Mamata Banerjee on her walk in London.
Mamata Banerjee's first day in London will be memorable more for her security guards than anyone else.
After breakfast at the St James Court - where the Chief Minister of Bengal is staying during her 5-day visit to London - Ms Banerjee decided to take a walk around the streets of London, apparently to beat jet lag. The 7-km walk was done in quintessentially Mamata Banerjee style - rubber flip flops and cotton saree and a shawl to beat the cold winds.
She decided to walk down Victoria Street and led herself into St James Park - no Google maps, no local Londoner to show her the way. That was the way she explored central London.
Belatedly realising their Chief Minister was off for an impromptu walk, some from her nearly 50-member team of officials rushed to join her.
"As usual Madam did her brisk walk looking around London, the large stone structures and seemed very impressed," a senior official said.
The walk ended with a visit to a coffee shop.
Coffee shops like these were "a must" in Kolkata and may mean more jobs, an official recalled her saying.
The Mayor of Kolkata -- unaware that the Chief Minister has decided to fight jet lag by walking around the streets - was said to have a verbal message sent to her through an official was accompanying her.
The message: "Please look around London, and see if we can take ideas for the city of Kolkata back with us".
Back home, the Chief Minister has already started a project to beautify the Hooghly (Ganga) river, taking London's Thames river as a model. The promise was made before the assembly elections in 2011.
During this visit, Ms Banerjee is expected to meet various British officials to seek investment for Bengal.