Perous Secret Diary - Keep Out: March 04, 2006

duck tour

him stand like a pirate, huh?

struggled out of bed early with my sons: z isn't sleeping past 5.30am currently.

at 9am took maximum on a surprise adventure on a duck tour round london.

i hadn't expected an old guy to spark up on the onboard PA and i cringed as he started off with a few rusty jokes.
but we had a fascinating guide for the journey.
all the historical info obviously went right over maximum's head but i enjoyed hearing about old london so much.

maximum was much more excited about going past buckinham palace (where the king and queen live) although he couldn't see their moat.
he's currently obsessed with moats and wants us to build one round the perou-factory so we can fill it with crocodiles and piranah.

he also loved the point where the bus turned into a boat, sailed up and down the thames a bit and then turned back into a bus and drove out.

i've always thought that any guided tours were naff.
but i learnt a lot in a short space of time:
things like where the expression 'money for old rope' comes from.
why australians call english people 'poms' (as in 'prisoners of milbank' who were deported to australia in ships with P.O.M on them).
how at one time there were 600 businesses working ON the thames and now there are 3.
how there were concrete barges lit up like the the houses of commons further up the river (at vauxhall) used as decoys during WW2.
the reason haymarket, and green park are so called etc etc...
it was excellent.

freeeeeezing cold though.
at one point the guide came round to ask if everyone was ok.
the guy goes 'are you alright little fella?' to maximum but he was ignoring the guy as he was trying to dangle out of the open window into the thames.
i tapped maximum on the shoulder and said 'maximum, you're being spoken to...'
maximum turned round (he had his coat hood up) and the guide said 'oh: it's a pretty princess'.
'no', i said 'it's a handsome boy with lots of hair'.
a common mistake.
maximum has the hair i wish i had.
i shave my head as a public service: people are too busy laughing to get on with their day if i don't.
i'd kind of have a bad fluffy, bushy, whiteboy 'fro.

spent some more time looking at houses online.
had a roast lamb lunch to make up for my bad diet day yesterday.
(actually ate a proper meal last night after all the crap too)
had garlic mushrooms on toast for breakfast today.

had a disco nap in the afternoon while mrs.p took the boys to mimi's birthday party.
maximum's just come back with chocolate all round his mouth.
looks a bit like a younger version of reg.

mick came round earlier to discuss how devestated hackney wick's about to become and how sad he is about it.
him and reg have lived here ALL their lives.