Between the shifting shadows, in the no-man's zone...

....there's bar at the end of the street.

In a few weeks time, I shall don the old travelling shoes and head down to our nation's capital city for a weekend break, to catch up with old friends, and to sample the delights of the various ales and alehouses of London Town. Booked my train ticket and accommodation with generous discounts for booking online (I love t'internet sometimes), and during mid May, I'll be on my merry way.

I figured that doing the normal touristy thing and staying in a hotel in a central location was a bit dull, as I want to see the real London. Therefore I've arranged to stay in a hotel in the Crystal Palace area in the south east of the city, close to the border with Croydon. A mate who stays in London lives closeby here, so it made sense. My new favourite toy, Google Streetview, has given me an insight into the area, and it looks a suitably downbeat working class area of the city. And where there's working class people, there's working class pubs. I've had a look at some of the local hostelries, and it's fair whet my appetite for the journey ahead.

Saturday will be spent in the confines of the city centre however, as a few of us will be battening down the hatches as we attempt the Circle Line Subcrawl. As a veteran of the Glasgow version of this, it feels almost like I've qualified for the Champions League of Subcrawls. It's a sterner challenge too, with 28 stops compared to Glasgow's 16. That said, we'll have to miss a fair few of them, as doing this one on a Saturday is without question the worst day, given all watering holes in 'the city' will be closed, which accounts for around six stops. Apparently, the capital's financial workers don't venture down that area of a weekend, so the pubs stay closed, which is damn inconsiderate if you ask me, but there you are.

No rest for the wicked though, because the Sunday will be spent exploring the local area around the hotel. Well, that's if I'm still alive after the marathon crawl of the day before. No-one says the Champions League is easy after all...