Living in London

A few weeks ago, during the early hours of dawn, we heard the tinkling of glass bottles and the quiet whisper of an electric vehicle winding up our street. Upon investigation we learned that there is a milkman who makes home deliveries.

Last week, I returned home late on Thursday evening from my usual week in the northwest. The next morning, as I stirred from slumber at about ten before 6:00, my first thought was that we had no milk for cereal or cream for coffee. As if on cue, I heard the quiet electric open-sided truck pull up in front of the flat. I jumped up, threw on my robe, and ran down the stairs to meet Joe, the neighbourhood milkman. He sold me two pints of semi-skimmed, and signed us up for regular delivery every Friday morning.

Not only do the doctors in England make house calls, but it is delightful to have Joe bring us milk and cream every week.

-HrH

It is a rainy day in London and what a great day to catch up on a bit of reading, take a nap, and watch a DVD. A refreshing break from the long days and travel away from home during the week.

London gets about 23 inches of rainfall annually. This is only slightly higher than the 20 inches of annual rainfall for San Francisco. The difference is that San Francisco gets all its rain in the few months of winter and London spreads it gently throughout the entire year. It is very common to get a short rain shower during the day that gives way to sunshine a few hours later. This means that we rarely leave home without a brolly but find ourselves not needing it most of the time. We are generally indoors people (no golfing and our hiking is limited to a few hours in the heath) and find ourselves outside between showers most of the time. Only once did I get caught in a downpour and if I had have waited 10 minutes longer I could have walked home in sunshine.

Has it been mere luck that we evade the rain showers, or have we acclimated as Londoners and the rain doesn't phase us any more?

We went to the film cinema last night for the first time since we arrived in London a year ago … and what a posh cinema it was!  Sitting on comfortable couches instead of cramped theatre seats made it feel as though we were lounging in our own living room with one heck of a big-screen TV

Everyman Theatre is right in our neighbourhood and we have walked by a number of times, commenting on how we need to get out more (no snide comments please). The theatre first opened in 1933 and has a long and interesting history as an independent venue. For more images, check out the photos at the bottom of this website!

By the way, we saw Batman Begins and, well, we highly recommend The Station Agent.

We love to sleep with the windows open, and enjoy the cool night air. Last night was a great sleeping night until I woke up about 3:00 am to the smell of acrid smoke. I jumped up and checked the hallway to determine that our building was not on fire. Then I stuck my head out the window (American readers note there are no window screens here – the few bugs that exist just fly in and then fly out again) and I could see a heavy haze in the air. Then I noticed other people moving to their windows and in a few cases, out their doors into the street. The lady across the street called up to me to compare “sniffing” notes, and the said she would call the fire brigade. They told her there was a big fire miles away, and that the wind had shifted and was blowing the smoke into our neighbourhood. We would have all breathed a big sigh of relief if we could have taken a deep enough breath.  

I went back to bed feeling very good about our new neighbours. This morning it’s a beautiful sunny and clear day again, but my thoughts go out to those in the immediate vicinity of the fire. I hope they can get a breath soon.

The London Fire Brigade offers this brief update on the incident.

Around 100 firefighters and twenty fire engines are currently tackling a blaze at a timber yard on Staples Corner in Cricklewood. People working in the surrounding area have been evacuated while crews work to bring the fire under control. Local roads and rail services have also been affected.

The Brigade was called at 1331 (16-July) and crews are still at the scene.

Life goes on, but it’s always different afterwards. And today is no different for us. We have errands to do (need to buy a dishwasher, take the drycleaning, take the cardboard to the recycling centre) and a life to live.

And we do it — but with a bit of something hanging in the back of our minds.

The beauty of the British is that their response has been so different than the U.S. after September 11th.  There are no flags draped on every car, no (or not many) people looking for immediate retribution, no hysteria. Just quiet determination and stoicism. It makes me realize how much we really do like the culture here, in spite of all our frustrations documented on this web site over the last year.

 

We are fine. Details to follow.

Like the New York Times says, London is stunned, bloody and stoic.

A commenter on Diamond Geezer says it all: 

a two fingered salute to anyone who tries to change the way i lead my life. whoever did this will never put us down. they will never win. that is why we are londoners. and yep, tomorrow i'll be back on the top deck of the 15.

Check the BBC and the Financial Times for further coverage of the events.

Click for larger image

Last Sunday we went for our first walk in our new park … Hampstead Heath.  It’s very different from Kensington Gardens which is one of the “Royal Parks” and very manicured.  Hampstead Heath feels more wild and restful (meaning: farther away from the buzz of the city) and we liked it very much.  It’s 791 acres and situated about four miles from the centre of London, which you can see from the top of Parliament Hill. 

There are these really neat swimming ponds, one just for women, one just for men, and one for “mixed.”  It’s a romantic idea isn’t it, swimming around the pond in summer?  (meaning: not for me, not in this lifetime) 

There’s also a big concert shell at the top of the heath that looks like an interesting possibility.

Click for slide show

There’s a spectacular sculpture in one of the meadows for the next few months.  It’s called “The Writer” and here’s a couple of photos:

Visit this site for a great tour of the heath.