Confessions of a Gigaholic
I decided to post this separately from my entry about Amanda's visit. Seemed only fair to everyone...
(oh, and these aren't my photos - my camera is crap at taking concert shots. These are from 'jordan' at bowlie.com)
Now, I have a theory that your favourite album by any particular artist is usually the first album you listened to by that artist. That something about the oh-so-newness of a great artist becomes a feeling that seeps into the very rhythms and hooks of the album, and you always feel a bit of that everytime you listen to it. Yes, there are some exceptions (Beck's Midnight Vultures for one...) but go through your CD collection and see if this is not generally the case for you...
Which is why I was so excited about this concert - If You're Feeling Sinister was the first Belle and Sebastian album I heard and has remained my favourite B&S album by far. It came out 10 years ago though and they've put out a whack of albums since, so chances of hearing more than two IYFS songs at a regular show would be slim. Plus, the band seemed quite excited about it and promised some different arrangements for this performance.
The show was at the Barbican, usually used for classical and theatre performances; similar to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre if I had to compare - seated venue with stalls, circle, and balcony seats. I showed up (surprisingly) on time and took my seat with a mid-range but excellent view. Then went down to the merch table and bought a wonderfully cheesy 'exclusive memorabilia t-shirt' when I couldn't take any more noise from the terrible opener Broadcast...
But the main act? Oh, it was worth every pence I paid for it - brilliant. They had really taken this show seriously and rehearsed for it, because it was super tight. The sound was bang on, Stuart's voice was very confident, and the new arrangements were not so much different as just better than on the album. And there was even a little lighting for the show (as shown above...).
When they started the first song, I couldn't help but mouth the words and sing along ever so quietly under my breath; a minute later, I looked around and realized everyone else was doing the same. It was really lovely, the audience was very respectful, which I think was nice, as too much hooting and clapping would have gotten old fast. The venue was good for that too, the Barbican seemed to exude a sense of reverence for the show. Although the seated venue and polite fans made it difficult to stand up and dance to the uptempo songs.
They played a short set both before and after IYFS - one new song, the rest mostly from their EPs (so I was very glad I went on a downloading rampage of their EPs last year!). Still confused about why they thought to play The Wrong Girl (it's mediocre at best), but - but - the third song they played was Women's Realm, which is one of my absolute favourites and I never dreamt they would play it, so right from the start I was pretty much set and the rest was a terrific sure-to-be-treasured bonus...
Download: Women's Realm
The string quartet comes out for Women's Realm...glorious!
A weekend in (what felt like) another city...
So the fabulous Miss Amanda Smith came to London and we had a lovely weekend visit. Extra great because we visited her London: the shopping districts, cafes in Covent Garden, Harrod's (my new sanctuary!), hotel rooms with crazy layouts, and a few museums for good measure.
One of my highlights, actually, was going with Amanda to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Tate 
Modern. See, I have only witnessed two types of visitors at the Tate Modern: the ones that love (or pretend to love) absolutely everything about the modern art collections, or the ones that mock every piece of art in the musuem in a stubborn refusal to try and understand any of it. But Amanda is the rare third type of viewer: critical of the exhibition but because she knows a hella lot about art and tons about Frida Kahlo in particular.
So after a weekend of shopping and walking (we covered a good part of Central London in 3 days, Amanda mapped it out - it was pretty impressive!) I thought it would be a good idea to document our final list of purchases. Amanda thought it was pretty strange request, but obliged. Here are her purchases: 
Yes, that's 3 bags, 4 pairs of shoes, a party top, some chocolate from Harrods, some lingerie, and some bath stuff. Below is what I bought:
Sunglasses (because I had left mine at home), a necklace, a bag, and some craft stuff. We live in different worlds, Amanda and I... However, that may all change since finding the mother of all cheap high street stores - New Look. I have a feeling a fair number of pounds may leave my hands at New Look...
I had to leave Amanda early on Sunday as I had a date with Belle & Sebastian!!! Fortunately, the girl has Hagen Daaz's 'only-in-London' Banoffee Ice Cream to keep her company... 
