Back to England

On Wednesday evening, I caught a flight to London via Reykjavik. I got just a little sleep on the plane to Reykjavik, and on arrival, had breakfast in an attempt to convince my body that it was getting on for 9am: the complete darkness outside didn't help! Another, shorter plane trip (I watched The Blind Side) and I was in London.

I headed to Camden to check into my hotel and drop off my bags. The room was pretty nice: small, but modern-looking and with a kitchen (I didn't take advantage of it because I was there for such a short time, but it is a nice thing to have available).

I then took a short walk to the British Library. I was expecting a grand old building, but found a grand new one. I was impressed by its combination of visual beauty and utility, which I don't always find in newer buildings. I looked at the Treasures exhibition - many old works of literature, government, history and religion, including two of the three oldest mostly complete Bible manuscripts - and wandered a little to get a feel of the place. It seems to be a popular destination for locals to come and spend time working.

I had a bit of time left before dinner, so I took the Underground to Westminster and walked around: past the Houses of Parliament, along the Thames and past Westminster Abbey.

 

I walked along the edge of St James' Park. It was after dark, and it did look like a plausible place to meet one's mistress, simply because it was poorly lit and you could expect to be unseen.

Dinner was at Ognisko, a Polish restaurant near Imperial College. I had dumplings, beetroot soup, goose leg confit and profiteroles. The dumpling filling was very good, but the pastry left a bit to be desired. The soup was thin but sufficiently flavourful, and the goose was yummy if unexciting. The profiteroles were yummy, if nothing I haven't tasted before.

I slept pretty well that night, and headed off to the workshop the next morning. I thought it went quite well. I'm not really working on batteries any more, so the talks weren't really relevant to my day-to-day work. But it was nice to have a day full of talks I understood. My talk went well: people had relevant questions that I felt comfortable answering, and I think people found it useful (I received some positive comments - it's always hard to judge their worth because no-one ever comes up to a speaker and tells them how bad their talk was, but nevertheless it is nice to feel appreciated). I had the chance to chat with many people there over snacks and lunch, including Birger, a postdoc who visited the Bazant group a year ago.

The conference dinner was a goat cheese (very goaty - much more so than most goat cheese I've eaten) and beetroot salad, which reminded me of this one that Yu Heng wrote about, followed by duck leg confit (yes, had I known I would have ordered differently the previous evening, though I was busy enough that the meals seemed well separated). Dessert was walnut cake with pistachio ice cream and something I've forgotten pannacotta. This was particularly good, though I did think that it seemed that the British eat their ice cream as they drink their beer (i.e. warmer than anywhere else - it was basically runny). I noticed the very distinctive way food was brought and tables were cleared: about four waiters would gather around the table, then on a signal put down (or pick up) the plates simultaneously. It meant that, table by table, everyone received their food at the same time. We agreed that it was a good way to make sure people felt comfortable eating their food as soon as they received it, and that it can be awkward if the group is larger or the organisation is not so good. I mentioned Andrew's "if there's more than eight, it's rude to wait" rule, and the professor at the table remarked that I "have a very wise uncle". I was amused, because wise is indeed one of the first two adjectives I might choose to describe Andrew (feel free to guess the other!).

On my way back to my hotel, I walked past a memorial to JFK. The other attendee who was walking in the same direction commented that it was a funny place for a memorial to an American president: I believe the reason is that the American embassy is nearby (I don't know this for certain, but many other embassies are so it seems very likely), and he lived there for a while while is father was the ambassador. It being the 50th anniversary of his death, there were some floral and candle tributes, so I took a photo.

The next morning, I had an hour to explore a bit more of London before it was time to head to the airport. I went past Seven Dials, which was apparently a poor area when Iolanthe was written: now it is pretty inner city and full of cafes and theatre venues. I was interested to see that there are actually seven sundials there: they gave the intersection its name, though the original was no longer standing in the 19th century and what is there now is much more recent.

I then walked through Trafalgar Square

and St James' Park before my hour was up.

After an English breakfast, it was time to head back to Reykjavik. My video screen was playing up, so I couldn't watch a movie but did manage to get an episode of Glee working. KEF was much more crowded than two days prior, as several flights to the US left around 5pm. I got on mine, and watched some movies that I enjoyed far more than most I see on planes: Little Miss Sunshine, Before Sunset and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (until the entertainment system stopped working).

I arrived home after what seemed like far more than three days away!