Someday, My Prince Will Come Along...

Actually, he did. Yesterday, in fact. I was walking from Paddington Station, looking for a nearby Starbucks to check my messages (it's comforting to know that I can walk a few minutes in any direction and hit one - at least here and at least downtown). Only two or so blocks from the station, and I realize that there's a barricade up ahead - no foot or motor traffic can move in any direction. My first thought was that there was an accident, or worse some sort of "incident", so I asked one of the many people stopped at the barricade. She replied "Prince William is in there", and I looked up at the sign and it was St. Mary's hospital. Was he sick? Visiting a sick aunt in hosptial? Or perhaps taking up one of his mother's famous missions to help the needy?
Suddenly one of the officers controlling the scene motions for everyone to move back, and a motorcade exits from the hospital. First two police escorts at front, then a very british black car, which incites a flurry of picture taking on the opposite side of the street. I look in to see a man waving at the onlookers - and could easily surmise that this was the Prince himself. I recognize that hair!
So there you have it. My first brush with royalty. Well, I enounter lots of queens at the bars, but they only *think* they're regal. This one's the real deal!
It's interesting over here. Everything is about celebrity. The locals are obsessed with stars and the royal family - even the newspapers all read as tabloids. It's all about the stars who are too thin right now, and which of the Spice Girls really rocked the town last night (FYI: Posh is hotter than Ginger, who were both seen out on the scene the night before last. Whoop de bloody do!) But the people here really eat it up. I can't be arsed to open a newspaper because it all feels so... un-newsworthy.
So off I went, on my way. Some people behind me were griping about how Prince William had held them up, I just sort of found it amusing that I happened upon one of the most famous people in the world, probably in hospital on some really mundane visit. But I should check the news today - I'm sure there's some fascinating coverage of it in there: "Prince William visits Proctologist. Is His Rear Up to Snuff?" The news that really matters.
Oh, and you'll be happy to know I found a Starbucks not 3 minutes further ahead. Just another day in London!

Thank you, Whiteleys

I was walking towards my nearest Starbucks today (that's where I get my internet access) and decided to check out the one in a local mall called Whiteleys. I for some reason thought Whiteleys was a department store, with a mall attached, but it turns out it's just a regular old mall. It has in it, however, some stores which have made me feel much better about the cost of things. You see, I've been feeling a little overwhelmed at the prices of every day items (see my rant about tea at Starbucks), and was certain that there was no way I was going to have an even remotely livable existence here.

But fortunately, Whiteleys had several stores, restaurants and a movie theatre with prices significantly below what I was seeing elsewhere. For example, the big movie theatre in Leicester Square is £11 - 12, which is nearly $25 just to see a movie! I thought my movie-going days were over. And you know how much I love my movies.. but the cinema in this mall has rates between £6-8, which is far more reasonable. I had an urge to go see a movie, just 'cuz it was cheaper! Anyway, this makes a difference to me. Not just the movies, but that I found some cute restaurants and a housewares store that had reasonable prices as well. I can actually buy things again! Hooray for commerce!

I knew it would be expensive here.;I prepared myself for that. But it would be nice to be able to enjoy my tea without thinking of how much it's costing me - I've been lucky enough to enjoy a reasonable quality of life in Vancouver and I'd like to retain even a semblance of that here.

So, now I know to shop at Whiteleys. And go to Compton's on Monday nights for their £1.50 pints (and hot bartenders!). And I can get in free at G-A-Y with certain flyers, or reduced entrance.

On another note, I went to see Billy Elliot on Saturday. It was absolutely briliant! It was translated beautifully from the movie, and the choreography was amazing. I loved it. I love the theatre - I just feel so energized when I see a good show. I can see myself in certain roles, thinking "that song is in my range", or "I could probably do that choreography". It makes me long for that feeling that I have when I'm on stage. I'm going to check out the community theatre here and see what's on.

I've seen a couple of flats so far. Unfortunately, none of them have really been suitable, but I'm still holding out hope. I have a couple more to see this week before I head off on my travels and they look nice, although further from the centre of London. I'll keep you posted.

I'm heading up north on Monday to visit where my grandfather was born, and also to take his ashes and bury/scatter them. It's quite an honour to be able to return my grandfather to his home - I just hope I don't leave him on the bus! (He took the bus a lot, so I don't think he'd be too mad, but the rest of my family, well...

Next Wednesday I fly to Berlin to meet up with two of my friends from Vancouver. I'm so excited to be travelling - that was one of the biggest reasons why I came to London, the proximity to so many countries I've wanted to visit. So it's Amsterdam, then Paris, Barcelona, and finally a week in the south of Italy. All told, I'll be gone for over three weeks. I can't wait! I'll take lots of pics, and be sure to send postcards. (could you please email me your full addresses so I get them to you?)

In closing, I'll share with you one rant:

-Sink faucets over here are usually separated by hot and cold. The hot is scorchingly hot, and impossible to wash with. This makes washing my hands exceedingly difficult. I just don't feel like I've properly washed my hands using cold water, you know? And not washing is just gross. Secondly, the pressure of the taps in my hostel are ludicrous. You push down on the tap and it gives you a very forceful gush of water, then shuts itself off. I've literally soaked myself with boiling hot water a number of times. And the showers - they work on the same mechanism and shut off after about 5-10 seconds (it's never the same two times in a row). So you have to push the button 4 times just to get fully wet. Then the lights are on a timer, and so halfway through my shower, the lights go out, so I have to open the shower door to reactivate the light, then the water's gone off again, so I've got to push the button to get the water going again! Oh, and I forgot to mention that I have to push the button five to six times just to get the water temperature warm enough to shower in, before I get in. My morning shower ritual would look hilarious if ever videotaped. To me it's just annoying.

The end, for now. Look at me blogging again so soon after my last one! You're welcome.

Toodleoo...

London Calling!

I have been in London for one week now. I’m happy to say that I’m getting on with relative ease, though have found it difficult to adjust to the time difference – my body does not want to go to bed at 3pm Vancouver time! Luckily I had those two weeks in Ontario to move my internal clock a couple of hours ahead.

I know you’re wondering what I’ve done since I’ve been in the city. Surprisingly, I haven’t spent a lot of time sightseeing, as I’ve been spending a lot of time online searching for a flat, updating my CV (look at me being all Britishy!) and viewing online job vacancies. No luck yet on either a flat or a job, but I think that will all solidify when I return from my travels in late October.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time wandering around the West End/Soho area. The West End is where most of the theatres are, and Old Compton Street in Soho is the equivalent of Church Street in Toronto or Davie Street in Vancouver. I wasn’t sure that there would be any real “gay area” in London as I’d heard that bars and such were very spread out. It is true that the discos and pubs spread out over a very large area, Compton Street has many pubs, shops and restaurants catering to a gay crowd. Nearly every night I’ve headed over to The Compton, one of the busiest pubs I’ve ever seen. The only reason I even stopped in the first place was that there was a huge mass of people (a discerning eye quickly noted all of them were gay) standing outside, enjoying a pint. It was odd to see people with full glasses of beer right out there on the street! Doesn’t happen in Canada.

Anyway, I’ve also checked out G-A-Y, one of the discos, on their Friday “Camp Attack” night – 70’s & 80’s retro plays on an enormous, packed dancefloor. It was a weird mix of danceable retro tunes, and other not-so-danceable pop hits from the same time period. G-A-Y wasn’t my first pick as I’d wanted to go to Heaven (don’t we all?) instead, but Heaven, where they were playing commercial dance tunes, had a line so long and unmoving that I decided to leave it for another day. And Heaven was worth the wait (make whatever theological argument you wish to now). I ventured out on a Monday night, and danced to some of the best dance music ever. The place was packed full – a massive warehouse space, and was chockers (that’s chock-a-block) full of scorchingly hot men. Waaaaay too many straight people making out and showing their heterosity (We get it, you’re straight. Now piss off you sad twat!) But seriously, it was a hotfest from beginning to end. I’ll be back there next Monday!

I'm also beyond thrilled to discover that I was so very wrong about the men here. See, I thought they'd all be, well, snaggle-toothed pasty white boys. Boy was I mistaken! There are hotties galore here... pin-striped suits, trendy boys, sport kit lads... a type for everyone (and I'll take one of each!) Absolutely delightful eye candy. And apparently they've embraced the North American body image obsession full on. Buff bodies abound.

I of course haven’t mentioned my first night! I went to the opening preview night of Wicked, starring Idina Menzel (Maureen from RENT, Elphaba from the original Broadway production of Wicked). The show was amazing, and the audience was the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen at any show, full stop. It was like the six year olds at the Britney Spears show I saw many years ago, only in a theatre. Anyway, the production was fantastic and it’s so great to see a show where everyone is so into it. I’m sure it was an amazing way for them to kick off their London run.

Speaking of theatre, I have a ticket to see Billy Elliot (based on the movie) this afternoon. Really looking forward to that as it’s been very well reviewed. Will & Grace flew all the way to London just to see it (don’t you remember? That’s when she meets up with her ex-husband and has the quicky that leads to her having a baby and eventually reuniting with him? Thus affecting her relationship with Will, only to reunite with him later when their children meet at college and fall in love? But I digress.)

