Happy Halloween

No trick and treaters tonight mercifully.  Thank god, as the only candy I have to give away is my British candy - and I'm not going to waste that on any kids.  It probably doesn't help that it's a wet and miserable evening.  I was also just thinking that I haven't been to a Halloween party for absolutely ages.  And even if I was, I wouldn't have a costume to wear.  I don't think I could even improvise something with what I have in my closet.  And, for some reason, that makes me really sad and makes me want to buy an emergency fancy dress outfit that I'll probably never use.  Which is even sadder.

Cough

I brought back a cold with more from the UK, and frustratingly I can't seem to shake a cough.  The combination of cold and jet lag is really doing a number on me.  It always takes me a while to readjust after a trip back to the UK, but it will probably take me even longer this time.  I'm not sleeping well and I'm nowhere near returning to sensible patterns of waking up, eating, working and exercising.  I should not have returned to work immediately after my trip, but since I took so long off I didn't have a choice.  And I certainly don't have the patience to deal with any Halloween nonsense tomorrow - I'm not expecting any trick or treaters, but who knows who might show up.   

True Blood

One of the HBO channels is currently airing every single episode of True Blood, and it's been good to catch up on it.  It's one of those shows that kind of gets forgotten about among all the very many quality shows that aired during that period of peak prestige TV.  But I think I've watched every single episode of this show, and thoroughly enjoyed it - particularly the earlier seasons.  Yes it's campy nonsense and won't ever break into my Top 20 best TV shows ever, but it remains very watchable and a good show to have on while I doze off waiting for my washing to get done.   

Home Sweet Home

I made it back to the US in one piece.  All my fears of getting through airport security were totally unfounded - they perhaps asked even less questions than normal.  And I may not have got an upgrade on my flight, but at least I had priority baggage claim which saved an awful lot of time (a bonus as my taxi driver was waiting for me).  The time difference is really messing me up - the clocks haven't gone back here yet, so I think the time difference is 7 hours rather than 8 hours.  Either way, it's only just gone 6 pm and I'm exhausted and about to go to bed.  Jet lag always seems to hit me harder coming back to the US than it does going to the UK.  I'm supposed to be back at work tomorrow, but I seriously hope I don't have a lot to do.

Darcey

It dawned on me today - the day before I fly back to the US - that I haven't taken any photos of one of the most photogenic things I've been seeing almost every day of my trip back.  What a wasted opportunity.

Suit

My suit has now experienced one wedding and one funeral.  I wonder which will be next?  Or perhaps it's a third option - like a job interview.  

After a weekend of celebration and excess (debauchery feels like too strong a word, but I definitely drank more than I have done for a very long time - admittedly over a long period of time) then I'm sadly and slowly returning to normalcy this week.  One day in the UK.  One flight back to the US.  And then back to the humdrum and drudgery of work.  Or more likely the stress and intensity of work (I fear there will be a lot for me to do, and I won't be in any frame of mind to do it - at least for the rest of this week...)

Wedding

If you're reading this - congratulations on a successful wedding day and wishing you a long and happy marriage!

British Rail

A less than ideal train ride from London to Manchester:

1. The planned service, which I had a reserved seat on, was cancelled

2. No problem, I'll take the next service.  Mistake.  It was a stampede towards this train, and then when I boarded a couple of coaches all the seats were reserved.  I could probably have just taken my chances with one of those seats, but it was just so busy and hectic that I didn't want to deal with this particular train.

3.  Instead, went to the ticket office and asked if they could reserve a seat for me on the next service, which they went and did.  Unfortunately, when boarding this train I discovered that my requested "window" seat did not in fact have a window.  Which was rather annoying.

I want to be angry at the operator, but I can't if the storm that came through really did damage some overhead lines (though I can probably claim some sort of refund).  However, I can emphatically say that having to spend any time at London Euston absolutely sucks - it really is one of the worst London terminals.  

Cold Medicine

Why is it so difficult to get hold of effective cold medicine in the UK when you have high blood pressure?  I think I made myself worse by taking some all in one cold and flu medication - the decongestant part of it noticeably increased my blood pressure.  So instead I'm stuck taking just paracetamol.  Which doesn't seem to make that much difference.  I know I'll have a lot more choice of blood pressure-friendly over-the-counter cold medicine when I get back to the US - and it can't come soon enough, as these lingering cold symptoms are starting to get me down.  Not helped by the unwelcome development of new and unexpected ailments such as nerve pain in my leg,  I have really started to feel old this week, and a reminder of how much easier it is for me to catch a virus here compared to the US.

