Weekend Ahead

So tonight I am going to put on my dancing shoes and go on a night out for the first time since getting back from Holland. Essay deadlines + lack of funds + home improvement projects = hermit Gempop. As soon as I finish this I am going to rifle through my wardrobe and find something suitable to wear.

In other news, I have a training day tomorrow and the lovely Adrienne is flying in from Toronto once again which is very exciting. Also I am in the mood for some serious cooking and baking, so will be making everybody goodies from my favourite cookbook xx

In a Sense We're Exactly the Same

Tonight I will be dancing to all of these:







Like I used to in my bedroom in '97 xx

Hooray for Gingers

Last night I dyed my hair and it went bright red. I looked awful - pale and about five years older (shudder). So this morning I had to undertake a major rescue attempt on my poor ravaged locks. So I put on a beret and hotfooted it to the nearest chemist to see what I could do to make myself look less like a safety match. I decided that a light-mid ash brown would be the best option to counteract the brightness and it worked. Kind of. I now have hair that is the colour of merlot, and although it is still too dark for my tragically pale skin tone, I am starting to get used to it (despite the fact that Mike greeted me with "Hello Goth - not letting that one slide).

Went for some little drinks at the Union with Sam, Mike, Jen Ven and her friend Louise and then for a yummy and cheap dinner at The Thailand in New Cross before braving the baltic bus journey back home. Jen is going to Borneo and not only am I super jealous, I'm going to miss her LOADS xx

Centre of....what??

So today was a struggle. My shiny new blackberry decided to play a little trick on me and disable its alarm, which made me sleep in until 9.15. This is unfortunately the time that I have to leave to be in time for a ten o'clock lecture as the bus service from East Dulwich to New Cross is not that great (TFL - take note: There are indeed Goldsmiths students living in SE22. And not just me - I met three third years who live on Lordship Lane). So I missed my Africa lecture and instead decided to accompany Ollie to the emergency room at Moorfields Eye Hospital. So it may sound a little ridiculous, but we stopped in Pret in Finsbury Square for a little spot of lunch on the way (the eye emergency is not a real 'emergency' etc) because we skipped breakfast and also because Ollie injured himself skateboarding with John Allen at the weekend and cannot far/fast enough.

Emergency rooms are all full of crazies. Groups of people sat on those little plastic chairs which are wayyyy too close together complaining about everything from the waiting time to the lack of Diet Coke in the vending machine. It all smells of generic cleaning fluid and piss. After a spending a little while there trying to read my book whilst ignoring the guy opposite me who was shouting across the room at his wife despite the fact that she was deaf, I had to leave my broken boy there to get home in time to receive some deliveries. He arrived back a few hours later feeling he had completely wasted his afternoon. I put the kettle on.

Also today I discovered from reading The Londonist website, that the actual geographical centre of London is close to Lambeth North Underground Station, which is a mere 4.6 miles from my flat. Closer than when I lived in Hampstead, Golders Green and Forest Hill. The only more 'central' flat I lived in was when I was so central I could practically smell the tulips in Russell Square. I suddenly feel as though I am not so much in the periphery as I originally thought xx

Painty-Paint

My apologies for not writing a single thing last week - sadly the essays I had to do momentarily took over my life. Unless it was regarding psychiatry in colonial Africa, the boundaries of the human in medieval literature or the Indian resistance movement - I was not giving it the time of day. The last essay was completed on Thursday and I am now a happy girl once again. I even gave myself a little day off on Friday as a reward for all of my hard work. I spent the majority of the day in my pyjamas watching lovely films and eating ice cream. It is a great source of annoyance that all of my days cannot be spent like this, although I would eventually get bored with it. Anyway, my first me-day of the year was a good one.

Ollie and I spent the majority of the weekend undertaking tasks relating to our flat. We have decided that it is indeed time to step up our game and dive into some serious home improvement projects. I am one of those people who can gladly spend all day looking at paint charts and fabric samples. Reading the Habitat catalogue is my idea of fun. However, the difference between playing interior designer and playing full-on painter and decorator are very different, as I have learned today. Spending five hours applying (beautiful) olive paint to my living room wall has left me with a bad back and paint-encrusted hair and nails it took a VERY long shower to remove. However, it will all be worth it soon when we can have a complete overhaul of every wall. After all, there is nothing more depressing than magnolia.

Have just read this and realised that I need some drunken debauchery quite soon to balance out all of my domesticated tasks.

Aside from this, we had a lovely Saturday lunch at The Plough in East Dulwich (love that place) with the Harcourt-Smiths and spent much of the afternoon playing with adorable little Anna. Have also been reading The Motorcycle Diaries, which I cannot seem to put down xx

What is in My Purse?

