I can't help but miss...

Knowing the back streets like the back of my hand, the Thames and the southbank walk, fry ups on the weekend, lazy Sundays, your mp3 player being an integral part of your sanity, reading on the tube, constantly moving, free trashy newspapers, Amy and Peaches always on the front page, our little Moroccan café before the ban, Pret, Wardour Street in all its glory, the Fitzroy on a Tuesday afternoon, VQ in the early hours of the morning, match days in your local, Radio 1 and Radio 4 (and appreciating the difference), being a trendy in Notting Hill, King's Road on a nice day, anywhere on a nice day, Trailer Happiness, the Baker Street and Prince Charles cinemas, Prime Time Video on Goodge Street and the guys who work there (thanks for all the good Korean movie recommendations guys), Oxfam Books, Bang Bang and their magazine cut-out wallpapered walls, obedient dogs in Southwark pubs, discovering Bloomsbury Bowl before it became trendy to bowl, Wembley Stadium, jogging to Cutty Sark, being so busy all the time, fresh coffee and croissants in the morning, Belgian chocolate courtesy of the Belgian flatmate, the laughter that came after the mouse invasion, cooking in the kitchen all the time, milk tea on the couch with plenty of gossip, always having people over, bargain shopping trips, Selfridges Selfridges Selfridges - could there be any other heaven on earth?, Boombox and Sketch, the smell of freshly cut grass, Roman Road market, the DLR during the day, Kate Moss with all her blips, penguin feeding time at the zoo, moody goth kids in Camden, the ruckus of Borough Market and the free baklava, worrying about your 5-a-day, Big Issue guys with a sense of humour, Friday evening after work sessions at the Bridge followed by dinner at that little Thai place, Dick and Dom on a Saturday morning, running to catch a bus and making it, the beep of my oyster card, chatting to taxi drivers about the price of property and football teams (all those QPR fans, who would have thought), awful 70's theme nights when you're the only person dressed normally, seeing other people grimace at the Hare Krishna Hare Ramas, taking in shows, the Young Vic, summer dresses the minute the sun comes out, boots and macs, Khan's, walking for an hour and not getting tired, giving up your seat for older women on the bus, buskers who play good old fashioned music (like George Harrison's "Here comes the sun"), nice streets off dodgy streets, words like "Fuzz" and "Cotch", Primark, the V&A, M&S, swans on the river, bold fashion statements, the satisfaction of slipping on the tube just as the doors close, walking out of work to breath-taking views of Tower Bridge and the lights of the City, appreciating the little things, men always holding doors open for women, always seeing the bigger picture, living in the City and feeling like you're going somewhere…



And there's always more...

My life at the moment

Clearly since my life recently has just been about my work, I haven't had much to say, or perhaps a better way to put it is that I just haven't had the time to sit down and blag away here so I've had to resort to showing you some measley photos I've taken and hope that it will suffice as an explanation of what it is I am up to at the moment.

Which as you can see, isn't much.

My phone.

My afternoon snack.

My walk in the morning.

My view leaving the office.

Maybe I'll do a camera phone "day in the life" as inspired by Twix. That could do it for me.

almost there...

I am dusting off my Chipmunk's Christmas Special CD as we speak...

Jinga ling ling, Christmas time is coming up. The lights are up, shoppers are going crazy and all is jolly and merry in the air. As I sit, wrapped in my scarf in this cold glass building, I sneak peeks at the Christmas fair that has gone up outside Potters Field and feel a bit better about the winter chill... Little children appear out of no where (don't they have school to go to?) and everyone rushes out in their lunch break to buy some mince pies and Christmas cards. The best thing about winter in this country is Christmas time, the whole city lights up and there's something special in the air... I love watching the lights go up, this year I especially like the Art Deco lights of Regent's street and not very impressed by Oxford Street this year. I am certainly most impressed by the decorations in our flat...

Our tree was bought last year when my flatmate went out to get a "small little jobbie from Waitrose" and came back with a huge 6 foot (fake) tree with a trunk full of decorations. She had a sparkle in her eye and infected me with Christmasitis, we had a ball putting up decorations. I always liked Christmas decorations, but I suppose coming from a place where we don't really celebrate Christmas I was initially shocked by how far my flatemate goes to decorate the flat. I'm not just talking christmas lights, a tree and some baubles - I'm talking mini little snow topped cottages on our tree skirt and plushy beefeaters, as well as a few Christmas doggy ornaments and the special coffee mugs that come out every winter. Every night we get a chance to settle on the couch to watch some tv, the first thing we do is put on the Christmas lights on the window, light up the tree, and then sit in the relatively dark living room to relax. We always have to have the tree up before SinterKlaas (my flatmate is Belgian) and we must on the night of the 5th of December put out a carrot and a drink for Santa and his horse (yes, we're not 4, but before she wakes up I make sure there are some chocolate gold coins in my flatmate's shoes... and to my surprise, when I wake up the carrot and drink are gone! Must be a Christmas miracle...).

In the office there hasn't been much of a Christmas feel until today - the day of our Christmas Ball. The jolly admin staff have already sent around an email to notify us that we cannot ruin our brand new building in any way, so we are not allowed to hang Christmas decorations - well, at all. I mean, we can put some our desks but what fun is that? Let me tell you, the secretaries are not pleased.... This means nothing from the ceiling, no fake snow on the windows, no snow flakes or little christmas teddies anywhere. I understand it's not professional, but come on... it's Christmas... and if I can't have office decorations, well then Ricky Gervais lied to me in The Office. Hmph. Scrooges.

