Saturday 27-09 - Night out

I woke up still overstuffed and drunk from dinner. We slowly got dressed.

We went to Brunswick mall to find our Grrandparents. They were planning to see a movie there. There was no success in phone them so we assumed they had already gone in. We decided to wait for them with a light soup at the amazing Japanese place The Hare and Tortoise. We walked in the door to see the grandparents, eating laksa. They just hadn´t heard the phones. We all got a big table and ate big bowls of soup.

The afternoon was spent in the park, blowing bubbles to Aiden. We sat amongst the crowds of people. Strange,there weren´t usually so many people around. Also, not usually so many hippies doing yoga and meditation. Turns out down the street was a annual festival of life. The street was full of veggie powered cars and organic coconut drinks. We walked around, watching the festival goers. Then to the local pub to poison our bodies with cider and wine. Karen, Dani, Josh,Aiden and I sat in a tiny walled beer garden. We looked for the sun behind the walls. With it the garden was cold,so we went to meet the others at the grandparents´ hotel. There we had some more drinks.

That evening Dani and I went to afterskool club. It was full of young hip things dancing away. We were going there to meet at least a dozen Perth originated people. We took over a chunk of the dance floor with our silly Perth dancing and good times. I had my second ever snake bite (larger, cider, red cordial), but my first snakebite in London. Dani kept telling me stories about the lethal Afterskool snakebites and now I finally got a chance to try one. It wad a good night.

Friday 26-09 - la gavroche

My father having had just arrived, we walked to the park to have a nice brekkie outside. It was Russel Street park. Dani and Josh and I all had fried egg sammichs. Except that I had baguette, Dani had bap and Josh had toasted bread. We sat, the whole family outside. The weather was gorgeous.

After breakfast we split up. Gran and Grandad and I went to Knightsbridge to shop. I wanted to pick up some things. We started at ...nicks. It was more upmarket than I was comfortable with, so we looked around for only a little while. Grandad got tired of waiting for us so he went on ahead to Harrods. We got to the street and walked until I saw a shop I was very comfortable with. H and M. That place is dangerous for me, I keep seeing things I want to buy. We spent a while there.

I soon discovered it is also dangerous to shop with my gran. She is the adorable devil sitting on your shoulder saying 'just buy it'. She got me to try on things I never would have looked at otherwise. But some very nices choice. I had stopped in only looking for a jacket. I ended up buying a navy jacket, stockings, an argile V-neck, a white cardie and a grey dress.

Next stop was Harrods. We had fun looking at the ridiculous extravagance we found in that store. Thousand dollar cardies that weren't even that nice. Awefully tacky shoes. Disgusting shower fittings. It was all in good fun. It was nice to spend time with Gran. We didn't often get a chance to hang out just the two of us.

We headed back and had a light lunch. We really didn't want to fill ourselves up. For tonight was a night we had been looking forward to for a long time. For joint fathers and grandfathers birthdays we were all booked into La Gavroche. A restaurant with 2 michilan stars, owned by none other than Michelle Rue Jr. So exciting.

We got dressed up in our finest. I wore an amazing black dress I had bought before, plus the grey stockings and boots I had recently acquired.





In our shiny best we had some champagne and cake. We toasted to the birthday boys and drank champs. We didn't cut the cake.





We stood for an eternity on High Holborn waiting for a taxi. There just weren't any free taxis, being a friday night. Eventually we found two and made our way. From the moment we walked through the door I could feel the atmosphere. La Gavroche means street urchin, with a big drawing of an urchin boy by the front desk. They took our coats and lead us with sincere smiles down the ornate stairs.

The room was large and dark and full of tables. The wait staff were dressed up down to every last detail. Actually, everything was perfected down to the last detail. Metal centre pieces of different animals (ours was a lobster). The handles of the cutlery were in the shape of the urchin boy. Above us chandeliers swayed.

We were served apertisers with duck and some sort of pastry. We drank champs.

We got up to go to the bathroom. We were led to the door and when I got back my serviette had been refolded and waiting for me. After searching the amazing menu we all decided on the degustation. Each course had a wine served with it. I would have to be very careful not to drink too much. I didn´t want to be that person who passed out and missed the amazing food. But there was so much booze! At any one time we each had 3 to 4 different glasses of wine in front of us. It was a sea of glass.

Food highlights:

The first plate was seafood in a boat of some like of lettuce. With this most incredible sauce dabbed around it. I really liked that one.

The second was cheese soufflé. It was like air. I´ve never tasted anything quite like it before. It it disappeared in your mouth.

The meat was a duck thing is pastry and a braised beef with parsnip mash. Incredible. It was served to each person under a big round silver cover. Then all were lift at the exact same moment.

Cheese course was choices from a huge cart of cheese. Then a truffle with so much chocolate it could cause a blackhole.

We taxied back to the flat and then Dani and I were sent back to hers in the taxi. It was so much better then taking the tube or bus. We rolled in the door and collapsed into bed.

Thursday 25-09 - perth times

Shoe shoppig at Neil Street. I needed some, and rather really wanted, some new boots. All my past boots had been flats or big chunky platforms. I wanted something sleek. I wanted something sexy and modern. All the girls minus Dani went to Neil Street near seven dials. I started off at Mr Shoes, the place I found my wellies.

My feet are inpracticaly tiny. Finding shoes to fit becomes so much of a chore I usually end up at a kids shoe store. This shop has so many shoes in my size. I found some potential shoes and settles on the most perfect pair of boots. The most perfect pair of boots I have ever owned. Tall heels, but not too tall. Thin points, but not too thin. Pointy toes, but not too pointy. A sleek black leather looking finish and a good price. So much love.

Lunch was at Itsu again, where I was introduced to their awesome chicken teriaki noodle soups. We ate their until mum wasn't feeling too good. She left early and I left doon after to see if she was ok. Back at the flat mum went to sleep off the sick feeling. We hung out.

In the evcening we headed off to see the Perth band The Bank Holidays. They had come to London to tour. We were lucky enough to be able to see them. I was so excited. I hadn't seen them play in such a long time.

We got to the bar and it could have been any Perth pub, except that we new less people. We had some cider as we watched the opening act. The front woman was incredibly charismatic with a spectacular voice. She had great short black hair that made me want to cut my hair short again.



Slowly more and people I know showed up. Lots of people I knew from Perth who all happened to be in London. We were all drawn together by the adorable pop of the Bank Holidays.

They played an excellent set. All the old favourites we had come to know. I sang along to myself. Of course I knew all the words. I felt excited and giddy like a teenage girl who just spotted her favourite popstar walking down the street. They danced around the stage. I just hoped that the Londoners would grow to love them as much as we did. The final song (Greatest game, my favourite) had Dani and I singing along out loud.

Aftet the set the now enormous Perth crowd sat outside in the chill. We caught up and shared our plans for the near future. Everyone started to get tired of the cold, so we all headed together to the tube station home.

Wednesday 24-09 - bday 1

Today was our Grandad´s birthday. So the day started with a setting up birthday cards and waiting for the birthday boy to join us. We all met up and started the walk to the Tate modern. The sky threatened to rain, but only threatened. It was cold today.



I love the Tate modern. It has such wonderful things to see and do. Plus an amazing bookshop. The walk was long enough that some of our party was getting sore legs. We all decided to break for lunch before walking around. We went to the upstairs restaurant and got in the half hour wait for a table. While we waiting we had wine with olives and nuts. Not a good idea for me to start drinking so early in the day. But oh well.



Lunch was nice, with the same pesto and pumpkins and pinenut penne I had the last time. We fed Aiden, whom we were babysitting at the museum. We put him down to sleep. By the end of lunch I could feel the alcohol.



We walked around the Surrealist section. I lost track of everyone but found an abstract expressionism exhibit focused on this Australian painter (have forgotten the name). I think he perfectly captured the feel of the Australian Landscape.

We didn´t stay too long, but first popped into the bookshop. No visit to the Tate is complete without a visit to the bookshop. I love the design books and the photography books and the illustrations. I kept Aiden busy by running his stroller up and down the hill of the enormous turbine hall. I was exhausted afterwards. But mostly sober.

We put the GPs on a bus back to tho hotel and then we walked. Back at Karens there was a visitor from the flat above.

Grandad´s Bday dinner. We got to the Japanese style restaurant we had planned to eat at only to find a queue far into the street. So we walked in the direction of the flat. Everywhere was full on this bustling Wednesday night. There was a Thai place no one had tried yet with room, so that where we went. I´m glad we did, the food was great. After all the wine at lunch I decided to stick to water. Everyone else thought I was mad, but I didn´t care. The high light was the banana fritter and ice cream dessert.



I slept at Dani´s house.

Tuesday 23-09 - movie day

First, to Bethnal Green to have breakfast with the granparents in Dani´s area. We took the Granparents to our favourite fry up place. The servings are huge and cheap, the food is good. I had omelette with vegetables. It came with the sides of salad and the most chips you have ever seen in your life. We all enjoyed our enormous meals.

Everyone bussed to Brunswick to meet Mum, Karen and Aiden. There we saw a Turkish coming of age film called Winds and Times, I think. It was 2 hours of the most beautiful shots ever taken with a camera. Lots of long spaces without any speaking and slow music. Kids sleeping on rocks and walking through crooked streets. Any real storyline was more of an after thought. I enjoyed it though. I don´t know how much everyone else did.

After the movie we went back to Karen´s to have some dinner and hang out. Then it was off toanother film at a different cinema. Dani was meeting her friend Novak there. We were all going to see Hellboy 2. It was a very different sort of movie. From the word go there was, action, action, action. Cars exploded. Buildings exploded. Complicated plots to follow while crazy special effects flashed infront of the screen.

It as also Guillermo Del Toro, whom I love. He did one of my favourite films, Pans Labyrinth. Many of the crazy creatures in the film could have easily come from Pans. Slightly creepy but amazing at the same time. I can´t remember the last time I saw so many movies on the same day.

Monday 22-09 - Golder´s Green

Today we went with the grandparents to Golder´s Green. Golder´s Green was the home of the Jewish communities in London and is still home to much of religious Jewry. As soon as you step out you see kosher restaurants and people dressed modestly (more so than everyone else in the now cold weather). The whole area is slightly scary and sad. It is the place you picture when someone mentions a dreary London winter.

Josh and Mum had gone down there earlier in the week to buy supplies for the festivals, but had left some important things in a shop. The grandparents also wanted a good old fashioned London Jewish saltbeef on rye. So down we all tubed. First we sat for lunch at a well known kosher restaurant, Blooms. The first thing I noticed was the walls. Murals with torah stories painted everywhere. I was a little more scared. Eek.



I ordered the chicken shnitzel with latka. The latka was almost the size of my head. The chicken was three times bigger. For their gargantuan size, though, they were good. A huge lakta can never go wrong. So much food. I was disgustingly full.



Then we moved to the store of Jewish paraphernalia to pick up our things. We walked back to the tube as the rain started to drip drop. It threatened but never followed through, which was lucky. We picked up round challah and chicken liver.Already it was feeling like Rosh Hashannah.

It was late afternoon when we reached the flat. We arrived to the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Karen was making a stew. I couldn´t wait. The grandparents went to recharge at the hotel, then came over for dinner. The stew was good.

Everyone wanted dessert. So out Dani and I went to buy before the shops closed. We got dark chocolate and kitkats, then a summer fruits trifle. The trifle was amazing. Cream and custard and cake and summer fruits in sauce. Exactly what we all felt like.

Sunday 21-09 - crazy day, again

The morning started out so nicely. Mum, Karen, Aiden and I went to Summerset house for coffee. We sat in the sun and read the paper. We also took a look at the cyclists. Today was a once a year event. Many of the main roads in London were closed off, with huge crowds cycling around. It was bike day in London, everyone seemed to be having such a great take just biking around.





We got a phone call from Grandad. There had been a fall at the Holbourn tube station. We couldn´t believe it. It seemed impossible. Months ago my Bobba tripped while in London and needed a hip replacement. We were still all recovering from it. Now my other gran had done the same thing. Like a dream.

We packed up and walked quickly to the station where she was waiting at the station master´s office. We heard an ambulance coming from behind us and driving past. The last thing we needed was for gran to disappear in an ambulance before we got there. Then we saw Dani whose was walking to meet us at Summerset house. She was cheerily strolling towards us with her headphones on. She hadn´t heard her phone ringing. I ran and got her attention.

¨Dani! gran fell at the station. We have to get there before the ambulance¨.

She was very confused as I pulled her along. We ran up to the station as the ambulance stopped and made our way into the office. Gran was sitting there. She had tripped on the escalator. Luckily there were only superficial cuts and no serious damage. She was only a little shaken up.

The paramedics led her to the ambulance to take a better look at her. They tested her blood pressure which was a little high but to be expected. They wanted to take her to hospital to proper tend to the wounds and make sure they didn´t get infected. Eventually we convinced her to go to the minor injury department. Grandad and mum went with her.



Karen and the three of us didn´t really know what to do with ourselves. We had some sushi and walked around for a bit. We got a call that there was no hold up at the hospital and they were on their way back. So we waited in a park until then and met them at Pizza Express. Having had already eaten, I shared a pizza with Josh. We dropped the grandparents off at their hotel.

We walked slowly back to the flat. Bikes were riding everywhere. A pack of young kids rode past us, fast and noisy. They were riding all over the place. One of them called ¨they coming!¨. The kids dropped the bikes where they were and scattered in all directions. The bikes lay all over the place, wheels still spinning. They were all gone except for a young girl in a white dress, who looked about 10 years old. She quickly sat at an outdoor table of a nearby cafe. She picked up a mug left on the table. Mum fetched the one bike off the rode so it didn´t get crushed. A minute or so later a police car slowly turned the bend. It was clear that these bikes did not belong to the kids.

