A couple of the talks went completely over my head, however one by Simon Brown (president of the Society) was brilliant. Aimed at those new to Feng Shui, Simon talked about the harmony between humans and nature and how everything and everybody share the same energies. Maximising the use of energies in your home therefore seems to make sense. Making best use of the sun, (the largest source of energy), using mirrors, plants, colours and of course our own energy all combine to make a home feel right. Clutter disrupts energy flows – which pretty much makes sense. Except if it’s my clutter of course.

I visited the newly-weds Jane and Andrew, and Monty the dog, in their apartment in Stepney. They have a fabulous view down Regents Canal in what is a more gentrified area in E1 than I had remembered. We drank far too much wine and had a great evening with Thai takeaways, reminiscing and planning.

I also caught up with Stephen and Tracy – living in New York and in London for the week for Stephen’s Board meeting. I decided to bike over to their hotel in Park Lane using the Santander bike share service. Using your contactless credit card you can hire a bike (which you could describe as sturdy rather than sleek) for two pounds. So there I was weaving my way in and out of the London traffic down busy Oxford St – clutching my iphone and listening for Siri’s instructions. I have decided I need to change Siri’s accent from Australian by the way.

My final catch-up was with Anna, a colleague from the Electricity Commission and EECA. A long Friday lunch in Chelsea . . . Anna worked with me in the same team as Jane – joining after Jane left. Great times.

For my arts binge I headed over to the Tate Modern – a simply enormous museum of contemporary art on the south bank of the River Thames. It’s based in the former Bankside power station with four floors ranging from the truly spectacular to downright weird. I also visited the Design Museum just off High Street Kensington – devoted to contemporary design and architecture. The exhibit on the design of London’s transport system was super interesting. I was so into it I even sat down for a geeky half hour with a book on fonts . . . Like the Tate Modern, this was yet another free museum in Central London. Honestly you don’t need to spend a lot of money in London to be royally entertained. And in keeping with my free art theme I decided to detour past Brick Lane, which not only boasts some of the UK’s best Indian restaurants but also graffiti street art.

​And for my history binge, which sounds all a bit ho-hum after my Sheffield drag queen story, I went to the British Museum in Bloomsbury. I know the museum has been going for 200 years and reportedly houses some of the world’s greatest collections of antiquities – but I just couldn’t get into it. For one thing, many of the collections raise the question of whether it is appropriate to maintain ownership of items that have a cultural significance to another country. The Greek government, for example, has long been arguing for the return of the Elgin Marbles which once adorned the Parthenon. And another thing – the Museum was packed, and I couldn’t find a seat in the cafe.