by Sarah Blinco | May 15, 2011 | Expats explore London
One of the things I love most about living in a city like London is that every day you can find somewhere different to explore. Although this weekend has mirrored the past few – cloudy and windy with bursts of sunshine – we managed to catch a nice few hours this morning, so jumped on a bus just up the road, destination Angel / Islington.
Friends had often said this was a nice little part of the world, and they’re totally right! Perfect for a few hours out, morning coffee or evening drinks and tapas, the walk along the high street from Angel Tube to Highbury & Islington Tube (both Zone 2) is pleasant, filled with cute boutiques, delicatessens, clubs, bars, pubs including a few we want to head back to (a Japanese restaurant, Spanish tapas diner and a couple of Mexican stops too)! Reviews imminent… Long story short, this area is definitely worth a visit if you live in or are visiting the area.
by Sarah Blinco | May 6, 2011 | Expat living in London, Expats explore London, Royal England, Travel blogger destinations
Just this morning I was pondering what we would do now; what would we talk about? This time a week ago we had the big, romantic wedding and street parties all around. Then the weekend was topped off by the news that Osama Bin Laden had finally been captured and killed.
Ironically enough, I stumbled across quite an amusing editorial in The Daily Telegraph by Hannah Betts which proved I wasn’t the only one thinking along these lines. It really was such an amazing event: “For a few hours we came together as a country in a way that no sporting activity, or religious celebration could muster. In a multi-media age, where the populace rarely views the same subject matter, we united on a single theme“. Am sure quite a few of you will, with a knowing smile, agree…
Have you fallen into the arms of post-wedding-day blues?
After celebrating the royal wedding our nation is left deflated, says Hannah Betts.
Look deep into your soul and ask yourself: do any of the following symptoms sound familiar? A wistful longing for romantic conviction; the feeling that one might be a tad chubby or lacking poise; an overwhelming sense of drabness; an indignant rumbling to the effect: “Where’s Monday’s bank holiday gone?”
One week on from what the nation is still rapturously referring to as “The Wedding”, a certain post-nuptial depression would appear to be afflicting the collective female psyche. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Great Wedding Wobble.
Personally, I am no ardent monarchist, without being a republican; I am not looking for Mr Right; nor do I believe in marriage. Nevertheless, my own wake o’ nuptials malaise set in last Friday at 4pm prompt.
What, no more watching royals motor about the capital? No further tittering at Beatrice’s titfer? No more fashionable nose-upturning at the former Miss Middleton, who – even former naysayers must concede – pulled an absolute blinder? How could we be expected to wean ourselves off the eye candy so quickly? Surely the couple had a responsibility to fulfil their role as reality television stars to topple Essex’s finest and commit their wedding night to the small screen?
The male commentator who described the wedding as the “World Cup for women” didn’t come close. For when has the outcome of a football match made anyone question their quality of life? The introspection – ye gods, the introspection! I may not want to get hitched, but the couple’s beatific happiness (after 10 years!) reduced me to a gibbering heap. Theirs was a radiant certainty that I have yet to feel about anyone or anything.
Happily – unhappily – I am not alone. Legions of otherwise sane women would appear to be suffering post-nuptial angst. For those enduring separation or malcontentedly single, the wretchedness is palpable.
Said one 38-year-old divorcee: “I couldn’t help but reflect on my wedding day and the confident assumption that my life was complete. And yet here I am living alone in a bedsit, with unhappy children and an incandescent ex. The pair’s tangible warmth crawled beneath the armour I had used to protect myself, causing me physical and emotional symptoms.”
Another friend, awaiting her prince just shy of 40, admits: “It’s the first time we’ve seen a royal couple so genuinely in love and, once the excitement had passed, it was so deflating – and a stark reminder of where we are not in our own lives. It was all so damn effervescent and now life’s the opposite. To be honest, I’m a little green. They’re 10 years younger and have a happy road ahead, whereas they’ve left me looking backwards.”
The image of the oh-so fragrant Duchess of Cambridge has led to some particularly self-lacerating feminine critique. As one staunchly sensible career woman bemoans: “I am (secretly) jealous of everything: her poise, having so many amazing pictures of her big day, that incredible mane of hair. I found myself in Prêt the other day thinking: ‘Well, I won’t buy the Caesar salad because Kate wouldn’t get that. Mind you, nor would Kate have that second bottle at lunchtime or go to bed with her slap on.’
“Her stellar performance has made me look at my own existence and find it wanting. Moreover, without any desire to get married, I’ve started thinking: ‘A dress with a 9ft-train really is the minimum.’”
The incredulity with which such confessions are expressed cannot be exaggerated. From our Slough of Despond we wail: “Is it only a week since Blighty thrilled to cartwheeling vergers and pirouetting plods?” For a few hours we came together as a country in a way that no sporting activity, or religious celebration could muster. In a multi-media age, where the populace rarely views the same subject matter, we united on a single theme.
A self-confessed pessimist remarks: “I had a strange sense during the wedding of losing all cynicism – and that so had much of London. There was a genuine air of camaraderie. For once we had good news – and on an epic scale.” The sense of jaundice and ennui that marks the comedown from this delirium would appear to be universal, even among those who like to be modishly countercultural.
And late 30- and 40-somethings – who prefer to imagine themselves as young – remembering Diana’s first-born crawling around in his romper suit have felt dispiritingly middle-aged. And all of us have had to face the end of that stretch of sunlit loafing born of consecutive bank holidays. “There’s simply nothing to look forward to,” comes the lament.
