Camden Market

The market i'd been hearing about for years, the market my little sister had been to and come back with amazing clothes that made me go green with envy, the market i'd been longing to go to for ages...

Well today i finally went! :-D

I had two excellent guides, Anna and Charlie, who had very kindly offered to show me around (thanks again guys!) which was cool as i wouldnt have known where to start on my own! From what they told me and from what i gathered whilst walking around, there are several markets but they all seem to blend into one!

I really liked the Stables market, everywhere you looked there were stalls and shops selling nice sparkely things that made me grin :-)

We went to this amazing shop that i unfortunatley can't write about yet as i want to take a friend of mine there and surprise them as to what's in it :-)

The food section was impressive, I saw stalls selling chinese food, spainish paella, burgers, doughnuts and corn on the cob (on the same stall! Weird combo huh!), and no doubt there were more i didnt see. Charlie bought us chinese food and we fought for a space next to a bin to stand and eat. It was very crowded, being saturday i wasnt really surprised. It was funny, while we were decided what to eat all the stall holders were trying to get us to buy their food, handing out free food. I wondered if maybe you could walk up and down filling up on them! :-D

We went to the canal and the lock too, which was really nice, Anna and Charlie had mulled wine and i had organic tea, which was very much needed as it was rather cold. I'm familiar with the sea and the countryside but i do love canals and riverboats and locks.

There's so much to Camder market i could spend several days there. I have the feeling i'll get lost but with my sense of direction thats almost always a given, and besides, with so many nice stalls and nice food around me it'll be the best sort of lost you can be! :-)

xxx

Warning! Culture Shock!

To my relief i woke up this morning feeling ready to face the world and my own company again.
I am fine in my own company most of the time, last night was an execption rather than the rule.

Anyway.

Sooo...i had my first job interview today. It ended up not being an interview for a specific job like i was expecting, but me signing up with a catering company who are gonna train me up and find me work. So that's cool.

But this is where the culture shock comes in.
When people have talked to me in the past about culture shock i thought it would hit me all at once, but actully im finding it happen here and there when i dont expect it.

Like this whole job hunt thing. Ive never signed up with a company who will find me work before. Ive always found work through word of mouth or through going round by foot and asking people if they're after staff. So the job hunt thing is the biggest culture shock thing recently, and the thing that really makes it hit me that ive left my small town.

I did have one really positive experience today though. I was walking down oxford street after my interview, the london paper in one hand, looking all smart, surrounded by people walking the same way as me, and i suddenly had a very strong feeling of belonging, like i was a londoner.
Felt almost like a right of passage moment.

First alone moment.

When i first started this blog i wanted it to be filled with all the positives of this experience, all the good times and all the new things.
But then that wouldnt be a total account of my time here.
There are less good moments, and this is one of them.

I miss my friends.
Amd family
And having a job.
This is taking so much longer than i thought and i hate that no-ones getting back to me.
I have no optimism about my interview tomorrow, i feel so disheartend.
And for the first time, i feel alone.
I want a hug.
And, and this is gonna sound really weird, I want to be told that someone loves me. I just need to hear it. That i can do this, that i'm not alone.

Finding my feet and losing the fear.

It's funny but i find myself mentally writing this blog as I walk around London. I feel like im taking notes of things to share with you, i like it :-)

Ok so today my job hunting began in earnest. Well, technically last night as i signed on (online, didnt know you could do that till yesterday!) but today was my day for contacting employers. I sent off my CV via email to quite a few places, and got an email that made me very excited. It was from the globe letting me know that in February there are Steward Introductory sessions, and i had to pick which one i wanted to go to. It's two hours long and you get shown around the theatre and meet the staff and so on. It said you don't have to go to be a steward but i'm obviously going to be there! So i sent a reply back saying i'd love to come on this date. Very exicted about that even though it's not till the end of feb. Im sure ill see the globe again before then.
So after i had sent my CVs fluttering round the net i set off on the tube. Proved to myself that i still dont know my immediate area as i couldnt find my nearest tube station, so i found the next nearest one instead. Ah well i'll get there.
I got my Oyster card yesterday and love it, it's a genius idea and makes journeys soooo much cheaper :-)
So i got to Piccadilly and was going down the esculator and i could see this guy playing electric guitar at the bottom, busking. Personally i just thought he was showing off, he wasnt playing tunes just going off on this mad really long solo. Then i got furthur down the esculator and realised that at least part of the reason he had collected quite a large sum of money was because he only had one hand. So i was a little more impressed after realising that.

