Eat ALL THE THINGS!

I like food. I like cooking it, smelling it, looking at it but most of all, I like eating it.

I’ve done a decent amount of good eating in London, so I thought I’d share my five recent favourites.

IC Co

This little gem is on Goodge Street and is completely worth the trip. It’s a no nonsense, no frills pizza place which will serve you, possibly, the tastiest pizza you’ve eaten in a while at a very reasonable cost. They have a small menu but they seem to do every pizza on it extremely well. I aim to sample each one. They offer garlic oil and chilli oil which you should definitely make use of.  It’s not fine dining but it is absolutely the best pizza I’ve eaten in years.

Coq D’Argent

Coq D’Argent is a French style restaurant located very close to Bank tube station on Poultry. You go up in a magic lift and emerge on a roof terrace. The indoor dining area is walled with glass so, sitting inside or outside can provide some excellent views. Both indoor and outdoor dining areas are extensive but, thanks to the English weather, it’s more than likely you will enjoy the indoor area.

The menu is small and everything is always perfectly cooked and presented. They have traditional French dishes e.g. escargot as well as a good selection of dishes with a French twist. I always have the fish when I go to Coq D’Argent as it’s the only place I have found which never overcooks fish and, obviously, it’s extra tasty as a result!

Once you have chosen your meal, you should definitely get the sommelier to reccommend the perfect wine to compliment your choices.

The service in Coq D’Argent is superb. I have never been disappointed with the staff or their professionalism. They are polite, efficient, apologetic when the time calls for it but, more than anything else, they are good at their jobs. Your wine glass will not run dry and you are constantly watched over (not in a creepy stalker way) to ensure that if you look like you have even the slightest need, a server will be at your side in a flash.

Also, if you book via top table, they normally have a fantastic 3 courses for £25 deal. That deal makes what is quite high end dining 100% affordable. Yay!!! The menu choices are, obviously, reduced but the quality of food and service is not.

Finally, the roof terrace isn’t just for dining, there’s a drinking section too so you can enjoy views of the  City (I like the side that faces the Shard most) alongside a well mixed cocktail if you want to.

In summary. Go there as soon as possible and make use of the Top Table deal (as Al a carte is not cheap).

Bodeans

Bodeans is the place for meat. Very well cooked, marinated meat. There are a few Bodeans outlets in London. I have frequented the Poland Street restaurant and never been disappointed.

Bodeans do a good range of quality pork and beef dishes. There’s chicken to be had too but I’ve never ventured into chicken at Bodeans because, that’s what Nando’s is for, right? Last time I visited, they had a Buffalo burger on as a kind of special. Naturally I had to try it and, it was super tasty. The cooks are obviously well schooled in cooking meat to perfection however you want it (medium rare, thanks).

Petch Sayam

This Thai restaurant is a little gem on Leytonstone High Road about a three minute walk from Leytonstone tube station.

The food is very good and the staff are incredibly accommodating. On top of this, the prices are reasonable thanks to it being hidden in zone 3. Worth the extra zone fare out to eat there.

Saravana Bhavan

You can find Saravana Bhavan on Cranbrook Road in Ilford. It’s about a five minute walk from Ilford station (which you can use oysters at). They serve a mixture of tasty and authentic Indian food.

My favourites on the menu are the Indian breakfast items they serve. Their menu is huge so I would do a little research before you head over for a meal otherwise I think you will definitely be bamboozled by the choices available.

The prices are also reasonable for the portions you get. A worthwhile trip out for genuinely authentic Indian breakfast foods (which should be and are enjoyed at all times of the day).

A little bit sick inducing

I am a City dweller. I didn’t realise, before moving to the largest City in Britain, that I would be so perfectly suited to so many aspects of a metropolitan lifestyle.

I relish having a selection of world foods supermarkets located a short walk form my house. I thrive on knowing that there are examples of truly authentic worldwide cooking short bus or tube rides away. The idea that I can pop off to a selection of theatres whenever I choose simply dazzles me. I can choose between independent productions of small Art House style plays or I can go all out for a big budget theatre spectacular. It’s entirely possible to immerse yourself in museums, landmarks, places of historical significance and culture every minute of every day without seeing the same thing twice.

That is what I love about London. You never know what the City will throw at you next.

I miss London horribly whenever I leave. I am often so desperate to return that I find myself dreaming about what to do upon my return. This kind of attachment may seem odd to many people but, to me, it’s an incredibly special feeling. My relationship with London is complex mainly because London is a City and I am merely one of it’s many millions of inhabitants. There is nothing particularly that singles me out as a unique member of the ‘London Dwellers’ club. I am not an important or influential member of my community. I do not make a great deal of difference to many people’s lives. I have my circle of friends & acquaintances but that’s about all. I feel like London gives to me far more than could ever be repaid mainly because London is everything I want. There is solace and peace with tales and scenes of inspiration around every corner (and graffiti’d onto plenty of walls). So much beauty can be found in the City especially if you forget the conventional ideals of what beautiful should be. More History exists than I could ever conceive to absorb.

I sometimes wonder if my disinterest in finding or settling down with any ‘significant other’ stems from the feeling that the City is my partner, for the time being anyway. There are not enough hours in the day for me to see my friends and the City. Adding another distraction into the mix would mean something else has to give and, right now, that’s just not an option.

There must be more than just me who feels this way about a place on this Earth. I would be intrigued to hear about where and why.

London still treats me very well

I have now lived in London for just over three years. There is not a day which passes when I do not love this City a little bit more. There is a mind boggling amount of things you can do for free. There’s an even greater number of things you can do if you pay for it. I have completed a healthy combination of the 2 activities in the past twelve months so I’ll share a few of my experiences.

The London Eye

I went on the London Eye as part of a London sightseeing mission with my eldest sister, brother in law and nephew. The staff are well organised, friendly and, although the queue to collect tickets was long, the waiting really wasn’t all that bad.

We shared a pod with about 18 other people. Everyone was really well mannered and took it in turns to share the best viewing angles with very good grace. It was a gloriously clear day.

It’s easy to forget just how many iconic landmarks London has when you live here. I take it completely for granted that I can cycle around Trafalgar Square any time I like or that the glory of Tower Bridge lit up at night is 40 minutes from my house. Plenty of comedy photos were taken by everyone in the pod and there was a general feeling of awe at the views. I was not an exception to the comedy photo’s or the ‘ooohhh’ing and ‘ahhhh’ing. My favorite comedy picture is of me holding the bridge up. It was ever so heavy.

As enjoyable as the London Eye was, I would have been horribly upset if I’d paid the full £19 adult fare. My advice would be to get a voucher. If you can find a voucher to take the cost below the £10, it’s worth the money. I would begrudge anything more than £10.

Madame Tussauds

The trip I made to Madame Tussauds was as part of a milestone birthday celebration in London weekend bender. I was very hung over and tired. i actually believe that this enhanced my enjoyment of Tussaudes as I had the pleseant ‘this might not actually be real life’ angle on the whole experience.

Firstly, the queues for Tussaudes are horrific. We queued for nearly 2 hours. There is ‘in queue line’ entertainment in the form of a DJ and some quiz type things but, essentially, it’s a two hour long queue. A queue that long is never fun.

The wax works are as impressive as you expect them to be. The content of the rooms is regularly updated so there will always be the latest teen heart throb wax work getting mobbed by the girls (Robert Pattinson in my case). I was too busy stroking Patrick Stewart’s head to take notice of Robert but the Birthday girls were not.

There is a great selection of classics and modern works. You also have you staples e.g The Queen & Prince Phillip, ex-Prime Ministers you want to melt down into candles and musical legends like Jimi Hendrix. I particularly enjoyed the Marvel Heroes 4D experience. I can confirm, Ironman does have buns of steel…

The dungeons at Tussauds are suitably scary too. I basically screamed and ran through as fast as I could so I can’t comment on much about it. I had my eyes closed quite tightly and my fingers in my ears.

It is a staggering £29 to get into Tussauds if you buy your tickets on the door on the day. For me, Tussauds is not worth the £29, on the day, entrance fee. The tickets are cheaper if you pre-book or go during off peak times. I would put my maximum price for Tussaudes at £18-£20. Any more than that, and I would feel robbed. I would also say that Tussauds is a one time visit attraction. There would be no point, for me personally, in going back to see th elatest updated works at all. I will enjoy my comedy photographs for a long time though. If I do go to Tussauds again, will be for my milestone Birthday celebration.

St Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul’s has long been iconic and a major tourist attraction. I had never been before because religious buildings tend to give me the heebie jeebies. I can’t explain it, they just make me feel unsettled. However, a friend got some complimentary tickets for St Paul’s so I decided to get over the jitters and go. The ‘Occupy London Stock Exchange’ protest camp was set up quite resolutely outside. Our complimentary tickets were courtesy of the London Stock Exchange. I had to have a little chuckle.

Once inside the Cathedral, you can pick up an audio guide. I would highly reccommend this. It is informative and well presented. It really did thoroughly enhance my visit. It is well thought out and guides you around all of the major aspects of the Cathedral without really imposing itself on you. Some audio guides cause mass and simultaneous thoughts of suicide when they drone on for too long on one subject but the St Paul’s one is very good at keeping the information in digestible amounts.

You’re not really supposed to take photos of the interiors of the Cathedral but, once you get up the stairs and out in the open, you can snap yourself happy. If you are physically able to, you should climb to the top of the Cathedral. The views are simply stunning. You can see the City of London just behind me here.

It’s important to remember that St Paul’s is a fully functional place of worship. There are songs and prayers throughout the day which visitors are welcome to stay and attend. As I am very skittish about these sorts of things, we chose these times to do all of the stair climbing and outside exploration.

There is also a crypt to explore at St Paul’s but we ran out of time before we could fully look around it so I will be going back another day to finish off St Paul’s completely.

I would never have gone to St Paul’s had I not been offered a free ticket. Having been around once now, I can, with my hand on my heart, say I would happily pay the £14.50 entry fee to go round again. It is a truly magnificent building. Not only that, but it is a work of architectural genius which has been lovingly restored. The audio guides are fantastic, the staff could not have been more helpful, the interior decoration is awe inspiring and the views from both levels of the dome are stunning. By far my favourite London attraction this year.

The Bicycle Upgrade & Accident

The last time I blogged about anything cycle related, I was riding a cheap Raleigh Pioneer. I had upgraded the tyres to Puncture resistant ones (Schwalbe Marathon Plus) but that was about it. I had covered an awful lot of miles on the £200 starter bicycle and it had begun to feel very clunky. As I couldn’t seem to fathom out why by myself, I decided it was time to pay someone to service it. You expect to need maybe bearings replace or a new chain however, the phone call I got went like this:

Bicycle Man: “Hi there, I’m just calling about your bicycle. Unfortunately the rear forks are bent out of shape and the wheel isn’t sitting in place correctly. It’s unservicable and unsafe to ride.”

Me: “Oh crud, well that’s not great is it!”

Bicycle Man: “No not really, you’re going to need a new bicycle”

Me: “I’ll get on that then….thanks, I think….”

So yes, a little more than a few parts here and there. A whole new bicycle. My first reaction was panic, and then sadness and then back to panic at how I would afford to replace the bicycle. My riding has come on a long way since I bought the Raleigh so I knew I wanted to upgrade but I didn’t have upgrade kind of cash just knocking around in my bank account. Fortunately one of my colleagues mentioned to me that our Company is part of the Cycle Scheme.

The Cycle Scheme allows you to buy a bicycle & accessories (e.g. helmet, lock, back rack, panniers, lights etc) with no initial outlay as your employer pays the upfront costs. You then ‘rent’ the bicycle from your employer for a monthly fee. This monthly fee is deducted from your pay before tax so you save Tax and NI on however much you repay. At the end of your ‘hire’ period (normally 12 months) your employer can transfer ownership of the bicycle over to you for what they deem to be the bicycle’s market value. It almost works like an interest and tax free loan. It’s really very cool. Please do see their website for more details though as I am not an authority on the Cycle Scheme.

