I'm writing this after having gone out to The Castle - a very old, very cool pub in Angel with my flatties (Kane & Chelsea), my little bro (Dan) and my sister's husband (Grant).
What an excellent night! We walked down to Angel from home - a half hour walk along the canals of London then consumed a few Coronas sitting on the roof garden, then retired inside to sit on comfy couches and talk the night away.
I've got only one gripe...
I keep getting hassles about dating girls with boyfriends! Ok - there was that Irish girl that turned out to be taken but that was months ago and I haven't seen her since she went back to Ireland anyway...of course, my two sisters (My youngest sister was here at the time too!) had something to say about it back then...namely - you idiot! Try for single chicks that live in the same country!
Then there was (some of her friends might read this so I'll call her...) Geraldine. Geraldine is a girl I met at... ...actually - all you need to know is that we quite like each other (fill in the blanks here) but she's living with her boyfriend so it's not really going to work out.
Having said that I have gone out for a few cheeky wines with her to catch up and that's a lot of fun but it's also (so my little bro keeps telling me) not particularly principled.
I can see his point - cheeky wines with a girl with a boyfriend is not very nice for the boyfriend...but (when I really look authentically at how I feel) I don't care. It's not that I agree with cheating - I could never, ever, ever (ever!!!) do that to someone I was involved with. But somehow when it's only assisting someone else to cheat it doesn't seem to cross any internal line with me... ...don't know why - don't know how...but there you go!
...anyway - one of the things I've been doing since I got to London is saying exactly what I think without censoring myself for what others may think and this is one of those subjects I've just told the way it is...and we're back to my gripe about tonight...
My flattie and I were talking and somehow (I think it was all the Corona) he came up with this pearler...
"...Cam - I know you'll eventually find a wife and settle down but have you ever thought of finding a wife that isn't someone elses?"
Everyone cracked up and then started a series of cracks that lasted all night Ah - fuck it!! It was two girls who were months apart and both taken and now I've got a reputation...
...heh...guess I've only got myself to blame...
**shrugs**
BTW: I decided last night that I won't see Geraldine again.
But (of course) it's too late to say anything...
So I go for my run down the canal and a couple of miles in there's a cop standing there blocking the canal. I mutter a question as I'm forced onto the backstreets away from the soothing vista of the endless canals, and the cop says something about a bomb.
I'm not really one to get worried about bombs...I figure if you're close enough I'll get blasted and if I'm not, I won't...and there's not much more than that to say about it. So really I could care less if there's a bomb, just let me through and everything will work out in the end...I promise!
But no! I have to make a 1/2 mile detour around a "safety zone" bordered by police, police dogs, police vehicles and police tape...all exciting stuff really. I'm just glad to get back to the canal 1/2 a mile later to continue my huffing, sweating routine and forgot about it.
Anyway - I forget about it until my flatmate picked up a paper and we found out what it was all about.
Apparently the city workers have been digging up roads or demolishing buildings (depending on who you believe) and they found one of Hitler's 500 pound bombs that missed the West End back in the day and for some reason didn't explode.
50 odd years later they found the fucker and are hoping to keep it that way...
Haha...I think this is awesome...love to see the thing but I guess that's not going to happen...might explode on me or something...
Righto...my first post in a while so sorry but here you go...
I've been taking some Lindy Hop lessons at the same organisation as the one I was at in Auckland (Jitterbugs) and I have to say it's not easy being white with two left feet.
One thing I have got going for me with my piano (thanks Mum!) and singing background is that I have timing but it's more an instinctive thing and while that sounds like a good thing, it sometimes can get tricky if you're trying to consciously find the first beat of the phrase or something...
...I didn't even click that that was necessary but I've been taking these classes and when you're swapping from 6 count to 8 count and back it's important to know what the music's doing...
RIGHT!!
I have enough time figuring out what I'm doing then getting my partner to do it without having to listen to the music!! Haha...this white boy is going straight back to class to try to figure it out...
