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This Week

Harrods all lit up at night

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LIFE

Two friends in town, one from Sydney and another from California, which is lovely. Did a couple of the fancier things on my list (upmarket sushi, afternoon tea). And my dad even stopped by for an evening – although sadly we were both running around too much and only had time for a brief hot chocolate and a chat. Really nice to see people, I guess London is a place that people actually visit – another friend arrives next week, and I can’t wait to see him.

Went on a date with a misogynist. Which was horrifying (didn’t come up with any comment I have not heard before, but he did pack a lot in to the two hours I endured with him), and being an at times reprehensible human being, I live-tweeted the experience. Many of my friends found it hilarious, and I got comments from as far away as New Zealand, so I’m glad the desolate wasteland of missed expectations that is my love-life is at least providing comic relief for others.

Ended up missing the gym and half my weekend because I was sick, but on the upside being trapped in my apartment and vicinity did mean that I finally got to grips with my apartment and it’s now all set up as I want it – I even bought myself flowers! Also been checking out some of the local shops, there’s an independent pharmacy, flower stall, electronics (ethernet cables to connect my Apple TV/Time Capsule), and haberdashery (I bought a household thing! Crazy).

WORK

Stressful week. Late meetings 2 nights, although at least with a 2230 meeting I can go out for the evening and dial in when I get home. I think it’s getting better, I got some helpful advice which started “functionally you’re a PM right now, so…”, but I took it, I think it worked, and hopefully I can work towards a place where I’ll be less PM-like! I know this is part of the process of figuring out exactly what we need to do, and it will settle down. And I wanted broader impact, and remit, and to travel more – that’s what I have. And my manager is really supportive, which helps a lot.

PLACES

Got sushi at Zuma which is extortionate, but delicious, and we got in (seats at the counter) without a reservation. Less impressed by the desert than the sushi, many things had nuts in, and so part of the desert I picked was missing, and they would charge for a substitution – I thought I agreed to this, but it didn’t come with it, and whilst the ball of meringue looked cute it was dry. My friend got a different desert than she ordered, but it was still good.

Dinner at Ping Pong before the theatre – one of my favourite restaurants in town, and you can tell them when you need to be out by, which is handy. Also tried the nearby Chinese restaurant/takeaway from me Dragon Palace (sadly too late for the dim sum menu, but what I did get was nice), and went back to the Troubador Cafe, which is becoming a regular weekend brunch haunt.

My friend and I went to The Berkely for my most decadent ever afternoon tea. At 39GBP each, it’s as wildly extravagant as the fashion that inspires it, but quite the experience. We spent about 3 hours there, drinking quantities of tea (3 pots for me, I may never sleep again), and turning down offers of more cakes and sandwiches, although we did accept a to-go box each! Sadly most of the things on the menu contained nuts, and so were off the menu for me, but they put together a gorgeous selection of things I could eat. Really fabulous service, that you expect at that price, but isn’t that often found in London (or the UK). Spur of the moment thing, inspired by this list of top places to have tea in London, so we weren’t dressed up (leggings and a dress for me, jeans, Uggs, tunic for my friend) but they never made us feel under-dressed. Really lovely, definitely recommend if you want a decadent British treat. Reservations are recommended, but we got in without one.

MEDIA

Still (still!) working on  The Charisma Myth, too spaced out on meds to read much non-fiction but did get through Conditional Love (meh, another book about a drippy woman finding herself, and a man) and Calling Mrs Christmas (surprisingly, given my hatred of the pagan festival, I loved – relatable, positive, features long term unemployment and at-risk youth). Only one episode left of Brothers and Sisters season 4 left. More of Katy Perry’s new album (PRISM), but also Tegan and Sara – who I had no knowledge of until I saw them in Sydney last year, and now adore.

Went to see Blurred Lines, which is completely sold out. Luckily I already had plans with a friend for the last night there were tickets, and luckily she was happy to come with me and also enjoyed it! And supervise me as I did my 9pm catch up with my group from a training I did last year whilst walking alone South Bank/in a cab/roaming Earls Court in search of hot chocolate – I think they enjoyed the impromptu tour of London. Anyway, the show itself was amazing. Just over an hour long, I was gripped the entire time. The dialogue and rhythm is fast, and smart, and it’s full of all these examples that are not the outrageous ones, and are so pervasive. Exploring consent, for example, being sidelined at work. My favourite (which seems the wrong word for something so important) was the illustration of victim blaming. Gradually, the victim gets emphasised to the point where the assailant disappears. Feminist theatre, but not of the dramatic events, but of the day to day tiny cuts. I loved it. If it was possible to get another ticket I’d go again.

I went to see the Republic of the Moon exhibition. It’s a relatively small exhibition (6 pieces) and the first two pieces didn’t really speak to me, although I liked the trans-media aspect – Moon Meme has a website where you can see the projection of SHE onto the moon. Second Moon has an app, and I liked the piano, which plays a version of the Moonlight Sonata created by sending a transmission in Morse Code to the moon and back. Moon Goose Analogue: Lunar Migration Bird Facility is beautiful – I’m not normally a fan of video installations, but this was lovely, charming. Sadly I cannot find the video online to watch in it’s entirety (at over 20 minutes and not much seating I didn’t manage to see it from beginning to end). The absolute highlight, for me, was seeing Leonid Tishkov’s Private Moon in person. I’ve been following his blog for a while, and I just adore his work – and now I have a picture of me with the Private Moon. Total art fangirl moment!

Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s at the V&A was fun – especially with a friend to exclaim “did people really wear that? In public?” to. No pictures allowed, so I can’t share the amazing inflatable orange jacket… complete with tail, or the purple body suit with appendage tube that was worn to the club… and the supermarket.

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