So not only is the last Monday in August the official free weekday for almost four months, it’s a send-off to summer and all things that the August Bank Holiday should be.

And, of course, this includes for us Londers, The Notting Hill Carnival — or for most people just “Carnival”.  Typically, I’m out of town doing something outdoorsy or traveling for this weekend, but I find myself in London this year. 

It’s a carnival with Caribbean roots and a checkered past littered with police violence and zoning concerns.  As recently as last year a boy of 15 was stabbed to death. I live far enough from Notting Hill that I won’t inherently run into the Carnival.  In fact, most people in my neighbourhood do anything in their power to avoid it.

It’s been every August Bank Holiday since 1966 and supposedly is the largest carnival in Europe.  Think costumes, food vendors, parades, and lots and lots of drinking.  And everyone mentions the urination. There’s also amazing music of all kinds from traditional soca to garage, hip hop and plenty of steel drum.  And probably the best jerk chicken you can get all year.  

Due my general dislike of public urination and stabbings, I agreed to  go to Carnival if I could do so from some one’s private balcony and basically be above the action rather than in it.  My wish was granted by the kind people of Yelp! and this year I’ve got an invite to a roofdeck party and will be happy to report back on Tuesday what the fuss is all about.  I’ll also interview a pal of mine, Adeola, who is a born and bred Londoner who has been going since she was in diapers.

Photos courtesy of http://www.lbc.co.uk/

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Here are some beauty products out now/this month in case you want something to read on the plane or the tube and bring back a bit of British souvieners on the cheap!

And if you’re not into magazines, what’s a better gift than both a UK fashion mag and a product for that person back home that will appreciate it!

You buy: Grazia Magazine
Issue: This week (Angelina Jolie on the cover)
Cost: £1.95
You get: Crabtree & Evelyn honey and coriander hand cream (50ml)
Value: £6
How to: on p.69 you’ll find a coupon, take it to your nearest Crabtree & Evelyn store before Mon 21 June.
Britishness factor: 7. Although an American company, Englishness is one of the core values of the brand and the products are often found in nice English loos all over the country.
*
You buy: Glamour
Issue: July’s
Cost: £2
You get: 1 of 3 full size Benefit products: Benefit Eye Bright Pencil, Conceal It Stick or Bad Gal Eyeliner Pencil
Value: £14-£17 each
How to: it’s attached to the cover!
Britishness factor: 6. Although from San Franscico, but very popular in London plus you don’t get more London chic than a heavy eye liner!!
*
You buy: Marie-Claire
Issue: July’s (Naomi Watts on the cover)
Cost: £3.50
You get: One of 6 different 100ml Cowshed shower gels
Value: £8
How to: it’s attached to the cover!
Britishness factor: 10 . Started in 1998 in the countryside as a spa doing 100% vegetarian treatments, they’re now the poshest spa brand around, recently opening in Shoreditch House. Plus, one of the shower gels is called “Knackered Cow”. Don’t get much more British than that!

*
You buy: Red Magazine
Issue: July’s (Joely Richardson on the cover)
Cost: £ 3.60
You get: Jemma Kidd lip gloss available in nude, pink or red
Value: £14
How to : it’s attached to the cover!
Britishness factor: 9-10. Jemma Kidd is an English countess, make up artist, and model who launched her own line in 2006. Plus Nude make-up is so London, that shade is a 10!
*
You buy: InStyle magazine
Issue: June’s (Leona Lewis on the front)
Cost: £ 3.60
You get: Nails Inc 10ml varnish in Mink – grey/beige, Beach – coral, Candy – lilac
Value: £10.50
How to: it’s attached to the cover!
Britishness factor: 9-10. Launched in 1999 by young British entrepreneur Thea Green, it’s the UK’s most popular nailbar with over 55 locations and puts out nearly a new colour each week, which is consistant with London fashion—always changing. The Mink shade is very London right now.

Nails Inc puts out 4 colours in every 6 week period

*
You buy: Cosmopolitan Bride mag
Issue: June/July’s (with a blonde bride and brunette groom on the cover)
Cost: £ 3.99
You get: free 10ml Guerlain Super Aqua-Serum
Value: A full sized 30ml version of this cream is worth around £58, so 10ml version to be worth about £19
How to: on p143 you’ll find a voucher, take it to the Guerlain counter of the nearest John Lewis
Britishness factor: 3. A French perfumerie owned by Louis Vuitton, it’s a luxury European find, but not very British. Available at decent department stores in the US, but the full-size version costs $150.
*
Also:
You buy: Two 500ml bottles of diet Diet Coke
Where: Boots (department store on every street corner in the UK)
Cost: £2.36 in total
You get: Free 10ml bottle of Nails Inc polish in four ‘city-themed’ colours to chose from: New York (fuchsia pink), London (nude), Milan (fiery red) and Paris (deep purple)
Britishness factor: 9-10, if you buy the nude/London shade it goes up to 10!!
How to: when you purchase the diet cokes,  remember to take the nail polish to the counter with you. Until the end of June, subject to stock.