Karen called across the street to the little girl in the white dress.

¨Whose bikes are these¨

She replied ¨I don´t know, I´m just sitting here drinking my coffee¨

¨I don´t think so¨

She looked at us, dropped the mug and sprinted down the street.

Another worried boy came along to fetch one of the bikes. The other bike we left with the coffee shop.

What an interesting day.

In the evening we took the grandparents out to a pub for beer and nachos. We chatted about our travels and about their travels.

Saturday 20-09 - burlesque

We walked over to the hotel where the Grandparents were staying. Then we all made our way to Brunswick centre to Carluccios. It is traditional in our family to have breakfast at Carluccios when anyone first arrives in London. So we did. I had scrambled eggs on toast with mushrooms and tomato. We all fawned over Aiden.

Just outside the restaurant was a Saturday morning food market. The stalls were incredible. We were all sorry we had just filled our stomachs. Pastry stalls and cheeses and roasts and olives and cupcakes. Fresh pasta and pesto. All this good food, so fresh. So we decided to have a lunch picnic. We got some of the cheese and bread and pastries and coucous salad and Greek salad and olives. We strolled over to Coram´s fields and set up lunch. The weather was gorgeous again. we ate, then I lay in the sun and slept.

Mum and the three of us parted ways with the rest to get ready for the afternoon. We had booked tickets to Afternoon tease. An afternoon of high tea with burlesque. It was a chance to spend some quality time with our mum. Every dressed up in nice dresses and shoes and jewelery. We got to Vouluptre dressed in our finest. It was too early to sit so we had cocktails at the bar. I had a huge mojito. We were soon led down to our table. The lower level was dimly lit with old fashioned wallpaper and posters. Each table had candles and lovely table settings.





We were sat down at the table. Women in skimpy maid outfits poured us champagne and plates of finger sammiches. Later we were served cakes and tea. Then huge scones with clotted creme and jam. We were stuffed by the end. I was almost drunk.



The first act. Big, blonde and beautiful. The girl had a skimpy outfit and a pink apron. And a wooden spoon. She danced around and did the full tease dance. Complete with spoon self spankings. She was great. Also, her facial expressions were priceless. She stripped down to tassels.

The gateaux vivants. A pair of girls who did the traditional tableau vivant acts - freeze frame poses. They only ever wore underwear and fishnets. They half covered themselves with different props. The first lot were mixing bowls as they posed eating the raw dough.

the second act. A ukelale cabaret. She sung a song from the jungle book, then a French song and then Petula Clark´s Downtown. Her voice was amazing, but it wasn´t really the show I was expecting. It was more of a cabaret show than a burlesque show. It was still fun though.

More vivants with food related poses.

the third act. Kitten Von Strumpet and her ice cream for sale. She was a 50s style ice cream seller with a tray around her neck and thick retro glasses. She flipped discount signs (10% of,20% off, every thing must go) and stripped. She was sweet. We were at the front table so she gave us an ice cone bubble blower.







The final vivants. The best vivant. They covered themselves with iced cupcakes. Then broke the freeze frame rule as they stuffed the cupcakes into their mouths. Then stuffed the cupcakes into each other´s mouths. It was hilarious.



the fourth act. Marrianne Cheesecake and her fan dance. She wasn´t quite as curvy as the other girls. Not a very burlesque like figure. But her dancing was good. Red sequined g-string with bra and corset, red suspenders and heels. Giant feathers in her hair. Two huge feathered fans. She kicked her legs and flicked her fans. She slowly removed more and more clothes until there was only underwear. The fans kept the rest of her hidden until the last moment when she threw them up to reveal her sequined red tassels.

We were exhausted in the evenign and didn´t do much. We hung out with the grandparents.

Friday 19-09 - itlapd

Yarr..



Ye ol day began with a trip to ye ol furniture stores. We were on the search for plates and glasses for Rosh Hashannah. We scoured the seas for the perfect set which we found sometime in the morning. We put them aside and walked around waiting for Mum and Josh to meet us. The sun was out and the day was gorgeous.

We walked until we found a London Graphics Centre, and they were having a huge sale. Which got me very excited. I got a thick, bound, lack A4 sketch book for a steal. Very happy. Across the road was a pub down up with full pirate decoration. Posters on every window and pirate wait staff.

Josh and mum got back from Golder´s Green. We all met for lunch at a nearby restaurant. It proved difficult. Londoners, being Londoners, pack the streets when the weather is warm. The streets came to life. We found a pasta place with a free outdoor table. I had tasty pasta.

