27 Jan 06 At Long Last!
At long last, I’ve found time to make a post. It’s been quite a busy time, as I’m sure everybody reading this is aware. Tiffany and I have been having lots of fun exploring London, and you’ve all read about the new apartment. I can report that everything is in place, we signed the lease last night.
My new job is going very well. It’s very interesting work, and the group of people I’m working with is top notch. I’m learning a lot, and keeping very busy. They expect you to hit the ground running, from a very simple project in the couple of weeks, I’m now into two projects, both of which are quite complicated. All very neat.
The real reason for this post though is to mention the restuarant that Tiffany and I went too last night. Tiffany looked through the Zagat guide for good places in our (new) neighbourhood and found The Original Lahore Kebab House. This prices were rated “cheap” but the food got a 27 out of thirty! That’s just two notchs away from the top rated restaurant (Gordon Ramsey, at 29, at close to a hundred pounds per person). And, it’s a five minute walk from our new flat. We had to go.
I’m pleased to say, it did not disappoint. The decor was nothing much, but the service was refreshingly efficient and the food was just great. And all for under twenty pounds, which is a total bargin.
And now I’ll say goodbye, since as Tiffany already pointed out, we’re throughly addicted to Celbrity Big Brother, and the finale is on in a few minutes.
22 Jan 06 The whale in the Thames died
The other day when I first heard that a whale had been spotted in the Thames river, I had a bad feeling the outcome would not be a good one. The river is so narrow and shallow for a whale and it seemed too far in to have any realistic chance of survival, especially after it was injured from a collision with a boat. Sadly last night it died while being towed back to the ocean. The riverbanks in the city were apparently crowded at times with people excited to get a look at the whale, which is understandable.
When we lived in Vancouver I saw a number of whales in my travels and we also saw some when we cruised to Alaska, so it wasn’t a priority to try to get a look at this one in the Thames. A few years ago a whale was successfully towed back out to the ocean after becoming disoriented in North Van. From watching that incident it was evident how delicate such an operation is.
Yesterday we were on the south bank of the Thames, but quite far from the Battersea Bridge, where the whale rescue attempt was underway.
We visited the awesome Borough Market under London Bridge and loaded up with a couple of bags of fresh goodies. There’s an incredible selection there, from sweets to savouries, breads, wines and of course meat, dairy and produce. Our favourite pick was two slices of ’savoury pie’ - that’s ‘quiche’ to those back home :) We also bought fresh pepper sausage, oak-smoked cheese, olives, croissants, baklava and plenty of yummy fruit. The grapes we’ve had here are especially juicy and sweet! This market will definitely be a regular destination for us on future weekends.
Such a sunny day! We enjoyed the walk from London Bridge back to the hotel to drop of the goodies, then returned to the south bank to Queen Elizabeth Hall to take in another Mime Fest show - this one was free! It was aimed at kids, but was goofy enough for adults to have a laugh too.
In other news, our reference checks for the apartment came back A-okay, so we’ll be moving in Feb 1 as planned. We also heard from the shipping company that our possessions should arrive by Feb 5, but they scheduled a tentative delivery for Feb 8. Now I’m feeling pretty anxious to get into the flat and out of the hotel, which is very comfortable but not home…
18 Jan 06 Mimey Puppets
Last night we attended a puppet performance as part of the London International Mime Fest! What do puppets and mimes have in common? I suppose you could come up with a list of things if you tried… The Mime Fest, though, has a broad program that’s defined in the brochure as “the UK’s unique showcase for contemporary visual theatre… offers a broad spectrum of visual performance styles and boundary-breaking, often uncategorizable shows.”
