Trendy But Casual

London + Summer + 2012 = ?

Something is up in London this week, involving banners, flags, symbols, and a very dodgy security firm. What could it be? Here is some evidence, assiduously collected yesterday during a walk along the sun-drenched South Bank and environs. (Though the first few pics were taken around the West End the day before, when we first realized that SOMETHING IS UP IN LONDON.)

At St Pancras Station:

 

Near Jermyn Street in Piccadilly, where we visit Taylor's of Old Bond Street on a regular basis for TMiddy's Victorian-era shaving supplies (because only the best will do for Tikileaks operatives):

Around Covent Garden:

In case you want to see evidence of some of the £284 million spent on G4S Security, £65 million of which went on uniforms:

Along the South Bank, walking east (and please note that I can spot the NZ flag at 100 paces: should this be an Olympic sport of the future?):

 

Because it was sunny, and a Sunday, about 10 million people were walking along the river. So of course the "Have a Question?" booth was closed:

 

TMiddy felt artiness/Cubism descend upon him, which is why we had to stop soon after for an ice cream and a sit-down:

 

These flags are flying outside City Hall. There was a third flag next to them, but we didn't know what it meant, so TM cropped it out - just the way NBC cropped out the one non-American medal winner (Merlene Ottey) on a podium last time I was forced to watch their lame coverage of the athletics:

Switzerland in the house:

TMiddy, post-ice cream:

And me, wondering if I'm too old to qualify for the next Games, maybe in Archery or some other sport that doesn't involve running or jumping about:

So here is the evidence. Draw your own conclusions. I'm flying back to New Zealand today, so I can be vaguely awake by the time the New Zealand Post Book Awards comes around next week.

 

 

Glasgow, Summer

Or is it Paris, Summer? (That's where we spent much of last July. Whatever.) I'll post some pictures, and you try to work out which city, in all its summertime glory, is depicted below.

OK, I think the John Lewis sign might have given it away.

So we are having a bit of sun here in Scotland: this evening, for example, is beautiful. Out my study window I can see all the way to the wind farms encircling the city. (You see, it IS just like Paris.)

And TMiddy and I are still brimming with Jubilee spirit. We had some foreigners (German and English) over for dinner last Friday, and we used Jubilee-bunting paper napkins with the pre-dinner snacks. We even made a Jubilee pavlova.

Actually, it's a chocolate Jubilee pavlova, which means it's the same as a normal chocolate pavlova, except with a Union Jack of fruit. (This is TMiddy's work, and he was dissatisfied: apparently he needed "a larger canvas" to display the full extent of his artistry.)

Tomorrow we're off to London, scene of our Jubilee Flotilla torment. Hopefully the rain will have stopped by now.

 

Hamburg I

Last Monday I went to Hamburg for the first time, to talk to a group of journalists about New Zealand, NZ lit/writers, and numerous other topics, which may or may not have included the various international versions of NEXT TOP MODEL. (I wasn't the one who brought this up. Or was I?)

It was a warm and mostly sunny day, which was a relief after so many days/weeks of dire weather in the UK. It rains pretty much every day at the moment - not just in Glasgow, but everywhere. I flew out of Heathrow that morning in the drizzle and returned to a rain storm.

In Hamburg the lunch I was attending with the fabuous Tanea Heke took place at Au Quai down on the harbour. I only had a short time to wander around before lunch, so the pictures (below) are all taken just steps from the restaurant, or from the terrace of Au Quai. Sorry they give such an abbreviated view of the city.

I'm calling this post 'Hamburg I' because TMiddy and I had already planned a trip to Hamburg later this year, for his birthday at the end of November. Then we'll have more of a chance to explore its waterways and parks and museums, I hope, and all its Beatles-related history (TM), and all of its Weihnachtsmarkts (PM). The pieces of Hamburg I glimpsed on this trip were by turns impressive and beautiful and grand. And it wasn't raining.

 

 

This week we're back in Glasgow, and I realized that it's been c five months since I spent every day of an entire week in Glasgow, without bolting up to Stirling, or making one of my endless excursions further afield. In fact, it's Tuesday night now, and I haven't even left the house since Saturday. I keep waiting for the sun to come out, so I may be here for some time.