After the rain

I went up to London again today - it was still very windy from the effects of Storm Ali up north, but it was beautifully sunny with blue skies and sunshine. I walked across Waterloo Bridge enjoying the views and the good weather. As a consequence of the terrorist driving into all those people on the bridge just over a year ago there have been steel barriers put up between the road and the pavement for quite a while now, which means if you are walking on one side you cannot cross over the barriers to see the views from the other side of the bridge. I wanted photos from the other side of the bridge but realised I had to to get them on my return walk as I could not cross the bridge.

I spent the morning at the Twinings flagship store on the Strand, the oldest tea shop in London, attending a tea masterclass. We were told the history of tea and then got to taste about 6 different types of tea. I really liked their Chakra Silver Tips, a light young white tea. I never realised that coffee was an established drink in London long before tea was even introduced here, and there were apparently about 2000 coffee houses in the city of London in the  late 17th century, as they were used as venues for stockbrokers to trade and for meetings.

As I was about to leave the shop it suddenly started raining heavily - I waited it out as I had not brought an umbrella  (the forecast was for sunshine all day). This is the view after the rain, walking back across Waterloo Bridge to Waterloo Station.

I also heard today that a framed print of the elephant image that came second in that wildlife competition has also been sold for £220 so I am feeling quite chuffed! The competition organisers take a commission for the sale so I don't get paid that full amount :(

Thanks to the fantastic Blipfoto team for upgrading the app so quickly following the IOS changes.