Friday 21 October 2005

Fare Thee Well London Town

20 September - Slept in on my last day (again, won't be able to do that when i'm gainfully employed unfortunately) and did a few errands around the house before going for a local wander. Couldn't really think of anything to do - didn't want to do any touristy things and everyone I knew in town was either away or working - did go and say a final farewell to James in the early evening at the salubrious Trading House - he showed me the new drinks menu which was very impressive although I wasn't very happy about the use of a the way too Bondi and seriffy Times New Roman font (i suggested the more manly Verdana), I also found a wee mistake which will have to wait until the next print run to fix. Does look like an impressive drinks menu though. Headed back to the flat and head dinner with Stefan and Walber ending it with Amaretto and expensive chocolatets (i really don't like Amaretto, it reminded me of the one unpleasant thing about staying with Irina in Slovakia - she has a penchant for rather awful apeterifs). It was very nice staying at Red Square, although it was a bit edgy i'm quite sure it will be a little bit nicer than the budget hotel i've booked in Vancouver for my arrival.
I booked a taxi for 615 and set my alarm for 545 so I wasn't in the st mood after waking up. The taxi came early and I had to run out of the house to get it but had said goodbye to my gracious hosts the previous nights. The tube was direct and it was working this time (unlike the Amsterdam's epic journey) but I did end up meeting a young Indian man going home. We had a bit of a chat and he sat next to me on the tube, which was great, company is good, but he did invade my personal space quite a bit (the arm rest is supposed to represent the limit of how far you're allowed to encroach, sir!) - computer problems and weather problems plagued my eventual arrival in my seat but i'm now sitting on my flight somewhere between London and Frankfurt so i'm certainly on the way.
Did a bit of celebrity spotting as well - Jamie Oliver, the pucker TV chef and social revolutionary is on my plane (travelling economy in solidarity with the rest of us plebs) - despite the revulsion that many of the English i've met have expressed for his annoying TV style I have to say that I think he is amazing. Successful TV chef's abound but none of the others perform the social activism to the extent that he does - the setting up of the restaurant to assist disadvantaged children was a minor step but he's started a revolution in England with trying to fix the nutrition problems that are endemic in England, especially amongst children. Now, hopefully he'll be sufficiently horrified by the micro sammiches being served by Lufthansa to fix the nutrition problems on the planes (actually, i'm only kidding, I love airplane food) ...

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