Home » Archive by category "London" (Page 28)

Veggies

25 Sep 2008

Last night I was quite proud of myself for managing to put together an absolutely delicious meal and I thought I’d share the recipe because it was so simple.

First I sauted broccoli (which had already been cooked in the microwave for two and a half minutes so it wasn’t raw), snap peas and onions in olive oil, garlic, fresh grated ginger, red pepper flakes and soy sauce.  Meanwhile I brought another pot of water to a boil and started cooking egg noodles.

Next, I combined the noodles and veggies to sit together over a very low heat for a few more minutes.  I didn’t have a wok pan but if you did, I suppose this is where you would use it.

After a ridiculously short amount of time I have a very flavourful and surprisingly filling (for being vegetarian) dinner.  I’ve got plenty of ginger and some left over snap peas… I might have to try this one again tonight.

I think it’ll be even better when I add some meat as well. 🙂

God Save the Queen of America

24 Sep 2008

So this is an oldie but goodie apparently throughout Britain but I hadn’t seen it before my flatmate Ann sent it to me at work the other day. I had a good chuckle over this one:

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her
Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

 In light of your failure in recent years to nominate
competent candidates for President of the USA and thus
to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the
revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume
monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths,
and territories (except Kansas,which she does not
fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint
a Governor for America without the need for further
elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine
whether any od you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency,
the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
(You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English
Dictionary.)

1. Then look up aluminum, and check the pronunciation
guide.  You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have
been pronouncing it.

-------------------
2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 
'colour', 'favour', 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, 
you will learn to spell 'doughnut'without skipping half 
the letters,  and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by 
the suffix '-ise'.  Generally, you will be expected to 
raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels.  (look up
'vocabulary').
-------------------
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with 
filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' is an 
unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. 
There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let 
Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker 
will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated 
letter 'u' and the elimination of  -ize.
-------------------
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
-----------------
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without 
using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that 
you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that 
you're not quite ready to be independent.  Guns should 
only be used for shooting grouse.  If you can't sort 
things out without suing someone or speaking to a 
therapist then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
----------------------
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to 
own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable 
peeler.  Although a permit will be required if you 
wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
----------------------
7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, 
and you will start driving on the left side with 
immediate effect.  At the same time, you will go 
metric with immediate effect and without the benefit
of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and 
metrication will help you understand the British
sense of humour.
--------------------
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol 
(which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly 
$10/US gallon. Get used to it.
-------------------
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those 
things you call French fries are not real chips, 
and those things you insist on calling potato chips 
are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut,
fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but 
with vinegar.
-------------------
10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling 
beer is not actually beer at all.  Henceforth, only 
proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and 
European brews of  known and accepted provenance will 
be referred to as Lager.  South African beer is also
acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest 
sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to 
the beer.  They are also part of British Commonwealth - 
see what it did for them.  American brands will
be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so 
that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
---------------------
11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast 
English actors as good guys.  Hollywood will also be 
required to cast English actors to play English 
characters.  Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English
dialogue in Four Weddings and a  Funeral was an 
experience akin to having one's ears removed  with a 
cheese grater.
---------------------
12. You will cease playing American football.  There 
is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer.  
Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to 
play rugby (which has some similarities to American 
football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every
twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body Armour like a 
bunch of nancies).  Don't try Rugby - the South Africans 
and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.
---------------------
13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not 
reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a 
game which is not played outside of America.  Since only 2.1% 
of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your 
error is understandable.  You will learn cricket, and we will 
let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out 
of their deliveries.
--------------------
14. You must tell us who killed JFK.  It's been driving 
us mad.
-----------------
15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from 
Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure 
the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
---------------
16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper 
cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high  quality 
biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with 
cream)  when in season.

God Save the Queen!

Stay tuned… I’m composing a response to Her Majesty which I hope to have on the blog sometime soon ;).

Chessboxing!

23 Sep 2008

Chessboxing at Boxing London

by: Meg
It’s noon on a Saturday and all I can think about is hitting someone. I’m ready to go three brutal minutes in the ring and at the end of those three minutes, I’m going to challenge them to a game of chess.

Wait… what?

Confused? Ladies and gentleman, the perfect combination of physical and mental strength and ingenuity can now be found in chessboxing…. Read the rest of my article on Spoonfed.

