Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007

Woke this morning to the news that Ingmar Bergman has passed away. Apparently he died in his sleep at home on Faro island, Sweden.
While I do love his most well known films on death, loss, and shame, my favourite five of his films that I have seen, in no particular order and at the risk of sounding like a Nick Hornby novel, are:

Scenes from a Marriage


Intense and pretty devastating throughout (right, CP?)

Persona


Loved by Susan Sontag, apparently.

The Virgin Spring


Appears to be a genteel film. Then turns horrific.

Fanny and Alexander


The TV version of this film is 5 hours long (cinematic release is 3), but for me this film captures most of what I think Bergman stands for.

Winter Light


With an amazing performance by Gunnar Björnstrand as a doubting priest.

In other news, the party was a lot of fun on Saturday. The gallery looked beautiful and everyone who turned up (about 60 people) seemed to have a good time.

Relax, don't do it...

After the surprising announcement that the 1980s BBC radio DJ Mike Read will not be standing as a Conservative Party Mayoral candidate for London, I too must inform you all that I will not be standing either.
Will you be?
Well the visa is sorted (thanks to the British High Commission for working around the clock to make this work, it's only been a year in the making), and we've booked our tickets back to the UK. We'll be in Edinburgh for the start of the month-long festival, though the first priority is to find somewhere to live (assuming all the houses in Edinburgh haven't been washed away by all the rain).
So we are trying to tie up loose ends here- Ericka's working hard on gathering everything she needs for her doc (interviews, scanning photos) while I'm reading books not available to me in Edinburgh. We've also been seeing friends who we haven't yet been able to see. We're having a joint leaving party next Saturday with our good friends Sarah-Jane R and Bret who are moving to the west coast of Canada.
Fashionably behind the times, I want to sing my praises for Last FM, a 'social music revolution'. I wouldn't go that far but it's an amazing source to discover music (through listening, not reading). I've been getting lost in the weirder shades of Krautrock (Cluster, Brainticket, Guru Guru, Popol Vuh, Xhol Caravan...).
While I'm at the job of big-upping things, I'd like to do the same for The Situationist International online archive. While a lot of people, including many political science academics, scoff at the SI, I find many of their ideas fascinating. This site needs delving in to, so it's best to have a look when you have a bit of time (this one's especially for you CP- look for articles on psychogeography).
Now for some recent 'photos (click to enlarge)...

Ericka in our room


Sunflowers in our room (one of which is soon to bloom)


Ericka waiting for the subway


Elyse and I at the Harbour front


Sarah Jane R's purses


Eating out at Chinese Traditional Buns

Saving the world the easy way...

Well I guess it had to come.
Now that Geldof 'n' Bono have made poverty a thing of the past (thanks by the way), it was high time we had a concert to prevent catastrophic climate change. Up stepped Live Earth to the challenge.
This was great because rather than pushing for political action, in a sea of complete and utter inaction, we could watch the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna sing, in turn making us feel a vague sense of awareness. Because, despite the fact that climate change was first postulated over one hundred years ago and has received mainstream scientific and public attention for about thirty years, what we needed now was another round of 'conscious raising'.
So we go to the Live Earth website to see what commitments are being pushed upon global leaders. Errr...instead we find a list of things to do on an individual level- purchase greenish products, switch appliances off, recycle a bit more.
Christ, at least Geldof 'n' Bono had some goals. What a wasted opportunity.
On Friday night E, E and I went to the water's edge to see some live music out in the open and under the stars. First on were Kieran Hebden (a.k.a Four Tet) and Steve Reid. Steve Reid is an incredible drummer, while Hebden is a slightly annoying electronic wizard. Together they ended up sounding pretty damn good. Next on were The Cinematic Orchestra, a six piece jazz and electronic group, who do have one or two good songs. Alas, they revealed themselves to be the kind of live band you would only go and see if the show was free and you had friends to have a beer and chat with. Forget them and go and see the Norwegian ten piece Jaga Jazzist live instead, if you ever get the chance.

Last weekend consisted of two big celebrations. On Friday there was a make your own pizza and cupcake party for Elyse's birthday. Great music, food, friends and Guitar Hero II
. Then on Sunday it was off to Hamilton for a family-in-law celebration for Canada Day (Canada's 140th birthday). Here I got the chance to meet Ericka's cousin and family who now live out near Edmonton, Alberta.
Since then it's pretty much been down to the grind mill, so to speak.