The show we saw, Horsehead (or the Rise and Fall of the Back and Front), by performance group Faulty Optic, was too twisted a horror story to make much sense, but entered the subconscious and put you in an awesome daze. Aside from the brilliantly bizarre puppets, the sets (a hospital/sanitorium, primarily) and props were so intricately designed and operated that the mechanics of the show was a significant part of the fascination. Add live, projected video of the puppets, and a mix of pre-recorded and live music and spoken word, and all I can say is “I love horseys!” Part humourous and part macabre, in the end it was an unforgettably weird experience…
See the starring puppet:
The show was at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on The Mall, an ornate period building on the outside with a modern, industrial designed interior. There’s at least one exhibition gallery there, a theatre, cafe, restaurant, bar and a bookstore packed with contemporary art books, magazines and DVDs. The Institute puts out a monthly program packed full of events - exhibitions, concerts and performances - so we’ll definitely be back to the venue.
Also, The Fest runs until the end of the month and we plan to see at least one more performance.
18 Jan 06 A full weekend of exploration
We covered so much ground on the weekend, it will be tough to recall the entirety of it to share with you, but I’ll do my best.
As I mentioned previously, we’re staying just around a corner from Trafalgar Square. On Saturday in the square was the Russian Winter Festival, and a highlight was to be a display/performance of the Kremlin Guard. We showed up before the gates opened, so made a decision to take a pass through part of the National Gallery instead of wait outside. We saw lots of paintings from 14th-17th century. I’m always surprised by how rich the colours in those religious works are, how could that paint survive so long and look so fresh today? There were so many paintings, after awhile of looking your brain just goes numb to the wonder of it. So we ventured back out to the Russian Festival.
Some booths were set up to sell Russian goodies, but with the throng of people crowded around, we couldn’t even get close enough to peek. On stage a teenage girl was belting out some songs with an incredible voice, which made for a wonderful backdrop to the mayhem in the crowd. After a few passes by the food concession stands, we decided to head out. Unfortunately we never saw the Kremlin Guard, but we did enough other stuff to make up for it.
Next we walked across the Golden Jubilee Bridge, over the Thames to the South Bank which offers good views of the city across the river, and has several galleries and theatres. On that side we spent a considerable amount of time poking through pages in the Foyles bookstore. Selection is quite amazing there, which I especially noticed in the design section. Further along the promenade was an outdoor bookmarket, some funky buskers playing great jazz (clarinet, double-bass, steel drum) and an outdoor exhibit of UK press photography from 2005. We walked across the Waterloo Bridge and down the Strand back to the hotel.
If that wasn’t enough adventure for a day, we set out to see the British Museum! On prominent display, we had a good look at the Rosetta Stone, saw one of the familiar statues from Easter Island, and walked through the African collection.
Sunday we took the tube to East London to have a look at our apartment building in the daylight. This area is a real mishmash of modern, gentrified buidings and shops, eastside arts and multiculturalism and derelict shells of businesses past. A few blocks-ish down is Spitalfields Market, setup with booths full of fashions, crafts, furniture and food. We wandered out toward Brick Lane, which is an insane market crowding a number of streets in all directions! All manner of junk is on offer there, some set on tables, other on blankets on the ground or spilling out of car boots. I can imagine that gems could be found here, but as a sensory experience it was unmatched in mayhem - good fun! For street art fans reading, this area is canvas for the likes of Banksy - we saw at least three of his pieces in our travels.
We then attempted to check out the Smithfield meat market, but it was all shut.
Later we took the tube over to Oxford Circus and did some shopping at John Lewis (department store) in the haberdashery department. What’s haberdashery, you ask? It’s the crafter’s fantasy, that’s what! There’s a large section there, with fabrics, yarn and sundry, and I bought some Noro yarn to make a new fancy scarf! Next up we visited Liberty, another department store, partly set in a Swiss chalet-style buiding. Liberty is known here for offering the ultimate in style, different from Harrod’s which is ostentatious, horrendously expensive and set in a tacky interior. We wound back to the hotel down Carnaby Street, and through Covent Garden.
So that’s what I remember from the weekend! Who’s coming for a visit?
