When Beanie Met Sandy (in London!)

Sunday morning we got up really early to go see someone.

First we got the bus to the train station

and we got the train!!  I love window seats

Here we are coming into London!!!

We're at Blackfriars Station again!!!

Alexander Bear was waiting for us!!  How fun!!!!  We'd arranged to go Mudlarking on the Thames for his birthday!!!  I've never been mudlarking - it sounds messy though!

It turns out it's a lot like beachcombing but on the banks of the Thames when the tide's out!!!  You have to be careful and watch the river though because it comes in ever so quickly.  I found loads of stuff - lots of broken pottery and glass and a few other weird things but I'll show you those when I've cleaned them up at home.  They were very gloopy with mud!!

There's a boat over the other side.....

And we met lots of other people mudlarking too.  We even met a Westie dog that found a tennis ball!!!

We even saw a yellow brick!!!

After ages getting messy, we got hungry so we went back to the Tate Modern for lunch.  We cleaned up in the toilets first (well, went for a wee in the toilets and then washed up in the sink) and I left a tag on the back of the door

And then me and Alexander decided what we were going to have for lunch.

We got the drinks in first.....

I shared mine with Alexander because it's his birthday.  And I'm a nice mouse.

I got a sausage sarnie and chips.  

Alexander had fish and chips.  He said they were the best fish and chips he'd had in London.  After lunch, Andrea said we were going on a bear hunt.....

A Paddington Bear Hunt!!!!!  This one's outside the Tate Modern.

Then we walked up the riverside by the Millenium Bridge

And we found a painted bus!!!!!

We decided that the Paddington's were using them to get around because.....

We then found another one at Bankside Pier!!!!!

He was called Shakesbear because......

He was outside the Globe Theatre!!!

Rather spiffy isn't it?!

Then we doubled back on ourselves and went over to Blackfriars Bridge again to pick up the RV1 bus

Then we spotted a strange thing.  Can you see what it is??!!!!!

Then we got on the RV1 bus and I tied a tag on the rail

.....and Alexander photobombed me!!!

HAAAAAAAAAAahahahahahaaaaa!!!

Oh here we are!!!!!  We're going over Tower Bridge!!!!!

See?!?!?!?!!  We're riding over Tower Bridge on the bus!!!

Oh this is so exciting!!!

There's the Tower of London!!!  When we got off the bus, it was super crazy busy because of the poppy display there and today being Remembrance Sunday so we didn't stop to try and see the poppies

......like I said, crazy mad busy!!

The only view we got of the poppies was through the gaps in the fence!

But then at the end of the road we got a good view.

After that, we got a number 42 bus up to Liverpool Street Station, and then.....

Found a Police box and then.....

Found the statue of Bob T Bear's grayte grayte grayte grandbear Wrczyszczsscszyjslav from Lodz in Poland

He was in the resistance you know, and helped rescue lots of children from the Nasties and brought them to England. 

Then we got another bus and tied another tag on it!!

We travelled past where all the gold bullion is kept.....

And got off at St Paul's Cathedral!!

And we found another Paddington!!!

And of course, here's the bus he travelled in!!!

That has records for tyres!!!

We waited for another bus - and Alexander photobombed me again!!!  He's getting good at that you know!!  Cheeky bear!

I tied a tag to that bus as well!

We got off here near Aldwych!

Then we walked up to Covent Garden amd found a bus with a bearskin hat on!

And a rainbow bear!!!!!

The ballerina Darcy Bussell designed that one!!!

We wandered round and looked at the Christmas decorations

They've even got their tree up already!!!!

It's a poppy bus!

This one has ladybugs on it!!

We found the Moomin shop too!!  I want to go shopping here with Arnty Helena when she feels better

And then we found another Paddington Bear climbing out of a mail bag!!!

A bit further along we found this fella in a skirt.

And THEN we found a Laduree!!!!!  We went in and Alexander got a chocolate birthday cake and I got a box of eight macarons - and I shared them with Alexander because he'd never tasted them before.  He really liked them!!!

By now, it was getting on in time, and that was the end of our Mystery Bus Ride trip...... so we decided to say goodbye so that Alexander could go pack up for his trip home and we could get back to the train station.

We wandered past the reindeer....

Back to the bus stop at Aldwych and caught a bus.

Of course we tied a tag onto the rail!!!

And then got off at Ludgate Circus

.....and walked down past the Blackfriars pub.....

.....and had half an hour to spare before our train!!

We used the facilities first and left them a weathergram!!!

and then walked down the platform.  Coo, what a fun day!!!

There's the Tate Modern again, where we started!

When we arrived at Brighton Station, there was a bus waiting for us....

And we rode home.  What a brilliant day out!!!!!

Bear Mail!!!!

 We got a postcard from Bob T Bear today!!!!  He said it was a very late birthday card!

And it had a bear and a mouse on it!!!!

Isn't it brilliant!!!

Jerry and Ben Post!!!!!

 We also got another package from America!!!  I spotted it was from Jerry and Ben and got Tango to come help open it!

 OOOoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooohhhh!!!

 YAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!

 YUUUMMMMM!!  But those aren't Smarties - Smarties are chocolate a bit like M&M&M&M&Ms.  I think we need to send some to Jerry and Ben....

 and we got a card too!

 It's our winners certificate!!!

And we also got a load of little tickets to use in our card making!!

Thanks Jerry and Ben!!

Piggie Post!!!

 We got a package from the Book Depositary today!!  But we didn't order anything.... then we remembered that we'd got Sullivan a Christmas present from the Gothic show at the British Library and Sullivan said he was going to get us something as well!!!!

 OH WOW!!!! TWO BOOKS!  We got Touched by an Alien (which Sullivan has talked about on his book blog)

And Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which we read about in the Gothic show at the British Library!!!  BRILLIANT!!  Thank you so much Sullivan!!!

Movie Review - "Ocean's Thirteen"

Movie Review number 30

PLOT
This movie starts with Elliot Gould and Al Pacino closing a deal on a posh new hotel casino in Las Vegas, but Pacino forces Gould out of the deal so that Pacino has sole ownership of the hotel.  Gould then has a serious heart attack.
Then in come Gould's friends, including George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt to organise a major scam and heist on the opening night of the Posh Hotel!!  This also includes organising grief for the travel review writer so he writes an awful review!
The movie takes you through all the planning stages of the heist, from the making of dodgy dice in Mexico, to the drill the dug out the Eurostar tunnel, to fancy electronics to create black-outs in the hotel!!  It's a very exciting story, ending with two earthquakes under the Posh Hotel (one unexpected!!) and a helicopter ride off the roof and a double-handed diamond heist!!!!
(This story is based I believe on a 1950s story starring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davies Jr and the rest of the rat pack!!)

RECOMMENDED
Definitely!  You need to pay attention but it's definitely worth watching!

RATING
9 squeaks out of 10

SCOOBY SNACKS
Champagne and caviar!!