Look away now, if you are not my brother
Because you probably couldn't care less.
Here's a little self-indulgent bit for you: a list of things Jon digs very much at present...

Music





Film

Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye


Jennifer Baichwal's Manufactured Landscapes


This is a stunning documentary following the photographer Edward Burtynsky as he documents land degradation across China.

Good reads

Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts is one of the oddest short stories I've read.
The best art magazine out there is published in Finland.
Yep.
Framework is a very big and very clever (and very beautiful) bi-annual that enlightens politically as well as art(ally).

Considering my interest in the natural world, it's high time I told you what I've seen here that isn't resident in the UK, don't you think?
Good.

Striped skunk
Mephitis mephitis
whose odour can carry for almost 1km



Groudhog (or woodchuck)
Marmota monax
whose barking noise is unknown in function



Common raccoon
Procyon lotor
whose skin was not actually worn as a cap (called a coonskin cap) by Davy Crockett



Eastern chipmunk
Tamias striatus
who are a lot smaller than the cartoon would lead you to believe



Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
whose amazingly loud song sounds like a car alarm



Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
whose name is used by the Toronto major league baseball team



Red-winged blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
who when migrating fly in single-sex flocks



E and I have spent a few days in Hamilton, after an action-packed few days. Last Thursday Ericka's friends from New Zealand who form The Veils were in town for a show so we went along to that. Friday evening was good fun in the end, despite only about 70 people passing through the doors. Sunday we went back to Hamilton for a father's day BBQ at Ericka's uncle's place. Really good food and a heated pool went down nicely. Victor came along with us which was very cool.
In further news, I've been accepted to speak at the Glasgow conference I applied for. The best academia-related news though is that my brother is now officially a doctor. Well done, kid-o.

The past week brought about my first true small town Canadiana experience: a 'stag and doe' in Caledonia. This is a bit like the stag and hen nights we have in the UK, only they are combined and the explicit purpose is not to get the bride or the groom tied up to a lamppost in their underwear, it's to raise a little cash for the honeymoon in the shape of games and raffles (Ericka won a white baseball cap).
In a similar Jonathan's-becoming-a-little-more-Canadian, I've been avidly watching ice hockey as the Stanley Cup has been playing out (the equivalent of the F.A. cup in football, only teams from both Canada and the U.S. from the NHL are involved).
One of Ericka's cousins- Brian McGrattan- plays for the Ottawa Senators who made it through to the finals against the Anaheim Ducks, a team who were founded by the Walt Disney corp, based on the film The Mighty Ducks (Jean Baudrillard would have a field day on that one).
The finals are not a one-off affair, however. Instead they are a best of seven showdown. Alas the Ducks won four games to one in the end. It was an odd moment when, sitting in a bar watching the hockey, Ericka pointed out that England played football that day and I knew nothing of it (it turned out to be the 3-0 win over Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifier).
Victor's work in the gallery is coming on leaps and bounds. In two nights he painted the whole room white and sanded down the wooden floors. It's looking beautiful. It's his birthday this weekend so he's hoping to get it in to a state fit enough for a big bash (with yours truly spinning some records). Ericka and I have been helping out here and there- admittedly E has done much more. I used my keep-the-cable-away-from-the-blade skills I learnt from helping my dad cut the lawn as a boy to great effect when the floor was stripped.
This past week I've been to see a few places in Toronto that I haven't seen before- my favourite being the Beaches which is to the south east of the downtown core. Nice hot sand.
This week I also managed to get a little bit arty- I'm putting on a club night again at the White Orchid next Friday...what do you think of my cut-and-paste poster?

Asleep and dreaming of totem poles

Greetings all.
A good week this week. Last Wednesday, I believe it was (not much for day names recently), I got to make my Toronto DJing debut. A friend had got a night at The White Orchid on Dundas Street (I'm glad people are making Wikis about individual roads) and asked me to join her. We had muchos fun and are planning to return there during June.
I've been working on a proposal for a paper that I hope to present at a conference in Glasgow at the beginning of September, based upon some of my MScR research thus far- it's looking good, if I do say so myself. Yes, I do say.
E is currently beautifying our walls with watercolours, and she's finished her epic documentary on The Veils as they recorded their last album in LA. She's been filming for her next one all about our very own friendly neighbour Victor, and his side walk art.
The city hall bells are chiming for dinner.