This is our busiest time of year in my department so I haven't had much time to do any Christmas shopping or go to a Christmas Fayre, but I will make time soon enough. Although last year I had the pleasure of spending Christmas with two of my dearest friends, I've opted to go back home and spend this time of year with my family, especially my nieces. If anything, Christmas is for them (how funny for me to say "them" and not "her"... there's two of them now!) so I want to go back and just be with them... I now wonder what I would have done if I had to spend Christmas here alone (probably working) - Although it is a lovely time of year, it's the most lonely if you'd have to spend it by yourself and that I am not planning on doing... No sirree...

And while we're at it, I feel like I should put up my Christmas Wishlist for those of you who are stuck for ideas:

1. An iPod that will not die after a few months of serious usage, can hold all my photos, my music, tell me the weather, pull up maps of dingy side streets when I'm lost, look pretty... basically, an iPhone.
2. Sunshine in a jar. Comme ca.
3. Some nice leather boots
4. Perhaps a nice handbag to go along with my nice leather boots
5. A Castle (or for those on a budget, the pink Sheera castle I had when I was a kid needs to be replaced)
6. A baby grand piano
7. Gift certificates for John Lewis (sensible aren't I?)

Let's all get into the spirit now... xxx

Out and about: London Jazz Festival

I really needed to chill out. Predicting a peak in what one could call emotional instability, I sent an email to a friend with a link -"jazz at lunchtime?" - to which she was quick to agree to meet on Sunday at Waterloo ready to switch off and just chill out. The long sunny week passed and when Sunday came, the weather was horrible and we had to walk far too long to get a cup of coffee, but when we finally got to the Royal Festival Hall and saw the dim light stage, we relaxed. After finding a proper seat, I slipped into a stream of rhythm and forgot about my worries and my doubts...

We attended a performance consisting of 3 of England's top contemporary jazz bands in the Southbank Centre and although we only got to see one band, it was well worth it. The band consisted of a piano, saxophone, trumpet, bass and the drums and the composition of the music was very young, very vibrant and very, very good.

The nice thing about listening to contemporary jazz bands is the different ways of integrating each individual sound together. In the band we saw, there was no singer - which I prefer only because I tend to focus on the instruments rather than the singing (and usually the piano, just my own personal preference). The type of music that was being played wasn't the type that you could write lyrics to, let alone sing along to: any attempt to add any written words would have ruined it all for me personally. The final sound that came out together was just right for the audience of all ages and very current to today's tastes.

Some people don't like this particular style of music because they don't find it uniform enough and hard to follow - there's no obvious bridge or scale and can sound off key. Every instrument plays a different role which on the surface doesn't seem like it goes with the rest of the band - for instance, the piano player sounds like she's constantly hitting the wrong keys while the trumpet sounds like it would be better off alone. But what's great is that once you dissect each instrument and musician by himself, that is a song in itself - and every musician was playing to the same subtle tune. In one song, each musician had a solo in which at the end of the mini performances, when they all came together, the song made sense and you appreciated each musical contribution separately.

Some people also think that this sort of music requires a lot of improvising from the musician. I have to disagree with this because although it may sound like a lot of improvising (what may sound like a lot of mistakes, a lot of missed keys) - a lot of the time, it's actually not. After paying attention to a whole song, you'll notice the pattern of the music that really requires talent by someone who is trained in that genre.

As I said, I tend to focus on the piano if there is one because it's my favourite instrument so my eyes were glued to the pianists fingers - she was incredible, and I could tell it was from a lot of practice to refine that particular song. A lot of funky finger rolling was going on and I was just in awe, which also made me appreciate the rest of the band because the music wasn't all in the piano - the whole band was extremely talented and I could see why they were one of the best contemporary jazz bands of the country at the moment.

Although I really love the piano, I much prefer listening to a jazz band than one musician. There is talent in playing a musical instrument but there is far more talent in synchronizing your music with someone else's, especially in a genre like this. The band was very good and very original - they avoided the whole mainstream jazz scene which is exactly what I wanted to hear. It was a good end to the week and a much needed change from the norm - I'm hoping to catch another performance soon so long as I'm not stuck in my office building too often...

The London Jazz Festival will be on until Sunday the 25th of November with events on every day. Events at the Southbank Centre can be seen here.

Forster Gallery

You can buy me the prints. All of them.

Back to London tonight

In a bullet proof vest
With the windows all closed
I'll be doing my best

And I'll see you soon

In a telescope lens
And when all you want is friends
I'll see you soon

- See You Soon, Coldplay

Summertime Brings More Crazy People

I don't know what it is, but summertime brings a lot more crazies in London.

So many crazy people, so little pavement space... Exiting the tube station this morning, there was a guy wearing spandex flexing his muscles for the grim group of lawyers trying to get to their even more grim offices (all dressed in black, of course). Everyone was trying to move around his bright yellow body suit and his purple Y-fronts as he growled a couple of "HUWAAAA"s in our faces. Some of the students in the group cracked smiles, all the lawyers just hissed and moved away. This has been going on for a couple of days, I'm waiting for the day one of the Slaughter & May trainees who hasn't slept in 4 nights punches him in the face.

