there are patches in the sky

pints

This weekend was a holiday weekend here (What holiday you may ask? "August Bank Holiday". Apparently you don't need a very good reason or a fancy name to take the day off work.) which meant that the city was quiet, emptied out like San Francisco during Burning Man. OK, maybe not that quiet, but nice. No hustle, no bustle. A vacation from the crowd.

Saturday we met up with some people from the interbunny, Aussies who are in this country to make lots of money, more than they could do back home. Which is funny because we're not here to make more money, and in fact our income has taken a steep drop since making the move. We're here for the culture! We hung out near the river somewhere in Hammersmith, outside a pub where the wait staff hovered uncomfortably, ready to pick up an empty glass as soon as you set it down. It rained on us for a few minutes but then remained balmy and cloudy the rest of the day. The sun bled through the clouds in long rays like it always does, making me feel like Zeus or some other god is going to appear and have a few words with me. Of course that didn't happen. Instead we went to Leicester Square and had Japanese food at some hole in the wall place that was actually pretty good. Then we took too long at diner to catch Pirates of the Caribbean (oh damn!) so we went home and passed out from the exhaustion of riding the steamy underground all day. Man, I forgot how bad it is this time of year.

Sunday was better as we headed out on our scooter & motorcycle, picked up tons of goodies and had a little picnic at Hampstead Heath. Then we proceeded up to Kenwood house for a night of classical music and fireworks. We sat in crappy outdoor lounge chairs that looked like they were leftovers from the some war and watched the array of picnic wares our fellow Londoners had brought out for the occasion. I was amazed at the variety of foodstuffs as well as the sturdy cooler bags, flatware, china and crystal just for a picnic. The couple next us enjoyed at least a five course meal complete with champagne. The music was relaxing and the fireworks were whimsical, the best being a string of white sparks that streamed down like a waterfall into the pond in front of the orchestra.

Today I did nothing useful except contemplate the meaning of my life and go grocery shopping. I watched two episodes of Lexx from a DVD. I haven't had much energy lately, dunno why. I've been slacking on the one project I have to work on. oh. well.