Amanda, I love this photo of you!
(by the way, all the photos here are Amanda's - see Amanda? I told you I'd give you credit!)
Hampstead Idyll III - lunch break
The park on East Heath Road, about a 5 minute walk from where I work.
The Ultimate Gig Challenge - Update I
So in a moment of completely insane whimsy, I decided to make it a goal to see (in three months) a gig at each of the London venues I've always heard about. Yes, I agree, this is one ill-advised quest. London is the 3rd most expensive city in the world, I don't have all that much saved up, and I am working for practically free when I'm here (though more than anticipated - HR Lorraine is forgiven). But hey, obssessions are not meant to be reasonable, and most of you know that seeing gigs and cool new venues will mean more to me than shelling out cash for the Tower of London. Or Lion King the Musical. Or food. Whatevs. So, update: Already seen: Keren Ann at Bush HallHave tickets to:
Franz Ferdinand at Alexandra Palace, The Go! Team at the Astoria, and Goldfrapp at Brixton Academy. But the holy grail was a ticket to the long-sold-out Belle and Sebastian concert at the Barbican. They're performing my favourite B&S album, If You're Feeling Sinister, in its entirety. I had been chasing down tickets on three different sites for weeks. I learned about 'sniper' websites. I was growing more and more discouraged by the prices people were commanding for tickets, and finding it harder to stick to my £45 limit.
Until I got an email 3 days ago - "Congratulations, your £36 bid won the auction for 1 Belle and Sebastian ticket!" Ferris Bueller never had it so lucky.
Picked the ticket up from the sweetest 30-something music geek today - he was just an everyday guy who could no longer go, and was so pleased that I got the ticket. Which made it all the more perfect. (Ewen, you are a lovely man...)
So here it is, top of my bulletin board, in all its glory:
I AM SOOO EXCITED!!!
Hampstead Idyll II
The shops around the corner from where I live.
Planning Student Nerd alert....
So after a full night of meeting Mike's lovely friend Rich for a few pints then to Brixton for bad white wine and campus-pub dance classics, it took me a little longer to get going this morning than expected. And the prospect of dashing around again today for the Open House London weekend (when architecturally cool places are free to the public) seemed just too much for me. But I did want to see at least something today and the Hampstead Garden Suburb was a perfect choice. Relatively close to my place, cute, green (and quiet), turns out HGS is recognized as one of the finest examples of early 20th century domestic architecture and town planning. And they're proud of it - they still have a strong residence association with a pretty comprehensive website, www.hgs.org.uk. Championed by a woman no less (Henrietta Barnett, a cosmetics heiress turned social worker), the intention for the project "was not to be an ordinary land-owning company but to make a social experiment by providing for people of all classes a beautiful and healthy place to live in." The streets were all garden-city perfection, there were residences for war widows and single working women, and the suburb had a mix of stately houses and cottages so to attract all classes. There was to be no pub in the suburb so to avoid the typical social ills (though there is one just outside the gates) and Henrietta started a school for girls as well as a continuing education institute. It may not have been progressive enough to make it into History and Theory class, but it seemed pretty 'Leonie' for its time...
Connected to the Heath extension, it's really not all that far away from the rest of North London, but it is quite picturesque, due much in part to the lovely collection of houses and buildings, designed by various architects. My favourite though has to be Lutgens' work, for the following reason:
Notice how the hill is sloping down but the mid-house rail stays level? That's because Lutgens is a clever chap - the rail changes position all along the hill so the buildings maintain a sense of cohesion. (Here the left building has it right above the first floor windows while on the right it's just below the second floor windows.) I know, I know, it's probably quite elementary to the studio kids but I found it quite skillful...
The tour guide was such a charming lady, and afterwards I had fun trying to explain what a disaster planned suburbs are in America with other members of the residence association. (Hey, they asked...) Spent the rest of the afternoon walking through their woods and the heath extension, just a lovely afternoon.
Anyway, SCARPies, have a look at the design history and the photographic survey if this is at all interesting...and to others, I apologize if I bored you.