So now all my family and friend’s know how I put together my amazing British goodie baskets for Christmas…well, I thought it was worth sharing the love anyhow.

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When the term pool IS used, it’s usually an American style LA pool-party-type venue of water. I like these as well, but can’t always swing upwards of £65 ($100) for a dip. But they do serve a purpose (i.e. have a bar).

Naturally, I’ve included different types in my guide and ruled out the ones too far out of London (I’m sorry, but Hampton and Richmond ain’t in my London). All prices are for 1 adult. Kids cost 33%
less.

The best way to narrow your search is to pick an area of London and proceed, so I’ve set it out that way.

East London

What? London Fields Lido

They say: “London’s only Olympic sized heated outdoor pool”

I say: People in East London sing its praises, but they live in East London…

Where: London Fields Westside E8 3EU

Upside: generally open no matter the weather and has kid free times, water maintained at 25c (77F), cheap, very London.

Downside: Transportation — there’s no tube, which is fine for East Londoners, but not okay usually for tourists. You can get an overground train from Liverpool Street Station (7 mins) or take the 38 bus from the West End, Kings Cross or Angel and get off at stop E. Then a 7-10 min walk from the bus stop/train stop.

Cost: £4.10

Hours: 1:30 pm – 7:00 pm Tues-Thurs,1.30-5.30 Fridays 10-6 sat+sunday 1.30-5.30 friday no mondays

What? Shoreditch House’s Rooftop Pool

Where? Ebor Street, E1 6AW 10 min walk from Liverpool Street Station (or take the number 8 bus)

They say: “The 16 metre, outdoor swimming pool is heated and open year round to members”

I say: I love it, love it, love it. The views, the service, the sun loungers, the location, and mostly, the crowd.

How much? Free if you can tag along with a member (only 1 guest per member). However, annual membership is £700 per person plus £200 sign up fee. And a membership process that requires a letter of recommendation from a current member and career history. Am considering a membership; although friend who I tagged along with has moved to New Zealand and so I’m on the hunt for some new friends…

The way around it until you get the invite: Bag a hotel room “from £75”. I can’t find any under £135 on their website for this summer, but am going to book a night soon anyhow to try the place out again.

Want the view, but not the fees?: The Boundary restaurant will suffice. No pool, but totally beautiful rooftop nearby. Redchurch Street E2 7DD

Central London

What? Oasis Sports Centre

Where? 32 Endell Street WC2H 9AG (Covent Garden tube, across from the Shaftesbury Theatre.

They say: Nothing. It’s a totally hidden surprise with a confusing website, an urban myth almost.

I say: My go-to choice if it’s sweltering in London and I’ve only got a fiver in my pocket.
Note: Currently roofing works being done, so while there’s 2 lanes open, it’s kinda a construction site.
Price: Around £4, obviously I couldn’t find out on their website.

What? The Serpentine Lido

Where? Hyde Park, London W2 2UH

They say: “London’s Oasis in the Park”

I say: I’m swimming in Hyde Park, this is sooooo weird!! And my highlights won’t turn green!

How much? £3.75

Upsides? Fresh water — no chlorine, easy to find in the centre of London
Downsides? Not the best if you’re scared of algae. And it’s not heated!

What? Sanctum Soho Hotel Roof Garden Jacuzzi

Where? 20 Warwick Street, Soho, W1B 5NF (The Picadilly end of Soho)

They say:”a rare find in a central London hotel and overlooks the garden from its elevated position.”
I say: Isn’t a jacuzzi in a bar a bit sleazy? Well, I don’t care, I want to go but there’s always an event on!!

How much? Free!! But you need to buy some pricey drinks and there can’t be a private function on

What? The Berkeley Knightsbridge Hotel Rooftop Pool

Where? Wilton Place Knightsbridge (Tube: Hyde Park Corner)
They say: “Swim and sunbathe on top of the world”

I say: Totally worth it for a half day and all you can drink OJ-fest with a view

Extras? restricted children hours, no mobile phones, complimentary tea, coffee, mineral water and juice.

How much? £65 day membership or £35 half day membership on weekdays. (includes gym) Weekends book up 2-3 weeks in advance. Yearly memberships start at £1400

South London

What? Tooting Bec Lido

Where? Tooting Bec Road, London SW16 1RU

They say: Opened in July 1906, it is the earliest purpose-built open air pool in London, and is the largest fresh water, open air swimming pool in England.

