Oh what a beautiful mornin' Mood: happy Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
Sorry no blog yesterday, was too hung over from the Thurs. night excursion to Birmingham with my old work mates. They had agreed to a charity dinner in Selfridges, but only a few days ago realized that this was Selfridges in Brum, not London. So a coach was hired, I was invited to join and it turned out to be a lot of fun...actually the travelling bit was more fun than the actual event. Turns out there was no dinner, just invisible canapes...and unlimited beer, champagne and g&ts.
The building itself is quite impressive:
The outside:
The inside:
They had closed the store to the general public and allowed us exclusive shopping until 11pm, of course with the unlimited supply of booze where could it all go wrong?
Except I'm not exactly in the market for Gucci, Prada or Vivenne Westwood. Spending 795 pounds for a small handbag isn't exactly the kind of charity event I'm used to attending.
Then there was a fashion show and an Elton John impersonator...and boy did that liven it up!
Anyway, couldn't do much yesterday, so Stephen ended up doing all the cooking and cleaning. We decided on tofu burgers for dinner and ignoring my advice to slice the tofu brick in two, we ended up with this protein monstor:
It's now the morning after and we're still full!
In other news our furniture has started to be collected by friends...our sofa/bed goes today. We'll meet Stephen's coworkers in town for a curry before we head to Greenwich for the night where we'll drink the night away.
Monday we leave for Cornwall so I think Sunday is a write-off.
I don't get it, still. Mood: not sure Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
Went to London this afternoon. My goal was to buy a new pair of shoes that will function like the three pairs I'm throwing out. While in London I planned to walk around and see some of Mayfair and St. James.
Typically, it was sunny all morning and then rained as soon as we left the apartment (sadly Stephen went to work, for his last shift!). But that's what a brolly is for! So I managed to walk from Waterloo to Covent Garden, bought the shoes and ate lunch. Set off in the new shoes, but they soon rubbed the skin off of my heels and I had to change back to the old. Then I stopped in at the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone, walked through Soho to Carnaby Street, walked up to Oxford Street and then down Regent street to Berkley Square in Mayfair, and then down to Pall Mall & through St. James. I took little detours down various streets, and I have to say the most interesting one was after an SUV almost ran me over when he suddenly turned off the main street down a tiny bland-looking alley. The windows were tinted and there was an important air about this SUV, so my curiosity got the better of me and I turned down the alley to follow him. From the main street, this alleyway looked like a dead-end of old brick, non-descript buildings. At the end of the alley, it turns sharply and leads right down to Berkley Square. The street turned out to not be bland at all! It contained some chic boutiques, some fancy restaurants, art gallerys etc... but there were quite a few people on the small street. Turns out half of them were restaurant staff, from each restauarant, hanging out on the street smoking cigarettes and waiting...and then the clientele of a pub drinking in the street, but they were dressed as if they'd been to a royal wedding (minus top hats...) but of course this is probably just their day wear. The restaurant staff were probably just waiting for them, like vultures. I got a few funny looks as I strolled by wearing jeans and a plain M&S long sleeved shirt (well, it was made in Italy so...) hobbling along trying to avoid my bloody heels. But hey, I thought it was a free country!
St. James is only worse in terms of absurdly rich and over-inflated senses of self-importance. With shops selling custom made luxury yachts the size of the QEII, I couldn't help but question if "the system" is working when just outside of these posh areas are shabby council flats, beggars, and general grime. Perhaps London's problems are too big to even contemplate tackling, so that one simply has no choice but to ignore them?
Anyway, on a different note, has anyone noticed that the quality of American Apparel clothes has decreased dramatically? I initially ordered from them in like 2002 when they only had a couple of stores (weren't yet in Canada) and I had to order via post.
Today I wanted to replace my well-loved and very functional cotton t-shirts and tank tops, but when I went to the London store, all the shirts were sloppily sewn and made of the thinest fabric possible, as if the shirt would disintegrate after one wash.
Stephen thinks I whine too much...so here's some positives...I'm happy, healthy and alive. I love Stephen and Stephen loves me. We're moving to Canada. I do not have a disease (that I know of). I am drinking a fine English ale. Tomorrow I'm going to Selfridges in Birmingham with my old work-mates for a corporate entertainment evening...and with that I will sign off.
Day in West Sussex Mood: a-ok Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
It's Tuesday. It's 2:22 pm. I am at home eating pistacios and listening to the radio. I've turned it off now so that I can concentrate.
