Paul in London

Theatre: A Life in the Theatre Caught up tonight with the latest play starring Patrick Stewart and Joshua Jackson A Life in the Theatre by David Mamet. Told as a series of glimpses through a season of repertory theatre, it was a good chance to see Patrick and Joshua in various stages of undress changing in and out of characters and costumes. Some of the audience members found both Patrick and Joshua in pants to be worth making a noise about. Even wearing glasses I didn't see what the fuss was about. The interaction between the characters change as the season progresses. Initially Stewart sees himself as a mentor to the younger Jackson, but over time, rivalry and jealousy set in. While it is a comedy, it also depicted the life of the theatre as some nighmarish hell is enough to make you feel happy with my day job. Stewart also says "She's a cunt" which has to be worth the price of admission as well. An interesting (if not very substantial) evening's diversion for ...

Scenes from Archway Bridge Saturday before noon: peering through the anti-suicide spikes looking south towards the City...  

Where has the time all gone to: The weekend I am back online today after buying a router (that is pronounced, row-ter, which I only mention as I was in a meeting the other day where non-techy people debated the correct pronunciation of this device) and hooking up wifi in the flat. It was a four-hour odyssey to do this as I managed to get my MAC addresses confused. I have no claims to being a techy and am far too impatient to read instructions that are poorly written and can be bypassed in any event, but the outcome is now that I can blog regularly from home once more... I can do this as out of the settlement for being in a relationship - I got the laptop. As it was one of those "desktop replacement" models that were oh-so fashionable January 2004 (before people came to their senses in March) it is a big ugly motherfucker of a laptop and I don't particularly like it, but as I curse it, I can think that it is storing nearly two years of photos and cheap laughs, so that has...

Scenes from a bedroom window, Friday: Snow. It wasn't hard to find an excuse to get to work late on Friday. My real excuse was to stay at home and take some photos. Afterall, it was just a light dusting... 

Weather: Snow and Ice It snowed in central London this morning so I decided with this new cold that I managed to pick up in the last day or so I wouldn't rush to work. I got in at 10.30... A sensible start to Friday I say! Work hard and give advice In between the usual madness at work I have been advising a colleague at work on relationships which I think has been good therapy for the both of us. Here is a sample from yesterday: -----She wrote----- Sent: 03 March 2005 15:04 To: Paul Subject: I know what he wants. Good times, lovely ladies, but deep down someone special. -----So I wrote----- Sent: 03 March 2005 15:23 Subject: Deep down we all want someone special, but the question to ask is how low do you have to go to get there???

News: Cold malaise The temperature drops and everyone here seems to get the flu or some exotic stomach bug that makes you throw up and feel miserable. Have managed to avoid all that this week (touch wood). I still keep getting asked by people why am I here and I tell them it is the weather. Today a combination of weather and essential works caused Icy Chaos For Commuters , but you have to put it into perspective. Just the other day a woman from Sydney was in the office talking about how dreadful the transport can be here, and I was thinking well compared to Sydney, getting around in London is a dream... Of course, my 20 minute commute into work now is a bit of a luxury that most people don't have, and it was only lengthened by a few minutes this morning with the delays (and sidestepping around the black ice)...

News: Luv'ly fush and chups Jamie Oliver has been getting kudos for his new programme on Channel 4 where he has introduced something novel into a Greenwich School canteen - fresh food. The programme is on Wednesday night's just before Desperate Housewives, so I don't get in early enough to see it, but his drive to serve fresh healthy food has now got MPs backing him It turns out school meals at present are cheaper than prison dinners... perhaps the school caterers should swap with the prison caterers for a while... Weather: Cold It has been snowing on and off all week. More off than on however the Met office gives such colourful descriptions of severe weather ... Strengthening northeasterly winds will also bring problems with blowing snow across hills... Oh the humanity!

News: Secret Squirrel guide to London and other moving stories A Spy's guide to surviving London life has surfaced. It includes tricks to lose a tail by dashing into Liberty department store on Regent Street. It is a rabbit warren of designer clothing and various grades of handmade paper (amongst other fine merchandise). Marble Arch may be moved. It currently straddles the "roundabout" at Park Lane and is only accessible via a series of smelly underground subways. Not really the most accessible or interesting monument in London anyway Other Moving Handed in the keys to the flat in West Hampstead. The real estate agent commented that she wished all her tenants were as good as we were in keeping the place tidy. Hey I'm tall, thin and neat... It goes with the territory...

Housekeeping and the Weekend No computer set up at home yet, so have done this update from an internet cafe on the Strand. Oh well, it's nice to get out on a Sunday evening... Even if nobody else does! I will look back at this weekend and think of the fabulous things that could have been done such as: * Russian Orchestra at the Barbican * Walk through the Heath in the light snow * Take coffee throughout Bloomsbury * Major blockbuster Turner, Whistler and Monet at the Tate But no, instead I cleaned the old flat at West Hampstead and after downsizing (ie throwing lots of things out or giving them to Charity) I moved everything else into my new place in Bloomsbury. It was exhausting. You don't want to be carrying an ironing board, two boxes of books and clothes and a wheelie suitcase everyday on the Thameslink. It didn't help that this weekend the Jubilee Line was out for engineering works either. There is no dignity when moving on the cheap. By the time I got to Kings Cross ...

Location Location To think I was considering moving to the East End - Mile End to be particular and just yesterday a bit of meat cleaver incident happened at Mile End tube station . WC1 seems so much more sensible. Especially since I have found that there is an Italian cafe nearby that sells the best coffee I have tasted in London for just £1... I am easily pleased... Dialects Was talking about accents to a manager here who is Melbournian and returning to Oz shortly... She was scoffing that neither of us have strong accents and I went... "Naaaooooooooh we doooaaaant". She is so Melbourne with her dark clothes and dark makeup... Actually some people referred to her as the "Ice Queen" so I would just tell them that's what all Melbournians are like... They wear dark clothing and sit in inexpensive restaurants offering quality food while espousing liberalism while downing a double expresso... I tell them as well that you can't do that in B...