My morning commute
So every morning, I will be walking out the wooden door that's at the right of the photo...and walking through the door at the left of the photo.
Already I love this job!
So I started work a few days ago now, working at the World Bureau of Guiding, in their departments that deal with International Development and Advocacy. And I know I am going to enjoy it, and it turns out I think it will actually help with my project in the end - they are doing some amazing things here and are focused on making all those resources easier to access. In fact, putting together a project depot is my second project. But first things first...
Sally is my supervisor for the first six weeks - she has done lots of international development work (including running a medical charity's headquarters, which was actually an airplane. seriously.) and is very knowledgeable, she is very personable, and is a massive Liverpool fan - married to a massive Chelsea fan! Which means she obviously has a good sense of humour, so we get on just fine.
There are 2 other interns who started this week - Katherine from Kentuky is making websites to collate all the projects we do in WAGGGS; Connie from London is working on a campaign about human trafficking. Both are very nice, but I have to say my favourites are the colleagues in my office. I may mention them again, so for future reference:
- Georgina, very English (even for the rest of them), posh, demanding, very funny. Engaged, so she reminds me a bit of Perpetua from Bridget Jones with all her personal calls.
- Morwenna, very sweet but with a sly humour. Her and Georgina are excellent gossips.
- Kate, crafty beyond compare, very amiable. Kate is the type I'd be friends with if I had met her at school.
- Marina, the gorgeous actress who is temping for a while at the Bureau. Everyone's in love with her.
Of course, I still have no idea a) how long I'll be working or b) how much I'm being compensated for this internship, or even c) how much I get paid for lunch expenses. I guess those are "minor details" according to Lorraine the HR Director. (And here I unduly blamed her negligence on the time difference problem... )
London Venue/Gig Review I - Keren Ann
Tip: If you ever feel like seeing a show at London's Bush Hall, just show up to the venue and say you bought your ticket online the night before and that's why you're not on the list - they'll let you in no problem.
Too bad I'd already bought tickets for the Keren Ann gig, but I can't complain because I was accompanied by the long-lost Jocelyn! Yes, we finally got in touch the night before and met up no problem. It was so nice to hear a Canadian accent again - I knew that with all the accents around me, I was starting to pick up weird inflections, and it was making me feel like a poseur. And I have been invited to a birthday party in Brixton on Saturday night, so the social calendar is finally beginning!
So. London Venue #1: Bush Hall is essentially a big old room with fancy interiors and nice chandeliers - the shabby chic equivalent of a music venue. There are only a few tables near the front; otherwise, you're left to sit on the carpet. It's slightly bigger than the Media Club, but far more charming. A good venue for anything intimate or low-key.
The gig itself was good, Keren and her band were having a good time, you could tell. The crowd was excellent - they were attentive all the way to the back of the room, even for the opening act. A far cry from Vancouver's crowd. My only gripe was that she didn't sing enough of her French stuff, which, in my opinion, is vastly superior to her English language songs.
(To the left is my sorry attempt to take a photo of the band, which ended up being a great shot of that man's bald head with the band changing instruments in the background. No, I am not quitting my day job....)
"But enough about music and other silly nonsense, what the hell are you doing over in London?? Tell us about your job already!"
Next post, I promise...
A big couple of days for sport
So Britain won the cricket and as a result, yesterday was a madhouse here. There were parades, parties, and you have to love a place where you can freely give out coupons for free beer in the paper to celebrate....In other news, today was my last free day in London before work, so I got up early, bought my Oyster TravelCard, and set out to get a million things seen and done. (Though first, a little window shopping...)Okay, so a little window shopping turned into an hour in TopShop - whatevs...I made up for it by doing actual project research stuff - I met with a guy at Oxfam's Global Education office for an hour and got some excellent contacts for my project. (Seriously, the project is looking pretty promising now!) Then to the Tate Modern for a dose of culture (and for anyone who has met my dad, there was an exhibition showing some Russian Revolution poster art, and yes, the pictures of Lenin made me think of him. He really does look more like Lenin every day - ah, the irony...)So after the Tate, I was on the bus headed into Kensington trying to track down a guidebook for the Architecture Open House here in London this weekend, when I saw a tricke of bue jerseys slo
wly become a sea of blue. Of course - the Chelsea home game was starting in 45 minutes. My friend Mike (Inwood) is a Chelsea fan, so I hopped back on the bus to see what his fellow fans were up to. I followed the sea of blue and there there were: young and old, boys and girls, dads with sons (like this happy family to the right - dusk is a terrible time for my digital camera, but I love the blazer-over-the-football-jersey look sported by both dad and son). The Chelsea fans headed in with no incidents, just high spirits. The neighbourhoods around were well-behaved - a little too well-behaved, in fact, because I couldn't find a lively pub around to watch the game in.