Then i walked up the stairs out of the tube station, into Covent Garden...and my mouth fell open. It's amazing. All around me were these not just tall but huge buildings, bright lights, main roads, lots of people, the heart of the city basically. Or at least it felt like it.
The area i live in is qute quiet and the buildings are what i consider to be a more normal size.
Not so in Covent Garden. I passed several theatres just walking down one street, one advertising Avenue Q which is playing there at the moment. I was stood outside staring at the posters, probably drooling.
It's the only time since i've arrived in London that i have walked around gaping like a tourist.I couldnt help it! Everything was exciting and every street was interesting, so many shops! (god that sounds so girly) And so many theatres! Im going back tomorrow as i never did find the place i was looking for but i kindof stopped caring in the midst of all the wonderfulness.
So i'm walking pretty much in a straight line so i can find the tube station reasonably easily to get back, and i stumble upon Trafalgar Square. Once again my jaw hit the concrete with an audible 'clang'. It's amazing, huge fountain in the centre, huge statues, huge buildings, a whole lot of hugeness in one place basically. And little me sitting on a bench grinning and getting neck ache from looking up so much.

Oh yeah, and after going all that way in hopes of finding a job, i get out of the station round the corner from my house, pass a pub next to the station and see a staff wanted notice in the window! I gave them my cv and she said they'll probably ring me in a couple of days to arrange a trial shift! That would bo good.

Things are looking hopeful my friends, which is also how i'm feeling

xxx

Ice sculptures, amazing parks and the Globe theatre!

My my my i dont usually have such eventful sundays!

Margie announced this morning that she was taking me somewhere but where we were going was a surprise.
On the way we took a detour into Kensignton Park to let Totty run around for a bit. The park took my breath away, it's huge and there are all these beautiful tall trees everywhere! And lots of other people walking their dogs of course.

That reminds me, i discovered something today that im really pleased about. It IS totally possible to talk to strangers in London and not get mugged or looked at like you're a weirdo! Me and margie had several converstaions with people in the park, it was really nice. Having a dog with you is a great converstaion starter. And everyone we spoke to was really nice and friendly.
So ya boo sucks to that stereotype!

Then we got to my surprise, it was the first ice sculpture festival which was by the Natural History Museam. There was a row of ice sculptures, each one from different countries (all of them amazing and beautiful) and they were being judged, the scuplture of a pigeon (that margie thought was a falcon or something like that) won.
To my great relief there were also hot food stalls there which was great as i was freezing and really hungry. Combine that with finding my hat in my bag and i was good to go.

It's funny, i was eating my chips and looking at these amazing sculptures thinking 'id love to have a go at doing that myself' when i look to my left and see a big queue of people waiting to do just that! There was a table with sevaral blocks of ice on it and a guy showing groups of people how to do it. I did get in the queue but it was clearly going to be a long wait and margie found me and told me the sculptures were starting to melt and fall apart so i decided to go see them instead. I did a lot of observing while i was in the queue (and had conversations with some more nice strangers :-)) so i think i got the general idea. Something to try another time definatley.