I say: I’m not taking the Northern line when it’s that hot, but locals rave about it and one day I’ll go.
Transport: Deep in South London on the Northern Line (25 mins from Leichester Square) plus bus 319 or 249 for another 15 mins.

How much? £4.75 for adults

North London (note: my neighbourhood and thus a major bias)

What? Parliament Hill Lido (also called Hampstead Heath Lido)

Where? Hampstead Heath

They say? Open-air unheated swimming pool and paddling pool. The pool is 60 metres by 28 metres.

I say? Brr…if I’m that cold and up here, I’d rather go in the Heath ponds.

How much? £2

What? Hamsted Heath Ponds

Where? Hampstead Heath, NW5 1QR

They say: The Heath has three unique and internationally
famous bathing ponds: the Ladies’, Men’s and Mixed Ponds.

I say: So lovely and old fashioned, this is why I love England! Total 1860s!

How much? £4.50 or £93 for the summer
Hours: 7am-8pm in summer

Transport: The Heath isn’t easy to reach for visitors. There’s an overland rail station (Hamsted Heath Rail) that’s 15 mins away, Tuffnel Park on the Northern Line tube is 20 mins away, or the 214 from Angel or C2/214 from Kentish Town will take you there.
How many? There are 3 ponds, a men’s, women’s and mixed/co-ed.Warning: the mens and womens are often nude. Here’s a really good blog entry by a Brit about the ladies pond.

Temp: Lido: 17°C;  Ladies’ Pond: 14°C;  Men’s Pond: 16°C; Mixed Pond: 15°C as of 21 May 2010.

There are more (Brockton and Richmond come to mind), so please do check out:

View London’s guide

The definitive guide to Lidos

LondonTown’s guide to outdoor swimming

And most importantly, don’t be too English and forget to wear sunscreen!!

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• Royal Round Up 5-11-10: VE Day; Polo Pony Passing; Sister Signet; Harrods Sold
• A Pint of Bitter: Could Darling’s dullness and Tory wobbles give Britain a hung Parliament?
• From Metrotwin: The Easter Weekend, London Style
• A Pint of Bitter: MPs in the dock, a journalist questioned – and Gordon’s brown sugar

Who Doesn't Want to Live Above This Shop?

There are few things as distressing as looking for a flat to rent in London. I’m not sure if it’s inherently more difficult than other cities, but it sure feels like there couldn’t be anything much worse out there.

A year ago I spent three solid weeks looking for a studio/1-bedroom in Islington, North London and finally found the perfect place at the right price. All set to re-new my lease this year, I was instead served with a notice telling me that I’d have to be out on the 1st of June because my flat was going on the market to be sold.

After some choice words with the landlord, I accepted that I was back to the drawing board and on the hunt again. Here’s a guide to the process of finding your own flat using the estate agent route, which is most common way to find a flat to rent in London.

By the week?

The first thing to know is that most rentals are listed by the week with a pw (per week) stuck on the end. Sometimes you’ll see “pcm” which means per calendar month. Even if it’s pw, it doesn’t mean that you pay by the week, you still pay monthly, but it’s how many things are negotiated and advertised. I’ve found this to mean that I lose track of how much I’ll be paying much easier because it’s a smaller amount.

Therefore, I found it worth while to have a little chart of how much various weekly rents turn into monthly, because it’s easy to think another £20 is nothing, until you realise that’s another £1,040 over the year. For example, £250 per week x 52 weeks / 12 months works out to £1083.33 per month. Don’t fall into the trap of only multiplying it by 4 in your head and think it‘s £1000, as the extra £80 will add up.

Estate agents -the men (and women) in Minis

The basic thing to know about renting in London is that the “estate agents” (real estate agent) work for the landlord and not for you. They hold the keys to the kingdom, quite literally, and will run circles around you without recourse. They’re unregulated, low on ethics, and will say anything to get you to sign a contract. So it’s worth being cautious.

They also zip around town in Mini Coopers or equivalent cars and generally get lost getting you to various properties, so you never really know where you are. I try to meet them at the property so I have a realistic idea of where it is, rather than being driven there. Also, expect that what you say your budget is (in my example, £250) is a starting off point. They will then show you things that are £275-£290 and say that the landlord might take an offer of £250.

Even though they don’t work for you, it doesn’t mean they won’t charge you fees. They charge between £75-150 per person for a “background check” which can range from an actual detailed background check to just asking you if you have a job. A new fee I’ve just come across is the “inventory fee” which ranges from £100-£150 to record what’s in the flat when you arrive and when you leave. They say this is to help you get your deposit back. I think it’s the opposite, but go along with it, like much of this process, because it’s industry standard.