Anyway, my Raleigh happened to be broken roughly a month before I was due to ride the British Heart Foundation London to Brighton sponsored cycle ride. The process of Cycle Scheme is obviously slower than going to a shop and taking a bicycle away the same day as there is paperwork and Royal Mail involved. I was pretty desperate to get the bicycle sorted so I opted to do the cheeky thing (with the agreement of the cycle shop and my employer) which was to pay for the bicycle on my credit card and then have the balance of the refunded onto the card once the Cycle Scheme paper work was complete. It was a little risky as if I wasn’t eligible for the Cycle Scheme for any reason, I would have a bicycle I couldn’t afford but it was a risk I weighed up and took.

The Cycle Scheme only utilises local bicycle shops (no big chain brands) so I went off to Bike Trax in Wanstead. I have to say, it’s lovely going into a local bike shop where the mechanics and sales people recognise you and ask you how this clunk and that click has been doing since they looked at it for you. You just don’t get that level of service from a big chain. Now don’t get me wrong, I can’t fault the big chains customer service overall (I am particularly fond of Evans Cycles online for amazing deals and customer service) but it juts doesn’t compare to the personal touch.

I deviate away from the point which is that I chose to purchase myself a Trek 7.3 FX  17″ ladies Hybrid bicycle. I almost had heart palpitations at the thought of a bicycle being £500 but I can proclaim that after riding her for a few months, she is worth every penny!

While I was spending so much money, I also opted to get myself a back rack, clip on pannier and a new lock. Let’s face it, with a £500 bicycle you don’t want to be securing it with a £15 coil lock from Argos do you? I also took out bicycle insurance. I was all sorted and set off to fall completely in love with my new machine and to name her Daisy.

Fortunately for me, my Cycle Scheme paper work all came through in time for the due date on my credit card bill and everything was refunded and sorted. I also had plenty of time (about 3 weeks) to get used to Daisy before we rode the London to Brighton.

We completed the 54 mile ride in a good time of 4 hours 45 minutes and I managed to cycle all the way up The Beacon (also known as killer hill at mile number 50). I will admit that miles 32 to 40 were really tough, I think that was my ‘wall’ when my bum hurt and I generally felt like I was running out of steam. I raised a grand total of £384.00 for the British Heart Foundation. Here’s a snap of Daisy and Me after the finish with our medal.

Recently however, fortune has not smiled on Daisy and me. Mainly because we got hit by a car. It was the driver of the car’s fault. I was on the correct side of the road cycling along and he pulled a U-turn (heading onto my side) and completely took me out. The worst part of it was that for the last 2 seconds, I was pulling on my breaks as hard as I could but just knew there was nothing more I could do to try and stop or get out the way. It was the most horiffic feeling to just know you’re going to be hit by a car and it is inevitably going to be painful.

I came completely off the bike and hit the ground. I did clonk my head against the road but thanks to the good old skid lid (a.k.a. helmet), I escaped pretty much unscathed (graze to my arm being the worst injury). Poor Daisy got a clobbering. Here’s a snap of the damage to just 1 pedal:

You can see on the image there just how mangled the metal is and how the pedal has been wrenched almost completely away from the crank arm of the chain set. There was a lot of other damage too. The entire list equated to:

• Bent Handlebars
• Bent Handlebar Stem
• Ruined Handlebar Grips
• Bent Saddle
• Bent Seat Post
• Chain Set Ruined
• Pedals Mangled
• Bottom Bracket Wrecked

In total a repair cost of £225. There is also cosmetic damage to the back rack and pannier as well as my watch and helmet camera. The guy who hit me was incredibly apologetic so I decided to only claim for getting my bicycle back on the road. I can live with a few scratches to the other items because they are still working. I have now been without my bicycle for 2 weeks but the bill has been paid and we’re just waiting for the new chain set to be delivered so I can get back on the road.

Being knocked off was terrifying but ultimately has not put me off cycling one tiny bit. I also feel validated by the free cycle training session I had (courtesy of my local London borough, check if you are eligible at TFL’s website) as the instructor basically said the only thing he could pick at was my use of gears which was probably the fact I was riding a 12 geared mountain bike rather than a 21 geared hybrid.

In summary, new bicycle is excellent. Being knocked off new bicycle, not so much fun.

It gets a bit nippy but I still like going outside

Many people retreat into their houses and sit Winter days out by watching Television and/or films indoors. I’m really not one of those people. As yet, I haven’t given in once on cycling to work because of poor weather, I get my water proofs out instead. The weekends are no different. I am lucky to have friends who share the same sentiment as me in so much that a weekend spent indoors is a weekend wasted. My most recent excursions have involved The Southbank and Kensington Gardens.

The main reason for going down to Southbank was to see the Take A View exhibition. Talk about stunning photography. Some of the images on display were simply staggering. I was a little dubious as to whether or not I would be allowed to photograph my favourite images so I erred on the side of caution and didn’t. One of the images that made me simple the most was a shot of a dog mid shake/jump/gallop (it was sort of impossible to tell) in the middle of a wood. It just captured the sheer joy of autumn. The dog in the picture looked how autumn makes me feel, ludicrously happy and utterly over excited about the prospect of HUGE piles of leaves!

I’ll add to it the photography discussion by showing you my own from the day. The first was taken as we walked from Waterloo station to Southbank. We passed the bridge and I couldn’t believe I never noticed just how good the eye and Big Ben look together. It was pretty difficult to get a shot where the sun didn’t completely obliterate the image so I had to settle for only a little obliterated.

We wandered around the exhibition until stomachs were rumbling. I opted for a healthy falafel and hummus pitta bread then walked past this and was utterly disappointed.

Who doesn’t want fish and chips out of a Routemaster?! I know my pitta bread seemed utterly pointless once I’d seen this. I ate it with almost contempt really. I won’t make the same mistake again. What I will say about Southbank is, it’s brilliant and there is always some kind of exhibition or event going on down there but, the cold air coming off the Thames in Winter is TRULY bone chilling. Wrap up warm. Here’s a quick snap of the walkway facing onto the Thames.