There is also an increase of volunteers from Amnesty International/PETA/Stop Abusing Kite Flyers and other silly groups that need attention (or so they say). There's no rain or hail to stop them from trying to pull their charms as you stroll down the street - this is what they've got to do and the sunshine only makes them stay out for longer... And with the sunshine, they pull out all their cute smiles and chat up lines "Come on, you know you've got a minute for me and all the Orphans in Guatemala love..." Grrrr... No I don't but if you grin at me like that I'll give in for the orphans... Some of them follow you and do a little dance, step in your way, and there are no puddles from the rain to stop them so you'd be surprised as to how far they'd go just to get your attention... The problem with this group is that you feel bad when you snap your "no thank you" to them on the street because you know you will walk 10 feet to a park bench and sit down to have your lunch in the sunshine. They know you're not busy. They know you've got money to spare. They even probably want a bite of your M&S sandwich (and you will feel guilty for it, even if you don't like to share food). It's hard not to give when the weather is so nice and you're in such a good mood (and Oxfam hires some pretty charismatic buggers to follow you around).

You know, it's not the heat that drives people crazy (this is a nice 16 degrees not the smouldering 46 that makes you want to kill an arab on a beach with a gun* double points for guessing the lit reference) - it's the fact that the weather is nice so you can stand outside and shout out whatever you want all day. There's no piercing winds to push you down the street and indoors, so why don't you pull out your hair in minimal clothing and dance around in the streets? It's okay, it's sunny, no one minds... Go on... wanna grab a tambourine and shake it in my face? Sure, go for it! It's sunny, I don't care!

Of course, summer brings two groups of people I just can't stand: Christian Winner/Sinner Preachers and the Hare Krishna. Those "Don't be a sinner, be a winner" stand-arounds who shout out abuse when all you want to do is get into Topshop really piss you off... and you know what? Tourists love them... Don't ask me why, but they find them hilarious... They applaud them, they take pictures of them, I once saw a Japanese couple videotape one... I just don't' see it, some crusty guy standing around with a megaphone (as if we need the extra noise pollution) shouting out abuse to all the shoppers and trying to convert them all... Aurgh... Slap them with an ASBO I say and move on...

And as for the Hare Krishna Hare Rama: Don't even get me started. Please, please, please, someone send a super tornado and whisk them away to Everest and away from my sight.

Point is, summertime brings the crazies, so watch out as you're walking down the streets in your flippers, minding your own business... and watch out for when you start to get them... Hey, me and my friends get it, we go a little loco when the sun comes out too... but you know what we do? We don't harass people in the streets, we just go to the park and run around like a bunch of monkeys amongst ourselves and capture it on camera, and that's okay...


Trafalgar Square becomes one big park today and there's a mini festival in Victoria Park with lot's of cotton candy & outdoor fun stuff. Oh, and I know David Duchovny isn't in London in the picture, but someone needs to tell him grey shorties are soo winter.

Gamers hugged themselves and each other and said: "Sony we love you"

Coming into work this morning was actually pleasant and I was surprised to see how many smiling faces there were. Probably because it's a Friday, I mused, as I involuntarily squashed myself between two big burly men with bags underneath their eyes. They were smiling too and after (again, involuntarily) listening in on their conversation, I knew why:

"I am so tempted to call in sick, everyone else in the house has and they're glued to the TV... I'm definitely coming home early to play it..."

I smiled as I listened to the story of how this young man hadn't slept all night because his housemate was one of the first people in the country to buy a PlayStation 3 and he couldn't let go of it all night. They were joking around about hugging it, taking turns kissing it and how lucky they were to have it. I completely understood, even though I'm not a gamer - although they did get a couple of strange sideways glances from some people on the train.

******************

The PS3 was launched last night in the Virgin store on Oxford Street (Corner of Tottenham Cout Road) and the gaming world is overjoyed. I may not be a geeky little kid (glasses not thick enough) or a 20something city bloke with a 9 - 5 job (doesn't matter how old you are, you're still a little kid on the inside), but I understand how big this launch was. Gamers have been waiting for too long for the launch of yet another console that will take up all their time and cause problems with girlfriends and spouses. Previous launches of the XBox 360 and Nintendo Wii drew just as much attention but also a lot of complaints to the companies that didn't provide what their customers wanted.

In this case, no one has yet to complain of the ridiculous antics pulled by the company who launched the console. Unlike Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony didn't dupe their customers by only providing a small number of consoles in relation to the demand. Sony actually provided more consoles than expected to sell AND the first 100 customers at their Virgin Launch last night received HD flatscreen TVs worth £2,500 - for free. This is all just for being great customers and being patient enough to stand in a queue for 48 hours.

You read that right - readers in the UK or US might find it normal to hear of people queuing for days to get their hands on a gaming console (people in Japan right now are probably laughing at people who don't). I remember the launch of the XBox 360 at midnight when a laser show was taking place as the doors of GAME flung open and people ran to grab whatever they could - it was crazy. Problem was, some people were queuing for ridiculous hours and when they got to the front of the queue found out there weren't enough consoles to go around. If that were me, I would have probably gone ape shit, start kicking demonstrations and staff and even my own shadow from having to wait around for nothing. Many times before, gamers have complained to reporters on site (yes, because this does make the news, contrary to what some of you would agree to what should be branded as "news") of waiting for hours and not getting anything at the end. I don't blame them. I have been on many awaiting list for the Ninetendo Wii (a joint christmas gift) and many times have I run to the GAME in Canary Wharf to find a group of people standing around and a spotty member of staff shaking his head in embarrassment. It's March and I still haven't gotten one, must to my (and my christmas gift receiver) disappointment.

Sony was smart enough to put away gimmicks/laser shows/juggling marmoset acts and make this a basic launch. Okay, so they did launch the product at midnight but that's actually pretty smart because you don't have to take time off work or school. Also, Sony recognized this wasn't about marketing as much as about getting the product out to the customer, so they didn't have any flash celebrities around or fancy displays - instead they provided their customers with Coke and Caffeine in the last 24 hours of waiting (super bonus) and gave everyone a pretty cool gift for being so dedicated.

