Time

It's been six months since I left Oz, bloody ridiculous! Sorry about the language, but seriously. I still remember my going away dinner like it was yesterday. Mum made me lasagna with gluten-free pasta sheets for my family going away dinner. Then this happened.

"hey mum, how did you made the bechamel sauce in this lasagna?"

"what do you mean?"

"well you normally thicken it with flour right? so what did you use instead?"

"Um. Flour..."

I mean really. Makes for a good story though. SO the points of this is to say that time is going really fast, and this past 10 days has gone crazy fast:

THURSDAY 13th

Saw the Black Keys at the O2 Arena. To start, that Arena is huge. It fits 20,000 people, it wasn't sold out on Thursday, but it was pretty close! The band itself was aaaaa-mazing. It's hard to believe two guys, a drum and a guitar can make such sweet sweet music, but it happened! As Ryan pointed out, there type of music is much better suited to a small, sweaty club, but you'd have to go back 6 years if you wanted to see that. Such a good gig, top 5! (The other 4 are KOL)

I found this really funny. No-one else did...

Ayo!

FRIDAY 14th

Winter Wonderland for my work party, which ended up being me and my friends due to my very unorganised work place! Had fun all the same, went on rides, ate food, drank mulled wine. 

Best £6 ever

SATURDAY 15th

Our Boys, a play about six early-twenties soldiers in a military hospital. The whole play is in one room, and it was hilarious! Lots of sex jokes, obviously considering the male dominated cast, but some really tense, sad bits, due to them being soldiers and what-not. First Harry Potter celebrity, Matthew Lewis. Neville Longbottom. We didn't stick around after the show, something I will regret for the rest of my life...

The set

SUNDAY 16th

Marthe and Sarah visited me at work, they took a snap of me:

Keeeeeeen

MONDAY 17th

We went to the Top Secret Comedy Club in Covent Garden, really funny, hilarious, and sometimes cringing. Monday's is free and it's new material night, so the comics tried out there new stuff, and noted our laughter and/or groans! The final act was someone very famous, none of us had heard of him but put that down to being foreigners. It was Jason Manford, really really funny, and normally you have to pay lots of money to see him, but for us it cost nowt. Sometimes London can be magical.

Saw this guy in Covent Garden. He was so drunk he was sitting on a female statue and chatting her up! Can't see the statue because of the angle of the photo, but it was perhaps the funniest thing I've seen all year.

TUESDAY 18th

Liz's 23rd birthday! We got her some cupcakes from Primrose Bakery, held her a surprise party that she organised, supplied the food for and arranged the time for. It went really well! A quick (3 hour) game of Circle of Death (Kings Cup for European readers), and we eventually made it out in Camden. A very eventful evening, I won't mention a certain someones behaviour because it's too funny!

Thanks to Sarah for most of these photos

Happy Birthday Liz!

WEDNESDAY 19th

Headaches all round, we had a big Christmas dinner, + Joni. Chicken, vegetables, side salad, brownies, and Ellie's delicious Pavlova with berries, cream (and soy cream for me and Ellie). The perfect food for our sad bodies!

It's christmassssss, it's christmas timeeee

I'll just get you a tissue for that drool

THURSDAY 20th

Tea and scones in the evening to say goodbye to Marthe. She's off home for the next three weeks, but I'll be seeing her before that when I go to the Netherlands! We (me, Liz, Marthe and Sarah) were all waa-ing and really sad that we wouldn't see each other for 3 weeks! I shudder to think what we'll be like when we have to say goodbye for reals in July...! Marthe drew this photo on Tuesday night, and I love it. It's even more amazing because it was drawn on a balloon with a sharpie and nail polish!

Me, Liz, Sarah, Mardi (my nickname for Marthe)

FRIDAY 21st

This was yesterday. I just did errands.

Gingerbreads with royal icing! My first try ever :)

Right now I'm at my grandparents in Manchester. They've gone out to dinner and I'm home in my pyjamas. So excited to not do anything for 5 days, I've been offered a cup of tea by Grandma about 16 times today already. Heaven!

I suppose I'll say Merry Christmas! Mine will feel a bit weird, going miss my family heaps, and it'll be cold. Ah well, I've still got all my fingers and toes crossed for snow.

P.S. This is nice to watch.

P.P.S. We're getting a fish. Some name ideas: Pachyderm (closest I'll ever get), Gregory or Robert or something (because animals with human names are funny), or Florean Fortescue.

Song of the Week

The Black Keys

Everlasting Light

-4 Does Not Mean Minus Fun

-4 degree days don't normally suggest going on a solo adventure, but when the alternative is studying, we all know what I chose to do!

