Vespa DK

There are not as many scooters in Copenhagen as there are in London
(the Danes prefer bicycles, for which they have special lanes) but I
did see a few choice vintage ones. This Vespa GS struck me with its
unusual two tone color combo and the soft worn leather saddle seats.

I'm curious how it would handle on these coblestone streets.

Smorrebrog

I asked the good people in Turner's Copenhagen office to suggest a
traditional Danish dish for lunch and smorrebrog is what we got (split
three ways). Its an interesting combination of egg, beef, herring,
eel, Danish brie and various fruits and veggies all on a hearty piece
of bread. Yummy!

Funky Blues in Copenhagen

Arrived in Copenhagen this afternoon to meet up with Danish business
development team and hopefully finish up some deals. An Irish
bartender told me where to find decent music on a Monday night and I
took his advice. Ended up seeing Miss Delta, shown above, who laid it
down thick and with a very authentic, well played vibe. They sounded
like they could have been from Memphis, but when I spoke to them in a
set break I learned they were locals, as was evident by their Nordic
accents. Very impressive.

British Joker

This guy was out in front of a pub just taking the piss out of
everyone and generally being a loud, obnoxious, vulgar attention seeker.
He was so unrelenting and witty that he eventually won Chris, Maria
and me over!

Grupos Jovenes de Inglaterra

After work I wandered around Camden Town eventually striking up a
conversation with a Spaniard who was reading El Pais. He took me under
his wing and we joined up with a group of people from Latin America
over here teaching Spanish. We all went to this rock club Underworld
to watch local thrash metal bands have at it. Not exactly what I
expected from this group in terms of musical tastes, but it was a fun
night.

British Telly

After three weeks I finally turned on the television that sits in the corner of my living room - mainly out of curiousity about whether it would work. Up to that point I had been watching the final season of Arrested Development and various Adult Swim programs on my iphone. Anyway, although most Brits have just 5 channels to choose from, all five are high quality, particularly the 2 BBC channels. My favorite show is "Later with Jools Holland" where bands play live and then chat (or sometimes play) with Jools, who is also a top notch piano player. He picks from all genres and sometimes has a no-name player right after a big star. I can't see it ever happening in the States as its just too random, and frankly too musically adventurous for most Americans.

Yes I Actually Work

Despite the photos on this blog suggesting otherwise, I have been working here at Turner's London offfice for three weeks now. The office - called Turner House - is right in the middle of Soho, just caddy corner from Carnaby St. Most of my work has involved distribution deals in France, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. All the deals are in English. Above, I can be seen carefully considering the best way to strategically position the company while also protecting its legal assets....

The East End Mods

Over the weekend I met this guy Nick, who is the organiser of a local scooter club in the East End. He generously gave me some advice on where the better scooter shops in town were, and where and when some of the clubs meet. He has a fantastically restored Vespa seen here, and is currently working on a Lammy. Behind him is the Quadraphenia-inspired scooter of Mr. Bojangle (no "s") which is sure to catch anyone's eye when it passes by. Good times!

Brick Lane

Had one of the first sunny days in weeks (partially sunny to be
precise) and I was happy to spend it at Spitafields and Brick Lane in
the East End. There are many cool shops and, more interestingly, many
random people seemingly conducting yard sales on the sidewalks. And I
think I heard an authentic cockney accent or two...

Budos Band in Camden Town

Posting from the club....

[following up on this later when its easier to type. The Budos Band has some of the musicians from Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (who also played on Amy Winehouse's Back to Black) and some other players from Staten Island, NY. It was a no nonsense set - not too much variance from their record, but very solid and powerful. After them, Antibalas played a more experimental and atmospheric set, which I actually enjoyed more.

I really appreciate the set times for shows in London. Budos went on at 8:30, and Antibalas went on around 10pm, if I had to guess. There is none of that waiting around forever before the band begins so common in the States.

This place, the Jazz Cafe, is a fantastic venue. You may not be able to see it from this photo (which is unfortunately dark) but there is a second level where they serve food. Its more expensive than the floor price, but if you get a seat right on the edge I think it would be worth it. The floor tickets were about $50 a piece, and the upstairs were something like $70 each. Beers were around $7 a piece. NOT a cheap night out!]

The Social

Friday after work holds a special place with many
people around the globe. London is no exception.
Tonight we went to a place called The Social, which
has an early 70s soul vibe I quite fancy. They have
bands and DJs downstrairs but tonight we secured
one of the best seats in the house and could not
give it up. Picture below are (left to right) Adrian (a good dude whose been taking me around town), Louise (lovely gal from the 5th floor), Natasha (a very nice lawyer from St Petersburg who promises to teach me some Russian) and Aurea,
whom you already know and love. You can also see
the chicken and steak pot pies we ordered.

Yeah, they were tasty!

I trust that my friends back home in Atlanta are having a similar good time by now!

My Daily Routine

This is a photo taken on my walk down Oxford street to and from work.
As you can see it's quite busy - and it's like this day and night. It's
just shy of two miles each way, but there are many cafes, pubs, and
shops to break things up. Plus I get my daily exercise and save about
five bucks a day avoiding tube transport.

No that's not my head in the foreground!

Banksy Strikes Again!

Graffiti artist/folk hero Banksy made headlines in British papers yesterday with this stunt, which took place directly under the CCTV cameras he mocks (which is to the right, off camera). The kid standing on the ladder painting the letters is itself a painting, (in case you couldn't tell) and unfortunately I'm covering up the painting of a policeman in the lower left corner, who is taking a photo of the kid. The bloke to my left is a poor substitute for the cop - especially since he's pointing his camera the wrong way!

East End, Yo!