What's cool is that they even provided more consoles than they anticipated selling because they didn't want people to buy consoles and turn around and sell them for double the price on eBay - respect to that. No one should be so desperate as to surf eBay at 6 a.m. to buy a gaming console, it's just not right.

************************

I hope this makes a lot of gamers happy - I for one, have lost many hours of my life listening to the same complaints from a certain someone about this whole launch of consoles... Complaints such as corporations not caring enough about their customers, not taking into consideration certain populations and demographics in comparison to others, debating markets like Europe vs the Japanese, the Japanese vs the Americans, the people vs the corporation, my sanity vs rant rant rantrantrantrant... I think Sony's done good this time, maybe this could mean people can finally purchase something and be satisfied with it...

Read the BBC report here, which has put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Happy Gaming Kiddos xx

Top 10 List of 2006: Top 10 Flashbacks and Good Times

10. 14 July 2006: Walking up a hill in Finchley Road with my parents, to a house that was long forgotten by my Dad. I watched him so expertly turn around corners and stand infront of the residence that was his home for 4 years. Someone showed us around that house and I got to see where my Dad lived as the young man I can't imagine he once was. Stuck in my mind: My dad pointing out a bus stop that he used to stand at every wednesday night with his friends who are now married to eachother. He used to walk over with his friend (now husband) who would be walking the pretty girl (now wife) to wait for her bus to take her home. Very sweet indeed.

9. 21 September 2006: Panic! @ the Disco with Ahmedi. Stuck in my mind: Going hysterical when they covered Smashing Pumpkins and RadioHead so well and lecturing Ahmedi how these are songs that "Define my generation" and that he should listen to them. =) Remembering what "My Generation" is and how things have changed, making me feel a lot older than little me really is.

8. A collection of nights out with the LLO6 gang, including Chinawhites, the Gardening Club and good ol' times at the trusty College Arms. Special shout out to the house warming that never was and the horrid ending to Niksi's awesome birthday which made us all realize we're good kids and even better friends. Stuck in my Mind: Taking a rickshaw home from Soho and gaining the nickname "Princess Sara" for the rest of the year.

7. That night as I sat in the back of the cab and listened to some pretty foul language come out of someone's mouth. And prior to that, happier times when we all danced like monkeys, like that night in Dunes when everyone showed up. You know what I'm talking about, when we all snuck into the bathroom to escape the racial congregation in the kitchen and told jokes until the morning. Stuck in my mind: Warnings that if we were too loud "The Lord will come and get us!" and the giggles that would not stop.

6. March 2006: Watching Kathim croon in the Royal Albert Hall. 'Nuff Said.

5. My sister's birthday lunch with the whole extended family, and more importantly, my immediate family all together. I have a group picture of us crowded around a birthday cake and it makes me smile. The icing ofcourse was being my niece's "Pink Sister" for the day, she melts my heart.

4. Sitting in my kitchen in Sehla with my beautiful all time indispensable friends, drinking tea, having Jan, making cup cakes, talking, talking, talking, reminiscing and missing, looking forward to the new. I miss you girls x

3. Running and Jumping in the Park: Hands down, most beautiful day in London ever. Not only was the sun shining hot hot heat and the grass as green as it could be, but the company brought some good times which we all will never forget. Stuck in my mind: Watching Girl, Interrupted & Lunar Chick whispering on the grass together from a distance, looking so relaxed and pretty, and thinking of what great friends we've become. And then attacking them both =)

2. Driving to Waterford along the coast on that blindingly sunny day. A smile escapes my lips everytime I remember our route, our music and our near tone-deaf voices singing along to songs that should have stayed in 1995. I remember looking over to the driver's seat and telling myself "this is how it should be..." I am truly blessed to have you babe.

1. Will always stick in my mind: That cold day in September. Leaving my first and very demeaning interview, Sajni gave me a call and asked to meet up somewhere and gave me the wrong address: I arrived at Embankment only to find out after calling her, lost, that I have to cross the bridge towards Southwark to get to her. I cursed her until no end, how could she not know which station she nearest or where she was? I had just had a room full of stupid Essex HR girls tell me the chances of getting this job were slight to slim and I came out feeling drained, I did not need to run around the city to meet a friend for comfort. I was feeling so let down that things were so tough and I was just stuck in the middle and just needed some tlc and even that was hard to get because this little Miss didn't know where the hell we were supposed to meet! This is supposed to be her home and I knew it better than she did! I was angry at Sajni for not knowing where she was and angry at myself for not knowing where I was either: What was I going to do next? Here or There? Did I keep looking for a job in this strange city and fight my best years away, or did I pack up and go home? I was in a state of limbo as I found my bridge and walked across the River Thames, slowly fighting back the urge to hurl my binder of papers into the murky waters below me. I slowed down halfway down the bridge and looked around me: To the left was the Square Mile and Canary Wharf at a distance. To my right was Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. Pauls... Before I knew it, I was naming all the buildings, all the sights, quickly recalling times when I did this or that over here and there, and fighting back the tears that came surging before I could realize that this was my city. Of course I knew it better than Sajni, because London is mine. It may not be mine forever, but it was at that moment and I knew that it wasn't just time for me to leave yet. I looked around me at a tiny ray of light that fittingly beamed across my path between the grey clouds and made my way to a trusty chain venue where a comforting friend was waiting for me with a big hug and lot's of encouragement. 3 months later I'm still here, trampling these grounds, thanks to all the support I got from everyone around me. I love you guys, I'll give it up when it's time to give it up.

Honorary Mention Goes to: All Those Times With The Mice, All Those Times in Our Moroccan Place and The Wardour Street Adventures.

