Francoise's Miscellany

Site Relocation!

2010-09-23T11:40:00.000+01:00

Francoise's Miscellany is moving and undergoing a few changes!

1. All of the site content, exclusive of Sunday Roasts, is now on the new site at http://francoisesmiscellany.wordpress.com/

2. The Quest for Sunday Roast thread now has its own site, Quest for a Sunday Roast

Why the change?
I've been meaning to let the Quest have its own site for a while, as it would make having multiple authors much easier, and my increasing frustration with layout configuration on my current template finally prompted me to move the site.
I'll leave this site up, but I won't be adding new content here.

The Gun, Docklands

2010-08-01T23:13:00.017+01:00

This Sunday, we headed East to Dockland's highly recommended, The Gun. This waterfront pub is located on a quiet and very cute little side street and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. It's also more in Vera and Roland's neighborhood than anyone else's.

Their Sunday Lunch menu is available online.

Joining us on the Quest today are Vera, Roland, Andy, Oscar, Darren, and Lev, who was having his Quest debut.

Dishes Ordered:

Starters:

Roast Cornish mackerel, green and yellow courgette,

confit balsamic tomato

(Shared: Vera & Roland)

Heritage tomato, shallot and Jersey Royal potato salad,

goat's cheese beignets

(Oscar)

Smoked duck, pork & white pudding terrine, fig chutney

and toasted sourdough

(Andy, Shared: Darren and Franc)

Half pint o’ prawns with mayonnaise

(Lev)

Entrees:

Fillet of sea trout, leek fondue, fresh peas and girolles

(Vera, Franc)

Roast belly of Kilvarock Farm pork, Yorkshire pudding,

roast potatoes, glazed carrots, green beans, homemade

apple purée and pork gravy

(Darren, Andy)

Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, fresh horseradish, roast

potatoes, honey glazed carrots, green beans and red wine gravy

(Oscar, Lev, Roland)

Desserts:

Marinated strawberries, truffle honey
and yoghurt ice cream

(Lev)

Dark and white chocolate terrine, cherry compôte

(Andy, Shared: Vera and Roland)

Meringue nest, passion fruit and mixed berries

(Franc, Shared: Oscar and Darren)

Cheese: (Shared: Darren and Oscar)

St Maure de Touraine, France(soft, goat’s milk, unpasteurised)
Gubbeen, Ireland (washed rind, semi-soft, cow’s milk, pasteurised)
Caerphilly Gorwydd, Lampeter, Wales (semi-hard, cow’s milk, unpasteurised)
Brezain, France (semi-soft, cow’s milk, unpasteurised)
Cashel Blue, Ireland (blue, cow’s milk, pasteurised)

Observations: (collective and individual)

We didn't make eye contact w. the locals.

The service was attentive (Franc)
The starter (salad) was okay, but it would have been better with warm potatoes. (Oscar)
The beef could have been a little more tender. I wish I had ordered the pork, it was awesome. (Oscar)
The pork was amazing, juicy and succulent. The Yorkshire pudding was bland and cardboardy. (Andy)
Roast Beef was very good, and the roast potatoes are (almost!) to die for. (Lev)
Struggled to choose a dessert, and the marinated strawberries I went for turned out to be surprisingly tasty and unusual.
Great place, convenient location (Roland)
Great place, inconvenient location (Nearly the rest of us)
The fish was quite nice and the roast beef was tender and delicious (Vera)
Nice atmosphere with a lovely terrace and Thames view (Lev)
The scoring makes this pub in a tie with our other highest rated pubs.

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)

Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: All Pubs visited including today's are noted with their scores in parentheses (see blog's sidebar map or enlarge this one for all pubs)

View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map

Bacchus Pub and Kitchen, Hoxton

2010-07-11T20:00:00.009+01:00

Bacchus Pub and Kitchen

After a few weeks off with a kitten and a trip to Asia, we picked up the Quest again at Hoxton's Bacchus. Darren found this place with the help of our good friend, Google.

Joining us on the Quest today are Oscar and Darren.

After walking in the London Heatwave, we were very happy to arrive at this venue and enjoy its gentle air conditioning. The Roasts looked great.

We quickly settled in and reviewed the menu.

Dishes Ordered:

Pan Fried Peapods with Garlic and Chili

Whole Butterflied Sea Bass with Herb Butter, Sauteed New Potatoes, Samphire Caper and Parsley Dressing

(Franc)

12 Hour Roasted Hereford Sirloin , Goose Fat Roast Potatoes, Broccoli, Yorkshire, Peas and Leeks, Stuffing and Gravy

(Oscar, Darren)

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Creme Anglaise

(Franc)

Apple and Summer Berry Crumble with Vanilla cream

(Darren)

Chocolate Fondant, Bitter Chocolate Ice Cream

(Oscar)

Observations: (collective and individual)

a quiet corner between tables

*Note: This was a bit of a lazy day- had we not liked this pub so much, we might not have bothered scoring.

The Staff was really enthusiastic about the food, and our waitress took very good care of us. (Franc)
The Starter was great, the dessert was great, the beef was a little stringier that I'd have liked (Oscar)
My first bite of beef nearly put me off (the stringy bit), but the rest of the meal made up for it. (Darren)
The fish was nicely seasoned and well filleted. (Franc)
The Sticky Toffee Pudding was a perfectly sized portion. (Franc)
The music was a bit loud, and our request that it be turned down a bit was graciously accommodated. (Darren)
They even found some Leffe for Oscar!
I got everything I asked for, delivered by cute waitresses! (Oscar)

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)

Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: All Pubs visited including today's are noted with their scores in parentheses (view larger or blog's sidebar map for all pubs)

View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map

HK&C: Engrish Roundup

2010-06-30T21:57:00.005+01:00

Because everyone loves Engrish... a few highlights (click to enlarge, if you wish)

It all started with Kiely's Saline:
"SHE: Shining Health Eyes"

Albright's Scooter - Hummer? or Hanma!

We have the rich commodity - in a Yongzhou supermarket

"Choiceness Raw Material Produced Meticulous"

Wheat Smell Breakfast!

At the Forbidden City, you must treat the AC with respect.

Visit the Geart Wall!

The Great Wall has many rules...

Safty Concerns galore at the Great Wall's Sliding Car

At the Lama Temple

The Fire Fighting Self Saving Breather in the hotel...

Using the breather... I Like #4


Taiwan's Bad Side Meat at the Forbidden City. (Translated it is "minced")

My personal favorite, the closeup is below...

Liquor... Gecko...SEABOURSE?!?

Wow.

A bit more clear...

HK&C: Day 11: Beijing: The Temple of Heaven and 798

2010-06-27T22:00:00.001+01:00

Temple of Heaven!

Our last full day in Beijing came so quickly!

We started the day off at The Temple of Heaven, where we ate more popsicles and saw not only the main attraction but the three temples and the circular mound.

Right about then is when the camera battery died. It figures that I carried 3 backup batteries for my dSLR for the whole trip and didn't have a single one for the point and shoot. It also figures that I decided not to carry the dSLR out of laziness. Oops.

We then headed to North Chaoyang to check out 798 and have some lunch. 798 is an art space, the first section of which was built inside a former factory space. Now the complex consists of many buildings housing galleries and restaurants, including a tasty Cantonese venue. We took a few pictures on Kiely's phone, and I'll post them someday when I have them.

The End-- Me: 80, Kiely: 99

We headed back to the hotel for a bit of a break after visiting 798, as Kiely was feeling a bit under the weather. In retrospect, we now think it was just the pollution finally getting to him. In general, we were a bit tired from so much sightseeing.

The Dinosaur is Inconsolable.

We rested and relaxed. We caved in and played Bust a Move, continuing the mighty battle started in Yongzhou.

Sadly, I lost. We probably would have played more, but the game stopped incrementing Kiely's won matches once he reached 99.

More sadly, we watched England lose to Germany before calling it a night. Even my Bust a Move Dinosaur cried... but that may have been due to my own 19 game loss.

HK&C: Day 10: Beijing: Towers, Temples, Tiananmen

2010-06-26T22:00:00.008+01:00

Kiely is the tallest person in this Hutong.

Today we had a decadent sleep in until nearly nine before kicking of another day in Dongcheng to visit the Bell Tower and Drum Tower plus the local Hutongs, which are neighborhoods of narrow alleys. These neighborhoods are less common, as many have been demolished to allow for new construction..

The Bell Tower

The Bell Tower and Drum Tower both functioned as timekeepers, and according to Wikipedia, these towers functioned as the official time piece of China and the Government until 1924, when the last emperor left the Forbidden City.

The Drums of the Drum Tower

Both towers include a steep set of stairs and nice, breezy views of the city. Neither tower's tourist information indicates how they actually got that 63 ton bell up there, but I'd be keen to know. It remains the largest ancient bell in China.

Part of the Lama Temple

After wrapping up, we decided to visit the Lama Temple, a few kilometers walk away. This former monastery is one of the most popular temples for worship in Beijing. The Temple grounds are large, and there are a number of different temples for different purposes. We picked up the Audio Guide, but found it not particularly helpful, as we didn't listen carefully at the beginning and ended up disoriented. I think we were just suffering from audio guide overdose. The Temple's Garden's were an excellent spot to relax and people watch.

After a quick lunch right near the Lama Temple, we headed back to our hotel as I had a massage scheduled. Woe is me.

Kiely at the Tianning Temple

All stretched out, we headed over to a temple near our hotel called the Tianning Temple, which Kiely had spotted from our window. This 12th century structure is completely solid, and has no stairwells inside. We learned that it is open only two days a month, based on the lunar calendar date. The date we visited was not one of those days.

Then we hopped in another taxi to head to Tiananmen Square.

Kiely's height was key in taking this

En route, we had yet another interesting taxi ride. We've seen a number of near accidents, but today's was by far the worst, in which we nearly struck a cyclist who was playing a bit of frogger across the ten lane highway. Despite being trapped in our lane, our driver did not brake until it was absolutely necessary- I had already worked through my entire catalog of expletives by the time he stopped.

We arrived at Tiananmen Square in time to see the lowering of the flag. This is of interest because of the ceremony, which happens daily at sunset, is timed such that the flag is carried under Tiananmen gate at the same time the sun sets.

Video Art!

There was also an interesting video art installation, but no explanation as to what was for or for how long it would be set up.
The square was full of people, many of whom didn't seem to be tourists, as they lacked cameras and other easy indicators of tourism. It seems many Chinese travel in tour groups exclusively, so perhaps these were locals enjoying the weather... under lots of surveillance.

From Tiannamen, we went in search of the temple or museum we could not find and ultimately hopped in anther taxi to head to Gui Jie's (Ghost Street's) Hua Jia Yi Yuan for dinner.

Yet another delicious duck on Gui Jie

We found this venue in our guidebook, and we really enjoyed the food, opting for more Beijing Duck, a cabbage dish, and these meat rolls. Throughout the trip, the dish was referred to as Beijing Duck, but googling around, it is still often referred to as Peking duck. I don't know if it matters which name you use- if you know, please comment and tell me.

We are a monster truck.

Duck #2

Our next stop was the Donghuamen Night Market. The few kilometers walk was a welcome one, as we were chock full of duck. Kiely's GPS was of great help in getting us from point A to point B.

We even passed St. Joseph's Cathedral (Dong Tang), a beautiful Gothic structure built in 1655. I managed to snap a picture before they turned all the lights off at 23:00.

St. Joseph's at Night

As for the Market, Unfortunately, I misread the guidebook, believing the market closed at 2330 when it actually closed at 2230.

The cab drivers milling around tried to convince us that they had to charge a much higher rate after hours, offering to take us home for 150-200 RMB, but we weren't buying it. (The guide book stated that there's a 20% surcharge after 23:00) A few blocks later, we picked up a taxi home for 18RMB and promptly crashed.

HK&C: Day 9: Beijing: The Great Wall and Beijing Duck

2010-06-25T22:00:00.004+01:00

One of the many 919s
to deny us that morning.

We started the day quite early with a 0545 wake-up to ensure we arrived at the Great Wall before the raging hordes. Sadly, we weren't quick enough!

The 919 that delivered!

We took a taxi from our hotel to the Deshengmenxi bus stop, from which we had been advised to take the 919 bus to Badaling.

Yes, I know, sane people in a country where they find themselves illiterate opt to take an organized tour.
We are not sane people.

Also, The 919 bus is a bit of an enigma.

The first few 919 buses we found refused us and told us to walk further down. After much walking , we found yet another queue of 919 buses, joined it and were able to board. En route, we saw a number of 919 buses that didn't seem to be following the same route as us. Could they all be going to the Great Wall? Seemingly, no.

Next time, Kiely will wear a flag.

We arrived by 10 in Badaling, which is the easiest place to visit the wall from Beijing. The alterative is 3 hours further away, but has the benefit of fewer visitors.

I experienced the Great Bathroom (not good, really!) and after acquiring the Great Audio Guide, we began our trek up the the wall, Northbound.

Something I never really noticed about the great Wall in pictures is how incredibly steep it is. It is at points so steep that walking up seems so much easier than walking down. We followed the Wall until we could walk no further, as while the Wall might be thousands of miles, the whole thing isn't opened to tourists.

What we came to see.

After leaving the wall and returning the audio guide, we went to the Great Museum, which was pretty good.

The Museum covered exhibits about the Wall's history, conservation, and famous visitors. Another key thing about the museum was it's downright excellent bathroom. If you find yourself at the Great Wall, this is the bathroom to hold out for.

Our Great Photo Op.

We found the 919 bus again, boarded and headed back. The journey seemingly took forever.

Beijing has massive roadways that seem to always be full of traffic. Increasingly, I think there are two reasons for this:
1. There are lots of cars
2. The drivers don't use their directionals at all and frequently change lanes, often two lanes in a single move. I started to really pay attention to the taxi divers, and I found that most never signaled. We even had one who only signaled when entering a lane to the right and never signaled when entering the lane to left.

