Wow. The summer has been busy I guess, considering my silence for the last three months. Well May started out in Stockholm, where James and I went for the first bank holiday weekend to visit Lina, Mattias, and their girls. We took off the Friday (and had the Monday off for the holiday), so it was a lovely long weekend. As it turned out a few girls from work and one of their sisters planned a trip to Stockholm on the same weekend, so it was a fun group trip – they even stayed in our same hotel! Friday evening we had dinner at Lina and Mattias's, and I met their youngest Svea for the first time. She is adorable and looks more like Lina than Astrid does. It was amazing too how much Astrid had grown up in the year and a half since I had seen her last. They were both a barrel of fun – just before they went to bed Astrid started shouting “disco dancing!” and they put music on and everyone danced around the flat for a few minutes! It was hilarious, apparently they do this every night as one last hurrah (or maybe to tire the girls out before bed :). Saturday we took a boat ride out into the archipelago to Mattias's family's country house. It was so cold on the sea! But Lina and Mattias brought us ski jackets and pants – we laughed at first but were so glad to have them in the end! It was beautiful scenery though, a very nice little trip. At one point we hit an underwater rock with the motor and then it wouldn't start for a bit – I was kind of nervous that we would be stuck there! It was fine in the end though, just a few minutes delay. I think Mattias might hear it from his dad though, as it was his boat. Sunday and Monday James and I spent walking around Stockholm seeing the sights, it is a beautiful city and James loved it (he had never been before). Saturday night we had a big fancy dinner with the girls from work and Lina and Mattias at a posh restaurant – apparently there was a famous Swedish footballer at the next table but only Lina and Mattias recognised him. It was sad to leave Stockholm but I can't wait to go back.
Early in May was also the big election in Britain, when the ruling Labour party lost to a coalition of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. I have heard it said that the most conservative politician in Britain is still not as conservative as the most liberal politician in the States, and I think it's got some truth behind it. This is a fairly socialist country after all. But I was pleased to see the Conservatives take power, at least they may be able to get the national budget under some sort of control. Everyone here was very excited about the election – didn't seem to have quite the hype of the American presidential election, but close. Especially when the conservative party didn't make a clean sweep with the votes and had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, everyone seemed to be on pins and needles to see what would happen. Lots of people in the office that day were following it live on the internet. I couldn't vote as I'm not a citizen, but it was fun to observe. Now that it's about 100 days after the election that I'm writing, it doesn't seem like the new government has done a great deal but hey. How much can you really expect? Politicians are the same the world over.
That weekend I went on a pub crawl with a bunch of people from work. It was a Monopoly pub crawl, so you try to hit every place on a monopoly board. I didn't realise it before then but there is a different board in Britain than the States. Most of the places are in London, so it's feasible to do in one day (if you start at 9 am like the rest of them did – James and I met up later). It would be difficult to do the American monopoly pub crawl, seeing as how most of the places are states. It would get expensive with the flights. Anyway I think there are 24 places on the board and we made it to about 20, drinking a half pint in each pub. It was fun but some of the people were on a mission and made it more about getting to all of the places than hanging out and seeing friends. I didn't think it was as fun as it could have been but hey. Was still good to see everyone.
In the middle of May James and I made our way down to his parents' house in Dorset to celebrate his dad's birthday. As it always is in the tiny village that they live in, it was a super relaxing, quiet weekend. Lots of delicious food and sleep. His dad got a bike just before his birthday, so most of the presents were cycling-themed – helmet, light reflecting gear, etc. After he opened them all he modeled everything for us – hilarious!
The Monday following our return to London from Dorset James and I went to a concert of a Canadian band called Wintersleep. It was in the upstairs bit of a pub near King's Cross, so a very small, intimate venue. The opening band was a bit weird but Wintersleep was amazing. They sing this song called Weighty Ghost – my favourite. I danced around like a hippy to that one – I stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the reserved Britons, who keep all signs of exuberance to calmly swaying back and forth or maybe bopping their heads.
