My long weekend
Friday
I called my mother, to check on how things were going south of the river, and apparently things south of the river could be better, as her credit and debit cards got stolen earlier in the week, and they lost a fair bit of money from the joint account before anybody noticed the cards were missing. There has been a lot of hassle with the bank trying to get the money recovered and getting the cards replaced - I think some of this is still ongoing now. So the family’s not too happy. I arranged to meet them later in the weekend, to lend some moral support.
As for myself; I managed to come down with a cold, and felt awful anyway after a few late nights working on my projects at home, so I finished work, went for one drink with people from the office, then went home and crashed into bed ridiculously early.
Saturday
I got up feeling a bit more refreshed, did a bit of work updating the website, then rushed out with Lande to meet Robyn in Piccadilly, so that we could go and see the Waterhouse exhibition. I’d been intending to see this for weeks and, I have to say, it was well worth going. It was a bit smaller than I’d expected (four rooms) but all my favourites were there, plus several I’d never even heard of. It was fantastic! Afterwards, we headed to Southwark and met paul_sticks, Lily and other Vagabonds staff for an early evening drink, before everything for the club got set up and the night began properly at the Barrowboy & Banker. Good fun, and we were joined by enlyyl, fireblade__, fatenoir and others later in the night also, but I probably shouldn’t have drunk as much as I did, especially with the cold and everything. I paid the inevitable price for this later on.
Sunday
Badly hung over, I went to London Bridge with Lande to meet my parents. Not only had they suffered the loss of their cards, but on Friday night their car had also been broken into. The thieves broke a window and made off with two cheap folding chairs and a picnic blanket from the boot. I’ve got to wonder why exactly, but the criminal mind must be a very strange and complex thing. But having to get a car window replaced only adds insult to the existing injury, and we found (after a long, meandering walk) an Indian restaurant for a consolatory meal, near Brick Lane. It was great food, but I might have enjoyed it slightly more if I’d gone easier on the drink the night before…
After the meal, we wandered around E1, which is surprisingly good on a warm Sunday afternoon. The thirty degree heat which had been forecast (fortunately) didn’t happen, and we decided not to get sucked into all the Notting Hill Carnival goings on, but East London seemed quite fun, so we stayed there. There were a lot of fairly unofficial-looking street markets going on, and grungy but friendly-looking bars open onto the streets with rambling eccentric types puffing funny roll-ups and jamming together on knackered-looking instruments. I’d never really explored that neck of the woods much, but I think I’ll try and find some more time for it before winter draws in - it’s like a less tarted-up Camden, and also reminds me of the neighbourhood in Berlin where I once lived.
Monday
We watched The Time Traveller’s Wife, which wasn’t my normal sort of thing, but it turned out to be enjoyable nonetheless. Then we had Turkish food. In the evening, I spent a few hours working on my various musical compositions. I’m slowly but surely getting the hang of Fruity Loops and its many plug-ins.
Next Weekend
It’s Inferno on Friday, followed by the Dark Mills thingy on Saturday. Should be fun, provided I get over the cold before then!
I called my mother, to check on how things were going south of the river, and apparently things south of the river could be better, as her credit and debit cards got stolen earlier in the week, and they lost a fair bit of money from the joint account before anybody noticed the cards were missing. There has been a lot of hassle with the bank trying to get the money recovered and getting the cards replaced - I think some of this is still ongoing now. So the family’s not too happy. I arranged to meet them later in the weekend, to lend some moral support.
As for myself; I managed to come down with a cold, and felt awful anyway after a few late nights working on my projects at home, so I finished work, went for one drink with people from the office, then went home and crashed into bed ridiculously early.
Saturday
I got up feeling a bit more refreshed, did a bit of work updating the website, then rushed out with Lande to meet Robyn in Piccadilly, so that we could go and see the Waterhouse exhibition. I’d been intending to see this for weeks and, I have to say, it was well worth going. It was a bit smaller than I’d expected (four rooms) but all my favourites were there, plus several I’d never even heard of. It was fantastic! Afterwards, we headed to Southwark and met paul_sticks, Lily and other Vagabonds staff for an early evening drink, before everything for the club got set up and the night began properly at the Barrowboy & Banker. Good fun, and we were joined by enlyyl, fireblade__, fatenoir and others later in the night also, but I probably shouldn’t have drunk as much as I did, especially with the cold and everything. I paid the inevitable price for this later on.
Sunday
Badly hung over, I went to London Bridge with Lande to meet my parents. Not only had they suffered the loss of their cards, but on Friday night their car had also been broken into. The thieves broke a window and made off with two cheap folding chairs and a picnic blanket from the boot. I’ve got to wonder why exactly, but the criminal mind must be a very strange and complex thing. But having to get a car window replaced only adds insult to the existing injury, and we found (after a long, meandering walk) an Indian restaurant for a consolatory meal, near Brick Lane. It was great food, but I might have enjoyed it slightly more if I’d gone easier on the drink the night before…
After the meal, we wandered around E1, which is surprisingly good on a warm Sunday afternoon. The thirty degree heat which had been forecast (fortunately) didn’t happen, and we decided not to get sucked into all the Notting Hill Carnival goings on, but East London seemed quite fun, so we stayed there. There were a lot of fairly unofficial-looking street markets going on, and grungy but friendly-looking bars open onto the streets with rambling eccentric types puffing funny roll-ups and jamming together on knackered-looking instruments. I’d never really explored that neck of the woods much, but I think I’ll try and find some more time for it before winter draws in - it’s like a less tarted-up Camden, and also reminds me of the neighbourhood in Berlin where I once lived.
Monday
We watched The Time Traveller’s Wife, which wasn’t my normal sort of thing, but it turned out to be enjoyable nonetheless. Then we had Turkish food. In the evening, I spent a few hours working on my various musical compositions. I’m slowly but surely getting the hang of Fruity Loops and its many plug-ins.
Next Weekend
It’s Inferno on Friday, followed by the Dark Mills thingy on Saturday. Should be fun, provided I get over the cold before then!