the man himself, Eric Clapton

Last Wednesday night, Panu and I headed to the Royal Albert Hall to experience the man himself, Eric Clapton, in concert. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect because I’m usually very easily impressed by big sets, big costumes and tacky pyrotechnics and here I was thinking, what’s this guy gonna do with a guitar?

Well, well, well. He put me right back in my box. There is a reason why this guy is in his 60’s and still a certified rock star, the least of which is his out-of-this-world ability to jam that guitar (both acoustic and electric) like he has eight tentacles on each finger... which is all self-taught, by the way. And his voice: sexy and gravelly, dark chocolate smooth, effortless, mesmerising and tantalising. I would be totally turned on if he wasn’t so old.. cos that’s just kinda wrong.

He played all the classics – Layla, I Shot the Sheriff, Wonderful Tonight... but what actually topped my night was his soulful rendition of Somewhere over the Rainbow, which left me a little weepy, though I don’t really know why... it was just brilliant.

Incidentally his band is also just a little bit jaw droppingly phenomenal. These guys could all be superstars in their own right.

a few more piccies here.

2.5 years

This coming weekend, Panu and I will have been going out 2.5 years. that's 30 months! i know this is barely a toddler of a relationship in some of your worlds, but for me, this is a record. i wouldn't exactly call myself a commitment phobe, but it appears that i have a tendency to freak out in perfectly good and normal relationships just after the two year mark (if i actually get that far) and more or less make a run for it.

I know some close friends were holding their breath when Panu and I hit two years... and watched closely for any signs of a complete meltdown for a month thereafter. But 6 months on, I think we're fairly safe. He still makes my heart skip a beat, and nothing, seriously nothing, speaks to my soul like a hug from him.

I'm going to sound like I'm preaching here, but there are two relationship myths that i think are true. One is that yes, you do need a few duds to appreciate what's good. and two? you absolutely need to find yourself, before you can find your other.

I'd been in a number of relationships before stumbling upon this one. And no matter how much I feel like I want to erase some memories, I eventually learnt that actually, those memories are what makes me me. Painful as some may be, the spectrum of experiences I've had has shaped who I am today, how I empathise with others, and more importantly helped me learn my own strengths and fragilities. I dont have to imagine how it feels; i know how it feels to fall in love, to fall out of love, to break the heart of someone who loves me, to have my own heart broken by someone i love, to rebound selfishly, to learn to live on my own, and to learn to love being me.

And the path to these lessons, while excruciating at times, i would not trade for anything else in this world. So after all of that, in 2006, Panu and I got together in the most scandalous of ways ~ hooking up at a work conference. *Hah*. It had to be done. And to say i haven't looked back since would be a lie.

The year I spent soul searching and learning to really love being myself was the best year I've ever had, and I will tell that to anyone who'll listen. I had my bachelorette pad in Newtown, Sydney, i was working hard and playing harder and really couldn't give a flying f*** what anyone else thought. It was a hard year to give up, and when Panu and I got together, I really wasn't ready to let it go. For the first few months, it did cross my mind to break it off and go back into the wonderland which i had created, but wow am I glad I didn't.

I can't even put it into words, but I am happy where I am. I'm not a romantic, nor am i an idealist, and I don't say "I love you" often enough, if at all. But as my boss (who is my friend and knows me better than a lot of other people) so insightfully put it: "well, you're living in London aren't you? If you didn't love him, I guarantee you wouldn't be here." Actually, it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

So for now, at 2.5 years, I'm cruising along. I'm in no rush to get to the altar, although I'm so clucky I may as well be a chicken. But we'll see, time will tell many stories... and even I'm interested to see how they pan out.

the lion king

on sunday afternoon, i took panu to The Lion King musical @ Lyceum Theatre. It was my third time, and you know what, it truly does get better and better every time.

Panu was never that interested in the show... I'd ask if he wanted to go and he'd umm and ahh enough that i'd get distracted and forget that i'd asked. anyway, eventually i just bought two tickets, awesome row F, and we went. Brilliant decision.

eastery weekend

it's Sunday morning and i've just painted my nails. Painstaking french tips which look all right from afar, but ridiculously amateur close up. so don't look too closely. in an effort to not bodge my creation, i've resigned myself to be infront of the netbook for the next hour, so what better time to blog about the easter weekend than now.

Easter fell on the weekend four days after my long sojourn to Australia. We didn't plan any grande trips away just in case i didn't return in time (work and visa dictated). When I did find out i would be back before the long weekend, it was probably too late to book anything overseas (or too expensive, either way!) so we chose to stay in England and do some local sight seeing.

On Friday we joined a day tour group and headed to Leeds Castle, followed by the very small town of Rochester.

Leeds Castle I loved. It was peaceful, well kept and unbelievably beautiful. Rochester on the other hand, i thought was the tiniest and most boring town I have ever ever been to.

We were only given about 2 hours to wander around Leeds Castle, which is just not enough time. The castle aside (which isn't massive and takes maybe 30 minutes to wander through), the grounds cover something like 500 acres, including beautiful waterways, a duckery filled with peacocks and other more interesting feathery things than just ducks, restaurants, a hedge maze, amazing flowers and sprawling green grass for one and all to laze and picnic on. My recommendation to anyone thinking about going is to allocate a whole day there, it really is worth it.



















