A Night of Extreme Insanity: The Flying Karamazov Brothers

I’ve become a bit of a West End aficionado of late thanks to a certain person at work who has a connection to free theatre tickets.

Three shows in three weeks is pretty good going if you ask me.

First on the agenda was a night with the Flying Karamazov Brothers.

All I knew was that it was a circus/juggling act, but it was so much more (and much more mad then I could have imagined!).

The K. Brothers are four Americans performers who take the stage dress in kilts. The best way to describe the show is as a Vaudeville review.

Juggling maybe what ties the show together but comedy in a Marx Brother/Monkees vein provides the undertone while songs and dance (also very funny) tie everything together.
On top of that, all four ‘brothers’ are talented musicians.

Each show the brothers ask to audience to bring a selection of items they want to see lead brother Dmitri juggle.

The audience then votes on the three best items – at our show they chose an umbrella, a cowboy hat and… a fish.

After a couple of goes Dmitri managed to juggle all three for a full 10 seconds.

My favourite juggling act was rather simple. The theatre lights went out and in darkness they threw glowing balls that changed colours throughout. Magical.

For one lucky/unlucky audience member, they got the chance to get right up close to the action. The fiery action.

A woman from the crowd got to put herself in the centre of four crazy men throwing flaming sticks back and forth in front, and behind, her.

Throughout the evening the brothers introduce nine “Items of Terror” including knives, dry ice, an egg and even fire. As a final act they skilfully juggle all the items between them.

I haven’t laughed so hard at such an insane performance in a long time. All the audience, adults and kids alike, had a blast.

Go see it for a random, feel good time.

www.fkb.com/uk
Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, London, WC2R 0NH.
Until 10 September 

Oooo Technology!

Wow, you can now read Just Another Girl in London from your mobile device! Fancy stuff this internet thing.

I guess I'd better get around to loading some posts so you actually have something to read!

K (Just Another Girl)

Damn Aussie Neighbours

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours - in our case we get a psychotic blond Australian Sheila.

We live in an old house that has been converted into five flats.

The week we moved in we received our first passive aggressive note pasted to the joint mail box - kindly reminding us the rubbish gets collected on Wednesdays and a certain person doesn't like to walk passed it everyday.

Not a knock on the door, not a little message through the door, just a weak-ass public message.

The first time Nick saw her in the flesh was when he was taking out our bin and helped her with hers as well. And what did he get for his troubles? Not a thank you but a screechy Australian lecture.

The rest of our meetings with 'the beast' have revolved around tellings off about leaving the door open (seriously not us) and reminders that she OWNS her flat while we're just renters.

We live closest to the door and everytime she comes in proceeds to slam it in a completely unnecessary fashion. This has lead Nick to curse her to fall down the stairs each time she comes traipsing up and down.

I'll try to capture any future PA notes for your viewing pleasure.

Until next time.

K

Homesick in London: Things I DO miss about NZ

Aside from the obvious - friends, family, warm weather - these are the little things whose absence I truly notice.

You'll see that this list is much longer than the things I don't miss!

Friendly bus drivers

I'd never thought I'd miss the overly friendly chatty Auckland bus driver, but here in London the silent and caged in driver is a poor alternative.

Yes they drove like manics, yes they could be cranky and weird, but I loved it when two drivers pulled up next to each other and the one on the right would swing open the bus doors and they'd have a good old natter.

Being able to eftpos items for $1 (or less) everywhere

The rest of the world is a bit backward. I hate carrying cash. Back home the only time I had money in my wallet was when I knew I had to catch a taxi.

I'd use my eftpos (debit) card for everything from buying a drink in a bar to a stick of gum in the dairy. Hell, I used to buy a $1 lolly mix so I could get $5 cash out for the bus!

Many London places have a £5-£10 minimum on cards which I think sucks - grrrr. It's so much easier with plastic.

Driving

Oh how I long for a drive on the open, winding road with my music way up loud and the window rolled down - in my green Nissan Sentra - best little car ever.

We drove up and over mountains to Gisbourne and hugged the coastal road to Whakatane.

