London

After being a little stunned by Singapore's extreme military consciousness, our next stop showed us exactly the reason the Singapores of the world needed to be aware of foreign military might. London is impressively replete with the fruits of colonial plunder. The British museum alone was enough to make me wonder whether any artifacts had been left in any other country when Britannia ruled the waves.

Putting aside the ill-gotten nature of Imperial wealth, London was fantastic. It didn't disappoint with its sights or atmosphere, or its capacity to show you what it is to be English. Being cold, crowded, grey and gloomy enhanced our sense of distance from home, and pointed to the embarassing stupidity of retaining their Queen as Australia's head of state.

Speakin' of 'er Majesty, we dropped in on some of her neighbours, the Andrews family, who looked after our entry to the land of hope and glory. They may well act as our role models for adaptation to northern culture and climate.

A great catalogue of catching up lay ahead in London, including Molly and Em, Nic and Elle, Bob Marley, Daniel Radcliffe, Kylie, Jesse Owens, Fidel Castro and Charles Darwin. {The last of these particularly impressive, as I had stood on his grave at Westminster the previous morning} I'll post some pictures hoping they count for a thousand words, rather than lapse into listing everything we did and saw in this exciting city. {But can't resist mentioning we saw all the monopoly streets...}