sniffle sniffle from london [part twenty-three]

hello!

i am typing to you from bed, the most luxe experience available to me right now. i am sick, the covers are drawn up over my lap, and the macbook is acting as a hot water bottle. do you think resting a macbook on one's lap can make one infertile? sometimes i do wonder about that. it is very annoying being sick right now because this is everyone's last week at work before we break for christmas and there is a lot to do and i do not want to take a day off. sigh.

so instead of typing about my rollercoaster romances, i will entertain you with my observations of english people.

01/ english people say the weirdest things. they are always asking "you alright?" or "you 'right?" and i say "yes!". that one confused me for weeks. why are they asking me if i am alright? what they are really asking is "how are you?". when i had my first london flu ever i called richard nicoll's studio to say i could not come in because i was sick and heather [the design room manager] said "oh that is rubbish" and i was mute for words. what to say? i really was sick, no lies! but what she meant was "it is terrible news you are sick". strange, huh? we are speaking the same language but are oceans apart in understanding.

02/ it is winter here and very cold. one has to be prepared to face icy winds and meat freezer conditions when one steps outside. on the bus home i catch a whiff of coconut butter on a passenger and i am half crying because she is such a tease and half laughing at her optimism. londoners are funny like that. rain does not keep them at home. a little bit of sun and their shirts come off. you know the weirdos sunbathing in hyde park? they are english.

03/ i heard the best line on the tube the other day. i was waiting on the platform next to a man for the train. he elbows a woman out of the way to get onto the packed compartment. once on, he pushes past a businessman who takes immediate offense. "hey no need to push!" says the businessman. "hey no need to stand there like a pillar!" retorts the other. i love it! who says "pillar" anymore!? so old school!

04/ oh the other thing the english say that is weird is "rammed". the train was rammed this morning. topshop was rammed when kate moss' collection came out. rammed, as in packed. i always thought "rammed" was a gay term, but not here. i have to suppress a giggle whenever someone uses it. the other thing they say is "shattered". i am so shattered! shattered, as in tired.

05/ my biggest grievance about london so far has been the supermarkets. you know how australian supermarkets devote half an aisle to canned tuna? i am lucky to find even a few cans of it here. fish is the only meat i eat! do people think it is a delicacy? why is there hardly any of it available? sigh. the other thing they do not have is a deli section. without fresh full cream ricotta, how am i supposed to make roast vegetable pizza or spinach and ricotta cannelloni? double sigh. i can buy it at the markets but it is expensive. oh one more weird thing, a lot of the fruit and vegetables come prepackaged. they purposefully make it harder to buy fresh produce loose. what is up with that?

06/ but to counter the frustrating supermarkets, london is great for jumble sales. i went to two on sunday. why do i love sorting through people's junk? i do not know, i just do. my best find yesterday was a pair of floral fabric covered heels for £8. bargain!

next monday i am going to dinner at st john bread and wine. i am so excited! it sounds so grown-up. i am taking the boy on a counter-date to afternoon tea at the wolseley after christmas. he leaves for hamburg the week after. sigh. i am making a poor attempt at not thinking about it too much. he is not even the boy, more like the main squeeze. he came into work today to show mark how to blog and to give me a refresher on running the online store. when he left, he kissed me goodbye in front of everyone. blush!

love
o