April - Sunhine and Greenery

With winter now behind us it was coats off and sunglasses on again. First sign of any sun in the UK and everyone swarms down to the park. So there we were, up at Highbury fields with all the flatmates enjoying the sun and pretending it was hot (when really it wasn't...). Nonetheless a bit of vitamin D sure helps everyone feel good. The onset of British Summer Time helps too. (That's daylight savings for those of you in the southern hemisphere...)

We also made our way to a park we really should have visited by now. Kensington Gardens is right next to Hyde Park and makes for a nice walk and sit in the sun in front of Kensington Palace. Didn't make it into the palace but it was still nice being out in the sun. Marcus saved some poor little French Boys from drowning in the pond (less dramatic than it sounds but they couldn't get out by themselves...) It is also in the Borough of Kensington (surprise, surprise) which is still definitely one of the nicest parts of London to be in. If only we had a few million pounds to buy there...

April was finally time for the first party since we had moved in to the flat. With the weather improving it was time for the "Welcome to the Summer" party. Togs and Jandals and a paddling pool full of beer and we were all set. Everyone had a go at the limbo stick, with varying degrees of success...

We also caught up with Robin and Mary again and took a trip down South to Kew Gardens. Kew is a a massive park filled with gardens, ponds, greenhouses and other things to see. The day was excellent and it was actually quite interesting seeing all the different types of trees, ferns lillies and there was even a NZ fauna section. Check out the red flowers. The place is huge and is definitely a good day walking around. Excellent spot for a picnic lunch. You even get to climb up a steel structure for a treetop walk. Was good for the view, but might be better when there were a few more leaves on the trees.

One of the good things about living in a flat with lots of people is you go do things that you might not otherwise try.  So at the insistence of Bex we all made our way down to Shoreditch for Ladi 6. She is a hip hop artist from Christchurch and the cousin of Scribe. It was New Zealanders all over the place with some funky South Pacific beats and a fun night out in London.

April was also time for our first second time in London. What we mean is that we did something which we pretty much did the same the year before. Once again we were up early (as Bex and Riki arrived home) to head down to Hyde Park corner for the ANZAC ceremony dawn service. This year it was an NZ hosted service, so we stood before the NZ monument, not nearly as cold as last year, but still just as moving. More waiata and haka. However this year we didn't go out somewhere afterwards, it was back on the bus and off back home again to bed.

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