Merry Christmas!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Love,
Mark, Steven & Olive

Found Art

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

London is littered with found art moments... This one was brought to you by some construction debris in Notting Hill.

Kansas-Schmansas

Supposedly there are 30-some-odd tornadoes in the UK every year. Today’s was just a few blocks north of where we live, and was considered a “freak” occurrence because it actually caused serious damage. I didn’t see the funnel myself, but the sky did turn that weird shade of green, there was plenty of thunder & lightning, and our skylights & container garden were pelted with pea-sized hail stones, causing Olive much distress.

Spy vs. Spy

Isn’t there something retro about poisoned spies and radioactive dust? My theory is that this spy case is actually (or coincidentally) the perfect maketing campaign for Casino Royale. Itsu sushi is now a “world famous meeting place” (I kid you not), the Millennium Hotel is on the map, and suddenly a bit of mystery and intrigue is once again part of the international travel experience...

Conkers & 0203

I know it’s World AIDS Day and everything, but I’ve got some more trivial bones to pick. First, conkers: yes, I know the season is over, but I’m gonna harp on it anyway. Ask any Brit what conkers is and I guarantee they’ll act all astonished and say something like, “you’ve never played conkers before?” or “you don’t have conkers in America?” Go ahead, try it. But don’t ask somebody who knows too much about the U.S. of A. I can’t decide whether that’s adorable or annoying. Second: 0203, which is a new London area code as of July 2005 (and, in fact, our area code). Except that nobody over here knows about it. Never mind that this is the 4th time in 14 years that London area codes have actually been changed. Things over here aren’t supposed to change. So I am wrong. Always. Every time. That number on my email signature? Wrong. When I have to fill in my phone number on various forms? Wrong. When I tell somebody to call me on 0203 bla bla bla? Wrong. “I’m sorry,” they say, “but don’t you mean 0207?” That is definitely not adorable, it’s just annoying. BTW, this post brought to you by whinging.

Ambulance

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Yup, this is an ambulance parked outside Monmouth Coffe by Neal's Yard, Seven Dials, Covent Garden, London. Can anyone say “TV series”?

Thanksgiving

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

OK, it's Sunday, but they don't have Thanksgiving here so we can be flexible. From left to right: sauce (something garlicky mom made); spinach salad with persimmon and grilled butternut squash; mashed swede (that's rutabaga to you & me) and pear; pumpkin maple pecan pie; the bird (some kind of E.U. heritage award bird that came with quills still in it -- gross! Cooked up tasty, though); roasted carrots, parsnips, sweet & regular potato and shallots; and sausage, chestnut & sage stuffing (made from cornbread I purpose-baked). Not in the picture are gravy and apple-cranberry-rhubarb pie. Jane made canapés. We ate the pie a la mode. Lots of leftovers...

The Cam

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Yep, that's the River Cam there in front of King's College Chapel. Went to Cambridge with Dad for the day on Saturday. Not as Hogwarts-y as Oxford, but more charming and picturesque.

Night flight

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Kristy & I went for a spin around the London Eye around 5pm yesterday. We missed the full-on drama of sunset, but still had a spectacular view of the city lights. This picture is of Waterloo station (kind of vertically striped trapezoid in the upper left). The long thin blueish glowing structure that runs roughly across the middle is the Eurostar terminal, soon to be relocated to King's Cross, with a station at Stratford, site of the 2012 Olympics...

Autumn

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This is the view off our back terrace during a moment of sunshine in between rain showers. Just a few days ago, those big trees were green. In a few more days, they'll be bare -- which is why Steven only wanted evergreen plants in our container garden...

Defiance

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

The canal house boats of London definitely reflect the areas of the city where they are moored. This one's in Camden.

Hogwarts much?

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This is the Hall at Christ Church college in Oxford. No floating holiday decorations, though. And they must have turned off the magic ceiling sky picture thingie. But a Harry Potterama nonetheless...

Daniel Buren

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

We went to Oxford for the day on Thursday and saw an amazing installation by Daniel Buren at Modern Art Oxford (this is one of four rooms).

