Sightseeing seeing in London included the Tate Modern, general street level viewing of the mass of old and new old buildings and the British Museum. The latter is crammed full of assorted treasures including the low relief, stone-carved panels from Ninevah (~ 650 BC), which were amazing for their size and level of detail. I acknowledge we should challenge the acquisition of some of these ancient artefacts but they are still a delight to see. The museum was heaving and London, overall, was busy: the press of humanity is immense and the volume of life is much higher on the dial than my usual setting. So it was fortunate that at day’s end we were able to retreat to the peacefulness of The Elwy—my brother’s canal boat— that was moored on the Hertford Canal in the East End of London. What a relief, and what a sensible place to live. On one side of the boat, joggers and cyclists make the most of the footpath for their exercise. On the canal side, coots, Canada geese, swans and moorhens go about their daily business of vacuuming and slurping canal water; performing low flying demonstrations over the nearby bridge; and squabbling over their territory. The mooring of the boat in Mile End allowed for walks down the canal to Olympic Park and the River Thames, musing on the purpose of small curios along the tow path and relaxing on the boat to watch the local wildlife and the reflections.