This lead us to establish China Rule #5: Wear Your Seat Belt.

We returned at 4, hungry as can be, and had a snack to make up for missed lunch.We also stopped by the local supermarketmarket on a search for moon cakes and bottled water. As we waited in line, I couldn't help but laugh at Kiely protecting our place in the queue. Thing is, it is completely necessary. I had people walk right past me and start tugging on stall doors of clearly occupied loos as I waited in bathrooms. In the market in Yongzhou, I had to really make an effort to stay behind Kiely in the checkout line, even though I had nothing to purchase and we were obviously together. Kiely said that queue jumping is very common.

China Rule #6: Don't queue, and if you do, be prepared to be the only one.

Kiely, Ben, Maria, and the Beijing Duck at Xiao Wang Fu

In the evening, we headed out again to meet Neil's friends, Maria and Ben for Peking Duck at a place called Xiao Wang Fu right near the northern entrance to Ritan Park.

We ordered way too much food, but every bit of it was wonderful. Maria and Ben were wonderful company, and gave us some excellent advice for things to see the next day.

After dinner, Maria and Ben headed off to their prior commitment and we went for a walk around Ritan Park and indulged Kiely's new popsicle habit before heading back to ours.

HK&C: Day 8: Beijing The Forbidden City

2010-06-24T22:00:00.004+01:00

Me and the masses

We kicked off our first full day in Beijing by heading to the Forbidden City first thing with plans to spend our day checking out the Forbidden Stuffs.

We picked up our Forbidden Tickets, purchased a Forbidden Audio Guide, and began our adventure after I made a quick stop at the Forbidden bathroom.

The Forbidden City is amazing.

Even the Forbidden Audio guide is pretty neat. It has a map on it, which shows you where you are, and it automatically starts talking when you get close to a specific site. Unfortunately, these aren't precisely tuned, as Kiely's often went off at least 100 feet before mine.

We started out in the gardens and winded our way through.While in the gardens, a young woman asked us to look at her University art. We went along for the heck of it, but the art was ultimately not good and the sales pitch was very pushy. We made a run for it and visited the East Palaces.

By the time we arrived at the Center, the crowds of tour groups in matching hats had definitely arrived. I think the palaces on the perimeter see fewer visitors, as when we retreated, we found the crowds much more manageable in the West Palaces.

Kiely and the Nine Dragon Screem

After facing the mighty crowds to visit the Hall of Supreme Harmony, we headed to towards the Palace of Tranquil Longevity and the Nine Dragon Screen.

The Nine Dragon Screen has one wonky tile, which is made of wood. The story goes that the original tile broke when the screen was being set up, and that the workers faked another with food in fear of their lives. They managed to get away with it, but over time, the wooden piece didn't wear as the ceramic ones.
There's also an impressive Forbidden clock collection to see around the corner.

"Taiwan Bad Side Meat"

After going through the clock collection, we stopped off to have some Forbidden Food. It did not disappoint.

We both hoped to order the "Taiwan Bad Side Meat" (click the picture on the left to see), but the restaurant had run out and we had to settle for a delicious Beijing noodle bowl.

After a failed effort to find the military exhibit, Kiely decided that it was nap o'clock, and we decided to make our exit. There's just so much to see that it's a bit of an endurance test.

Foo Dog

Unfortunately, that took a lot longer than planned, as did finding a taxi. The Forbidden City is huge, and exiting it took thirty minutes. When we finally made our way out, our search for a taxi was lengthy.

Times were tough back then.

Amidst our wanders, someone who for the purposes of this story we will call DodgyArtMan came up and advised us that a taxi rank was further down a road near the next traffic light, so we took DodgyArtMan's advice and headed further down the road. After a few blocks and a bit of chatting, the DodgyArtMan mentioned that he was an artist and asked us to come see his art. Recalling that life rule that we shouldn't go off with strangers who promise to show us a cute puppy or art, we said we weren't interested and thanked him again for the taxi advice. After another half mile or so, there was no taxi rank or intersection, but we managed to flag a taxi, regardless.

Thus, we have a new China Rule to add to our list started on Day 2:
China Rule #4: Do not go look at anyone's art. There probably isn't art and if there is, it likely sucks.

Chinese Pizza Hut

Back at the hotel, there was a bit of napping (Kiely) and swimming (Me).

Then we decided to indulge in a little Western food, as Kiely hadn't had cheese in quite some time...

Yes, we went to Chinese Pizza Hut.

The Menu of Delicious Cardiac Threat

The Chinese Pizza Hut experience is far superior to the American one. For starters, Chinese Pizza Hut is much nicer than any American Pizza Hut I've been to. For example, Someone actually opens the door for you when you arrive. The menu contains pizza, but it also contains rice and noodle dishes. As going to a Pizza Hut in China feels criminal enough, we stuck to ordering pizza.

Our pizza was called the Delicious Bacon!

The food is definitely better than American Pizza Hut, and is comparable to English Pizza Hut. Given that I regard Pizza Hut (UK) as a guilty pleasure, this is a compliment.

Full of Amerifood, we headed home to get ready for the Great Day to come.

HK&C: Day 8: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles to Beijing

2010-06-23T22:00:00.002+01:00

New digs.

Disclaimer: Today was not a particularly interesting day.

Today was all about getting to Beijing.

First, we headed back to Shenzhen on the MTR.

You might be wondering why we didn't just fly from Hong Kong, and if so, the reason is that it was 80% less expensive to book tickets from Shenzhen in yuan.

In Shenzhen, we said our goodbyes to Yuki, who was returning to Zhongshan, and then took a bus to Shenzhen airport for our 1330 China Southern flight to Beijing.

This flight, too, failed to take off on time. The ticket said boarding would start at 1300, but we didn't board until 1340. There were no announcements or status changes.

This flight was completely different from my Yongzhou flight, though. Everyone followed the rules. There were no fights. Everyone quietly stayed in their seats. There was even a movie and a chicken dish which wasn't half bad. It was almost disappointing, given how my last flight showed how entertaining a flight can be!

Dinner: Chicken and Lotus

The flight to Beijing from Shenzhen takes about three hours, and after arriving, we hopped in a cab to our new digs, the Doubletree Beijing, which should give me Gold Status with Hilton. (I admit it, I have a great love of the free upgrade.

All checked in, we wandered out for dinner at a local spot. We taught our waitress some English, specifically how to say all of the things on our table (spoon, bowl, etc), and then we had a nice long walk around our neighborhood and went home.

Eleven hours of trekking via 2 cabs, 1 train, 1 bus, and 1 plane left us too tired for even a single game of Bust a Move!

HK&C: Day 7: Hong Kong Antiques and Hotpot

2010-06-22T22:00:00.003+01:00

The Wet Market

We kicked off the day with a short wander in our neighborhood including the local wet market. Wet markets include live food, and this one had lots of fish, turtles, frogs, and so on.

We hopped on the MTR bound for Central, where we headed towards the antiques area of Hollywood Road. There's a mix of shops, from those that sell expensive pieces to those that sell inexpensive trinkets in baskets outside. I found a small lantern which would satisfy Darren's and my need for Christmas ornaments.

Yuki and I at Man Mo Temple

En route to antiques, we checked out the Man Mo Temple, the interior of which is a sight. Visitors are under a canopy of incense spirals that are cone shaped, each of which is labelled with a wish. You can view pictures here, but I didn't take any at the request many posted signs.

We could not read the menu.

Lunch time arrived, and we decided to go to one of the next three places we saw. We actually went into the first, Green Island Restaurant. I gather this was the Cantonese equivalent of a diner, and had we not had Yuki with us, we definitely would not have eaten as well as we did. The English menu offered about ten dishes, each of which was priced more highly than anything on the Cantonese menu. Yuki selected three dishes for us, and we were stuffed by the end.

View from the Bank of China Observation Deck

After lunch, we walked back towards Central and took the Mid-Level escalators to the very top. Unfortunately, when we got to the top, it started to pour, so we took a bit of a beverage break before heading down the many steps.

We then headed over to the Bank of China building, which has an observation deck on the 43^rd floor that one may visit for free. Unfortunately, I didn't carry any identification, so Yuki and Kiely had to check it out without me.

The HotPot Venue

Tourism mostly completed, we headed over to Tsim Tsa Shui for a quick errand at Seibu before meeting Kimiko and her friend Keoh at a bar on Knutsford Terrace for a pre- dinner drink. There was lots more catching up, and Yuki was able to practice her Japanese a bit. Jimmy arrived around six, and after wrapping up, we headed out to a local hotpot restaurant.

This was my first Cantonese hotpot experience, and it was lots of fun.

Step 1: Sauce!

After one orders the items to be cooked, the servers bring a massive tray of different sauces (Soy Sauce, Peanut Sauce, Coriander, Onions, etc) from which each person concocts their own bowl of personalized sauce.

Step 2: Cook!

Next, the hotpot arrives, followed my many bowls of food to be cooked. Basically, you cook as you go, and one just ladles out what one wants to eat. I was spoiled rotten, most likely because I failed miserably at knowing what was cooked versus what needed a bit more time. I think my favorites were the spinach, the beef, and the tripe.

Jimmy, Kimiko, Keoh, Yuki, Kiely and I after much hotpot.

After dinner, we all sadly parted ways. It has been so fun to see Kimiko after all these years, and I know it will not take another 19 years for us to see one another again now.

Yuki, Kiely, and I hopped off the MRT at Sham Shui Po, and were pleased to see that we had selected the same exit that we had used that morning, or so we thought. After walking fifteen minutes, we learned that we had not come out where we thought we did and had been walking the wrong way all along. Oops! If anything, it was good to have a bit more walking time, post-hotpot!

HK&C: Day 6: Hong Kong and an Overnight Train

2010-06-21T22:00:00.003+01:00

View of our cabin
from the top bunk.

Our overnight train from Yongzhou to Shenzhen was delayed from 0040 to 0130, which wasn't so bad. I had never stayed in a sleeper car, and I found it excellent.

Each sleeper on our train had six bunks. Kiely booked the top bunks for us, which were a bit close to the ceiling to comfortably sit, but afforded us a spot next to our bags and plenty of privacy. I did find that this was where my theory about a skirt being far easier to travel in than pants failed a bit, as trying to climb up and down from the bunk was no easy task. The bunks themselves were very comfortable. I think I may have had my best sleep in over a week, but whether that's the train or Tylenol PM is open for debate.

Kiely was fast asleep as I faced
the challenges of Surprises 1 and 2

At some point in the wee hours, I decided it was time for a bathroom break. As I clambored down from my bunk, I encountered Surprise number 1: the person on the bottom bunk had raised the foot peg, so I had nothing to step down from. Oops.

Then came Surprise number 2:
the cabins aren't labelled on the outside, so I wasn't certain which one was mine when returning. I had counted doors en route, but when I counted back, the room I found had more shoes on the floor than I remembered seeing in mine. I opted for one door over, and with some intrepidation, climbed up to the third bunk. Much to my relief, I found it both it empty and with my stuff in the basket on the wall.

The sleep ended when the Chinese muzak started soudly piping in around 830.

Yuki and Kiely at the MTR stop

The train arrived at 1115 or so, and we made our way into the station to find my brother's girlfriend, Yuki, who was joining us for the HK leg of the trip. We finally met up, headed through customs and hopped on the MRT to Kowloon Tong, from which we took a taxi to our digs for the next few days, The Olympic Terrace Suites.

As budget friendly accommodations go, the Olympic Terrace was great. We had two small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen for the equivalent of £70 a night. I never would have found this place had Darren not come across it in a Guardian article of great budget places to stay in Hong Kong.

Best Thai Curry, Ever

After dropping off luggage, we headed out for a late Thai lunch in Kowloon City's Thai Corner.
We picked a place called Golden Orchid from our guide book, and the food was fantastic. I think it may have been the best green curry I have ever had.

at Chi Lin

Full of food and far from the MRT, we hopped in a cab and went to the Chi Lin Nunnery. According to the guidebook, this Buddhist temple was rebuilt in 1990, and it contains not a single nail.

After wandering around a bit, we hopped on the MTR to Central where we ran a few errands before meeting my old NYC workmate, Jim, in Lan Kwai Fong for a few beers in a bar called Stormie's. It was good to catch up, and much like Kimiko, Jim makes a very compelling case for moving to Hong Kong. I officially consider myself tempted.

Lan Kwai Fong

By the time the Portugal- North Korea game went from 0-0 to 7-0, it was time for dinner. We headed around the corner to Tokio Joe and I started to make up for all that sushi I don't have in London.

The food was excellent, but I failed to take any pictures of it due to lack of battery. We headed back home around 11, ready for sleep.

HK&C: Day 5: Rainy Yongzhou

2010-06-20T22:00:00.004+01:00

The rains fell well through the night, with the loudest thunder I've ever heard. I don't think I've ever been so startled by thunder, really. The power went out around 0130, which left little for one unable to sleep to do besides really hope the power, and the glorious air conditioning it provided,would return.

We slept late, and as such, most of the breakfast vendors had already closed up by the time we mustered out, but we secured some of the fried wonton-y things, which I learned are a specialty pancake of one of the local minorities. and some fruit and headed back home for more Bust a Move, having officially tapped the vein.

Kiely and some of his students.

A group of my brother's students and scheduled to come by to say goodbye and to give him a gift, and right on time at 1030, there was a knock at the door from a gaggle of girls. They came bearing a few extremely thoughtful gifts: a Chinese knot for good luck, some calligraphy, and a small notebook in which members of the class had each written a well-wishing note. Among my favorite notes were one where a student mentions Kiely's left handedness (students in China are required to be right handed) and another which spoke of his, “golden eyelashes”. This gave me plenty of material to tease him.

