Old men.

I've just witnessed a guy who had left his seat for a couple of minutes in the British Library with the desk full of his stuff including several books and his computer plugged in and turned on have his seat taken by an old guy who has now refused to budge for the last 5 minutes and made a ridiculous scene. I've spent a fair bit of time in libraries in general over the years and it never ceases to amaze me that it is singularly old men who I've seen cause problems by taking people's seats when they are clearly taken. I can't wait to get old, it's going to be so much fun.

Neglectful me.

I realised I've been somewhat neglectful of this blog - working full time, looking for jobs and doing Mitch's Honey do list means I don't get much time to write more, honest. So, in order to rectify this a little, I've got a pictorial catalogue of some of the things I've been up to over the last few months.

So, in no particular order:

I was joint best man for one of my oldest and best friends' wedding:


Mitch and I went to South London to visit my friend Stig where his daughters painted Mitch's nails, much to her, their and our general delight:


I went to the Falkirk Wheel! It was aces:


I'd wanted to go for ages and finally made it. It's powered by something like the equivalent of 8 irons plugged in. Or the same amount of electricity needed to keep Mitch warm.

I also went to Bergen and stayed with my friend Per down by the fjords. It was lovely. I also presented at a conference, but really that's an aside compared to staying at Per's house:



It was so fantastically dark at night that the window became a veritable mirror:


Per's neighbours had a nice hoose, but a wee bit remote for me:


Okay okay, I'll show you a picture of Bergen proper as well, since it is so pretty:


You can see the UNESCO World Heritage site just to the left of the picture there, it was pretty cook if a little rickety. Not really surprising given its age of course.

Mitch and I went to Brighton where we met up with her brother and his fiancee. Mitch looks pretty in black and white:


I adopted 3 cats. Well, I say adopted when I really mean looked after for a week through visitation rights. The one on the far right under the bed is called Sarah, the one with the arched back is called Stone and the other one is called Kans. We were best friends for a week. Probably because I could guarantee access to the dried tuna. No probably actually, definitely.


Duncan grew a ponytail and had me laughing like a drain:


My sister and her family came to see us and we went to the Natural History Museum and had a great time looking at all the animals:



We also went to St Andrews for a wee trip:




See, I have been busy!

Stevie Wonder.

So Mitch and I, as a consequence of the Bishop of her church's generosity, got to sit in a corporate booth and watch Stevie Wonder at the O2 arena on Tuesday night.

Our view of the stage before Not So Little Anymore Stevie Wonder hit the stage:


Here's Stevie doing his thing, doesn't he look good?


Aye, he's a showman for sure. Here he is again, right in the middle at the front of the crowd:


All in, I thought it was a great show although I'd have preferred if he'd played some of his early Motown stuff but it'd be churlish to complain given he played Living For The City, Higher Ground and Superstitious. I'd have killed to see him do Uptight though.

I should also note that all the way through Stevie kept referring to how he was voting Obama and that anyone with a vote should be doing the same. A sentiment I certainly agree with, but it made me think of the alternative. Isn't she lovely?

Things wot I saw in London over the last week.

I saw things, things I never thought I'd see.

Like a fat Richie lookalike:


And a man upside down in a bin (not really):


Then a giant gorilla hand/chair going into a doorway:


The gorilla hand came from a wee antique shop where Mitch and I have bought some furniture, but alas was far too big for our
humble abode sadly.

The things you see in the Big Smoke eh? Crazy days people.

Centenary.

I've reached 100 posts! Since this blog was meant to be about how I am getting on in London but has morphed into a number of different things, I thought I'd post 100 things I like and dislike about London. I think I'll split it 50-50 in the interests of parity however. Be warned, I fully expect to be scraping the barrel trying to get 100 things out. They're also in no particular order.