But when I get it right it's a huge buzz and it feels so good I can't stop laughing...usually this is followed by me screwing up the next move because I'm enjoying myself so much...
...funnily enough enjoying myself and getting it right seem to be mutually exclusive so far...I wonder if that ever wears off!! :)
Holy Gee-wilikers!! As Donald Rumsfeld would say... so my parents have flown in from NZ. My little sister and her hubby are already living in London and my other little sister (Sarah) has come to visit. Not only that, but my Bro (Blair) and his wife (Tanya) has come to visit from Canada.
So...if you didn't catch all of that, here's a list or peeps who are here:
Anna & Grant (from London)
Mum & Dad (from NZ)
Blair & Tanya (from Canada)
Sarah (from NZ)
Me (Living in London)
So about four months ago Anna, thinking ahead as she does, booked a table for 8 at Fifteen, Jamie Oliver's London restaurant and that's where we went tonight...
OMG!!! What an awesome place! The place was fancy but comfortable and not too polished. The service more than made up for it though, with the waiter making jokes and keeping the wine coming all night.
The food (I had the chicken) was outstanding and I'd definately take my loved one there for a romantic getaway (once I actually get one).
Well, it did cost the same as a small car if you convert it back into NZ dollars but it was definately worth it...
Righto – let’s get this straight! Even though I love musicals and even though I know the music to most of them I’ve seen very, very few…so far…
…but now I’m in London I’m in the musical capital of the world so DAMN IT ALL…ain’t that great? (as George Bush would say). The problem is I know very few people who are a) interested in musicals and b) able to afford them and while I’ll go to a movie by myself, going to a musical alone seems to defeat the entire purpose (whatever that purpose may be)…
…So when my friend Rose dropped in from Barcelona for a few days I took the opportunity to talk her into going to Les Miserables with me. LM is a musical I’ve wanted to see since I first heard the music about 10 years ago so wicked!!! Here I am at the Queens Theatre on the West End seeing it with Rose…OMG!!!
So – it’s a little different in the theatres over here. In NZ or Aussi there’s no food, no drink allowed in the theatres…and that’s just what you expect. In the West End? Well – it’s a little different. Food? No worries! Even those little packets of nuts with the crackly packets are fine. And everyone had a camera to wave around the theatre…no-one seemed to care so there you go…
Then the show begins…
I know when a musical is good because it sucks me in – makes me forget where I am and brings tears to my eyes. And from that perspective, this musical is the best I’ve ever seen. The performers are amazing and the set is pretty damn good too even though it doesn’t look like it’s been redesigned in years…
LM is now in it’s 21st year making it the world’s longest running musical (except for a little-known show that goes by the unfortunate name of Fantasticks) and I thought it showed a little bit. I know it’s damn hard to keep the energy up especially if your season is months long, but I expected a little more from a professional show…just a little bit more!!
There were several careless mistakes made from being able to see dead people moving to one memorable scene where the lead character forgot his lines, missed an entire verse and came back in on the last sentence…having been a musical theatre performer (and having done the same thing myself) I chuckled quietly and silently applauded his cover-up…second to none!! This was confirmed by the fact that Rose (who didn’t know that music) said she didn’t notice a thing when I asked her about it later…
Anyway – as I said…LM was the best musical I ever saw (except maybe the Lion King…maybe) but I’ve decided I’m too much of a purist. Am I really paying ₤50 to not be entertained? I don’t think so…so maybe I’ll go a little easier on the next one and just allow myself to be lost in it…after all – that’s what going to the theatre is all about…
Ok - so I live in a suburb called Angel...which is a damn cool name! And Angel is not that big at all but it has wicked shopping, a market every day of the week (which is extra excellent on Saturdays) and lots of places to go out eating...so you get the idea...it's fabulous.
