The Cod

On Tuesday, W and I headed out the The Admiral Codrington in Chelsea (aka “The Cod) which was named after a Edward Codrington the captain of the HMS Orion at the Battle of Trafalgar – a very pivotal event in European History. When you enter, there is the original pub and then there is an outdoor area on the side with tables and then, towards the back of the bar, is a refurbished dining room. All along the center ceiling retractable glass contraption that opens when it’s nice out. I picked it because I drove past it on my way to dinner at Daphne’s last week and liked the looks of it and, when I looked into it, the food was reviewed well and looked pretty traditional so I thought W would like it.

It’s also popular with the “Sloane Rangers” which is a term applied to young, upper class men and woman living in West London. The word came about by combining Sloane Square – a very fashionable/wealthy area in London and then the Lone Ranger (how this was combined, I will never understand, but so be it). There was actually a book written in 1982 and Princess Diana was on the cover as an example of what a Sloane Ranger would be. Basically, the equivalent of a Yuppie/Preppy in the US. (Remember the Preppy Handbook?)

The pub had a mix of people, but I definitely saw some of the wealthier inhabitants of Chelsea in there along with a few regular types. W and I headed over there with a few friends of mine from work for some drinks and ate dinner in the restaurant. W went all the way with fois gras and fish and chips which he said were delicious. Mine was good too but entirely to rich. And there were some very young boys in there drinking a pint – I am talking 15 years old if they were a day. And they reminded me of the boys I went to Hinsdale Central with freshman year at the height of turned up collars and lavender.

Last night, W and I headed over to Harrods for a couple of reasons a) because they have a new Pet Emporium which is HUGE and b) to check out the historic food halls. They also sell pets – they had some very cute Papillon puppies, kittens and bunnies there and they were incredibly expensive – I am talking £1500. Their screening process for adoption is pretty elaborate – someone had inquired and was getting grilled about his background.

The department is much larger than the one I visited last year and I guess the reasoning behind expanding it is because of the “..huge demand for pet fashion.” You would see the requisite Puppia and Juicy stuff but they also had some Swarovski crystal collars that ran upwards £300.I walked away with a wind-up hamster in a ball to torture the girls along with a couple of leashes – wouldn’t really make much sense to buy them stuff I can get in the US for half the price. I liked the Harrods small igloo dog bed, and the price isn’t too far off the US. And they event have pet fitting rooms. I am the first person to admit that I spoil my dogs but fitting rooms are beyond my scope…along with dog prams.

Harrods itself can be a bit of a nightmare – it’s packed, not completely horrible but it’s not really worth shopping for clothes if you are from the US. However the multiple departments are really worth a look if you have the time. There just isn’t anything like it in the US. The toy department is really cute and you can find toys very unique to London without breaking the bank. The Diana/Dodi memorial bronze statue is pretty big and kind of sad – but the strangest thing there is the wax figure of Mohamed Al Fayed in the store. Seeing that put me off a visit to Madam Tussdaud’s – it’s just a little too “Twilight Zone” for me.

The Harrods food halls are absolutely amazing and a must see for anyone visiting London. They are huge, opulent and contain just about everything you could ever need. For example, one large hall has sections of prepared foods for takeaway that can be reheated at home – everything from chicken tikka to sandwiches to lamp kebabs. Huge selection of cheese, wines and then there is the meat/poulty/fish area – not only can you buy pigeon but you can also sit at the oyster bar and have a meal. We picked up some snacks to take over to Hyde Park and sat along the Serpentine and enjoyed a bottle of wine and some great people watching. There really is something to be said for some of the various cultures and the trends in fashion, just inexplicable.

Regents Park, Camden Market and Afternoon Tea

On Sunday, W and I walked up through Regents Park with intention of going to the zoo. Wonderful sunny day, quite hot but a nice long walk. I just can't get over how beautiful the parks are here, they are kept impeccably and no garbage like you see in NY or Chicago. I wish we had something similar. Once we got to the zoo, it was 17quid which equates to about $35, as much as I love animals, it just didn't seem worth it.