Diesel flagship

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This is just a small portion of their New Bond Street Christmas window display...

Bleary Eye at dusk

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

St. Paul's

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

We discovered this fun fair in Paternoster Square, in the shadow of St. Paul's cathedral. Possibly something to do with the Lord Mayor's Show?

Carsten Höller

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Haven't been down them yet, but these slides are in the Tate Modern turbine hall at the moment.

Fire!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

On Sunday we went to Cleveland Square for Bonfire Night festivities. It's a little creepy that they burn an effigy (though the Yanks were wondering why it wasn't wearing a W mask). But I just read in Watching the English that the practice comes from some pagan ritual and that the effigy is supposed to represent the past year. Well, OK, fine. When the bonfire burned out, they shot off a TON of fireworks. Cleveland Square isn't very big, so the explosions were basically right over our heads and ashes were raining down on the crowd, making it difficult to look up. The verdict was that we would do it again.

Not why we live here

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This is just at the end of Golborne Road, between the Trellick Tower and the Grand Union Canal. Isn't it sooo quaint? Nowadays what they need are Uzi surrender bins. Rhyming slogan, anyone?

Introducing...

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Sparrow’s fart

This phrase turned up in today’s Daily Candy London. I had to Google it to discover its meaning.

Taxi!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

That, apparently, is English for "get me out of here!" or "get out of my face!" depending on the situation. Anyhow, HELP! That's what Steven wants to name the kitten, so any appropriate suggestions would be most welcome. At this stage of the game, she's about the size of a large grapefruit and is super duper extra ultra mega totally cute. Very affectionate and sociable. And very smart, I think. My productivity has plummeted. Did I mention how cute she is?

Have kitten, no name

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Physically very Alice-esque (so will be tuxedo cat #3 for me, but Steven is having -- surmountable -- issues). In terms of temperament, I think very different from the old girl. But Alice was friendly and gregarious as a youth, so we'll just have to wait & see. Our acquisition of what seems to be a black market kitten was all very hush-hush and on the QT. You have NO IDEA what hoops you have to jump through to adopt ("re-home" here) from the RSPCA or one of the main shelters! So we paid cash and we're keeping quiet about our source. Considered naming her David Banda. Others on the list are Daisy, Mabel, Jade, Vanda -- I won't go on because the list is long. Any ideas would be welcome, though. So far her little life is play, sleep, eat, repeat. When awake doesn't stay still long enough for a photo (at least not one taken with my "multimedia computer")...

Why we live here

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

We spent a morning in East London last weekend: Hackney, Broadway Market, Shoreditch, Hoxton... This gorgeous bit of graffitti kinda reminds me of some of the good SF art: Nick Ackerman, Rex Ray, et. al.

Cheese

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Corn, schmaltz, schlock, whatever. It was pretty. By the way, this was taken from our back deck, and the Trellick Tower is in the lower left.

Kitty cart?

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

It occurred to me that LB could use this little circus wagon I spotted on Goloborne Road to take Mr. Poops for walks.

Chip Update

More and more, you see packages of "potato chips", not "crisps". Well, at least in the swanky expat stores like Partridges in Kensington. Speaking of which, they sell their own brand of mostly ordinary flavors with fancy names. However, perhaps because it's autumn, they've also got Chestnut Stuffing potato chips. At the same store they also stocked Kettle Chips "seasonal" Apple, Sage & Thyme flavor. A while back I spotted Burts Smoked Streaky Bacon flavor I think somewhere along Westbourne Grove. There's a picture of the package on my flickr site (no big whoop, but it's there because my phone now insists on uploading every picture I take directly to flickr).

Lazy (Toyo Ito Spoon)

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

I'm lazy. Please look at my flickr™ photostream® to see what we've been up to lately. Neat pictures of the Battersea Power Station, where we went to see an installation of contemporary Chinese art. I'm also going for my 3rd meeting at Arup on Tuesday. Interviewing for a 3-month project that involves ICT (information & communication technologies) and sustainability in Dongtan. Dongtan's a new "eco-city" being developed in the Yangtze River delta outside Shanghai.

Fifteen years until now.