A week of getting thoroughly soaked in May showers, work, and a haircut.
Thursday we went to see our friend Sarah-Jane's art opening. Great to see her and lots of other people I haven't seen since I've been back.
This weekend is a long weekend to celebrate Victoria Day, to celebrate the monarchy's birthday. This is a weekend when a lot of people travel to lake-side cottages and party.
Saturday we went swimming then for a BBQ at Victor's mum's again, then on to Jess'. Yesterday we went to see Shrek the Third, only to be turned away due to Ericka's recording device in her bag...as though we were planning to sell it in China town on DVD. We ended up renting films instead, with the popcorn we'd already got. Last night was spent seeing a couple of bands. Again we ran in to some friends who we haven't made contact with for some time.
Victor has planted us some sunflower seeds in a container. They're coming along a treat.
Can you believe the Eurovision song contest results?
I assumed the UK would come in around last after yet another year of bad bad euro disco. My favourite song came from Sweden.

How did this not win?

Nice to see you, to see you, nice

Actually it was nice to speak to the folks today on the telephone. Chris, the jet-setter, is in Norway on an EU-funded project for African policy. He missed out big time not speaking to me. Next time CP.
Here's some 'photos (click on them to enlarge) taken since I've been here for your visual pleasure...



Tree-hugging near Webster's Falls



Webster's Falls



Entrance to the building we're staying in



Looking toward Toronto centre from Victor's mum's place



Sushi



View from our window



Milkshakes at Hewitt's Dairy Bar, Caledonia



Cloud Forest gardens

Evening folks.
The past weekend was fun-filled. Ericka's friend Tim from New Zealand - who I've got to know too as he lived in Edinburgh as well - was in town with a couple of his friends from Edinburgh on a holiday. We had a wonderful time with them for a couple of days - they've now travelled up to Montreal before they go down to New York.
Saturday E and I went swimming which was rather glorious. We've found a few public pools nearby that do free recreational swims, so we didn't have to swim in straight lines.
I find those swims tiring, in the real physical sense.
In the evening the five of us went to a friend's birthday party. We got there as it was winding down but we still had a great and very late time.
Sunday we all went to the park after a little breakfast. We gently sunned ourselves while the local crazies wandered over and spoke to us (we met the future Canadian prime minister who also happens to be the real Santa).
Monday was work work work until late afternoon when E and I had a very strange time at an MTV live tv show. We hadn't managed to get tickets for Daniel Johnston's live show on Sunday but Monday he had an hour show dedicated to him on MTV. Our friend Kelly-Sue told us about it so we went along. Before we knew it we were ushered on to the tv set and told to stand, clap, laugh, and cheer in a very disconceting manner.
He played two songs and was interviewed- the rest of the time was filler.
Tuesday is now in full-swing.
Hamilton tomorrow.

Abridged week

A
Here's a brief re-cap of the highlights of last week for those that missed it...
Last Tuesday E and I went off to see Webster's Falls - one of the grandest of the Hamilton-area waterfalls (there's about 80 of them)- and the surrounding area. Webster's is about 20 metres high which is especially impressive from the bottom valley looking up.
We returned to Toronto on Wednesday evening...
Thursday I went and checked out Toronto University library (the central one which is one of about 50 at the university), and got a library card. It's got a good collection for what I need- I think better than Edinburgh's University library.
Friday evening we drove out with Victor to the west of the city to have a BBQ with his mum. She's a very kind lady. She lives in a flat with incredible views looking over the city.
Saturday we helped Elyse move out of her flat. I met her mum for the first time and one of her cousins. I think we're going to be meeting her baby nephew in the next few days which is very exciting. I was in the mood for moving boxes so I gladly obliged, while Ericka kept the escalator clear and the door open.
B
Sunday Ericka and I headed to Kensington Market...I picked up some very extreme flared trousers (thanks to mother and father for the birthday money for these). One of Ericka's uni friends was in town so she went and had lunch with her. I met up with Elyse and we went to Nathan Phillips Square for a Sikh Harvest festival celebrating Khalsa Day. Lots of free food and lively spirits, and thousands of colourful orange and yellow robes and turbans.
Monday evening we took a stroll up to Bloor Street, which is my favourite part of Toronto- great food and second-hand bookshops and record shops that all stay open pretty late.
These last few days I've been getting back to working properly on University work. I'm currently transcribing the interviews I did in Oxfordshire. Slightly labourious but there we go.
Life is good where we are now. It's odd living in the heart of the financial district, surrounded by sky-scrapers. Did I tell you we went on the roof of the building where we're staying on the evening of my birthday? And that Victor let off fireworks up toward the surrounding sky-scrapers? Well he did and it was pretty magical.
E and I realised today that the building round the corner is a cloud forest conservatory that is open for free in the mornings. It's a rainforest in the middle of the financial district.
More soon.

Can o' chicken in Can o' da

My predictions were accurate- we went to Ericka's grandparents' on Sunday for the day. It was nice to see them and other members of the Duffy family. First, however, we went for a walk up part of the Niagara escarpment
from which you can get great views of downtown Hamilton on the shore of Lake Ontario. I saw a snake which Ericka wasn't fond of (I think it was a Northern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus)).
Back at the Duffy residency, nice weather led us to the backyard porch.
Joe, Ericka's uncle, made beer chicken. Essentially, you place a whole chicken on top of half a can of beer as per the picture. The evaporating beer keeps the chicken tender and gives a little flavour.
Back now at Ericka's parent's place. Hopefully off to see some of the waterfalls in the area (there's a lot of them).
I just weighed myself for the first time this year. I've just converted it and I weigh 276691.3457 carat or, for any Bulgarians reading, 0.429644947 tovars.
Last night was the third night in a row that I dreamt about having to finish writing some essays. I hope this stops soon.

Cop a load of this

I'm not entirely sure how that sentence should used, but it sprung in to my mind as I thought about what I've been doing recently. Yesterday Ericka and I went and saw Hot Fuzz. It was an incredibly average film. But it was part of a very nice day. We went for a walk with Elyse to the (a) park- on the way we went to little toy shop and I got some bouncing balls. It's a good city in which to bounce little rubber balls.

We then went on to St Lawrence Market which is a great place for foodies. We had a bit of lunch (I had a salmon and caper sandwich and Ericka had sushi) in the sun before we went to the park. Then the film. Then Ericka and I caught the bus to Hamilton and am now staying with Alisha (Ericka's sister) and her boyfriend Brent. I think we're off to see Ericka's grandparents today. I know that because Ericka just said we would. So you're learning things about my world as they unfold.

Friday night we went to a party hosted by Kelly-Sue; it was a joint birthday bash for her and I. She made a pretty incredible cake- orange chocolate with beautiful hand-painted icing. She's taking cake making lessons. Then off to Sneaky Dee's for a couple of drinks.

In other news it's the French presidential election (round one) today. Could potentially be interesting.

Tax free

So here I am, in Caledonia, sort of sleepy but very much awake. Jet lag makes you feel very tired but still energetic.
Remind me not to fly with Air Transat again.
I had to check my laptop in as they were really strict on the one piece of hand luggage policy. Fair enough, but I had two small pieces. If they were taped together I'm sure they wouldn't mind.
In addition, when you get into the duty-free area, there's a shop that sells bags. Big bags at that. And these big bags can be taken on as hand luggage, even though you're only meant to have one piece.
The fight from Glasgow was delayed by an hour and someone had a panic attack about 3 hours in ("This is an appeal for a doctor or a nurse, is there a medical practitioner on board?")- she was given Valium and calmed down.
Apart from that the flight was uneventful. I watched a Will Smith film called The Pursuit of Happiness, in which Mr Smith gets happy by becoming a stock broker and making shed loads of money. It was pretty bad in a very watchable way. It was fun to flick between French and English whilst watching- it made the parts where Mr Will was looking in to the distance seem very profound. The second film was Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell. It was partly funny.
When I landed in Toronto and located Ericka we drove into Toronto and went to our favourite Chinese restaurant called Chinese Traditional Buns. The women who runs it recognised me and was very pleased to see me (Ericka had been back there before and I'm sure got the same happy response). When we lived here we went there countless times (something like 9 times in one week was when we hit our peak). We had: hot and spicy tofu soup (this is the best soup I have ever had and costs little over $1); red bean paste filled buns; pork and fennel dumplings; soup-filled dumplings; and pork in a spicy sauce.
We then popped over to see Victor and Elyse (we're going to be staying with Victor for the duration of our stay) which was grand.
Yesterday was mostly lost to napping.
The weather was lovely when we woke this morning. We decided to go to the Native reserve just outside Caledonia as I haven't been there before. Just had a BBQ out in the sun, and am off back to Toronto this evening for a little get together which I'm looking forward to.

