Event 21: Saying goodbye to Ed

Ed is off to India for a year. Apparently it is going to be a very short year. I fear it will be the same length as every other year.

I went to visit him in London and have some fun. We went to Somerset House and, after a fashion, found the cafe and sat out in the courtyard watching young children run through the fountains. We then followed the signs to the Courtauld Collection, only to find ourselves back where we started. Typical Drake style! Eventually the signs did indeed lead to the gallery and we looked at lots of paintings. Some were very good. Some were a little odd.

We went to covent garden but didn't stay long. We never do. I've not had chance to take a good look round, we always march through quickly, avoiding the pigeons. This trip was slightly improved by the fact that I managed to drag Ed into one shop to look at some bizzare kitchen items. We stopped to watch a poor street act for a short while. He was funny only because it all went wrong. He was attempting to eat an apple whilst juggling large knives and balancing on a very tall unicycle. It was impressive until he dropped the apple...

Then we got a bus to marble arch to go to marks and spencers. Ed's grandmother had told him that they sold hats there. They did, when we eventually found the place. No trip with Ed is complete without covering at least part of the journey twice. Much hillarity followed as Ed tried on all the hats to find one suitable to where in India. It wasn't to be too much like the ones the guys in Razorlight wear, nor too 'Colonel'. Well, I wasn't sure any of them were cool enough for someone who wears the collar of his polo shirts turned up, but we chose the best of what was on offer. Afterall, he doesn't need to wear it in this country!

Hat purchased we made our way to Ed's house for a rest. Ed won three games of Perudo (I was feeling very tired...) and thrashed me at Monopoly. So we decided to move all the furniture and roll up the rugs in the sitting room so we could play carpet boules. I had the red set, three of which curved neatly away from the side with the red dot on, and one otherwise indistinguishable one, which didn't. Not that it mattered, because most of mine didn't go anywhere near the jack. It was 20-4 when we breaked for supper. Refreshed, I played much better afterwards and Ed had to employ advanced measuring techniques to settle the disputes over which boules were closest - "it's a flip flop and 9.5cm away...!" Much to Ed's annoyance I won the second game :)

The next day we had a lazy morning and then made up a picnic lunch and set off for Hever castle. Ed assured me he knew which way to go, pretty much, up to a certain point. It was fine getting there because there were signs pointing us in the right direction. But unfortunately there were no signs telling which way home was, so the journey back was much more interesting. Hever castle was where Anne Boylen lived. We learnt lots about Henry VIII and his six wives. (My mum reminded me of that helpful rhyme about the wives - "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, lived" - er, I think that misses the point about the rhyme!!) So the trip was both fun and educational. We sampled the cake in the cafe and then headed back. There are supposed to be really nice gardens, but it was raining a little too much to see them, which was a shame.

Just time for half a game of crib, which Ed conveniently ended when he was one point ahead, before heading to Victoria for dinner at Ask. And before I knew it, I was on a train home facing the prospect of a year with no more fun with Ed. Life with anyone else just isn't quite the same as with Ed, he has a whole set of laws to himself! But everything is always alright in the end.