So...having discovered all that, I decided to explore somewhere I hadn't and turned right instead of left up the hill from my door. Almost immediately I ran into a 300 year old church less than a block from my apartment...amazing!! I guess I'll get sick of churches after a while but for now it's amazing to think it's been here so long…and it’s only a block away!! Look for me on Sundays, I tell you…
I continued to explore and found so many parks and back alleys and cobblestone streets that go no-where. Then I found the canals. The canals seem to run through everywhere but you never see them because they hid behind houses and bunches of trees and are (of course) lower than everything else…so there I was wandering into what looked like another park and instead I found a path that wound down to they huge stretches of water in the middle of central London.
But they’re amazing…they go for kilometres in all directions and are packed with houseboats. I don’t know what living in a houseboat is like, but I think of it as living in a stretch limo. The houseboats are about as wide as a car and about 20 metres long. And they’re about 6 feet tall so you could stand up in them as long as you were shorter than me and ducked around the light fittings.
Must get cold in the winter…man…
So…having discovered the canals I didn’t actually explore anything else. I walked and walked along the canals until it got dark and the stars came out then I made my way home…ahhhh
Oh – and I had my camera but I don’t know shit about taking pics so they came out all blurry…hahaha…here they are anyway (just because I have no shame…)
The first person I met in London was my life coach of 4 years, Geoff. He landed in London a few months back with his wife and daughter and was now the one meeting me at the airport...
The first thing he did was hand me an Oyster card which is the card you wave in the general direction of any bus or subway train to pay your way aboard. It's apparently an absolute must in London (and a hell of a lot cheaper than cash).
I dropped my luggage off at Anna's (my sister who lives in London) work and chatted with her for a while before she had to rush back to a client or meeting or luncheon or something.
Then Geoff told me I wouldn't really believe I was in London until I'd seen some famous places so off we went to see The London Eye (you know, that big ferris wheel in the sky?), Trafelga Square (with Nelson's column) and the Big Ben.
It was taking a while but it was slowly dawning on me that, yes - it was actually true that I was in London. It was an overwhelming experience so after a quick bite, Geoff caught a train home and I was left to tube back to Anna's work.
On the way I picked up a books (Wicked: The Musical) and some grapes for Anna in case she was hungry working so late then headed for my luggage.
Anna called a cab for me and hung around to chat and eat grapes while I waited. It was so good to see my sis again...YAY!!
The cab was quick and painless and I let myself into Anna's flat and introduced myself to her fridge. She'd stocked up on food for me and I took some time out to make her a fruit salad so she could have some dessert when she got home.
She got home about 8:30pm and Grant (her hubby) got in about the same time...they both appreciated the fruit salad, so after a job well done, I headed to bed for my first night's sleep in my new home city...
...so having narrowly averted disaster with the car here I was, hungry and tired at the airport hoping my plane will take off early but not holding my breath.
I grabbed a cash machine and loaded my card and...the damn thing flashed up an error message..."Please Contact Your Bank!"
Of course, I'd just spent my last few Canadian dollars doing something tremendously important (I don't quite remember what) so I can't call anyone, especially NZ, so I try two more machines..."Please Contact Your Bank!"
I give it up and go sit in the lounge...at least my PSP is still going and I can get some games in. But as I play, a small voice in the back of my head is saying "Better check the time, dude...daylight savings was yesterday!"
Heeding that little voice was worth it, I thought, since I was catching a plane, so I checked the time and the gate and all was quiet - at least for another hour or so. So I went back to the book store, found the novel that "Wicked: The Musical" was based on and got reading.
I realised too late that half the clocks in the airport were on the wrong time and I should have been boarding right about the time I picked up the book. However, that realisation would be another half hour in coming, by which time, nearly everyone would be on board and I'd have nearly missed the plane.
Needless to say, I managed to get on the plane and sat down in my 3/4 of a seat for the 6 hour journey to London. I asked for an extra portion of dinner, watched an indifferent movie called "The Lakehouse" starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (I should have known better) then popped a little blue pill and slept all the way to London...
