To London...

I headed off to London to bury myself in the The National Archives. This is where all the War Diaries and other official documents from the war have ended up. It was all very exciting really, though I guess this won't translate for most of you. Anyway, at the end of the day it was clear I needed at least another day, but I hadn't planned for this at all. Fortunately there is a site listing accommodation for PRO researchers so I found a cheap bed that turned out to be at the end of the driveway. Between the two days I found lots of interesting stuff and some that might be quite useful for Jeff and me, and that would have been useful for Ron Crosby had he found them before writing his book on Massa Albaneta. However, the set up at the Archives was fantastic (thanks L&S for your part in this). In contrast to some NZ archives - one in particular - it was efficient, friendly and well equipped. You could use a camera as long as there was no flash, and they had camera stands to make this easier. They had 4 special photocopiers so you could p/c all types of manuscripts and documents. You could have up to 21 documents open at once and the pulling was continuous. There was free wi-fi connectivity throughout the building, and a cyber-cafe as well. There were some annoyances, but all from lack of planning - the battery on the camera ran out and I had no charger, I left the plug adapter for my laptop behind so had to buy another, and I had nothing for an overnight stay, for example.

Another thing I hadn't planned on was exactly how far London was! I know you must wonder how I could get this wrong, but I had made assumptions before even getting to the UK that just weren't correct. Add to the distance the horrible traffic jams leaving London and it made for long drives. I didn't get out of 2nd gear until past the M25 turnoff! W may be happy to know I don't hog the outside lane, but perhaps less happy that I hog the middle one. At the speed limit I will point out.

I'll spend today (Friday) sorting through what I got, while J works hard for our money. She's a good woman that J, and after the crap I've eaten in the last two days I appreciate even more the meals she creates every day. Yay J.