Dislikes:

1. I don't much care for the cost of living down here. It is a LOT.
2. I am deeply dissatisfied at the lack of decent Indian curries. But then you'll know that if you've read my previous post on the matter here.
3. The militaristic nature of meeting people- London is so big you have no option but to plan and plan again for even the simplest of meetings.
4. The way people attempt to get on the Tube without letting the people trying to get off go first. It's not rocket science- people getting off = more space to get on. WAIT!
5. The funny looks you get when handing over Scottish-issued currency.
6. South of the river. Except the Southbank. I like that.
7. The price of going to see a Premiership match- ludicrous! I've still not been as a result.
8. Related to the above- the fact that you have to join a 'club' in order to stand a chance of getting a ticket for a match. Talking about bleeding the average punter dry. I suppose this may well be the case elsewhere in England too, but it is certainly predominant in London. Yes I'm talking about you Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelski.
9. The Northern line- is it EVER open or not delayed?
10. Earls Court- singularly the most irritating stop in the whole of London. Constant delays.
11. Ken Livingstone- for pedaling the myth that Scotland is subsidised by the South East. Although to be fair he has recently changed his tune a bit.
12. Being so far away from Scotland.
13. Not being able to get Irn Bru at will. It is much better than it has been though and a bit more widely available.
14. Nae tattie scones.
15. Missing the Kelvingrove Art Galleries.
16. Missing the Transport Museum in Glasgow. The new one looks good too.
17. Having to vote down here. Pointless.
18. It's a bit busy.
19. The sheer volume of travel to get anywhere. And I live centrally-ish.
20. The length of time it takes to get anywhere. Obviously linked to the immediately preceding post.
21. The fact that for whatever reason kids seem to think it is okay to play really BAD music as loud as their crappy little mobile phone speakers, not headphones, will let them on the bus to the irritation of all and sundry. Even if it was good music it would still be irritating right enough.
22. That the V&A's Friday night openings are not accompanied by a notice stating that whilst in fact open, most of the collection will be closed to public viewing. Great. Thanks for the wasted journey.
23. LSE students thinking it is okay to talk loudly to each other and their mobile phones in the library whilst people are trying to work.
24. The LSE library's carpet giving me so much static that I get shocked EVERY time I visit.
25. The steps being too far apart in the fancy spiral stair-case in the middle of the LSE library. Got that one wrong didn't you Sir Norman Foster?
26. The rats.
27. The mice.
28. Ludicrous property prices- admittedly related to point 1 but I did say I'd be scraping the barrel.
29. That estate agents think it is okay to advertise studio apartments as one bedroom. It's not really the same is it?
30. People puking on the night bus. Just gross.
31. Taxi-fare costs. Unbelievable! Taxi drivers apparently earn in the region of 40-50k in London. That's double what I earn!
32. The HSBC archives being slap bang in the middle of Bow. Not the nicest of areas by ANY stretch of the imagination and a pain to get to.
33. The fact you have to pay to use the toilets in Kings Cross, but the ones in the adjoining St Pancras are free. Eh?
34. King's Cross station generally- they are apparently refurbishing it next to get rid of that horrendous canopy at the front. Not soon enough.
35. Euston taxi-rank. I swear Get Carter was based on that taxi-rank- underground, smells of stale urine, dank and very unpleasant. How it hasn't been moved is beyond me.
36. The free newspapers thrust into my face at every station, crossing, busy street, etc. If I want one, I'll pick one up thank you very much.
37. Absent friends.
38. The people on Oxford St. To say they are ignorant of others would be an understatement. Grasping commercialism at its worst.
39. Cannon St station being shut on a Saturday.
40. The Royal Family- not a London problem per se, but they do live here.
41. Having to read The Guardian instead of The Herald due to the general unavailability of the latter.
42. No Mother India.
43. The 91 bus drivers. Worst. Drivers. Ever.
44. Russell St. tube station stairs- DO NOT take the stairs. There are millions of 'em!
45. The mail- describing it as sporadic is being kind.
46. Having to chew down my tea, or indeed any drink made with boiled water.
47. Rush hour on the Tube. Thankfully I don't have to experience it often. Utterly miserable.
48. Having to constantly remember to put descaler in whatever appliances we use that need water.
49. Making a list of 50 things I don't like about London.