So next was a little trip across the City to Kensington Gardens. The first thing that made me like Kensington gardens was the man playing bagpipes with his bicycle propped against a tree. He wasn’t busking, he wasn’t even near a pathway, he’d just gone to play a few tunes in the park and have a practise. I salute you sir!

The second thing I liked about Kensington Gardens was the dog walkers. I am a big dog lover and there were so many different breeds to admire, I was a pretty happy girl. My favourite was probably a Westie who’s legs and tummy were filthy. Sure, he was having fun now but the bath at home wouldn’t be so gladly received I am sure.

The third thing I liked about Kensington Gardens was just how beautiful it is. There’s a lot of little buildings you can admire and also plenty of gnarled trees to investigate. The water fountains were gorgeous to look at but the combination of water and birds makes them popular with parents and their children so don’t expect to go and be able to just sit and enjoy them. There will be a child screaming somewhere and chasing some species of bird around (I know I’m a big grinch of the ‘seen and not heard’ school). There’s also a well deserved statue of Edward Jenner. He’s the clever chap who pioneered what we now call ‘Immunology’. We have a lot to thank the man for. Anyway, I took and overall snap of the fountains. You can just about see the Jenner statue on the left hand side.

One end of Kensington Gardens houses the Albert Memorial. For those of you who aren’t from round these parts, the Albert monument faces onto the Royal Albert Hall. It makes for a fairly imposing spectacle really. First this beautifully maintained piece of architecture and then the equally impressive domed building. You approach the monument from behind and this view, for me, actually provides the best overall ‘WoW’ factor. Here’s how I captured it.

The attention to detail is absolutely mind blowing. It is absolutely worth a trip to see. And of course you get the Royal Albert Hall the other side.

We were trying to read the wording that runs around the top of the building but it proves notoriously difficult when, in your 20’s, you appear to be blind as a bat and can’t make it out. The Royal Albert Hall, and the shows that go on within it, are a spectacles to behold. I cannot recommend highly enough the experience of seeing the monument and hall appear as they do when you approach them from Kensington Gardens. It is a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

If after that you feel so inclined, you can then get on an old London Routemaster bus and take a little trip! I could not believe my eyes when I saw route 9 still being serviced by the historic wonders. I found myself seeing if I could get home from anywhere that route 9 runs. As it happens, it goes to Green Park (Buckingham Palace’s Royal Park) which means I could hop on gleefully. The only other time I have seen a Routemaster in London was WAY back in September last year when I took this hasty photo.

I didn’t take another photo today but, as you sit winging your way round London listening to the engine, you see more than one person whipping their phone/camera out to get a snap of the bus. The conductor was having a great time, waving and posing for the photos when and where he could. At one stop he hung off the pole at the back and smiled (like only a man who truly loves his job can) for a group of tourists. He made my day.

I like to clean my bicycle, I like to clean…………….

I have now owned my beautiful bicycle for quite a while. I looked at it the other day and thought “Good grief that is one mucky bicycle!”. I was spurred into action. After hunting around in the shed, I found a suitable bucket and soft brush, some raggy looking cloths and most importantly, enthusiasm!  As I don’t have any proper bicycle cleaning soap, I opted for hot water and fairy liquid. Now I know that’s not ideal but I resolved to give it such a good hosing down afterwards that you wouldn’t know I used Fairy liquid.

I and spent a good hour brushing the dirt and grime off wheels, spokes, frame, mudguards, lights, on board gadgets, basically everything.  I should also mention that due to the silly short days at the moment, it was dark. To get any light on the job I had to activate the motion light in the garden. As I am the most forgetful and clumsy person I know, I naturally flailed the hand holding the brush/cloth and covered myself in dirty water. I’m a genius aren’t I?

Anyway, about an hour after beginning the flailing and cleaning came the really fun bit. The Hosepipe!!! I don’t know about you, but the novelty of a hosepipe that has one of the guns on the end provides me with endless entertainment. I pretended to be James Bond for a while. I also attempted a bit of Light Sabre action but just got myself very wet. Eventually, I have decided that that most fun ‘play pretend with the hosepipe’ game is Robin Hood. The water jet is a very convincing arrow.

I digress. Essentially, my bicycle was spotlessly clean. If I’d been a car valet, I would have gold star for detailing. How proud I was. So proud, I forgot to take pictures. Shame on me. I did take pictures of how it looks today though. This is 10 days cycling on London roads. It only rained for 2 of the 10 days.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this makes my heart sink just a little. Here’s a close up of the filth around my seat post and back breaks.

It is not a pretty sight. Finally, what the bottom half of my bicycle looks like close up.

So, my question to fellow cyclists is this……do you have to wash your bicycle every week like a car? If you do, I’m going to be walking around a lot more.

 

So there is a downside! To the snow that is….

The snow has made an awful lot of people’s travel plans pretty jolly miserable over the last week or so. I will admit to simply enjoying the fun or it all and generally throwing disapproving glances at the grumblers. I did have maximum sympathy for those caught in airports. I had to spend a rather uncomfortable night in Frankfurt airport recently when a trip to Prague was foiled by snow. It gets cold, uncomfortable and you lose your sense of humour about 18 hours into your stay. I expect it’s not as hideous if you are waiting to leave but if you are stuck in transit between connections or diverted, I think I would cry. It’s one of the least fun things I have ever done and I’ve done some pretty un-fun things!

So anyway, I wasn’t getting too worried about my journey home to Lincolnshire for Christmas as it’s only 150 miles or so up the road which leaves me with plentiful choices for deserting shiny London for a brief escape to the Countryside. I booked my train tickets home way back in October so I knew I had a seat and all the rest of that malarkey you worry about when using public transport in peak season. This was all fine until overhead lines came down across the main east train line. It halted all trains from London Kings Cross to Peterborough on Monday, today (Tuesday) and looks like it will halt them tomorrow and Thursday too. The reason? The snow is preventing the teams needed to fix the lines getting to them. I am also presuming that once it is fixed they’ll need to clear snow off the tracks to enable the trains to run. I think it’ll be a lengthy process and some very nice overtime packets for the guys and gals involved in getting it sorted.