Even just a drive to the supermarket for bread. One day we will meet again.

Stubbies (shorts not beer)

Nothing beats a late summer afternoon lazying around the house in a pair of shorts - stubbies to be precise.

I don't mean the sort that let it all hang out - just short and fun. 

I think my love of this iconic clothing item is genetic - they are my dad's outfit of choice from summer to winter in the garden or going for a walk.

I have a feeling they might be a little too relaxed for a London summer - I may have to hide them until I return to the southern hemisphere.

Manners

The English may have invented them, but plenty of folk in London seem to have forgotten them. People actually saying sorry when they smash into you, or excuse me when they want you to move - what a wonderful world!

A proper rain storm

Rain! You call that rain! While often grey and overcast, it doesn't rain a lot in London and when it does it's more of a constant light drizzle.

What I need is a giant Auckland downpour - so loud you have to turn up the tv and so dense you have to pull over to the side of the road. Big fat rain drop that soak you to the bone in seconds.

And of course there are Peanut Slabs, Healtheries tea, St Piers Sushi, Nice & Natural peanut bars, proper fish n chips, pants not meaning undies, places with no other people around, sun at Christmas and smiley faces!

Things I don't miss about NZ

This might sound like a bit of a negative-Nancy topic for a blog, but since I've been terribly homesick of late I thought I'd put together a list of things I don't miss about NZ to make me feel a wee bit better about being overseas.

I promise when I'm in a better mood I'll make a 'Things I do miss about NZ' blog too.

1) Buses every hour
Back in my neck of the woods in West Auckland trying to get around without a car would take a German-like scheduling ability.  Missed your bus? Tough! You now have a lovely hour-long wait for the next one.
And when I say hour I actually mean anywhere between 45mins to 90mins - bus driver time.
Here in Chiswick we have six+ bus routes (two stop right outside our house, one of which runs 24hours) and the longest wait you'll have is 10mins - ahhhh. Progress.

2) Midnight Youth
Yes, I realise a lot of people like them, but for some reason I can't put my finger on I can't stand them! This dislike wasn't helped by the fact NZ tv and radio seemed to love them and in turn force feed them to audiences. So far away in the UK I am safe... for now.

3) Getting sunburnt in less than 10minutes
Thanks to a good layer of smog, fog, ozone and lower levels of sunlight I am able to walk from my office to the gym in the middle of the day without turning red.

4) Free doctors
While doctors in NZ are almost free there is a big difference between almost and completely. It should put an end to those times where you should probably go to the drs but really don't want to spend $20 for a 10 minute chat and a sick note.

5) Hayfever - gone!
By some magical miracle I no longer am a victim of year round hayfever. My dependence on
Antihistamines and a cabinet full of eczema creams has all but disappeared.
I don't know whether it is the air, the trees, the animals but something in the air in NZ wants to kill me.

Irish Twins Big Fat Greek Birthday

Since you last stopped by my blog dear readers I am now a full year older - However, it would appear I am none the wiser, smarter or richer.

This was my first birthday spent overseas, away from the people who actually gave me my birthday and all the comforts and routine that provides.

Luckily, I have a very special Irish Twin to share the occasion with. Having best buddy Anja born on the same day certainly helps with the celebratory atmosphere!

The day started well with a phone call from the parentals followed by live commentary of me opening the presents they had sent.

Next, was a visit to one of my favourite Chiswick food-spots Crepe Parisienne for delish French delights & one of the few decent cups of coffee I have found in the city.

The only interruption to this blissfully perfect day was a trip to the bank to set up an account and the purchasing of a vacuum cleaner (a hoover - how very British of us!)! Even the bank-lady felt sorry for me!

But a new pair of shoes and a CK dress later (Thank you TKMaxx - you are a life saver for a cheap-ass girl like me!) and I was feeling all fancy-like.

Finally come evening, the boyfriend and I were trekking our way across town to the Real Greek for dinner with 16 friends.

The food was - ahhh - so good, Greek & tasty!

The only downside, was this place stuck to a sort of Tapas menu - there was no moussaka or spanakopita in sight.

It was pretty quiet when we arrived - we quickly put a stop to that - even stuff our faces with food didn't dull our noisy bunch.

I think we all left at least 5 kgs heavier than we arrived. Which in my mind, equals the perfect birthday.

Laser beam eyes are the best kind of eyes

Laser beam eyes, death stare, evil eye. Whatever you call them I'm sure you've all applied it in your day-to-day lives.

And never have I had more urges to use my laser beams than in London.

The tube, walking down the street or waiting in a line are all prime opportunities for me to will people to burst into flame.

"This train is full why can't you wait for the next one instead of stabbing me in the back with your stupid book?" LASER!

"That's okay, why should you and your six friends even think of moving out of the way I love walking into oncoming traffic!" LASER!

If things get really serious you can always employ the turn and stare laser beam for a truly frightening effect.

I had cause to break out the beams on Tuesday night during after work drinks and burgers with a group of friends at Big Chill House, Kings Cross. 

There were eight of us at the busy, but not packed, bar/restaurant and while there was room at the bar we were struggling to get a table. 

So a couple decide they deserved to have a whole eight-seater table to themselves. To make things worse they spent half the night leaving their drinks on the table and wondering out for cigarettes.


They must have had incredibly thick skin, because no amount of laser eyes could make them move or even get the hint.


Rant over.


At least the burgers were great.
 

Good time sir

Well, that was interesting! I was just about to start typing when an email flashed up on my screen titled "Good time sir".

I may not be a Sir, but I'd sure like to be. What a weird way to greet someone.

ANYWAY!

This is rather a nothing about nothing blog, because I haven't been inspired by anything loosely resembling a theme.

The most common occurrence these past few weeks has been birthdays, birthdays and more birthdays.

Four last week to be precise and my very own date of birth is this Saturday.

I share my special day with one of my very best friends, Anja. I'm hoping that makes being so far away from home a little easier.

The boyfriend's birthday was last week and he was a little down because his favourite restaurant, Lara, was closed for refubishment. We did find a suitable alternative in the Oriental Brasserie where we tucked into a selection of tasty Asian treats.

I can't rave-on enough about their coconuty-chocolatey dessert! It's a ball of ice cream with meragin through the middle and rolled in chocolate, coconut and chopped peanuts - heaven!

***

A week on and Christchurch is never far from my mind. As more and more stories come out, them number of deaths climb and the level of destruction becomes more apparent it's hard to grasp just how big this whole disaster is.

My thoughts are with all the peeps in the Garden City & anyone with friends or family there.

The sleeping giant awakes....

Well, well, well. What have we got here? The first post in God knows how long.

So much to share - things have certainly changed from when we last spoke, so where to start?

First - I have a job! A full-time, proper job! Since the start of the year I have been gainfully employed as an editorial assistant/writer for a London B2B publisher. This is part of the reason my blog posts have been so sporadic - it keeps me pretty darn busy.

Second - The Boyfriend has a job! He is now an account manager for a fancy London design firm. Hopefully this means I will have my laptop back (his take over of my machine should be over now he has a job).

Thirdly - We have a flat! After a month in the soul-destroying waste land of Canada Water we are back in the W4. Okay, so that was a little harsh, but if you had to put up with the Jubilee Line day after day you'd feel that way too!

I have also ventured outside of the great UK to Christmas Markets in Belgium, taken part in more London-based site seeing and joined a knitting class.

So stay tuned for more details and more (regular) blogs.

Until next time....

The best (and easiest) banana cake ever!

Thanks to Tescos selling me a bunch of the most squishiest bananas I've ever seen I had the need to make banana cake (or rather a banana loaf).

I found this recipe online and the results were excellent - a golden loaf, moist inside and crisp on top.

I added chocolate chips and I'm sure raisins and nuts would work well too.

Happy baking

Easy As Banana Loaf

1/2 a cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar (whatever kind you like)
1 cup self-raising flour
2 eggs
2 large or 3 medium, very ripe bananas

Heat the oven to 180C
Grease a loaf tin.

