last of the quiet one's...

This was my last quiet weekend for a while - which is good, cos they're sort-of boring!

I went to Covent Garden to get my hair cut - to the same place I went last time. It's run by some lovely Chinese guys, who take your coat and are soo polite, and again I had the unusual experience of two guys blow drying my hair at the same time! At one stage one of them asked if he could put some Chinese Spray in my hair - I said sure, why not - not knowing what it was! (I still don't know, in case you're wondering...).

I met Anna in Oxford St afterwards, and it was so cold that I went into Dorothy Perkins (Sussans-type store) and didn't come out til I'd bought a hat. It's a lovely beige crocheted tea cosy of a hat, and it looks very ridiculous but I love it!

We went to Regent St and Carnaby St - as you do - and from Carnaby St we came across the old department store, Liberty. Their fabrics Paula are so so lovely! Mmm, haberdashery....! I took some pics of the inside of the store, it's a Tudor style building and all wooden and creaky and delightful. [The outside pic was taken on the Monopoly Challenge - they're not crazy English people in t-shirts on a freezing day...].

Sunday was spent at home, as we hosted the second book club event. We'd all read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, so happily chatted about drugs for a while before talk turned other things. (Anna and Mike got engaged last weekend, while away in Cornwall - yay!!). We were going to watch Johnny Depp's magnificent performance in the movie, but didn't get around to it - for reasons previously mentioned!

This weekend I'm driving a mini bus full of chicks down to Brighton for a hen's weekend (not Anna's!!..). Weekend after that we're off to Berlin. Then it's the Spice Girls concert, and then Sharon and Karl arrive. I'm so excited!

punkers and beefeaters...

I thought I would head out on saturday to the famous Camden markets. I'm in serious need of a knee length coat, and proper boots - so I rugged up against the cold and headed an hour north. It was not what I was expecting - the first thing I saw coming out of the tube was a punker with the tallest, shapeliest mohawk I've ever seen, wearing a kilt. Hmm. And all the shops and stalls were selling everything studded, spiked and buckled - not exactly my style! I think I was the only person wearing pink... I got further into the markets and it didn't get much better - it graduated into goth, then hippy. Interesting, but the only thing I spent money on was a chocolate donut (I hardly ever see donuts here!!)

The only thing of note about sunday, is that I didn't leave the house - at all - which has to be the first day I've stayed home since I got here.

I'd organised an annual leave day on monday, and so I hit the Tower of London. I'm not a hugely up on English history, but I had a walk around and then took a tour run by a beefeater. It was awesome - he talked about Anne Boleyn, and other deaths at the Tower (including two young princes), and lots of other historical stuff that I was blown away by at the time, but have since forgotten. Memory like a...something...

The armoury was awesome, heaps of old wooden guns and suits of armour, and the crown jewels were absolutely beautiful - my favourite was Queen Victoria's small diamond crown, made I think in 1870. Very sparkly!

no rest for the wicked...

Gosh, what a busy life I lead. I had a daggy saturday - so much so that I forgot to go and watch the Lord Mayor's fireworks on the Thames. I realised at 6 o'clock (it had been dark for 2 hours already), and they'd gone off at 5. Memory like a sieve...

On sunday I jumped on the tube and went to the Natural History Museum, which is an absolutely beautiful building. Photo attached of the main foyer/entrance, dinosaur included! There was heaps to see, and I happily wandered for a few hours. [Note : gift shop sucked].

On the way home I went shopping on Oxford St (again!), and took some pics of the christmas lights. The photo's didn't come out that well, but you get the gist...

Monday was Anna's birthday, so we went out for 'a Japanese' - as some say here. Awesome food, although I stopped short of trying fried oysters. yeek.

Tuesday was my evening shift at work (I'm back on the circulation desk one night a week!), and on wednesday we went out for dinner with brother-in-law-Sacha who was over here visiting. We went to the Design Museum cafe, which was right beside the Thames just down from the magnificent Tower Bridge. We had to walk over the bridge to get to the cafe, and I had a 'London moment'. Something you've always seen in books, and there you are walking on it...

Weather update : 1 degree this morning. I'm told this isn't cold.

something about Leicester...

Guido, I laughed so much reading your comment about the dodgy brothers setting off fireworks in Leicester! There must be something about Leicester, cos I took this photo of the Shonki Brothers when I was there a few weeks ago..... Would you buy a house from these fella's?

Maybe it's a candidate for Rove's What the...? !

the weekend that was...

I didn't have what you'd call an exciting weekend, but I wasn't bored. Friday night was spent with a bucket of KFC - it's been so long since I had their chicken that I'm sure my heart was pumping around pure oil and 11 secret herbs and spices.
On saturday Anna and I went to the Victoria & Albert museum, which is art and design based. There was an exhibition on called The Golden Age of Couture (with Dior dresses etc), but for £9 we decided not to go in. We looked at some of the free stuff, but spent most of our time in the gift shop!
I had my first proper night out on saturday - Anna's workmate had a birthday at a pub in the city, so we did the London thing and caught the tube. After a few hours out, luckily we both got sore feet and headed home early-ish. Apparently the tube gets pretty yicky around midnight when everyone is smashed and tries to catch the last tube home. Eeuw.
I'd seen a huge Tesco's supermarket in my travels recently, so on sunday I went to find it. It was huge and I needed a therapeutic aisle wander. It wasn't meant to be - I ended up with trolley rage...
One thing that frustrates me about many Londoners is that they are utterly self absorbed. They don't care if they're standing in the middle of the aisle reading a soup label. Or stand within a bees toe of you on the tube and breathe all over you. Or cut you off on the footpath when they have a whole one to walk on.
But I digress. The supermarket was so packed and I got so mad that I started bumping/nudging/banging people's trolleys out of the way. And that wasn't fun - so I bought my things and scarpered.
And monday was bonfire night (Guy Fawkes day). You can buy fireworks here - so all night the neighbours we setting them off popping and whizzing around at all angles.
Weather update : it was 3 degrees this morning.