Steven just wrote this tonight:

I am finding it hard to forgive you
For leaving us in the lurch
So suddenly

Or was it we who did the leaving
Day after day
Out the front door we'd go
Into the Void.
How else could you see it?
How could you know we'd come back?

Now it's your turn.

We miss you, sweet pea.
Epitome of faithful, paragon of friend
Gold-medal homebody
Always here for us
Fifteen years
Until now.

You were not generous with love
You treated it, and us, more carefully than most
And that was your great talent.

Nurse Alice
Doling out doses of affection
Just enough, when needed
Was more than enough always.
You healed all our hurt
With tender nonchalance
And casual furry grace.

Cuddly, not.
Snuggly, barely.
More spice than sugar
Fuzzmuffin, you could sure lash out
More prizefighter than diva
(Though you had the girth for either label.)
Or maybe you were just a type A control freak.

Where could you have learned such behavior?

From a box of sibling rivalry
That Brooklyn day
Out you lept, spidery kitten,
smelling our aromatherapy candles and good soap.
You knew somehow you'd get a good deal.
We got the better one.
And to think I didn't want you or your kind hanging around
That is, until I saw you.

And then?
O adoration! O boundless and effortless love!
Our first and only charge, our little cutie.
Alice Jackson.
A name to accommodate whoever you became:
Cute little Alice
Big fat Alice.

What foresight we all had!

You got your great adventure, and so did we.
We crossed a continent
an ocean
a channel
together, us three.
You made every place into our home
Just by settling in, on the rug.
Kittyloaf.
Anenome Face.

Through it all
Your tastes were simple:
You loved the water
And patches of sunlight
And shady spots beneath the flowers.
And nibbles of lettuce and grass
And tuna juice
The sound of the can opener
And of us coming home.

What was it like
When you were alone
Were you contented, relaxed, napping and dreaming?

Did it still feel like home
Or was the house devoid of comfort
Bereft of its soul?

I remember times in the night
You'd forget we were in the next room
And you'd cry out, a long drawl of a howl.
So sad
So lonesome.

So relieved when we called your name.
Your little chirp of gladness
The thump of you landing on our bed

Gone now.

We still see you out of the corners of our eyes
Afraid to turn our heads and look
Lest you disappear again.

We miss you Miss Alice.
We miss you kitty.
We forever miss you.

Oil & Vinegar

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Ya gotta give it up to those crafty Catalans: Jerez vinegar & extra virgin olive oil in little grape and olive shaped ampules!

R.I.P. Alice Jackson - II

This picture was taken in October 2005 by Lauren Barr at 6B Penzance Place.


This picture was taken by me on July 2nd of this year on our terrace at 97 Golborne Road during one of this summer's many heatwaves. It might be the most recent photo of Alice.

R.I.P. Alice Jackson - I

Spring 1991 - 24 August 2006





Thanks to Elliot Clapp for capturing the inimitable spirit of Alice in the last four photos (and many more, including video clips, which I will try to post somewhere, some time). She was a good friend, and we are glad she shared her long and happy life with us.

Poor Old Girl

Since we got back from Helsinki (yes, yes, I've got a backlog of photos), Alice hasn't quite been herself. Google said she was exhibiting symptoms of diabetes. Two trips to the vet got us a "high" (but not catastrophic—ta-dum-dum) glucose reading and special prescription food to try for a week or two. But this past week she really seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. Steven & I took her to the vet yesterday, and they wound up admitting her for observation & stabilization. The hospital is full, so Alice will be spending the next couple of weeks with 12 other cats (her least favorite people). This is without question the worst thing that's ever happened to her. It hasn't been a picnic for us either, as we've had to confront the mortality of our friend, companion and "nurse" of 16 years...

Back to normal

Well, at least for the time-being. The weather has turned weathery again. Today it was hot, cold, muggy, drizzly, grey, sunny, blustery, calm, and rainy. I went out to get some milk & juice (had to go all the way to Notting Hill Gate to the M&S Simply Food because it's Sunday and all the closer Sainsburys and Tescos close between 4 & 6). Then—because we needed window cleaner and ironing water—I walked to the Holland Park Tesco Express, which is open 'til 11 every day (that neighborhood is full of people who are used to convenience: Americans with generous expat packages). It was a crap shoot as to whether they'd have what I needed and I lost. Then, waiting for the bus back to Notting Hill Gate, I was caught in a torrential downpour. Holland Park Avenue turned into class 5 whitewater rapids. I switched from the 148 to the 52 and rescued a French family who are spending 2 weeks on our street at number 70. They got here three days ago and know how to walk here, but not where to get off the bus (because where are road connects to the main bus route it's not called Golborne, but Chesterton). An artist, a journalist, and their youngest daughter house-swapping for their place in the south of France.

The plot

“The great problem is that Al Qaeda has moved far beyond being a terrorist organization to being almost a state of mind,” said Simon Reeve, author of a 1999 book on Osama bin Laden and his associates.

Contact info.

So we were in Helsinki for the weekend. On Sunday night we had dinner with one of Steven's clients, and naturally I took advantage of the opportunity to complain about my phone (you know, the disappearing pictures, ringtones I paid £££s for dematerializing into the ether, etc.). She said that Steven should bring it in with him when he went to their HQ the following day. They'd flash it or something, installing the latest firmware, and the was supposedly going to solve all my problems. Turns out they flashed it, allright, and I hear that they erased everything on the phone: pictures, ringtones, contacts, everything. So the consolation prize is that I got a fancy-pants new phone—an N80—but they were supposed to fix that old phone on Monday and now it's Thursday (they said they'd DHL it to London) and I don't even have my own SIM card back.
What this all means is that until I get the SIM card back (whenever that may be), I can be reached on our "guest" number: +44 7914 224 282. It also means that if you are someone whose number I might have had stored in my cell (and possibly nowhere else), I need your contact info. again, thanks! You can either text or email.
Cheerio!

Bankside 1 atrium 07

Bankside 1 atrium 07,
originally uploaded by sf2london.

Just trying out some integration. I'm going to put all my pics on flickr now, 'cuz they can be higher-res than the ones on the blog (for those of you who are interested). I wanted to set up the direct blogging from the cellphone thing, but alas, my combination of handset and service provider currently precludes that. Anyway, here goes nothing!

Mel Gibson

For those of you who don't already know, Mel Gibson is a racist, sexist, homophobic anti-semitic jerk. Don't pay to see his movies. Don't rent his DVDs. Don't do anything that would make this right-wing neanderthal any richer.

.eu

Back in the day I thought all those "MARKATKINSON.COM is STILL AVAILABLE! REGISTER NOW!!!!!" emails were just so much spam. No more. Today I registered markatkinson.eu 'cuz I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!

Oh, yeah... one more thing

A fellow expat pal has reminded me that I am well chuffed to be done with grad school. Handed in my "thesis" (aka long essay) on Tuesday. Now all I gotta do is find a job!

No hat, no reflection, no pee.

So last night Steven & I decided to actually go to our local Indian takeaway. Because it was supposed to be air conditioned. It wasn't. But it was full, which is highly unusual. There was a large table of large ladies, one of whom — Sally — was celebrating her birthday. They seemed like they all came from one of the nearby housing estates (glamorous name they use here for the projects) to enjoy a special night out. At another table was a black (well, they're not African American here, are they?) family, and I think it might have been the little girl's birthday too. Very jealous of her ice cream dessert in a little paper cylinder with a plastic toucan head. When they left their table was taken by a couple of "blokes" who sat diagonally from each other. At first I thought they were expecting the wives or girlfriends. Nope. Steven says if I read "Watching the English" I'll understand. In any case it's feeling very diverse. We get seated next to a table of three white dudes. As soon as we settle in, I notice that the guy closest to me is talking about the film industry. He's got an irish accent. He's Gabriel Byrne.

Oliver Hardy?

Alice's English cousin? Or...
Moustache cat

Vive la France!

If for nothing more than their crazy outfits...

Dam! Dam! Dam!

So Steven & I went to Amsterdam for the weekend. You know how you think living in Europe would make that kind of thing no big deal? Run of the mill? Par for the course? Well, it took us 9 hours to get there. It's 200 miles away. Part of our trip was down the M-something-or-other on a bus from Gatwick to Heathrow. In rush hour traffic. I HATE British Airways! Why are they the world's favoUrite airline? My guess: most of the world doesn't have a choice. Anyhow, we finally arrived and it was fun.

There's more, but I just thought I'd share these for now, since I'm supposed to be writing a 5,000 word "thesis" that's due in 10 days.

Across the street from 2 lesbian bars...


A couple of Alice's Dutch cousins???

Art out of life

Livingroom view

Paris Surprise

Well, Steven went to work on the morning of Friday May 12th. My job was to assemble items for a Eurostar on-board pic-nick, collect Patty & Bill, and get them to Waterloo Station. I managed to hail a taxi right on Golborne Road, the folks were waiting on the stoop of their B&B, there was little traffic, we reached the station by 12:15, and I retrieved the tickets without a hitch. Then I realized I had forgotten my passport at home. Raced to Notting Hill Gate on the tube and hailed a taxi which waited downstairs while I ran inside, then headed back. Got through security just as the boarding announcement was made.

The ride was good. Every time the train went through a tunnel Patty asked if it was the Chunnel. We reviewed some Paris materials I had collected, looked at maps, etc. After checking in to our hotel we walked to Boulevard St. Germain and had an aperitif at Les Deux Magots before taking a taxi over to Au Bon Accueil for dinner with Kath & “cousin” Katherine. The Eiffel Tower loomed over the end of the block and did its glittery thing as we left the restaurant. We were so close we decided to stroll over (and under) before dropping P&B at the hotel and heading to the Marais to meet our friend Kerem (Turkish guy we met in Istanbul).

Bill’s appetizer
Glittering





The next morning there was some drama: Patty’s passport was missing. No Eurostar lost & found on weekends. Ditto the previous night’s restaurant: fermé. The American embassy is also closed on weekends but of course has a 24/7 help line. We found out that they open at 9am on Monday and that it would take 4 hours to get a replacement. The only problem was that our flight to London departed at 10:50am and Patty & Bill’s flight to Glasgow departed an hour later. So we rescheduled their flight to the next day and they were faced with the prospect of a day and night in Paris on their own.

We headed over to Ile de la Cîté and gorgeous Sainte-Chapelle, which elicited appropriate gasps. After lunch at a place across the street (where Bill had a mind-expanding European cultural experience you’ll have to ask him about), we strolled through the flower market, past Notre-Dame, and across to Ile St-Louis (“Ice Cream Island”) for some Berthillon goodies.

Back on the Left Bank we left P&B to rest and took a speedy stroll around the ’hood.

French graffiti

Returning to the hotel to collect the folks for dinner, we learned of the discovery of the passport. In the passport holder. I won’t tell who put it there or who found it. Glasgow flight switched back to Monday. Water under the bridge. We headed to Les Deux Magots for our aperitif.

On the way
“Mosquito”
French EANABs

Our dining mission was to conquer a plateau des fruits de mer at La Coupole.

Deco floor
More floor
The plateau

Exhausted after a nearly silent dinner spent concentrating on the intense labor of using specialized tools to extract various sea creatures from their respective enclosures, we returned to our hotel and collapsed.

The next morning we breakfasted at Ladurée. Insane. Follow the link. You’ll see. Then we walked down to the Luxembourg Gardens and spent a while just sitting before inspecting the toy sailboat operation. After checking out the Statue of Liberty’s Mini-Me, we miraculously found a taxi and headed over to Place des Vosges. After lunch we took a peek at the Pompidou Center, which I thought Bill would get a kick out of (he did).

Li’l Lady
Knife rack
Green broom!
Pompidou





We then had an opportunity to check out an area we hadn’t visited before: sort of north Marais/Montorgueil...

Decorative grill
Patina
Baroque

Dinner was back on Ile St-Louis at Mon Vieil Ami. It was fab.

Veal belly
Rognions
Quack
Coffee
Berries

Au revoir, Paris!

Hotel stairs