Instead, we walked up to Camden and hit the market. Probably not something I need to do again but am very glad we went through it. Mostly clothes, some tourist crap but I did come across a small booth selling music and I bought a couple of CDs - one of which was a Chicago hometown DJ - Mark Farina and something else by Miguel Migs - Coast2Coast. It's from the nightclub Fabric here in London and they have their own music label. http://www.fabriclondon.com/label/home.php

We then headed over to The Mandarin Oriental for afternoon tea on their terrace - such a perfect day, right in this small garden along Hyde Park. My friend M came to join us and we sat outside for a few hours. I just love the clotted cream here - you just cannot replicate those cows in the US. I was able to get a snapshot of the terrace below.

The one thing about this time of year in London that is interesting, is the number of people here from the Middle East. Apparently, it's very common for them to holiday hear during July/August because it's so hot at home, so they come here to escape it. The gobs of beautiful cars, women decked out it the most amazing fabrics, bags, etc., is incredible. I was at Harvey Nichols and was definitely in the minority of these wealthy people...sigh.

Big Poppa

W arrive Saturday morning safe and sound and we had breakfast at The Villandry and set out on our day along with N. We took the tube to my favorite market – Borough Market at London Bridge. Bought some gorgeous fruit and had my favorite falafel. The queue (can't say line here) for the falafel guy is always long but it moves fast and of course after your first bite it is totally worth it. We went to the Tate Modern and I was very happy to see one of my favorite video installations – Meat Joy – was there. I seriously don’t know why I like it so much – it’s quite disturbing but pretty funny. The context of it being created in 1964 and so…well, judge for yourself as I was happy to find it on YouTube.




I was a little disappointed some of the other pieces I enjoyed so much weren’t there as they rotate their collection pretty frequently. By the way, those of you in NY should go to MoMA and check out the current Dali and Film exhibit and Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue – a video installation. Last year when I was at the Tate Modern I really loved seeing these and strongly recommend a visit.

However, a few that stuck out were Susan Hiller’s “Psi Girls” and Paul McCarthy’s “Projection Room”. The article below describes the “Psi Girls” piece better than I could ever hope to and the McCarthy piece….well, he is an interesting fella. It was a video installation on multiple screens – one image was him in a monkey mask, naked, jumping up and down, the other was him in a filthy tub – naked. But I have to tell you, it was pretty fascinating, I was glued to the screen for a bit, kind of grossed out but appreciated the creativity.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_12_89/ai_80747850

My other favorite piece was called “Inflammatory Essays: by Jenny Holzer. Basically, on one side of the wall in a gallery, there are all of these perfect squares in varying colors. Each square has a different essay, I believe there were about 8 different essays, but it was hard to stay and read all of them. I recommend checking it out and it's easy to read each of the essays from the Tate Modern’s website:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1307&page=1



"The essays present a range of provocative statements which were inspired by the texts of political theorists, religious fanatics and impassioned “folk” literature. Since childhood, Holzer has been interested in ‘rapturous writing’ and wanted to write ‘ecstasy, fantastic things’. Each essay has exactly 100 words in twenty lines and Holzer uses this rigid format to explore a range of extreme ideas. She questions the viewer’s response by setting fanatical statements against the certainties of common opinion. The Essays were fly posted across NYC. "

After N left, we wound down our day and went and had dinner at one of my favorite places, Rasa Sumudra. Indian food in London is so delicious and I wish I could clone Rasa and bring it to Chicago. We had a superb feast and then headed over to the Charlotte Hotel for a nightcap. I was very impressed that W was able to stay up until midnight.

Hallo Kitty

Last night, my friend N drove in from Windsor to have dinner. N has been over here for the past few months on a work assignment and doesn't get into London very much. It was good to catch up with her and I look forward to her being back in Chicago soon. We walked over to Roka (yes, I walked a whole half mile in my big shoes and didn't trip once) which is over on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia. It's a great little area, there are a bunch of restaurants and pubs, quite lively. I've been there before to the Charlotte Hotel and to Rasa Sumudra, so it wasa nice to try something else. Roka is a very cool place, very tough to get into but I was able to secure us a spot in the lounge - Shochu - which is beneath the restaurant. It's Japanese so we had the obligatory edamame, tempura, maki, etc., and we both tried their specialty, obviously, Shochu. N had one with rhubarb, sparkling water, lemon and shochu and I had one called the "Hallo Kitty" (spelling is correct btw) which is raspberry, lemon, rose petals and shochu. The 8-year old in me loved the bottle and they were kind enough to give it to me as a keepsake.

