So, while Carolyn was still here (2 weeks ago, sniffle), we had the good fortune of spending a night out with some very good food (at a pretty hefty price!). It’s a converted pub called Bacchus. Aside from a night of fine dining, this would be the first time Ben (my coworker) and Gerry (his wife) had met Carolyn (they thought she was imaginary).

Bacchus’ “gimmick” was that it used a cooking technique called sous-vide which is basically boiling things in vacuum sealed bags for many many hours until it’s cooked. This sounded interesting enough. Little did we know it was also just extremely well done.

The area it’s in is a relatively deserted section of Hoxton, about a 15 minute walk from my office. We got there and started worrying that we’re waaay under dressed. However, while we could have gotten away with dressing nicer, it had more of a Chicago restaurant vibe (translation: no one cares what you wear) to it. We start to peruse the menu and while I began by thinking I’d get a couple of dishes and some beer, we all ended up doing the 6 dish (there were 9 dishes total on the menu) with wine pairing meal. Good choice! It was clear the chef had thought out his menu based on having them all together and each dish flowed really nicely into the next. This was also the first time any of us savages had done any sort of wine pairing. The sommelier made it a great first time. The wines were all very good and ‘paired’ with the dishes nicely. Anyhoo, here’s what some of it looked like:

This was, if I recall correctly, a salmon dish. Really nicely done.

Gerry is a vegetarian and Carolyn doesn’t eat a lot of pork, so they substituted this dish for a pork dish on the fixed menu. Alas, I forget what it was. hmmm.

Those chocolate truffles were absolutely perfect. Yummy.

So 5 November is something called “Guy Fawkes Night“. I know very little about the man, but it involved a massive assassination plot and is called the gunpowder plot. Apparently, that means that, for the next few days, the Brits will be setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires. I figured I’d try to find a few interesting displays this weekend until it decided to start (on 2 November) right outside my freaking window. I’m sitting on the couch and I hear a little sizzle and suddenly BOOM!!!! The cats are hiding right now and I need to see where the source it, but my heart is still pounding. Crap that was loud!

And now people further down the street are getting in the act. Remember, this is in the middle of central London. Crazy.

On an unrelated note, it looks like the CTA has been given a cash infusion that’ll hold off the crisis for a couple of months — if the Federal govt is ok with it. But, it’s just another band-aid solution. If they’d stop stupid laws like not allowing the CTA to run a deficit, this wouldn’t be an issue. jeez.

So until some time around lunch, I completely forgot that today was Halloween. It might be because I’m just not tuned into British culture, but I’ve only seen the occasion sign advertising Halloween candy in a few stores. Beyond that, there was the sign in one of my local groceries saying that that my local council has requested that stores not sell flour or eggs to people under 16.

Again, I don’t have my pulse on the nation or anything, but here was my Halloween experience. I went to a pub which was much more interested in the Arsenal match that the day itself, although their guest ale on tap was Hobgoblin and the indicator plaque had a glowing pumpkin. Beyond that, I saw a whopping two trick-or-treaters and someone said they saw a higher-than-usual number of chavs wearing hoodies. All-in-all, my UK world doesn’t do Halloween very enthusiastically 🙂

Some of you might be aware that Greenwich is home to the Prime Meridian, which is where East and West meet (at least longitudinally). Were you aware how close Greenwich is to London? It’s actually right on the southwest edge of the City and an easy tube ride to it. Well, maybe you all do and I’m just being silly, but it’s one of those destinations I’d been wanting to see for many months. On one of the days when I was working, Carolyn found an interesting way to see the tourist parts of London — London Walks. It’s a slightly quirky way of getting a tour of London. Well, on one of my days off, we found one which would start over near the Tower of London then take the river ferry over to Greenwich for more edu-ma-cation. We thought it would be fun. And it was, except for the driving rain that didn’t let up until we were almost home and soaked to the bone :).

It’s a pity since Greenwich is very much about being outdoors. In its history it has been a favourite haunt of the royals as well as a rich maritime history. It’s been a naval hospital and is currently home to the University of Greenwich. As a result, it has tons of amazing architecture as well as the royal observatory which is why they chose it to be 0 degrees longitude.

Here’s a little fun in photos for your enjoyment.

This is part of what used to be the Naval hospital. After many years of living the tough life at sea, this ain’t a bad way to spend some time resting your days out.