Debit Card, very old and scratched.

Oyster Card, very shiny and new as Ollie broke the last one when I lent it to him.

Loads of little Eindhoven bus tickets from when we stayed there over new year.


A train ticket from Eindhoven to Amsterdam.


A tube ticket from Heathrow dated Boxing Day when I met my Dad from the airport.

A piece of letterhead paper from the Millennium Hotel in Jakarta with my uncle and aunt's email addresses written on in blue pen.

A train ticket from Farringdon to Peckham Rye on my last day at UKSIF.

Several other train tickets for New Cross Gate, Old Street, East Dulwich, Peckham Rye and Farringdon.

A very old and frayed provisional license I got in May 2002. Still can't drive.

A key-card for the Premier Inn in Bristol.

My credit card.

A business card for Panther Cars in East Dulwich.

My Goldsmiths student ID. I look totally fucked off in the photo.

Boots Advantage Card.

Aeroplan Airmiles Card.

A receipt for a skinny latte from Costa Coffee in New Oxford Street.

A receipt for a very expensive and sub-par lunch I had in Calais.

A receipt for drinks at the Old Thameside Inn with Sam and Brock on a VERY cold day in December.

Two Sainsburys receipts - one for cigarettes and one for organic houmous. Now I am only permitted to be addicted to one of those.

65 pence.

And lastly, a very special Angkor Pass from my trip to Cambodia. To remind me that with not smoking I will have more money to travel.

Not OK to Hunt the Fox

OK, so I know I had a little rant about fox hunting a little while ago, but I'm going to do it again. There is something seriously wrong with people who hunt innocent animals FOR FUN. OK, so I know that foxes are pests and need to be dealt with, but I really object to a bunch of red-coated toffs jollying around the countryside cheering when they've terrified and torn to shreds a sentient being.

If you feel strongly about this issue PLEASE look at the stance of the different political parties before voting at the next general election. It is strongly rumoured that the Conservatives will seek to support the Countryside Alliance and overturn the ban on fox hunting. This is terrifying. More info to follow on this once I have found something concrete xx

Where I Belong

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed this week of being at home - of course I've bitched about it relentlessly, but actually it's been wonderful. For the first time since I moved in I have actually had some time to enjoy my flat and to give it a bit of love and attention. Last night Matt, Viv and Victoria all came over for dinner after a long day of moving Matt's stuff into the new flat, and after they left Ollie and I sat in the middle of our living room floor and made plans to create the most amazing living room where all of our friends could come, hang out, eat, drink and be happy. If what they say on the news is true and we are moving into a colder world, I am going to make sure that all the time I will be spending indoors is going to be lovely xx

Cabin Fever is Beginning to Set In

OK, so this has officially been the most uneventful week ever. I have tried really really hard not to procrastinate today, but alas there were distractions from my work. This afternoon I trekked all the way across the street to look at Matt and Adrienne's new flat. It was very, very empty. No furniture at all and, more importantly, no Adrienne as she is still in Canada. However, it's a great place and just across the road from ours so we have a couple of new Dulwich neighbours.

Seeing somebody else's new home has spurred me on a little to make a couple of little purchases to brighten up my own. At present we are still awaiting the HUGE corner couch from Habitat (which is going to be a wonderful setting for the many League of Gentlemen marathons I plan on having with my travel chums) so I might do a little online shopping for some lampshades and cushions. Interior design, by the way, is not the new rock'n'roll, it's just that I have been deprived of a social life this week and am becoming somewhat domesticated. Next week I will get drunk on Moscow Mules and fall off my heels, just to create some balance.

In other news: Ollie is playing a gig in Kings Cross tonight which I am sadly missing due to my essay-shaped ball and chain, I have now been one week without smoking and I skidded on the ice on Barry Road a grand total of 7 times today. Hooray xx

Procrastinating #642

Oh dear

I am supposed to be working on three essays but there are so many distractions. Tomorrow I really have to knuckle down and eradicate the following from my consciousness: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, cookery books, my new Ministry of Sound Electric 80s CD, the fridge, Dulwich Mum blog, travel guides about the Transsiberian Railway and Vogue. At least for tomorrow.

Last year when I was supposed to be revising for my exams I went on a total baking frenzy and spent hours making some hideously complicated but absolutely delicious cupcakes and have been known even to resort to hardcore cleaning in order to avoid work. Perhaps I should make it a news year's resolution - STOP PROCRASTINATING!! xx

A Minute to Myself

I hope you'll forgive me, but I'm not going to go into detail about my christmas period. I've written it and deleted it about five times now and wayyy too much happened for me to put it into words. Besides, I don't think words could do it justice. One day. Just not now.