Mash the bananas with a sturdy fork.
Cream the butter and sugar together and mix in the eggs
Mix together the bananas into the buttery-sugary-eggy mixture.
Add the flour.

Scrape into the loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes then lower the temperature to 150C and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Christmas In Bruges

Yes, this is late... in December a group of Kiwis in London journeyed in the wee small hours to catch a coach to Belgium - Bruge to be specific - for the annual Christmas markets.

For anyone who has seen, and loved, the movie In Bruges the city holds a certain serious and humourous appeal.

Our day started ridiculously early - I had to be at Victoria by 6:30am - because we were making the journey to and from Belgium in one day.

From London to Dover, Dover to Calais and Calais to Bruges we rode into town on the Phoenix Tours' bus.

The two drivers were lovely and in a good mood, laughing and joking all the way.

However, the tour guide was not quite right.

I'm not sure how this guy ever got the job. He was less of a guide and more of a rambling old man. He said he'd been doing it for years but his circular and boring stories would have put the hardiest traveller to sleep let alone a bunch of 20 somethings.

Just before arriving at our destination we paid a visit to a Belgian Chocolate factory - need I say more!

On a side note, we were meant to travel the week before but thanks to a massive dumping of snow our trip was postponed.

By midday we were rolling into town, through a largely industrial area to the tall trees on the outskirts of the historic old town.

It's hard to describe Bruges without using a lot of cheesy and romantic words... beautiful, breath-taking, peaceful, magical, fairy-tail town.

All these descriptions are true, but the influx of visitors for the markets meant it was a little less peaceful.

Along with friends Kathy and Becca we made our way through the small village. With so many ornate buildings, stalls, shops and decorations it was hard to know where to look.

First we stopped for a look in some Christmas decoration shops. The ornaments were handmade and expensive - but it's free to look.

Next we sampled the local mulled wine and made our way through the first of two market squares.

The old town is fairly compact and it doesn't take long to cover the main area on foot.

The main market is the centre of the square in front of the Church of Our Lady. There an ice-rink is surrounded by stalls selling food, produce and Christmas themed goodies.

Here we tucked into some tasty banana fritters. Ummmmm!

Kath decided she wanted to join the overly long queue to climb the church tower while Becca and I went sightseeing. You'd have to be a pretty big Grinch not to get caught up in the Christmas Spirit in this town.

After a day shopping, eating and walking we were exhausted. In early evening we were back on our bus making the long journey back to London.

More photos of Bruges here!

Let it snow! My very first snow fall

Today, the 30th day of November I saw my very first snow fall.

Looking out the window mid morning small powdery flakes were drifting down.


Ahh, a light dusting of snow in Chiswick



A light sprinkling of snow has been falling all day, but not enough for any ground coverage.

I had to try really hard not to dance through the streets like a crazy woman - nobody seemed particularly excited by the wintry arrival, well, either that or we were all too scared to let our inner child run free.

Snow flakes feel like little puffs of rain that fall down and tickle your nose.

Other parts of the city are covered in the cold white stuff. Hopefully we get a good snow-dumping overnight so I can have the full snowman, snowball, snowangel experience.

As tomorrow is December 1, MY official start of the festive season, I may have to tuck into a Starbucks Christmas coffee and take a walk through the increasingly merry town of Chiswick.

Off to Bruges

The weather is getting chilly and the days are shorter. For a southern hemisphere girl I need to be reminded that these are the signs of Christmas.

I should have no trouble remembering this coming weekend as I head to Bruges for the annual Christmas Markets.

The BBC weather page says the highest temperature in Bruges between Sunday and Thursday is going to be -1°C... with snow! The lowest, an overnight temperature of -8°C. 

It's a good thing I've just stocked up on wintery supplies from that great British store TK Maxx.

In one successful shopping trip I now have a pair of sheepskin boots, a padded hoodied sweater, jacket, hat and woolly socks. Ahhh.

Now for some Belgian mulled wine!


Read all about our Bruges Xmas experience here.

Rules for public transport: by me

After several months travelling British style I think I now have the right to comment on public transport rules and etiquette.

If we all follow these basic instructions the world will be a much happier place.

Elderly Women (frail and non-frail)
Now this is easy - everyone who is not elderly or disabled should stand for little old ladies - end of story. It's the right thing to do

Elderly Men (frail)
Again, this is a simple rule, everyone who isn't old and has all their limbs in working order should give up their seats.

Elderly Men (non-frail)
This rule is a little more complicated, and may sound a little sexist.

MEN who are not elderly or disabled should stand up for this group the reason being gentlemen of a certain age don't seem to like taking a seat of a 'lady' no matter how young (children are another matter all together) and will act all chivalrous if offered a space by the fairer sex.

Small School Children
I know some people out there think all children should give up seats for full-fare-paying grown-ups, but it seriously makes me mad when the tiniest of pupils are left to slide around the bus or train. These tots often carry backpacks that weigh as much as they do and being so tiny they can't reach the hand rails. So be an adult and give up your seat!

Pregnant Women
I imagine carrying around a future human all day is pretty tiring and the added size and shape doesn't make standing crammed in with other passengers easy. So unless you are an elderly woman or a frail old man - stand. The same courtesy should be applied to those carrying babies and small children.

Newspapers
If you are standing and the train is full do not open your newspaper. Where do you think your elbows are going? That's right - all up in my face!

Upon entering
Let people OFF the train first - you're not going to get left behind, just be patient, please.

Well, those are my rules. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just don't steal my armrest!

We're jammin' in London

I can't believe it has more than four months since I last picked up an instrument.

We'll my head might not have believed it, but my fingers certainly did -and my shoulders are killing me after playing bass for 2.5 hours.

Anja organised a jam for us at Enterprise Studios on Denmark St just off Charing Cross Road. You'll know you're in the right place when you get to the rows and rows of music shops.

The studio is down a skungey looking alley - musician wanted and gig posters plastered all over the alley walls. The studio is huge and with dozens of rooms off the maze-like hallways it's easy to lose your way - I did on the way out.

Our room came complete with drum kit, guitar, bass and mics - all high quality.

With three guitarists and two guitars I was relegated to bass - which meant for a good workout! I haven't properly played bass since my High School jazz band days.

After a slightly rusty start the four of us were soon blasting our way through cover songs and a few original numbers.

We're hoping to make this a regular event - and when I get my first job I'm off to purchase my very own UK guitar!

Can't wait!

The tremendous temping team

What a busy little person I've been lately!

Last week I picked up another temp assignment right in the heart of London City in one of the swishest (is that a word? If not it should be!) looking office buildings I've seen.

Walking up to the building on Thursday in my business best the brand new lobby felt like a mini-city.

Through the Underground-like turnstiles and up to the third floor I find out I'm taking my place with five eager young-things like myself.

The company is a massive international consultancy firm and the six of us and our manager are working on data cleaning for a large project.

While the work isn't terribly exciting it certainly requires attention to detail.

The best thing about the role - aside from the fact we get all the soft drinks, tea, coffee and cookies we can handle - is the tremendous temp team.

All of us get on so well - which makes the day fly by.

We're all educated 20-somethings looking for that perfect full-time role in London.  Kiwis, South Africans and Brits - all our lives revolve around the job hunt and - of course - making enough money to get by in the mean time.

Our involvement in the project is over for now, but we may be recalled in the next couple of weeks.

Hopefully each of us will have 'real jobs' by then, but if not I can think of much worse ways to earn some cash!

Brick Lane: London's Little India

Okay, there isn't really a place in London called Little India, but Brink Lane in the east of the city may as well be.

After hitting a photo journalism exhibition in Southbank, Anja Jargil and I headed east.

The street that is Brick Lane is like a little oasis in the middle of nothing - the surrounding streets are void of pretty much anything - nice, clean and tidy Indian restaurants line either side of the road while male staff from each eatery pester you to enjoy your evening meal at their place.