12 Jan 06 Another offer
Last night we put in an offer on a brand spanking new apartment in Whitechapel, right around the corner from the Aldgate East tube station. It faces a high-traffic road and a fire station, is on the third floor with no lift… but it’s lovely and at the high-end of the budget we set - 300/week.
We should learn this morning whether the offer is accepted. This agent we’re dealing with is fantastic, and his agency has a policy not to accept bids higher than asking price (meaning no bidding wars), so we’re much more positive about getting it.
Here’s some pics, furnishings are included:
Behind some of those kitchen cupboards hides a good-sized fridge and freezer (on the far right), dishwasher and washer/dryer :O) It’s an eat-in kitchen, our table will fit. There’s also a storage closet off the hallway which is a bonus… and you can’t really tell from the pics but there are high ceilings. It’s in a gutted and restored period building.
10 Jan 06 Lettings Agents
It’s fairly impossible to view flats for rent and not have to deal with a lettings agent. One of the main rental listings sources here is Find a Property. You can search there for listings by area and price, then sort through the returns to find properties you like and want to view. One difficulty in sorting though is that many of the listings have notices beside them, such as:
LET - This means the flat has already been rented out.
UNDER OFFER - Meaning offers have been made on the property.
NEW INSTRUCTION - New listing.
All properties listed display contact information for different lettings agents. There are thousands of them, it seems, some more reputable than others, but I’ve discovered the volume of their listings has no bearing on quality of reputation.
The purpose of lettings agents is to list the properties, show them to prospective tenants and negotiate a rental price. Some of them also manage the properties throughout your rental term. All agents take a fee from the renter, which on average I think amounts to one week’s rent (so in our case about 300 pounds). For that amount of money I expect decent treatment, but I get the feeling most prospective renters are treated like hostile cattle.
Also, often when you call about a specific property they will tell you it has already been rented (or “let”), then ask for your requirements so they can pitch other available flats to you. In theory this would be fine, but at least two problems arise:
1) The agent will offer flats they have available, but are of no interest to you whatsoever. This very quickly becomes very tiring to deal with. For example they’ve got great, spacious modern flats for your budget but oh - they’re below-ground (basement).
2) When you reply that you are not interested in the alternatives offered, they attempt to convince you it will be impossible to find a flat that meets your requirements for your stated budget, and you will need to raise your budget - considerably - to find something suitable.
In effect this is a bait-and-switch tactic. The central London market is no doubt competitive for renters, but it is certainly MORE competitive for the agents. As a renter you need to do enough research to know what’s reasonable, and you need to have a solid backbone to deal with the negotiators - a word many agencies actually use to describe their reps (ie. “Oh, you’re interested in that property. Hold for a moment please while I put you through to one of our negotiators”). Any display of weakness will be capitalized upon.
So this has not been an easy go.
The biggest troubles I’ve had have been with the largest agency in the city - Foxton’s. Matt heard a nightmare story from a co-worker that dealt with them, so I tried to avoid contacting them at all - until yesterday. I called from the hotel about a specific listing and said so to the guy who answered the phone. While I was holding, waiting for a negotiator, I received two calls on my mobile from other Foxton’s agents pitching other properties. Later in the day I received another call, so in total they put four agents on my case. The last call I took resulted in an arguement when essentially the agent told me I had no idea what I was doing looking for a flat in London. I was able to end the call by telling him I did know what I was doing, and in fact had found a suitable flat which we had put in an offer for.
On that note, we are still waiting to hear a result for that offer, hopefully by the end of today. I just want the hell of dealing with lettings agents to end!
9 Jan 06 Brit TV & the American at the Lift
Days have been short and a bit chilly, so we’re enjoying some downtime relaxation sitting in front of the TV. Yesterday was a key example of this - we spent most of the afternoon inside with the heat turned high, remote control handy. It wasn’t so cold really, not much rain out, and the temp was still above zero. Just an excuse to veg. I think we’ve got five channels on our hotel TV, including a couple from BBC, so what are we watching?
