre

This is the perfect example of why I'm doing this this year.  It's on the way to/from work, it's been open for years, it's full of wildfowl (long term member of the RSPB) and yet, somehow, I've never been.  So at 9.30 this morning I turned up with my binoculars ready for bitterns, cranes, bustards and all manner of rare stuff to greet me with open wings.

What a great place!  If you don't know what it is, it's the site of some old concrete reservoirs that's been returned to nature, featuring lagoons, islands, reedbeds and all sorts of great wildlife habitats.  It's a large area surrounded by city and gives birds some much needed space and feeding opportunities.

Didn't see a bittern, natch, but things I was particularly pleased to see were gadwall, shoveler, teal, shelduck, lapwing and (can't quite believe this in SW London, a buzzard).  Am doubting myself on the buzzard, tbh, as no-one else appears to have noted it.  They also have various themed areas featuring wildfowl from across the world - had a pleasant chat with a pair of blue-winged geese who were either welcoming me or telling me to fuck off and had a stand-off with a black-necked swan who was most definitely not keen on me talking to his missis.

Despite, like the rest of poor old West London, being on the Heathrow flypath, the peace and quiet is palpable - definitely worth a visit to recharge the batteries.  Have now joined the WWT - Slimbridge next!