Viewings

Estate agents tend to show properties from 10am – 6pm Monday through Friday and 10-4 on Saturdays. What if you work?? Tough. I’ve found myself rushing off from the office at 5.15, during lunch times, and any other time I can squeeze in a viewing. Saturdays are the hottest time and you can expect most things you’re looking at online on Monday to actually have gone on the Saturday. Almost nothing on an agent’s website is really available unless it’s just come on that day. This is why it’s best to try to get in good with an agent or two and they’ll send you updates or ring you personally when something in your price range comes on the market. Often you can’t look too far ahead for a property and it’s best to do it as close to the time you need to move as possible, but this obviously adds to your stress level. Some landlords can be negotiable on the date.

The offer

So you’ve got in touch with a few estate agents and they’re showing you around and you see something you like. You then “put an offer”. Let’s say you’ve been shown a £270pw property and make an offer of £250. You’ll be whisked back to the estate agent’s office and need to put 1 weeks rent as a “holding deposit” and sign some paperwork saying that if you back out, you lose the money and if the landlord backs out (for any reason!) you get the money back. You need to put the money down this on the spot with cash or by debit card and write down anything that you may want (including having the place cleaned!) on your offer. You also could ask for a different date to move in, for example, to reduce the amount of time you’re paying rent at two places. The agent then contacts the landlord and gets back to you with the landlords counteroffer, acceptance, or refusal to accept your offer. The trouble is that someone may have come along and put an offer of £260 or the full asking price of £270 while you were waiting to hear back from the landlord. So until your offer is accepted, don’t assume the property is yours. This has happened recently to me and it’s really upsetting. I’d offered the asking price but hadn’t gotten to the office to put the cash down in time. Someone else had their card accessible and put the holding deposit down before I could, even though I’d made the same offer first. There were tears. Lesson learned.

Reject, accept, negotiate

The agent often comes back with something just shy of the asking price, say £265 and you can then accept it or get your money back because he has technically rejected your offer. Often landlords won’t want to negotiate on price, but this is your chance to ask for some extra furniture like a dining room table or to have the carpets professionally cleaned. Press too hard and they’ll back out, though. It’s a delicate balance and is really a shame that renters don’t have anyone on their side in the negotiation. Do ask if the property is “managed” or not. This means whether the estate agency will be your point of contact when things break (which they do) instead of the landlord. I’ve had a much better experience with managed flats personally, but it can go either way.

Deposit

So the landlord countered with £265 plus cleaning the carpets and you agree. Now it’s time to pay up! You pay the standard deposit is 6 weeks rent (again, with the weeks). You can sometimes negotiate it down to 4 weeks but that’s the minimum it needs to be for it to be held in the Government’s Deposit Protection Scheme. This is a recent development to help renters get their deposits back from landlords and is a much needed protection, so try to make sure that your property rented under the scheme.

So 6 weeks rent at £265 (£1590) plus first month’s rent (£1148.33) plus fees to the estate agents (£250) minus your holding deposit (£260) for the grand total of £2728.33. You can often press them to hold off paying the first month’s rent until a day or two before you move in. I find this helps with cash flow because for anyone, it’s a lot of money to put down, especially while you’re paying rent someone else still!

The contract

You sign the contract and finally have some rights to the flat. The agent then contacts your employer and sometimes your bank and a former landlord to make sure you’re legit. There isn’t a credit check like in the US or if there is, they’ll easily go around it as many foreigners don’t have credit. They do want you to have a UK bank account and generally be established in the UK. At any point the landlord can back out until he’s signed the contract and then you’ll get your money back, but nothing for all the time you’ve wasted in the process, so it’s best to check with the agents that the landlord has signed the agreement.

Congrats, you’ve got yourself a flat in London!

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Me and Law School Friend Winter 2006

I was a college graduate working a low-level but upwardly mobile assistant position (can you say Devil wears Prada?) at a major corporation in Boston and was in the midst of a bitterly cold winter in 2005. I spent a lot of time on the computer between tasks Googling a way to be anywhere but where I was. As I had a English boyfriend that I spent most of my days desperately missing in that way that you can only miss a love on another continent. He wanted to move to America so I Googled “English citizens moving to America” extensively and realised that it was a dead end with his lack of qualifications, money and martial status.