Likes:

1. Living with and being married to Mitch.
2. Discovering new things every day.
3. Sam Smith pubs- cheap, good and always good looking pubs. I will probably start naming individual ones later on.
4. St Paul's Cathedral. Just beautiful, inside and out.
5. Friends that have moved here from Glasgow.
6. Robert Dyas- amazing!
7. Ethiopian food. Why doesn't Glasgow have it?! It'd go down a treat there. Mark my words.
8. My job.
9. LSE Library- in spite of its many failings, it is still an excellent collection.
10. Korean food- I realise it is elsewhere, but I've only ever had it in London. Excepting that time in Memphis, but I didn't eat it there since it had meat in it.
11. The Tate Modern. The crack in the floor isn't that amazing, but the slides were brilliant.
12. Finsbury Park. It has a boating pond- I LOVE boating ponds.
13. The Compton Arms just off Upper St- a little bit of Yorkshire nestled away down a backstreet with a good cask ale selection.
14. Friends coming to visit and stay.
15. tfl A veritable timesaver if ever there was one.
16. Regent's Park- it has a boating pond! And a zoo.
17. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet St- former boozer of Dickens, Tennyson, Samuel Johnson, Mark Twain and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to name but a few. It's a Sam Smith pub unsurprisingly. There's been a pub on the site for nearly 500 years. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was refurbished last in the 18th century apparently.
18. The former Daily Express building - now owned by Goldman Sachs - on Fleet St. A marvel of Art Deco design. Curved black and clear glass front and just lovely.
19. Baker St underground station- Sherlock Holmes stenciled tiles all throughout and original wood interiors. My favourite underground station in London.
20. The Millennium Bridge over the Thames- affords a great view of the Thames river front and is barely visible from distance.
21. Tower Bridge opening and closing. I was like a little kid watching it.
22. The Houses of Parliament. Mock Gothic aye, but still a beautiful building.
23. The Tube- I love it and hate it in equal measures. Either way, it makes life so much easier.
24. Fleet St- sadly no longer the home of the Fourth Estate, but home to some fantastic architecture. DC Thomson still live there- their building is adorned with the names of some of their esteemed publications still in the brickwork: The Courier, People's Friend, etc.
25. The Cittie of Yorke pub on Holborn- what a pub! Massive old working cast iron stove slap bang in the middle of the bar and lots of little booths all along one side. Another Sam Smith's.
26. The Princess Louise pub, again on Holborn. Closed for rewiring apparently- the toilets are B-listed and smell like they haven't been cleaned since their creation about 100 years ago. Strangely beautiful though.
27. The Bank of England building- the Old Lady of Threadneedle St as she is also known. A veritable fortress- I'm fortunate enough to get to work inside on occasion and it really is an impressive building. The institution itself was founded by a Scotsman, natch.
28. Hyde Park- it has a boating pond!
29. Mitch and I's flat. It's lovely, come visit.
30. Hampstead Heath- it's quite big and has swimming ponds in it. Not for me though, non-swimmer that I am.
31. The Gherkin- apparently only guys like it. I wonder why?
32. The New Piccadilly Cafe- sadly departed but a really wonderful old London classic cafe. We managed to get in on the last day which was nice.
33. S&M Cafe, Essex Road- another lovely classic London cafe. The S&M stands for Sausage and Mash mind.
34. The Emirates Stadium- took a walk round it and it really is very impressive, particularly how it took account of the local area with its affordable housing scheme. Plus the team that plays there plays the best football.
35. Blah Blah Blah vegetarian restaurant in Shepherd's Bush. Mitch and I almost literally licked our plates clean it was so good. Well worth a visit whether you are veggie or not.
36. The 91 bus. Excepting the drivers, the 91 is great. Drops me right outside LSE or right by my hoose. Braw.
37. The Victoria line- so few stops, such big carriages.
38. Bar Capitale pizzeria on Walbrook by Cannon St- terrible service, but amazing pizza.
39. Pizza Express St Paul's- only because they have Airblade hand driers in them. Truly the future.
40. British Library- I've yet to set foot in it, but I KNOW it'll be great when I do.
41. The Institute of Historical Research in Senate House- musty old historian hang out in a fantastic building.
42. Jeremy Bentham's Auto-icon in UCL. It's really him! Minus the head.
43. Walking around London and getting to explore.
44. Greenwich- a lovely place.
45. Thames Riverboat- but only if you get the old guy commentating on it. The younger guy just doesn't have the patter.
46. Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green- very good fun.
47. The London Eye- I've never been up it, but I have walked around it and it is quite impressive.
48. St Pancras Station- it is really impressive. The roof is fantastic and well worth a look. The shoes on the female in the kissing couple statue are a bit big right enough.
49. London being a transport hub.
50. Water filters.

So there you have it- 100 things I like and dislike about London. To be fair, it was far more difficult compiling the dislikes than the likes.