Looking Around London

The coach journey to London was super easy, which makes a change. I had half-price Pick'n'Mix from Wilko so I was satisfied (even though those fizzy bubblegum bottles nearly blew my head off).

I made a pilgrimage to Whitechapel to go and look at the Blind Beggar. Whitechapel is so different to my idealistic view of it still being dingy and Victorian, where many murders take place. The pub was cool though!

Next, I went over to Monument and walked to St Dunstan in the East, which is a ruined old church that they've converted into a kind of garden. It's such a pretty, peaceful place - I wanted to take selfies like a true ~millennial, but I was too embarrassed because loads of businesspeople were having lunch there. I sat for a while because it was nice and quiet, and I was fed up with hauling my backpack around (technically Caz's 'Backpack of Holding', which was SO USEFUL and roomy).

I checked into my hotel at 3pm. It was a similar building to the one I stayed in last year, but much nicer inside. The lobby was really fancy, for a 3-star hotel. They got me sorted really quickly and I finally got to shed some baggage. I stayed in the room for a bit, checking it out (also charging my phone). The room was small but cute, fine for what I needed it for. The bed was right beside the big window, and the bathroom was really modern and nice, with great lighting.

When I'd recharged a bit, I went all the way out to the old St Pancras churchyard (which is where Mary Shelley got engaged, weirdly), to see the Hardy Tree. It's named for the author, who helped to relocate a load of remains from the old churchyard when the railways were being routed through. Left with many gravestones, Hardy arranged them around an ash tree which was out of the way. These days the tree has grown around the graves and actually enveloped some of them. It's such a pretty and striking feature.

On my way up to King's Cross station, I accidentally found London's YouTube/Google HQ. I was really confused and said aloud "Oh, it's YouTube!?" and some guy walking down the street laughed companionably at me.

I went to Camden, because no trip to London is complete without it. I wandered up the High Street, feeling right at home as I always do there - it's the only place my angler fish shirt drew no notice. I'd decided to come out there for dinner, as I'd heard of a place called the CHEESE BAR, which could only be good. It's right next to the Amy Winehouse statue in the Stables Market, and every food item has cheese in it. I had some mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce to start, and a four-cheese macaroni for my main. It was heavenly. The staff were really cool and friendly, and I took my time eating and hanging out there.

I did eventually get really sick of my own company, and my stupid Pre-Event Anxiety decided to kick in, making me worry that the weekend would be a crap waste of time and money. I told my pals Holly & Ali (who I met at HVFF last year) of my fears, and they invited me to their hotel to hang out. Which is how I ended up at the bar in the Kensington Hilton with a Cosmopolitan. We chatted until the middle of the night about Gotham, Deadpool, and tonnes of other stuff. I laughed a lot and they really helped to psych me up again for the con.

Wandered back to the hotel. The night was warm and it was a nice walk, I felt completely safe and serene. Had a hard time getting to sleep though, because I had X Gone Give it to Ya by DMX stuck in my head on a loop.