Next, I tried to figure out how I could go to England. I set up a few informational job interviews for that February. My main grasp of the interviews was that the job market was going to be more difficult than I expected as I would need to be on a “graduate scheme” for most careers starting in September and the applications were already in. Also, no one was willing to give me, as a recent grad, a work permit. I looked into the possibility of a fiancée visa and, gulp, a UK marriage visa.

My boyfriend didn’t have the haphazard approach to marriage that I had in my early 20s (think: “if Britney can do it, why can’t I?”). On our next holiday, he proposed and we were then engaged to have a normal engagement and wedding rather than a rushed one to bring us to the same continent. As one cannot work on a fiancée visa, this left me with only one choice for entering the UK without a wedding band and having something to do with my days: back to school.

Returning from the trip in February, I resumed my post Googling my way to a future abroad. After eyeing the cost of graduate degrees ranging from $20k-$60k for a year I was becoming increasing disheartened. Then, like every other good political science graduate in America I thought, “what about law school?”

Now this seemed remarkably easy: if you already have an undergraduate degree it only takes 2 years to become a lawyer (split into two types—solicitors and barristers) in England and Wales. The application cost was £5 and I happened to have a five pound note left over from February so I attached it to the simple one page application, added an international stamp and poof! I’d applied to three law schools in London in the course of an afternoon. Do not pass Go. Do not take the LSATs.

Further research showed me that while law school was easy to get into if you already had a degree, the tricky part was getting someone else to pay for it and that’s where something called a Training Contract (solicitors) or Pupillage (barristers) came in. If I were to get one of those, not only would the firm or chambers granting them pay my way and give me a small stipend, they’d employ me for two years when I finished school. Sign me up, I said!

In March I heard that I had been accepted into law school and in April I heard back from several firms granting me interviews. I lined up in the interviews for a week in May and flew over for a stressful few days. Two weeks later I received an email from my current employer telling me that they were offering me a contract and I accepted.

Four years down the line it’s strange to think of sitting all those miles away dreaming of working in London and that it’s actually what I’m doing now. Certainly things haven’t gone the way I’d planned then –the least of which being that the English fiancé never materialised into a husband. I’m very happy with my London life and having found a career and law firm that I love from Googling my way through that long Boston winter

Random Posts

Although already a recreational cyclist, I have finally built up to taking on the ardent task of cycling at rush hour into work in the past few weeks. Luckily, I live only 1.5 miles from my work and the ride there is a downhill one. Of course it makes the ride home a bit more arduous, but at least I only arrive sweaty on the end without shared space with 800 other people.

It’s taken me four and a bit months to feel comfortable enough to cycle to work due to the logistical considerations (mostly involving hair and make-up, honestly). Going from the point of buying a bicycle in April to feeling comfortable on the streets of London has taken me over four months. It’s a slow process and learning my way around and to share the road with expletive-spewing motorcyclists, people jumping out of cabs and squeezing between double decker buses can still be a bit frightening.

My main challenges with cycling and how I’ve overcome them.

1. Challenge: learning the streets and easiest cycle routes.

Solution: TFL maps.

When I started cycling, I only knew bus routes that I’d been taking for ages. They aren’t always the nicest or safest routes, but at least I knew I wouldn’t be going down the wrong way. The definitive guides are actually available at tube stops and put out by the TFL. I have one on my wall next to my door and every time before I leave the house I check my route. They have major roads that have signed cycling routes in yellow and quieter routes in blue. It’s how I know a lot of London now. Someone the other day mentioned a restaurant on Persival Street and I responded, “yeah I know it, that’s a blue street”!

TFL Cycling Maps

2. Challenge: The gear (or “kit” as the Brits say)

Solution: Investing over time

Getting a bike wasn’t too much of a problem – I invested a bit (£350) but have earned it back in saved tube fare alone since May. I chose a Trek T10 ladies bike that’s a good hybrid. I personally don’t like the look of the fold up bicycles and like the option of taking a jaunt in the country on my bike. More difficult has been the extras. There’s a lot to it – lights, locks, bags, helmet and hi-visibility gear. I had to invest in some things in the bike shop, I made do and asked for relatives to give me any spare neon they had kicking around (got more than you’d think), and ordered a few items from deep discounter Sports Direct. I tend to upgrade about 1 item per month putting £30 of my budget aside for cycle gear. Plus, there’s been an entire female-oriented cycle fashion movement which I’ll devote another entry to, but I will put a pic up of a gorgeous helmet I’m coveting from Cycle Chic!

http://www.cyclechic.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.sportsdirect.com/

3. Challenge: Organisation

Solution: Setting out my school bag the night before

There’s a lot to cart around when it comes to cycling. I just have to keep my bag ready with my lights, lock, make-up, water bottle, wallet, keys, hair brush, helmet, and reflective vest all packed and ready so I add my lunch from the fridge and am out the door.