Here’s a view looking up at the Royal Observatory. Yes, in this weather, we still hiked up there. At 1pm every day, that red ball rises up and then drops (like New Years in Times Square every day!).

After the walking tour ended, we took a little time to warm up in a pub with a pint and some good food (Shepherd Neame make some good pies as well as ales).  Then we made the hike up the hill, got a little lost and found our way to the Prime Meridian. Here’s Carolyn straddling two hemispheres!

Here’s a slightly taller (but no less wet) Matt in the same spot. hurrah!

So I might not have a working TV (yet!) and I might be sick (I blame Krista for bring it into the office), but it’s the Rugby World Cup final and England, unlike in the Cricket World Cup earlier this year, are in the final. Last week, Carolyn and I went to a pub to check out the action which was tons of fun. Alas, I’m resting today so I don’t get too sick, so I’m using the wonders of the intertubes to watch it on my computer. Go England!

Oh yeah, I still have very little idea what’s going on in this sport. But I’m slowly picking it up (then I’ll know how rugby AND cricket are played). 🙂

Update: England lost 15-6. I’d give you my insightful analysis, but I know very little about the sport.

As I’ve previously commented on, the UK seems to have the US beat in terms of eating better — farmer’s markets are everywhere, organic food can be easily had even in the Walmart of England (Tesco) and there seems to be less salt in everything. Allow me to detail this a little more by talking about my first trip (yes, it took me 6 months to visit) to Borough Market. Think a farmer’s market on steroids. It’s located under a grand junction of railroad bridges going into the London Bridge rail station and it goes on forever. And in it is just about any possible food you can imagine. You can find local fruit and vegetables, free range meats (both common and not so common), baked goods, cheeses galore and  even a crazy variety of beer and wines. We managed to spend 4 hours there and only left because it was getting close to closing time and the crowds could be a little overwhelming (it was a beautiful Saturday to be out and about). Allow to show you:

Ignore the handsome gentleman in the foreground and just observe the people, the stalls and the architecture.

Fresh eggs and meat for the taking

The variety of cheeses amazed me. You had gigantic wheels of it and then small varieties. One guy was selling some sort of cheese he’d tracked down and brought back from the Swiss Alps.

We went with Dina. This being near London Bridge, you can never pass up a chance to cross the Thames and enjoy the views:

(I think we’re trying to look thoughtful — maybe?)

…here’s a picture of Carolyn and I. It’s during the interval (apparently, that’s intermission in Brit-speak) for the musical Avenue Q (more words below the picture):

We decided we ought to check out a show in the West End and both of us had been interested in seeing it. Now, I know you’re supposed to see a sophisticated British play and I know Avenue Q is not only not British, but set in NYC. However, we also went to see the Theatre district as patrons of a musical and check out a historic old theatre.

The show was, of course, well put on. Think of the Sesame Street, except the characters are porn watching, drinking 20-somethings and Mr. Hooper is Gary Coleman (an actor playing Gary Coleman). Oh yeah Bert (aka, Rod) is gay, but Ernie is not. And, instead of just seeing the puppet, you see the puppeteer/singer. So, you get two shows in one. Sometimes you watch the puppet, sometimes the actual human. It was well written and well performed. Fun for the whole family (but don’t bring the whole family since the puppets have sex). Here’s Carolyn outside the theatre:

So, Carolyn is here and I’m trying to show her allllll that London has to offer. However, on her first full day here, Carolyn was the organizer, not me :). Back in middle school, a family moved into her home town for a 3 year stint in the US. As it were, the husband had a temporary transfer for a job so he, his wife and 3 teenage kids moved to the US for a little while. They are back in London and live in a suburb southwest of London. Since Carolyn was coming to visit, they invited us out for an afternoon of fun and games. They have a lovely house only about 30 minutes from Waterloo. We came out there and had lunch and tea. And, since there’s always something interesting to see in England, even if it’s the suburbs, we took a little trip to Hampton Court Road. This was the country palace of Henry VIII. Yes, the country palace. Now that things have gotten a little bigger in England, it’s surrounded by the outer ring of the city. But at one point, this was a long trip to get out of town. It’s conveniently located along the Thames so the king could simply hop on a boat and float from the Tower of London to his weekend house.

