Last day in London, and heading to Edinburgh

Yesterday was our last day in London, and now I’m writing this from the train to Edinburgh.

As it was Sunday, and World Quaker day as well, we took the tube up to the Euston area and attended NW London Friends Meeting at Friends House.  It was a silent meeting for worship.  For exactly one hour we sat in silence with about 40 other Friends.  Two Friends spoke, one to ask us to “hold in the light” a fellow Friend in hospital, and the other to express “a moment of gladness.”  (Love the way Brits phrase things!)  At precisely 12:00 two men shook hands, signaling the end of the silent time, and then we all shook hands with those around us.  They asked for first-time visitors to stand and introduce themselves, and about ten people (including us) stood and identified themselves, most visiting from other Friends meetings in either England or USA.  After a few announcements, it was time for tea, coffee and cookies, and we visited with some of the regular attenders.

In front of Friends House, London

We hopped on a bus up to Camden, where the Camden Market was going on.  It was absolutely packed with people.  I mean PACKED.  We could barely navigate the crowds, and decided we didn’t want to shop, so we made our way (slowly) through the hordes to the London Waterbus dock.  We took a canal boat ride from Camden down to Little Venice, passing through the London Zoo on both sides of the canals, past stately homes and modest canal houseboats.

Camden Market, full of stalls of crafts, clothes, food, antiques, and just about everything else you could imagine. Also full of people!

In the evening we went to the London Comedy Store for a performance by an improv troupe.  Ending our tour of London with a rousing comedy evening, we took the tube back to our hotel to pack and be ready for an early morning.

Now (Monday morning) we are on the train from London to Edinburgh, watching the lovely countryside roll by.  Our train departed from Kings Cross, a huge yet efficient tube station and train station serving many lines and international destinations.