A Christmas Tale (and other stories from the Holiday Season)

It's 2007. Yeah! I remember how weird it was saying "2004" or "2005", or even "1997" and that was 10 years ago. Anyhoo, without any delay, I wish you all a bright and successful year ahead as I do for myself. At least I'm honest about it.

This was my first "holiday season" in England and I got to spend some quality time with friends - something I haven't done in too long. So when our very own resident Parisian catwalked through the Waterloo terminal on Christmas Eve morning I ran to her with open arms. Then I sniffed her.

"Err" I stuttered.

"IT'S THE CHEESE, SOOS" she barked back with a smile. I broke into a huge grin and jumped her again. She brought me the cheese! And not just any "the cheese", but all "the cheese" I could ask for! We then made our way back home (which unbeknownst to us, would be our smelly sanctuary for the next 2 days), giggling, reminicscing of old times and planning our break together. Of course, the second we got into the flat we tore open her near empty suitcase that was half filled with the goods. The camembert, the roquefort, the second favourite which was clearly my first favourite... the good stuff. Needless to say, I couldn't take any pictures as i consumed most of it without any delay, so I had to resort to a google image to show you a taste what I've been gorging on for the last week.

Oh yeah, I can see you drooling. Take that and times it by 6 different pasturised blocks of heaven. And of course, for the next 2 days, every other sentence that came out of our mouths had to comment on the smell of feet coming from the fridge. Oh, it was a good smell to me, but by the end of Day 1, my christmas companions did not agree.

So it was Christmas time and our main mission was to feast, which we did with pleasure. Christmas Eve was a feast of nibbles and when Christmas Day came we were ready: Time to cook our birds. Our mulla friend had kindly explained her special slaughtered diet in advance and we were ready for it - although we couldn't find the right turkey, we did find his Muslim cousin The Chicken and found it fit for the job. This meant that since we clearly weren't going to have a whole chicken and a whole turkey (and the fact that I heard some people DIE from eating Turkey that isn't cooked right and I freaked out on Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve! I was one of those people who freaked out on Christmas Eve!), we resorted to a nice slab of Turkey Joint for us electrofied meat eaters. Yummm.

The Chicken had to be stuffed and someone had to do the job:

Note, those are not my pretty white hands as I'm of the brown variety - but those hands did a lot of poking and it was well worth it. Our Chicken was cooked to a perfect crisp, our turkey didn't kill anyone (whew) and our sides were de-licious. Unfortunately, CARROTS were our enemy this christmas but I'll let it slide as we did manage to cook up a feast fit for a
dozen baby Jesuses.

Nice eh? I'm feeling a sense of pride at our meal. We ate until we sweat gravy and couldn't eat anymore. We were all in our PJs, watched some Christmas movies (including Elf, every christmas needs some Will Ferrell) and spent time together dancing to Christmas Carols. As I write this now from work, I miss rockin' around the Christmas tree and nasal singing "Santa Babyyy... tooo dooo dooo doo dooo too too too too!" Good times...

Of course, no Christmas in London is complete with the obligatory rib-crushing-boxing-day-excursion. Yup, the next day we bundled up in our most comfortable clothes and decided to see what the fuss was all about way too late to enjoy it. We were crushed, stepped on and shoved aside to grab clothes/handbags/shoes/cutlery/body parts/you name it... Everything was on sale and everything was up for grabs. We went, we saw, we got trampeled on. I would put up a picture of my exhausted fake smile while waiting for my Senchen Phad Thai that evening but I'm scared someone would recognize me as "That Cow that was in my way in Selfridges". Apparently, we were in everyone's way the whole 15 minutes we spent inside.

Overall, it's been a good week. I went back to work for 2 days where I managed to bill a helluva lot more clients than they would have liked (Merry Christmas!) and then took some time off for a nice and quiet New Year's celebration. Unfortunately, no pictures there but I assure you it was just lovely. That period was spent relaxing, reflecting and eating good cheese (you thought I'd leave it out, didntchya?): Now let's see if our predictions for 2007 will come true.

Lot's of love,

Soos x

coughing in a winter wonderland

Bah Humbuger, my darlings!

The Christmas spirit is upon us all here at Froggymen's as my immediate team all stretch out after our Christmas lunch. I clutch my side and relax; postponed a conference call because of an important "team meeting" that "ran over" which was due mainly to the fact we couldn't decide whether we wanted the bannoffee pie or creme brulee; after all it's Christmas, we're allowed to take it a little easy.

'Tis a season to be jolly and celebrate indeed: our office Christmas party was 2 weeks ago with the awesome theme of Boogie Nights - I know my cheesy sister is nodding her head in approval somewhere... Oh you would've loved it - it went the whole 51 yards with disco balls and bell bottoms everywhere. It was a fun night and an excuse for everyone to let their hair down or into a fake afro and just have a good time. And hey, everyone looks good in an afro after a couple of alcopops. It was a good night and got to boogie down with my colleagues who usually all just hide behind their computer screens in stress (hey, I'm one of them, too) - good times, definitely good times.

Since then it's been one christmas 'do after the other. Big lunches with work, dinner with the sweet flatmate and drinks with friends of friends and their friends. Soon though the big day will roll around the corner and I'll be celebrating my first ever Christmas in England. Yes, for this Christmas, I'm entertaining in my own home and will be cozying up on my couch with my dearest girlfriends. This will mean that I'm going to have to go on a mulla slaughtered turkey hunt this evening and start planning how I'm going to cook this bird. I sure hope I'll be able to find such fowl and I'm sure there's someone out there who'll do the job. Wouldn't the butcher find it comendable and a bit of a challenge, or will he shake his head at me for mixing too many rituals in one? Hmmm... I'm sure my local ASDA will find a way to cater to its good Muslim shoppers who like turkey. Why limit yourself to halal chicken or mutton (how I hate that word)? I suppose if all else fails I'll settle for a Jewish Christmas with some chinese takeout and a good movie... Now, if that isn't mixing I don't know what is...