This would be part of his ‘weekend house’

Here is Carolyn with Rob and Chris Fairhurst along the grounds of the palace.

We didn’t go in (you need a full day to do that), but we walked all over the gardens and along the river. It was a beautiful place and a wonderful setting. I found it amazing that, in an area that had a suburban feel to it, there’s a 15th century palace just hanging around.
Now, since I just got my new camera (how do the pictures above look?), I thought I’d throw in a little cat photo for those concerned parents. Here’s Anna chilling on the bed:

Coming soon: Greenwich!

This is just short note to point out that, in a very short while, Carolyn will be arriving in London. Alas, it’s not for good, but she’ll have her first chance to see London without the tourist thoughts. It’s a very different city when you look at it as a potential place to live. Needless to say, I’m very much looking forward to her arrival. 🙂

Plus, she’s bringing me a new camera, so I’ll be able to document things again. Lots of excitment!

So I seem to work with a few football fanatics. Last week, with about 5 hours notice, I was offered another ticket to see a Premier League team play. I got to see Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham. This time it was an international match again a team from Cyprus. Alas, with my complete lack of a camera right now and no notice that I was going to be going, I didn’t have a chance to capture it on film. These seats were in the corner of one end of the curve. It’s an older, smaller stadium so it had a more intimate feeling. Tottenham beat the crap out of their opponents, but the fans weren’t quite satisfied. It was really entertaining. Even with them up 4-0 at half time, the fans were grumbling that they weren’t shooting enough. They scored 3 goals with just a few minutes left in the first half. Even though they were getting beat pretty bad, the away fans stayed pretty jolly throughout and had the Tottenham fans beat in terms of flags waving. But the Tottenham fans were just as lively. Part way through the first half, there was some sort of scuffle between the away section and the rest of the stadium and suddenly, the sections we separated by a wall of security. Very interesting.

Anyway, while I lack photos, here’s a video someone posted of a very amusing event. Note the fact that the player who gets hit by the ball looks like he’s about the kick the shit out of this little kid until a moment of “crap, he’s a kid and there’re 30,000 Tottenham fans who’ll kill me if I go after him” comes over him. I was just a little ways away and got a great look at the whole incident live. fun!

Hope you enjoy! I’m supposed to get another ticket to see a league match tomorrow.

Well, here’s one thing I can’t believe I haven’t really written about. It’s been 6 weeks since the kitties finally arrived in merry old England. They arrived in the beginning of August. It was a relatively smooth trip. The tricky part was the prep stuff. In my research, I’d read that the tough stuff was the initial stuff — making sure they were chipped and had their shots and clean of rabies. The way the whole cat moving process works is that the cats can come over 6 months after being proved rabies free. Alas, there is a single lab in the US that handles the blood tests. They were supposed to send the original forms to my vet and it never showed up. On top of that, the vet didn’t follow up even after a number of phone calls. Thankfully, I have wonderful parents who helped ensure the forms showed up. Then there was something about FDA certification as well. Once that crap got sorted, they were ready to go on there way. My parents took them to O’hare, spending a night with them in my apartment and the cats were ready for an 8 hour plane ride — their first!

I had just gotten back from a trip to Frankfurt (I came back especially to be there for the cats) and spent the day nervously waiting for them. Their flight landed at 10:30am, so I assumed they’d show up around 12:30 or 1:00pm. And yet, silence. By 2:00pm, i was a little nervous. As it turned out, there was a major accident on the Ring Road which meant the courier bringing them was stuck in traffic. Finally, he managed to show up with two safe kitties! Here they are:

Chewy hanging out by the tub

Anna exploring — she didn’t wanna sit still for a photo!

I haven’t got any more photos of them as my camera gave up the ghost recently. But the cats are doing well. I think they are still adjusting but they are healthy and generally happy. My place it pretty small and they aren’t romping like they used to. And I’ve been working a lot so I haven’t been around as much as I’d like to 🙂

To signify the end of summer, the UK has a bank holiday. Over the last 30 years, a tradition has grown in which the Caribbean community living in Notting Hill (or increasingly, near it as the area has gentrified) put on a big ass street festival. Now, it goes for two days and apparently attracts 2 million people to it. Think of it as an absolutely enormous street party centered on a never-ending parade. This sounded like one of those things you don’t miss if you’re going to spend in London. So Dina and Adrian came up and we went to check it out.

