www.henningn.dk

698 dkr for a returnticket from Billund to London. Thats ridiculous. Let's go.....

Leaving Billund at 5.20 pm. 1½ hour then your are in Gatwick. Find a train, and another half our to Victoria. A few hundred meters walk - and you are in a different world - namely my hotel Georgian House Hotel

I spend the evening by taking a closer look at the local area - and a late dinner at a local kebab.

Saturday, december 1'st

It's raining this morning, so it's a good day for a museum. I get my weekend-travelcard, and take the tube to South Kensington and the Science Museum. There is a free entry to this huge museum. You have to choose the things you want to see. I choose the airspace-division - among others an Apollo 10 capsule, a department with old photo-stuff, and finally an exhibition that opens today with a lot of very nice Alfa Romeos. At this exhibition there is free champagne - but of course - since Im such a reserved person - I dont ask for a glas.

I spend 3 hours at the Science Museum before going south-east. First its the tube to London Bridge. From there a train to Charlton, at the eastern part of London on the southside of the Thames.

Here you find Charlton Athletic Football Club, and an e-mail request has resulted in, that a very nice man at the club has put away a ticket for me, for the homegame against Newcastle United. Actually the match was sold out, but when asking if that meant that I had to go to a 3. divisionmatch at Leyton Orient instead, they actually found a ticket for me.

My 25 £ ticket gives admission to South Stand, very close to a few thousand singing Newcastle-supportes. They were peaceful enough - but just in case - a line of security-guards were in between "home" and "away".

There are different ways to see a city. Some take a bus to see it all. I don't like that - I prefer to walk. In London you can do your walking in an organized way by using London Walks. You just turn up at an underground station at the time set in their program. Suddenly a guide turns up with the leaflet in her hand. 15 to 20 people show up from different corners - you give the guide a 5 £ note, and you are off for a walk in the local neighbourhood.

This morning the walk starts at Sloane Square and then takes us around Belgravia - a filthy rich part of London. Huge houses around here. No Mr. nobody is living here - instead it's people like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Margaret Thatcher. The guide Stephanie tells about the history of the area - and about all the famous people.

The rest of the day I spend by walking the city on my own. A little shopping - mainly CD's that I can't get at home - and a few books as well

Monday, december 3'rd

My second London Walk starts at 11, About 10 people meet at the underground-station Green Park, for - together with Angela - to see "The Westminster nobody knows" (how they find it when nobody knows is still a mystery to me). Also on this tour there is a lot about the history and the buildings in the area. And a lot of gossip about the royals as well.

After this its time to go to The London Eye - close to the Thames and the Waterloo station. Usually theres supposed to be long lines for the ride. But there are not that many tourists in London at this moment, so you just go on-board for a "roundtrip" that takes about ½ an hour - with a lovely wiew - if it wasn't for the fog.

In the evening it's time for another game of football. To White Hart Lane to see Tottenham Hotspurs against Bolton. The trip out there was a bit chaotic. First I took the tube to Seven Sisters - no problem. The a local-train to White Hart Lane. Now trouble starts, because the train the all the Spurs-fans went into - and me as well of course - is an expres-train that doesn't stop at White Hart Lane. Well - people take it with a sense of humour. One calls it "the most stupid thing I have ever done" - some other calls the guys at White Hart Lane telling them, that he is on the way to Newcastle. A few are more in panic - this will cost them the time of at least 2 pints before the game.Finally the train stops at a station - everybody out - onto the other platform - and wait 20 minuttes for the train back to White Hart Lane.

Museum-time again. This time it's the British Museum. This is huge as well, so you have to choose. I check out the egyptian and the roman part - among others the friezes stolen from the Parthenon-temple in Athens.

From British Museum - and a visit to a locol comix-store - its time for a walk via Holborn to Lincoln's Inn, Royal Courts of Justice and Inner Temple. This is "the law on London"-area. Solicitors everywhere in these Inn's - but also some nice gardens and buildings as well.

In the evening it's musical-time. I have my ticket for Mamma Mia at the Prince Edward Theatre. A stupid love-story with some classical ABBA-hits. Great show and great acting - this is really London. It ends almost like a rock-concert.

Wednesday, december 5'th

A little more shopping from the morning. I start at Oxford Circus. From there through Soho to Leicester Square. Wants to see Harry Potter in a real movie-theater. The cinema is Odeon. The ticket-seller is Martin - and he speaks the most extreme "copenhagen-english" I have ever heard. So we speak danish instead.

Nice movie - and a great place to watch it.

In the evening it's football-time again. Tube to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea at home to Charlton. Ticket was booked from back home - and sent to Denmark. 35 £ gives you an entrence to the top-balcony on West Stand, with a great view. The crowd is different here. Some seems to arrive directly from the office with their business-partners. More jackets and ties - not as many freaks as in Tottenham. Some seems to care more about their business-partners than the game.

Chelsea is a huge disappointment. A lot of international stars - but no team. Charlton is defending bravely, and 2 minuttes before time Kevin Lisbie scores the only goal of the match for Charlton. The guy next to me disappears in a split-second.

The homecrowd is furious - and the tell the players. This would never have happened in Tottenham or Charlton, but on the other hand - what can you expect from a team, who has Giorgi Armani as "suit-sponsor" - jesus crist........