So, yeah, negative four weather as illustrated by the frost gripping onto this spider web:

I think it's actually more amazing the web hadn't already fallen apart from the weight of the ice, but that is, as they say, the miracle of Mother Nature. To further illustrate the cold, this is what I looked like:

Add a red nose after 20 minutes of being outside! I was pretty snuggly so had a good old day! I've been working my way through my book the London Style Guide (a gift from Waterstones to me), and today I ticked off two areas:

I started off getting the tube to Chalk Farm, which is only about 25 minutes from my place. Chalk Farm leads to Primrose Hill, which the book suggests is A-lister city (specifically Jamie Oliver!). 

I didn't see anyone famous, but I did walk to the top of Primrose Hill and looked out across London! Even through the haze and fog I could see the London Eye, the Shard, and most importantly, the BT Tower (haha). Some committed people were running up and down the hill, and I will be coming back for a picnic here in the warmer months.

I then strolled along 'Little Venice'...

which ends at Camden Lock, the atmosphere changed so quickly! It went from a tranquil, calm area to CAMDEN!!! with people trying to give you their CD's and big signs advertising both tattoos and tattoos removals (literally something for everyone). I love it though. I went to get some moola so I could buy my netball KK a gift from the famous Primrose Bakery, back in Primrose Hill (obvs)! The flavours there are pretty magical (malted marshmallow!?), but I chose a Christmas one!

A soy mocha from The Little One (thanks Lani + the book for the heads up) 

and I was on my way to Hampstead! Ohhh, it was my first time here and it is so magical. Coming out of the tube you are half-way up a hill, so can look down and see all the Christmas street lights twinkling, and look up at the winding, tree lined streets! Also, only in England is there a real estate agent called Chesterton Humberts. My main reason for going to Hampstead was to visit Ginger and White, recommended by both the style book and my London Coffee Guide. It's definitely a winner, I got a peppermint tea and sat in the toasty window seat watching everyone walk up and down the little side street it's located on. Ill be back here on the couches with my laptop asap.

I'll be posting my writing assignment on here soon, I did a piece on travel and a piece of food (standard) so hopefully that goes well. When I read out this one to the class I got some laughs! Sympathetic ones no doubt, but that was the point!

More updates soon no doubt,

also here is a sneak peak for the family:

XX

SONG OF THE WEEK

This one has a story behind it: I've had a song stuck in my head since I was in Lagos. It's sort of slow and guitary and could be sung by Ben Harper or Jack Johnson and sort of is slow and he does a note then sings... you know? Anyway, it's been annoying me for so long. So this song is a song I had in my head for about 2 years from when I was 14 to 16, and FINALLY I managed to find it one night randomly. So in an homage to finding that song thats stuck in your head.....

I Wanna Be Just Like You

Robbie Nevil

(cringe)

A Few Points...

A Humourous Conversation:

"one flat latte please"

"sorry, did you want a flat white or a latte?"

"flat latte"

"ok well a flat white has no foam, a latte has a little bit"

"okay yes a latte"

"great"

"yes latte with no foam. flat latte thank you"

A Famous Sighting x3

Bill Bailey buying a chicken wrap and a diet coke from my work. Me dying to ask him to take off his hat. I didn't.

Bill Bailey walking past my work holding hands with his wife, who has multi-coloured hair.

A poster of Baby Spice at the school I play netball at, under the heading 'Past Alumni'.

New Travel Plans

Holland for 4 days in the New Year with Marthe! Her home town Deventer, her university town Utrecht, and the lovely Amsterdam. New postcards abound!

Upcoming Events

The Black Keys

Our Boys (ft. Neville Longbottom)

Winter Wonderland

Sinterklaas and Christmas parties

Manchester

Number of Large Assignments Due on Jan 14

6

Days until Kings of Leon

186

New Book Purchases

Portugese Phrasebook

Best in Travel 2013

Number of points on my to-do list

21

Amount I want my Mum to come to Morocco with me

A lot

Awkward

My topic for this weeks Creative Non-Fiction class is autobiography, so here we go:

My life has had many different threads and focuses. At any given moment I will be teaching myself French, working my way through the top 100 must-read literature, and religiously attending Bikram yoga. Before you start thinking I’m some kind of super-woman who does all of this AND has great hair, I’ll have you know that hardly any of these stick. The best sentence of French I know is ‘je ne comprends pas’, I don’t know what was so Great about those Expectations, and my hair is currently in an unwashed top-knot. However, there is one constant in my life, from being a twelve year old aspiring paediatrician, to now, aspiring to at least be a functioning human. That constant thread is awkwardness. Each and every day I get myself into an awkward conversation, and awkward situation, or will do something that will make my future self be in an awkward situation. On a good day, I manage to do all three. From the common, left-right-left-right oh sorry haha when walking towards another person, to being unable to stop the handyman here to fix the shower head from coming into my room, as I am ON THE TOILET!! Perhaps the words “no no no don’t come in just wait a second” have taken on a new meaning these days. 

