The last season

Well, well, well. It's about time I got my lazy butt in gear and made another blog post! It's amazing how quickly time passes - suddenly it's been months and you're still trying to figure out what happened to September when you open your eyes and it's December. London life has been treating me very well, and I have been enjoying everything I can! So I will give you a quick summary of the past few months, so we're back in sync. Apologies for yet another long post. Here goes!!

First of all, a quick shot of my bedroom!

 And from the outside (I'm on the second floor - only one flight of stairs every day!)

Back when I first arrived (yulp... that was a while ago... how lazy am I!) the Paralympics were just about to start, and I was lucky enough to get a ticket with my new friend Keri to go to the Powerlifting. Needless to say, it was a very empowering and exciting outing... the amount of strength and the size of these guys was incredibly impressive. Keri and I cheered and marvelled from our seats, wide eyed and gobsmacked at the spectacle. I was truly in awe of these athletes!

 

 Watching the Paralympic Opening Ceremony in Trafalgar Square

 

Looking back on the crowd (and the National Portrait Gallery)

Our view of the event!

Celebrating! 

 Outside the arena

 The view of the docks, next to the venue

One of the things I was looking forward to in London was attending theatre shows, and so far I've managed to see a few! Firstly, Keri and I went to see "Matilda", a musical based on the Roald Dahl books and written by Tim Minchin (an amazing Aussie comedian). It was hilariously fun, beautifully designed with rotating block sets, and wonderfully performed. Mrs Trunchbull was particularly fun, being played by a menacing, bug-eyed man in stockings! Speaking of men in stockings... I have also been to see "The 39 Steps" (twice!), which is loosely based on the Hitchcock movie, but is basically a spiffing show full of parodies, rollicking puns and a cast of four people acting out over 100 roles. The other show I've been to see is "Wicked", based on the old "The Wizard of Oz" movie but about the story of the wicked witch, who it turns out, was merely misunderstood and kind. The sets were gorgeous and there was a lot of lovely singing, too.

The beautiful "Matilda" set!

I booked myself in to a couple of events that I had been looking forward to for months (again, "Sherlock" related... *cough*), the first of which was "An Afternoon with Mark Gatiss and Friends." This was an afternoon event with a small audience and several of the stars of "Sherlock" answering questions and having a very relaxed chat with the fans. It featured Mark Gatiss (Mycroft Holmes and one of the writers of the show), Sue Vertue (the producer), Steven Moffat (another writer), Rupert Graves (DI Lestrade), Louise Brealey (Molly Hooper) and Martin Freeman (John Watson). I was a bit star struck as they walked out on stage, especially Martin, as it's kind of unbelievable to think these people are real and right in front of you. They were, of course, charming and hilarious, Mark being a gracious and witty host for the afternoon, getting into mischief with Steven, with Sue there to keep them in check. Louise was adorable and a little shy and awkward, Rupert was enthusiastic and full of silly faces and wide grins, and Martin was as witty and snarky as ever. Needless to say I spent the afternoon with a permanent grin plastered on my face and I left in stitches. I managed to make friends with the girl sitting next to me, and we laughed together and then went to buy a signed poster after the event. We went out for dinner, and then I invited her to join me for the other event I had booked - Sherlopalooza, a fan-run screening of the entire second series of Sherlock at the Prince Charles Cinema, with special guests and a Q&A. It was a hugely successful day, with a cinema packed with Sherlock fans, who gasped, cheered, cried and laughed at every moment, knowing each episode back to front. It was a wonderful atmosphere! I managed to get the autographs of Michael Price (the composer for the show) and Joe Lidster (who writes all the blogs for the characters) to add to my collection.

 Getting ready for Sherlopalooza!!

 Catherine and I outside the cinema

So, what else have I been doing other than attending shows, I hear you ask? Well, for starters I have been doing a lot of walking! I went on a nighttime 'death walk' with Keri, where we were taken by an energetic and theatrical guide around to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and then the back streets of London, telling us all the stories of betrayal, murder, decapitations, disease and death we could take. We walked past a few 'black plague pits', where hundreds of bodies were buried during the height of the plague. In the dark corners behind churches he showed us where Jack the Ripper did his dirty work, and where the bodies were discovered. At the Tower of London, thousands of beheadings and hangings were held, with huge groups of spectators, even so much that a stand collapsed and killed half the crowd once, too. The sons of kings, cared for by uncles, were murdered horrifically and young wives were slaughtered by their husbands. It made for an interesting evening! To recover we went to Brick Lane and filled our bellies with delicious curry and naan bread.

 

 Looking back at the Tower of London

Tower Bridge sporting the Paralympics logo

An ancient wall with several layers of civilization periods in it, encroached upon by new buildings

An alleyway reminiscent of the old streets of London

 Our tour guide shows us the site of a black plague pit (directly beneath us)

I love walking in general though, so I have been for many strolls, leaving from my house and walking half an hour into the city, and then walking for hours to many places. It helps to learn the layout of a city, at least! Sometimes I would find myself ending up at museums or galleries, which are all amazing. The British Museum I have gone to several times and still only seen a tiny fragment, marvelling at all the Egyptian relics (including the famous Rosetta Stone and Cleopatra's mummy) and the beautiful Greek and Roman sculptures and statues. The National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square offers so many classic and beautiful paintings to admire, including several "Venus" paintings and even Van Gogh's collection, including his "Sunflowers" and "Chair" (and my favourite, the "Crabs"). I love the Victoria & Albert Museum collection too, full of stunning artworks and history. I have also visited a little of the London Museum, which is full of the history of London itself, with room recreations and relics, and examples of how people lived at different times throughout London's history. I actually went to this museum for a Halloween late-night event with my friend Lia, who was visiting from France, and we explored the museum, made Halloween cards and wax models, and watched a series of short films on a theatre production for the "Irish Giant".

