as for the rest of the week…
Well, after the huge excitement of the weekend (and I should add that this was topped off admirably well by Sunday roast and pudding with the lovely Alisha, who happens to be just around the corner from my Liverpool Street pad) it would have been easy to forget the fabulous fun and games of the preceding days!
I arrived to a hot and muggy afternoon the previous Sunday and had a delightful few days in Victoria, although my old nemesis, the hotel aircon left a lot to be desired given that it was more effective at creating a pleasant atmosphere when switched off simply because of the noise, the cooling effect being barely noticeable even when on what was supposedly (and certainly sounded like) full power. Apologies to all who were rendered less than comfortable – it will not happen again. On Monday evening I trekked up to Marble Arch to catch the Stop The Arrests launch mentioned previously; again, there is plenty more information regarding the campaign on the site, but if anybody needs any more evidence that the Metropolitan Police are way off the mark with this one, migration expert Laura Agustin’s blog is a pretty good place to start. I was fortunate enough to meet Laura on Monday and also Georgina Perry of Open Doors in Hackney, a sex work project very much valued by it’s users and based squarely in the middle of the area to be ‘cleaned up’, and who expressed great concern that vulnerable people were losing contact with support services by being forced to move around as the brothels, saunas and flats they have been working from peacefully and without provoking police interest (for years in some cases) are targeted and raided for no apparent reason other than to make the place look tidier when the Games get into full swing. Again, the petition is on the site.
Wednesday saw a move back to my more usual stomping ground in Waterloo in addition to some very welcome company in the form of Charlotte and a meze that I reminisced, misty-eyed about for most of the following day – The Real Greek on Bankside: recommended! It’s been a good week for the foodie in me generally, and in addition to the aforementioned tapas with Kinky La Rue prior to my Hackney knees-up, I also took myself (thanks in no small part to those generous gentlemen of the week who kindly contributed extra and in particular the unlucky soul who had to cut his appointment short thanks to the shenanigans at NatWest, but still refused his £10 change) back to Ping Pong on Friday for a treat since I’d had nothing much all day, and a treat it was albeit one which rendered me virtually unable to move afterward and I only just managed to stagger back along the riverside before the task of packing up started, after a nice pot of Earl Grey and a bit of a lie down.
Saturday was all a bit of a blur; having not seen my pal since she returned to civvydom we had a good old catch up, but first strolled across to the Tate Britain to see the Picasso exhibition; highly recommended to anyone for whom context is important, containing as it does not only the works of Picasso himself, but also contributions from those he influenced and was influenced by and I was very pleasantly surprised to be able to look at relevant pieces by personal favourites like David Hockney, Francis Bacon and Henry Moore as well as others which I hitherto knew very little about. Well worth a look (as is the Tate Britain itself – I have resolved to get down there a bit more often, especially bearing in mind the spanking-new Member’s Room is well on the way).
Those Londoners who have known me a little while will be familiar with the area around Pimlico tube, and I enjoyed the walk back through the peace and quiet myself – it’s two and a half years since my regular spells there came to an end after one ridiculously hot day too many (and see earlier; when will we learn about bloody climate control?) and I can’t say I’m not still fond of the leafy streets – a passing Latin carnival parade brightened things up somewhat too (and to anybody reading who is local-ish, the Vietnamese restaurant on Churton Street is brill). Maybe I’ll go back someday when cool weather can be counted on. It was very nice.
Anyway, the remainder of the weekend has been covered already (and my back is still hurting today – I am definitely getting old) and excitingly this is me home now almost permanently until the end of July, give or take the odd holiday. Bar a handful of awaydays (some work-related, others not) I will be around on the usual times and days until the 11th, and then back from my holidays on the 23rd – yay! As ever, same day appointments are not available, but I will do my best to fit everybody in who’s missed out over the last few weeks of being everywhere-but…
Oh, and the new photos will hopefully be done before the end of the week, although there won’t be zillions just yet. As an alternative, for a decidedly un-done Behind The Scenes one in the meantime, see below!
More after a bit of a rest.
Subscribe to blog feed.
About the Author: