London Ninja

If you go food shopping in London bring this list with you.

Rocket = Arugula
Courgette = Zucchini
Coriander = Cilantro
Pulses = Legumes
Spring Onions = Green Onions

And if you want toothpicks….Cocktail Sticks.

Oh, and while you’re at it, go ahead and make me a sandwich with Blood pudding and some crisps. And please put extra Rocket in there.

As mentioned in my previous blog, I have finally signed the lease….except the lease is not just a lease, it’s a:

Yes, folks, I have officially signed my first agreement for an assured shorthold tenancy. Cheers to that. When I return to the US, I will look forward to driving my Imported Automotive Vehicle of Assured Transportation. Or I guess you could just call it a car…and a lease.

And it happened….after being driven around by our relocation flat-finding service paid for as part of my relocation package, we landed our apartment. More details to come on what all that means, but here are the preliminary look at our new residence from the outside.

Full Frontal

Side view

EM Who?

Yes, EM Forster, the great gay British author I know nothing about lived here…..not that there’s anything wrong with that. Cheers.

Sometimes the differences between the US and London are best expressed through pics, so cheers:

Detour?

Do not eat whatever is in there.

All you Bud fans out there, know that you’re drinking the imposter. I found the real deal Budweiser when Agenda were in town visiting a few weeks back. I wonder if the original Budweiser makes a low-carb light version. That’s a real man’s beer. Tastes Great, less filling.

This aint at your local 7-Eleven

I was out with some colleagues at a pub and being the American, I ask why people generally don’t get food at the pub after work. No buffalo wings. No nachos. No nada. Once or twice some peanuts get passed around. What this generally means is that you are going to feel the full extent of that Bombardier.

“Eating is cheating”, my friend said.
“Uh, what”?
“Yeah, eating is cheating.”

Apparently because pubs in London close so early (11pm on weeknights) that there is no time to eat and then get your drink on. The Brits have figured out that the best way to get the full effects of alcohol is to…not eat. That’s right..no jalapeno poppers, no chips (frites in France), nada. You just drink your Krononberg 1664 and be happy. No dinner. No eating. No cheating. So be it.

Busking is highly different in London than they are in San Francisco. Frankly, they suck in SF. You get the same old shit every time you go down to Fisherman’s Wharf, with those black dudes in their silver outfits shaking their cans at everybody. Some make noises and continuously shake their jar of coins at the kids. It is dreadful. There is no originality, no fun factor, it’s just a bunch of black(or white) dudes in metallic suits shaking their coin jars at everyone. I’m not sure if I recall any other kind of street performers in SF other than those God-awful ones.

There is also a army of buskers in San Francisco that will shake their jar of coins at you asking “Got change?” There’s not much amusement in what they do but they do dress up in interesting costumes that are generally composed of soot, dirt, unwashed clothes, and body odor. It’s an interesting outfit and some of the buskers do a monologue to themselves pretending there is no audience around…but all in all not very inspiring.

London, however, changes the game in busking. First of all, they don’t bother you. They just stand there until activated. They are generally not overly aggressive, and they are actually amusing.

Here are some examples from London Eye area:

Word: Busking
Definition: the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people, usually to solicit donations and tips. Those engaging in this practice are called buskers. Busking is a British term used in many areas of the English-speaking world. In the United States they are more often called street performers or street musicians.
Usage: Busking is not allowed on this street corner as it might disturb the zen of the ninjas.

No Busking, please

We just call them “street performers” in the US, but here they’re called buskers.