I'm in London. I can die happy now.

Arrived in Edinburgh Saturday morning to discover the world is grey and austere in the northern hemisphere, possibly because it's so cold no one could be bothered staying in the blizzard long enough to add a lick of paint.
Edinburgh is a beautiful city and I like it a lot. The higgeldy-piggeldy buildings along the Royal Mile and through Old Town were just a delight and it was great to see the contrast of the rather planned and upright Georgian New Town. I remember Mum's Dad comes from the higgeldy-piggeldy side of town... which probably explains why he's such a headcase.
So Dad and I went to the Castle and Holyroodhouse and all those sorts of things before catching a bus up to the Highlands for a day.
This is the most beautiful countryside imaginable and as someone who's been to more than his share of ceilidhs, it was amazing to see the sites where famous battles such as Glencoe took place. We saw Loch Ness but the wrong end to meet Lindsay's Mum. Nevermind, back in Edi in a few days and will meet her then, finger's crossed.
Train down to London this morning. 4hrs40mins on a train filled with school children who I could have happily murdered. Dunblane on a train. It was nearly a reality.
Got to London and dumped our stuff at the hotel and walked down to the Thames Embankment. Dad was chucking a shitty at his camera, which had stopped working and even the sight of the Tower of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament as we rounded a bend in St James' Park wouldn't put a smile on his dial. I was so excited I was peeing myself. Any of you who have known me for years know how big a deal seeing this amazing building is for me. I was stoked. We wandered around the features of a monopoly board most of the day and I avoided making jokes about polishing Nelson's Column. Tempting though it was. We went for a wander around Westminster Abbey and I have to say, I was awe struck. Not just a magnificent building but it also has tombs and memorials to some of the most amazing figures in history. Being a huge fan of Elizabeth the First, seeing her tomb was a thrill. But this was nothing to walking around the chapel or whatever they call it where all the writers and poets were honoured. Shakepeare, Dickens, Austen, Hardy, Trollope... well the list goes on of course but omigod, there was a lump in my throat and I had to try not to cry. (Mainly because I would have lost my face to frost-bite when I got back outside if I had done so with damp cheeks).
The buses really are red. The phone boxes really are red. The police really wear bobby hats. The underground really does have that logo. London is everything you expect - and more. This appears an incredibly liveable city and I cannot wait to one day come back and spend quite a bit more time here. I'd love to work here. There seem to be plenty of newspapers - more than I knew of - so I don't think that will be too great a stretch of the imagination.
The only hardship is the time difference to home. There are so many times I would love to send text messages to different people, but I just don't get the chance because you're all tucked up in bed like good little lambs. I have about a four hour window of opportunity each day.
Well I've prattled on severely so I am going to head off. Tomorrow is Stone Henge and Bath and about six days in the countryside (including back up to Edinburgh) before back to London on the 12th for my birthday and Lily Allen at the Hammersmith Apollo!