Blowing Smokerings In The Smoke

Eight hours in London yesterday proved to me that I could never live there, nor would I ever want to. The city brings on a sense of claustrophobia that is dizzying to the point of sickness. Meanwhile, some of the people, well, let's not get me started on their downright rudeness. I have had happy experiences in London with great people but yesterday, the worst of all worlds was brought to the fore.

Having said that, my impression may have been tainted by the fact I had had a) no sleep and b) a nightmare nine hour coach journey through the night, largely caused by the fact a jack-knifed lorry on the M1 caused us to be diverted through Dunstable. It took us 90 minutes just to get through there. How Londoners cope with the commute I will never know. Anyway, I was tired, cranky and had business to attend to - which thankfully I did, just in time.

Afterwards, I met up with my sister at a shopping mall in Shepherd's Bush. Rihanna was set to launch her new album there in the evening so it was a hive of red carpets and metal barriers. I slinked into Square Pie to get myself a pie that was square. It was served with mash and mushy peas, the typical Cockney way, in a middle class yet soleless shopping mall. Catching up with my sister was fun, I bought her some presents for her 21st birthday which is this Sunday, and I played with an iPhone4, which gave me the desperate sense of wanting to own one.

Soho came next and a trip to Ed's Diner for an Oreo milkshake that the optimistic Italian waiter made my sister down, which made her feel sick. It was a traditional diner experience though, with neon lights, a jukebox and funky Fifties hits on the sound system. It was rather pleasant and the chips were perfect.

We then walked up to UCL, my sister's university, which I had a look around. It is effectively a mish-mash collection of buildings, very much like Cambridge, but there is a lot for architecture fans to marvel. It did have a disjointed feel though and the student union can't spell the word 'skiing' which was a little concerning. I whiled away some time in the student common room, chatting to peeps, before getting my torturous coach home.

P.S. On waiting for my coach out of Leeds at 2am on Thursday, I had two hours to kill so headed to my favourite continental beer bar. The contempary Bohemian atmsophere was fantastic and I had a great time chatting to people and reading a newspaper with a delicious pint. I think this is what the 24-hour licensing was hoping to achieve. Upon heading to my bus, I saw people spilling out of a nightclub. One blonde was sick all over her friend, who was trying to hold her hair back, whilst another was sat in a stairwell, rocking himself and crying after a night of alcoholic excess. It's interesting that it was a nightclub that brought the alcohol related problems and the pub didn't.

Blowing Smokerings In The Smoke

Eight hours in London yesterday proved to me that I could never live there, nor would I ever want to. The city brings on a sense of claustrophobia that is dizzying to the point of sickness. Meanwhile, some of the people, well, let's not get me started on their downright rudeness. I have had happy experiences in London with great people but yesterday, the worst of all worlds was brought to the fore.

Having said that, my impression may have been tainted by the fact I had had a) no sleep and b) a nightmare nine hour coach journey through the night, largely caused by the fact a jack-knifed lorry on the M1 caused us to be diverted through Dunstable. It took us 90 minutes just to get through there. How Londoners cope with the commute I will never know. Anyway, I was tired, cranky and had business to attend to - which thankfully I did, just in time.

Afterwards, I met up with my sister at a shopping mall in Shepherd's Bush. Rihanna was set to launch her new album there in the evening so it was a hive of red carpets and metal barriers. I slinked into Square Pie to get myself a pie that was square. It was served with mash and mushy peas, the typical Cockney way, in a middle class yet soleless shopping mall. Catching up with my sister was fun, I bought her some presents for her 21st birthday which is this Sunday, and I played with an iPhone4, which gave me the desperate sense of wanting to own one.

Soho came next and a trip to Ed's Diner for an Oreo milkshake that the optimistic Italian waiter made my sister down, which made her feel sick. It was a traditional diner experience though, with neon lights, a jukebox and funky Fifties hits on the sound system. It was rather pleasant and the chips were perfect.

We then walked up to UCL, my sister's university, which I had a look around. It is effectively a mish-mash collection of buildings, very much like Cambridge, but there is a lot for architecture fans to marvel. It did have a disjointed feel though and the student union can't spell the word 'skiing' which was a little concerning. I whiled away some time in the student common room, chatting to peeps, before getting my torturous coach home.

P.S. On waiting for my coach out of Leeds at 2am on Thursday, I had two hours to kill so headed to my favourite continental beer bar. The contempary Bohemian atmsophere was fantastic and I had a great time chatting to people and reading a newspaper with a delicious pint. I think this is what the 24-hour licensing was hoping to achieve. Upon heading to my bus, I saw people spilling out of a nightclub. One blonde was sick all over her friend, who was trying to hold her hair back, whilst another was sat in a stairwell, rocking himself and crying after a night of alcoholic excess. It's interesting that it was a nightclub that brought the alcohol related problems and the pub didn't.