Right by us was the V&A Museum, so obviously we had to go in there! My parents rave about it. I did enjoy it but i have to be honest, galleries and museums are not places i can happily spend hours in, i dont know why. I wish i could. But there were parts to it i really did enjoy, a long scuplture gallery that was fascinating, there was one that had me quite captivated. It was the torso of a man done in marble, and it was (in my view at least) possibly the nearest thing to a perfect male form i've seen. Muscley and toned but not too much of either, with a lovely back. This will probably sound odd but i love mens backs (well, some at least!), i think there is something endearingly vunerable about them. The skin tends to be smoother there too, maybe that has something to do with it. Backs and shoulders....mmmm...yummy.

Anyway! Moving on.

So after that we went for a bit of a drive and i got my own personal tour from margie. Saw Piccadilly, lots of lovely theatres, the houses of Parliment and Big Ben, and we ended up at the South Bank and walked quitea long way down it. There's a book market down there! Well pleased to find that.
And oh the south bank is beautiful at night, all lit up. And it wasnt too cold once i added another layer. Spoke to yet more strangers! These two guys on a bench who were also very appreciative of the beautifulness of our surroundings.
Skip to the end...
I ended up standing outside the Globe Theatre! Anyone who knows me knows how much of a big deal that is for me. Couldn't get in though, twas closed. That's the next step, go down there with a sleeping bag and refuse to move until they give me a job.

So thats been my eventful sunday! It's been a very busy and very good half a week Ive explored, got cold, got warm, got lost, got my voice back (pretty much) and have fallen in love.

With London! :-)

xxx

My day as a political activist.

Today i explored a little furthur afield and found Kensington High Street, which i like veeerryy much :-D (some great shops)

More importantly, when i left the house it started snowing! I couldnt believe it! Ok there wasnt much and it didnt settle at all but thats not the point! Snow! I havent seen it first hand in yages!
So i was grinning and jumping around excitedy most of the day whist other londoners very deliberately didnt look at me. Can't think why...

Found the entrance to Holland Park which i was pleased about as i wanted to find parks. Looks beautiful. I would have gone in for an explore but the huge political demonstration kindof distracted me somewhat.

I was aware of the roads being closed and a lot of police being around, but didnt know why until i saw a sign on a shop window that mentioned a protest happening today about the conflict in Gaza.

And blimey was it a big one. Having lived a sheltered life in areas where big political demonstrations and marches are definately not the norm i was very interested in watching the banner waving, slogan shouting creature made up of thousands of people making its way down Kensingon High Street. There was also a samba band which made me smile and think of my friend nick who loves both samba and politics. He'd have loved it if he'd been there.

So i carried on a-wandering and saw ahead of me a big screen. Naively thinking 'oh thats interesting, ill go check that out' i walk towards it and gradually as i approach i realise that it's the end point of the march, theres a stage there and a guy talking about the conflict and the screen is to show him and the other people on the stage with him.

Somehow i managed to find myself in the middle of the road, barriers and police either side of me so i couldnt get onto the pavement. In front of me is the stage and a lot of angry speakers, behind me is i don't know how many angry people marching towards me.
Gulp!

Luckily i spotted some guys slipping through a gap in the barriers so i followed their example and was safe!

Wasn't long after that that i got lost. Very lost. Thing is, although i knew what road i was on, i had absolutely no idea where the roads leading off that street lead to, so i was stuck wandering up and down Kensington High Street for ages.

Evenually i had a brain wave and rang home and asked Steve to googlemap where i was a guide me home. So three hours later i got home :-) on the way i discovered that Ladbroke Grove is the longest road ever built by man. I was not impressed.

I was so relieved when i found portobello road market that i celebrated by buying a jacket potato from a stall. :-)

Off for a hot bath now to reward my legs for carrying me round all day.

