London Life

London Dog-Lover
(published on my personal face-book profile, October 2nd, 2012)

Today I was in Metrobank opening an account, which is the only UK bank that allows dogs, and noticed a rather elegant woman of a certain age at the desk next to me with two tiny Italian greyhounds wearing little coats and jewelled collars. She was also opening an account, and had bought a little white blanket with her for the dogs to lie on under her chair. She reminded me of some slightly glamorous retired actress in the Yootha Joyce vein, and had a mobile Bluetooth device continually stuck in her ear. The dogs were very friendly, and she was allowing everyone to pet and make a fuss of them. I noticed one had only one little eye in its little head, and commented to her on that. She said "Yes, it's very sad, she's half-blind. I wanted to give her one of mine but they wouldn't let me".


Star and Crescent
(published on my personal face-book profile, Sept 25th, 2011)

The Turkish flag was shining over my back garden this evening. — in Islington.

Westfield Shopping-Centre

(published on my personal face-book profile, December 24, 2011)

Westfield shopping-centre (Stratford) has a computerized help-desk that tells you where your car is in their vast and numerous car-parks if you type in 3 digits from your number-plate. I could actually only remember 3 yesterday, but within milli-seconds a photo of my car and the bay-number was on-screen. I'd never seen that before. Amazing stuff and just a bit "1984". Still, it was all a bit to no avail, as the directions for getting from the wrong car-park back to the right one were so complicated that I had forgotten them within 30 seconds anyway and got lost. After retracing my steps through the inside of the centre, I arrived 3 minutes after the 4-hour slot, which doubled the fee!

Lovely London-thing

(published on my personal face-book profile, November 15, 2011)

A lovely London-thing happened to me just now as I was walking along Canonbury Road in Islington. 

A guy on a motor-bike pulled up next to me and asked "Do you know where 'T.S. Quail' is round here", showing me the clip-board in front of him where this was typed. "It's for 'The Knowledge'", (evidently he was a trainee taxi-driver). "I have to do the route between Highbury Corner and 'T.S. Quail'".

"Never heard of it" was my first reaction, thinking it sounded like some butcher's shop, possibly a game-specialist. Then, from some obscure place in my brain, it suddenly came to me. "Oh yes, I do know. It is a house down the road here where they train sea-cadets. It's actually called 'Training-Ship Quail'. Probably the least obvious thing you could think of. It is a house at the end of that terrace, but they actually call it a ship. You'll see a sign outside.......".

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner. Well, I guess I might be a little bit of one by now, after all this time living here.