If you're in the mood for bargaining you could probably haggle a good deal. We had hour hearts set on Aladdin's, but it was fully booked at we were starving.

While making our way back through the pushy salesmen we managed to strike a dinner deal for 9pounds each plus a bottle of wine at Poppadoms.

I think we (okay, mainly Anja) may have been a little too loud for the middle-aged English men sitting behind us. They kept looking over and laughing, but didn't ask us to be quiet so oh well.

The food was exactly what you'd expect - warm, tasty curries at a good price - nothing gourmet, but very yum.

Despite feeling like midnight, the night was still young so we popped into Cafe 1001 at 1 Dray Walk for a drink.

On the way, Anja was distracted by some brightly coloured stools hanging in a shop window so had to go in and buy one - from then on she had her own seat for the night.

Cafe 1001 is on a small walkway and is frequented mainly by students though the crowd was quite mixed. There was a good sprinkling of spoilt-rich kids, but they are easy to ignore.

Outside is a large, and beautifully smelling, BBQ and tables for smokers. You can bring the hot food into the main bar/cafe.

If you come here I'd recommend a Bailey's Hot Chocolate to warm up on a cold London night. And while I didn't try one, the selection of brownies and cupcakes in the cabinet looked splendid.

Tube strike, what tube strike

I totally owned my first tube strike last week.

Despite industrial action closing stations and restricting the number of trains I managed to arrive a mere 7 minutes late to the office.

While I know many, many more were affected much worse than I was it was just like any other day for me.

Now I might be wrong, but how can it be a true strike when trains are still running? How can the big people upstairs truly take notice when you can still catch a ride to work?

I'm not suggesting the unions actually do this - but if I wanted to put on a strike that really got people's attention I'd stop each and every train for 24 hours.

A little background on the issue: two transport unions, Rail Maritime and Transport and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, are at loggerheads with London Underground bosses over job cuts - and it doesn't look like they're going to get their way.

So until the whole mess is sorted out I say bring on the next strike... unless of course you decide to close Turnham Green, then please stop!

The dark, dark night

I'm now in work until the end of the week.

My contract with the Designer has been extended so more money for me - and it certainly is needed!

This week I celebrated my first London Halloween.

It felt very eventful around Chiswick on Saturday even when Halloween was really on the Sunday, but who's counting.

M&S had a witch face painting and giving lollies to the kids and staff at most stores got dressed up in the spooky spirit.

I was invited to a small gathering in Richmond so had to start the hunt for a costume - which of course I left to the last minute.

In the end I found a suitably cheap option in Hammersmith- black cat ears - I'm terribly poor at the moment so my usual Halloween effort will have to wait until next year.

The train to Richmond was scattered with groups of vampires and ghouls - no brave solo costume wearers though.

On Sunday the real Halloween started an hour late thanks to daylight savings coming to an end.

And it doesn't half get dark here!

By 4pm car head lights are on and the sun is well and truly hidden - it's going to take me a while to get used to this. I always wondered why it was pitch black when they finished work on Coronation Street - I thought they were just hard working!

The plus side... leaving home in daylight!

Champagne and cake - all in a days work

I got a job! A temp job! Until Wednesday...

If you've been reading you'll see I went to an interview on Thursday, but this is another role.

Without wanting to name-names I'm now processing orders for a well-known luxury goods and cosmetics firm - let's call them the Designer.

Finding out that I was working for an elite company made me both excited and nervous - ooo it's going to be fancy-pants, but possibly pretentious.

But I was totally wrong on both points.

The Designer is in an understated office in southern greater London and staffed with some of the loveliest and most down to earth people I've meet since moving here.

My work is fairly simple and involves processing fax and email orders for the flat out customer service team - simple but it keeps me busy.

The office is filled with perfume and makeup as are the bathrooms  it's makeover heaven. And the kitchen has the coolest - and yummiest - coffee machine I've ever seen.

Friday flew by and around 4:30pm the big boss came downstairs along with other office workers to fill us up with champagne and cake (one of the perks of working at a company that has stakes in wine!).

So bring on tomorrow - my second day at work in three months!