4. Challenge: Not being a red sweaty mess

Solution: cycling slowly

This is a controversial tactic that I take as I am luckily not someone who profusely sweats. I can get away with cycling to work in my dress or suit and arrive unscathed if I do so slowly. It does put a dent in my ego as people fly by me in lycra and streamlined cycling clothes whilst I saunter along in my dress at more relaxed pace. I’m not cycling primarily for exercise though, I do it because it gets me to work faster than any other mode and I enjoy it. Plus, I don’t have to change when I arrive at work, I simply add a suit jacket (back of my office chair), some heels (hidden under my desk) and put on my makeup at my desk or in the bathroom. Many others shower at my office and do their full morning routine in the office or the gym. When the weather gets worse, I may have to join them. On the weekends I often just wear more comfortable clothes and cycle normally in them. Obviously if I’m going out somewhere fancy, I leave my two wheeled friend at home.

In all, it’s still a work in progress but I’ve found that I arrive to work much more energised and I see a few people that I normally wouldn’t. This morning I had a good conversation with a important Partner coming from the bike area up to the offices. We talked about cycling naturally! He was very impressed that as an American, I’ve learned to cycle in London. I’m certainly not a tourist anymore!

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As someone who occasionally suffers from anxiety, shopping in London on the weekends is not always a pleasurable activity. And the store that gets my stomach churning with the mere mention of its name is Primark, or Primani as its ironically called as a play on the fact that everything there is as far from couture as one can get.  Typical prices would be: sunglasses and tights for £1, bathing suits for £3, suits for £20–the place is a bargain hunter’s dream.

When people find out I don’t shop at Primark, they assume its for moral and environmental reasons.  Nope, I just cannot cope with the massive crowds, endless queues, non-existent fitting rooms, incorrect sizing, and utter chaos.  Yet, half the time I give a compliment, the woman retorts “Primani!” with a wave of the hand and a smile on her face.  The grin suggests she found it against the odds — and paid next to nothing for it.  When the 7,000 square foot Oxford Street opened in April 2007, a near riot ensued.

For North American visitors to England, there’s isn’t really an equivalent.  It’s H&M before it became overpriced or Target with only clothes and accessories but no website because the stock turns over too fast. I think it’s a must to visit in the UK– yet I am obviously not qualified to explain how to maximize your experience. I took the featured photos on a recent attempt on a Tuesday afternoon during which I lasted three minutes.

There was only one person to ask: my friend Kate. She follows high fashion and is able to find Primark pieces to mix with her staples that in turn results in a classic, tailored look. Here are her top tips for a successful Primark experience and her three fave recent finds.

Kate’s Primark Shopping Tips:

1. Go at off-peak times. This can include Mon/Tues/Wed, at 1030 and 3, or Saturday morning at 830.

2. Be open-minded about what you’ll find; don’t bother going with something specific to look for.

3. Don’t wait an hour for the dressing rooms. Guesstimate whether or not something will fit you (my tactic), or wear a tank top and leggings so you can try something on in the store.

4. Don’t pay any attention to sizes! Try on the size you would normally wear first and then go up or down according to fit. I’ve had everything from 10 to 16 fit me perfectly just in the last few months.

5. If you find something you absolutely love and know you’ll wear out, buy two (or three), as it’s pretty much guaranteed you will not find that item again on your next shopping trip. This is particularly relevant with their flats.

6. Always check the sizes on shoes. I came home once to discover I had two different size boots!

and finally…

7. Don’t buy something just because it’s a bargain!

The boots (£11) she says are near perfect replicas of Jimmy Choo for Hunter and the shoes (£6) and headband (£1.50) are very Chanel.

Random Posts

A sunny Friday in London with my boss out of town led to a perfect opportunity to take up my new friend Sally’s invitation for lunch at Borough Market. She claims to have seen Jude Law the last two times she strolled its isles, however with Jude away in New York for his role as Hamlet on Broadway, we had to look out for other treats.

Sally led me straight to her favourite stall in the Backyard Market and soon I had a huge slab of Spanish omelette with the choice of three sides for £5. My choices: lentils, mushrooms, and beets. We grabbed a seat on a slab below a lamp-post and “tucked in”. Usually an omnivore, I was pleasantly surprised to find the meal very filling.

Over lunch, I explained that I’d do a little write up for Anglotopia and Sally (half English, half Chinese, raised in England) instantly took to rushing around the market saying “Americans would like that!” and me snapping away. The meringues looked especially nice and based on further smells and sights, I decided next time I’m try the large vats of paella.

