London Maps

A text message from one of my wonderful sisters-in-law this week went like this:

her: watcha up2 this weekend?
me: gonna c a map exibition
her: you party animal

It was actually really interesting! London: A Life in Maps is now on at the British Library. Party on.

Upstairs on a London bus

My favourite place to sit on a London bus is upstairs at the front. My second favourite is downstairs at the back, which is where I was today. Riding along in the bus, looking out of the window, I spotted celebrity chef Gary Rhodes walking along Oxford Street so I thought I’d blog him and add him to the growing list of celebs I’m spotting in London. Want to see who else I’ve seen? Have a look here, here and here, but only if you want to.

Snow in London

A couple of inches of snow and London was thrown into chaos. Our garden looked fab though. Here's some spring crocus trying to push up through the snow.

Get your boots on

Watching TOTP2 on telly the other day, King came on and sang Love and Pride from 1984. I almost fell off the sofa. If ever a song can knock me back to a time and a place, it’s that one. It was a good time, it was a good place. I can still smell the cider and Cherry B.

Bonkers

For reasons I can’t identify or explain, I recognise a lot of myself in the characters of both bonkers Sheila from Shameless and off-the-rails Ginger McKenna in Casino (one of my top 5 all-time fave films). And I’m not even blonde, ginger, or bonkers. I’m brunette and just slightly mad.

Power to the People

My first crush ever might have been Donny Osmond. But the first proper grown-up crush I had was aimed firmly in the direction of Wolfie Smith, Marxist revolutionary of the Tooting Popular Front, in 1977. Not a lot of people know that.

Room 101

Paul Merton does a great job as host of Room 101. We went to the recording of one of the shows a couple of years ago when he had Ross Noble in the hot seat and every time I watch Room 101 it makes me think about stuff I really hate so much that I’d want it put away forever. So, here’s a few of my least favourite things I’d happily consign to Room 101.

Black liquorice. It is the food of the devil. However, I love red liquorice laces.

People who don’t hold doors open for others and let the door swing back into someone else’s face, leg, arm. Likewise people who don’t say Thankyou when you hold the door open for them.

People who don’t respect the space of others. Yes, I’m talking about you with your IPod on too loud on a morning when you’re sat next to me on the tube. Or you, nattering into your your mobile phone as you walk through a doorway, clearly too busy to hold it open so that it swings back into someone else’s face, leg, arm.

January in the garden

The last time I was out in the garden taking pictures was December last year. As our first batch of snowdrops shoot up and out of the ground, I thought it worth blogging a picture. You can even see daffodils coming up in the background.

Too Much TV

Desperate Housewives, Ray Mears, Soapstar Superstar, Celebrity Big Brother, Ugly Betty, Football, Coronation Street, Shameless. There's just so much good telly on at the minute, I haven't had time to watch most of yet. Too much TV, not enough life.

Five Things I Don't Know About Me

The lovely Linda emailed this week and tagged me with a meme. Don’t worry, it wasn’t painful. She’s posted Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me on her blog (not about me, about her) and encouraged me to do the same on my blog, (not about her, about me). I thought long and hard - do worry, this was painful - and realised I didn’t want to post anything about me that you don’t already know. I’ll blog anything I’d like you to know when I’m good and ready. So, instead of Five Things You Don’t Know About Me here we go with Five Things I Don’t Know About Me.

1. I don’t know which political party to vote for next time around
2. I don’t know why I’m frightened of heights
3. I don’t know why trying to do algebra at school made me want to cry

4. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going some days
5. I don’t know what to put for number five

Donny Osmond

In amongst the great big pile of lovely books I was given for Christmas was Donny Osmond’s autobiography Life Is Just What You Make It. Donny was my uber-hero when I was a kid and The Osmond’s was the only fan club I’ve ever joined. It seems like another lifetime ago, but the book brought it all sharply back, page by embarrassing page.

David Bowie at 60

It's said that you know you're getting old when policemen start to look young. It's not true. You know you're getting old when one of your heroes turn 60. Happy Birthday David Bowie for January 8th. Did you know January 8 is also the birthday of Elvis Presley and Burly Chassis?

New Year, new haircut

It’s time for another haircut and my salon of choice which fills all the beauty criteria a girl needs (it’s near the office so I can nip out at lunchtime) is one that Time Out magazine this week said was the best in London (possibly true), expensive (definitely true, but I’m worth it). It also said you have to wait weeks for an appointment (so not true).

Taking the tree down

The Christmas tree’s coming down this weekend as it’s twelfth night on Friday January 5. Is there anything sadder than Christmas decorations still up after New Year? Their sparkle seems dull, unwanted, unloved.