No longer employed, I had pictured myself out and about in London or in a park, or at least drinking coffee al fresco. Pah! We're being punished for such a mild winter and for the past few days it has been chilly, grey and overcast and raining. I can certainly put up with it for a few weeks more, and all told we've been lucky these past four years. With global warming, we've experienced more sunshine and less rain than the previous hundreds of years. So I musn't complain. Well, I will complain, but about logging and coal burning!
Brrrr...just had to close a window...got a cuppa and some digestives...now, where was I?
Not working has enabled me to plan out next week's trip to Cornwall. Unlike our trip to Wales, I've booked accomodation for 3 nights, and printed out directions from the AA website, which shows how long each journey should take.
So on Monday we'll pick up the ol' Vauxhall Corsa and drive the 4 hours 44 min. to Padstow in Cornwall. This is right on the coast in the Camel Estuary. We'll stay here 2 nights in a B&B that's close to the harbour. After our breakfast the next morning, we'll rent bicycles for #10 each and cycle around (weather permitting--I do have a plan B--if it's raining we'll go to the haunted Bodmin jail.) and if time in the afternoon, drive up to Tintagel & have dinner. On Wednesday we'll make our way to Tavistock, which is on the edge of Dartmoor, and probably sightsee along the way. We're staying in a garden cottage in Tavistock for one night, and the following day, again weather permitting, we'll explore Dartmoor before ending up in Woking again.
We'll see how much of this goes according to plan!
I realized today that we never posted pictures from our trip last week to Arundel and Bognor Regis. It was last Sunday our South African friend, Debbie, picked us up on a grey and overcast day & we drove south for about an hour until we reached Arundel, a very pretty town with a stunning cathedral and castle punctuating the hilly village.
This is Arundel castle, one of the oldest inhabitted country homes. I repeat, this is a country home!
And here is Stephen & Debbie in front of a gate:
So we went inside the "house" and saw the result of a very old and very greedy family...lots of opulance and relics of past riches. Lots of old portraits by well known painters. The drawing room was so huge and the ceiling so high, the grand piano in the corner looked dwarfed.
Afterwards we strolled through the gardens....
and came upon the second private chapel which had its own little garden and a pond that spewed black water. Now even though we had to pay #12 each to just look at this family's stuff, there weren't any guide books to explain anything...so legend has it that this pool gets its waters from the depths of hell...
And Stephen outside the chapel:
And the door into the chapel captured my fancy perhaps more than it should....
From the castle gardens, you get this view of Arundel's catherdral:
We ate at a nice pub in the village and then set out to Bognor Regis. Debbie thought a friend had recommended it but we know realize it was probably Lyme Regis....for Bognor Regis, well, lets just say it reminded me of an American sea side, but more run down.
There were misspelled shop signs, mothers yelling at their children to shut-up, and a very unwelcoming vibe. Turns out it is a major hub of the British National Party.
Anyway, we didn't stay long and had a good diversion driving through beautiful Chichester, then up through the south downs and back to Woking.
__
Stephen is working again, today and sleeping in tomorrow...I've already bitched at him, but hey, if he enjoys it...this Saturday we're going drinking in London, but otherwise, blissfully there are no plans.
Just a quickie Topic: Stephen Says
Because there's not too much to say - Elisabeth finished work on Friday and spent the day pissed, and we went out to our favorite Italian resaurant to celebrate and she smashed a wine glass.
At some point on Friday, Elisabeth claims that I was talking about my secret chocolate stash which is news to me, but she promptly scoured the flat looking for it. Now I have some explaining to do.
Oh, and we're planning a few days in Cornwall. Happy Mother's Day and all that. Ciao!
Wednesday morning. It's Stephen's last day of work. I have 3 more days.
Things are heating up: the landlord & estate agent have been and gone & seem happy with the condition of the apartment.
We're planning to go to Cornwall for a few days in a couple of weeks. We've a weekend in Brighton planned, a karaoke farewell party, and then a trip down south to see Stephen's family.
It hit me just yesterday the realization that we've no more paychecks in GB pounds. This means we've got to start thinking about the exchange rate again. For instance on Mon. night we saw Diamanda Galas in concert at the Barbican in London. The show tickets= 40 pounds total. The train tickets were 16 pounds total. Cornish pasties from a street vendor = 6 pounds total. Pre-show drinks = 15 pounds. Then some beer, water and crisps for the train journey home = 8 pounds. TOTAL GBP = 85 pounds for an evening out.