Eid's coming up, Hannukah's near an end and Christmas has been and will be upon us for some time now... It's a nice time to celebrate, so happy holidays for everyone who likes to celebrate, and go scrooge yourselves for those who don't.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Departed - a far departure from the original...

Applause, applause, I managed to get over to the theatre this weekend to watch Martin Scorsese's latest movie, "THE DEPARTED". The only reason I actually got to the cinema and wasted three hours (yes, three hours) of my time was the curiosity to watch Scorsese's Hollywood adaptation of the Chinese blockbuster "Infernal Affairs" - and to see whether he's mucked it up or not.

Infernal Affairs is a story of an undercover cop in the Triads and a Triad mole in the police force - it's the story of two young lads who started out together and went their separate paths working for different ends of the police force. Due to some seedy scams, they're forced to seek eachother out from the instructions of their superiors (also big time cops) without getting themselves discovered. It's basically an intense, skilful crime thriller in the streets of Hong Kong done by the famous Chinese director Andrew Lau (War of the Underworld, A Man Called Hero). The leads are played by Andy Lau and Tony Leung (you can feel the Chinese girls swooning already) and they do an excellent job of portraying the good cop who's not really a cop and the bad cop who turns good cop. The script is clearly written for a Chinese audience and is definitely not a made-for-Hollywood Oriental film - don’t expect this to be anything artsy and include some computer enhanced martial arts. This is a Chinese action film, not what you'd watch at your local world globe theatre before drinks with some wanna indie cover band members.

Rather than the streets of Hong Kong, The Departed is set in Boston with native Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio running up and down the Charles. I must note that this isn't entirely a story about the police force, but a story about the Boston Police Force and the Irish Mafia that exist within it. It was an interesting insight into what could be going on, and the star studded cast including Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Marky Mark Wahlburg and a chubby Alec Baldwin, definitely had you entertained with their fake Bostonian accents. "Get in the caaah. Get in the feckin' caaah!"

Scorsese follows the original script quite well, with a few additions and extractions of his own. Scorsese's neglects to build up the relationship between Martin Sheen's character and DiCaprio's - definitely something he shouldn't have taken out as you don't really understand the dynamics of their relationship. Also, the original includes the extra character of May (Chinese pop star Elva Hsaio) who is only in the film for a brief scene, but definitely includes a sweet touch to the thriller as Tony Leung's old flame. There are a small number of new twists and turns but The Departed sticks to the original's production quite well, with the main scenes being almost exact the same as the original. Also spot a lot of scenes in china town = much appreciated by fans of the original.

Part of the excitement of the original Chinese film was the fact that it's filled with subtleties - nothing is spelled out for you and the story unravels as you watch the struggles of Tony Leung's character cope with being an undercover cop and you understand the relationship he has with Mr. Wong, with brief flashbacks of the young student's upsets at the Triad Academy. This was the main problem with The Departed - the original movie was about an hour and forty minutes while this version was stretched out for an extra hour. A whole extra HOUR. Mainly because Scorsese's must have though American audiences wouldn't be able to keep up with the plot and had to explain every detail while Chinese audiences were left sitting at the edge of their seat, taking in every detail in order to piece together the story. Entirely necessary? Perhaps Scorsese's thought he could put forward extra scenes with cussing and some flesh in order to keep his audience focused on the plot (perhaps).

Another disappointment: Scorsese's didn't bother milking out the emotional scenes (Mr. Wong/Martin Sheen - don't want to ruin it for you) to replace them with some tactlessly placed sex scenes with Jack Nicholson involved. Grr. I do love The Shining star - his facial expressions in random bursts of irish song are brilliant as the main villian in the film - but was it completely necessary? Picture Nicholson, naked but for a leopard print silk robe. Think hard now.

Overall, I'd say the movie was "good" for an adaptation of a chinese film to for a western audience. It definitely over simplified the plot and did put in some extras that weren't entirely necessary, but again, overall, it was good. "Very good" for those who haven't seen Infernal Affairs and won't compare it to the original. "Not so great" for those who look down on Scorsese's not having seen the original when deciding to film The Departed. "Disgusting" for those die hard Andy Lau fans who think Matt Damon is no equal.

Rating: 3.5/5

More about The Departed here, and Infernal Affairs here.

I can't waaaaiit... for the weeekend to begiiiiin...

Weekend Stuff:

- Steady's coming over - much missed after a 2 month departure (yes, it's been that long!), looking forward to having a chinese & a chat with my narcaleptic friend. Sometimes we think Teddy's Deady when he passes out, but lucky he's not this bad.

- OCTOBER 14 - DOOMSDAY - card-game night at my place, prepare yourself for some dog-eat-dog-rummy. I don't have a name for our game, could someone give suggestions, err... please-gesstions?

- Preparing for the London Film Festival coming up next week - looking forward to seeing some good British films, especially Venus, which is a collaborated work of one of my favourite writers, Hanif Kureshi, and with Peter O'Toole in the lead. That and Breaking and Entering with yummy Jude Law. Yummay in ma Tummay. If I do end up going to a movie, go over to Coffee & Dates to read my review and then applaud me for actually sitting through a whole movie in the cinema & not thinking it's an absolute waste of time.