Mayfair

My final London walk of this trip yesterday - this time around the posh neighborhood of Mayfair.  At least I assumed it would be posh - after all, why else would Mayfair be the most expensive property in Monopoly?  And sure enough, Mayfair is indeed incredibly expensive.  Full of high-end properties, upmarket shops and restaurants, and luxury hotels.  This was an interesting walk, but busy and not particularly photogenic.  And somewhat soured by experiencing the worst nerve pain in my left leg that I've ever experienced towards the end of the walk - a condition that I've been increasingly noticing during my stay here.  So, so painful.  Don't know the cause, and a definite cause of worry.  And something else health-related that I need to deal with.  Made me even more self-conscious than I already was walking around this neighborhood in my cheap and poor-fitting clothes.    

Andrew

Jesus, the British media have really got it in for (Prince) Andrew right now.  It's almost obsessional.  Personally, I couldn't care less.  So he's never paid rent?  Whatever.   So he's been in orgies with Epstein and a bunch of underage girls?  Yep, that's despicable but am I surprised?  No.  Historically, I don't think that's anywhere near as depraved as some of the other deeds that Royals have done over the years.  I'm not a royalist, never have been, never will be, and I think it's an absolute disgrace that UK taxpayers still partly fund the Royal family.  And invariably Americans always ask me what I think about the Royal family - but I think they find Harry more interesting than Andrew.  Perhaps that's because they don't want to face the truth that the current US president has probably engaged in similar, if not worse, behavior than Andrew.   

Westminster and St James's

Here are some photos from a walk I took around Westminster last week.  I've done this walk before, and I'm sure I've probably posted a very similar set of photos before, but whatever.

Rain

I guess I've had pretty good weather during my trip back to the UK, since today was the first day where it really rained.  It's a good job I didn't have anything planned today.  More so because I didn't get much sleep last night - so I've been feeling quite awful today.  I've definitely caught a cold, and I wonder whether I just didn't eat enough yesterday - and the combination of the two has really hit me hard.  Hopefully whatever ails me doesn't linger - as I have a wedding to attend next weekend. 

Palace 3-3 Bournemouth

Well, that was something.  A 6-goal thriller.  A match that I should be happy that Palace got a draw in because they were 0-2 down at halftime and twice had to come from behind.  Yet I'm frustrated because despite Mateta getting a hat-trick, he missed an absolute sitter at the very end that would have given us all 3 points.  For a team that prides itself on its home support, the first half was extremely disappointing - the away section was clearly louder, indicative of a very sloppy start to the game by Palace.  But the second half was so much better - the crowd was rocking (particularly the Holmesdale Road end), and I think would have erupted had we got that winner.  As for the stadium itself - there's no sugar-coating this, it's a dump.  Kind of run-down, kind of past its best, kind of small, not in the best neighborhood, weirdly right next to a big Sainsbury's.  I was seated about halfway between the half-way line and the goal-line in the south stand - among a lot of older season ticket holders - and had a pretty good view of the game, although frustratingly I was seated too far back so that the video board was blocked by the stadium roof.  You'd think it wouldn't be too much trouble to put another monitor up that we could actually see what was going on - especially with the increasing reliance on video in the game (there were a lot of VAR checks during this game).  But a big bonus is that I had a couple of empty seats next to me, so I was able to stretch out - it would have been very cramped otherwise.  Would I come back here?  I think so - the atmosphere makes up for any shortcomings.

Industrial Agriculture

I've just had a delicious curry.  And that was preceded by a delicious fish 'n' chips last week.  You just know I have to do the English staples when I'm back!  And when I add in roast dinners, sausages, pies, and pastries - I don't think you realize how good you have it here.  And then it dawns on me just how bad American food is.  Over-processed, full of additives, full of preservatives, high-sugar and high-fat.  And everything fresh and healthy is incredibly expensive - certainly a lot more expensive than here.  Bread.  Chocolate.  And basically anything that contains corn syrup - which is most things in America - is so much worse.  Good luck RFK Jr in making America healthy again.  I don't think the US government has a chance in hell of overturning industrial agriculture.       

The Lookout and Horizon 22

I went to a couple of high-rise viewing platforms in London today - The Lookout and Horizon 22.  Both required booking tickets in advance, although at least they were free.  And both buildings were located next to each other, so the views were somewhat similar.  And it may have been an overcast day, but the views were great.  Neither had full 360 degree views of the London skyline - but Horizon 22 is slightly higher (58th floor versus 50th floor), has more space (including a small cafe and better toilets - indeed The Lookout only has one stall for everybody) and a slightly wider view, but was a lot busier.  Unfortunately I think it's nearly impossible to avoid getting reflections in the photos.

The Lookout

Horizon 22

I also did a bonus walk around Westminster while I was in town - I'll post some photos from that sometime next week.