Now, as I took the above picture, I knew that the other Michael in my life (a devoted Arsenal fan) would kill me if I caught Chelsea fans on film and missed the Gunners the following night. So knowing a trip out to Highbury was in order, I thought I'd make things interesting and have a bit of a competition - based solely on the fans, a sort of "Fanatics Deathmatch", if you will... Got to Arsenal FC again around dusk - this time I'm a little late because the crowds 
delayed the Piccadilly line about 20 minutes. This group, no rowdier, just a little louder. A fair bit of singing and cheering. (Like this guy to the right.) Surprised to see few packs of older men like I saw at Fulham Broadway station, but instead lots of men in well-tailored suits speed-walking to the stadium.
Then, I saw them - the cutest football family you've ever seen, straight out of a movie. So cute, in fact, that I froze and couldn't get a picture in time. From right to left we had Mum, 7 yr old daughter, Dad, and 10 yr old son. They all looked like catologue models, all wearing jerseys (except the girl, who was wearing an I [heart] Arsenal shirt) and holding hands in a chain to make sure they didn't lose each other. I just about died.
Watching the barely-managed chaos that was the Clock End, I started chatting with the Evening Standard guy who was closing down his stand. A pleasant bloke, he offered to help me get a last minute ticket. Moot point though, because I realized that I only had 70p to my name, and I'd have to find an ATM if I wanted to even have dinner. Went into the pub suggested by Evening Standard guy (definitely lively!) but they only took cash, so started walking up the road to find a bank machine. And kept walking. More walking. How do people get money in this city????
Finally found one and popped into the nearest pub, starving by this point. Seems that while I was walking, Arsenal had a man sent off, and the game is now tied. Ordered some chips and a Carling, and headed to the large room at the back of the pub. The whole room was full of ordinary Londeners who obviously watched televised games regularly, so it was also pretty obvious I was a random stranger. One lady made room for an extra stool so I could sit down (bless you woman!) while the guy by her swore at the screen. Oh, these guys did everything a great fan is supposed to. And they we rewarded by a goal quite literally in the last minute of the game. Brilliant. So. All in all:
Chelsea+1 point for sea of blue
+1 point for seemingly better crowd management
+ 1/2 point for Lampard (what? it's my game, I can do that)
-1 point for nearby pubs that were so boring, I went home and ended up watching Liverpool instead. Total Points for Chelsea: 1 1/2
Arsenal+1 point for all the singing
+1 point for the so-cute-it-hurt Arsenal family
+1 point for the Evening Standard brush with ticketness
-1 1/2 points for not having an ATM anywhere for ages
+1 1/2 points for the excellent fans at the Highbury Barn
Total points for Arsenal: 3 Winner: Arsenal.In other news, I still haven't gotten hold of Jocelyn yet, so it looks like I am going to have to the sell the ticket and go alone. Grrr...
Quick Reflection I
(No, this post has nothing to do with the photo above, it’s just a cute photo I want to share.)
Spoke with Geoffrey today – he and Haley are moving this week, so we likely won’t see each other until the end of next week. And somewhere along the way in my crazy packing haze, I misplaced the piece of paper with Jocelyn’s phone number here in London. I had a feeling this would happen and asked her to email me her number. Well, she hasn’t emailed me back yet, and we have tickets to see Keren Ann on Thursday. I hope by some miracle she calls - more than just having to sell the ticket, I am really tired of doing things alone.