Jumping for joy

Finished my essays finally.
The sun is shining, and I have a cold.
Yesterday I saw a nun paddling her way (with oars, not her hands) down the Edinburgh canal toward Glasgow. I know I haven't, but I feel like I've seen it all.
Toronto tomorrow, when I'm certain this blog will get interesting.

Lost youth

One of the things I noticed when I got back to the UK from Canada last year, apart from endemic racism, cynicism and general despair across the country*, was how it had suddenly become acceptable to play music through mobile phones in enclosed public spaces. How we laugh!
Now don’t get me wrong, if people changed their tastes from below-par techno and hip-hop I’d have no problem. Noise pollution is only noise pollution when you don’t like the, er, noise. Anyway, the point is, it’s incredible how people don’t challenge this (though I don’t doubt that there may have been a period whilst I was away when stories appeared in the Daily Mail about The Degeneration of Our Youth TM).
Take Friday for example.
I went to the library, as you do, and, whilst I was writing an essay on this here laptop, I thought it’d be nice to listen to some music, as you tend not to in libraries. So I plugged in my headphones and typed away in my own little bubble.
Fast-forward 20 minutes. Imagine my horror (come on, try) when I realised – by turning my head that popped a headphone out of my ear (the left one, detail fans) – that I had been playing the music through the speakers, not my headphones. I’d absent-mindedly put the headphone jack in the wrong hole. Even worse, I’d kept turning up the music as I’d thought that it sounded muffled. Because it was.
Even even worse was the fact that no one in the library said a thing. Not one psst, not one stare, not one elbow.
I’m pretty sure not all the twenty or so people surrounding me enjoyed listening to Captain Beefheart. While trying to revise for their final exams. In a library. Of course I was embarrassed, but I was more annoyed that no one bothered to get even a little annoyed with me. You can forget people asking a bunch of 15 year olds on the back of a bus to turn their music down, preferably off all together, if no one will confront me in a public space that is pretty well known for having strict policy on this kind of thing. The rules are on your side people, not mine.
Friday evening I went to the Blue Blazer with David, Andy, their Spanish flatmate (technically my flatmate at the moment) Jesus, Ruairi, and Andy’s friend Lisa. David has gone to San Francisco for a conference so I won't see him for a good while. I tried a Highland Park whiskey which is apparently the best whiskey in the world, though I'm not sure how this is decided upon. Still, it was nice.






*Don’t worry about responding to these comments.

213 words of heartbreak, then joy

So it’s the day after what I would pretty much call The Worst Day So Far. Emptying and cleaning a flat is by no means a fun thing to do, especially when you get up at 7am to start and eventually finish at 11.30pm (when you know that your attention should be focused on two looming essay deadlines), before having to lug some of your stuff to the other end of Edinburgh because no buses are heading your way, having to walk, and thus missing last orders at the local public house by five minutes. Why did it take me so long? Answers on a postcard are encouraged.
I’m now staying with my friends David and Andy in the west of the city overlooking the canal route (which apparently runs all the way to Glasgow), and I feel better, having properly cracked on with the essays; I’ve written a decent 1000 words so far today and I’ve got plenty of wind left in me.
As an aside, the Collins Concise Dictionary and Thesaurus I’m using has this remarkable selling point advertised on the back cover:

• A-Z arrangement means you can go straight to the word you want – and the many alternatives

Unique, huh? Wait till The Oxford Dictionary gets wind of this.

