I'm just a cock-eyed pessimist

Woke up this morning to church bells ringing across the street. Threw open the window; a glorious, sunny day and just a charming view of the church tower in Bishop's Park (like Fakee Olde England, I guess 1880). "What time is it?" I asked shadowdaddy. "Quarter 'til 11," he replied. "I guess you needed some sleep, too." "Crap!" I said, "I don't see how we can make it to the October Party by noon. There's just not enough time! And I wanted to see the Corn Queen ..."

But lo, I made it into the living room and turned on the computer, and today is Fall Back day! So while I'll be squealing in dismay about the sun setting at 4 later on, for now I'm psyched about the fun day we're going to have. This is especially cool because it's something shadowdaddy saw last night in the Time Out and got excited about. It's being done by Shakespeare's Globe and includes "Sir John Falstaff in Love." Time for a quick fry-up for the two of us at the cafe in the church, and then we're off!

Well, I was wrong: the church tower across the way is apparently genuine olde England, circa 1400 and so, though I was correct in general, to quote: "Except for the tower, the present fabric of All Saints is of the late Victorian era, though it retains many interesting monuments."

But what's really cool is this: the church and the park were featured in The Omen! Check this out (the site may be down so I'm quoting): "Father Brennan [the crazy priest] spouts (fake) passages from Revelations alongside the Thames in Bishop's Park, at Putney, southwest London. His nearby church, where he gets spiked by the lightning conductor, is All Saints Church, Fulham, which is actually on the north side of Putney Bridge." Now that's trivia worth knowing!

It's been a fun day. We made it to Shakespeare's Globe in good time and had a fun time wandering around and watching the silly actors doing silly things. We didn't really feel like standing to watch Falstaff, however, so (after sampling some heritage apples) we hit a pub nearby and had pints, which slowed the rest of the day down considerably. The rest of the day was basically food and walking and a little shopping, and we eventualy moseyed all the way down the South Bank to the Charing Cross bridge and then up to Covent Garden (only to be disappointed by the lack of pink macaroons at Paul's - the nerve!). Now I've got a beef and orange pie (from the Hammersmith farmer's market) in the oven and we're nibbling on some cheese while it's heating up. We're both really tired!

Things I can't find: tapioca (for making tapioca pudding), chocolate chips, and maybe corn meal. Any suggestions on the first two?