lukeduke

I was in London, playing tour guide to Chris. It was great to meet him after corresponding for so long, and he was just lovely! I hope I did London town justice. Not only did I drag him around in an attempt to show him the sights, I also tried to introduce him to some cultural tidbits... like Irn Bru and Jaffa Cakes and excessive drinking. Sure, you drink loads in the States at times, but here it's like... sacred. There are customs and expectations and it's all very serious. You consume large quantities, over time, and it catches up with you when you least expect it. Or something. I suspect I'm talking shite. Nevermind. Onwards and upwards!

So... yeah! We met up on the Friday, and wandered a bit. He had already been to Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, so we headed immediately to Blackfriars for a good old-fashioned pub lunch - I insisted he have fish and chips, it's only proper! And a pint, of course. We then peeked at the Thames and St Paul's before hopping on a double-decker to Camden, where we saw sights of a different nature.. namely Camdem characters in all their frilly finery.

Afterwards, we headed to yet another pub, to meet Michael and Rob. Another pint or two later, we moved next door to a quaint little Italian restaurant, run by a sweet Italian family. It seemed run-down yet AUTHENTIC which I like. And there was wine!

Once satiated, we moved on to the evening's final destination, an indie club night of sorts organised by some friends. I was a bit worried that Chris would feel awkward or abandoned as I socialised, but he was totally fine. Besides, he had Michael and they seemed to get on splendidly. So I felt free to roam amongst the assembled throng, and it was great to catch up with everyone again! At one point Chris asked me 'Do you know EVERYBODY here?' Ha! No! Only about... half? But I guess it was still a lot. It's nice to feel safely ensconced within a familiar crowd though, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. The venue was a bit smaller than I expected, and the music wasn't quite indie after all, but it was still good fun. And I danced.. a little.

We ventured back to Chris's hotel at about 1.30am, stumbling across a very convenient night bus stop which very conveniently dropped us off steps from the hotel. Brilliant! I slept hard, but not too long, for we were up and about at around 8am! Ack! I was surprisingly awake. We stopped into a grocery store for some breakfast treats, which we took to Hyde Park. I regaled Chris with harrowing tales of Bulgarian adventures for a good part of half an hour - poor dear didn't know what he was getting into when he asked me to elaborate on my kidnapping tale - and we wandered into a very posh part of Westminster, where I visited my very first Waitrose supermarket! Exciting! Then we found ourselves at Buckingham Palace at high noon, just in time for a PACKED changing of the guard, with all the pomp and circumstance imaginable, including a live band. There was a throng of THOUSANDS assembled to watch. Ack!

We stayed with the sea of tourists for a bit longer, and the tides took us to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and Downing Street and Trafalger Square. We paused at the fountain to regroup and rest a bit - my feet were aching at this point. We thought maybe more rest was in order, and I suggested we go for a quiet drink somewhere outside the immediate vicinity. But where? After staring at a map for a good 10 minutes, indecisive me decided we should just jump on the next bus that came along and alight when we saw somewhere interesting.

Unfortunately, it took us only as far as Liverpool Street Station, and the dead financial district was not exactly exciting. We walked to the next street over to catch another bus, and spotted some quaint-looking winding alleys, so decided to explore those. They were equally empty, in an eerie way. One of them emptied onto a more lively street, however, with an adorable coffee shop at the end. I realised we were actually at the beginning of the east end, where we had arranged to meet Michael later. So we went to the coffee shop for some tea and crumpets. It was nice and cosy and quiet, and we perused the papers and chatted and it was very nice and relaxing!

Eventually Michael turned up and we went out into the rain for a wander. It wasn't the most appealing amble because of the weather, but I still enjoyed it, especially since it was a new area to me. I had never been on Brick Lane before! It was great! Especially when we discovered the famous salt beef beigel bakery! Pretty much by accident. They had amazing CHEAP yummy baked goods, and I spent 60p on the most scrumptious chocolatey brownie! Mmmm. Only later, when recounting the day to Richard, did I realise he had told me about the place a few weeks ago... duh.

After some more wandering, an increasingly soaked Michael - no umbrella, what is he thinking?? - suggested we hop on another bus and find a pub somewhere. Suited me! Our bus took us down Fleet Street again - of the five or six buses we took in London that weekend, four of them went via Fleet Street! Ha! - and into Picadilly Circus/Leicester Square/Convent Garden. We wandered through the shops, pausing at Rough Trade and some tourist tatt wonder, before ending up at an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. Classy us! Ha! I didn't mind though. It was good to sit and eat. And eat.

We were a bit at a loss for what to do next, however. None of us were up for an all nighter. In fact, I was about ready to call it a day then and there. But it was only 7pm. Eventually we agreed on venturing outside the city centre and taking up residence at a pub. Michael suggested Hammersmith, as he knew the area and was staying nearby. Sounded good to me. So we hopped on the Tube and headed out there. It was a traditional pub, with modern music perhaps a shade too loud. And large groups of youngsters dressed in school gear were coming in en masse, as there was apparently a school disco across the road and this was the pre-club venue of choice. I was a bit wary, but the invasion was actually a harmless one. They were pretty well-behaved. And the upside was the DJ who later turned up and spun some amazing old skool classics to cater to the crowd. We were up at the quiz machine and bopping away to Britney and Abba and Madonna. Mmmm cheesy guilty pleasures. I was addicted to one of the quiz machines, and we were winning enough to keep us going, and the music was just so fun... I really enjoyed it! And to top things off, we were in bed before midnight and got a good night's sleep! What more could an old gal like myself ask for, eh?

Unfortunately, I had to leave early the next day. And work was awaiting me after the long journey home. Bah. But Richard, my sweets, came into town to meet me for lunch in the hour I had before my shift started. Bless him! I think he actually missed me, too. Imagine!

At work, I got a two-day reprieve from sports. Yay! I was in control of the letters page again, which had gone to seed without me at the helm, I must say. I got out early both nights too, early enough to catch the entire pub quiz on Sunday, and all of prime time TV on Monday. Woo! Last night it was back to the slough, but it wasn't too bad. I kept busy with lots of little stories, but all were manageable, and I was out early again. I'm liking these five-hour days! I found out I'm spending FIVE weeks on sports, rather than four. Ack!

On Friday, we're going to the Edinburgh Fringe for a works night out, which is quite fun, as I've been wanting an excuse to go, and free drinks/show tickets is always a bonus. Don't think Richard is as keen, however. Also found out there's a great gig the following weekend, then a return to London for Dot to Dot's debut... they're playing with two of my favourite bands!!! Yay! Then I get to play host to another visitor. It's all very busy and exciting!

How to fill my days in the meantime... With my 4pm starts now, I have even more time to kill. I've spent much of it exploring mp3 blogs and downloading music. Bad! I also ordered 50quid worth of CDs last night. VERY BAD! Ah well. My goal today is to actually leave the house early and do some real life shopping. I've got to stock up on special Scottish candy for my sick aunt. I sent her a care package the other week and she got addicted to the candy I enclosed. Now she wants $50 worth of it!!! Which would be about 50 bars. Do I buy it by the boxload? Ack.