The girls are now staying with D and seem to be settling in well. I miss them so much but know they will be loved and taken care of. Of course they immediately got in bed, Ella jumped on the pillows so she was higher than the other dogs (little alpha) and Chloe and Idgy hung out on the end. I am certain D won't get much sleep with the constant wrestling of Idgy and Chloe.

Strange Days

Well, today has been a very interesting day indeed. Since my last post, I’ve been lying low trying to manage my jet lag with working US and London hours. On Tuesday, I had dinner at Daphne’s with Tiggy and had a great time – no Pierce Brosnan sitings this time, unfortunately, but they gave us the best table in the restaurant and it was the perfect night. The weather here has been great, so much better than last year.

This morning, my front buzzer rang and it was a policeman. After I made him show is badge on the video monitor, I let him in. Surprisingly, he rang my doorbell. Of course having done nothing wrong, I immediately felt guilty – as if watching Weeds last night automatically made me a drug dealer or something So, I answered and he asked for a someone else. I explained that I was a new renter and that he should contact the lettings office.. Being curious, and a bit scared, I asked him what the reason why was. Apparently, there had been a crime in the building and they had collected DNA/fingerprints from all the tenants at the time. The person in my flat before me didn’t leave a clear fingerprint and they needed a different one. He added I had nothing to worry about and apologized for disturbing me.

Before I left, I had to take out the trash. Normally, you leave your garbage on the street. In this building, you have to bring your items down to the basement. When I went down to the basement, I was instantly creeped out and the trash bin area reminded me of the final scene in The Blair Witch Project. No way I was going down there again.

I then called my building to inquire about what had happened and was told that there had been a “serious crime” committed in the basement and that the police were still investigating the situation. The person in question had fled to Yemen so they were still working on the case and “don’t worry”.

At lunch today, I mentioned it to my friend, A, and he mentioned a recent case in my area involving a Danish socialite getting murder and the suspect was from Yemen. After a quick Google search, I learned that indeed that a Norwegian woman had been murdered and found in the basement of my building under a pile of rocks. The main suspect was a man living here from Yemen, he fled the UK the day after the murder and, because his father is a very wealthy man and the UK has no extradition arrangement with Yemen, they can’t interview him, file official charges etc.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3570999.ece


Later this evening, I was with a friend for drinks and I received a call from my dad. As many of you know, I am not very close to my dad nor do I see him very often – but he is still my dad and I love him. My father was calling to tell me that he had been going through chemo for the past two months for esophageal cancer… but that it was all gone now. Why he didn’t call to tell me is a mystery, but he referenced what I had gone through with my mom and didn’t want to bother me. Frankly, I am still in shock and don’t know what to think…but he’s such a strange man, I can’t say that it totally surprises me that he wouldn’t mention it. At least it is gone and his health is good.

London Arrival!

So I have landed safe and sound in London and had a pretty good flight. Somehow, I managed to sleep most of it but still woke up groggy. My flat is good, not as charming as the one I had last year but it’s in Marylebone and a few steps away from a tube stop, has a gym in the building and plenty of space. The only downside is that it is a little quiet around here. I didn’t have any hot water and the bedsheets were horrendous but that’s all been taken care of.

My first course of action for the day was to get my place stocked with the necessities such as soap, food, wine, etc., so I headed out to take care of everything. I just love the Whole Foods here, if I was interested in actually cooking meals from scratch the various ethnic ingredients they carry here are amazing. I ended up running into someone I knew believe it or not so that was nice.

My day would not have been complete without a visit to my favorite place – La Fromagerie. The thing I love about it is that it’s all locals – perhaps a smattering of visiting Europeans but it is way off the the tourist radar. So imagine my surprise when I was seated next to two American woman who looked straight out of Walmart in Nebraska. Since it’s communal seating, I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation – the cadence of their voices and the things they talked about reminded me of something – and then it hit me, they sounded JUST like Anna Gaysteyer and Molly Shannon’s skit with Alec Baldwin “Schwetty Balls”. If you haven’t seen it before, you definitely should watch it because it is hilarious.