One Week of London

Technically, this is my eighth day - but what the hell.

I think I've now significantly recovered from jet lag enough to be able to recount some of the shenanigans I've been up to since arriving in the United Kingdom.

My introduction to London was quite a shock, but a pretty good one. As I've mentioned, Lee, Margaret and I all went to see Nine Inch Nails in Brixton - which was a big thrill for me. Not because I was seeing NIN (although it was a great show) but because I've always wanted to go see a band at Brixton Academy - and here it was, not three hours into the country and I've already struck one of the items from my checklist!

The same night was also my introduction to the tube and the famous red double-decker buses, although most of it was a total blur because my brain had started to melt out of my ears from exhaustion.

In the morning, I woke up and headed into the city with Lee, who suggested I should jump on one of the tour buses that are continually driving around the city. Not one to ignore good advice (I can hear the muffled laughter from here), this is what I did. It was cold, but damn was it exciting seeing all of the sights I've only ever seen on teevee. The Thames, the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral... the place is packed with things to see.

I stopped off at the London Eye and took a trip up in that - somehow forgetting that I'm afraid of heights (I can hear the muffled laughter from here), so I spent most of the ride doing my best to get close to the glass and trying not to look down too much.

On Saturday we all hopped on the tube and watched Lee play a game of Lacrosse - then headed down to the bar for a few drinks. I was pretty grateful for such a peaceful day, to be honest.

Sunday was quite fun - I took myself into the city and wandered around for a while, mostly around the Regent Street and Leicester Square area. I spent a few hours checking out the Apple store quite thoroughly, then just meandered around the streets taking it all in. When it started to get dark I headed back to the flat.

Funnily enough, just as I was about to open the door it was opened for me by Lee and Margaret who were on their way out to dinner - which they very kindly invited me along to. We wandered up the road to a restaurant they've been to a few times before and assured me was really good.

It turned to be the funniest meal I've ever eaten in my life.

We turned up a little early, but were still allowed in by the very cheerful manager. After a few minutes he came to take our drink orders, but warned us that they'd had a big lunch crowd so the alcohol situation was a little shaky. Lee and Margaret discussed with him about what to order, and off he went. They then proceeded to tell me that the manager - the guy who served us - wasn't the usual guy that's there, but he still seemed just as jolly.

Not five minutes after he took our drink order, he was back at the table with a surprised look on his face wondering why we didn't have any alcohol - and then proceeded to take our drink order. Again. This was just the first sign of just how jolly he was that night.

In the meantime, more people had arrived and had started to order - including a table of eight. After a good ten or fifteen minutes, our effervescent manager reappeared at another table with some dishes - unfortunately, they weren't what this table had ordered. Obviously a little flustered, he placed a couple of the dishes down on a nearby empty table and returned to the kitchen.

Moments later, he reappeared at the same table and apologised - and proceeded to take their order again. The next time he disappeared back in the kitchen, the large table had decided they'd had enough and all proceeded to leave.

By now we'd had our drinks delivered but, from what we could work out from the girl who was also working that night, it turns out he had taken the orders from several tables, but had neglected to take note of which order went with which table. In order to save time, she took our order again, apologised profusely and, with a beautiful smile that simultaneously expressed frustration, incredulation and further sincere apology, informed us that this was her first night working here.

As we continued to wait, we began to notice the manager was starting to sway a little more than he'd done previously. We also noticed that the rest of the staff were obviously none too pleased at his behaviour, especially the new waitress. She later told us that she'd forced him to sit on the floor in the kitchen and eat all of the wasted food that he'd tried to deliver.

As Lee and Margaret continued to reassure me that this place was not normally like visiting an episode of Fawlty Towers (and I believe them!), the waitress was taking charge and getting everything back on track. We shared a few laughs with some of the other diners and soon everyone's food had arrived. As expected, it was excellent.

Then the manager tried to make himself a cup of coffee.

As we continued to eat, a loud crash came from behind the bar. And then another. I could see into the bar from my seat, so I watched what was happening. Sure enough, our good friend was back there trying to figure out the coffee machine and doing a superbly awful job at it.

We decided not to risk a dessert and instead elected just to leave. At the bar we found the waitress and the (swaying) manager, whose shirt was now covered in coffee stains. I guess he was the only one who was able to work the cash register, as he was being sternly ordered by the waitress on what to enter into it. As we left, she thanked us profusely.

Monday I did nothing except stay indoors - by now I needed a bit of a break. Especially considering...

Tuesday was my birthday! This whole trip has been my big birthday present to myself, but I figured I should do something fun for the day so I headed in to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, then took another wander around the city until it was time to meet up with Lee and Margaret who took me out to this fantastic Pakistani restaurant. Not only was the food wonderful, but the service was impeccable - dishes started to arrive within five minutes of ordering. After dinner, we went into Soho to a couple of bars for some drinks. A damn fine birthday, I must say - definitely a memorable way of entering my thirties.

Wednesday I took in a show... okay, a movie. As a massive fan of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, I finally found my chance to see Hot Fuzz - and, naturally, I loved it. I'll have to watch it a few more times to decide if it's topped Shaun though (which is currently one of my favourite movies of all time).

Thursday saw me head back into the city for another walk around, this time I took a look around Buckingham Palace and the gardens that are nearby. Everything looks a lot smaller than I'd imagined, but it's still a thrill to see all of these places in the flesh. One of the highlights was when a squirrel decided to run up to me - I guess in hopes that I'd feed it. It then paraded around the area, giving myself and another lady enough time to snap a few photos. You'd swear it was posing for us.

Which finally leads me today, Friday. Tonight I'm meeting up with an old friend from high school who I ran into briefly in Newcastle on Christmas Eve. She's been living out here for the last couple of years and invited me to her work farewell do, which is where I'm off to right now.