On the day following King George V’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, 6th May 1935, George Orwell took a break from writing A Clergyman’s Daughter to type a letter to his friend and one-time romantic interest, Brenda Salkeld. Among Orwell’s usual topics of discussion (politics, literature, and low-culture) the author outlined what he described as a “wonderful” ox-kidney…
Tag: lifestyle
Scoping out the West
The search for our first place continues, and on a fine August Saturday afternoon it took Herself and I to Chiswick in West London. We had arranged to view a neat little one bedroom flat above a restaurant on the High Road and we’re excited about a change of scenery. We set on the idea of getting…
The Long Way Down
With unrealistic demands, a laughable budget, and an impossible deadline, we were humoured, had our details taken, and then swiftly shown the door from least 10 different offices. If anywhere was available, they told us, it was taken just before we walked in – of course. Not to worry, I said to Herself, if it comes to the worst then we can always spend a few weeks sleeping on the Embankment like a pair of down and outs. At least we’re having nice weather at the moment. I can start collecting cardboard boxes just in case. I like to think of these kinds of ideas as being romantic, she prefers to call them stupid.
Happy Sunday from London
We shared a can of beer after work and went for a walk in the cool evening air, Wednesday last. Herself lives near the old London Docks, so we threw some shapes down through Wapping by way of Shadwell. This here is Shadwell Basin. It’s a beautiful little spot. I’m sure you will agree. The water was…
A Chance Meeting in Camden
On the walk to work the other morning, I caught a young lad doing a bit of spray-painting on a wall near the office. “That’s looking grand,” I remarked, “I’ll have to take a photograph when it’s finished.” “Thanks,” he said, ” It’s looking a lot better than it did yesterday. I went a bit…
A Weekend in Greece
If you ever happen to find yourself spending some of your very important and hard-earned vacation time in Thessaloniki, the capital of Greek Macedonia and the country’s second largest city by population, there are a number of details to which you will become privy about Greek culture that will forever change how you perceive this Southern European Republic and…
Market Day in the East End (Street Art Gallery)
We woke up late and after a breakfast of eggs and coffee we made our way to Brick Lane to see what we could find. It was a Sunday morning and the East End was alive with the rattle and chaos of the weekend markets. If you’re not partial to being pushed and shoved by…