Here are a few snaps of Mum's visit.. Including the WIKID resto we ate in called Sarastro, thats increadibly kitch and roccocco and themed like an opera, but sooo exo! And really nice food too. We also went to the Tate Britain that day to see the Degas, Toulouse Lautrec and Sickert exhibition, to see if the painting could shed some light on the theory that Walter Sickert was none other than Jack the Ripper. His paintings were certainly sinister enough to suggest some dodgy goings on (as well as the fact that he had a deformed willy and may have had some 'issues' with women..!) Anyway, i digress... So, what else.. We went to see Mary Poppins which was totally magical and amazing, and i dont care what anyone says! Even i, the Queen of cynicism totally loved it and couldnt get "anything can happen if you let it!" out of my head for days. Sunday was spent trying to digest the clotted cream and scones of the previous day, and a stroll around the antique shops on Portobello Road. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable weekend! Monday was less cool cause it was ridiculously tiring and i was in strop the whole day for some reason. Im starting to get sick of certain people in my class intellectually compairing penis sizes, i swear to god! Anyway, hopefully my mini-break in BXL will leave me a little more relaxed... Its nice to be away from the mentalness of London. x
I did something very controrsial this morning and im not sure how i feel about it. I decided to go the long way around to college, ie. passing by Covent Garden. My mission was simple: find a nice Adidas (or other) shoulder bag to fit my college books and laptop in. Of course, i didnt find what i was looking for, but i did somehow find myself in Zara at the till, buying (and here's the controversial bit..) a brown, tweedy, smart jacket. My problem is this: i love it but i am disturbed by the fact that i went for an item that may be swerving dangerously close to the borders of Gonzag-Cricket and Co-Country Casuals-Horse and Hound-English lord...ness... Hhhmm... Is that wrong? Will i ever be able to show my face in Dublin again? I certainly wont have any qualms about strolling down to Stockel of a Saturday morning, but will i ever be able to live with myself? Well, i have every confidence in my ability to scruff it up a bit and team it with some suitable diformed trainers to bring it down a notch or two.Aside from the 'Tweed Incident', im utterly disgusted with last nights result. F@#* You Brian Kerr!!! You'd think as an Irish person youd be used to the feeling of dissapointment, wouldnt you?! Anway, better get some reading done. Laters x
Clockwise from top left: Irene, Will, and Margaret. Margaret, Irene and Eli.What a strange night it was last night. We decided to give our college Soiree a go, so we headed down to 'Crush', which is basically a club night that's organised in our student union. It was a bizarre mix St. Anthony's disco, the Footfest disco, and some crazy pill-popping knacker night club. But all in all, we had a cracking time and danced for about 4 hours straight! My poor feet are recovering from the ordeal of having been abused and maimed in my Mary Jane heels. (Note to self: just dont bother wearing heel, when you can just wear trainers..) So now im having a slight identity crisis because its the first Saturday of the first week of term, and im in the library... I cant quite pinpoint how that makes me feel because its so bizarre. But the thing is that its all GO GO GO around here, and i have a presentation (...shiver at the word..) first thing monday. I still have no clue wat im going to say. (Hence the desperate appeals to Helpdesk.dad.com) So there you go. Just found out thankfully from Eibh that theres footie on tonight. Im so bloody out of the loop over here, i didnt have a clue! So i contacted my only Irish friend John and im going to join him and his friends later to watch the match. Better get cracking on the role of blood sacrifice in unifying the nation.. Happy times!Ps... I saw three very disturbing things this morning (i use the term loosely) as i came into college.1) Two knackers/scumbags on the tube beside me actually smoking crack/heroin in a lightbulb.. Absolutely NO shame. Ive never seen someone with a weirder/glassier look in their eyes.2) A girl who could NOT have been more than 8 or 9, wearing skin tight jeans and an ACTUAL belly top3) A PROPER tramp/homeless person walking by with his life belongings in a bin liner, happily sipping away on a Starbucks Frappaccino
Scroll down to the old posts to see some pics!
