HOUNSLOW

Off to London today. The bus strike was cancelled but as I had already booked a taxi I decided just to stick with that.

Flight was fine - a short hop of only 45 mins. Tube to Hounslow and checked in to the Travelodge. Its brand spanking new - only opened a couple of weeks ago.

Quickly unpacked and went for a wander. It was raining heavily but luckily I had packed a brolly.

Today's challenge:~~~ Explore: Take a walk and explore where you are today.

Didn't have much chance to explore so I decided to blip the Holy Trinity Church in Hounslow High Street. There have been other churches on this site - the previous one was burned down in 1943 by a pair of schoolboys and the present church is the replacement.

After my walk I went back to my room to get changed for the evening. Then I got the bus to meet my daughter Becky. She finished work in Brentford and caught the same bus I was on and we continued together to Westfield shopping centre. We met Becky's husband Mike and then went to Jamies Italian for our meal.

The place was very busy - good job Mike had booked a table. We all enjoyed our food. I had a salmon dish with lemon meringue pie to follow.

Becky and Mike came back to the Travelodge with me before making their way home.

The room was basic but adequate. The bed was very hard and the duvet was very thin. But for the price of £27 per night you can't expect luxury. No idea why but at 2am I woke up with terrible cramp in both legs. The pain was really bad and I couldn't move for 30 mins. It gradually wore off and I was able to settle down again.