This situation sort of left me a bit buggered for getting back to Lincolnshire. I tried to book a coach with no success, I also called local car hire companies with very limited success (the best they could manage was a £198 per day family saloon turbo diesel thingy). I forgot that the rest of the City who might have planned to travel to anywhere north easterly is going to have the same issue as me. I was getting into a little bit of a pickle, especially with more heavy snow forecast. Luckily for me, I have a sister who loves me enough to drive a round trip from Lincs to London (see what I did there?) on her day off and a Mother who loves me enough to pay for said sisters petrol as neither of us can afford this extravagance. I believe my payment for this will consist of sorting out software conflicts on various family members computers, a fair amount of washing up and many hours of distracting the children whilst NOT getting glitter glue in their hair.

I shall be evacuated from my beloved London tomorrow. I’ll be pleased to go, but not very pleased if I can’t get back on the 28th.

Family, I wouldn’t change any of them for anyone else in the world ever (I think my sister would probably trade me in for Robbie Williams).

Obligatory Festive Post

For those of you who missed it, it’s been snowing. London saw about 3 inches of snow in as many hours. It settled beautifully so, naturally, we had to go and play in it. We started with a walk to fetch supplies for our impending ‘Christmas at 109’ roast extravaganza. We threw multiple snowballs at each other on the walk. I took a snap of my friends using my HTC Hero. It does take a nice picture but only if you stand still like a snowman.

As we walked, the snow crunched underfoot. It really is the most satisfying sound to walk on fresh snow. We skipped, bunny hopped and generally frolicked through the streets of East London. We saw quite a lot of people milling about in much the same fashion as ourselves so didn’t feel too self-concious with regard to our child like excitement.

Once we had successfully prepared ourselves for the roast, we headed home to build a snowman. We toiled for about 40 minutes before we were satisfied the proportions of head to body were acceptable. Decorations were added (brussell sprouts for eyes, carrot for nose, velvet queueing rope for scarf and a selection of twigs for arms and smile) and a rather juvenile photo taken to commemorate an attractive creation.

As the sun set, I recalled a house close by that had over the top and Blackpool esq decorations so decided to capture them in all their glory. I waited until it was good and dark before heading out. At this point I would like to tell all the home owners who pour water on snow to clear paths that all the water does is freeze to ice. This makes people (mainly me) fall over on it. These people (mainly me) do not enjoy your attempts to clear snow from paths. Please use salt or grit in future, thanks. Anyway, back to the house! You can’t see on the picture very well but they have a ‘Days Till Christmas’ counter on their door beneath the wreath. This house is truly a sight for sore eyes. I dread to think what the electricity bill will come in at.

As I only saw the snow in East London, I have stolen an old school friends picture of the scene just off Picadilly Circus. Many thanks to Cat Burton for the picture. She has a pretty good stock of brilliant photo’s on her Flickr site. Take a look here if you get the chance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catburton/

Finally, I will share with you a snap of an ale. Now I don’t drink ale, but the name of this was almost enough to make me buy one.

My day today really has got me into the festive spirit. I am quite excited about cooking a roast of epic proportions for friends tomorrow, but this is mainly because I know I won’t be washing up afterwards!

The 2010 Music Bit

I’m going to begin with the musical event which brought me the most joy. It’s Jimmy Eat World at Brixton Academy.

This year, I ticked of fmy list somethingI have wanted to do for 5 years. I saw Jimmy Eat world play a headline show. I got wind that they were releasing a new album. This means a tour. The second the tickets went on sale, I snapped mine up. When it arrived in the post, I danced around gleefully as I imagine the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow dances around his pot o’gold. When the day actually arrived, I was ready to wet my knickers with excitement.

Jimmy Eat World are one of the two bands that have persisted and remained relevant to me for more than 10 years. You do not get that kind of band coming along very often. I have loved them since they released ‘Clarity’ in 1999 and they have never disappointed me. A great band of honest and genuine guys. There are actually no words to describe just how much seeing them play live meant to me. It wasn’t just something off my ‘to do’ list. It was on the ‘to do before you die’ list.  Anyway, enough gushing about Jimmy Eat World. Let me tell you about the gig.

Being as excited as I was, I went straight after work and stood in the queue. Unbeknownst to me, if you are on the O2 mobile phone network, you get priority queuing and entry to Brixton Academy. I got to skip past a load of people with a quick flash of my phone. This meant I got very close to the front without any need to push through bodies. Brilliant!! I was really close to the front and excited as hell. Excellent combination. The first thing I took a photo of was the sparkling drum kit. Check it out!

The next thing I got excited about was Jimmy Eat World coming on stage. Honestly, I have never been so close to not knowing what to do with myself because I am so excited. My brain could not process all of the emotions. I didn’t know if I should cheer, jump, clap, cry, or what. It was the most blissful feeling. And then the music started. I will confess, I took 3 photos. That’s all I could manage. I was too busy fulfilling part of my life’s wish for the rest of the show. One of the shots I got get Jim in all his glory!

They played every song I could have wished for. I also stood in the crowd and sobbed unashamedly during ‘For Me This is Heaven’ and ‘Hear You Me’. They played the full 8 minutes of ‘Goodbye Sky Harbour’ and all of my favourite songs from ‘Clarity’. The only song I missed was ‘Lucky Denver Mint’. Considering I was not expecting to hear anything from ‘Clarity’ I was just the happiest girl in the world. If I had walked out of the Academy and been hit by a bus, I would have been ok with it. It was an evening of my life that I will have fond dreams about for the rest of my days. A gig that I will tell people about in 40 years time as one of the best moments of my life. To cement my jubilation, Jimmy Eat World posted a picture of the crowd on twitter after the gig, and I’m in it. I circled myself as I am quite small.

I believe the next event of note would be the Lost prophets CD signing and gig at Brixton Academy. They were very good and I enjoyed them immensely. Here’s a snap of Ian Watkins I managed to get whilst in the middle of the mosh pit.