- Tom the temp (who was also my advocacy opponent in law school) is leaving today, I will be very sad - no one to take countless coffee & tea breaks with who will complain about the quality of coffee & tea with me.

- Weekend means sleeping in - fun!

Link This: London's Calling

Fancy learning a little bit more about London? Link yourself up to

Coffee & Dates

where I myself am a contributor to whatever we see, hear and by golly, take part in here in the nation's capital...

It's still being played around with so check it up on a daily basis and leave your comments!

Other contributors are awesome and opinionated - you'll love 'em!

That's it for now - crazy days - when aren't they?

Peace x

(PS. So Wenger admitted selling Viera & Edu in the same year was a mistake... true to a certain point, their position was missing and that did put a lot of pressure on Fabregas... but what's done is done, and we're back up there.... quoting The Boss "I’m convinced that we can fight for, and win, the Premiership title. I’m a competitor so my aim this season is to win both the Champions League and the Premiership." Amen.)

London you make us chortle

Taken from Timeout's The Laughter Issue (No. 1866 that sits in my bathroom for the reading pleasure any guests), here's a couple of things that make us chuckle at "the world's most uptight, stressed, maddening and yes, sometimes side-splitting city)"...

- Bus drivers on drugs (That's the powdy, white, mad drugs. Is there any other explanation for how they drive?)

- The rumour that Sir Norman Foster had the idea for the Gherkin in the bath.

- People pretending to drive the DLR.

- This announcement "The District Line is suspended between EArl's Court and Whitechapel. The Northern Line is experiencing severe delays after a signal failure at Camden. The Waterloo & City Line is closed until 2007. Central Line trains are not stopping at Marble Arch due to a customer taking ill. And the Bakerloo Line is temporarily clsoed. All other services are running as normal."

- Ken (For getting away with it)

- Non-smokers sitting outside pubs on Tottenham Court Road. It's the A400 - one of the most polluted roads in the world.

- Guy Ritchie.

- The homeless gent on Charlotte Street who has incorporate teh Catch-22 concept into his pitch "I bet you a quid you won't buy the Big Issue"

- And the fact that you can go to a place called Catford and there really is a bloody great cat there. Ditto Elephant & Castle.

- Watching skateboarders and BMX-ers fall over on the South Bank. Or better still, crashing into one of the people pretending to be a statue.

- The 'nobody can see me if I move quickly with my head down' walk that provincial businessmen adopt when leaving Soho sex shops ith black plastic bags. They are wasting their timne, as all Londoners know the only thing that comes in black plastic bags is hardcore pornography (dedicated to Sarah).

- Names like Cockfosters. Back Passage. Ass House Lane.

- Out-of-towners moaning about the congestion charge, It's supposed to discourage you.

- Tottenham Hotspur: Ofcourse tradition demanded that they lose out on fourth place htis year to Arsenal, but who could have expected them to turn the process intoa Farrelly brothers-style gross-out comedy? (lol x 100)

- Tooting (still sounds funny!)

- Big, strapping, hooded youths riding around on kiddy motorbikes.

- The macho, uniformed London transport teams who descend on bendy buses. You are ticket inspectors - you will never, ever be in the Special Forces. Although you will always be arses.

- 'When everyone stopped on Tooting High Street to cheer on a shoplifter being chased by three security guards. People were clapping and shouting encouragement, I was so proud, I nearly cried' Joe Wilkinson, comic

- This really bad joke: Avoid Highbury tonight becuase there's been a fire. People think it was Arsene.

- The man whose phone went off in the reading rooms in teh British Library, Yes, it was Crazy Frog.

- Terrible cocktail bartenders in mid-level London bars. Particularly if they call their trade "mixology" (x 100)

- South London girls vomiting on bouncers' feet.

- The man with diabolo sticks in Soho Square: clearly jobless, committed to his art, there whatever the weather, all year round.

- All young, white males in Battersea. We're sorry, but you are white.

- Pigeons having sex in Soho Square.

- The hairdresser in Bethnal Green called "It'll Grow Back".

- The glorious, glorious memory of London's reaction to David Blaine and his see-through box.

- This announcement from a driver on the Central Line: "Why don't you stand in the way of the closing doors? I've got all day"

- The tapir (a strange hybrid of anteater and cow) in London Zoo that urinated over an American lady. It went in her mouth too.

- 'Little girls in Peckham saying in esasperation "Oh My Days!" They haven't had any days yet - they're about seven' Stuary Goldsmith, comic

- Celebrity offspring of dubious talent - Stella McCartney

- Celebrity offspring of no talent - Jade Jagger

- PR stunts in Soho Square going horribly wrong as out-of-work actors dressed as traffic wardens/weightlifters/ballerinas end up in genuine fights with tramps. Or pigeons having sex.

- Shop assistants in trendy boutiques. Sulky, eye-rolling bastions of bad manners trussed up like neo-Nazi fashion turkeys.

- Camden Town with its Faux punks sitting on the canal bridge looking a bit cross because there are still three hours to go till they get the train back to Suffolk.

- The Wibbley Wobbley comedy boat (mainly because it's nice to say)

- This station announcement "Mind the gap, this station is Oval"

- John Lewis "It still thinks there's a war on. Not just any war, but World War II. You can buy mothproofer and swimming goggles and wool. In one purcahse, in one shop" Natalie Haynes, comic

- Cyclists being arrested: a rare treat, but worth waiting for.

Today I...

... started my new job!

... became a guppy in a sea of commuters!

... have gotten used to my new place (which I love)!

... am fasting!

... will probably steal internet off the unsecured wireless connection I picked up at home!