We picked up the plates and took a taxi home. Then to a park to enjoy the brief moments of summer like weather. The park was beautiful and green and full of people. I wore my pirate hat,while Dani and I sat with our new sketch books.



Josh brought his new remote control helicopter.



We all had a go.



Its harder to fly than it looks.



Next was the buying of yarr Captain Morgan for ye pirate punch. It was a very strong punch. While we mixed it up we ate vegie burgers for dinner.



Jason arrived and we started the game. By half way through the film I was feeling sunken under the power of the rum. I remembered how intense the drinking game was. You have to drink constantly through out the entire film.



I also remembered how much I loved that movie. It is definitely one of my favourite 5 movies.



After the movie Maria the housemate came in with her friends from Vienna. We danced with them for a while and drank more. We went up to the roof for a while.



Jason and Dani gave their first ever concert of their band. They played their song for us on ukelalee and glock. They were awesome.



We all talked about going to this carpack-warehouse party. But turns out it was 12 pounds for entry and I didn´t even think the music was going to be that good. At that point all the booze really hit me. I was was basically asleep. I had to excuse myself, as did Dani and Josh. I fell straight asleep.

Thursday 18-09 - darwin

We made our way to the Natural history museum. Once again, we were probably more excited than Aiden.



We started with breakfast of scones and coffee at the cafe in the museum. While we ate we looked at the snakes and the pandas.



Its strange, watching all these dead things. An entire building full of the dead, waiting to entertain and educate the London population. And also to entertain me. I found them really interesting. Especially some of the stranger animals. I fell in love with the pangolin. Like a scaly ant eater.

We got to the best bit, the dinosaur section. Complete with moving T Rex that roars at you. He´s just so great. Luckily Aiden wasn´t scared.



We went on to the giant room with the blue whale and all the elephants and ungilates. I felt like a happy kid again. We heard there was a lecture about Darwin and evolution at that time. So we sat on some benches and waited for it to start.







The lecture started. It was like a talkshow, about the conserving the Galapagos islands. It was kind of boring. Plus Aiden was restless, so we left half way through.

We walked around the fish for a bit.





Then we looked at the giftshop. There are sooooo many things I wanted to buy. I thought of coming back to uy some things.



For lunch we went to a recommended Polish restaurant down the road. Its food was Polish, but most of it just seemed like Jewish food. That was our roots. It was good to see. I had chicken soup and mushroom golabki (cabbage wrap).





We split up soon after. Dani, josh and I went to a candy store to get snacks.





In the evening we had an appointment to babysit. He was quiet for most of the night, letting us watch Pan´s Labyrinth. I hadn´t seen it since the other time in London years ago. Aiden became agitated later. Dani was the one who managed to get him finally to sleep. We never saw the end of the movie, with the other two arriving home after a little too much champs. First night of babysitting Aiden: Success!

wednesday 17-09 - Getting things done day

In the morning we had administration duties to attend to. We headed to kinko´s to print, fax, scan and send documents. It took most of the morning. Then we moved over to Dani´s. The plan was to help her move a bunch of things to Karen´s basement. Her things, our things, friends´ things. Our plans were delayed by sitting to watch DVDs in Dani´s living room.

We dragged bags of clothes and boots and assorted bits to the flat basement. I finally moved all my travel goods down and brought up my staying-in-London goods. The backpack was gone and a light sports bag would be my new closet.

Back at the flat we finished the night with a goats cheese salad. Yes, another goats cheese salad. I think we have all become obsessed with them. But at least its a healthy meal. It was a nice night in all.

Tuesday 16-09 - Pharohs, pineapple

The morning started with baby sitting. The mum went to meet someone and we took the bub out. We walked around for a bit before stopping at a Thai place for lunch. I haven´t had fish cakes in ages so it was really good to taste again. Also green curry and rice. Yum. Aiden was pretty good despite not having slept that night.





We went to the British Museum with Aiden and Karen and Mum. I think we might have enjoyed the place more than Aiden, although he probaly had a good time as well. I hadn´t been there in a while.





We started in the Egyptian section. I pointed out interesting facts when ever I could remember them. It had been months since I was in Egypt and a lot of the names and dates were fading from my mind. I new about distinguishing royal statues and about the only female pharoh.



Something was missing. Icecream was missing. So off we went. At Baskin Robbins I got pineapple upsidedown cake flavour. It was pineapple icecream with pineapple ribbons, sponge cake pieces and glace cherries. God amazing.



After that we took a stroll and headed back to the flat,where we chilled for the rest of the night..