A lot of my brother's best students are female. According to Kiely, a lot of his female students work harder, and many have expressed that their parents would have been happier if they were boys. It's a distressing thing to hear that any parent would be any less than thrilled to have any of these girls as their child.

A Classroom -
the students are studying

Mid-day came, and we headed out for lunch again to the place of cabbage and chicken head. Today's meal of beef and potatoes, sweet and sour pork, and eggplant may have been my favorite. The sweet and sour pork was different from that which I've had to date. It was less sticky and sugary.

After lunch, my campus tour continued from the prior day, and I got to see inside of the University buildings, including my brother's classrooms.

Then, having been advised that I had truly seen it all, we headed back to Kiely's to play yet more Bust a Move. This is where the tournament begins. We played for nearly three hours. Don't worry, we can stop playing, really.

The Bus!

We had dinner plans that evening with two of my brother's best students, Jessie and Emily, and we met them at the school gate at 1845, before heading into the city via bus. They brought me moon cakes, which was a wonderful surprise. The only time I had eaten moon cake before was in New York, and I hadn't particularly enjoyed it, but these were delicious.

Dinner was excellent. We let the girls do the ordering. One of the restaurant managers kept coming up and just staring at us, so I did all one can really do and smile.

*Pigs Feet!*

The first dish arrived, and Emily advised that we should ask for gloves because it was much easier and neater that way. We each received a plastic glove, and indeed, so much ease! I took my first bite. It was flavorful and fatty, but not in a greasy way. I rightly assumed it to be pork.
When I asked Jessie what the dish was called, expecting the name in Mandarin, she and Emily gleefully replied, “pigs feet!”

Their reply was such I felt like I was in the scene in a film where a person has just been alerted that they are eating something they really wouldn't find OK. Surprise!
Thing was, I didn't mind. It was delicious. Pigs feet are very popular with women, it seems, as the girls told me that eating them is suppose to give you radiant skin and have a benefit that was to be our secret, as they were too shy to tell me while Kiely was in earshot. (make you chesty).

Emily (L), Jessie (R), and I after dinner

The next dishes were also wonderful. There was a vegetable dish and a chicken dish. Chinese meals are served family style, with everything shared, and this was no exception. I also learned that many restaurants charge for napkins, so you should take the package with you when you leave. The napkins at this restaurant (1 yuan) smelled like jasmine, and I have kept them in my suitcase ever since.

We decided to walk back to the University after dinner, and along the way, we passed a funeral. Emily explained a bit of how a Chinese funeral differs from a Western one. The night before, the friends and family get together and play music, sing, eat, play mah jong, etc, and they do this until very late at night. The next day, they wake early and continue. White is typically worn by the immediate family at the burial in the form of a white wrap over regular clothes.

My dragon is the green one on the left,

We picked up provisions for our train ride en route and after saying goodnight to the girls, headed to Kiely's to finish up our packing in time for our taxi at 2300.

While we didn't play Bust a Move, we did decide to pack the controllers and load the Playstation emulator with our saved game onto my laptop.

Addicted? Us? No. I just need to catch up on the 15 point lead Kiely has on me!

HK&C: Day 4: Yongzhou, PRC

2010-06-19T22:00:00.018+01:00

Pork Buns for Breakfast

This morning started off with more tasty food from the street, specifically more pork buns, a fried pancaky thing, and a bits of bread which reminded me of eating fried wontons, only they weren't crunchy, all which we enjoyed while taking the bus into Yongzhou city.

Our first stop was an old temple, which had been closed for safety reasons; although a simple offer to pay for access allowed us to go exploring. We aren't sure what the temple was for, as is the case with many places visited in Yongzhou, because there's not much English about the place and neither of us speak enough Mandarin to understand the question if asked.

After that, we wandered into the city area, where I got to not only try out the frogger game that is crossing the streets. It really is a bit of a free for all, especially as cars don't always stay on their side of the road. I also got to visit not one but two supermarkets. I saw lots of fun stuff qualifying for the Engrish Roundup, to be published later.

Business Town!!

After that, we headed over to an area that Kiely calls, Business Town, which is basically a large, stalled, indoor market selling all sorts of stuff, a lot of which is counterfeit. There were lots of Engrish shirts, Skin products made by “Oily” instead of “Olay”, etc. We also found a book stall where we picked up some books for me to use in my Mandarin lessons back in London.

We headed back to the bus stop to return to Lingling for a dumpling lunch, a bit of quiet time, and a nice nap.

On Campus

After nap time, we headed out for my tour of campus, which unfortunately couldn't include seeing a classroom today because all sophomore students were taking a standardized English test called CET4, which all students must pass to graduate. It looks like the exam is broadcast over radio from a van, and the students have these small radios on their desks (no headphones) over which to hear exam instructions and questions.

University Tour completed, we headed back for showers and a bit more downtime before heading out for dinner with Albright, at yesterday's place of awesome cabbage and chicken head. Tonight, there was more cabbage (my request), spicy beef served on a sizzling iron plate, and on the walk home, a really delicious egg roll from the street, which was rather like a burrito.

Look out, mosquitos!

We headed back home to repeat last night's agenda of beer + porch, only enhanced by the addition of mosquito tennis.

This tennis racket-looking thing is actually a bug zapper, not unlike the sort you hang on a porch, only it runs off two rechargeable AA batteries. You wave it in the air, and mosquitoes and gnats that actually come between the gratings get zapped in sizzling, dramatic fashion.

The rains started to fall heavily, and we headed in. Kiely and I decided to play one of our favorite old games, Bust a Move. I got my ass handed to me. I will make a comeback tomorrow, surely. I can't keep making my little dragon cry, and given the rains, the outdoors will not be easily faced.

HK&C: Day 3: Yongzhou, PRC

2010-06-18T22:00:00.011+01:00

The commentary was a bit challenging for me to follow.

This morning started with pork buns, which made me really like Yongzhou immediately. Kiely went out and picked the buns up before heading out to give his exams, and they made for a most excellent breakfast.

I had thought I'd squeeze in a bit more sleep after breakfast, but such was not to be had. As I told Kiely to take the keys with him, I kept busy by watching Game 7 of the NBA finals, in Mandarin. (Basketball, Badminton, and Ping Pong are the most popular sports here. )

^{The head isn't visible in this shot. Ignorance is bliss.}

Kiely returned, and we headed out into town to run a few errands, have lunch, and explore. We headed over to a local spot and had a delicious lunch of cabbage and chicken. As someone who doesn't eat meat on bones often, doing so with chopsticks just adds to the fun. I found myself digging around the plate, trying to find easier pieces to start.

I was so focused in my search that I didn't process that the rather uniform piece I was considering was actually the chicken's head; eyes, beak, and all. It came as such a surprise, I jumped, much to Kiely's amusement. He told me the head was the best part, but only kept up that claim for a minute or so, ultimately admitting that he couldn't eat it, either.

Yongzhou is a very big city, geographically. The area where my brother's University is the old part of town, which is locally called, "LingLing." We did much exploring around the area.

View of the temple from within.

We headed out to the temple closest to where Kiely lives, which we believe honors a famous poet from Yongzhou and then walked through the old part of town. this area contains older buildings which are now protected from demolition but aren't really cared for either. We came back, enjoyed some AC, and headed out again, only this time onto the bus into Yongzhou city.

The LingLing Waterfront

The bus is amazing - when it's moving. Yongzhou is so crazy humid that feeling the air whilst on a moving bus really does feel fantastic. Unfortunately, we had to sit on the bus and wait for it to start, but it may have been worth it.

What really shocked me was that as we sat there, hot and sticky as can be, plenty of people outside were heavily dressed; women wearing long sleeves and lots of older men wearing Mao-style jackets. I can't imagine ever acclimating to that - it took my camera lens half an hour to unfog each time we went outside.

A view of the old part of town, near the first temple we saw.

We took the bus over the bridge, and visited two more temples as well as taking in the view from this music school. I also got to meet some of my brother's students, all of whom clearly appreciate him. I can see why it's a bit strange and wonderful to be a foreigner in Yongzhou. People definitely stare. A whole bus of middle school children was very excited to see us, and I have never had so many strangers tell me how pretty I am. It's rather fun to suddenly be perceived as special.

The second temple was beautiful, but closed.

We hopped back on the bus (no waiting + open windows = glorious), enjoyed more AC and showers, and watched a Chinese children's cartoon, Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf (喜羊羊与灰太狼) before heading out to dinner with my brother's old friend , Albright.

"Dumplings again?", was a welcome suggestion, and after a delicious dinner, we went for a walk. We ran into one of my brother's students who was celebrating her birthday and setting aloft a lantern with her wishes noted... it's a bit like when you light an Amaretto cookie wrapper on fire. We watched her wish blow off into the horizon with high hopes. She said that usually one keeps these wishes secret, but hers wasn't... that she hoped there would be no weather related disasters, to which I had to tell her that wish for good weather was very English.

Poster on campus encouraging students to
speak Mandarin (the lady is a film star)

We headed back to Kiely's, and Albright, Kiely, and I, and we sat out on the balcony, chatting and people watching, until bedtime.

HK&C: Day 2: Hong Kong to Yongzhou

2010-06-17T22:00:00.001+01:00


The Western toilet at Shenzhen Airport was not for the weak (see sign)

After a rather rough night sleeping, I unsuccessfully tried to sleep in until 930. There was nothing wrong with my hotel room, only that my asthma medicine really messes with my sleep.

My brother advised me of two things via email the night before:

China Rule #1: Don't drink the water from the tap in the mainland

China Rule #2: don't call a girl "xiao jie" unless you know her family name

I don't know about you, but the first was an expected bit of advice that was never in question. The second, well, I couldn't help but wonder if the consequences were potentially as dire as those associated with the first. The Pimsfleur Mandarin I discs teach that, "xiao jie" literally means, "Miss", and is how one politely addresses a waitress. As this now seems not so, could saying "xiao jie" lead to vomiting and diarrhea, just like the tap water? I opted not to test this and just ask. It so happens that simply calling a woman, “xiao jie”, is colloquially the equivalent of calling her a whore. Yay Pimsfleur!

Fancy Yum Cha!

On to the day:

Kimiko and I met for early Dim Sum at 11 and had more wonderful catching up time. The food was excellent, and I especially enjoyed the beef dumplings and pork buns. Time flew, and before I knew it, time had come for a mad dash to catch the airport bus to Shenzhen Airport.

Kimiko spoiled me rotten. She found the Airport Bus, put me on it, and even gave me tissues for the ride, just in case I didn't know #3!

China Rule #3: Always carry tissues, ladies.

At Kiely's advice, I took the airport bus which departs from the Airport Express Station at the West Kowloon MRT. The ride takes about 75 minutes (according to the sute), with buses departing every half hour between 0715-1915. There aren't many flights to Yongzhou, and I didn't want to risk missing the one I had, especially as my inability to actually read my ticket might slow me down.

The Bus on the Shenzhen side's view of the terminal.

In Shenzhen, where you clear customs and immigration, only to emerge on the other side to board an identical bus with your fellow passengers, all wearing stickers to assume no one gets lost.

All I can figure is that between filling out the equivalent of a landing card and waiting in the foreigner's line, I took long enough that I did not catch the first bus out that I could have because I was the first one on the bus, and I didn't recognize any of the other passengers. As the website said the total ride was 75 minutes and we were still sitting there, I couldn't help but feel a bit worried.A little Google-mapping managed my concerns, and I found myself checked in at the airport and ready to go with plenty of time to spare. Something I hadn't counted on was that seemingly, no where accepted credit cards, and I hadn't bothered to change any money into Yuan.

My tiny bird of pure Hunan chaos.

I had been warned that flights never leave on time, but I had hoped this wasn't really so. I was to be disappointed. My China Southern 17:30 flight became an 18:45 that didn't actually board until 19:00. I boarded my tiny plane, took my seat, and so the adventure began...

Just prior to take off, there was a verbal dispute (shouting match) between the guy in the 3^rd row and a guy in the 18^th row. (I was in 19C) Crisis averted, we had the most abrupt take-off ever, and thenI opted for a bit of a catnap.

I woke to the thud of something warm in my lap. A suspicious package labelled, “beef”. Unable to resist, I had to open it. I'm not sure what to call it, and I think it was probably pork. It was like a sweet white bun for a hamburger with a piece of meat in the top. It wasn't half bad – of course, I tried it. There's also a picture on my phone, to be added to this posting later.

Soon, it was time to land, and I swear, the entire aircraft bounced like a tennis ball when we first hit the ground. From that first bounce, anarchy kicked in. People started getting out of their seats, taking bags down, much to the protest of the in-flight crew. When the plane came to a stop, I unfastened my seat belt, and stepped into the aisle, only to find myself being pushed along and out of the plane as I grabbed for my bag, trying not to hit anyone. I was easily the tallest person on the plane, and I am pretty sure the people shoving me were old enough to be my grandparents. Down onto the tarmac I went, to the one tiny baggage claim. The scrum was small, and I emerged victorious, bag in hand.

Yongzhou's finest pork dumplings!

Yongzhou only gets a few flights each week, and they had already closed the airports main area when I arrived. I was advised by a colleague of Kiely's that for many of the people on my flight, this was likely their first time on an airplane.

My brother and I headed to his flat, where I dropped off my stuff, and we went to eat dumplings before heading back to his. He has two exams to give tomorrow, starting at eight, and given my sleeping problems, calling it a night at midnight seemed sensible, especially when so much lies ahead.

HK&C: Day 1: Hong Kong

2010-06-16T17:31:00.000+01:00

The overcast view from my room.

Emerging from the plane after twelve hours in transit, I arrived in Hong Kong on Dragon Boat Day (端午節英文) I trekked through customs. collected my bags, picked up an Airport Express Pass, and headed to the Airport Express to take the train into Kowloon. After quickly dropping off my stuff at my digs for the night, the Langham Place, I headed out to meet a very old friend for dinner.