... will break my fast with my little cousin!

... got in touch with another blogger!

... discovered the term "blogger" confuses me!

... miss my family!

... miss my friends and family!

... will pay bills!

... handed in my payslip with work! yay!

... saw an old college friend in the office!

... need to eat!

Yeah... that pretty much sums it all up... Peace xx

Goodbye Smallest Street in Fitzrovia...

I walked home to my little flat for the last time tonight... The familiar route down busy streets passed too quickly as I looked around my soon-to-be old neighbourhood for the last time... Tomorrow night I'll sleep in a different bed between different walls and to different sounds I won't know...

A year ago I came to the city without a clue of where I was going to live... The flat hunt took one tedious day and one last viewing to make me fall in love with a tiny little flat I'd call home for the next 14 months... I remember moving in my things up those horrid stairs and exploring the neighbourhood with such wide eyes that everything was beautiful until it was drenched in polluted rain... How fast I learnt all the shortcuts, where to get the best fruits (that stall outside goodge street station) and where I can get a cheap cup of coffee & fresh croissant in the mornings I was running late to college (Fitzrovia Cafe on Tottenham Street)... I learnt quickly that Oxford Street is bearable on a weekday morning but to be avoided at all costs on a weekend at any time... That old plumbing needs patience & once you get the technique right your tempremental shower will be nice to you for as long as you need it to be... I also learnt that mice only come when you speak about them & old fashioned traps don't work - those buggars are smarter than you think...

A dear friend wrote something very sweet for me over here, and I think it's a good description of what went on this past year... along with dinner parties, long talks, sleepless sleepovers and lot's and lot's of love... Thank you lulu, I know this place was just as much mine as it was yours - I think we did good here, I think we did a lot of good... :) Perfectly situated in the middle of the city, this place was a haven for a lot of passer-bys, I hope it made them just as much at home as it did for me... I know the tea & blankets helped :) I'll be sad to move so far away but it's time for a change...

It's hard to say goodbye to a home, especially when it gave you the warmth you needed to come back after a long, cold day... I just hope my new place will be just as welcoming as this place was...

Thank you for the memories - it's time to move on...

Sweat Free Review: Madonna's Tracksuit Line for H&M

She's done it again - Today, we're giving it up for Madonna, Queen of Pop. The world's best selling female artist has now gone out and done something completely random to market her ever growing empire of music slash dance slash children's books slash kabalah slash red string around wrists slash political fundraisers (apparently Madge was quoted saying "The future I wish for my children is at risk" in the 2004 US presidential elections - Wesley Clark 2008 it is then...) - Madonna is now marketing her every so lovely Madonna brand of tracksuits at the Swedish fashion label H&M.

Now, we all know she isn't the first to do it... Madonna is following the string of famous designers who have contributed a cheaper version of their own label as a line for our beloved Hennes... Karl Lagerfield and Stella McCartney have been favourites, and a rumoured Viktor & Rolf will be coming up sometime this November with their own line... True, Madonna isn't even a designer, but H&M's previous contributors have left lasting memories in our wardrobes and not in our wallets and have been one big hit after the other. The point was to get tip top designers to create a line of crazy sexy cool and so fashionaaayble line of affordable clothes for the high street shopper - who wouldn't want a karl lagerfield design for less than £100 in their closet? Big Big Success, in every way...






So here we go: Madonna for sweatpants? People weren't as much skeptical as they were curious... True, Madge is a Yogini after all (that's a female master of yoga, fyi) and she's got the body of an 18 year old gymnast, but what would these sweatpants look like? Would there be cones involved? Perhaps a cross that went on fire? Controversial? Sexy? Damn right indecent? Well, be prepared for none of the above as no one even bothered flocking to Oxford Circus to see the launch of our resident's new creation. Shoppers around the world waited for some excitement from Madonna and were left disappointed: Instead of the cool kistch sexy designs we expected, we were left with dry mouths at the bland and unimaginative trackies with the silly label "Madonna heart H&M". Trackies is what they are - Madge's concert ticket prices caused more of a stir around the country than her line of clothes, and the teenbop/yummy mummy consumer world is left disappointed.

Starting with the display, it was your average humdrum clothes rack at a highstreet store, nothing extravagant, nothing great. The trackpants are going for £14.99 while the sweaters are going for £19.99. Not expensive at all for nylon-mix trackpants at H&M that are made in Turkey. The design is simple, zip up sweater, scrunched at the middle and regular fit trousers that did not feel anymore special on your bum than your average H&M track-bottoms. Nothing special - the outfit comes in Clorox white, black and that dark shade of purple that seems to be in every shop window this season.






And that really is about it: There's nothing more to it. There was no stampede as witnessed before at H&M Designer launches or rush to grab the last size 10 trousers; there was more of a silent shift around the display to get to the 2 for 3 wifebeaters and headbands we all so desperately need. Madonna's design lacks creativity and imagination - There could have at least been a print or a little label that broke the boilerplate copy she's produced. Her creation in no way competes with other now-made-fabulous tracksuits that have taken over the fashion industry, such as Madonna's favourite pair of Juicy Couture's. She could have done so much but instead decided to promote a bland pair of trackies that doesn't say much, if anything at all, about her new disco diva style. H&M can do no wrong in our eyes and here all the fingers point at Queen of Pop Madge Ritchie - poor, poor work.



Madonna's tracksuits have been available since the end of August and the way we see it, will be around until the sales in an H&M near you. Viktor & Rolf for H&M is predicted to come out Mid-November.

"Why is there a Dutch flag outside their window?"

... and other funny things my sister has said while visiting... I miss that girl already!