Watching the London Marathon was high on my bucket list so when I knew I would be in London this year I made sure I was here for the marathon. While I didn't stay for the whole race I did see the wheelchair, amputee and visually impaired, elite men and womens and Paula Radcliffe so I was pleased. A misty rain was falling when I left the house this morning. I ended up taking a rail replacement bus to London Bridge as there was working being done on the rail line. That was fine; I had plenty of time and I got to see even more of London.
I then took the tube to Canada Water, called Buxton Water for the day as Buxton Water was a major sponsor. We were given small bottles of water, a map and spectator's guide. I was able to find a place to stand with some friendly people. Here are some of the photos I took:
I was getting tired and cold so I decided to leave once the elite and faster men had gone by...so did quite a few other people....in order to get past the crowd we had to walk into a housing estate and back down stairs. I had a heart stopping moment when momentarily distracted by a runner dressed in a one piece orange outfit I somehow missed a step. I grabbed the nearest thing to hand which was a man...I think I grabbed him in a decent place but I can't be sure! I breathlessly said "sorry, I nearly fell" and was swept away by the crowd. From standing so long and the cold my knees were very very stiff and painful. There was a total blockage of people with people all over the place until the fellow in front of me yelled out instructions on which way we should go - going on the left and coming on the right. It worked!
I then took the tube to the Bank station and went on a little bit of a Shaun stalking session - I had my map with me and thought "why not" as I had time to kill..but first I stopped at Costa for a cappucino and a muffin to warm up.
So here's a mini Shaun stalking session update:
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| Robo-Shaun at the Royal Exchange |
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| Shanghai Shaun - Leadenhall Market |
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| Kanzashi - Lloyds Bldg |
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| Ruffles - Devonshire Square |
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| The Pearly King - Liverpool Street Station |
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| Mr. Shaun (Mr. Men) - Finsbury Square |
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Liberty Bell - Fenchurch Street station
And then the sky garden! As you can see the weather was dank and dull but the views were amazing. And all for free - you just need to book ahead. They only open so many days ahead of time.
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