When in Rome

My brother's visit went off with a bang, not a whimper, last night.
We went to Sandy Bell's for, what I presumed at least, a quiet one.
But the best nights are the unplanned nights.
We bumped into Andy and a group of others and wound up a few hours later in the Royal Oak- the pub that never sleeps TM (or at least, I sleep before it does).
Needless to say we both fell asleep sitting up on my couch while 9 or so episodes of Arrested Development ran for no one but our subconsciouses.
I awoke in the same pose, with my arms still crossed, at 5am.
Chris' train was at 1pm from platform 7, which is mysteriously hidden on platform 11 at Edinburgh Waverley.
I needed something to wake me up so I headed to the Fruitmarket gallery and saw something that, well, couldn't fail to wake me.
As the poster above informs you, yes you dear reader, the current exhibition is of Trenton Doyle Hancock's pretty awesome art. He makes paintings based upon a story he's written in which an evil race called the Vegans have lost the ability to see colour, whilst the Mounds (part human, part flower meadow) are a peace-loving race that produce a pink substance called moundmeat.
Each of his exhibitions are based upon different sections of the story which makes more sense here.
Eyes positively spinning with joy I went for a little walk that culminated in my front door.
I knew what awaited me so I bit the bullet and had a pretty successful time with the Baudrillard essay, while I listened to Busdriver and Throbbing Gristle.
Till the next instalment, happy Easter.

This one is pretty factual, you'll learn a lot

Purchased my flights to Toronto today; I'm flying in on the 17th April, which'll give me time to prepare for my birthday two days later.
Quite how I'll prepare- I'll let you know closer to the day.
Tomorrow brings joy in the shape of my brother visiting for a few days. I really cannot wait to get out of this flat now, which is unenjoyable by myself. I'm sure he'll be able to liven up the place and then I've only two more days before I vacate and stay with some friends for a week.
I'm entering the weird world of self storage tomorrow; essentially renting a big box on the outskirts of Edinburgh. I'm sure that sociologists had a field day when they came into being.
Talking of sociology, my essay on Baudrillard's idea of simulation is a lot of fun. I'm pretty much new to his ideas but am enjoying playing about with his ideas.
In the realms of music, I'm listening to a lot of Caravan and Soft Machine; it's strange that it has taken me this long to get round to them.

History recap over breakfast

I was woken this morning by the door buzzer. It's one of those buzzers that gives you heart palpitations for the rest of the day.
'Delivery' said the guy over the speaker phone.
I knew my passport was being delivered today.
When he got to my door he asked me what my first name was.
'Jonathan'.
This is going well, I thought. I only need his then we'd be on first name terms.
As soon as I'd said that, presumably picking up on my accent, he replied, in a calm and stern voice 'here's your colonial passport'.
I laughed nervously, my head blurry from jumping out of bed twenty seconds previously, while trying to sign the delivery slip.
He continued.
'Your passport is historically colonial, and is more so now than ever. Have a good day'.
I didn't feel it the best time nor the place to give any sort of humourous quip. Especially as he was still holding my new passport.
He gave it to me and walked away.
While I wouldn't normally point out someones accent, he was Scottish (keep in mind that with the high level of migrants to Edinburgh, especially from England, Scottish accents aren't as prolific as you may think).
Considering that he works as a British passport delivery man, I wondered to myself how many times he feels obliged to repeat this. Fair enough. I'd have preferred for him to teach me a bit of algebra on my doorstep instead, but that's just personal taste.

Guess who's back...

Certain members of my adoring public (hi dad) are keen to have a glimpse into my life as I prepare to go back to Canada in a couple of weeks for the summer.
So here is Jon's blog mark 2.
As a way to supple up for this I've decided to kick it off now.
I'm sure it'll be a rollercoaster of unprecedented proportions.
Probably.
So today I got back after a week away from Edinburgh. I spent most of my time in Oxfordshire doing some research for my Masters thesis, which concerns the Radley Lakes proposals. Essentially, the owners of Didcot power station, RWE npower, have gained permission to fill in one of the two remaining lakes (out of an original 12) with waste ash, on the outskirts of the village of Radley. Needless to say, local people are pretty unhappy (and national conservationists too). I went down to do a series of interviews with various members of the Save Radley Lakes campaign group.
I then went and spent the weekend in London town where I saw the family for a meal on Saturday and stayed with the ever-wonderful Alex. We went to Richmond in search of Eel Pie Island but failed to reach it (we knew it was in the area but we didn't ready ourselves for the size of Richmond).
This is beside the point though, as we went for a really nice walk along the Thames (pictured) with an icecream (not pictured). Other weekend highlights included Alex winning 20 of your finest British pounds on a game of poker with friends (while I looked on, confused at the whole thing), and meeting with university friends Paul and Ralph for a drink after not seeing them for about 3 years.
Alex and I met with some of his friends in Shoreditch last night where I've never been before. I can't think of one good reason to return.
Take that, Shoreditch!
Now I'm trying to put off the inevitable packing up of the flat that I need to do...