Traveling abroad is always a nervy affair; there will always be that one thing that doesn't fit into plan. I was not certain my shuttle pick-up will be present at Heathrow airport to fetch me. Heathrow itself resembled the chaos we have become accustomed to at Noord taxi rank. Immigration officials are very glum. Maybe I arrived at busiest of times. When all was checked, there was my pick-up shuttle, waiting for me. What a relief! The drive from Heathrow to my hotel was very long thanks to the bumper to bumper traffic. It looked like Joburg complete with accidents and motorbikes that have run out of petrol. London Metro were visibly hard at work, I spotted two roadblocks. London looked very busy and the weather on this day was unusually beautiful (weather can be miserable in London, I am told). People were generally cheerful and walking with an extra spring. As one has come to expect in European cities, good weather is never allowed to go to waste, people were walking, cycl...