It was inevitable that going travelling and studying in another country would create some fantastically cringeworthy situations for me, and, so far, I have not been let down. One, which I have re-told to my close friends (much to their glee), still makes my eye twitch when I think of it. For your reading pleasure, I will re-tell the tale here for you now:

My local, 24-aisle super-supermarket Asda had fooled me into thinking I needed a bathmat, my weeks groceries, two pillows, a frying pan, enough cutlery and crockery for three and a baking tray all at that exact moment. It was my first morning in London and I had already been walking from for twenty minutes.  By walking I mean sprinting for 3 seconds then dropping the bags. As the many people rushing to work ignored me as they strode past, I muttered under my breath about ‘selfish Londoners not helping me', and that ‘everyone was right, they are rude!’, a man’s voice rang clear through the blood rushing past my ears. I turned, the sun was shining above his head like a halo, and he offered his help. I graciously accepted, thanked him profusely, and tried to wipe the sweat moustache off my upper lip without him seeing, after all he wasn’t bad looking. I handed him the heaviest three bags  (you would have done the same) and we started chatting. It turned out he worked at a company that produced the cervical cancer vaccinations for the UK, known as Gardasil in Australia. He knew I would be familiar with them, being a young female from a country that gave out the vaccinations for free, and told me that the Australian style of vaccination was better than the English.

“Oh really, how come?” I innocently asked.

“Well the UK ones only protect against cervical cancer, whereas the Australian ones protect against both that and genital warts.”

Now honestly, I’m not sure why he chose to tell me this; to say those two words, whose syllables scrape your eardrums and make your head sink into your neck just a fraction.

Genital. Warts.

The response of silence was not going down too well, and not wanting to be rude to a man who had practically saved my life, I responded with my brightest smile.

“Well, all going well with me so far!” 

By the time we reached my gate, he dropped the bags, wished me luck in London, and turned on his heel faster than a businessman running for the 8.30 tube to Bank. I’m not sure why he didn’t ask for my number, but I put it down to him probably being in a relationship, or something...

For reasons like this, I can relate to the great Russell Brand once said, “my life is just a series of embarrassing incidents strung together by telling people about those embarrassing incidents.” 

I believe my mother would call it ‘character building’.

Life in Film

HELLO
Only 20 days until Christmas everyone. This is good news for many many reasons, I have a month off university, I get to go and chill out at my Grandparents in Manchester, where it will hopefully snow, I get to spread Christmas cheer amongst my family and friends (in the form of Facebook messages. Sorry to break it to you guys, postage costs a lot this time of year), AND I will be eating a large amount of ham, turkey and gluten/dairy free christmas puddings. Which I have already sourced.

We're having a Christmas Party in out kitchen on the 19th, and we also have to celebrate the Dutch holiday of Sinterklaas, courtesy of Liz and Marthe! Traditionally celebrated tomorrow, on the 5th of December, Sinterklaas involves gingerbreads, poems and presents in shoes. Amazing. We'll be celebrating it sometime next week though as Sarah is in Rome at the moment. Tough life huh.

Anyway, I have been a very busy human this past week. I have done, amongst working and uni, gone out in Camden and Shoreditch, saw Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, and ate the best burger of my life from Honest Burgers in Soho.
Seriously, I'm not kidding, I've eaten at Grill'd, Jus Burgers, Byron and this one was easily the best. The chips were also on another level. Definitely going back.

Song of the Moment

Life in Film
-Carla-

These guys played at Koko's when we went on Friday, and really liked them, the lead singers voice is so English. So, here you go, you can relive it with me. Ignore his silly glasses.

_________________________________________________________________________________

A brilliantly named wine collection from the one and only Tescos.

In my huge coat about to go out, but more importantly wearing my new hat!

The best part of Phantom of the Opera, when the elephant came out

Life in Film playing

Me and the kitchen Christmas Tree!

Our solution to the sensor that turns on the light in the kitchen

Leyas - Coffee 100

Leyas

website

20 Camden High Street

Mornington Crescent

With plenty of comfortable seating, vintage decor and the modern luxury of WiFi, Leyas is a nice place to spend the morning. I went there with my laptop and a friend, Marthe, and had a chamomile tea- served in a really heavy cup which I always think are much nicer to drink out of than bone china.

The range of sweet treats are pretty standard, croissants, muffins etc., but they also serve what the book says is the 'Best Brownie in London', something Marthe can attest to! The fridge is full of delicious, hearty salads and there are 4 or 5 different sandwiches to choose from.

Take away is available, but instead you should dine in downstairs, take a book and read, or even play one of the board games they have!

*The Coffee 100 posts are reviews of the cafes from The London Coffee Guide 2012 book, I hope to go to all 100.

Thug* Life

*student...