I deposited Sally back to her office and made my way back across London Bridge to the City and paused to look at all the people escaping their offices for a slice of afternoon sun. I love the autumn days in London where each moment of sunshine may be my last with the heavy weight of winter’s anticipation hanging above–it makes me enjoy every moment.

Relevant Links:

Borough Market

Hamlet on Broadway

Brick Lane Market

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I’ve been quite a lazy blogger, but not a lazy resident of London this summer and am sad to say goodbye to picnics and lidos but am welcoming to Fashion Week sales and the start of Apple season. Hello fall, I mean, autumn (as the Brits say)!

One way that I’ve been extending my love to Americans in London lately has been to “rent” out my futon in my little 1-bedroom flat to a variety of Americans coming through town. I started with Holly at the start of the summer, an effervescent Texan living in DC who was en route to Oxford for a masters program (ahem, programme) and spent an evening dancing with me at Kensington Roof Gardens. Next there was Ryan, a concert enthusiast who came to London for three days and somehow saw: Jay Z, Coldplay, Girls Aloud, White Stripes, Massive Attack, Pete Doherty, and an Arsenal game. His stamina was intense!

And today I got a booking for a couple who come early tomorrow morning. Renting a couch can cost you anywhere from free to £20 and a spare private room £25-50.

How do you find these people with spare couches? There was the time when a girl asked me in an internet café and I let her stay at mine for two days. I swear I’m a wanderer trapped in a corporate lawyer.

If you wanted crash out on someone’s couch in London, there’s a few websites that can help you out. Remember to speak to the people on the phone, get some details (passports), pay in person or through a third party server, and ask for references of people who have stayed previously!

Couchsurfing.com – the oldest online and cheapest means (free!) of crashing at someone’s house.

Craigslist House Wanted Ads – Craigslist London house wanted section

Couches on Gumtree – couches north of the river on this traditionally antipodeans website

I Stop Over – a site that acts as a go-between in the exchange between seeker and host.

With the average hotel room costing £99 a night in London, just crashing out and having use of wi-fi and a kitchen can be a good deal. And for someone like me, hosting is a nice way to meet new people and get some extra cash to put towards those pesky American student loans that didn’t disappear, sadly, when I left America.

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I hadn’t realised that cupcakes were oh-so-American until a few years back I was subjected to a school fete and the English bake sale. I encountered “fairy cakes” and are kind of like the American cupcake’s lackluster discount-bin version. Smaller, a bit deformed, and yes, they taste nice as anything with butter, sugar, and flour will do – but a home-baked good with none of the home-baked goodness. No wonder Hummingbird Bakery turns out 2,000 cupcakes a day.

Since Hummingbird opened its doors in 2003 in West London’s Nottinghill they unexpectatantly started the London cupcake craze winning over the likes of Elle Macpherson and Gwyneth Paltrow. Suddenly Kate Moss led the fashionistas to the cake like moths to the flame after she was seen buying them at Primrose Bakery in North London. Soon Outsider Tart became the official cupcake provider at London Fashion Week and Lily Jones, a designer-turned-cupcake maker (Lily Vanilli), started selling in trendy East London at Swanfield Market and at the Vintage Heaven shop on Columbia Road. And they’re all expanding. Hummingbird opened in South Kensington (where I did my “research”), released a cookbook, and is due to open a third location in SoHo. Covent Garden is now covered by Candy Cakes and a second Primrose Bakery.

Keen to cash in on the tiny cake, megachain M&S recently sent a team to the Institute of Culinary Education of New York to study—you guessed it—American cupcake baking in hopes of adapting them to the mass British market. Outsider Tart appears to be  the only true ex-pat enterprise on the cupcake scene, (even Hummingbird is owned by an American-educated Brit). Their website explains their journey:

“A couple of professional guys moved from the United States to live and work in London last year -but discovered that good, wholesome, home made cupcakes, sweet pies and fresh tarts were hard  to come by. Outsiders as they both are, they set about rectifying what they saw.”

You can find them at farmer’s markets and SoHo on Sundays.  

Not all Brits have been pleased about the cupcake invasion. Columnist Jan Moir at the Daily Mail weighed in on the debate with this pleasing anti-American rant:

“What is going on? There’s something so un-British about the cupcake. It’s all flounce and flummery, paved with butter cream so thick emit bat creams of horror. Yet just like the GIs, it is oversexed, over-paved and over here.”

Fairies and Frosting

So why all the fuss? What’s the difference anyway between American cupcakes and British fairy cakes anyway? Can’t we all just get along?

Firstly, it seems to be in the design. Fairy cakes have a domed, rounded top while cupcakes are flat. Fairy cakes are smaller whilst the American counterpart is, well, American-sized. Then there’s the cake itself or lack of it—cupcakes have a higher ratio of frosting to cake (1/3 to 2/3) and there’s butter cream in the sponge. Research has found that the British palate cannot handle the sickly sweetness of a traditional cupcake and M&S product designers had to tone down the cakes for the Brits with some fruit compote in the centre.

And most importantly according to my cupcake companion Katherine, is the topping. Call it icing in England or frosting in America, the design is where the cupcake puts the fairy cake to shame. Cupcakes are drowned in butter cream and ornate designs and traditionally, fairy cakes had a thin, watery layer of icing sugar with lemon. Judging by the display in the storefront, Hummingbird has capitalised on there just being something innately cute about cupcakes.

After some debate in the fast moving queue, Katherine settled on a cherry cupcake. “It’s a tiny piece of luxury in tough times,” she explained. We emerged into the sunshine to walk along the Thames and catch-up about our respective ex-pat lives in London. And the cost for a tiny piece of luxury? At Hummingbird they range from £1.55 to £1.85.

Check out the Hummingbird Bakery’s Website here.

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The Girl Guides are England’s version of the Girl Scouts with the badges and all but without the cookies and ferocious salesmanship. Turns out “Brownies” are ages 7-9 and “Rainbows” are 5-6.  I wasn’t even a girl scout. The closest I came was an intimate relationship with the Samoa and Thin Mint cookies once a year.  I was much more into sports, adventure, and avoided uniforms that you weren’t meant to get muddy.

One thing I miss about my life in America is being around children. I’ve always babysat, had many family members reproducing, and have generally always been around children. Now in London I’m in the age where my friends are getting engaged and married, but children are still a few years away and without family around, I find myself feeling out of touch with the youth of Britain.

So, I called up the Girl Guides, and next thing I knew I was being a citizen by looking after 5 and 6 year olds.  They were not very forgiving that I knew none of their game. As it turns out they don’t teach you children’s playtime games and English nursery rhymes in English law school.  I hadn’t even considered that they’d be different.

The two official leaders rounded up the 11 girls and said “grand old Duke!” and suddenly all 13 of them were stomping their feet and singing. I stood there, attempting to mouth the words, feeling like a bad influence.  

“Why aren’t you singing?” one ginger haired girl asked expectantly.  I started laughing at the image of English children singing about the grand old Duke of York. Of course they are. And me standing there like a right twat. It was one of those moments I get in England, less often now four years on, when I say, “How did I get here?” The only Duke of York I know is a pub close to my old flat.  I was starting to think that I wasn’t Rainbows material.  If I were in a developing country, I’d feel like I was changing the world. Instead, I just felt awkward.    

“Who can tell me what special holiday is this week??” the Lead Assistant asked. I had no clue. I thought about my Outlook calendar. No, I’d know if there was a holiday.

“St George’s Day!” yelled the girls.

I knew I was in for it. I was to help them construct flags according to the Lead Assistant. The girls ran to a table the real assistants had set up with red tissue paper, glue, cardboard crosses, and white sheets of paper.  I pulled the 20-something assistant aside and lowered my head as though in confession. “I don’t know what the flag looks like exactly” I whispered sheepishly. 

“Bless” she replied.

Now, “bless” is a phrase that people say to me often in England, generally after I’ve said something very stupid. Basically, you can replace “you idiot” for “bless” and you’ve got the real meaning, but initially sounds nice and British and formal–until you’ve lived here a while.

So I couldn’t even assist the children, instead the junior assistant had me join the children and make my own flag, so I, too, could learn about St George’s Day. Another child turned to me and asked me “why are you here, you’re not helping?” and I felt oh-so-involved in the community.

When the hour of torture was up, I went home a bit deflated and slid further when my flatmate saw my decrepit tissue paper flag she asked if one of the children had given me a present. On the 23rd I made sure that I waved my St George’s Cross flag with vigour, upon having to look up what exactly it was on Wikipedia, of course.

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I’ll get out of the way and let Kat tell her story:

I came to London for three months in 2003 to work in Parliament and attend the London School of Economics through my American uni. I’d always been a wanna be Francophile, not Anglophile, but I met an Englishman during that time and moved back in 2005 to live with him and attend UK law school.  Four years later, the relationship with the guy is no longer, but I’ve fallen hard for London and am training to be an English lawyer at a firm in the Square Mile.  I studied politics and journalism at university in Boston and am from Portland, Maine originally. In my late 20s, I’m single and trying embrace the English way of life–baking scones, gardening, and walking holidays–without losing my American charm!

Let’s give Kat a big Anglotopia welcome!

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