It's the New Year!  One of the crappiest years in history is over!  As bad as 2021 may still be, it can't be worse....  Can it?            

We went for an evening walk on the 23rd to see the Christmas lights and London was eerily quiet with it's empty streets.  These shots were taken around Oxford Street which would normally be wall to wall people.

I've taken long walks on our few rain-less days.  One day I walked all around Hampstead Heath, the huge park (790 acres) in the northwest of London.  I've been to the park many times but have never done the whole circuit.  Apart from the bathing ponds and Kenwood House, both of which I've written about previously, the park is mostly woods and vast fields and lots of boggy areas.  This time of year it's mostly mud.  All of the paths are packed dirt and the evening before I ventured forth it had, of course, rained.  I almost fell on my a## a good number of times and had to wash my sneaks in the bathtub when I got back.  Next park outing I'll wear me rubber boots!

Above is a false bridge originally built in the 1700's over a pond in front of the Kenwood House.  It was built when the house and lands were a private estate and it made for a picturesque view towards London proper.  Though it looks like a real bridge, it's actually just a false front and in fact the photo is from behind to show how it's propped up.  Kenwood house, now a museum, is reflected in the pond.

Two days ago we had a rare thing, sunshine!  I took the opportunity to walk to 221b Baker Street to see, sadly only from the outside, the Sherlock Holmes Museum.  Baker Street is just a road away from Regents Park, my favorite.  The park was packed with runners and strollers, nary a one with a mask.  Nuts these brits.

As London almost never gets a deep freeze, there are flowers all year long.  By the time I got back I had fast walked for about 3 hours.  It gave me a great excuse to eat 1/2 a package of chocolate covered digestives.  Tomorrow another adventure!  xxoo me