The first day is ‘children’s’ parade. We decided to go to that one because the adult one usually ends in at least a couple of stabbings and shootings. I have no idea why this one was the children’s day, as it consisted of amazing amounts of people drinking a hell of a lot of beer. Allow me to demostrate. This is a view of crowd as we were sauntering off:

Would you bring your kid to that? People did. Anyway, if you look at the picture above, you’ll see some semis. That is the parade. Numerous groups would rent a big truck, load it down with speakers and a DJ and play some cool, loud Caribbean influenced music (mostly of an electronic nature). Behind them would trail people dressed up in various costumes dancing to the music.

But it wasn’t an organized parade in most places. You could meander into the parade route and join in. The parade served as the nucleus of the festivities. Off on the side streets, you had an amazing variety of random things. One minute you’d stumble upon a street filled with food vendors, the next, someone had hauled out their own speakers and were putting on a show. This being Notting Hill, we ran into a couple of streets with people selling things in a street fair kind of setting. It was huge and complex. I felt like, in the 6 hours we were there, we probably scratched a small bit of the surface. It was very impressive.

That said, it also had the seedy underbelly side of it. Like I said, there tends to be some violence. Take millions of people, lots of alcohol and a long long day and, as the sun goes down, bad shit happens. I believe there were 2 or 3 stabbings as well as someone firing a gun in the air. Aside from anything carnival related, the area shuts down. Majorly shuts down. Take this fancy looking store:

That’s not because business has been bad and the owner decided to close shop for good. That’s because the owner boarded the place up for the weekend while the crowds descended 🙂 There were entire streets like this where all the action was replaced by street vendors and the stores that normally were open would shut down and go on holiday. The only places that were open were off-licenses to buy alcohol (and some food places) and they would usually only open enough to hand you beer across the doorway. Very interesting.

Anyway, I feel like my words aren’t quite capturing the whole vibe, but that’s what yer getting. It was a very cool experience.

Now, I’m not the competitive type (sort of), but this is worthy of a posting. My company usually sponsors a number of activities during the summer known as the ‘Summer of Fun’. In the US, most of them consist of using one of the few patios in the Loop to host a party. In the UK, we lack that kind of public space, so it ends up being a variety of activities. This summers seemed to focus on bowling. We had two bowling events, the British type and the US type. Why do I post about something this simple? Because I somehow rule both! 🙂

The first event was lawn bowling. For those of you looking for a US parallel, it’s like bocce. You have teams and a single ball rolled down some grass. You try to roll a weighted ball closest to the ball in the middle of the grass. My coworker Steve was in town for the fun and, on a whim, we joined in. Well, we somehow won! The final was a closely fought contest in which we actually came down to a roll off which required a measurement to determine who was closest in the end. Here would be a perfect capturing of that moment:

Look how close it is!

Well, Steve and I took home the gold for Team USA (and team IT geeks). Flash in the pan, you’re probably thinking.

But no! I came back in the US version of bowling to show how truly dominant sedentary geeks can be. Tonight was the US bowling leg of the summer of fun. Well, how did we do? My team came in first overall. I bowled a strike on my first roll, thus winning the ‘First Strike’ trophy. My teammate, Julie, won best female bowler and I won best male bowler. We Rule!!!

So I come back from lovely Paris to find that 2/3s of the underground will effectively be shutdown for three days due to a strike. This is due to the fact that England, like a lot of industrialized nations, has been screwing around with public services by privatizing them. Unlike, say the US which cut the cord entirely, causing corruption, higher prices and terrible service, the UK went the public-private route. As a result, you have companies with many restrictions on them trying to make money off of things that shouldn’t be thought of as being profitable and now one went bankrupt. So the workers, afraid of losing their jobs and pensions, are striking (although the government seems to have agreed to all their demands. weird). Anyway, all I can think of right now is ‘Thankfully, I take the bus!’ 🙂

I do wish countries would stop thinking about profitability when it comes to public transit. The whole point is that it’s subsidized and should never run at a profit. Now, running efficiently, that’s another story, but I personally think the idea that corporations can run things more efficiently than the public sector is a myth. They both have their bloated inefficiencies, they’re just different.

For those of you curious, this is what it looks like when the tube is shut down at rush hour. Although they’re claiming the Northern and Picadilly Lines aren’t supposed to be shut down. Wow!