A nation mourns, or rather, sulks. Zara Phillips, take note.
by Sarah Blinco | Apr 29, 2011 | Expat living in London, Expats explore London, Royal England, Travel blogger destinations, United Kingdom
There’s an energy in the air in London. Even people who claimed to not care too much about the impending nuptials now aren’t denying there’s electricity around…. a spring in everyone’s step… a little excitement, and a load of Facebook and Twitter updates!
Of course there are a few sad Sam’s, but everyone else can’t help but notice the thousands of media who have descended on the Capital, the special upbeat play-lists all the radio stations are pumping out, endless pub events and club line-ups that are being promoted… it’s turning out to be one big Cool Britannia party, and we’re all invited!
Evidently even the anti-monarchy sentiment in Australia has recently been at its LOWEST in decades. Yep, Kate and Wills (or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as we’ll officially call them in under 24 hours) are well-liked, and most of the world is loving the positive news story.
Even when we were in America last week the hype was high – it’s a big story, but it’s a popular story.
At work we fell into the inevitable ‘Diana’ conversation, and how we reckon she’d love Kate.
Apparently there are some hardcore Diana-ists threatening to boycott the wedding and cause dramas… a note, if you ‘support’ Diana, you’d leave her poor son alone.
He’s been through enough, but now, a happy ending? We can only hope so.
I’ve bought my merchandise, street party outfit, special t-shirt for Cooper… even got my hands on the limited edition Oyster (London travel) Card as a collectable memento for my mum back at home.
I’m super excited about the big party around this amazing city. I’m fortunate to be here for such a historical and hopefully happy event.
Cheers Kate and Wills! Good on you for being the charming couple that everyone likes. Now, off to join the thousands out in the street… see you on TV 😉
PS we ended up in town for another future Royal wedding – take a peek here!
by Sarah Blinco | Mar 20, 2011 | Expat living in London, Expats explore London
Now for a change of pace – we’ve moved! The tiny one-room studio in Bayswater served its purpose, but in the end the noise, inconsiderate neighbours and claustrophobic environment took away from the fun of living in London. I sit now instead, gazing outside to a cute little garden and elegant trees (still standing without their leaves). There’s a bird hopping around in one of them, taking advantage of the last vestiges of blue skies and sunlight we’ve enjoyed this late weekend in March. This is the scene I’d initially imagined I’d be looking out on when I moved to London – I suppose it was fairly naive to not have considered dirty concrete ledges and walls would be the obvious option… nonetheless, I think I’ve now found a place of London solace.
After an extensive but disheartening search of rental properties all over London, last Sunday I put in one final effort and discovered a private property via Gumtree.com, located in an anonymous but ‘popular and convenient precinct’. The ad had only been placed online minutes earlier, so we took the chance and called. By the time we came to visit the newly refurbished one-bedroom flat, the lovely landlord had already arranged for a few others to see it. Turns out the flat is off her home, she has a dog (yay!) and the area is gorgeous – very homely, clean, with a vibrant park up the road and minutes from the busy, chic and entertaining Broadway Market which we discovered yesterday.
Despite moving, we’ve had a lovely weekend exploring our new surrounds. It’s a tonic to have a little more space to move around in, along with engaging and inspiring environments to live amongst. There are dogs everywhere (our kind of scene), and yesterday in the pub people even spoke to us – that didn’t ever happen in the middle of ‘town’!
The sun was shining and literally hundreds of people were sitting in the park, staring up at the sky in awe. I must admit, Saturday was a lovely day – for more reasons than one. We feel like the draining energy of London-town has lifted, and we’re excited by the beginning of a new chapter of our life located in this new and fabulous precinct we’ve found.
by Sarah Blinco | Jan 2, 2011 | Day trips from London, Travel blogger destinations
I wasn’t sure how this year would pan out regarding New Year festivities. We didn’t have anything planned, and usually because of this disorganisation, New Year’s Eve ends up being a little uneventful. Also, this time last year we were on a holiday in the UK and went to a fantastic concert to celebrate. It was like being in my world in 1997, but better…
Back to the present though: we woke up on Friday morning and didn’t even realise it was New Year’s Eve. For some reason we had it in our minds that Saturday was ‘party day’, so in our wisdom booked a day trip outside of London for Friday. You would think the date ’31st’ would ring bells, but no… As we were getting ready for our early morning start though, we did notice all the NYE news stories on television and it hit us – THIS was it! The last day of the year. How time flies. This time ten years earlier I had been celebrating with my mate Lauren at Disneyland in California, my first overseas adventure.
Feeling somewhat silly about our lack of preparation, we headed off for our trip. I was particularly excited to finally be seeing Stonehenge, and as it turns out, ticking an item off your Bucket List is a pretty memorable way to see in a brand new year. Those less enthused refer to it as ‘a pile of rocks’, but I’m far more respectful. This is an ancient monument, brimming with legend and history dating back to mythical King Arthur times, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to see. In fact, we were walking around marvellous Stonehenge at the moment our family and friends in Australia were celebrating their midnight hugs and kisses, and it was somewhat surreal to be Tweeting, texting and Facebooking them all simultaneously.
We also explored Salisbury and beautiful Bath during this tour – our second on Golden Tours which offer a range of terrific travelling options in and around London. The reason we chose a tour was because it actually turned out to be more economical (and convenient) than jumping on a train to Bath, or hiring a car and driving. If you’re travelling within the region, check all your options first.
Tired on our return home, but still keen to do something for New Year, we ended up venturing out into the cold to catch up with some Aussie and Kiwi friends who were enjoying celebrations at Bumpkin Restaurant and Bar in Notting Hill. From there, the night turned into one of those impromptu fun parties that ran until the wee hours. Still recovering, but thank God for the Bank Holiday tomorrow!
Cheers to an awesome 2011! S x