(I've given up smoking and my patience is low)

London is a very beautiful and snowy place at the moment and I am currently in a 'love' phase with it once again despite the fact that I have no footwear entirely suitable for navigating its icy paths (need some spikes or snow boots or something). We had to wait a bit longer than the rest of the country for the snow to arrive, and I spent lots of time on Facebook and Twitter last night enjoying everybody's updates but looking wistfully out of the window at a very dry garden. However, at about 11.30pm the snowflakes began to fall and when I woke up this morning there was a beautiful blanket of snow in the car park and garden outside my window, untouched except for a few fox trails.

I actually made it into central London today as I just had to go to SOAS and do some work on my Africa essay. Sam and I managed to put in about three hours of work until we got distracted by the increasingly heavy snowfall and gathered up our hats, scarves and gloves excitedly yelling "SNOW!!" Much to the disgust of some particularly grumpy students on the bank of desks opposite. We went out into Russell Square and walked (skidded) all the way to Covent Garden. Then we stopped to get the best type of fuel for a snow day - Crussh soup.

And I found £20 on the pavement. Result.

I love the way that snow days bring out everybody's sense of fun. OK, buses terminate miles from your house and it's bitingly cold and the pavements are slippy, but who can resist picking up a little snowball and throwing it at a neighbour or helping the local kids with their snowman? My bus kicked me off at Peckham Rye this evening and I walked all the way back to East Dulwich having conversations with people along the way. Would this happen on a normal bog-standard grey London day?

Some Time to Reflect

I have decided that today is my 'free day' - a day where I will not consider work or essays but sort out all of the little jobs in my house that I have been intending to do since about mid-November. Therefore I have also resolved to delay the writing of my blog until tomorrow. However, I have decided to compile a little photographic round-up of 2009 to get myself all nice and nostalgic. Enjoy xx


Seeing in 2009 at Ivans Retreat, Brixton with Claire, Ollie and Will - January 2009


Mette, Jessie, Beatrice, Nic and Myself at Vincent Kane's Show at 93 Feet East, Brick Lane - February 2009


Myself and Jade on a very drunken night at Ye Olde Axe, Hackney - February 2009


My favourite neighbour Samantha Freds and myself enjoying the snow (skive) day in the Horniman Gardens, Forest Hill - February 2009


Celebrating Laura's Birthday in Brockley - January 2009


In Pompeii - April 2009


Recreating an old picture outside of the Colosseum in Rome - April 2009


Hannah, Jade, Cas, Laura, Laura and Myself outside of the Reichstag in Berlin - April 2009


Sam and I on the day we skived our lecture and had a renegade picnic in the courtyard of Chesterman Halls in New Cross - March 2009


One of the Foxberry Road House Parties - March 2009


At the Temple of Literature in Hanoi - June 2009


My BFI Leaving Drinks in Fitzrovia - May 2009


Ollie's Birthday BBQ at our old flat in Forest Hill - June 2009


Beatrice, Sam, Nic, Mette and Myself at Sam's Birthday Party in New Cross - May 2009


In Sorrento - April 2009


Sam and I at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia - June 2009


Brock and I in a tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh, Cambodia - June 2009


In Saigon - June 2009


In Hoi An - June 2009


Jen, Nic, Sam and I in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam - June 2009


Serena, Jen and I at an outdoor screening of Slumdog Millionaire in Peckham Rye - September 2009


Sam, Mette, Myself and Laura at the wedding of Nic and Tom, Tunbridge Wells - August 2009


Ollie and I with the Bride and Groom at the wedding of Ryan and Caroline, Romsey, Hampshire - July 2009


With Rowena at the wedding of Sarah-Jane and Chris on the Southbank - July 2009


In Bangkok - July 2009


Our mis-matched Halloween in New Cross - October 2009


At the engagement party of Simon and Natalie in Bristol - November 2009


Flash Fiktion gig at the Brixton Windmill - November 2009


With Sam and Laura at I Love the 90s in Islington - October 2009


Arsie's Visit to London - September 2009


In Amsterdam - December 2009


Ollie, Myself and Sam in Bruges - December 2009


Brock's Visit to London - November 2009


David Bowie Night at Feeling Gloomy, Islington - December 2009


In Paris for my 26th Birthday - November 2009


And finally... where 2009 ended - in the hot-tub at Mike's parents' house in Eindhoven, Holland - December 2009