One poor boy actually fainted right in front of us and we had to do the obligatory “GET HIM TO THE FRONT!!!” yelling before he got trampled on. I don’t know, these young’uns just don’t have the stamina. I saw ‘Kids In Glass Houses’ as their support for the first time at this gig and I was pretty impressed. I went to see them later in the year with a friend when they played Koko in Camden. I didn’t take any photo’s of that gig though so you can see one from the Lost Prophets gig instead. Again it was mid mosh pit and therefore the quality is dubious.

I think it’s time I took you out of London just for a while. Those of you who know me will know that my Brother in Law and I have identical musical tastes. This results in us going to a lot of gigs together. This year, we have been to four events together. The one I will recount now was our jaunt to see Green Day at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. I travelled over from London to Lincolnshire and then we drove to Manchester. I was incredibly excited. I had seen Green Day three times previously and they had blown my mind every time so I was expecting something really special from them in such a huge venue. I was not disappointed.

First of all, both support acts were fabulous. Frank Turner first, then Joan Jett and The Blackhearts. Thoroughly entertaining. Frank Turner really made an impression and I saw him play a headline show at Brixton Academy very recently.

Frank Turner

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

When Green Day eventually hit the stage, we knew we were in for a real treat. We got pretty close to the front at one point and I managed to grab this blurry picture of Billy Joe but I will confess, Green Day mosh pits are the most mental mosh pits I have ever been in (and I’ve been in a lot of pits). I think we lasted 5 songs or so before we had to bail out.

The guys were up to their usual tricks during the show. They had people from the crowd on stage with them singing whole songs, dancing and generally whipping the crowd to fever pitch. They are masters of making everyone feel like they’re part of the show. At one point a hose pipe came out. it was shortly followed by an American Baseball style Tee-shirt gun. The whole band and their extra musicians looked as if they were having the best time. They all laid down for an entire song. They all dressed up for several songs.

They swapped instruments for a song.

Tre’s bonnet is particularly fetching.

They just had a blast, and everyone in the crowd was right there with them. Green Day remain the kings of live shows fr all out entertainment. I have never been disappointed when I have seen them live and I doubt I will be should I see them again.

The drive home was really on our minds so we left before the encore but we could still hear them playing 25 minutes after we left the stadium with final fireworks going off about 40 minutes after the encore started. Green Day are crowd pleasers and have lost nothing since I saw them for the first time nearly 6 years ago. We arrived home very late after the car had burnt all it’s oil and we replaced it with automatic transmission oil. It was eventful and enjoyable. That was my jaunt to Manchester!

What I’ll do now then, is tell you about what I did in the 4 days before Green Day. I was at Download festival. What a weekend! I will admit, I was drunk for most of it so there aren’t many pictures. What I remeber about Download 2010 the most are the following:-

How much I enjoyed Billy Idol when I really didn’t expect to

How good Switchfoot were

How surprised I was by ‘Napalm Death’

AC/DC and their own stage

The rain!!

Rage Against the Machine

The festival was well organised as usual and I had a fabulous time. We had upgraded the tent somewhat since last year and now had a very comfortable sleeps four in three rooms almost house sized tent. It served us so well. My stand out performance of Download 2010 was Rage Against the Machine. I will admit to being a little biased as I had seen them play their Christmas Number 1 celebratory free gig in Finsbury park the weekend before Download with friends and was on a little RATM high. They are just stunning live though. Tom Morello is the guitar equivalent of a mad scientist. He played a solo without touching his guitar. Crackers! Here’s a snap I got of them on stage.

I always forget how many people there are at festivals. This year, I made sure to take a picture of the crowd behind where I was for RATM. I think you’ll agree, it’s mind boggling.

My biggest disappointment of Download 2010 was ‘Them Crooked Vultures’. Let me explain. I am a HUGE Foo Fighters fan, a MASSIVE Queens of the Stone Age fan and a FAIR Led Zeppelin fan so how could they possibly be a disappointment? Well, basically, they didn’t do enough to make their presence felt in such a big place. I feel as thought I could have sat in a field with a hifi and their CD on at full blast and had the same experience. Technically, they were faultless. Dave Ghrol is a metronome and the guitar work was superb but show wise, they didn’t have it. I think they would probably have it in a smaller venue, but in a forum as monsterous as a festival, they couldn’t pull it off. Sorry boys!

I think it’s time to try a different festival next year. I have done Download two years on the trot now and feel ready for a change. I wish I had tickets for Glastonbury 2011 but feel that’s a pipe dream.

So onwards, or backwards, in the year. I can’t remember which. This is not a chronological blog, it’s a ‘How it comes out of my brain’ blog. Oh, I know, a quick ditty about seeing Good Charlotte. I didn’t know who they were but the ticket was only a tenner so I went. I am pleased I did because their support band ‘Canterbury’ were blooming brilliant. I took a photo of someone in Good Charlotte. I’m not sure who it is. They were rubbish.

I’ll move swiftly on to some of the amazing music I have heard at Open mic nights this year. The Open Mic nights that I frequent happen in The Victoria near Mile End tube, The Ship near Kennington tube, The Grosvenor near Stockwell tube, The Imperial just off Leicester Square and The Embassy in Islington.

I will reel off my favourite finds who also happen to be amazing people. The first has to be Mr Andy Sharrocks. His blend of dirty blues gets your foot stomping and your hand slapping your thigh. He plays as ‘Andy Sharrocks & The Smokin Jackets’ with a variety of other members. I have only ever seen him play with Husky Jack and Captain Bliss. I purchased his CD ‘Dirt’ and I have not regretted the readies I handed over for it. My favourite tracks are the title song ‘Dirt’ and also ‘Davey’s Blues’. More than one of his tracks have made it onto my cycling playlist. They keep the legs going. Here’s a shot of Andy, Captain Bliss and Panama Dave at The Victoria Open Mic. You will discover who Panama Dave is in just a moment.