After Leeds Castle we piled back onto the tour bus for a short ride to Rochester. Rochester is only famous for the fact that Charles Dickens lived there, and referred to several locations in the town in his various books. Our tour guide had said that Rochester is a very small town so don't worry, you won't get lost. Boy was he not joking about that. The high street of Rochester is, and I am not exaggerating at all, one street, spanning maybe four blocks. Along this street there are pubs. and second hand stores. and a candy store. I shit you not, this is the entirety of Rochester. Oh yeh there is a castle (as with almost every town in England) and a cathedral, but they too were just on the high street, within the four blocks. Yawn. So bored we were that we headed back to the meeting point almost an hour early and sipped on some bad coffee while we waited.....











On Saturday, Panu and I went renegade on our own and headed to Brighton - a beach town on the south coast of England. Pity the weather was dreary, because Brighton I also loved, and can see the amazing potential of this place on a warm sunny day.

Brighton was more than I expected it to be. It was buzzing with life, much larger than I thought it would be (especially after being to Rochester), and totally groovy. There's an area appropriately named The Lanes, which are intertwining little streets, some closed off to traffic. The shops are eclectic, the people even more so and the cafe culture is oozing from every pore. Reminded me too much of my beloved Newtown. We spent the night in Brighton, at a plush hotel known simply as The Grand. Loved every minute of it.





















The only thing I didn't get about Brighton? Pebbly beaches! You can't even walk properly on it.. how. do. you. sunbake?

As usual, the rest of the photos from the weekend can be found here.

our new home

two weeks ago, panu and i moved into our new place, our second flat in ye olde Londontown. the days leading up to the move were possibly the most infuriating of the days in my little life, and i did vaguely make reference to this. However, like all kinds of pains, time healed the wounds.

Having said that, 'twas lucky we are alive to enjoy the healing process. The morning of the move, we were greeted by our removalist, a cranky South African fella who was rather non-chalant about his drinking the previous night. Actually, slash. Make that his drinking until 6am on the day he drove us, with all of our precious belongings, from our old place to the new place. To say he reeked of alcohol so much that I was a little tipsy from the fumes would be like casually mentioning that "oh that Brad Pitt guy? yeh, he's just ok looking." Lucky the new place is literally a 5 minute drive down the street.

So we arrived, cleaned, unpacked and settled. The place is great, but not without the usual hiccups. The oven wasn't working, nor was the garbage disposal, and the tv antenna points still aren't. I've missed weeks of 90210 and Janice Dickson's Modelling Agency, god knows how ill-informed I must be now.

But all in all it's been a god-send. The recession has resulted in rental prices dropping significantly and we are renting this place for effectively £10 less a week. What a steal, considering the old place was a shoebox of a mold-infested hole, including Freddie Kruger living in the garage basement, free of charge. It was creepy.

Anyway, having been nagged for photos by the usual suspects, here are a few to squiz at. Don't be alarmed, you folk who live in gloriously big houses with expanse space and gardens. This is still a shoebox yes, but it's all we can afford living in the middle of Londontown.

winter wonderland

On Sunday night, it started snowing here in London, tiny little snowflakes which, based on my experience of ‘snow’ in London, would melt into muddy puddles on the sidewalk. I wasn’t particularly excited, just a little bit cold.

But on Monday morning, we woke up to a rather pleasant surprise. Overnight, the snowfall had been so heavy that by morning, London was covered in snow, 6 inches at least and up to 12 inches in some parts. The ground was white and fluffy, and a continuous stream of fluff kept falling from the sky. It was absolutely surreal, and incredible and beautiful. But there was one downside, if you could even call it that. Due to the “adverse weather conditions”, buses were cancelled, tubes were partially if not completely suspended, and as such, no one could get anywhere. Schools were cancelled, work was cancelled to some degree, and it was a free-for-all day, gratuitous time for us to play in the snow!

And play I did. London was an absolutely ball of fun that day, and this is the first time I have uttered such words about London without sarcasm oozing from my pores. I put on my snow uggs and my hideous but oh-so-warm goose down puffy jacket and off I went. I trudged through the 8-inch deep snow, played with some of the local kids and took a few happy snaps.


Panu, who unfortunately still had to work that day, got home around 5pm and I forced him to pleeease let’s go back outside so we can build a snowman! Dusk was upon us and we had about 3 minutes to build a snowman, so he turned out rather munted, but hey, we still did it.











Best day I’ve had in London yet!

More snow pics here.

venting

the incompetence level of the service industry in london is astounding. they should receive a prize, really they should. because how it is that every single facet of the service industry, from utilities to telcos to deliveries, can reduce me to tears of frustration, i dont know. I really dont.

my potty mouth is off the scale today. sorry to the people who sit around me.

last weekend...

... was brilliant. you know those illusive weekends, where you have a big(ish) Friday night... and on Saturday it feels like a Sunday, but it's only Saturday?!?! Yeh, I had one of those. Rare as gold, and definitely more precious!

