The London Files

What on EARTH is Freshwater Blue?

louashton — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:03:57 +0000

I don’t know if I have just been away from home too long and am WAAAAAAYYYY behind the times, but I was surprised by an email my brother (in Dubai) sent me tonight about a MTV show called Freshwater Blue – which as the name implies, is filmed in my hometown of Freshwater(!)

Apparently its Australia’s answer to Laguna Beach…. I’ll save my self further description; here’s what MTV have to say:

“Unashamedly Australian, Freshwater Blue offers a real-life entertaining, humorous and sometimes gritty, fly on the wall look at the lives of 12 young adults from Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Set in Freshwater on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and for a period on the Gold Coast, Freshwater Blue, produced in a reality-documentary format, reflects universal issues ranging from relationships, friendships, peer pressure, drinking and sex – all told through the eyes of a group of friends eager to start their independent adult lives.”

Why didn’t I hear about this earlier? Was it because you were all too embarrassed to even admit it out loud?? Please explain. Please!

PS Again, YES! I know this isn’t about London… but its about the things you miss at home cos you’re here – and that still counts…

England? UK? Great Britain? British Isles? Does ANYBODY really know where we are?

louashton — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:47:54 +0000

There seem to be lots of names for the UK, England, … whatever. I never know what to call it. But thank god for the internet I can look it up!

England is the country whose capital is London.
The UK is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – it is confusing because it is classified somewhat vaguely as a “country of countries” and its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (what it says on my passport). The capital of the UK is also London.
Great Britain is the island comprising England, Scotland and Wales and should be used in a geographical sense rather than in terms of political countries. (But then why do we call them Britons?).
Ireland is the island and comprises of 2 countries – Northern Ireland (part of UK) and the Republic of Ireland. If someone says they are Irish they are referring to the Republic of Ireland.

This bares bones is enough to stop some of the confusion but there is a whole heap more and I’ve never seen it summarised so well as I did on this You Tube video I watched this morning. You must check this out.

Would you like some Sandwich with that Mayonaise?

louashton — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:51:24 +0000

Bloody hell, this coleslaw I’m eating has a LOT of mayo in it. I actually think there is more mayo in this coleslaw than cabbage (or whatever else ingredients constitute coleslaw). I’m trying to skim the salad bit off the top in an attempt to avoid all the mayo but this is proving fruitless.

The Brits do love their mayonaise, don’t they? I had thought the North Americans the Kings of Condiments, but the stand alone mayo prize is definitely not leaving this little piece of the world.

And its not just coleslaw, it’s everything. You go try and buy a pre-made sandwhich at any of the regulars – Pret-a-Manger, Eat, M&S,… and show me more than 2 options that don’t include a whole heap of mayo. And what about Coronation Chicken? In non-marketing speak, that’s just mayo with yellow colouring plus chicken.

And yet, here we are at the end of the mayo-hating post, and I’ve eaten all the coleslaw

I Have a Plastic Kettle, and I’m Proud.

louashton — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:08:21 +0000

I have a plastic kettle. Would you believe? Yes, seems very odd to me too – until you realise that it knocks limescale for six.

Ahh… the pleasantries of London’s hard water. As if the limp hair and dry skin weren’t enough, you also get limescale.

My kettle is my only concession.

Spring: is that you? Sun in the Sky, Hope in my Heart

louashton — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:34:47 +0000

As you will already know from my last post, the weather has been GRIM – cold, wet, windy and dark sums it up nicely. And oh, doesn’t it just do wonders for everyone’s mood? I finally understand where the concept of grumpy people having little storm clouds above their heads – it’s just the low rain clouds above Londoners! Ha!

But last week was definitely a turning point. I left the office at lunchtime and wowsers, was it sunny! My eyes just weren’t used to it and I was temporarily blinded. And as a bonus I spent the whole afternoon actually enjoying it at Altitude 360 in the Millbank Centre. OK, it was a work thing, but still! Fab view, and fab weather! Bring on spring!

PS I have to admit, the weather deteriorated again after this gem of a day, but at least its not bitterly cold anymore.

PPS Did I really just blog about 1 sunny day? Geez, what has become of me!

The Coldest Australia Day BBQ in the World

louashton — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:42:53 +0000

There’s only one word to describe the sorry state of affairs for my Australia day this year and that is GRIM. It was dark. It was windy. It was FREEZING. Pretty much your average January day in London then, right?

But its Australia day and you want to make the most of it. Having deemed myself too old for any of the hard core Aussie shenanigans like The Church or Walkabout gigs, we decided on a traditional Aussie day BBQ at a friends…. this is what we ended up with….

Pathetic. After spending a total of about 2 minutes around the BBQ, I left the boys to it and went back to the safety of the living room.

OK, truth be told we had a lovely night inside. Steaks were cooked to perfection, the red wine delicious, company excellent as always.

But still, when I compare it to previous Australia Days you have to ask yourself what the HELL you’re doing here? It just happens to land on the best day of the year to prove the point that Australia is better than the UK. It’s like Captain Arthur Philip timed the landing of the First Fleet on purpose! I swear January is the most depressing month of the London year.