 Part of the horses statue at Piccadilly Circus

 Flighty friends at Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus tube station entrance (with Regent Street in the background)

Chinatown in the evening

Tower Bridge lit up at night

The start of the Egyptian collection at the British Museum

 The Rosetta Stone!

 Part of an amazingly detailed and long wall of Egyptian carvings

 Cleopatra's mummy

 A perfectly sand preserved 5000 year old body

 One of the stunning rooms in the Victoria & Albert Museum

Walking down Constitution Hill towards Buckingham Palace

 Buckingham Palace

 Looking back at London city, through St James' Park

 Admiralty House

 A mounted guard

 Trafalgar Square

Lia visited for three days, which was wonderful and heaps of fun. I met her at St Pancras International and we spent our time together visiting the Camden Markets, walking through Hampstead and discovering a cute antiques market, and going to the Who Shop in Upton Park! There were treasures untold for Doctor Who fans there, with heaps of old collectors items and a small museum housing costumes, props and even an old TARDIS from the shows and movies. Since she returned home, she has also invited me to join her and her family in France for Christmas, and I happily accepted! I'm really looking forward to seeing her again and experiencing a French Christmas, and not being alone, at least!

 Sharing lunch at a cafe in Hampstead

With a particularly pretty Hampstead house

Ready for adventure with The Doctor!

The Cybermen...!

 K-9 Unit

EXTERMINATE!

 Part of a board signed by countless Doctor Who stars and crewmembers

Part of the shopfront window

My Aussie friend Janine also visited for a few days, and I took her for a walk through all the main places, including Camden Town, then all the sights like St Paul's, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and Westminster, South Bank... all around the place! I also took her to the Who Shop as she's a big fan. It hit home then how much I missed all my friends in Australia, as I could just open up and laugh like I hadn't in months, sharing old jokes and enjoying the company of someone I have known for years and years... I was hit by a huge, sudden sadness when she left again. If only everyone wasn't so far away!


I also went to Windsor Castle with Keri on a day trip. It was so opulent and stunning! It is the building that has housed the sovereign of the country for over 800 years... and you could tell. There were so many riches and amazing collections of furniture and art, all in huge spaces and halls with plush carpet and intricate design... it was a shame we couldn't take photos. I also loved St George's Cathedral, which was stunningly designed in the Gothic style, with spires and jagged archways, fluted columns and immeasurable details. It is also a tomb for many royals, including the Queen's father and Henry VIII, and is also where all the current knights are symbolised, their crests, swords and helms lining the hall filled with the choir's pews. Queen Mary's dollhouse collection was exquisite, with accurate scale models of the rooms, furniture, cars and fittings of places like Buckingham Palace (all made as accurately as possible material-wise, too: ie tiny silver cutlery sets, replica crown jewels... the lot). There was also a gallery full of photographs documenting the Queen's rule, as part of the 60th Jubilee celebrations.

Outside the Windsor Castle gates

Leading up to the Castle

 The Royal... Royal Mail box

My last big piece of news is that I have a job! I am working as a Team Member at benugo, the restaurant at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It's a lot of hard work and long hours, cleaning tables, making coffee, taking orders, carting stock back and forth... but it's keeping me busy and it's enjoyable enough. The people that work there are really friendly and funny, and there are many colourful characters there! The rooms are also stunning and beautiful, which makes working there a little easier, haha! I've been there for over a month now, staggering through long 5-day working weeks, sometimes with shifts up to 12 hours long, and always trying my best to smile the whole time. Last Friday, after one of the museum's "Lates" (we're open late on Friday nights, and the museum hosts an event on the last Friday of the month), we all hung around after work and shared a few drinks. It was a great opportunity to loosen up and chat with some of my colleagues, and I made friends with Iulia and Vladimir, who are both from Italy (and also a couple). They invited me to go with them to Winter Wonderland the next evening, and I happily accepted! It was a wonderful evening, filled with beautiful Christmas lights and decorations, shops and markets, a huge ice rink and heaps of amazing rides and sideshows! We went on the Power Tower together (a huge mobile drop) and screamed a whole bunch, and they also ventured onto a terrifying spinning ride together. Afterwards we recovered over cups of mulled wine and hot food, capping off the night with a bit of silly dancing and a stroll through the 0 degree evening to the tube station.

 The Morris Room at work (designed by William Morris)

 The Gamble Room

 The Poynter Room

The coffee bar (there's also deli, hot food, sandwiches, cakes, the garden...)

 One of the two corridors (the cafe stretches right down to the end, and has all the other rooms, too!)

 The Ice Rink outside the Natural History Museum

 Iulia and I outside Winter Wonderland!

 Vladimir tries on a new hat

 Freaking out before going on the Power Tower

 It was very, very tall...

 Recovering with mulled wine

I'm sure there are many things I have forgotten to mention by now... such as the time I went to a free outdoor evening screening of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and got absolutely saturated in the rain, but was determined to sit and watch the whole movie even though I was shivering and freezing the whole time, or when I went to Keri's place and had a roast dinner with her and her flat mates, which was delicious and thoroughly enjoyable... but there's too much and I've left it too long. Regardless, I have been having a great adventure so far... let's see what's still to come!