After the chaotically social summer I just had, I figured I’d be really up for some quality alone time here in London, that spending time alone would give me the space to sort things out and do a little of that "growing up" I've been meaning to do. That though I love having wonderful people in my life, I'm good on my own.
Well, throw that theory out the window - I am already officially (and hideously) lonely. And it’s only Day 3. It's pathetic, really.
I can't wait for work to start, if only because then I'll have people to talk to. I’ve chatted with all the girls in Pax, but realize that I am the most outgoing (and sadly, vain) person living here, my age does make a bit of a difference and that the typical pop culture repartee ain't happening with this bunch. (Seriously, they are sweet girls, but one girl’s favourite CD is Linkin Park, another’s is a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, and the others don't really listen to music – it’s like a High Fidelity 5th level of hell. How have you never heard of Interpol???)
Something's gotta give, and sooner rather than later...
Hampstead Idyll I
The view from outside my window. 
To the right is our backyard, and behind that fence is a schoolyard. Every morning, I awake to the sound of children playing.
To market, to market
Though it incited a bit of delerium last night, my dad's "just stay up until everyone else goes to bed" jet-lag trick seemed to work; by 9:30 this morning, I was ready to take off and check out the Sunday markets. My favourite market last time we were here in 2002 was definitely Spitalfields, so I was superkeen to go back there. Sad to say, it's gone downhill since then - a little too overhyped, commercial, and expensive now. (And yes, I know how indie-snobby that sounds, but it's true.) So after breezing through there, I thought I'd walk over to Brick Lane, another market which isn't too far away. Turns out I showed up on the day of the annual Brick Lane Festival, with tons of stalls, performances, art shows, curry shops turning the sidewalk into outdoor cafes, and about a billion people packed onto the lane! (so bustling, I had to take a picture of it...)
I spent most of the day there, but on my way back, I stopped at the flower markets (which were sooo expensive that it looks like my penchant for flowers at my desk may be out of my budget...) and in the Camden horse stall markets (which is a massive maze of incense holders, vintage clothing, handmade furniture, and super-overpriced mimimalist crafty stuff - basically Main St gone mad.) I barely bought anything - which is really all I can afford. All in all, a pretty successful day!
Don't mess with (flights to) Texas
So.... I almost didn't make the plane ("oh Aleks, how cliche of you...")Frantically trying to re-do my ethical review the night before leaving (as I filled out the old form that unbeknowst to me was replaced with a new form on Sept 1....) was certainly NOT how I wanted to spent my final night in Vancouver. Especially since procrastinator extraordinaire here had left the packing, unpacking, and repacking for my last night as well. So there I was at the check-in counter, still taking stuff out of my still-too-heavy bags while the check-in people softly voice concerns about whether I'll make the flight at this point. I just about had a heart attack.
Of course, it was fine (though when we heard the pilot say, "we're just a few minutes late getting off the ground, folks, just making sure that all the baggage gets on the plane, don't want to leave anything behind", I had a bad feeling I knew what that was about...) But in my rush, I didn't have time to grab any breakfast, and it was one of those no-food flights to Dallas. So I had to pay $3 for their "breakfast snack" - this is what American Airlines considers a decent "breakfast snack":
- (salted) Wheat Thins
- strawberry jelly
- "SUNBUTTER" - like peanut butter, but from sunflower seeds...
- fig newton
- Paul Newman raisins
Like the couple next to me said, "that is the strangest breakfast snack we've ever seen".
But the flights were fine, and both my bags arrived in London just fine, which (as some of you may know) was a pleasant surprise! I've settled into my new digs, Pax Lodge in super-posh Hampstead. The girls that work/live here are sweet, but because they live and work here and none of them are from England, they find it tricky to meet people here in London. Guess I'll have to charm the Londoners on my own!
I start work on Wednesday, so I have the next few days to shop/sightsee/find a computer that can upload my photos. (I'm hoping to post a picture every day, but we'll see how long that holds out...)
I decided to post this separately from my entry about Amanda's visit. Seemed only fair to everyone... 