Kimiko + Francoise 1991

Kimiko was my roommate and closest friend during my first year of boarding school. She graduated and headed off into the world, while I had a few more years to go.

A few years after she graduated, we lost touch, and we reconnected over Facebook a while back. I was very excited to hear she was living in HK.

Kimiko, Jimmy, + Franc 2010!

As you can imagine, we've changed a bit since 1991. For starters, we have better clothes. Kimiko also has a wonderful husband, Jimmy.

It's really shocking to think that there are 19 years and 11 months between these photos of us.

We didn't stray far from the hotel, as conveniently, all I hoped for foodwise was literally right in front of me. Langham's Japanese restaurant, Takoro, was excellent. I especially enjoyed the sticky potatoes with tuna.

After supper, we wandered to The Backyard, which offered outdoor seating and more World Cup coverage (there are many screens showing the game around the area) for a last round before calling it a night..one of many fun ones to come!

HK & China 2010 (HK&C): The Game Plan

2010-06-15T10:00:00.000+01:00

The Where and When

While initially planned for February and rescheduled due to my passport being held up for visa stuffs, Kiely and Francoise's Super Awesome Hong Kong and China Trip (HKandC), has finally come!

As with everything else I do, I have made a spreadsheet summarizing a plan of action. Mock me all you like, but those who have survived my spreadsheets will generally agree that they're a good thing.

A few plans are currently lined up, but not many. There are friends to see in Hong Kong, a duck supper with friends of a friend in Beijing, and a definite requirement to see the Great Wall and The Forbidden City, but the rest will be ad-libbed.

Should we lose steam and require inspiration, my brother Kiely and I will be looking to our first real exposure to the PRC, a PBS children's special, Big Bird in China, rediscovered while looking at old books at our mother's house.
He's definitely Big Bird at 6'8" (the real Big bird is 8'2"), and as Barkley and I share a hairstyle, these roles may be fitting.

Pictures and recaps will follow, as I can post them. For now, it's packing and airport time! 赠别!

Norwich, UK - Collecting a Kitten

2010-06-11T21:45:00.005+01:00

It's very pink, no?

As our new friend is now 14 weeks old, she's old enough to come home with us.

We've been preparing all week. There was an Ikea trip to manage clutter, a pet store trip for a cozy bed, scratching post, and litter tray, a sturdy cat carrier ordered on line, and even a baby gate purchased for our juliet windows.

As I've not bothered to get my Driving License yet, I took the train up to Norwich to pick her up today with my seemingly gigantic pink and gray cat carrier.

Yes, you read that right, pink. When I picked it online, the options were orange/gray or pink/gray. Weakly, I somehow clung to the notion that our kitten is female are surely would prefer a pink carrier. I did not consider how I might feel carrying it.

Carrying a big, empty pink and gray pet carrier is exactly as much fun as it sounds. It's like carrying a really ugly purse, only a high percentage of people who see it think there's going to be something really cute inside of it, but there isn't. It retrospect, I should have put a photo of a piranha in there.

So, my Barbie-worthy cat carrier purse and I took the 11:00 from Liverpool Street to Norwich, arriving 12:52. I resisted the urge to carry on a conversation with the carrier on the train. I made my way to the taxi rank and headed out to our breeder's home, approximately 15 minutes outside of the city.

Having a full, pink cat carrier seemed better...

For starters, what I saw of Norwich was quite pretty. It seemed definitely worth another visit sometime. My driver was super nice, and before I knew it, I had arrived in Little Plumstead.

Our breeder, Esté, proved a lovely person with a home full of charming pets. She gave me a thorough crash course in our new kitten, covering her vaccinations, micro-chipping, worming, maintenance, registration paperwork, etc. All of the kittens were wonderful, and I was excited to be welcoming one home.

We packed up our girl, and headed out to Esté's car. That's when the mewing started.

I previously had been too noting of the silliness of carrying an empty cat carrier, and in doing so, I failed to consider the silliness of carrying an occupied one.


All that mewing made her very sleepy by the time we got back to London.

She mewed and mewed, all the wait to the train station.

We waved goodbye, mewing away.

I bought a sandwich in a sea of mews.

We waited for our train, finally boarded at 14:50 without a lapse in the mewing. We took our seats, still mewing.

I wasn't sure if I should just announce my situation to the train car or pretend like this was normal. I opted for the latter, and finally, it stopped.

I peeked in the container, and she started again. I did not peek again. I didn't move again for 90 minutes.

We arrived back at Liverpool Street and mew-mew-mewed our way to a taxi.

After a few hours, she's still mew-mew-mewing unless we're holding her or actively playing with her. Fortunately, we like holding her and playing with her. She's awfully cute when she's napping.

Moving Pets to the UK

2010-06-10T22:40:00.008+01:00

Cramming a pet in here is not fun.

A friend contacted me this morning to ask me about the many to-do's that come with importing a domestic pet into the UK. It's a spiel I run through for people a few times a year, and inevitably, I always delete all of those emails noting the gory details. So, for future reference, here goes!

**Rules change, I did this in 2007/08, and this seems current as of the time of this post. Always confirm w/ the UK DEFRA site (Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs). Specifically, look at the PETS Scheme. I have included links into DEFRA's site throughout this posting. Also, my notes specifically relate to flying your pets from JFK to Heathrow. (many US airports require the involvement of a Pet Travel Agent - JFK does not) Also, if you have a correction to share, please mail me.

So you want to move your pet to the UK and not put your pet in quarantine..

The most important thing: It will take you a minimum of seven months to complete this process. There are no exceptions.

Step I: Go to your veterinarian and kick off the process.

Tell the vet your plans, ensure they know the procedures. If you say, "pet passport", they'll likely know what you mean. A pet passport is an EU thing, but the requirements are the same as for what you'll need, a 3rd Party Veterinary Certificate.

The vet will do two things:

Microchip your pet:
This is so the vet can be certain that they're always dealing with the same animal over the course of prep and for customs/agriculture to be sure that they've received the same animal that they have documentation for. If your pet already has a microchip, a second one may not be necessary, but you'll want ot be sure that your pet has one of the approved microchips for this process, because if they can't read your pet's chip on arrival, your pet won't clear customs/agriculture. Some people provide a microchip scanner when they transport their pet, but that seems a little excessive.
Inoculate your pet against rabies:
The UK eradicated rabies, so your pet will receive a rabies inoculation. This is not, as I understand it, necessarily the same vaccination as they have previously received over the course of their lifetime in the States or elsewhere.

Step II: Vet Visit Number II (this occurs approximately 30 days after Step I) - The Blood Test

During vet visit 2, your animal's blood will be drawn and sent for testing at the only EU-approved laboratory in Leavenworth, KS (if you're coming from the states). The testing is to ensure there is enough of the titer in your pet's blood.

**Your pet may travel six months from the date of a passing blood test

So, inevitably, one has to ask- what if my pet doesn't pass? How can I prevent this in the first place?

If your pet doesn't pass:
you'll return to Step I, and your pet will receive a second vaccination and be retested in thirty days.
As for preventing the odds of not passing first go: most animals do pass, but younger animals are more likely to require a second inoculation. This is because an older animal will have been vaccinated more historically. My vet in the States said that they would double inoculate on the first go in the case of a young animal where circumstance would not allow for a bit of extra time to complete the process.

Step III: Paperwork time
Your Vet will fill out a Third Country Official Veterinary Certificate. You will need to send this to the local USDA office for signoff as well. The USDA APHIS website has some useful pet travel reference as well, but the key thing will be where to send your paperwork. There seems to be an office in each state, and you can find yours and more details here. I sent mine with a return FedEx airbill, and the turnaround was very quick.
The certificate is valid for four months from the time at which it is signed off, so you should delay getting this until a month or two before you plan to move.

Step IV: Get an IATA Approved Carrier

Your friend will need an approved carrier, and that carrier must be the correct size for your pet based on these rules. I bought mine at the aptly named pettravelstore.com. Make sure you get a pad for the carrier, as it's required.

Step V: Book transport via an authorized route

Planes:
I flew my moggie on British Airways, and their Pets Desk is very helpful. You can't make an animal cargo booking until 13 days before takeoff. I had been worried that there wouldn't be enough room, but when I rang, I was assured that there's plenty of room. If memory serves, they said a 747 can take 9 domestic pets, there are numerous JFK-LHR flights, and they only fly a few pets per day total. The cost of shipping my old friend was around $850.00, with a cargo fee of $800.00 and a weight surcharge for the rest.
You have to check your pet in early, I believe we dropped him off at the Air Cargo terminal five hours before takeoff. Your animal cannot fly in the cabin with you, no matter how much you love him/her. You do not need to be on the same flight as your pet, either.

Boats:
Some dogs aren't allowed in cargo - it seems to apply to those with smushy faces, such as Bulldogs and Pugs, or perhaps you don't want to part with your pet for a flight. If so, there's a boat ride for you. Cunard is the token approved sea carrier for pets in the UK, and the QM2 will transport you and your pets in 6-8 days. They offer a 24 hour supervised kennel, and you can visit anytime you like.

Step VI: Pre-takeoff Vet Stuff

Your pet must (Not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before you check-in) be treated for:

Ticks
Tapeworms
*My vet said I could do this myself, if memory serves, but we brought my cat in anyway.

...and it's Bon Voyage!

So what happens on the other side...

Assuming you fly, your pet is well taken care of by Air Cargo. Upon arrival in London, your pet is taken to a special terminal at Heathrow, specifically for animals. This terminal is not near the passenger terminals and there is no easy pedestrian way to get there.

Your pets documentation will be reviewed, your pet will be checked by a veterinarian, and your pet will need to urinate before it is released. This takes a while. Bring a book or a very large jigsaw puzzle. You may also want to bring snacks.

Before you know it, it will all be done! I thought our cat would be traumatized by the experience, but he was his usual self from the minute we opened the carrier.

Obtaining a Chinese Visa

2010-06-09T20:18:00.003+01:00

Not me.

I'd made the appointment. I'd filled out the form. I'd even dug up some superfine pictures of me. The only thing left to do was show up at the Chinese Visa Application Center and hand it in at the specified time.

I did just that at 9am last Friday. I was assigned a number, waited nearly an exact half hour in the waiting room, and was called up to hand in my paperwork.

My application required a few tweaks. My visa application's trip reason, to "visit a family member or relative" was downgraded to, "tourism", when I learned that the former reason requires evidence of relation, such as a birth certificate.

This was communicated to me in a tone which hinted that I was some sort of unprepared dolt for not having not only my own but my brother's birth certificate on hand at all times for a moment like this.

My multi-entry visa request, too, was downgraded, as tourists seemingly only can have two entries.

Having elected for non-expedited service (4 days v 3 days), I bid my most important identification goodbye with plans to reunite the following Wednesday.

Today was collection day. Of course, today was the day I left the collection slip for my passport at home.

Fortunately, this ended up not being of issue. One thing worth highlighting, though is that the schedule of fees online if quickly read indicates a dual entry visa for a US citizen as costing £65.00 and separately lists application fees of £35.25 for standard, four day service.

As a quick reader, I showed up with £65.00 and was rather surprised to receive a bill for £100.25. Fortunately, they accept debit cards and cash.

So, all I've left to do now is pack!

The Modern Pantry, Clerkenwell

2010-06-06T21:34:00.005+01:00

Today's stop is a local venue where we've enjoyed dinner, The Modern Pantry. The last time we had dinner here was in January, and we enjoyed it so much that I'm surprised it has taken us so long to return. Surely, this restaurant would give our local roast favorites a challenge!

It was a last minute choice this morning, and when we rang at 11ish for a 1230 reservation, we should have taken note when we were (rather oddly) advised our table was only available until 200p.

Joining us on the Quest today are Vera, Roland, Oscar, and Darren. The Sunday menu from their website, offering both brunch and lunch, is here. Today's menu differed a bit, but the sample menu is a good representation of the offerings.

Dishes Ordered:
We went for the set menu.

Appetizers:
Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of the appetizers because the soup arrived before the fritters, and when the fritters arrived, only two orders were delivered. Darren waited another ten minutes for his appetizer.

Okra, courgette, turmeric, and feta fritters, mango and ginger puree
Smoky aubergine soup, tahini yogurt, Turkish chili oil

Mains:

Poached Guinea Fowl , Plum, Nectarine, and Hijiki relish - served with spiced roast potatoes, carrot and parsnip quinoa, Yorkshire pudding
(Vera, Darren, Franc)

Roast Saddle of Lamb, Smoked Anchovy, and Tomatillo -
served with spiced roast potatoes, carrot and parsnip quinoa, Yorkshire pudding
(Roland, Oscar)

Desserts:

Yuzu, lime, kiwi, and green tea sorbet
(Vera)

Gooseberry, Buckwheat, and Oat Crumble, White Chocolate Creme Anglaise
(Darren and Roland)

Spiced apple and raspberry tart, Eton Mess ice cream (Split by Oscar and Franc)

A selection of cheeses, The Modern Pantry Chutney, Oatcakes (Split by Oscar and Franc)

Observations: (collective and individual)

The service was awful throughout. The venue was not packed.
When we asked our waitress if we could order drinks, she told us that they were being prepared, as though we were terribly impatient. When we alerted her to the fact that no drinks had been ordered, she stopped to take our order. I ordered one Bloody Mary, and she acknowledged by saying, "one pitcher". I explained that only one person wanted a Bloody Mary and that a single glass would be fine, and she pointed at a visibly pregnant Vera and tried to make it seem like Vera had telepathically asked her for a Bloody Mary as well.
As mentioned before, the appetizers didn't all come at once, and one order of fritters came late from a server other than our waitress, with an apology
We were never asked if we'd like more drinks or another bottle of water.
When giving our dessert orders, the waitress repeated back that we requested three crumbles when we had requested two. It was as though she really never listened to what we asked for.
The bill, when it was finally presented, was incorrect. We had been charged the set menu for courses rate with each dessert billed at full price.
The service sucked. It was neither friendly nor intuitive. (Oscar)
Yorkshire pudding with the main was fine, but out of place. It should have been presented with a dish that included gravy. (Franc)
There should have been a beef or pork option (Oscar)
Excellent selection of local beer (Oscar, Roland, Darren)
The Aubergine soup was OK - nothing special (Oscar)
It took them ten minutes to bring mustard, had I waited for it, my lunch would have gone cold. (Oscar)
I liked the food (Vera)
Oscar and Darren didn't like the gravel (aka: cous cous), but I really liked it (Franc)
The venue is sparsely decorated, and as there's nothing to absorb the sound, it is surprisingly loud.
What decor? (Oscar)
I like my dessert (Darren)
The cheese plate was OK. It would have been nice if the waitress had identified the cheeses and thought to suggest a glass of port. (Franc)
This experience really shows how bad service can really color one's impression.
The Eton Mess ice cream is brilliant. I am going to try to replicate this at home. It's wonderful. (Franc)
The service was so poor, I told the server to remove the gratuity from the check. She did so apathetically and made no inquiry as to why I had elected to do so.I have never asked a server to do this. (Franc)

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)

Our Updated Map of Eats:

View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map
*note: All Pubs visited including today's are noted with their scores in parentheses

The Water Poet, Shoreditch

2010-05-30T21:31:00.004+01:00

The long-neglected Quest resumes today after a two month break with a visit to The Water Poet in Shoreditch.

We've walked by this pub a number of times, each time planning to lunch. Better late than never!

Joining the today are Darren, Andy, and Neil,the latter two both making a Quest debut. Everyone else left us for the holiday weekend.

You can check out the The Water Poet's online Sample Sunday Lunch Menu, but I've posted a photo of the actual menu from today to the left.

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right):

Roast Sirloin of Beef, roast potatoes, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, yorkshire pudding, and real gravy
Roast Chicken Breast, onion and mixed herb stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, Yorkshire pudding, and real gravy
Beer Battered haddock fillet, chips, creamed peas

Observations: (collective and individual)

Large screen TV in Dining Room = Bad (Darren)
Large screen TV in Dining Room = not Bad (Neil)
The food was good, and I liked the half cabbage (Darren)
The cabbage hunk in unwieldy, but OK (Andy)
I tend to lean towards pro-eggplant cuisines rather than pro-cabbage (Neil, whose meal did not include cabbage)
The meat had a bit of fat on it, which I like, and the veg were nice (Andy)
This pub is much bigger than it looks from the outside (Darren)
Biggest Yorkshire, ever.
Waitress has a cute outfit, which encourages my environment score of 3.5 (Andy)
Fish and Chips was above average and oddly shaped in a good way... triangular; not sure where inside the fish this cut comes from. (Neil)
The service was good, and the venue was nicely decorated. (Franc)
The mushy peas were interesting in a good way and a bit nutty (Neil)
The fish batter was a bit heavy and Crisco-ish (Neil)
My chicken was delicious (Franc)

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)
Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: All Pubs visited including today's are noted with their scores in parentheses, with the larger map in the widget on the right

View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map

US Embassy Passport Services and Extra Pages

2010-05-28T20:12:00.003+01:00

The Line for US Citizen services was much shorter when I was leaving

With the next trip less than three weeks away, I could no longer delay on getting new visa pages in my Passport.

The US Embassy's website indicates that one can obtain new pages with a two week turnaround by sending one's passport by mail, which wasn't going to work for me because getting my visa to go to China will take four days.

I rang Passport Services and learned that one may have Visa pages added same day if one shows up between 830-11 am and if one can evidence that the expedited service is necessary by providing a ticketed itinerary and evidence of a visa appointment at a Foreign consulate.

Today, I went for the new pages. Here's how it all played out

New Pages!

0840: Arrival, place mobile phone collection into Embassy-provided plastic bag
0841: Commence queuing
0945: Queuing Ends. Security Check.
0950: I am assigned number P36 by the security desk
0953: P36 is called to Window #1. I hand in my passport and am advised to take the bill for services over to Window #9. When I point out that there is no payment receivable, I learn that the receipt has to get to Window #9 somehow, and that way just happens to be yours truly.
0958: I make payment of 0 USD at Window #9 and receive my receipt. I feel wonderfully frugal.
0959: Waiting commences
1020: Embassy-wide announcement of the discovery of a suspicious package in the mail room. The waiting masses are undaunted. No one leaves in fear of their lives. It seems that they all have concluded that the odds of death (minute) are better risked than the odds of needing to queue up again to get back in the room (highly likely).
1050: Waiting ends. P36 is called to Window #5. Passport returned, complete with snazzy new pages, which don't match my Passport, strategically replaced right before the introduction of biometric requirements in 2005.

Now to get my travel visas...

New Kitten - 11 weeks

2010-05-26T06:38:00.013+01:00

While a bit off topic, everyone likes baby animal pictures, right?
She's now eleven weeks old, and we will be picking her up on the 12 of June. We won't be naming her until we get to meet her.

Of course I ate it!

2010-05-25T20:20:00.000+01:00

I found this picture in my phone today.

+ 1 Office Vending Machine in NYC
+ $1.00
+ No Sense of Self Preservation
= Big Texas Cinnamon Roll

I am an Ameristuff Mule

2010-05-21T13:55:00.007+01:00

Yet another airport line!

In the spirit of my last posting, it seems worthwhile to note the many things I've ferried from the US to the UK.

Yes, I am also an Ameristuff Mule! This time, much like during my flight over, I have no haul because I was so busy working there was never any shopping time.

Anyway, here's a list of items I have been asked to bring to the UK from the US over the past few years:

I am a Britstuff Mule

2010-05-15T17:54:00.004+01:00

Newark, Ahoy!
My first name doesn't fit on the ticket ..

As I find myself embarking on another trip to NYC, it occurs to me that there is another aspect to visiting home:

Being a Britstuff Mule.

This particularly comes to mind because this trip is such that unless you work at my office*and* are involved in the project that I'm resuscitating and expected to present on Thursday, I probably won't see you. Thus, this is my first trip from London to the US *ever* where I've not had goods.

So, as I wait for take off, please enjoy this list of items I have been asked to bring to the US from the UK over the past few years. I'm sure this isn't all of them...

(I've also included a photo of a haul from a 2007 business trip... that bedspread is the Ritz's not mine!)

New Kitten! (soon)

2010-05-07T22:15:00.007+01:00


This is a picture from her breeder... Yes, her ears are supposed to be that big.

Things have been seemingly quiet here since the volcanic disruption, but really, we've just been having a bit of downtime in preparation for a busy summer.

It will busy summer that will include a kitten!

We chose her last weekend, and in the picture to the right, she is seven weeks old. We will travel to Norwich to meet her later in the month, and she will come home with us around the 12th of June.

New kitty (we're not committing to a name until we've really met her) is a Cornish Rex, which is a breed with very short fur and generously sized ears. The breed is popular with allergy sufferers because the short hair makes for easier maintenance.

Expect a lot of kitten pictures in the near future. I may not be able to resist turning this into a website of full of them, but I'll do my best. After all, we've got trips to take, roasts to eat, and much to snicker at.

"Volcanoed In", whilst in NYC

2010-04-23T17:45:00.003+01:00

Twitter was chock full of volcano.
I really should have taken more pictures for this post.

I think it was Thursday when I had the following exchange at work...

Colleague: Is your flight canceled?
Franc: Why would it be?
Colleague: Did you read the flight alert mail?
Franc: Oh, no worries, I'm booked on Virgin. (assuming more strike action by British Airways)
Colleague: ...the one about the volcano?

Needless to say, I never expected to have a flight to the UK canceled because of a gigantic cloud of volcanic ash. I definitely can't pronounce Eyjafjallajökul, and there I was, "Volcanoed In".

Once my flight was officially cancelled on Friday night, there was lots of hold music. Lots. Then came hotel swapping, a whole lot of booking drama, and even more hold music.

Roughing it at the Plaza Athénée

Some people were very sympathetic. Was I okay? Did I need clothes or a place to sleep? I was offered my own room, several couches, an aerobed, and a bedroom full of cats.

There were kind offers of frequent feeding; a BBQ, a chicken, and my friend Elisabeth gave me a bag of homemade cheese sticks (awesome!). A colleague even offered to do my laundry. I felt extra loved.

Reminding myself that life was tough, I tried to be strong. I reminded then that while I was suffering soooo much at the Millennium Hilton (my home for the last 5 days of the trip), it was still at least a smidge better than an airport cot.

Others were apathetic. They didn't relish saying that I had been volcanoed, and well, they aren't very fun people anyway.

My view from the Hilton...
The site has come a long
way since I worked on the other side

High on the collective to-do list at work was trying to find an alternative way home once our flights were canceled. My colleagues treated this like a life or death mission..something about having wives alone with hordes of small children seemed to really put the fear in them. I'd get phone calls and emails at all hours, notifying me of the latest Plan, encouraging me to call travel and try to get wait listed for the latest chosen vehicle.

They looked at taking the Queen Mary 2 and at flying to Madrid and taking a car service or train back to London. My employer announced plans to charter a jet to an undisclosed location from which transport to London would be provided via a British Naval ship and coach bus.

I can think of few greater contrasts in transportation than "private jet" and "coach bus".
I concluded the ash would have to go eventually and opted to stay put. After all, I had a pregnancy sweater and a lot of hotel shampoo.

Pregnancy sweaters come from precious people.

You see, I began to run out of clothes on d+1 (d= departure) so I began to collect items from others, specifically items they definitely didn't mind not receiving back in the near future. I wore them all at the same time, feeling like a spoiled refugee. That t-shirt with a spot, the pregnancy sweater, and the airline socks made for a fine complement to my new jeans on d+2.

By the time I left for the airport on d+6, I was definitely ready to go. Two weeks of not sleeping well and working loads has caught up. Even so, the extra week was a blessing in disguise.

Despite being crammed in the office more often than not...

Bagels, just as planned

-I got to catch up with a number of workmates
-I even managed to see a few old friends, a highlight!
-I learned that Landmarc will not only deliver fantastic food but also beer!
-I had lunch at Google on their roof deck in the sun, and during my visit, saw a live kangaroo.
-I met a dear friend's new wife and saw him the happiest I've ever seen him
-I bought many pairs of socks
-I failed to go to the gym, except for one day
-I never had barbeque. I did have a lot of sushi, though!
-I was reminded how convenient 24 hour restaurants are. Thank you, Bubby's.

So many weird ads on the subway. 888-LAPBAND ?!?!

-I was invited to Brooklyn for chicken, and it was the most fun chicken I have ever had.
-I learned that restaurants can give you an itemized guest check (key for submitting expenses) after the fact thanks to customer service that rivaled the food at Wolfgang's in Tribeca.

...and I learned that there's no place like home, and that I'm truly lucky to have two.

Things I love in NYC, II

2010-04-10T09:37:00.001+01:00

It's Breakfast O'Clock in the Lounge!

When I last wrote on this topic, I had just returned from a trip back to New York, at which time, I expected I'd be returning a few months later. I highlighted a handful of things I really enjoyed and was fortunate enough to do during my last trip.

Time really flies. It took me nearly a year to make it back, and this time, it's for a work trip, leaving very little time for me to really go out and just enjoy many of my old stomping grounds, aside from that video conference room on the 4th floor.

So, as I prepare for takeoff, here are some things I'm determined to do during my trip, even if I have to rappel out of my office.

See Friends: An obvious one, I know. This might be an awful test of who actually reads my drivel. I've not really told anyone I'm showing up. outside of of handful of people I've chatted with in the last week *Surprise*

On to the more general stuff...
Eat Barbeque: London has a decent American- style barbeque joint or tw o, but it simply can't compete with New York. The tough choice really comes when choosing: Daisy Mae's or Hill Country. I'm determined to visit at least one, and not to worry, I've packed a tarp to wear.
See my Angela: My Angela is a genius. She makes the demon that is my hair turn docile. She's also well read, an accomplished amateur photographer, and she's loads of fun to talk to.She works a new salon now, called Whistle. I've managed to secure an appointment with her for Friday. I am giddy.
Bagels: I didn't really appreciate just how glorious an H and H bagel with cream cheese, lox, and capers is until it wasn't at my disposal.
Check out Dr. Zizmor Ads on the Train: If you've been on the subway more than five times, you know what this means.
J Crew: That's right, there's no J. Crew in London. I will cram my suitcase with its preppy goodness. A recent Guardian article promised that some J. Crew would be somewhat available via Net-a-Porter, but, "some" isn't good enough, and I'd rather not pay UK prices.
Eat Brunch: Brunch is not an English thing. There will be eggs and a bloody mary, possibly at Great Jones Cafe.

...and while there's plenty more, it's time to board, so a part III is soon to folllow.

Reversy Percy

2010-03-31T07:52:00.004+01:00

Just when I stopped expecting further innovation on the M&S Percy Pig, further deliciousness appears.

Reversy Percy may even be better than the original.

Amsterdam

2010-03-30T01:25:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago, A fine excuse to go to away presented itself when good friends Victoria & Troy planned a 2 day stopover in Amsterdam while en route from Chicago to adopt a child in Ethiopia.

The flight is extremely short from London at forty minutes or so. We were at our hotel by lunchtime and ready to go.

By then, I had already mowed through three stroopwafels. The first one was consumed in the car from the airport.

I waste no time consuming local culture, you see. I also love stroopwafels.

We met all met up for lunch in a cafe near Rembrandt Square, and after lots of eating, Victoria & Troy went for a nap in an effort to beat jetlag, leaving Darren and I to walk around.

We walked and walked. We repeatedly got lost.
In a determined moment, Darren decided that we should find Anne Frank's house. Despite being on the correct street and in a city with many tourist-friendly signs that provide directions to places such as Anne's house, we failed miserably. This gross failure allowed us to answer like surly kids, "nothing" when asked later in the day what we did all afternoon.

Naturally, I consoled myself with more stroopwafels before having a pre-dinner catnap.

For dinner, we went on a bit of a wander and found ourselves at Brasserie Harkema.

Day II:

The next morning, our plans to meet up at ten were changed due to uneven sleeping. Darren and I had a lovely breakfast out (yes, that's pie!) and were about to continue our trek to nowhere, when I decided to invoke plan E.

As I hadn't expected anyone's jetlag before our trip, I had mailed my friend Erik, who works in Amsterdam, to let him know I'd very briefly be in town but that meeting up might have to wait until my next visit. Fortunately, Erik was having a quiet day, and was happy to have us visit his labs on very short notice. We enjoyed the grand tour at the University before heading back to meet Victoria and Troy for lunch.

After our wonderful tour, we met back up with Victoria & Troy, ate more lunch, attempted to shop, and wandered to the Rijksmuseum, which like so many buildings in the city was covered in scaffolding and under some sort of renovation. Fortuantely, part of the permanent collection was still open.

Naturally, we got lost a few times, but we managed to find our way home in time to get ready for dinner at De Kas, which is a restaurant which sources from its own farms and greenhouses.

The food was brilliant, and the space was lovely. This is a restaurant that I'd include in my top 15 easily.

After a good night's sleep, it was time to head back to London, with plenty of licorice to tide me over until our next visit.

The Duke of Cambridge, Islington

2010-03-28T22:09:00.002+01:00

After a few roast-less weeks, we return to the Quest with a visit to Islington's The Duke of Cambridge, an eco-friendly, organic pub near the Angel tube stop.

Our 1330 reservation was well timed, and we arrived to find everything ready for us, including a delicious snack of fresh bread and olive oil.

Joining us on the Quest today were Vera, Roland, Darren, Oscar, and Oscar's colleague from Milan, Giovanni (aka: Italian Oscar)

The menus change frequently, and after checking out the board, we made a few selections while awaiting the arrival of Oscar(UK) and Oscar(IT).

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)
So, as the Oscars were late due to Oscar(IT) arriving from Milan midday, we started with appetizers to share

Chicken Liver Pate
Baked Camembert

...and then, along came beef roast for six.

The beef roast comes with:
Roast potatoes, Red Cabbage, Carrot & Parsnip Mash, Gravy, and Horseradish Cream.
As a bonus, it also came with a yorkshire pudding, not mentioned on the menu board. (take that, Sun in Splendour!)
At £18.75, I couldn't help but think it should also come with a hug.

Despite being full, in the interests of journalism, we had to have a bit of dessert:

Apple Crumble w Creme Fraiche
Cheese Board

Observations: (collective and individual)

"The problem with organic cows is that they get too much exercise." (Roland)
"You ate even more than me!" (Roland to Vera)
My appetizer was great. Far better than my entree. (Darren)
Apple crumble is awful. None of us would eat it. (Darren)
The main was drowned in gravy, which is disappointing. The cheese plate redeemed some of it. (Oscar)
The meat wasn't very flavorful (Oscar)
Worst yorkshire, ever. It was dense like a sponge. (Darren, picture to the right)
Our waitress was cute, and she took very good care of us (Darren)
Very generous portions (Oscar)
The hand dryer in the bathroom, while not a Dyson Airblade, was still pretty good. It definitely made the skin on the back of my hands flap. (Franc)
Is there an organic tax of 30%? (Darren)
The food itself was nothing special (Giovanni)
I like the atmosphere, the appetizers were very good. (Vera)
The appetizers were good, the main left something to be desired. Overpriced. (Roland)
I expected much more flavorful food, but it was a bit disappointing. (Franc)

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)

Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: All Pubs visited including today's are noted with their scores in parentheses

View

Daiwa Katsu Day!

2010-03-19T21:20:00.004Z

It is entirely possible that I'm the only one who wonders if the food is better at the subsidized cafeterias of other investment banks. If not, please feel free to read on.

While out a few weeks ago, a friend raved about the chicken katsu curry available in the Daiwa Bank Cafeteria.
Of course I had to ask if I could drop by and have the Daiwa Katsu experience, and he kindly said yes.

Daiwa Katsu Day was scheduled, marked on the calendar, and after much anticipation, arrived today.

I arrived at Daiwa's offices on King William Street, right in time to snap the picture above.

After signing in and obtaining a visitor's pass, it was time to feast...and feast we did!

For starters, while their cafeteria is tiny, this chicken katsu was huge. The rice was sticky, the chicken's coating was crunchy, and I chowed my way right into a food coma that I might not have emerged from were it not for the walk back to my office.

As office food goes, this is totally an A+.

ありがとうございます Daiwa!

Out of Order at the Tate Britain

2010-03-14T15:49:00.004Z

It begs the question- what makes an artwork out of order?

In this case, one of the blue cones began leaking sand and had to be removed, leaving only three.

Sugar: May Contain Milk

2010-03-13T23:53:00.001Z

From my Coronet sugar packet at the hospital:

Ingredients
Sugar.
Caution
May contain milk.

What?

Franc v Tube: Détente

2010-03-12T15:45:00.001Z

10 months since the start of Franc v Tube, I'm officially admitting détente.

Given my stubborn nature, I recognize that this decision may come as a surprise. It's not that I can't complete this, but when I consider that:

I am not allowed to run until 12 July 2010 (4 months from the date of my second nerve block)
I no longer live in Putney, which makes running there seem a bit pointless.

...it seems like it is time to pick a new goal.

So my current goal is not to need another epidural in July, as surely I can have croissants outside of the day surgery ward.

I'll pick something more athletic, maybe in August.

Lost in Translation: Smoking May Cause...

2010-03-08T21:38:00.002Z

From the back of Roland's cigarette packaging, purchased in Taiwan...

Smoking may cause pregnancy?

(the actual translation is more along the lines of the expected)

The Most Delicious Grilled Cheese, Ever

2010-03-07T21:22:00.003Z

Behold the most delicious grilled cheese, ever!

It, too, can be yours at Borough Market.

There's a raclette & grilled cheese stand near the courtyard gate on the south side of Southwark Cathedral.
(It receives a strong endorsement from Vera!)

Every Workplace Needs Tea & Safety...

2010-03-02T21:07:00.004Z

...including the Mansion House tube stop.

I like how the "Tea Point" is nestled between the safety- oriented signs.

(Sorry for the blurry photo... the phone's photographic capabilities are clearly compromised by walking. )

The Orange, Pimlico

2010-02-28T21:08:00.018Z

This weekend's stop was Pimlico's The Orange, which was proposed by Oscar after a bit of online research.

Despite miserable weather outside, we all made it to the venue, ready for lunch.

Joining us on the Quest today were Oscar, Darren, and Pinar, on her quest debut.

The Orange offers both a Sunday Menu and a Regular Menu,
and we enjoyed the offerings of both today. Pinar's late arrival gave us an excuse to start off with some garlic bread.

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)

28 day aged Castle of Mey beef rib (Pinar, Oscar, Darren)
Salmon... the details of which are long gone (It wasn't on the online menu) (Franc)

and then there was more...

Orange & white chocolate mousse, spiced oranges (Darren)
Baked cheesecake, poached rhubarb (Pinar - shared)
Selection of country cheeses & biscuits (Oscar & Franc - shared)

Observations: (collective and individual)

The service was not as fast as hoped, but it wasn't slow, either. (Oscar)
Pleasant- definitely more right than wrong (Oscar)
I like the fireplace. The decor is a bit characterless. (Darren)
Generous portions (Pinar)
Salmon crust was a bit too salty, but the fish was very good. (Franc)
When we tried to change our booking three days prior, it was full, but the place didn't fill up until towards the end of our meal (Oscar) The picture to the right was taken when we arrived around 115.
One of the best Sunday lunches I've had (Pinar, who determined that the has eaten approximately ten Sunday roasts, ever)
Staff delivers as asked- but no effort to go beyond (Franc)
Something feels missing (Oscar)
Cozy, and the desserts were nice (Pinar)
The meat was good, and service was okay. (Darren)
Would come again but not next week (Oscar)
It feels a bit sterile, like a US Pottery Barn store (Franc)
....and a lewd comment about the lack of Dyson Airblade. Use your imaginations.

On to the scores: (awarded on these guidelines)

Our Updated Map of Eats:
*note: All Pubs visited including today's are noted with their scores in parentheses

View The Quest for the Best Sunday Roast in a larger map

My Fake Sun

2010-02-22T21:41:00.007Z

So, winter has been dragging along here, and as I've been without Passport, leaving for sunnier places hasn't been an option.

To indulge a sun-deprived tangent...
I think a lot of people think that a UK winter is sunless because it is constantly raining here, but this is untrue! The culprit is latitude.

For example, today, 22 February:
London 51°30′N
Day length: 10h27m 3s Sunrise/ Set: 7:01, 17:28

New York 40°47′N
Day length: 10h58m41s Sunrise/Set: 6:40, 17:39

Now, I know what all you New Yorkers are thinking... it's just as dark in NYC!

Today, yes, but what about two months ago?
Let's look at 21 December, the shortest day of the year:
London: 7h 49m 41s with sunset at 15:53
New York: 9h 15m 04s with sunset at 16:31

Now do you feel a shred of pity?
Lights out before four is rough, especially when it's colder than rainier than usual.

Enter My Fake Sun, aka Philips goLITE, which I purchased 2 weeks ago, in a desperate moment. I decided it was far less expensive than the holidays I wasn't taking, and the reviews it received on Amazon were extremely good.

Does it work?

I think it does. I wouldn't say I feel happier, but getting out of bed in the morning is much less challenging. I noticed a difference within 5 days of use. Whether it works or not, I definitely like sitting near it.

The GoLite/FakeSun also works as an alarm clock, so rather than waking up to the cruel song my Blackberry plays (Calypso, if you wanted to know), I can wake up to the eerie blue glow of My Fake Sun and an audible alert.

I often eat my breakfast with it on, and I've found that the twigs I eat for breakfast look even less appealing in blue light. I suppose I can only expect so much.

**Day Length, Sunrise, & Sunset sourced from www.timeanddate.com

Premier League...

2010-02-18T22:18:00.001Z

I don't know what's worse:

That we saw "Live Premier League..." in the Sky TV Guide, thought football (soccer) was on, selected the program, and learned that the program was, much to our horror, "Premier League Darts" (Burn!)

That a repeat of Premier League Darts is shown in HD on Sky Sports while there's plenty of Vancouver Olympics to be shown. Surely, somewhere in Vancouver, there's Luge in progress?

That Bank of England Governor Mervyn King shares his name with darts dynamo Mervyn King. The former has probably been guiding economic policy in silence, while the latter has Motörhead's King of Kings as a walk on song. (Walk on song?)

FYI: Drinking during competition was banned by the British Darts Organization in the late 80s.

The BBC Weather Ball

2010-02-17T22:42:00.000Z

I'm generally very quick to correct friends who envisage London as a place of frequent and torrential rain, perpetually gray skies, and a national umbrella- toting hobby. When a visiting friend asked if rain boots would be a wise thing to pack, I actually laughed.

London is all about drizzle. It's not constant, and it's generally just enough to turn my hair (in the absence of chemical processing) into a frizz so massive that it would be the envy of any 80's hair band.

That said, I believe that Wednesday's sunny forecast is really just a trick to enliven the national spirit. Planting a seed of hope of just a few sunny intervals could restore my faith that spring may someday come.

This sort of bold fibbing would be unaceptable in the US, where the weather forecast is considered a reliable indicator of the climate during the day ahead.

Such is not so in the UK, where it seems to be generally accepted that the weather forecast, much like a newspaper horoscope or the wisdom of the Psychic Friends Network is for entertainment purposes only. People dress for all possible weather outcomes. Umbrellas are carried daily, as are sunglasses, just in case.

In fact, I've found that the single most indicative feature in a BBC weather report isn't the weather map, the sunny and rainy icons, or even what the newscaster is wearing during an outdoor broadcast.

It's the BBC weather ball!

That sphere behind the broadcaster may look like a giant bowling ball, or perhaps Earth as viewed from space, but it is neither. That ball contains the most accurate weather forecast available on BBC.

One can see that while London is clearly promised sun in the BBC five day forecast, the weather ball offers only rain and clouds.

I'll be dressing per weather ball tomorrow, a photo supporting my hypothesis will follow.

Warning: this might end up turning into an entire thread as I embrace the local hobby of weather obsession.
-----
Wednesday outcome: (photo on right)
Sunny through the afternoon-- The Weather Ball disappoints!

I believe I may have documented the "current state" weather ball, displayed at the start of the weather report, rather than the "future state" ball, displayed at the end of the forecast.

Further analysis to follow... something about stubborness....

The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping

2010-01-31T22:42:00.002Z

Today's pub, The Prospect of Whitby, lays claim to being the site of the oldest riverside tavern, dating from around 1520. (Thanks, Wikipedia)

Joining us on the Quest today are Vera, Roland, Oscar & Darren.

Vera & Roland chose this spot, local to theirs, and they arranged an excellent table in the back dining room overlooking the Thames. (pictured towards the bottom)

As you can see, the menu contains all of the staples.