With monthly paychecks, this can easily be absorbed. But start thinking in Canadian dollars and that's $185 Canadian for an evening out. Ludicrous!
When we think of how much farther our money will go in just 1 month, it doesn't seem like such a hardship to pull in the financial reigns a bit. Viva la Canada!
If I am to wear clothes and makeup to work without looking like a sweaty-grease monkey, I'll have to go now and take a shower.
Oops Topic: Stephen Says
I was going to blog for the sake of blogging but have only just looked at the blog and seen that Elisabeth blogged a few days ago and I hadn't bothered to check. If only real life was like a book, with our blog reaching an exciting crescendo instead of petering out as we go on with other things. Ah well, we've still got 4 weeks here - anything can happen.
Bits & bobs:
-As Elisabeth mentioned, I engaged in a camping trip last weekend. A relatively surreal thing since the camp site was in a field with no privacy between the locations where people pitched their tents. An appropriate metaphor for the British psyche: No real privacy yet everyone going about like they were invisible & alone, doing their best to ignore everyone else around them being irritating and not understanding why they're so stressed out and miserable.
-Again, as mentioned below, we're off to see Robert Lindsay (Our current favoirite tragi-comic actor in the Whole Wide World) in John Osborne's The Entertainer at the Old Vic. It's my first West End play so I'm prepared to be generally irritated by the fartsy crowd. It's the kind of affair that I'm actually going to bother shaving for.
-Last night I bore witness to the kind of event that I will miss when I'm back in Canada: Some dude biking excrutatingly slowly along on the sidewalk, not bothering anyone when a rent-a-cop turns around and starts shouting at him to get off his bike. The dude just turns around & looks at rent-a-cop and continues to amble along, totally ignoring the whole situation while rent-a-cop just stands there, shouting at him until he's out of ear shot. The word 'impotant' comes to mind.
-I'll have some culture shock to deal with when I'm in the T-dot (Does anyone still use that term in anyway other than in an ironic one? Or is ironic use of it even passe?). I was watching a documentary the other day, lamenting how stupid the American accents on the interviewees made them sound, when I realized they were all Canadian (Granted, they were from the Yukon). I was also flummoxed by the constant casual use of the word 'eh?' They were bandying it around the way a Brit uses the word 'cunt.'
What? We Haven't Blogged in a Week! Mood: incredulous Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
Sacrebleu! Quel Frommage! (I mean dommage!)
What's been happening that we've been too busy (ahem, lazy) to blog?
Friday night Stephen went camping with his work, then he slept in at work on Sat. night while I went to a BBQ at the South African queen's house. --I got totally blotto, came home and watched Sense and Sensibility, stoicially resisting being sucked in emotional, that is until Emma Thompson miraculously breaks down at the end...ah...sacrebleu I cried and cried.
And as of Monday, Stephen is no longer a full time employee! He's doing some relief shits, but he's out man!
I have 7 days left.
Things to look forward to: Thurs. We have tickets to see Robert Lindsay in The Entertainer at the Old Vic in LDN.
A personal best: Now Playing: Cult of Luna - The Beyond Topic: Stephen Says
We have 2 of our books in the front display of our local Oxfam (The Woman's Health Bible & Michael Palin's Diaries for those who care).
Can't Trust that Day Mood: lyrical Now Playing: BBC Radio4 Topic: Elisabeth's Entries
Another week begins. We've had our porridge oats, and are heading to work. Saturday night our friends drove us into London (2 hours is normal to get from Woking area to Brockley, South London), to go to one of their friends' parties. At 4 am we decided there was no point in going to sleep, but by 5am we were asleep. At 7am we got up and travelled to Camden Town for a scrumptious breakfast at Solo (Inverness Street). That journey took almost 2 hours, which again is normal. But it was worth it. After re-fuelling we took the Northern line three stops north to Hampstead, yes we actually made it! The weather was perfect, and we easily found our way to Hampstead Heath, an impressive expanse of greenland on a hill that overlooks London. We did not see one person without white skin. Lots of very self-important people walking dogs, jogging, etc... we began to seriously fade and didn't stay long. But at least we got a sense of the snobbery and elitism of Hampstead, and saw some beautiful homes.
We headed back to Camden Town to buy some cds and anything else. After we just couldn't stay awake any more, we headed back. Once home we set the alarm and slept a few hours. Then, a quiet evening at home.
happy
not sure
a-ok
cool
incredulous
lyrical