So next, I present to you a guitar virtuoso that makes my knees go a little weak every time I see him walk into a venue because I know just what’s coming. Panama Dave. He plays solo guitar pieces and he plays them exceptionally. His CD ‘Panama’ is simply the most beautiful Sunday morning sound track. Actually, just any morning soundtrack. You should absolutely listen and appreciate his skill. Here’s a shot of him playing at The Imperial’s ‘Secret Sing for Your Supper’ event hosted by the delectable Carl Chamberlain.

Next, I will move onto Mark Harrison. He plays blues that speak to the soul. His tunes are superb and when he plays with his entire ensemble, it is truly mesmerising. In this shot, you can see him with Captain Bliss (Mark is playing the resonator guitar in the background) as part of a duo. Mark also hosts a couple of roots music nights around London that I must make it too very soon.

My final discovery is the afore mentioned Captain Bliss. I first saw him play solo at The Victoria and was lost for words. I had never heard a mouth harp sound like he made it sound. He is often found touting his skills alongside Andy Sharrocks or Mark Harrison. When he plays solo, he can hold the entire room to attention. No one speaks, no one drinks, some even forget to breathe because listening to his harmonica skill is simply unmissable. I captured him playing at The Imperial.

None of the acts above should be missed. if you can make a show they are playing at, you should.

I need to report on seeing Linkin Park at the O2 and seeing Paramore at the O2. I’ll start with Linkin Park.

To say I was excited about seeing Linkin Park is an understatement. I loved them from the first second I heard Hybrid theory and I never really stopped. Seeing Linkin Park play live was one of the things that had been on my ‘to do’ list for far too long and I was irrationally over the moon that the day had finally arrived. My Brother in law was just as excited as me. We both stood through the one support act who I quite liked (Does it Offend You, Yeah?) and then it was time. The lights went down, the drums started and from that point on, I was completely underwhelmed. The only truly and breathtakingly remarkable thing about the show was the drummer. Rob Bourdon is a drumming machine. His skill behind the kit is unquestionable. Unfortunately this is the best shot I could get of him.

They all played well but it wasn’t what I had built it up to be. I was expecting a high octane roller coaster and instead I got the Cups and Saucers ride. There’s nothing wrong with the cups and saucers but it’s always a let down when you thought you’d been queuing for the roller coaster. The crowd was tame which meant we got to the front very quickly and felt under no pressure to move back. Being at the front meant that I got some amazing photographs of the guys. We were to the right side of the stage which is where the bassist (David “Pheonix” Farrell) stood for most of the gig. Here’s a shot of him.

The singer, Chester Bennington, moved around the stage somewhat and I managed to get a pretty good close up of him when he ventured over to our side of the stage. You can even see Rob Bourdon a little in the background.

Finally, I got a pretty good shot of Brad Delson, the lead guitarist.

I really didn’t manage to get any good shots of the rest of the band as they didn’t come and say hello very often. If they did, I couldn’t whip my camera out in time.

Overall, I am definitely pleased I saw Linkin Park and if I had a DeLorean I wouldn’t go back in time to stop myself buying the tickets but I do remain a little deflated by the experience.

Finally, I will tell you about seeing Paramore at the O2. I don’t really have much to say about this gig as it was full of teeny boppers who didn’t seem to understand the concept of a gig and the pushing/shoving that occurs at one. All we received from the kids were black looks and elbows in ribs for absolutely no reason. It was very reminiscent of the Fall Out Boy gig I went to last year. We soon got bored and bailed out right to the back because the little so and so’s had irritated us. That’s where I took this shot from.

Paramore played very well and boy that girl can sing. I couldn’t fault their stage presence or performance at all. They really were excellent fun to watch and dance to. Would I go see them again? No, because most of their fans are rubbish.

So, all in all. A blinking tip top year guvna.

It’s been a long old time in lincstolondon land………

I would just like to assure everyone about what an amazing City London is to live in. Looking back on what I have done this year, I am fully aware that 90% of this would not have occurred if I didn’t live in this amazing, dirty and rude City. I would not swap it for all the clean air and manners in the world. I finally feel like I have found the place for me.

I have been a bad blogger. The worst kind of blogger there is. A blogger who does not blog. I have no excuses. I’ve just been rubbish. I won’t make any promises about how good or bad I will be in the future either. I just don’t know. I’m that kind of flakey person. What I can do though, is write a little something about some things I have done, the music I have discovered and the friends I have made in the past year. I am going to need to split them because the draft of the blog is running at 4500 words. I will do a section on being ‘Out and About’ and a section on Music. That should even it up. Let’s begin with being ‘Out and About’.

The prudent place to start is how I brought in the year of 2010. I trekked off to Southbank to enjoy the amazing fireworks that go on every year. They were a spectacle. I captured a few images of the eye before the fireworks. Unfortunately, I planned very badly and had a flat camera battery so I didn’t get any of the actual fireworks. Here’s one I particularly like of the London Eye beforehand. It is blurred but I think it adds to the overall effect.

Next, I will entertain you with a picture of one of the best busking mascots I have ever seen. It was a Monster who really drummed as the guy played. Genius!!

Moving swiftly along, I’ll put in my little jaunts to places that happened at some point but I can’t really remember when. Firstly, The Royal Observatory at Greenwich Park. There is a little background to this day so I’ll elaborate. I had set off with no real intentions for the day other than to wander around after seeing a Rolf Harris art exhibition near Green Park. I enjoyed Rolf’s art immensely and would have relieved him of a few pieces had I any money whatsoever to spend on art. It was still early by the time I had viewed the exhibition so I decided to saunter around Green Park. It really is a lovely Royal Park. The leaves were still on the trees and the sun was shining so the light on the paths was dappled and beautiful to walk through. As I was so close to Buckingham Palace, I decided to go take some tourist photos. I actually happened upon a parade with lots of guards, Scouts and Girl Guides. I’m still not sure what was going on but I took a photo or two.