The Collectors & Sellers
At least a show or two that we’ve watched features ‘experts’ who walk into people’s homes and rifle through their kitschy collections to pick out gems that might sell well at auction. The collector usually wants to make some money they can put toward the price of a new car, or cooking classes. Yesterday’s guy wanted a new Hummer. The auctions are kind of fun to see, and there are a few surprises when someone makes more money than expected.
The Buyers
Real estate.. property buyers are looking for a new home. One show has two hosts who each choose one property they think is suitable for the buyer (usually a family), and they both pick a ‘wildcard’ that for some reason doesn’t exactly fit with the buyer’s hopes. The buyers walk through each of the houses, guess the price and thats about it. Armchair house-shopping is the gyst.
The Athletes
Darts. Professional darts. Mullets. Really GREAT mullets! What more can be said really? Fantastic entertainment!
Footy
Lots of it. Again, what more can be said? It’s soccer, and it’s huge here.
The Stars
Celebrity Big Brother is captivating the masses at the moment. It airs every night and the biggest celebrity they’ve got is Dennis Rodman. Some brit actor, first name Michael, is the biggest celebrity on this side of the water apparently, but there’s also Pete Burns (of the 80s hit song You Spin Me Round fame) and George Galloway, a local MP, who is causing a stir in the headlines by skipping out on his parliamentary duties by appearing on the show. Now this is riveting TV! There are eleven ‘celebrities’ locked in a big apartment, all sleeping in the same room, for at least a couple of weeks. Throw in a goofy musician who calls himself ‘Maggot’ and a Baywatch babe and you’ve got a show!
The American in the Lift
Well it’s not on TV, but it probably could be. I said “hi” to a guy waiting for the elevator:
“Howdy,” he responded. “Are you American?”
“No, Canadian. But I just came from upstate New York. Where are you from?”
“Chicago.”
“Oh I love Chicago, great city.”
“Yeah.. The English hate Americans, have you encountered that?” he asks.
“Really? No, I haven’t, not at all…”
“You would NOT believe some of the shit we’ve come across here.”
I thought for a second.. “hmmm, have you been acting obscene, or what?” I asked.
He showed some offense to my question, kinda huffed and answered, “Not at all dude, we’re like totally chill.”
7 Jan 06 Replacing my luck
I’ve gone and bought a compass, which is absolutely necessary to maintain my mental well-being. (The brand is Suunto and their tagline is Replacing Luck, which explains the title of this post.)
I wandered lost after viewing a flat in Pimlico. I meant to make my way directly northeast toward the hotel, but walked in vast circles into Chelsea, around Victoria Station and through Knightsbridge. At one point I thought it would be useful to refer to a map, but on its own it was no help. With a compass though, I can ease this pain in the future :O)
The flat hunt is proceeding reasonably well. Since we are unfamiliar with neighbourhoods, I’ve been looking in many areas - primarily in the east and south (that’s E1 and SW1 for those hip to the postcodes). I’ve also looked in Islington and Shoreditch. Since Matt is working in Mayfair around St. James’s Park the only location preference we’ve had is to be near transport links for him to easily commute.
Today we actually made an offer on a place! It was listed for 295/week and others offered 315/week… yes, we are in a bidding war apparently which I’ve never encountered before when renting. We offered only 300/week and that’s it, but the agent we’re dealing with said we are the landlord’s preferred choice for tenants. We met with him today and hit it off well. We should know by tomorrow if he accepts ours or the higher offer. What would you do?