That week also saw the last of my fashion classes, it was sad to end but a good experience. I'm not sure how much I really learned about fashion buying/retailing/merchandising, but it gave me a taste of something other than accounting, which is what I was after. I'd love to do a job in the field someday, even though it seems like a pretty competitive industry.
The weekend after my last class I went to the wedding of a friend from work. The wedding was held at Leeds Castle, this beautiful castle surrounded by a moat – very medieval. It's a fair way from London so the bride and groom had arranged for a coach to take all of their friends from London down to the wedding. Seems simple enough but our driver was such an idiot. When we finally made it to the castle he nearly smashed into the security guard's car, and ran over a few construction cones. Other than the special driver the evening was fantastic – we had only been invited to the “evening reception” (pretty much the C list of friends – we arrived after the wedding and the meal), but managed to dance the night away and it was kind of her to invite us at all seeing as how we're only work colleagues. When the sun had set, mist started to rise off the moat, and the castle looked like a fairy tale with the way the light shone through the mist. Of course every castle in Britain looks like a fairy tale to an American.
Later that week I tried Bikram yoga for the first time. This is the yoga where they heat the room to about 90 degrees, to aid in flexibility and the release of toxins from the body, or some such malarky. Even though I've been practicing yoga for years I had never tried this before, as I had the impression that people who practice Bikram are more competitive and arrogant that other yogis. I didn't notice any of this when I went, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience compared to other types of yoga, at least to me. The classroom was massive and very crowded – probably about 60 people in the room, no music, and hot (obviously) – there were huge fans on either side of the room that noisily blew hot air over everyone. The instructor wore a microphone – bc the room was so massive and the fans so noisy you would never hear them otherwise, and the routine that they led us through was regimented and we weren't given the chance to take the poses into more advanced variations, and from what the friends that I went with tell me, it's the exact same routine every time. Basically it felt like I was doing yoga in hell, bc of the heat, no music, and the instructor barking instructions at us. I haven't been back but am glad that I at least gave it a go. I'm much happier with my small classes at normal temperatures, even if they don't always play music.
That weekend James and I went to Blackpool to visit his best friend from school Russ and his wife Emma. Russ has been in prison for a few months due to a car accident that he was in in which the other driver died. He is in a low security prison and is allowed home leave and town visits on some weekends – this one happened to be one when we could visit. Blackpool is a seaside town that used to be the big place to holiday in the 50s or so but is a very has-been town nowadays. There are still carnivals rides and cheesy attractions, but it all feels very seedy. It didn't help that the day we were there it rained almost continually, shocking for Britain I know. It was really good to see Russ and Emma though, they seem to be doing well in spite of the situation. As I write this in August, he doesn't have long until he gets out – next month I think.
In spite of the rain in Blackpool, one of the best parts of May was all the sunshine! The British spring is very rainy and gloomy, so the sunshine in May was such a welcome change. It sounds daft, but it really does make my spirits soar when the weather is nice. And in Britain you know you have to take advantage when it is nice – there are precious few days in the year that it is warm at all, compared to the sweltering heat and humidity that I am used to in the Midwestern American summers.
The very last day in May I went to another concert with James, this time an older American band called Sunny Day Real Estate was playing. They are an early 90s band who are sometimes credited with starting the emo genre of music, but they sound nothing like today's emo bands. They split up ages ago but got back together for this limited tour, and this was the first time they had played in Britain. I wasn't that fussed by them but James loves them so I went along. The show had been delayed by the flight disruption caused by the erupting volcano, so the original opening band wasn't able to play. All that was mentioned was a “special guest” would be playing in their place. The venue was the same place that we had gone for the Idlewild concert, so once again James and I got there fairly early since we were coming from work. We were in the back having a few sips of beer when the opening band came on, and we didn't really pay much attention. Then they started playing, and I realised it was Biffy Clyro, one of my favourite bands! They are apparently big fans of Sunny Day Real Estate, and had agreed to open this show as a favour. They didn't have their full band, but just played some acoustic versions of a few of their songs. It was amazing – Biffy Clyro are quite famous in Britain, it would be like having Coldplay open for a pretty no-name band. It was such a good surprise and the best part of the show for me, as well as a fantastic end to the month of May.
Heather xoxo
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment