Chris is leaving. Why does that matter? People leave London. They go to Spain. It happens all the time, and you’ll believe that most especially if you watch “A Place in the Sun” or “No Going Back” and the half dozen other copycat shows like it. Brits want out. Chris is loud and demanding. He…
Why Go to England?
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Here’s one reason to be in England in June. The weather has been dry, so dry they’ve installed a “hose pipe ban.” But in the official parks and gardens of the city, apparently they still water. Thank goodness. Colin and I both stopped to smell the roses. I am not sure what these are called,…
World Cup, Au Naturale
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Colin, Chris and I were just hangin’ out at a pub on the Strand, just moments after England won their first World Cup match, when we heard a commotion on the street nearby. Police escorts and everything for these 750-plus in-the-buff protestors/celebrators. They were protesting oil dependancy while celebrating the individuality of the human body.…
Tales of May 06: Tampa-rriffiic!
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It wasn’t a “vacation.” It wasn’t a “holiday,” as they call it over here. It was an epic event of travel. With that in mind, I’ve decided to break up the Tales of May 06 into bits, for easier consumption. It all began, really, existentially, at the House of Meats. La Casa de la Carne.…
The World Should Be Flat
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I recently had my first proxy visitor to London. She came in the post. Here name was “Flat Stacey” and she was a friend of my niece Grace. Grace is one of many school kids involved in the Flat Stanley project. It’s an international literacy and communications project based on a kids book about a…
Colours of Spring
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Rhubarb… A naturally occuring pink food, found growing underneath enormous green leaves. Good in pies. Why do I like this image? Note the top left… In this market (Borough Market, South London) there is a “Turnip” aisle. Oddball pub in the heart of Soho. Serves Italian food but reminds me, with the oil can ads…
A Walk ’round Bayswater
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It isn’t possible that I have been more relaxed lately? How is that possible? Colin and I went a-walkin’ again this weekend. It is getting warmer these days, so we are getting off our butts. This excursions took us west from our flat, generally in the direction of Notting Hill, though we really only made…
Michael Dale David Sebastian
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Navigating a new friend is like discovering a new museum. What is new about it, anyway? It’s been here for years. Yet it is new to me and I am new to it. Michael told me, casually, offhand, that he cleaned objects at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. It was over a…
New Year’s Resolution Update
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I’ve had one of those days: first, that other damn volunteer, Sue, at the soup kitchen, is horning in on my territory. I mean, back off! I do the till on Fridays in this town! Then my temp gig fell through, so I was deprived of another noisy day in Soho, at the corner of…
Around here
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I find myself looking up and around a great deal in the walk from our flat to the places we go every day and every week: The Tube The Dry Cleaners The Coffee Place The Pub The Bank The Shops, for food The Wine Store The Corner Eatery Here are a few images of what…
A long-played note
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One day it rains. And then you walk by a tree and you see this. The winter in London is a long played note. Yet, there are reasons to love it here. Three are: 1. Green grass, no matter how little rainfall 2. Yummy Chinese food 3. Live music everyday, even in the Tube stations…
In Plastic Armour
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I was walking back from the Passage to Victoria station the other day and I came upon, well, this. They gave me an orange from a basket. I could choose, actually. Apple or orange. They were promoting a website, a site to change your life. The tall one was funny. He asked, after he heard…
Who loves me, baby?
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THEY do! This is Tony and Bill. They are my buddies at the Warrington. I love this photo. I took it with my new toy, my camera phone. Sigh… I remember the days when I said I would never, EVER had a cell phone. Well, don’t worry. Here, I have a “mobile” phone. Tony drinks…
Surviving a blue day
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One blue day isn’t just that. It’s the culmination of hours, days, weeks, holding on, fingernails biting into that last saving grain of wood. Fine, fine!. I laugh, I am fine. I am hiding it from you. What is just “blue” is ripping up in me, nearly dead and bleeding on cold cement, in an…
Alex doesn’t read this weblog
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This is Alex. Hello Alex! Alex lives in London. He’s my friend. He’s married to Frances. I talk about her lots, but I don’t talk about Alex very much. Alex, like many of you (especially those of you not here right now), does not read my weblog. Why do you care whether Alex reads my…
