London Cityhall
Excuse me, I just need to clean my hands after having indulged my Chicken Teriyaki sandwich for lunch. Life is definetely not bad in London.
Well this is your weekly (long and boring) update about how things are going in London. 4 weeks, goodness, time surely flies when you are having fun. And if you want the whole long boring story, go on, and continue reading. If you couldn’t care less – I understand you completely, no offence taken.
So do I have a bank account yet ?
Uhm no. But I talked with HSBC yesterday, and survived another cross examination, and now I am through to round two. Which is showing up in one of their bank offices, loaded with proof that I really am The Girl I told them I am. Let’s see how that goes. If that fails I go for the Bank of Scotland, they have the cutest accents for sure.
I don’t have an NI (National Insurance) number either. I had no idea you needed one, but I do now. If you don’t have one you have to pay a lot of income tax, and unfortunately that is going to happen for me, at least the first month. Because also here you need to survive a few selection rounds, and personal interviews proving that you really are the girl in the cafe with the lawless heart. And my interview is planned for the 21st of April, so it not like they are quick or anything …
But hey I live in London, and that was what I wanted. I am not complaining.
Do I have internet yet ?
Yes, thank goodness I do. Not only do I have internet, I have digital tv too, as it came in the same package. So now I can see even more BBC channels, which is lovely. Especially when they just started repeating The Office, and yesterday there was a film program about the new James Bond film with Daniel Craig. I think we have something to look forward to here. Not only an interesting angle on Bond, but also quite a hunky new Bond.
Another good thing about digital tv : while I was enjoying Sigur Ros I missed The Armstrongs on tv. With digital tv you can see a lot of programs on demand (for free) and The Armstrongs is one of them, how convenient.
Have I been in any theatre yet ?
Yes actually I have. I saw Hamlet on Saturday, another Shakespeare play (don’t say I’m not trying to become a Londoner), about a prince in Denmark (could it be more appropiate?). As with Richard II, also this story has quite a drastic ending. But I do love theatre, it is like a film playing live rigth in front of you. And when I, economically speaking, am back on track again, there is a long list of plays I would love to see. And films too for that matter. And exhibitions. And concerts. And, well there is a lot to do here for culture-o-holics like me.
Do I miss Denmark at all?
Not rrrreally to be honest. Someone did mention tv-2 to me last week and there I got a short “Oh my God I miss them soooo much” moment. It passed. But maybe I take a short trip to DK to see them somewhere in the summer. Just to see them ? Yes just to see them, I know I am crazy. And I am proud to be just that.
Do I miss any of my stuff?
I don’t really miss any of the stuff that is located in boxes in Denmark no. The 2 bags I brought along with me were well packed, and the stuff in them well selected. But there are 2 things I do miss desperately: my Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy book. I miss it so much, that I am going to buy a second copy today, I need that book, it’s my bible.
The other thing(s) I am missing more every day : my Bill DVD’s. I made a small selection of DVD’s I really couldn’t live without and took those with me. (Oh you want titles do you, well : Love Actually, The Girl In The Cafe, Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, Beyond The Sea (Kevin S.), The Young Visiters). But now I have Lawless Heart in my mind, after writing about it yesterday, and I really want to see that one badly now … That feeling hasn’t passed yet though, and I don’t know what to do about that – yet.
Anything else ?
Yes I visited Greenwich last Saturday. Will write a bit more about the city of the Greenwich Mean Time later this week, as it deserves a bit more attention than a short note in an otherwise already way to long post, where most readers already zapped away 10 minutes ago.
The final words
After 4 weeks I can say that London is the place for people with Lawless hearts. I love it here, but you had figured that out already didn’t you. And I haven’t even seen the changing of the guards yet. Imagine what an impact they will have on me : lots of men in lots of uniforms. I probably never want to leave London again after that.
Maybe this sounds silly, but I guess I’m proud of you! Or as David Brent would have said: If you’re facing in the right direction, you only have to walk steight ahead!
YAWN ;-) Please keep boring me with your stories!
I think, you are going to make a lot of pictures from the changing of the guards, do you??’-))
Yes that is a family tick :-)