Made it to Heathrow, and the bike and I safely made it to Epsom. The boxed bike made it, a few dings in the cardboard, but the bike itself was fine. What a relief! Next, change some $ to £, then a very expensive ride from Heathrow to my friend's house: flat rate of £85 as it's outside London, but thankfully the bike fit snugly in the cab and the cabbie was a good sport and got me safely to my destination. Hmm, now I'm seeing that London traffic is basically insane. How the heck will I learn how to face it, while riding on the left. Yikes! Reassembled the bike but couldn't get enough air into the tires, so I steeled myself and did a very scary ride on a bike with basically flat tires, among all the fast moving cabs and cars and endless roundabouts to the local bike store, called Fudgy's. Here the bemused wrenches kindly loaned me a floor pump and gave me some helpful advice. Seemed perfectly normal to them that a 50 something woman, dressed like an electric bumble bee would show up in their shop near closing time, saying she'd just brought her bike in from the airport and could they just check that she had the wheel in the right place. Hmm. Such polite tattooed persons in there. I will be patronizing them frequently I'm sure! A night to recover, then it's Saturday, and off to London. My friend patiently waited as I figured out how to buy a weekly train/tube/bus pass: £52, needed a passport sized photo, but then it's rechargeable. The weather today is grimly overcast and cold, perfect for a visit to one of those wonderful gems you know exist here: The Foundling Museum. It interprets The Foundling Hospital,established in 1740 to provide care for unwanted and abandoned children www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk. If you've ever read any Dickens novels, you know just how terrible it was to be an illegitimate child then. The museum includes, among other treasures, engravings and paintings by William Hogarth who chronicled the ghastly exploitation of London streetlife in the eighteen century. Juxtaposed with these artifacts were equally disturbing pieces of contemporary art, from a special show called "Mat Collishaw, Tracey Emin and Paula Rego at the Foundling." These 3 artists interpret "the heart of the Foundling story: exploitation, loss, grief, sex, love, parenthood and childhood." You got that right, folks. How about these two: a photocollage that shows 2 babies being suckled by ferocious attack dogs, and a personal devotional altar that interpret, among other things rape, birth outdoors and the dance of Death. Heady stuff for a first full day in London. More to come I'm sure.

Photos to come, when I figure out my friend's laptop. Or perhaps the images were so darned scary, the camera took fright and won't spit 'em out.