The flat is in a most ideal spot for Matt. He could walk to work in 10 minutes, straight across the park. This is a large one-bedroom in a 70s building near the Home Office (and Buckingham Castle), SW1, practically on top of St. James’s tube station and very near a Sainsbury’s (groceries). It’s got a really modern kitchen with a large fridge, dishwasher, washer/dryer. It’s fully furnished, down to replacement lightbulbs! Great condition, lots of storage, secure building, etc. We really like it, but won’t be heartbroken if the higher bidder wins. We’ve still got till the end of January to confirm a place, so there’s no great urgency. It was nice to have Matt along looking today and moreso since it’s been the best flat so far - by a long shot. Speaking of Matt, I’ll bug him to make a post to tell how his work is going :)
Let see, what else is going on? A few discoveries of Britishy things…
- We tried a cornish pastry (pasty) which, somewhat surprisingly, was a very tasty pasty!
- Discovered Roasted Chicken-flavoured crisps and had to give em a try and guess what.. they taste like roasted chicken. The texture of crisps is different enough from potato chips though that indeed they deserve a different name.
- Many thoughts in my head now have a British accent, and I’ve also practiced my accent out loud for Matt. His opinion: it’s horrific! :)
- Water closets are annoying! That’s WC for short. I curse evertime I open the door to go to the bathroom and see no toilet there.
- Perhaps I’ll get a job driving a bus, double-decker big & red. They are hiring…
- Nearly every corner has a Pret or an Eat shop for a quick pre-packaged lunch grab.
- Don’t just order “water, please” at a restaurant. It’s still water (bottled), sparkling water, or tap water.
- Canadians say eh at the end of a sentence, Londoners say yeh
Also, I had to get a mobile phone. Everybody (and I mean everybody) in this city has one. Not only that, but the voice messaging system in our hotel room failed, and I needed to be reached by lettings agents. You can get a pay-as-you-go mobile here by walking into Carphone Warehouse and handing them less than 10 pounds. Just like that.
The surroundings, the architecture and history, are really beautiful. I haven’t taken photos yet as I’ve got plenty of time to gain some perspective before shooting, as opposed to just taking snapshots. Besides, it’s another few weeks before I’ll be able to share them on the blog. Imagine though - our hotel is steps away from Trafalgar Square, around the corner from a fabulous view of Big Ben. It’s alright!
3 Jan 06 Aldgate East
First I want to note that I haven’t figured out yet how to edit and post photos using ubuntu Linux. It could mean I won’t offer any photos until I receive my own computer, which has likely just set sail from New York (ie. beginning of February).
It’s a misty/rainy day and I haven’t yet bought an umbrella. That hasn’t been crucial yet. Matt’s still at work and I just received an email from him that all is going well.
I spent the morning searching flat listings, then had a lunch at a great takeout sushi spot called Wasabi. I decided to take the tube to visit a lettings agency near Aldgate East station. We’re just around the corner from Embankment station (directly across the Thames from the BA London Eye), so the trip was expected to take about 20 mins.
I spent 3 pounds for a one-way tube ride straight to Aldgate East, which is about 6 stops northeast. I saw a sign about Oyster cards, essentially like a NYC MetroCard, and if you’ve got one the trip would be only 1.50 - half the price - and thought I should get one for the trip back to the hotel.
Before I left I checked the map and directions were fairly simple to find the agent’s office. I forgot to bring the map book with me, but once I arrived at Aldgate East station I followed the notes I made. One problem: many streets have no names! Guess which song was running through my head…
I wandered TWO HOURS looking for the street I wanted, asking directions from a few people who had no idea. I passed twice by the Stiralfields Market, which I knew was close to the office, and zig-zagged across Whitechapel Street where the tube station was (didn’t want to get so lost I couldn’t find my way back home). In my travels I saw dozens of women with headscarves, some with burkas, and an amazing street full of tables offering Indian textiles. But I couldn’t find Fashion Street.