Today, I went to an open recruiting session for front-of-house staff at the Palace Theatre, which will be housing the upcoming production of Spamalot. Unfortunately, they open right when I’m off on my Euro-travels and they needed people that could start now. They did however encourage me to call when I return (I have the number for the stage door entrance now!) to see if there is anything available. It would’ve been kind of cool to work there, as Spamalot is a huge hit on Broadway and will be a big deal for London theatre. I figure it could also lead to meeting some stars, as they all show up to the premieres, etc. Ah well.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of London. I went to see a flat in Lambeth (Me & My Girl, anyone?) yesterday (didn’t work out), but on the way back across the Thames I had the most magnificent view of Parliament and Big Ben. The sun was setting and I mentally took some photos, which I hope to actually take with my camera soon. The buildings here are unbelieveable – so much character! I love the feel of London’s architecture. I promise to post some of the pictures I take when I upload them.

In spite of the fact that I am currently living 2 blocks from Hyde Park, I will choose to make this my Speaker’s Corner and rant about a few things:

- People and their Mobiles: I have had the urge to bitch-slap the phones right out of many people’s hands. It is a common occurrence to walk behind some wanker texting on their mobile, not watching where they’re going. London streets are insanely busy, and getting on is hard enough as it is. Get off yer mobiles you silly cows!

- Drivers and crossing streets: I was informed (only after getting nearly run over – and I mean it – I came so close to being hit I was nearly inside the car when it passed by) that drivers have the right-of-way here. And boy, do they take it! Drivers do not give a bleedin’ piss if you’re in their way or not – your presence only makes the drive more interesting. That, combined with the fact that I haven’t completely adjusted to the left-side driving lane, are sure to cause me no end of grief for the next while.

- Tea at Starbucks is ludicrously expensive. Now, don’t go arguing that London is just a more expensive place, because I get that. However, many things are still in line with North American prices, or maybe just a little bit more. But not Starbucks tea. A venti tea is £1.75, which converts to $3.76 Canadian. Bite me if you think that’s reasonable, because I will never be okay with that price. Especially considering IT’S LONDON!!! THE BRITISH AND THEIR TEA, RIGHT? If my latte can be within the same price once converted (£2.84 vs $4.82, not so bad), then why is my tea, which come on, has to be like 2p for them, so bloody expensive? I just don’t get it. This upsets me more than anything. I need my tea. And while I'm on it, what's with the "eat-in" charge? Why does it cost me 50p more to eat a muffin in side (thus bringing the cost to $4.00, thank you very much) just because you put it on a plate? I don't get charged a drink-in fee on my tea, so why do I have to pay more for the accompanying pastry? All's I'm sayin, is I just don't get it.

- People can smoke in bars, cafes, train depots and the like. I wasn’t expecting that, and it’s hard to adjust to someone lighting up in a café next to you. Thankfully Starbucks doesn’t allow smoking in their stores, so I’m safe there. But everywhere else it’s a different story. Luckily, that’s all supposed to change next year.

- City planning here is an oxymoron. While quaint in a certain way (like all the nooks and small side streets), it’s incredibly confusing sometimes to get around. Compounding that is that streets can have nearly identical names, so you have gto be especially careful when walking. You might think you’re on the correct street, but it turns out you’re on Craven Terrace instead of Craven Mews, or Craven Road. Or Craven Hill. All in the very same area.

- Not a rant, but an observation: There are people employed to hold up large plackards, advertising a particular store or service nearby. They look like picketers, only with tall signs with arrows on them. These people litter the busier streets letting us know that an internet café nearby charges only £1 per hour in that direction. Or that this particular restaurant is only £5.95 for their lunch special. More interesting to me are the people employed to handle this task, who bring a new level of apathy to the daily grind. They are usually leaning on the sign poles, chatting with another signholder, smoking a cigarette, or staring off dead-eyed in no particular direction. Not that I blame them; I couldn’t imagine having a job where I stood holding a sign all day, advising people of where they can have the hair removed from their asses. No thanks!

- Another observation is that barkeeps in pubs don’t get tipped. I was so surprised by that, because I know so many bartenders who make amazing livings by the tips they make. Apparently they receive a higher wage, but still, I can’t imagine it’s anything like what they’d make if tipping were employed.

- Oh, and possibly the funniest thing ever: I was sitting at dinner with my roommate and some of the others in the hostel. My roommate was boasting that he’d gotten to shake David Hasselhoff’s hand at Virgin Records today, and several of them (all about the same age of 21) were going on like this was the greatest thing in the world. They were talking about how he was one of their idols and Knight Rider was the shit to them as recently as 5 years ago – who knew? David Hasselhoff must *love* it over here. Hi-larious.

Well, that’s about enough of that. I’ve posted enough to keep your eyes blurry for one day, and promise to try to post more regularly. I miss you all terribly and hope you’re doing well.

Cheerio!