Went to an East End pub called Florist tonight and loved it. Closest
Atlanta equivalent would be the Gravity Pub. The best thing about it
was that I met these fantastic people: my first mate, Tom, in the
center, is about to travel from Costa Rica to San Fran later this
summer. Rachel and Sarah are studying fashion
in Brighton and are rooming together in London. Chris is from Paris
and is a chef at the nearby Buddist Center. Auden, Ross, and the rest are in or
with the band Lincoln Brown, who just got back from a wicked gig in
Moscow. Check them at www.myspace.com/lincolnbrownmusic

Somehow we all found each other and had a blast. So please say hello
to my new posse!

Portabello Market

Yesterday I went to this large indoor/outdoor market on Portabello
Road in Notting Hill. Lots of interesting items for sale, particularly
porcilin and silver antiques, CDs, jewlery, and bric-brac a plenty.
They also had produce galore. I bought some raspberries and had them
in my Special K this morning. Yum!

Tate Modern

This massive crack in the floor is the latest installation at Tate
Modern. Apparently several people have tripped over it so far. I will
leave you to consider whether this is meaningful art (and whether the
posting of this photo violates its copyright!).

Radiohead Played Here

The bartender in this Clerkenwell pub, the Betsey Trotwood, swore on his mum's grave that Radiohead played in the basement. Somebody please alert Kevin!

Turkish Dinner

I had a roasted lamb dish at this Turkish restaurant - the Grand Bazaar - in the Marylebone district the other night - was quite tasty. It came with this large football-shaped loaf of bread that was all hot air in the middle. The outer skin was very thin. I meant to ask the waiter the name of this type of bread. Anyone ever had it?

The London Theatre

Saw a play tonight staring Ralph Fiennes called God of Carnage. It was
really good-I was laughing the whole time. They don't allow photos
while the play is going so I took this just to capture the setting
after Ralph & Co took their final bow.

The 606 Club

A private jazz club in the Chelsea area of London. I'm here now -
digging' it!

Canals of London

I did not know they had canals in London but they do and they are lovely.
People live in these houseboats year round. I walked along this canal
from Camden to Regents Park with Mark, Aurea and a German lawyer Aruna. We ate organic bangers and mash made locally. The food here is miles better than I recall it being in the past, with many more heathly options.

Psycho-footballers from Norway

A photo of the Norwegians mentioned in my last post.

Over the Weekend

Had quite an interesting time this weekend. I met these psycho-footballers that flew down from Norway to attend the Arsenal- Liverpool game, and they were furious that it ended in a tie. I then got into a rather heated drunken argument with one of them over what was a better game, hockey or soccer. Believe me, they started it! One of the Norwegians agreed with me, but the others did not. The Norwegians generally are not as into hockey as the Swedes or Fins.

Another photo here (I have no idea which order these will show in) is of the unruly protest over the Olympic torch on the steps of St. Paul’s cathedral, which made headlines here in the UK. I had no intention of being at the epicenter of this drama -- I was actually on my way to Tate Modern and decided to get some fish and chips in a nearby pub. Next thing I know every bobby in London seemed to descend on the place, and all these protesters with “Free Tibet” signs were yelling and booing when the torch came by. Someone actually tried using a fire extinguisher on it ! My photo does not capture the real action, which was too cluttered for me to get a good shot at. This is as it was breaking up.

The final photo is of the sing-a-long I came upon last night – as you can see it was an older crowd, but they really got into it, as did everyone else. It happens every Sunday, and next week I’m going to try to get their earlier for a better seat.

That’s it for now…

NOTE: AFTER POSTING I SEE THAT THE PHOTOS DIDN'T UPLOAD - SORRY, I TRIED TO POST MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. OH WELL, USE YOUR IMAGINATION!

Cribbage

I met Canadian ex-pats Erin and Ben in a nearby pub and they taught me
the fun game of cribbage. We are about to go to the Canadian-owned pub
The Maple Leaf to watch the last Toronto-Montreal hockey game, then to
The Duke of Kendall where everyone sings traditional English parlour
songs on Sunday nights.

Cheers!

Cheers!

After walking around town for hours my feet got tired and the
temperature dropped suddenly-- perfect time for tea by the fire.

I just happened to come by this pub not too far from my neighborhood
called Winsor Castle. Its full of plates, photos, and nicknacks of
the royals and british pop culture from the distant past. Scott and
Genevieve -- you'd never leave this place!

Office Mates

Hanging out with Andy, Adrian, Mark, Aurea, and Anne in a nearby Soho pub.

Where are you Seymour?

Those who have known me for a while might recall that my first
scooter looked almost exactly like this one. I named it Seymour, and
I was shocked when he was abducted. Lots of scooters here but most
are modern and I have not seen the cult around vintage/mod culture
that exists in the states.

Proud of Me Eggs

I cooked me up an egg sandwich this morning before realising (yeah, I
meant that spelling) that I didn't have any salt, pepper,or hot sauce,
but it was still good!

My New Luigi

The new Luigi in my life - a coffee house/sandwich shop just up the
block.

I had a roast beef and horseradish sandwich there and then went to
Oxford street to buy some dress shoes because all mine are still being
shipped

On the way home I stopped at a few pubs and watched the Arsenal/
Liverpool game.

The Royal Mail

Apparently this is how they see fit to handle mail...

My Flat - Inside

I'm now in the flat and like it! Plenty of space with two small
bathrooms, a kitchenette, a bedroom with queen size bed and this
lovely livingroom. The only weird thing was that the carpet was wet
due to cleaning and so my socks got wet.

My Flat - Outside

Approaching my flat on Sussex Garden, which is in the middle of this
row.