new london sites (8 to go)

A Swedish housewarming brought me to London this past week, and since I was making the trip anyway, I decided to make a day of it and cross another item off my leaving-England-to-do list: explore a new London neighbourhood.

I had three sites in mind, actually, and a view to take my time and see whatever I may along the way.

First, inspired by this photo and a recent interest in pie, I took myself to Exmouth market, near Angel. In the end I passed on the pie and instead grabbed myself a bagel, a cappuccino and a window seat at Brill - notably one of the best London coffee shops I've found (cosy, friendly, perfectly priced, delicious coffee and great tunes played at that magic volume for getting a spot of work done and brilliant eastend people-watching when you need a distraction). In addition to good coffee, Exmouth had some amazing stationery, gift and book shops: all the makings of a great London find in my books.

From there I ventured south of the Thames to the Imperial War Museum. This visit was partially inspired by some WWII posters I recently spotted in a mag, and my own research for an article that will be coming out here next week. This museum actually blew me away. There was so much more than I expected: a floor dedicated to the Holocaust, an exhibit on children in the war, the Blitz, spies in both wars and some incredible machinery. Not surprisingly, I actually spent the most time mooning over WWII and Cold War design and debating whether or not I have room for one more poster in my luggage.

I made one last stop on my way back to Baker Street, at Borough Market - one of my favourite corners of London - to pick up a housewarming gift and an overpriced cuppa from Monmouth. ah, bliss.

Now, admittedly, I'm a bit behind on my to-do list, but I have been doing plenty of other fun things in the meantime:

+queueing to see New Moon with all the pre-teens on Saturday night
+eating curbside falafels and chips
+meeting with sweet American friends for coffee
+having two lovely Londoners in Oxford for a day of clean air and hot drinks
+planning one last euro adventure before we leave (stay tuned!)

one month list

It's November 11.

Know what that means?

One month exactly until I leave the UK as a resident. Next time I set foot on this island I'll be nothing more than a tourist. An educated tourist, but a tourist all the same.

The last month has disappeared and I know that if I'm not intentional I will leave these shores with too much regret. Today I sat down and wrote a list - a list of all the (non-work-related) things I must do before I leave England.

Here goes:

1. see a West End show
2. tromp through a muddy field in a Cotswold village
3. go to the sea
4. cook lamb rogan josh for Dean
5. go to evensong at New College or Christchurch
6. purchase something in Cath Kidston's London print (see above!)
7. shoot 3 rolls of film
8. read 4 books
9. visit the newly remodeled Ashmolean museum
10. explore one London neighbourhood that I've yet to visit
bonus: book a bargain spa day in London :) I better get moving.

Stay tuned for progress reports!

anthropologie at last

I have been waiting a long time for this Regent Street shop to finally open, and open it is! Complete with suspended narwhale and a living wall.

Bracing for a visit next week. Londoners, please, don't push.

canadians are nice

Further confirmation of what we all already know: Canadians are a kind and polite people group.

I have heard enough consular nightmares from friends here in London to dread the approaching day when my passport would expire. With only a little more than a month remaining before I am due home (December 11th, mark your calendars), and only two weeks remaining of passport validity, this week I braced myself and blocked out an entire day to spend at Canada House.

My passport application process up to now had not gone smoothly. The photos I had initially taken were not to Canadian passport standards (for a quick fix to this problem I highly recommend a visit to to Passport Photo Service on Oxford St, who had my regulation size mugshots ready in 2 minutes); I couldn't find a single doctor, lawyer or notary who had known me for more than two years and all of my UK ID is under a different name than my Canadian ID. You can see why I might have thought the actual submission process would be a sordid affair.

In fact, with much credit to the Canadian High Commission, it was a really pleasant process. I even got a hug.

some nice things i learned about Canadians:

+ Canadians take a number when they are asked to

+ In spite of what number is called, Canadians are polite enough to let the fretting retiree with a lost passport go first

+ Canadians smile at you when you join them in a room

+ Canadians will offer to help you track down your nephew's phone number in Regina, using their Blackberry (me! this was me!)

+ Canadians will give you a giant grandma-hug for helping in the smallest way.

I was in and out of Canada House in 30 minutes with a patriotic smile on my face.

bookclubbing

This week has been a bit reminiscent of my uni days as I've been madly trying to make my way through a 750-page novel in time for my London book club on Wednesday. The book arrived last Wednesday which means I'm ploughing through a dense 100 pages per day. Thank goodness my Oxford book club is reading a manageable novella this month!

Em, yep, you read right, I'm keeping up with two book clubs at the moment - one, a random assortment of expat women who have come to Oxford for their own or their husbands' studies/work; the other, a more intentionally selected group of London Business School book nerds.

I've come to embrace my participation in such a supremely nerdy to-do because frankly, as a newcomer in a city, I've found there is no better way to connect with likeminded women - and I am a pro at being a newcomer! To put things in context, in three years of marriage we have lived in three cities and I have moved house a total of six (SIX!) times.

My bookclubbing odyssey began at my Aberdeen Starbucks. An American customer learned that I was from Vancouver, where she once lived, and that we had mutual acquaintances there. We were reading the same book so she invited me to join her and some other ladies to talk about it. Their ages spanned four decades, but they were all fascinating women with insight and stories to tell. Bookclub was the highlight of my month. I liked those ladies so much, I joined them on a weekend retreat at a Scottish abbey. (photographic evidence below!)

[image courtesy of Becky Holloway]

In Oxford it came about much the same way - a church acquaintance tipped me off about a group of expat women who read and I turned up, book in hand, to meet a room full of really wonderful strangers! In London, bookclub is a good way to ensure I get into town at least once a month to catch up with those lovely ladies.

Since I've started telling friends back home about my bookclubbing I've been peppered with questions about how to do it. While I don't think there's a formula, here are some suggestions

Where to meet:

In Oxford we meet in homes around town. Those of us with enough space take turns hosting and usually that person puts on a little spread of goodies and maybe some wine to loosen tongues.

In London we meet in a pub - one that we know will have a table large enough for us all and that will be quiet enough for the first hour at least. We each pitch in a fiver, which supplies about two bottles of wine and a few bags of crisps.

What to read:

As a rule, all three of my bookclubs have been fiction only.

In Oxford we read only British authors, ideally those who were Oxford-based at some point (Lewis, Evelyn Waugh, Iris Murdoch etc)

In London our very international group is reading books from each of the countries represented - Canada, N.Ireland, Sweden, Australia and England!

Best to pick something meaty, but not too long. Up to 300 pages is manageable for even the working moms. Choose something too light and you'll be short of topics to discuss (While we all loved Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day it didn't sustain conversation too long!)

How to discuss:

We take a pretty organic approach in Oxford. Whomever picked the book will give opening impressions and explain why she picked the book, then we open up the floor from there.

Things in London are a bit more regimented. She who picks the book leads the discussion and has questions prepared, and everyone else has one discussion question ready just in case - it makes for really in depth conversation, but boy is it hard to not get sidetracked!!!

Who to join:

In Oxford we agree to a date at the end of each meeting and stick to it. Everyone seems to finish to book in time, whether we like it or not.

In London the dates slide to accommodate work or social calendars and because we all know one another, we seem to be less diligent in finishing the book on time!

While the idea of discussing great books with friends is incredibly appealing, experience shows that you're more accountable to a group of strangers/new friends than a group of your besties. Too often you may opt for a good ol' catch up over a serious literary discussion.

Next time: a list of my favourite Oxford-themed literature :)