the london times

its weird how not being a big city for a while completely changes your perceptions of things. i found myself on the tube at rush hour packed in a la metro in montreal and hot with summer. i enjoy my city (town really ;) of liverpool and the fact that you can walk from one end of the city centre to the other in 20 minutes if you hit all the green lights.

but london was great. i went to the v&a gallery and tate modern the day i got there. it was fabulous to see some interesting art, sit outside and watch kids running around in freezing cold water and generally be entertained.

stuart mclean was reading at daunt books in a cozy part of london that night so i went and tried not to get too teary. i did speak to him afterwards - my second official meeting! - and my homesickness was temporarily cured. afterwards i continued on my canadiana tour by heading to the maple leaf pub to catch some hockey and although thwarted by a couple of drunk australians, i did end up meeting a couple of very nice edmontonians that i spoke to for most of the night.

i went shopping on oxford street the next day - always quite the experience - and then met up with dipak to have dinner and go see hawksley workman who was, as always, utterly amazing. the venue was so small and i was so close that i was only 6 inches away from grabbing the set list from beside the microphone.

the rest of my week off was very relaxing. much time spent relaxing in the backyard in coventry, cooking, cleaning and reading...

and now works going to be a little crazy as i try and get ready to come home. hooray!