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)

Beef Roast (Oscar, Franc)
Lamb Roast (Vera)
Pie of the Day - Steak & Ale (Roland, Darren)

And then there were three orders of onion rings:

You may think that one order to share would be adequate, but no. Ever since the infamous Key Lime Pie incident of '05 where Darren ordered pie for himself and others thought it was to share, we all know that eating something Darren orders may result in hours of moaning. Thus, when his onion rings were shared, we made sure to order PLENTY more.

and we all shared some dessert:

Sticky Toffee Pudding
Spotted Dick
Treacle Sponge

Observations: (collective and individual)

In the English tradition, the vegetables were boiled to death (Oscar)
The food was OK. (Roland)
Cute outdoor patio- might be nice in summer (Franc)
I like the noose. (Roland, on the view from our table, pictured)
The staff was very friendly and checked on us multiple times. (Vera)
When making the reservation, they asked if we'd like a table with Thames views (Vera)
There was nothing wrong with the meal, but there was nothing special about it, either (Oscar)
The Fish & chips look amazing- next time! (Vera)
I like the space, but I don't think I'd travel for it. (Darren)
Food was fine and definitely acceptable at this price point. (Franc)
Darren liked those onion rings (Franc)

The Well, Clerkenwell

2010-01-24T19:51:00.004Z

Today's rendez-vous point was Clerkenwell's The Well. Selected for its convenient proximity to our new digs, this was our first meal at this spot, which we had previously only visited for a drink or two.

Joining us on the Quest today are Vera, Roland, Oscar, & Darren.

Not joining us is Dag, who despite asking specifically to come along this Sunday, cancelled on Friday. Werder Bremen weren't playing today, but we're sure there's a good reason for his absence.

We settled in at the venue, only to find that Oscar had overslept.

Being a polite lot, we waited for his arrival to place our orders. The waitress fed us bread as a bit of a consolation prize and despite getting a late start to order, we at no point were hurried.

The Well's Sunday menu boasts both a brunch and a lunch section, but we stayed on plan and stuck to the lunch offerings.

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)

Roast fore-rib of beef, Yorkshire pudding, creamed horseradish (Vera, Roland, Oscar, & Franc)
Billingsgate Fish Pie (Darren)

and because we like to eat... dessert!

Golden syrup pudding, custard (Darren)
Pear tart tatin, vanilla ice cream (Vera)
Selection of British cheeses, oatcakes and quince jelly: Mrs Bell’s Blue, Spenwood, Isle of Avalon, Tovey, Smoked Gubbeen (split by Franc & Oscar)

Observations: (collective and individual)

I received everything I wanted, as I wanted it. I asked for a more rare piece of beef, and the server gave me the rarest serving on the table. (Oscar)
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The dining area's design is well executed but in no way unique. (Roland)
My faith and will to live are restored (Roland, still scarred from his last roast)
I like the aesthetic of the brick walls, windows, and blue window trim. (Vera)
The Roast was served with plenty of vegetables, horseradish sauce, and amuch appreciated little boat of gravy. (Franc)
The Oatcakes with the cheeseboard were crunchy, delicious, and not too thick, and I usually won't eat oatcakes because I think they take from the cheese experience. I also liked (aka: devoured) the generous ramekin of quince. (Franc)
Nice, clean, modern space. (Darren)
Good list of whiskeys (Oscar)
Fishtank in the basement is nifty. (Franc)
The sliced lemons in the water are a nice touch. (Franc)
The staff was very understanding about our late friend (Darren)
I have a new favorite dessert (Darren, who also declared last week's pub as his favorite dessert... it seems the torch has been passed)

The Easton, Clerkenwell

2010-01-17T16:57:00.000Z

Our first Roast of 2010 is The Easton.

We had actually planned to skip roast this week, and instead, to have a wander around the neighborhood. I had high hopes for my camera on this first sunny weekend day of the year, but after said walk and a dearth of souls I wanted to steal, we were hungry.

We had read about The Easton in the past, and when we found ourselves around the corner at Exmouth Market, we decided to venture over.

From the outside this pub looks like nothing special. It doesn't even have door handles. It actually looked almost closed, as the windows were covered with condensation.

The wave of deliciousness hits you once you open the door. It smells amazing. The interior is simple, bright, and very clean. The collection of mismatching chairs lends character.

The menu, pictured, looks wonderful.

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)

Roast Beef (Darren & Franc)
Apple Crumble (Darren)
Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding (Franc)

Observations: (collective and individual)

Every table was booked; however, the staff welcomed us to sit for as long as the table was available. (We enjoyed Rodney's 2:30 table until 2:15.)
Portions were very generous. (Franc)
The meat was a bit gristly on the edges, but removing those bits, it was excellent. (Darren)
The food was served piping hot. (see picture, Franc)
The mix of vegetables with the roast was nice.
It was both child and dog-friendly
Best dessert since I've moved back to the UK (Darren, who moved back 2 years ago)
I'm glad I didn't have to share my dessert (Franc)
Our table was for four, but it wasn't suited for four, as the table's legs got in the way on two sides. (Darren)
Ladies' room was impeccably clean. (Franc)
This pub could be much more aesthetically inviting from the outside and cozier on the interior.
We would definitely come here again.

Oscarkitty

2010-01-14T19:47:00.009Z

I had to put my cat of 13 years, Oscar, to sleep nearly two weeks ago.

I've never felt so deeply saddened by a decision I executed without a shred of regret.

I found my old friend at the ASPCA, where he cowered in the back in a cage labeled, "George". According to this cage, George was a loving, two year old cat whose previous owners had to part with him because they had concerns about having a baby and a cat.

All lies, I tell you. Lies!

What actually hid inside that cage was a huge, unneutered, 8 month old cat who was easily overstimulated and was a bit of a biter. He didn't bite hard enough to cause injury, but it was enough to be very unpleasant. He had little thumbs which clicked when he walked, which at least allowed one an opportunity to take cover before he lunged.

I named him Oscar. He sucked, but he was mine. I loved him from the minute I held him.

He would run back and forth across my apartment, headbutting mugs off the arm rests of the futons. He burnt part of his whiskers off on a lit candle. He got stuck in a basket. He chewed on cables. He went too far onto the ledge when the cable guy left the window open and may have only survived due to rapid foodbag shaking. He was prone to lunging at the faces of people with sinus congestion.

He developed chronic urinary tract problems, which were only sorted after endless veterinary bills and the procedural equivalent of a gender change.

He ate half a stick of butter, and only stopped eating when I took it away. He rode the train to Albany in a cardboard box labelled, "glasses" and kept me company while I recovered from surgery. He played fetch with me while I did my calculus homework. He let burglars empty my apartment. He threw up on my loft bed while I was out. He started to purr for us.

He terrorized my mother's little dog, only to be terrorized himself by the cats he shared his home with. He howled through the night. He loved sleeping with us. He was such a nag I got him an automatic feeder. He was aggressive towards rollerblades.

He made my home a home. He became a lap kitty. He rested his head on my wrist for hours while I typed, working from home with a broken foot. He stopped fighting at bathtime. He managed to wake up my deeply sleeping housemate while I was in South America by slamming into his door.

He mellowed. He flew on planes and was pet by children. He was too tall for the cat-sized cargo carrier. He held it for over 30 hours when transported from my brother's in Florida to London. He developed a fear of suitcases but overcame his fear of the vaccuum.

He developed diabetes. It aged him rapidly. We gave him insulin. He stopped being able to jump onto the bed. We bought him a ridiculous set of stairs. He grew thin. He still wasn't much for having his picture taken.

He began breathing very quickly. Possibly a chest infection, maybe tumors, the tests were inconclusive. There were antibiotics, a nebulizer, and the aerokat. They alleviated his symptoms, but it didn't cure him. He grew thinner and weaker each month. The nebulizer made him fear us, the stress exacerbated his diabetes. Still, he tried to eat my ice cream. He remained social and seemed happy to be with us.

When the antibiotics ran out after four months of subcutaneous injections, we stopped the medication. In the week that followed, he grew more weak. I didn't want him to suffer.

His favorite people came to visit. We had a bit of a party.

Saturday came, and I took him to the Vet for the last time. He was peaceful.

Photo du Jour: At the British Museum

2010-01-07T20:44:00.004Z

The British Museum is one of my favorite places in London.

I've fibbed a bit here, as I took this on the 22nd of December, but I've not had time to post it.

I'll probably resume Photo du Jour more frequently when Spring arrives, but until then, I'll be posting as opportunity permits.

Training Update: 28 December 2009

2009-12-28T20:38:00.000Z

So, as expected, I've been hard at work eating. It is the holidays, after all, so I'm just going to be thankful that my gym clothes are stretchy.

I had my appointment for my second opinion with my new extra super sports medicine doctor (ESSMD) earlier this week. I describe him as, "extra super" because not only did my physio recommend him, but after receiving a fax about my intentions to seek a second opinion from ESSMD, my GP actually called up, raved about him, and mentioned that he is the consultant physician to the England rugby union.

Anyway, the ESSMD checked out my scans and agreed that I don't have a normal MRI. Looking at the cross section scans, the nerve is definitely a bit compromised.

Given that, I have two options:
A. Have an epidural, performed by a doctor referred by the ESSMD
B. Resume all my old exercise slowly, and see if the situation worsens. Supposedly, I can't really do further permanent damage to myself, and my worst case is that the nerve flares up badly again.

I've opted for plan B. From what I gather, the epidural is likely an inevitability, but I would prefer to put it off a bit, if possible. Besides, I have a new gym membership that is very convenient for my new digs that I'm so looking forward to.

So, I went for my first bit of running in over two months last Tuesday. On the treadmill, two minutes jog, one minute walk for the most part. It's not particularly exciting, but it's a start. The nerve hurts a bit, so we'll see how this goes. My physiotherapist is away for the next few weeks, so this is a good bit of test time.

With any luck, it will all go well, and these posts can start getting interesting.

A number of people have asked me how my upcoming move will affect my plans for Franc v. Tube, as following a move to a new flat in January, my despised commute will be a thing of the past.

I do plan to do my little train race, even with a new home location. I'll just have to pick up a beer along the way to drink on the finish line of my old front step, rather than collecting one from my old flat.

The Sun in Splendour, Notting Hill

2009-12-20T19:50:00.004Z

*Please Note: following our experience at this pub, the manager contacted us, apologized, and expressed that we had chosen his first Sunday off this year to drop in. He kindly offered us a free meal to make it up to us, which we declined. Our experience at this venue may not have been typical, and I am highlighting this because of the generous customer service which followed when Darren (the third commenter on this post) contacted them.

Today's choice, The Sun in Splendour, came highly recommended by Roland's father. Admittedly, the last time he had visited this Notting Hill spot was well before any of us were born, but it still seemed worth a go.

With the holiday season upon us, we thought it a good choice, as while visiting his family, Roland can report back that we have taken the kind advice of our elders and have put it to good use.

Joining us on the Quest today filled with festive cheer were Robin (visiting from NYC), Vera, Roland, Oscar, and Darren.

The Sunday menu is available here. Oscar was so enthused, he decided what he was going to order the night before.

All was going well until we actually arrived at this pub. Upon arriving, I found that the reservation I made for six people got us a table that wasnt meant for six people and wasn't even particularly well suited for eating. (Those are my knees in the bottom of the picture.) It was really a bit like eating at a coffee table. When I pointed ths out, the staff made no effort to offer us an alternative.

As you can also see from the picture on the left, we were given a table with someone else's garbage was on it, which we eventually cleared ourselves after ten minutes. (The Blackberry, pint of beer, and glass of wine were ours- the rest was not)

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)
Beef Roast: Robin, Oscar, Vera, Darren, & Franc

Steak & Ale Pie: Roland

Traditionally, we discuss the food a bit later in the entry, but as our meal was missing two key components that were promised by the menu, I've assembled this picture to highlight these obvious shortcomings:

When we asked about the missing yorkshires, we were told that they had run out, without apology or offer to make up for it. The swede was never accounted for. The food was cold. I bet I spent more time on this diagram than the kitchen did on our food.

Observations: (collective and individual)

My food was freaking cold. (Everyone's food was genuinely cold, except for Roland's pie)
The beef was veiny and tough. Parts of the meal were missing. (Darren)
My Sunday is ruined (Oscar)
Everyone thought I was lucky to have warm food! (Roland)
Vera wants to leave England now. (Roland, speaking for Vera)
The pub dining area is nice (Robin)
I made a reservation for six, and got a table unsuitable for six people dining. The pub wasn't packed. (Franc)
Ladies Bathrooms lacked soap, a working hand dryer, or towels. They weren't particularly clean, but I liked the Nana-tastic wallpaper - pictured (Franc)
Mashed potatoes AND Roasted potatoes? Where are my any of my 5 a day?
I lowered my environment score further after experiencing the bathroom. The urinal coming off the wall was a nice touch. (Darren)
I've seen better portable bathrooms (Oscar on the men's room)
The food was better than my mother's cooking (Robin, before she regaled us with tales of her mother's cooking, which seems to involve a lot of boiled meat and a casserole (recipe) involving Velveeta, Ritz Crackers, and God only knows what else.)
While doing our scores, the waiter cleared our dishes. We made no effort to hide that we were doing a review and that we were tremendously disappointed, and again, the staff made no effort to apologize.
Simply put, this was our worst pub of the year. The only good thing about it was the bar space itself, which was nice enough.

Worcester, UK

2009-11-28T16:26:00.004Z

Last weekend, as a part of my ongoing effort to see new parts of my new home, we (Vera, Roland, Darren, & I) headed to Worcester.

We didn't choose it for any reason other than it was there, and we hadn't been.

It's a relatively short trip by train from Paddington of just 2.5 hours. We immediately checked in to our hotel and headed out into the rain in pursuit of lunch.

After lunch, we headed over to Worcester Cathedral, and took lots of inside pictures. The Cathedral's construction started in 1084, and its crypt dates from the 10th century.

As we were clearly on a roll, absorbing heaps of local culture, we then went to the Worcester Porcelain Museum.

Sadly we were denied, as the museum was closing at four, and we were advised that we would need more than half an hour to soak in the experience. I managed to console myself with a photo op with this guy (Henry Sandon) from Antiques Roadshow.