Look at Dok eating her vegan-veggie pizza in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden! And how weird is this engraving we spotted beside a bank on Kensington High Street??!! Dad, etimological-historical explanation please!!Well well, this feels rather odd, writing in my new blog space! I think its going to be better though cause i can just add pics to each post. So ive actually just spent the last hour and a half in LSE libro doing this.. my, what a dedicated student i am! Ive actually just noticed that its dark outside, that im dying to pee, and that my dinner is 8 tube stops away. I tell you, its craziness around here.. All my class mates are makin me feel like a slacker and it seriously feels like exam time in UCD or something. ITS THE 3RD DAY OF TERM...!! Hello??!! Well i do have a presentation first thing monday, but then again i have lectures only on Monday and Tuesdays ( i kid you not!) so i should find enough time to get some work done. Got my hair cut this morning in this little trendy place in Soho. The place was tiny and the ridiculously camp hairdressers where just chatting away as if they were in their sitting room. Its a funny place Soho. You have lots of gay sex shops and peeps show places with big posters of various lubricants, and then next door you have a dainty little italian deli with lots of different regional products and fresh prosciotto. Strange.. Anyway, im happy enough with my hair and i had a nice time wandering around the red light district before heading into college. Last night i went out with John to this cute and yummy Thai resto (as good as My Thai actually!) and bought him dinner to say thanks for lending me his flat when i first arrived. Then we went to Starbucks for coffee, which is becoming a rather bad habit of mine and induces the same kind of guilt as when i slip and drink Coke, eat Clusters (luvly crunchy Nestle cereals), or buy Nike trainers.. Anyway, ill post some new pics tomorow now that i can!Miaow xxxPS... 'Bon Courage' for Ramadan, Ro xxx
(From Left to Right)Remy, my new flatmate, and Nicholas (Sheffield, of the 2year primary rivalry)Anna Bates, Annie, Theo and Margaret.Hey guys,
Cant stay long cause i have to go to a reception for the Nationalism and Comparative Pol people. Why do they keep throwing us in with them? So today was cool and i finally remembered why the hell i uprooted and moved to this strange and foreign country. I had a general induction/meeting this morning with everyone in the Government Department, which id say is about 100-200 people. Then we had our first meeting with our actual Nationalism class, which is made up of 29 students. (the most ever for that class aparently) We had to do the whole stand up, "hi my name's Stephanie and im an alcoholic.." thing which was kinda embarrassing. By Jove, i think there are about (seriously) 5 people who arent American/Canadian! But theyre all nice so far and we all went out last Tuesday for Remy's birthday, which was cool. (Not at all cool yesterday though as i suffered my first London hangover which was a complete Bitch and left me incapacitated for the whole day!!!) Anyway, of the non-yanks theres an Iraqi-Kurdish Welsh person (!) but he had a briefcase so i dont think i trust him... There are two french girls who look a bit cliquey cause they know each other already. Theres also an 'African American' guy who had those pointy Nigerian pimp shoes that we laught about, and he also had some very bling bling diamond earings i was a bit jealous about. So theyre the ones who stood out. I saw a girl from UCD this morning who used to be in my class before i went to France (she's some posh judge's daughter who used to annoy me.) so im gonna have to spend the year avoiding her! Other than that i joined a load of societies, that no doubt i will never participate in (as is generally the case with Fresher's week..) I joined the Comparative Ideologies Soc., the Friends for Palestine Soc (got a cool badge and loads of stickers!), the Irish society (..yes..i know..i was feeling lonely!) and i think thats it really. Ok, gotta go meet my Nationalism Posse. Looking forward to having Dok over tomorow. Yan and Vero are coming over for dinner so i better tidy the flat a bit. Hope everyone is well. I miss everyone lots! xxx
Hey Jonges en Meijses,
Amro, so good to read your blog comment! Cheered me right up when i read it. I sooo know what you mean about those days when everyone pisses you off. Sometimes i hear myself making bitchy comments in my head about innocent by-standers, without even realising it! Zazabelle, send me a darn picture of your new phunky phone!! Lemme know how the 'Fla' reunion goes. So im in college today and ive taken down the dates and times of my various 'inductions'. Its dead busy today and i think theres a load of undergrads (ha!.. That used to be me a mere few months ago!) and various fresher things going on. Its making me feel nervous seeing people with various brochures and leaflets, cause i keep thinking i should be at something. But no, i think im ok and my first thing will be tomorow in the Peacock Theatre. (Colonel Mustard, in the Billiard Room, with the chandalier..!) So thats about the gossage really... Im seriously missing Dublino though.. the Sacradilliak Crew, my lil Belmont Family! Cant wait for the visits to come!!