After giving up I wandered back toward Aldgate East via Commercial Street, as it was getting dark. Of course that’s when I spotted a sign for Fashion Street out of the corner of my eye. I found the lettings office and spoke with the lone guy there who set an appointment for tomorrow for me to view some flats. On the way back to the tube I saw another lettings office and stopped in. He quickly showed me a 1BR available right above their office which, frankly, was an old grungy dump renting for 215 pounds/week (times that by 4.3, remember) . I didn’t look past the living/reception room and told him it was maybe too ‘rustic’ for my taste.
Hopefully tomorrow’s viewings will be better. One space I’m looking at is a former council building (government subsidized). I asked the agent why those seemed to have a reputation of being undesirable, and he said those flats were previously rented to junkies so the buildings may appear very run-down from the outside. From the pics I’ve seen though, reno’s on these places have served them well. I’ll see the reality tomorrow… if I can find my way back to Fashion Street, that is :O)
Oh and I did get an Oyster Card for the ride home. I filled out an extensive application to register a card, including my (hotel) address, phone #, email, etc. The positive of that is if you lose your card they can trace it back to you. The negative is of course that ‘big brother’ can keep track of every move you make on public transport, as you have to scan your pass to enter AND to exit the system. HEY but what an incentive that you save so much money!
On a side note, I have seen more police guarding historical places and tube stations here than in NYC.
2 Jan 06 First
We’ve arrived in London! On the first day of the first month of 2006, and at Toronto airport we were upgraded courtesy of British Airways to travel in the First Class cabin! What a fantastic New Year’s Eve gift that was… these seats normally cost above CDN $6000. At Toronto airport we waited in the BA World Club lounge where they served a buffet dinner that included sea bass. Had a drink of wine there and a coffee with liqueur - a fine way to relax while waiting for a boarding call. We boarded in the express line then met with our ’sleeper’ seats which extended to full beds for the trip. Service included a late dinner with champagne and an early breakfast with fresh fruit and croissants. We also made use of the personal DVD players - I watched the Skeleton Key, a voodoo thriller based in New Orleans starring Kate Hudson. The whole thing was unforgettable really, so big thanks to that sweet BA ticket agent at Pearson Airport!
Perhaps the best feature of the first class trip was receiving a ‘fast track’ immigration voucher which meant we spent only a few minutes at the customs counter at Heathrow, and our bags were the first spit out on the conveyor. Yeehah!
Warning to our future visitors - don’t take a taxi from Heathrow into central London as it will cost CDN $180. Not a cheap lift by any stretch. The express bus is considerably cheaper at about 15 bucks ;)
Yesterday was simply exhausting with the jetlag, and we took turns napping through the day. There was the New Years Day parade happening along Piccadilly, but we had no energy to enjoy it, unfortunately. We called it a night at about 10PM then slept through this morning until 11:30AM. That may have cured the lag though as today we felt quite normal.
Today we walked from our hotel near to Trafalgar Square over to Canary Wharf to meet a physics colleague of Matt’s. We thought it might be a neighbourhood where we would want to live but changed our minds when we discovered the area is very carefully guarded to deter terrorists. In the nineties there was an IRA bombing there. Also Canary Wharf is primarily a business/banking district with few services such as grocery stores. At night it’s deserted.
The walk along the Thames was lovely, and reminiscent of the seawall in Vancouver. We passed the Tower of London, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and saw the Tate Modern on the southside which is in a former industrial warehouse.
On our way back to the hotel we ate dinner on an outdoor patio in Covent Garden, a lively market area. The weather is mild, but not much sun to be seen so far. All in all we walked at least four hours today, which felt terrific after all the travel and sitting we did through the holidays.
And we feel quite like locals already! As we passed by the throng of tourists at the Tower of London we found ourselves trying to avoid them and maybe even cursed at a few ;) It’s such a bustling city though, and it doesn’t seem so foreign right off as we expected it might.
Tomorrow morning Matt starts work at 8:00AM, so it could be a challenge for him to wake up on time. I’ll start hunting down lettings agents looking for a flat, but other that that we feel quite at home and ready to immerse ourselves in this new adventure!
GET FED: