Animals aren't only found at the zoo

Sunday morning started a little later than i had planned, but I did only sleep for about two hours on the plane, so who could blame me? After breakfast with dad and uncle Chicken (as he shall henceforth be known) I set off through Regents park to the ZSL London Zoo. On my way there I came across the most beautiful, albeit a little spooky, churchyard. It was a quiet forest-like area in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world and almost deserted, except for two old grannies siting on a bench with their knitting needles in hand. The churchyard was filled with tree and oddly shaped stones, which on further inspection, I found out were actually headstones. They dated back to the 1700s and most of the names couldn't even be read anymore, but they were still there, hidden between the bushes and undergrowth, and the more I started to look around, the more I found. They were everywhere, and they gave the lovely tranquil garden an eery feel. I loved every second of it. After that I continued through the park to the zoo, which it turns out, isn't like our zoos in SA. It's obvious from the get-go that this zoo actually has money. They have special features and effects at each exibit and the animals definitely don't live in shoe boxes. You actually have to spend about 5 minutes looking for each animal in its enclosure. That fact instantly removed the guilty feeling I usually have when entering a zoo. I hate seeing animals locked up in cages, but these guys were clearly having the time of their lives. Living it up in a posh London neighbourhood with not a care in the world. This, unfortunatly, made me feel even worse for the animals in the SA zoos though.

I found out a little later that afternoon that the zoo wasn't the only place in London to find exotic animals. It became clear as soon as my dad and I set foot at Lord's Cricket Grounds that it was going to be an interesting afternoon. The final of the mens World T20 match was electrifying. Sri Lankan and Pakistani fans packed the stands and the noise was overwhelming. I quickly pointed out to my dad that cricket definitely wasn't a "gentlemen's game" anymore. The fans were ecstatic! Both teams played a convincing game, but it was the fans that made the match worth watching. Even those rooting for Sri Lanka, like my dad and I, starting singing with the Pakistan fans towards the end of the game.you just couldn't escape the excitement, and their tunes were actually quite catching. Our group (all the people attending the ICC conference that stay in our hotel) even made a new friend in the form of a very drunk Pakistani guy who landed a seat right in the middle of us. That guy should have been wearing a number 23 jersey at a rugby match!

After the match we all tried to escape the stadium as soon as possible. The match might have ended, but the fans went on chearing for much much longer. And I thought it was an advantage staying in a hotel right next to Lords...