Friday night was the annual C Hoares & Co "supper party", hosted by Panu's employers and held at the lavish Royal Courts of Justice. The venue was so impressive I'd commit a crime to be tried there. Not too nasty though, or you get sent to the Old Bailey, not nearly as pretty. Recovered from my flu bug but nursing crazy sore legs from boxing, I still put on my new high high heels (there is no beauty without pain, ok) and headed out for a part-ay!

we drank and mingled and made some new friends... by the end of the night my feet were killing me, and it was all I could do to not take my shoes off when the cab dropped us two blocks from home. don't worry, i kept my shoes on. i always keep my shoes on. all class *wink*

Saturday saw the arrival of Grace! A friend from Sydney, here to live and a new play buddy for moi *grin* we ate pizza and hung out, until nap time came tapping on my shoulder...

Fresh from my nap, Panu and I headed out to meet Shawn, Wei-Lin and Barry for dinner at a new restaurant Shawn found ~ and I'm convinced he only wanted to go for the sheer novelty factor of being able to play Battleships on your dining table! No joke, with interactive menus, ordering, chef-cam and games (yes, including Battleships), who wouldn't want to go?





















I highly recommend Inamo. Novelty aside, the system is brilliant - and the food is amazing. Supposedly headed up by an ex-Nobu trained chef, the food is strikingly similar. I ordered the Black Cod for my main, and honestly? could not tell the difference.










Black cod ala Inamo, and Black cod ala Nobu...

The bill also comes back a little lighter, and with a funky bar downstairs for pre & post dinner drinks, what else could you want?

Sunday was a lazy day. Hell it felt like I was given a free day! Panu and I bummed around the west end, and oh yes, right after having a banana & nutella crepe for lunch, I got another nap in!

a few more pics here...

chill'axin weekend

Following a horrific week at work (don't ask), i was due for a weekend of relaxation... and i sure got one!

Saturday was a warm (and humid) day in London... I met May Ching at Southbank in Waterloo for a delicious lunch (thanks!) at Giraffe ~ three-courses of yumminess ~ sambal edamame (sounds weird, tastes superb!), chicken/prawn/mango/walnut salad, finished off with belgian waffles with bananas & ice cream. I am spoilt!

After lunch we went to relax under the shade of the London Eye, which ofcourse, moves - duh. So instead, we found us a stationary tree, whose shade was inhabited by about half of the people in Southbank, but we found a little spot and made ourselves comfy. It was great fun relaxing and playing with the little monkey, Keira... until she got restless and agitated, which duely indicated home time for them.











I made my way to Piccadilly circus where I met Mel C for some Movenpick ice cream (is it a wonder I have serious muffin-top in tight jeans??), a fruit smoothie and some retail therapy at Topshop - last week Mel found a new indy brand called pa:nuu (how cute is that?) and thought I, of all people, should really own a pa:nuu t-shirt *grin* and now i do!

Panu (the guy, not the t-shirt) was working on Saturday night, so I spent the evening curled up with take-out pad thai, watching PS: I Love You. And ok guys, Gerard Butler? Forget Aaron whats-his-name. Gerard Butler is to. die. for. The movie made me all weepy and warm, and i know it must have seriously screwed with my mind cos after watching it, I stayed up til 2am waiting for Panu to get home *awwww*

Back to being spoilt, after working a ridiculous 19 hours yesterday, today Panu decided to take me to Harrods for sushi lunch, something I had always wanted to do, but normally persuaded by my rational mind to not spend that amount of money on sushi.











I think it goes without saying that the food was phenomenal, and the price even more so. Loved it, but my rational mind has kicked in again.

To top off my weekend, I bought some macaroons from Laduree in Harrods, and I had me a little nap this afternoon... happy me.

summertime in londontown!

for one day, it was almost summer in london. saturday saw the sun shining and the thermometer hitting a record 22 degrees. londoners fled to the outdoors in droves and every inch of footpath, street and even grass was heaving with "flipflop" (sorry, can't say thong here) wearing pasty-white folk.

we spent the afternoon chilling in Soho Square just down the road... it felt less like a park and more like a music festival with eclectic groups of people hanging out, laughing, eating, sleeping... just having a good time. when i closed my eyes i could almost almost imagine i was back home at the beach.

it was lovely and all but i think it made me more homesick.

a delight to the senses

this morning Panu suggested we go check out Camden Lock Markets. i was still half asleep and thus muttered something about "cold" and "sleep in" and kindly asked him to "give me a valium i'm going back to bed"... but alas, the evil part of me, the part which resembles an over-excited puppy yapping at your ankles, won the battle yet again and off we went, booted, scarved and hatted.

and am i glad we did!

Camden Lock Markets (note, not to be confused with the regular Camden markets located down the road) turned out to be a labyrinth of amazing colours, textures, sounds, smells - every imaginable everything to tantalize the senses. I could have wandered through the intertwining alleys all day (and i shall return to do just that), finding new and hidden rooms just when you think you've explored the whole market. Truly a hidden gem.