After Green Park, I wasin the mood for more green space. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and head to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. I’d never been round the Observatory before and am fond of Greenwich so could not go wrong. I headed off. Words to the wise, just because ‘North Greenwich’ says ‘Greenwich’ in the station name does NOT mean it is anywhere near Greenwich itself. It’s a good 15 minute bus ride form North Greenwich to main Greenwich. The stop you need for the interesting part of Greenwich is the Cutty Sark stop on the DLR. Don’t be fooled. A lot of people are. Anyway, Greenwich Park is my second favourite in London (my top being Victoria Park) so I enjoyed sitting beneath a tree and watching the people go by for quite some time before deciding it was time to haul myself up the hill to the Observatory. The hill is not for the faint hearted. The view form the top is worth it.

The Royal Observatory marks the place that Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is calculated from. It’s an awesomely cool thing to behold. It is the single point on all the planet from which time is calculated. Stunning! The buildings are also lovely to look at and around.

All the exhibits are free except for the Planetarium. I didn’t go in but I did take a picture from the outside.

I really do enjoy just pottering around the City by myself. You get to just stand and look at things without worrying about anyone else being bored or needing more entertainment than you. Most people would have been agitated with my 5 hours spent in Greenwich Park just looking and walking. Sometimes solitude is everything you need in life.

I’ll chip in with a generic tourist photo of Tower Bridge. I cannot remember where I was, who I was with or when I took it, but it’s a nice shot.

Next, gosh what did I do next…….. Oh! We went ice skating with my nephew at Alexandra Palace. You weren’t allowed to take photographs at the ice rink so I do not have images to share with you other than the view from just outside the entrance to Alexandra Palace.

I am much better at Ice skating than I remembered being! I will probably try to get to another rink in London over the remainder of the festive season. It was good fun. We all had an enjoyable time. With a little encouragement, my nephew even managed a little skate all by himself.

Let’s move out of London for a little while. My job this year has taken me to Budapest. It was pouring with rain on the one night I spent in Budapest but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see a little of the City. It is vastly different to London in every way. The streets are open and wide with few shops present on them. The air smells vaguely clear and the people are polite.

The hotel I was staying in was close to ‘Heroes Square’ so I took a walk around. I got some great shots of the square.

The flash on my camera caused a gorgeous effect on the rain drops in the photographs. I captured as much of the square as I could. It looked truly magnificent in the dark.

As it was pouring with rain and I don’t speak any Hungarian, I thought it was wise to simply eat and go to bed. I didn’t fancy getting lost in Budapest at 10 in the evening.

Returning to London again, let’s do some more museums! I have been back to the Science Museum since my last post and wanted to share just a few things which made me smile. One is a dress made of carpet

Another is a dress made of cans

Then there’s the chandelier made from biro pens

The final is my dearest friend, Maggie with whom I did all the fun learning.

The Science Museum is fun for everyone. Maggie and I paid a small fee of £5 each and had a go in a brilliant 360° flight simulator. I have to say, I was a bit of an adventurous pilot and chased the enemy bogies around whilst barrel rolling and loop the lopping. Maggie opted for a much gentler approach. When we were being shot at by an enemy from behind, I suggested she do a loop the loop whilst rolling and we’d come out facing the opposite direction and the right way up. Maggie however decided this was flamboyant and instead declared “I’m banking gently to the right”. It’s a good job she’ll never be in a dog fight isn’t it?!

That moves me nicely along to the other museum I have visited, the Imperial War Museum. I’ve actually been twice this year. I had not been to the Imperial War Museum since I was in the very early years of Secondary School so it felt like I was going for the first time. What a museum it is! It has become my favourite to visit in London. I do find myself saturated by the time I have spent four hours or so wandering around it. I need to do at least two more visits in order to take in the exhibits properly. For now I’ll share my two favourite pictures. The first is of my Nephew getting far too excited about the tanks

The second is of my house mate looking forlornly at toys he could not play with.

As the hub of England, London really does have some of the best parades and events to attend. This year, I attended Gay Pride and the Notting Hill Carnival. Of the two my favourite, by far, was Gay Pride. The only feeling amongst the thousands of people there was a mutual love of shiny things and each other. The floats were colourful, happy to a fault and friendly. I was particularly fond of the Drag’Queen’ on the top deck of a London bus.

The Notting Hill Carnival however, scared me. Straight out terror. I have never felt so intimidated and petrified by other people in my life. I don’t scare easy but the sheer volume of people shouting, yelling and getting angry with each other for the unavoidable pushing/shoving that happens in a crowd was awful. The crowd felt ready to bubble over into a fight at any point which made me very fearful. I will not be going again. I did take a photo of a steel band float though.

I have been fortunate enough to make a great set of new friends this year and I spent fireworks night with them in Victoria Park. The fireworks display was brilliant and themed on the World Wars. There were plenty of war tunes floating out of the speakers that I knew. I did take some good pictures but unfortunately, they were deleted in an editing accident. My friends did try to reenact the display but with varying level of success. This is probably my favourite shot of the reenactment. It’s nothing if not amusing.

I got my first tattoo this year. I have wanted this tattoo, in this location and in these colours since I was 16 years old. I think 9 years waiting is plenty. I know it’s not sensible but I did it anyway.

Being my first ‘ink’, I took moral support and he was kind enough to take a few photos of the work in progress. Here’s my favourite shot.

This year has been one for firsts. I had never really dressed up and gone all out for Halloween before but this year, I decided, what the hell! I modified some fairy wings so that had little light up ghosts stitched around them and went crazy with the make up. Dead fairy was my theme. How do you think it turned out?

Finally, I will recount my trip on the London Eye. My sister was kind enough to use some vouchers for us all to ride the Eye on their last visit. I will admit, had we paid the full fee per person, well, I wouldn’t have paid the full fee per person. it’s hideously expensive and I don’t think the view is worth the money but, if you can get vouchers that dip you under the £15 ish mark, I think it’s acceptable for 1 trip. Here’s a shot of the Houses of Parliament I took. I wondered if I could really squash it with my thumb……I tried but to no avail.

That about concludes the mischief I have been getting up to in the City these past 12 months. The next entry I will post is going to be dedicated entirely to the music I have heard this year. I’ll post it as soon as I can.