Pining for Chatham?

It was a weird sort of afternoon. I had plans to go to Zumba class but upon leaving the flat came across a wounded Magpie lingering in the walkway. As I rounded the exit to the street, I was accosted by a group of punk adolescent boys who threw a cranberry – a cranberry – at me, and when I confronted them on it they became quite aggressive. Apparently living in London has made me a bit mouthy, and I probably shouldn’t have engaged in any extended banter, but I couldn’t help myself return the cussing. How dare they?! Long story short, I was fine but did call the police on them as they threatened me with a variety of outcomes. Classy, kids.

Not the Magpie in question.

 

Whilst on the phone I met a very nice neighbour who rescued the injured magpie and introduced me to her four rescue bunnies that live on her balconey. I did make it to the gym, but was not allowed to join the Zumba class because I was too late *shakes fist at stupid kids!* Thirty minutes of the elliptical and I was ready for a relaxing walk home through the Double Rainbow garden. Unfortunately my bliss was interrupted when I noticed  a bird dangling by his left foot from a tree. Poor thing had become entangled in some string and was caught. After a few phone calls I arranged with the RSPCA to attend, found a man who lives in the park to act as a contact point, and was able to go home. (Outcome: the RSCPA never did show up, but the bird got loose on his own.)

Cooking.

Crocheting.

Phone call with Mom. It was during this, a discussion about all the art classes and events she’s been involved with that the pang hit me.

Homesickness.

What’s this? I know it comes every once in a while, but was it really her talk of ‘Art and Wine’ evenvings that brought me to this place? I quickly had thoughts of owning my very own house, working as a Mental Health Counsellor for children and adolescents, and being back with loved ones. It would be nice. But then again I’d miss out on all the good things like trips to Egypt and Iceland and trains and pubs and friends who understand what it’s like to be ‘skint’.

I think what it really boils down to is that I’m still not sure where my life is going, and I’m struggling with being in this limbo. It’s not uncomfortable – it’s just unknown. And I find that to be a little bit scary.

So I have a solution – all my family and friends back home need to relocate here to London. It’d make my life perfect. Agreed?

January expat meetup continued…

After we ate at Ping Pong, we made our way to the British Museum, located near by. We entered through the back, a bit less grand than the main entrance but it had a lion standing guard so who am I to complain?

I’ll easily admit that I’m not a big museum buff, and unlike the rest of my party, I had never been to this particular museum. It’s certainly a stately building, though. This is the main hall, with the gift shop in the middle.

Emm wanted to see the Byzantine exhibit, which was small enough to hold my ADHD-like attention span. The conversation with other group members helped too. I am terrible.
I was rather intrigued by the man sketching statues…

If you visit museums and galleries here, you will often see people with their sketch books and charcoals wandering around the buildings.

This is (the back of) the Rosetta Stone! As in the namesake of the computer program. Which reminds me… I need to keep brushing up on my French!

Ping Pong – January’s Expat Meet Up

Thanks to Emm’s love for dim sum, today eight expats were treated to a complimentary meal at Ping Pong- Googe Street. Above left to right is: Wanderlust Melissa, Lindsay, Melizza, Greg, Oneika, Emm, Candace, et moi.
I’m not entirely clear on how the invite came about, but was very excites when asked to join her for a set meal from Ping Pong’s menu.
For those of you unfamiliar with Ping Pong, it is a chain of restaurants across the UK specialising in Dim Sum (tiny packets of veggies or meat wrapped in booked pastries). Difficult to explain and envision, so here is a photo of our main course.

As you can see, each piece is bite-sized and stuffed with different fillings. I believe it is a form of Chinese nourriture. I’ve always found it a bit strange to eat as the texture of the boiled wrapping can be a bit gelatinous, but the flavour is always nice. there are other types of dim sum as well, such as pork buns which seem to be baked instead of boiled. They have a sweet flavour and are quite filling, despite being bite-sized.

Our lunch included a beverage, and after viewing Emm, Mujerboricua and her hubby’s drink, I wanted one of my own. I skipped on strawberries but went instead for the passionfruit iced tea. It wasn’t too sweet, although more passionfruit flavour would have been nice. For me, passionfruit is akin to cowbell- I can always use more!
At the end of the meal, I was enticed by the idea of dessert – or pudding as they call it here – and fell for the banana chocolate spring rolls. Gooey chocolate is good, particularly in a deep fried filling!

The service was amazing and I was very pleased that we were seated in a quiet area- I was able to hear the others at the table! This doesn’t always seem to happen in london.
It was a lively Saturday lunch and I’m very grateful to Ping Pong for making it happen, and Emm for inviting me!

Check it out for yourselves:

Ping Pong Googe Street
48 Newman Street
London W1T 1QQ