Spirits dampened, we wandered around in the rain some more, until I decided that rainboots were in order because my shoes were failing me. Unfortunately, trying to find a pair of Wellies on a rainy day that weren't pink and actually came in my size was a bit of a challenge. In the end, I emerged with not only dry feet but a pair of unoffensive navy blue rainboots, reminiscent of those I owned at age 5.

I did what one does with new rainboots. I took them to the pub, and I consumed a beer in them.

We headed back down the street to Saffron's, and enjoyed an excellent dinner there. The Sticky Toffee Pudding was enjoyed by all, and after dinner, we all lamely admitted defeat and had an early night.

Sunday morning brought a bit of respite from the rain, and we had a bit of a wander around both a farmer's market and a shopping mall which was full of shops that hadn't opened yet.

At the Farmer's Market we discovered an excellent source of Scotch Eggs.

After meeting up with Vera & Roland and wandering until the deluge resumed, we had a quick lunch and headed over to The Commandery, which is a 12th century building that has been converted into a museum.

Over the course of it's lengthy history, it has served numerous functions, including a hospital, a school for the blind, and as Civil War headquarters. It was definitely worth a visit, thanks to the audio guide, which allowed a user to tour the building and hear about the role of different rooms and areas of the building at one's selected time period. (Picture taken from the balcony in the Commandery's main hall.)

We wrapped up and headed to the train, right in time to head back to London at half three.

Life in the UK: A Journey of Multiple Choice

2009-11-25T18:19:00.002Z

Long, long ago, I thought it would be interesting and fun to study for my Life in the UK Test.

Needless to say, lots of things seem like they could be enjoyable before you actually do them, and this is of no exception. A bit of procrastination teamed with my selecting a test date rather late in the game probably weren't among my best decisions.

Some sections were more interesting to learn than others. Among the things I have learned in preparation for my "journey to citizenship", or at least indefinite leave to remain include:

There are 646 Parliamentary Constitutencies.
An employer may descriminate potential employees if the job functions are to be carried out in the employer's home.
2.7% of the population is Muslim
One may drink at age 16 at a pub or hotel, provided it is done so with a meal.
One may obtain free tickets to see the House of Commons by contacting one's MP.
A helmet must be worn while driving a motorcycle, unless the driver is male, Sikh, and wearing a turban.
Scots Ulster is spoken in Northern Ireland.
Provisional Drivers must put a sign with an L on their car, unless the driver is in Wales, where a D is used.
There are four bank holidays.
The NHS was founded in 1948.
Pregnant women receive free prescriptions.
If one is blind, one gets 50% off the TV licensing fee.

I went armed with said information to my test center in Wimbledon, ready to face my 24 questions in 45 minutes. I arrived at 9:00 leaving plenty of time to spare, only to find that the Wimbledon Library is closed until 9:30.

After a bit of loitering, we were allowed in and advised to queue outside of the examination room in the back of the library. (pictured)

I was thrilled! This provided me a prime opportunity to gleefully inform people that I had been hoping that queuing would be on the test.

Sadly, No one thought this was quite as hilarious as I did.

After that, the ID checking began. There was 45 minutes of ID checking and registration. Then, after a brief practice test, we were allowed to start.

4 minutes later with answers triple checked, I left the test room to wait for my results.

As you can see, I passed.

In addition to the satisfaction of a job well done, I also got a Percy Pig cake!
(Thanks, Darren!)

Training Update: 20 November - TMI?

2009-11-20T20:08:00.013Z

So, about that little break I've been taking...

I've had a sciatic nerve inflammation wreaking havoc with me for a long time. Since oct 2005, in fact.

I've mostly just coped with it. I take conference calls standing up, I avoid chairs where my knees are higher than my hips, I gave up big heels, and I sleep with my leg turned a certain way.

Two orthopedic surgeons, two physiotherapists, and a massqage therapist in the States were convinced it was a hamstring problem and best they did for me was a lot of flexeril. I really thought this was just going to be permanent.

I got to the UK, and was advised that the culprit was likely the nerve, and the assigned tracking exercises made an incredible difference. I was amazed how something so basic radically improved the situation. I still was in agony when required to sit for long durations, but I could manage long haul flights with anti- inflammatory meds. Even better, the stability work I've been doing all year was expected to help set me straight long term.

Then, it seemingly flared up out of nowhere. Seemingly because the pain didn't specifically correlate with anything I did or didn't do. Such was true until I woke up very sore along the nerve in my back after a more challenging run at the end of October.

An MRI was suggested, so I once again benched myself, and I waited.

The radiologist's report claimed a normal result, which my sports med doc agreed with and suggested a few weeks of accupuncture. More than half of MRIs administered to people my age show disc issues that have no injury symptoms according to the doc, so it seems that a normal scan may just mean nothing extreme.

A few weeks in, I'm no better, and my physio, who is a spine specialist, is encouraging a second opinion because he and several of his colleagues think that the bump highlighted in the picture is the cause of my woes. That's where a disc appears to be pressing on my nerve.

So, my goals of racing the train will not be met this year, but I'm still not giving up.

The Boaters Inn, Kingston

2009-11-15T20:54:00.009Z

This week's selection, The Boaters Inn, came highly recommended by Tamara, so we trekked out to Kingston to check it out.

The Boaters is located at the northern end of a really cute park, and has views out on to the Thames. It has lots of outside seating, and I'm looking forward to visiting it in the summer

The Menu is to the left.

Joining us on the quest today were Tamara, Shaun, Bridgette, Pete, baby Max (not voting), Vera, Roland, Darren, and myself.

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)

Roasted Sirloin of Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Horseradish (Tamara, Shaun, Bridgette, Vera, Roland, Franc)
Roasted Shoulder of Pork, Apple Sauce, Savoy Cabbage (Pete)
Wild Boar & Apple Sausages, Mash, Braised Red Cabbage (Darren)

Observations: (collective and individual)

Nice portion sizes, nice location, service slow but good. (Bridgette)
It's nice being next to the water (Darren)
"I would have liked dessert, but they took so long to offer it" (Darren) - what lured us here was that Tam said this pub had really good Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Bathrooms accessable from the Pub's vestibule means no one has to sit next to it. (Bridgette)
Applesauce with the pork was a a nice touch (Pete)
The roast potatoes were a bit hard, otherwise the food was good and an excellent value. (Roland)
The roast beef was tender and delicious. (Vera) - Roland claims that Vera described her roast beef as the best yet.
Beautiful location, solidly good food, slow service- but we really didn't mind. I'd come back. (Franc)

The King's Arms, Southwark

2009-11-08T22:03:00.000Z

More neighborhood location scouting brought us over to Southwark's The Kings Arms, which is on the southern side of Tower Bridge.

Joining us on today's quest were Vera & Roland.

We settled in and checked out the menu, as always...

and then we ordered

Dishes Ordered: (Pictured left to right)

Lamb Roast (Vera, Roland)
Beef Roast (Franc, Darren)

and dessert

Cheesecake (Roland)
Chocolate Pudding (Franc & Darren- shared)
Waffle with Ice Cream (Vera)

Observations: (collective and individual)

The pub was really dark. Each table had candles, which was cute, but such didn't lend itself to food pictures
No board games, but a good, cozy atmosphere
Good bar knicknacks...including a horse statue with a, "don't touch me" sign
The doors weren't labelled; Roland kept pushing on a "Pull" door when going outside for a cigarette, which entertained the rest of us plenty
The bathrooms were positively arctic, as all pub bathroms should be in November
The lamb was delicious, but the beef was way overcooked and just tough. Desserts were good.
Prices seemed a bit high for what it was.

More fun with Pub Names

2009-11-04T18:42:00.001Z

If they had a Sunday Roast, we'd have to go.

Yes, I'm juvenille...

2009-11-02T00:01:00.001Z

...and this never stops being funny.

This one's for Squier.

The Green, Clerkenwell

2009-11-01T18:45:00.002Z

After quite a few weeks off, we resumed our Quest with lunch at The Green in Clerkenwell.

I've had lunch at this pub, which is within walking distance of my office, but this was my first Sunday Roast.

We'll probably be looking at more pubs in this area as year end approaches, as we're considering Clerkenwell as our next home.

The menu had all the traditional stuffs.

Joining us today were
Vera & Roland of Taiwanese Wedding fame, and our friend Oscar, who was making his Quest debut.

Dishes Ordered:
(Pictured left to right)

Maple & Horseradish roasted sirloin of beef with roast parsnip, onion, & garlic (Darren, Oscar, Franc)
Roast Loin of pork with braised red cabbage, baked apples, and crackling (Roland)
Roast Chicken with a chorizo & red pepper stuffing, greens and real chicken gravy (Vera)

and sides of roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, and vegetables were served family style:

Naturally, we caved in for dessert.
The stilton & quince was lovely, so lovely that we all forgot to document it.
We made up for it by also eating dessert!

(Pictured left to right)

Banoffee Pie (Split by Oscar & Franc)
Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream (Roland, Darren)
Chocolate and clementine mousse torte (Vera)

Observations: (collective and individual)

Potatoes & Yorkshires were excellent (Darren)
The family-style serving of the sides is nice (Franc)
Roasts were a little more done than anticipated (medium well, rather than medium rare)
Service was excellent. Attentive, but we never felt rushed.
Bathrooms were fine, but not spectacular. (Nothing a Dyson airblade wouldn't fix!)

Tomorrow's Weather: Ready the Ark

2009-10-31T22:57:00.002Z

According to BBC Weather, nearly all of the United Kingdom will be underwater by ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

Photo du Jour : Fun with Pub Names

2009-10-31T19:28:00.003Z

Yes, this pub is called what you think it is.

Photo du Jour: Postman's Park

2009-10-28T21:05:00.005Z

I decided to use the overcast day as a reason not to wander too far from work today to a place I really like, the Postman's Park.

As usual, you can read all about it here on Wikipedia.

The Postman's Park is home to the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice which recognizes the acts of kindness made by ordinary citizens who lost their lives when saving another's. It was first created in 1900.

The walls of the memorial are covered in tiles, which name the late hero and the brave action which lead to their untimely death.

The most recent tile was added in 2009

I hadn't noticed flowers at the Memorial before, but today, there were two sets, which prompted this shot on the left.

I shot 15 frames today, and this picture on the left was my first. (I was saying to a friend yesterday that my first shots are never what I want, compositionally).

As I didn't post anything yesterday, and because it's really hard for me to only post one picture because there's so much to take in, here's another (right). The stories captured within the wall are all so varied, that I'll have to come back again to share more.

Photo du Jour: Canary Wharf

2009-10-26T00:40:00.000Z

As Mondays are never good dasy to drag the camera in, I'm using another of Sunday's.

Canary Wharf is home to some of London's tallest buildings, as a number of rules have ensure the survival of London's protected views and skyline.

Photo du Jour: In the Chang-Dowdeswell Kitchen

2009-10-25T21:18:00.003Z

Today we went to visit our friends, Vera & Roland, at their snazzy new flat in East London.

The visit was worth the ride on the Jubilee line and not only for the company, as our kind hosts also cooked a delicious dinner which included noodles with pork and scallions seared with lardons.

This was my favorite picture today.
I like how they're stirring in synch, both looking intently at their respective pans.

I'm looking forward to our next delicious visit already!

Photo du Jour: My New Project

2009-10-24T15:50:00.004+01:00

This morning, I decided that I was going to learn to knit.

My Grandma Rosa tried to teach me to crochet when I was little, but I really never progressed beyond making a very, very long string.

I headed over to Stash Yarns, and with a good bit of help from the staff and other customers, I picked out this turquoise yarn to go with these expertly suggested knitting needles.

I'm going to try to pick this up using KnittingHelp.com, but I've also ordered a copy of The Stitch 'n Bitch Handbook, which came highly recommended as well.

We'll see how it goes. Perhaps I'll become knitting mad and abandon the gym in favor of this knitting group.

Photo du Jour : Strawberries

2009-10-23T15:52:00.005+01:00

I worked from home today in order to take the cat to the vet.

The perks of working at home for the day may include a fridge full of berries, and fortunately, such held true for today.

In taking this picture, I decided to take advantage of the natural light pouring in from the living room windows. (Yes, more evidence of London sunshine!) I took the colander full of berries and put it on a plate on the rug, right in the sunshine.

All was going to plan until the cat walked over and proceeded to take a seat at the berries.

He wouldn't budge.

Being able to crop a photo is key, I just never thought I'd need to do it to remove cat legs from a picture of fruit.

Photo du Jour: Ladybugs @ Barbican

2009-10-22T21:43:00.006+01:00

Today, I took advantage of the springlike weather and wandered over to the Barbican Centre, thinking there would be plenty of things I'd like to take pictures of.

Indeed, there were; however, all but one are there every day.

One of the elevated, brick walkways was covered in ladybugs, or as the English call them, "ladybirds". There were so many, it was impossible to quickly walk along the sunny pathway without stepping on them.

It's a bit late in the season for them. I snapped this one, having just ventured into the sun.

Here's a neat bit of trivia about ladybugs from the wikipedia link above:
In Dutch, the ladybird is called lieveheersbeestje, translating to Our Dear Lord's little creature.

Photo du Jour: at Gray's Inn

2009-10-21T20:00:00.008+01:00

It might seem that I've been slacking a bit on my plan to take a picture everyday.
I'm not. I have other excuses!

Anyway, today's shot was taken from the Western edge of Gray's Inn, which is one of the four Inns of Court in London. In the UK, students of law specialize as either Barristers or Solicitors, and all Barristers must belong to one of these four Inns.

The Inn consists of a series of buildings, connected by gardened paths, called Walks. According to Wikipedia's entry on Gray's Inn, Francis Bacon, one the Inn's most famous members, was to be paid £7 for "planting of trees in the walkes", in 1597, according to records.