Take care kidios!
Boring day today.. Yes, Yes!! I know youre not ALLOWED to say that when youre living in London/Paris/NewYork.. I just dillydallied around this morning and now ive come into Kensington High Street to browse. Why do i do that to myself, when i HAVE no money??! Well actually its Remy's birthday tomorow and since he doesnt know any one, i feel like i should get him a lil something so its not too depressing for him. How do you pick a present for someone youve only known for 3 weeks? I think ill get a book or something. Other than that, think were gonna go out tomorow night with some people from my class. I cant wait till Doki comes over on Friday! Should be good craic and it will be cool for someone real to see my place. Im afraid thats pretty much the (lack of) goss. Not feeling very inspired today im afraid. Im sure ill have more to tell you about next week when i actually start lectures etc... I have my department induction on thursday so ill know more about what's going on. Okidoke, i cant really concenrate cause this Greek couple beside me area fighting really loudly!
Toodles x
Yo Yo!
So its 'le premier jour de la rentree' for me, since this morning i came in to register in LSE.. all very exciting! I couldnt belive how efficient they were with the whole registration process. It only took about 20 mins despite the fact that there were ques wrapped around three floors of the building. (nothing like our dear UCD). Yesterday i met with two of my fellow class mates, Eli (as in Eee-lye... thought he was a girl called Ellie, but turns out he's a boy and just Jewish) and Margaret. We went on a blind date and met at Leicester sq. Theyre both very nice (both American) and me and Margaret went for dinner afterwards in this nasty chinese place in Chinatown.. When am i going to remember that i JUST DONT REALLY LIKE CHINESE FOOD THAT MUCH?!?! So its cool because this morning i met Margaret to go and register together, so it was nice to be with someone else instead of wandering around feeling nerdy. Ive already spotted one guy with a GAA jersey.. didnt spot which county. Quite a few hotties also, but im sure theyll be doing 'serious' courses like Economics or International Trade etc.. So now were just hanging around, killing time until 4 when we meet some other people from the Government department in the pub. You can already spot the potential leaders from their posts on the forum. This one guy who defo seems like the organiser of the group said, and i quote "I am 1.87m tall (6' 2"), white, with dark brown hair. To make things easier I'll be handling a silver pen." .....uuum... excuse me..??!! Bet its fricking Mont Blanc and all! Anyway, i should probably try not to hate everyone before ive even met them so i shall remain open minded. Okidoke, think its time for tea. The student union cafe looks like a film set from a German teen series, or even worse, like Premier Baisers... Very strange.. Ill write with more details/bitchy comments once ive met everyone..
Miaowsers xxx
Well I had my first night in my new plush west ken flat! I feel at home already now that ive settled all my bits and bobs in their new home. It was cool that Yan was able to drive my stuff from the East end to the new apartment because for some reason my possessions seem to have doubled in volume. So hopefully the pictures should be posted up. You can see my room etc and I took a few snaps of the road and the church that’s right next to us(!) Hope the bells wont be peeling too early on a Sunday morning.. Well, if the ‘Moslems’ couldn’t get me to convert, I doubt the Prodys will! On the road behind the flat theres a school and all the kids are like something from an Enid Blyton book, theyre so posh and blonde. They all seem to have those Shep the dog puppies.. Very strange! Other than that I had a nice nights sleep (eventually) in my new bed that is wikidly comfortable. Im so infatuated with my Muji sheets (..yes.. I know.. is it wrong?!) because theyre made of like Scrooge flannel pyjamas material and theyre THE softest most comfy things ive ever felf! (Except Jerry’s belly when he had that operation and had his belly shaved and it was sooooo soft! ANWYAY… I digress!) Well Cepta always said it was important to invest in good quality 100 % sheets, so that was my justification as I handed over my credit card. Did u see my coolio Arabic alphabet poster? I got it in this (slightly frightening) religious shop on Brick Lane for 2 quid and I think it looks deadly. Shame it brings back memories of the C I got in my Arabic test last year.. Ah well.. Not sure what my plans are for the weekend. Hopefully Anna will be coming over for dinner tonight. Check it out, I found a Nicholas off Kensington High Street so I got one of those cute ‘les petites recoltes de Nicholas’ bottles of wine. Then tomorrow I think im meeting Charlie for a coffeee at some stage, which should be nice. Last Sunday I spent the day at Yan and Vero’s and it felt nice to just hang around and watch tv. Its nice to be with your family on Sundays, I always feel. So I think ill probably go around to theirs this Sunday. Im so much closer from here and I can get a bus direct to theirs from just around the corner. Okidoke, I think I better get out and do stuff.. I went out this morning (I use the term loosely) to get some basic stuff in the Tescos Express that’s just 5 minutes away so that’s handy. Its kinda one of those ones that’s aimed at ‘young and trendy singletone working professional types’ so it has lots of ready made meals and organic posh muesli and stuff, so I think ill do my big shopping in one of the larger ones on the ‘high street’ Well anyway, off I go to LSE, methinks, to finally open a bank account now that I have a bill in my name. I LOVE MY FLAT AND I LOVE MY NICE GENEROUS PARENTS THAT ARE ALLOWING ME TO HAVE AN AMAZING YEAR IN AN AMAZING FLAT AND GIVING ME THE OPORTUNITY TO STUDY IN AN AMAZING UNIVERSITY!!!!! THANK YOU MUM AND DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the By, my new address is :
Flat 2, St. Andrew’s Mansions
St. Andrew’s Road
London W14 9SU
Well here I am sitting in (allegedly) one of the biggest/best libraries in Europe! I came into LSE for a wander and to open a bank account but of couse im missing some documentation so ill have to come back in on Friday. I feel like a complete imposter here. Its funny to think that I was like this 4 years ago UCD was completely new and I didn’t know how anything worked. Feel like a fresher all over again! Its annoying cause Library etiquette is different in all universities so im sorta tiptoeing around hoping im not breaking some un-spoken rule.. Its gonna take me a good while to figure out how to use this place, because of the volume of books available and the size of the catalogue. Im sure people will spot me as a rookie from miles away, by the way ill be wandering around with my head up trying to read the signposts! Ah well, it took me about 4 years in UCD to figure out where the periodicals and journals where (I kid you not!) so there ya go… Apart from that, went out to Covent Garden last night and met Carina, who mum tried to fix me up with. It turned out she was very nice and chatty so we had a nice evening (drinks and noodles in wagamama) and then I went home in time for Spooks. Oh yeah, I walked past Ronnie from Eastenders in C. Garden. Remember the one who looked like a Pakistani version of Ross from Friends. He gave me a funny look so I don’t think he’s handling his (non) fame too well. Other than that, im moving in tomorrow so I cant wait. Meeting the landlady (who looks and sounds like Nadia from Big Brother.. she’s from Cyprus) at 4 to get the keys etc. Then I can move my stuff and gradually start feathering my nest! Then ill have another week before registration, so I might actually settle down and read my ‘Theories of Nationalism’ book that ive vaguely flicked through on the tube. So that’s me goss really… Really looking forward to my first visits from Delph, then Mum, then Amro, and hopefully Eibh somewhere in between. Gotta go! Not sure if im allowed to be emailing in the library and don’t want to be thrown out on my first visit! Toodles xxx
Well it seems that the cauchemardesque flathunting may be over! As long as nothing goes horribly wrong tomorow when we go to sign the lease, weve decided to take a foxy place in West Kensington (West Ken!) which is a two bed, very modern flat in a converted Victorian mansion yolk. Its just beside some Queen´s something tennis club which is supposed to be famous. So its well situated and about 5 mins away from West Ken tube, and 5 mins from Barons Court tube which is on the Picadilli line and brings me straight to Holborn (LSE tube stop). So that's all very exciting! As soon as we move in and i figure out how to compress my digital pics, then ill add some fotos of our new gaff. Apart from that, bloody annoyed that we got beaten by France on Wednesday, when they quiet frankly didnt deserve to win! I went to see it in a little local with Yan and some of his french friends, who were really nice. I arrived early and stepped into this weird old skool irish expat bar, where everyone was over 50 and called Tommy or Jimmy. They even had Tayto crisps! Have to say i felt quite home sick that night (of course the fact that i keep listening to Christy Moore's "Missing You" isnt helping matters..) but im slowly getting accustomed to the ridiculously large throngs of people, the two showers a day cause you just feel so darn dirty all the time!!, and the fact that money LITERALLY vanishes from your wallet without so much as leaving a note! Im now well into series 4 of Sex and the City, which has pretty much been my surrogate family in the evenings/my entertainement since theres no telly in apartment im in at the mo. Anyway, i gotsta go get me some foodage before i collopse!
Its so cool that you guys have been leaving me comments! Its nice to feel like im still in contact.
Big up Conor, and sorry for completely stealing your Blog idea! Id love to meet up whenever you come to London. My mobile is : 07962617550 so just gimmee a call whenever!
Willy, merci pour ton message! J'espere que tout va bien et que la rentree n'a pas ete trop dur.. Je promet que je vais mettre des photos tres bientot! Bisous x
Mum, Corinna Mac Court rang last night and was really nice and chatty on the phone etc. Were meeting up for a drink next tuesday in Covent Garden.. Ill give you more details about the new place tomorow after we sign.
Padre, apologies in advance for the massive blood transfusion im going to need to pay for the flat. I promise we'll put you in the poshest retirement home ever ! ;o)
Belmont Gang.. I MISS YOU!!!! I MISS OUR TV NIGHTS!!!! BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS NOW AND COME AND SEE MEEEEEE!!!
Okidoke, im off..... Bisous tout le monde xxx
I officially need a podosectomy after walking around all day yesterday!! Well yesterday was fruitful, in that i made a new friend and we've decided to join forces to look for places etc.. He's french, from St. Etienne and was next to me in a cyver caf and noticed i was looking up Flatshare sites. He's going to be doing an internship in a cabinet whils doing a legal practice course, and had already travelled to the US etc. (Mum, he's pretty much your ideal Gendre..if not mine!) So he's very nice and we went to see like four places yesterday evening.. which were SHITE.. Pretty much felt like i was in La Haine in certain areas, but at least i know where do go if i ever run low on my craic supply! So at least i know not to look in those areas... Visited another place that was like something from This Life..! 3 single working professionals, a guys with trendy glasses called Jo, a pretty and well dressed Indian girl called Sunnita or something (probably a lesbian for good measure) and some english girl named Steph. They were quite nice but a bit pretentious. Nice house but kinda the wrong side of Brick Lane. So this morning i met Remy and were gonna start again from scratch, Loot in hand (a paper with loooads of adds, like the Vlan) Hopefully today will be more succesful and i think we'll cross the Ex-council places off our list!
Toodlepips xxx
Hey kids!
Monday morning.. in Momo's Internet Cafe just checking mails etc. Had a nice evening with Nicholas last night. We went out for dinner in Brick Lane (my new favourite place!) which is only about 5 minutes away from John's flat. We had a meal in an indian restaurant (there's pretty much an indian every second door down on this street!) then we went to this cafe called the Hooka Cafe which i had spotted. I can see it becoming a new haunt (if i ever get myself a few friends!) cause its kinda like an english Shanti (remeber my second home in Rouen.) So that was my evening. Ive seen a load of adds for flats around Brick Lane so i think im gonna ring a few and scope out the situation. So that's the news so far.. Still feel like im in down town Karachi with everyone 'Hijab-ed' up to the nines around here! Its nice though, there seems to be a sense of community around here (im just not part of it!)
Ok, if you wanna check out the cooooolness of my new phone, click on this site:
http://www.phones2udirect.co.uk/Products/type/phones/ProductID/6289/motorola-v220-(pink).asp
Off i go on my exploring xxx