Just to emphasize the point here are some photos of my previous Australia days (PS I should never have looked back at these…)

Kate Middleton Fangirls Celebrate 100 Days til Royal Wedding

louashton — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:31:33 +0000

Last week celebrated just 100 days until the Royal Wedding – Excitement!! Anyway, turns out I’m not the only fangirl out there – there are at least 13 others. And they all dressed up like Kate and hung out in front of Buck Palace, so seemingly they are much bigger fangirls than me. Not only are they wearing their own Kate dresses, but they even have fake engagement rings too! Jealous! Awesome!

My First Royal Wedding Souvenir: Excitement!!

louashton — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:19:54 +0000

In breaking news last week….

Buckingham Palace overturns royal wedding teacloth ban
The Daily Telegraph reports that commemorative royal wedding tea towels will be permitted after a ruling last month deemed them “too undignified”. Retail analysts at Verdict have suggested that sales of souvenirs for the royal wedding could boost the retail sector by more than £40mn. It predicts that engagement-related merchandise could be worth between £12mn and £18mn, while wedding merchandise sales could “easily” top £26mn in Britain. Meanwhile, the Evening Standard reports that the Queen has announced that the higher rate of VAT will not be passed on to buyers of souvenirs. A Royal Collection spokeswoman said: “We have taken the decision to absorb the increase simply because we can. I think a lot of retailers are choosing to do the same.”
The Daily Telegraph, Date: 11/01/2011, Page: 3 Evening Standard London, Page: 7(14443602)

Well, that’s nice to know. And in return I’m happily jumping on the souvenir bandwagon. First up, this beautiful engagement mug. Truth be told, I didn’t actually buy this, it was a present from Santa. But he bought it from Amazon – and you can get one too if you like!

Actually, this is a great idea for wedding favours for my own wedding! I’m sure everyone I know is just dying to get a Louarty mug. Maybe I better run that one by hubby-to-be first… and how do I go about getting a coat of arms?

History is all around me: The Kings Speech and Robin Hood

louashton — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:03:39 +0000

I saw two movies this week – one unbelievably good and the other might have been a joke – nevertheless, both brought about in me this swelling overwhelming golden warmth of happiness and appreciation of the history, development, international influence that has existed in the UK for centuries and that continues to exist here and now in today’s world.

Over the top? OK, a bit. But none the less..

First up was The King’s Speech starring everyone’s favourite Mr Darcy, Colin Firth – as well as Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. It’s about King George VI’s ascension to the throne and his battle with what seems quite a severe speech impediment. This movie was absolutely friggin amazing. It brought real character to real royals – King George V, Edward VIII, the Queen Mother, even QEII. It showed historic figures just going about their daily lives all over London and the UK. Places I’ve been! Royals I’ve seen! Beauty, history, influence and REALITY. Very cool

And last night I saw the latest Robin Hood interpretation with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett – which for me brought the same sense of bringing the importance of English history to my real world. But while this movie included some great moments, locations and characters in English history – King Richard Lionheart, King John, the Third Crusade, the lead up to the signing of the Magna Carta, Eleanor of Aquitaine – this movie had to be the most historically incorrect movie I have ever seen and didn’t really seem to relate to anything I knew about Robin Hood. For more on this, I found a great blog on the topic. Still, it was fun to watch.

Anyway, the movies as such are not the point. The point is, that “history” has always been a thing of the past (duh) – but these movies remind me just how close history is to the present, how close it is to me! The democracy I live in wouldn’t be without the Magna Carta (or so my dad tells me), the Queen mother lived in my lifetime, I’m planning a holiday to Sherwood Forest (Robin’s home), I work near Harley street (Where George VI found his doctor), I walk in Regents Park (so did George VI). It’s just weird… and very very cool. When did I start liking history so much?

P.S. I’m calling Colin Firth as Best Actor at the Golden Globes

Another Bed Update! The Plot thickens

louashton — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:02:12 +0000

Great news piece showing that perhaps Londoners are catching up to the New World when it comes to bed sizes!

Rise of the king-size as bedrooms become a social space

Figures from Tesco and John Lewis suggest that more 5ft-wide king-size beds are being sold than doubles in Britain for the first time. Tesco says sales of king-size beds and super-king-size beds increased by 45% during the past year. John Lewis says it now sells 34% more king-size than double beds.
The Daily Telegraph, Date: 01/01/2011, Page: 11

You should all know my poor opinion of the midget beds that seem to be the standard here in London (and in case you don’t, catch up here). I really think it is the result of the slow modernisation of London and the fact that we are all taller than we used to be.

Put simply, London has been slower to evolve – bed sizes not keeping up with people sizes (whereas in the “New World” we started tall). I do find it strange that here in the centre of the Western World where some of the best technological innovations are standard (I think the Oyster card is an example), that they are so slow catching up in other areas – other than bed sizes, I think bureaucracy is the best example of this.

Banking bureaucracy is the worst – you still need to go to branches , sign physical forms, they still store them in filing cabinets and inevitably lose them. It’s sad. And incredibly frustrating. So much so that I dont think we should talk about it any more. Let’s focus on the positive; congratulations London for finally realising that big is better!