Sunday 7th November

Dad's idea for a trip out today is to head to Greenwich - somewhere he hasn't been for a few years and somewhere K and I have avoided for reasons mainly due to distance and the unreliable Jubilee Line, despite it being a very lovely place to spend time. As he and Eve drive over from Hammersmith, K and I get there using a combination of the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubliee lines, followed by the DLR from Canary Wharf. It takes an hour but is relatively painless - and we turn up at around 12.30 to meet the folks.

We walk up through the high street, stopping at a street market for a bit (where K and I pick up a rather nice looking chess set for a fiver) before heading for lunch at a slightly incongruous Cuban restaurant. Suitably fed we head to the park and walk up the steep hill to the observatory, taking the time to get the obligatory photo on the meridian line and marvel at the rather brilliant view. As is my custom these days I make sure to point out the under-construction London Shard, whose rise into the skyline I'm following with interest.

We walk around the exhibits in the Royal Observatory and the Planetarium, the stuff on display tying in nicely with the chapters I've been reading from Bill Bryson's excellent A Short History of Nearly Everything. Eventually we head back down the hill and towards the river, past the almost non-existent Cutty Sark and along to the Maritime Museum.

Dad and Eve give K and I a lift back to Turnpike Lane (during which time we amuse ourselves by playing two-player Fruit Ninja on Dad's iPad) and stop off for a cup of tea before making their way back up north. Later, K and I eat bangers and mash and (finally!) catch up on The Apprentice before bed - conscious that we have eaten incredibly well this weekend.