New experiences

1) Jehovas witnesses ringing my bell this morning.
2) Walking a dog round the block and passing a mosk and a woman dressed all in black so only her eyes showed.
3) Haggling with market stall holders.
4) Sleeping in a double bed!
5) Completely losing my voice (seriously, not even a squeak left. Thank god it's coming back)
6) Walking for ages and still being on the same road! Methinks the Romans definately came here.
7) Snow! As i left the house this morning it started snowing :-D
8) Political activism. Saw a massive demonstration about gaza and at one point ended up in the middle of it!
9) Seeing ice sculptures and an ice rink and almost having a go at carving ice myself.
10) Talking to total strangers in London :-)
11) Standing outside the Globe Theatre...Heaven!
12) Walking along the South Bank in the evening. Stunning.
13) Sitting in Trafalgar Square :-)
14) Walking round Covent garden past loads of theaters.

15) Experiencing massive tube strikes, long traffic jams and longer bus journeys.

16) Finding freedom in a nicer house with nicer people.

17) Joining a theatre company! Finally!

18) Feeling at home in the big city.

19) Starting to write a play.

20) Deciding to get my nose pierced.

21) Re-discovering the joy of having bright red hair.

22) Having an important relationship end...but surviving and feeling ok about being single.

23) Reading a lot about wicca and finding it fascinating and relevant.

Really good website.

I've discovered that the Gumtree website is ace! I've been checking it out and chuckling to myself as it has like everything on there, including some really random stuff. You can do ordinary stuff like search for a job or a flat on there, but also confess stuff, say thank you to people, flirt with people, rant about other people.

Just something i thought was interesting :-)

Inspired by my lecturer.

When I was at uni i did this one module in the first year, and i can't remember the name of it but the work we did and the ideas the lecturer gave us has stayed with me ever since. The lecturer was part of the theatre company called Wrights and Sites, and they wrote a book called the 'Exter Mis-Guide' and they also have one now called 'The Mis-Guide to anywhere'.

The basic idea is that these are not your normal guide books, they encourage you to view your city/town environment differently, to not get bogged down in your daily routine so much that you no longer see whats around you, but to explore and see your environment afresh. On each page were instuctions to follow that would lead you around and help you see with new eyes.
I had a blast doing that, being able to use my imagination as im wandering around a city really appeals to me.

Soooo...as im now in the capital and eager to explore i find myself itching to write my own mis-guides, to help me explore and then i'd like to be a 'mis-guide' myself and take other people on my mis-guided tours.

Watch this space for ideas and upcoming mis-guided tours. Im in the process of getting permission from my ex-lecturer to use their ideas to inspire my own.

Mis- Guides.

Privacy and the City

In the city it can often feel like you are never alone, wherever you go there are always people around you.

Find a place where you can be alone.
Even if only for a few moments.

An empty park at night.
An empty tube station platform or tube.
A quiet side street.

Spend time in these places alone or with the one you love.

Reclaim that feeling of being the only one/two people in the world.
Let the city float away.

Markets, haggling and hats

I had my first experience of Portobello Road market today :-) me and my landlady Margie and her dog Totty headed out well wrapped up. It's great as as soon as you get to the end of my road and turn left u're not even on PR* yet but there are stalls down the street selling various random things, including a friut and veg stall where i was able to buy one onion for 10p lol. My lovely landlady bought me 'The Book Theif' which we got for £2! (It's originally worth £11)

What we mostly found on the part of PR we were on were a lot of clothes stalls. There was one stall that seemed to specilise in hats and scarfs and gloves, margie bought a couple of wicked hats and i got two scarfs :-) i love scarfs and bought another one later :-P

It was so nice today, seeing all the stalls and all the people and rummaging through piles of hats.
We saw this beautiful white wool coat that we were haggling over until i tried it on and discovered that although it looked stunning on the manekin, on me it looked like a dressing gown. Ah well.

In case anyone else had the same preconceptions as me about market stall holders, all the ones i spoke to today were lovely to me and very helpful. Margie knows a lot of the stall holders on the road near our home so i met some of them. It was nice going for a walk with a local as it did mean that i met people which i havent done yet. After all, it's not like St.Ives, you can't just strike up a conversation with people you pass on the street. Or maybe i'm wrong, maybe you can, but i havent managed it yet.

I like haggling but havent really tried it yet, i was observing margie today. Haggling isnt something i'm used to, but could come in handy.

