Sample - Not For Resale

3 September - Decided to use the first part of my last full day in London to get the last of the shorpin out of the way - probably didn't get the best deals on everything but a few choice items that are just unavailable in Australia needed to be purchased. And this little journey also represented a temporary end to one of the most frustrating quests of my journey (in fact, a quest i've taken with me since Canadia) - yesterday's flight into London from Prague almost resulted in the confiscation of my ageing contact lens conditioner as it was above the 100ml threshold allowed and despite finding a pharmacy which had stolen my idea (albeit undeveloped) for selling sample size containers of all bathroom products (with clear plastic baggies for transport included) I seemed no closer to findingRGP solution in the appropriate size, dropped into a fair few London optometrists to try to find something to solve my dilemma to no avail. At least they had the solution compard to the Eastern Bloc although one optometrist even told me that he always tried to steer patients away from RGPs unless they absolutely needed it. But, on Old Compton St in Soho, the journey ended - a little chat with a potentially unexperienced dispenser (and therefore someone with a human soul) sold me a couple of Saufon starter packs for a fair price - the quest is not over yet, I still have to continue the fight against the Australian contact lens industry but for the moment, I am happy. Got a bit of culture in the afternoon from the NPR and afterwards probably got a bit of a culture growing inside of me from some dodgy Chinese - just because it's cheap doesn't mean it should be eaten.
The early evening had what will probably be the last of the reunions on this side of the world (although you can never be sure), young Don (the Artist Formerly Known As Danilo) and me finally crossed paths at the last minute at an overpriced but rather nice Japanese joint in Soho followed by a drink or two at Comptons - that historically seedy venue which still hasn't cleaned up its act. The fact that he's already starting to sportsomething of a London accent (after two and a half years here) made me realise just how long its been since i've seen him - but apart from accents, some people never really change.