Hobbing and nobbing in London.

I just spent a fab long weekend with my friend Summer in London.  Fab.  We planned to go to the Victoria and Albert museum.  We did not go.  We planned to go to the Tate Modern.  We did not go.  We planned to go to Kew Gardens.  We did not go.  We did absolutely nothing cultural.  And it was great.  We did do a lot of eating, shopping, and chatting.  Which, I guess are parts of London culture anyway.

On Friday, after meeting Summer at her interior design class (and seeing her awesome design presentation), we went for dinner at the uber exclusive Shoreditch House with the folks from her course.  We only got in because one of the women in Summer’s class is a member and married to a famous musician who shall remain unnamed.  Pretty cool.  Now, exclusivity doesn’t normally impress me, but I have to admit, the food and the atmosphere were pretty great.  Unfortunately photos were forbidden (out of respect for the wives of musicians who just want a night out with no paparazzi? Possibly.), but I managed to take these in the ladies’ washroom.  Yes, more toilet photos.  Pity me.

Moving swiftly on, on Saturday, Summer and I went along to Islington to do some mooching.  We stopped for lunch.  I spotted Emma Watson walking by with some shopping bags while we ate.  I opened the window and yelled out, “HEY, EMMA?… EMMA!  ALTHOUGH THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS AND MOVIES DON’T INTEREST ME PERSONALLY, I AM PLEASED FOR YOUR SUCCESS AND WISH YOU ALL THE BEST WITH YOUR CAREER! AND BY THE WAY, THE COFFEE IN HERE IS NOT BAD BUT SUMMER SAYS THE DESIGN SCHEME IS TOO BUSY!”  I’m not sure she heard me.

Summer and I then did a bit of shopping ourselves.  Many of the stores in this part of town were well outside my budget, but – joy of joys!! – there were FANTASTIC charity shops to peruse!  Charity shops, full of cheap second hand treasures sold to raise money for various causes, are one of the things I really miss about living in the UK.  Canada and The Netherlands are hugely disappointing in the paying-for-other-people’s-sh*t department.  At the Islington Salvation Army I found THIS AMAZING LEATHER JACKET FOR ONLY 20 POUNDS!:

I’m so happy with this jacket.  I’ve been looking for one for ages but good LORDY they are expensive.  And when I grow up I want to be the Fonz.

I also bought two belts, a scarf, cashmere-lined black leather gloves, and a little black dress.  All for 17 quid.  A. Mazing.

On Sunday, Summer and I did a bit more schlepping and walked along Abbey Road.  Summer informed me that tourists trying to take pictures of themselves doing the Beatles’ crossing of Abbey Road are considered fair game by speeding motorists.  I decided not to push my luck and opted instead for slow death by atherosclerosis.  We stopped at the  The Clifton (just off Abbey Road) for fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.

That evening, Summer and I flexed our hairdressing muscles (and empty wallets) and gave each other haircuts.  Finding someone to cut curly hair well is almost as difficult as making it across Abbey Road alive. We both survived.  And I’m quite pleased with the results.

Thanks for a great weekend, Summer!  It was jolly good!