I took Totty for a walk earlier which was really nice, but unusual for me. I'm a firm cat lover, maybe having had a less than nice experience with a dog at a young age has something to do with that, but Totty is a small curly haired dog with a nice temprement so i was fine with her. We went for a walk round the block which was nice. Passed a mosk on the way, and behind me, obviously on their way there was a woman dressed in one of those black robes that covers everything but the eyes with a younger buy who i assumed was her son. I'm definately not in st.ives any more, there are so many different religions and religious buildings here. I like it. Variety is the spice of life and definately the spice of this city. Im constantly fascintated by the difference and variety around me.

I think what im going to find hard here is asserting myself, being more bolsy than i normally am, blagging my way to cheap clothes, or a job or whatever. I think i can be too nice for my own good sometimes and put other people before me. It's the fine line between being rude, arrogant and annoying and being assertive and pro-active. Hopefully i'll stay on the right side of that line.

The Job hunt continues tomorrow, as does the exploring.

My mood continues to be happy, upbeat and optimistic :-)

xxx


*PR = Portobello Road (just in case there's any confusion)

1st Day - Finding my Feet.

Well i said i was bored of living in small towns, so typically i went for the extreme opposite and moved to london! Mwaha!
Oh but this feels so good already. Im in my small corner of the city and all around me is opportunity and experience just waiting to happen.
I was walking around earlier on and i experienced that kinda-annoying-but-not-really feeling that you get when you don't know the area you're in at all so you walk and walk and walk...and then you turn a corner and realise you've just walked in a square. That happened to me a couple of times, but the really weird thing is that i seemed to suddenly develop a sense of direction, as although obviously i got lost (how could i not when i dont know the area?) it was a deliberate kind of lost and i saw buildings and shops that worked really well as landmarks, and i stayed close to two main streets so i could always find my way back to them. I was shocked at the fact that when i decided to go home i found the flat with very little difficulty! I did however buy myself a street map during my explore, just in case. But i havent used it yet!

It was a rather tentative explore today, but im ok with that. It was...if i say terrifying i dont mean that exactly i just like using that word...but it was a very weird feeling just walking around with no end destination or clue as to where i was or where i was going. And it was only scary when i first left the flat and set off, once i got going all i was thinking was whether to go left or right!
Ended up being fun though, i found some cool shops and one of my favourite roads in london, Portobello Road! Yay! According to a friend of mine the market is on tomorrow which i am definately going to.

Another strange thing im experiencing (at this point just about everything is strange to me) is how my sense of time has altered. I have spent months thinking, talking, reading, planning, saving, all for this move, and so my focus has always been on the future. Now im here and it's like i've caught up with the future and time seems to have slowed right down. I got here yesterday afternoon and it feels like ive been here at least two or three days.

I love my flat. It's not decorated how i particuarly like (it's very floral) but it feels really cosy. It's really warm as well which im very thankful for. My house in St.Ives was freezing, this is much warmer, and the heatings easy to control too which helps. And i have a double bed! For the first time ever! Must admit i was hoping i would have. Last night i had the best nights sleep ever, and i could stretch out (in all directions!) and not fall out! My feet never stuck out at all, they stayed toasty warm all night :-)

I applied for a job today too. It's very useful having the net here, i can combine net job hunting with the physical type. So online i applied for a stage crew job at the Gate Theatre, within walking distance of my flat. Fingers crossed there.

Once i get my voice back that will help with the job hunt i feel. I miss my voice.

At the moment at least im having fun being on my own. I know the loneliness will probably arrive sooner or later, and no doubt ill put a post on here about it when it does, but for the mo im enjoying the absolute freedom of being able to do what i like when i like. Ive been in touch with people back home a lot, i think cause i need that link to that part of my life to make this easier, to remind myself that everyone didn't just disappear when i left, they are all still there.

So my mood at the moment is optimistic, hopeful and excited. :-)

xxx