So this morning, I wake up, look out the front window and find this lovely vision of Islington starring back at me.

Yup, we have a new porn shop. Directly. Across. The Street.  AdultWorld.co.uk: "A world of adult pleasure."

I had noticed a lot of construction at this shop lately, but until today it had been covered up by scaffolding so I had no idea what it was to become. It used to be a video store. Technically, it still is a video store, but they also sell whips, dildos, vibrators and assorted leather goods.  We have not had the pleasure of ENTERING this establishment yet; I only know the contents because I peeked in the open front door today on my way to -- no kidding -- the library.

So summer has FINALLY arrived in London. It was 75 and sunny today.  Compared to last year, we have had a VERY wet, rainy, chilly spring and summer.  Last year, we were baking in 90 degree heat and a nationwide drought.  It was nice to be able to walk outside today in T-shirts and enjoy ice cream in the park this evening.

Tomorrow is Mrs. Crab's last day of school for the year. Woo hoo!  We're leaving Saturday morning for a week-long camping trip through Continental Europe. Our plan is to take the train to Dover, then ferry across the English Channel to Calais, France, and rent a car. From there, we'll be making a small circuit, hitting Belgium, southern Holland, western Germany, Luxembourg then back up through northeast France. Full report and photos TK!

(Note: In newspaper & printing lingo, TK means "to come."  I don't know why it's not TC)

Last week, Mrs. Crab's drama students performed "Grease."  For several weeks, Mrs. Crab has been absolutely obsessed with her role as "Props Mistress." I swear she must have hit half the antique shops in London looking for odd bits like a 1950s WORKING rotary-dial telephone and fuzzy dice, and making several props herself including pom-poms out of Sainsbury's grocery store plastic bags, a letterman sweater and hair curlers. She even finagled her sister into mailing her a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes for a touch of authenticity (never mind that you couldn't see the package from the audience!)  But compared to the last high school plays, Grease was a big hit. It sold out three nights straight. And because Mrs. Crab works for an all-girls school, all the parts including Danny and the T-Birds were played by girls!  Here's a few shots from the big week:

So the other big news in England today was the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, and the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, admitting that they smoked pot in college.  Smith is the equivalent of the U.S. Secretary of State; Darling's is equivalent to the U.S. Treasury Secretary.  So why is this news? Because yesterday their boss,  the new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, announced that his administration will toughen laws on marijuana use.  Several years ago, former Prime Minister Tony Blair decriminalized marijuana. It's still technically illegal today, but police usually don't bother somebody for carrying a small amount of pot for personal consumption. It's not uncommon to see people openly smoking joints in London, especially at festivals or outside pubs. Brown's new administration is considering reversing that decision and possibly reclassifying marijuana as a hard drug like crystal meth. As if the government doesn't have more important things to worry about...like Russia.

POSH WATCH:  Today's Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham photo of the day from Los Angeles.  Victoria and her alien-like pouty face continues to scare small children during soccer practice :