Ola! I'm sitting in the kitchen with Marthe and Sarah. To give you a visual/audio guide, Marthe is next to me watching a YouTube video on how to speak with a Scottish accent, and we are making our way through Sarah's pile of too-ripe bananas. We're planning our trips, Sarah and I have dollar signs in our eyes discussing the OS-Help loan we may get next year, I've got my favourite website Skyscanner up, and I'm looking up flights to Porto, Morocco, Berlin and maybe, just maybe, a bit of Holland! I've got piles of lists at the moments searching the best times to go, and why, and how long for, and how much it will cost and blaaaah. Over planning is what I do best. Most of my travels will be solo this year though, which is very exciting! Whenever we met someone who was travelling solo during my trip earlier this year they always had more pro's than con's for going alone. I guess I'll soon find out.

ANYWAY

Back to reality:

I had a really lovely weekend, it involved:

• A trip to Camden to get a blondie from Cookies and Scream to celebrate my sisters birthday. SO DELICIOUS!



• A trip to Waterstones just because. Six floors of books, I spent about 2 and a half hours there. Just browsing with Liz. I mean yeah it was a Saturday night, but whatever.


• Worked. Lots. Gotta pay those bills.

• On Friday night we went to the Christmas Markets at Southbank, and had a look at the World Press Photo 2012 exhibition at the Southbank Centre. The exhibition was really great, most of the photos were of sad situations, some included the shark fin trade and the rhino horn trade, but all of the photos were amazing, the best were those that managed to be beautiful while being horrible at the same time.

Traditional fishing practice in the Congo River

Image Credit

Sliding with Sarah at Southbank

Friends! Sarah, Marthe, Me and Liz
(Liz lives in another flat, but she's and honorary member of B05)

Getting a tour of the house I've lived in my whole life on Skype, jealous of the sun!

??????? so many options

Waterstones. Or Wizard. Both are good

Just one of the books I really really wanted

I'll try and do some more exciting things to make the blog a bit better! I do have a really long to-do list that includes seeing the ballet, more skating, and various museum exhibitions. The next few months are quite full of plans and Christmas parties and travelling, so hold tight.

X

Song of the Week:

This is a nice tune to bob your head to, and has a good message too.

Same Love- Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis

P.S. 

I'm big in Russia

getting ready for winter

Gig and B-Lane

I've discovered I'm prone to mood swings / changing my mind. Well actually, I've always very indecisive (Libra ya'll), but this week my opinions on London and being here have gone from zero to hero. On Tuesday I was feeling very homesick and waaaaaaa, but only 5 days later, I'm so glad I'm here, and realise that even though its a challenge, its so much fun and such a good opportunity, and have had a really great week. Woo positive thinking yay! Here is my week:

• We won netball, it was a really good game, the score 39-35 after being down the whole game! 
• Submitted my first assessment. 
• I got my first pay check after 5 months! I really enjoyed seeing "credit" in my bank account instead of "debit"!
• My 5 month leaving home anniversary was on Friday. Unsure if it feels like longer or shorter? Think maybe it feels like 5 months!
• Went to a gig at the 100 Club in Soho on Friday to see The Move On's. The guitarist is one of Joni's friends boyfriends, I'd never heard them before but I really enjoyed the gig, the songs were right up my alley and I thought they were excellent! PLUS I got to meet the band afterwards. If you feel like it, you can listen to some tracks on their website, my favourite is Don't Give Me Your Love. They're from Brighton, and coincidentally we're planning on spending a night down there in a few weeks. Choccywoccydoodah here I come. Was not paid for this post by the Move On's by the way. Hah.
• Spent today in Brick Lane! In East London, its a very eclectic and multicultural area, full of food, trinkets, and vintage clothing! I think you could get food from anywhere in the world if you wanted too- Ethiopian anyone? I had a delicious crepe, g&d free, full of egg, ham, spinach and mushrooms, so good- see below picture. We saw a man playing three games of chess at once, and probably winning. He had quite a large crowd around him, pretty amazing stuff. We saw all sorts of characters, tried on some fur hats, and I got my sister a gift for her birthday. I also ticked off a cafe from my London Coffee Guide, Nude Espresso, only 97 to go! There was also an Aero Bar pop-up shop to promote these new Aero Mint balls. Free samples and some wind machines! Why not...

Until next time,

X

Song of the moment:

Kanye West- Family Business

I'd never listened to it before, despite it being on my iPod for years. Then it shuffled, and now I love it.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Gig

Soy Mocha is my coffee of choice

Close Up

All signs have the Bengali translation due to the high population of Bengali people in the area

I love crepes.... and have large teeth

A nice place to be

My mate

The book was "I Didn't Know That About London"

Malaysian pancakes!

World Food Court

Taken at 5:30, look how dark it is!

The Aero bar pop-up shop!

Not sure which I like better

Super genius chess player- and by player I mean with the ladies

Sad street art man

Oh hey there...