10 Reasons why I’m Late to Work in London

23 Sep 2008

I was a quarter of an hour late into the Spoonfed office this morning through no fault of my own.  In fact I leave at exactly the same time every morning (7:45am) and arrive at the office, which is 8 miles away, anytime between 8:40 and 9:30, usually rolling in just before 9am.  So how on earth does 8 miles take 90 minutes?  Here are the top 10 things that delay the London commuter.

1) Cyclists
I complained about cyclists when I lived in California.  I complained about then when I lived in Maine.  But I will never again complain about cyclists after living in London.  I’m not sure what causes these masochists to loose all fear of death in the face of double decker buses, but whatever common sense gene they’re missing, it manifests itself as the tendency to bike well below the speed limit in the bus lane on busy streets and not letting the bus pass.  Thanks.

2) Slow walkers in the underground halls
Slow walkers are annoying anywhere.  But they are most annoying as the underground announcment system is saying “stand back, the doors are closing” and if those people would JUST GET OUT OF YOUR WAY you would have made it to train.  Of course, when you’re behind a slow walker, the next bus or train won’t arrive for another 10 minutes.

3) Person under a train
I realise this is callous and there’s nothing funny about people who are so desperate that they want to end their lives. But it says something about the frequency of suicides on the London underground that there is an automated announcement citing severe delays or station closures due to “a person under a train.”  Please, if you ever have such thoughts, seek help.  At the very least, don’t choose to be a person under a train during commute hours.

4) Diversions

Diversions.  Sounds like something fun, entertaining… I don’t know, diverting! Unfortunately, diversions are a fancy way of saying that buses aren’t going to go where you expect them to go and they’re going to no do so very very slowly using round-about roads you’ve never seen before for no understandable reason.

5) Tourists
Fortunately, this is becoming slightly less of a problem as the summer ends but London is a popular enough tourist location that there will always, ALWAYS be someone confused by the ticketing system, unsure of which change to use when paying bus fare, or blocking major walkways while trying to read a tube map.

6) Crazy bus drivers
The bus drivers in this city are insane.  I think it might be a job requirement.  This generally becomes most obvious when they (insanely) decide to maneuver the bus into a space where a bus most clearly CAN NOT fit.  All bystanders and passengers look on in horror while trucks, cars, sidewalks or buildings nearly scrape the sides of their chosen method of transport.  Then, everything stops entirely while all drivers involved wonder how they are going to get unstuck.

7) Narrow roads
London is such a quaint city.  Clearly evolved from more provincial roots, you have pubs that are hundreds of years old, ancient traditions, the ruins of the original roman city and ROADS THAT ARE THE WIDTH OF TWO HORSES.  While this was great when all you needed on the road were two horses, when you have two double decker buses, a parked delivery truck, and a black cab and four bikers who thought they could fit in as well, things tend to slow down.

8 ) Broken underground barriers
For how much we pay for our Oyster cards, travel cards, and underground tickets (£4 for a one-way 2 zone trip?!) you’d think they would manage to make the things that accept our expensive travel vouchers functional.  Instead, long queues of people stand outside the single working barrier and glare at the station master who shrugs apologetically.

9) Black Cabs
Possibly even worse than cyclists, these maniac drivers don’t generally have a concept of how much space is needed for their vehicle.  Or stop lights.  Or how not to enter an intersection when they can’t get through. I don’t have the money to use the cabs but I’m pretty sure if I did, I’d be gripping the armrest, white-knuckled, the entire trip.

10) Minor delays
The biggest contributor to severe delays in my commute are ‘minor delays.’  This comically overused indicator (which can mean anything from ‘the trains are working fine’ to ‘you’ll be stuck in the tube with no prayer of getting out for the next 45minutes while we move between two stations’) gives you hope that things are only somewhat busy, and pretty close to working.  It’s time I figured out what a lie that really is.

So when I get into work, I’ve survived a harrowing, life-threatening experience that.  I overcome quite a bit on my way to the Spoonfed offices so it’s a good thing that there’s always a hot cup of tea ready to go when I arrive.

Pubs and Stumbles

22 Sep 2008

Tonight I went out to dinner at a pub called the Churchill Arms. I pass by this place nearly every day on my way home from work and can’t help but notice it. If you didn’t know it was a pub you might well be mistaken into thinking that it’s some sort of botanical garden shop, or horticulturalist club. The entire building is completely decked out in baskets of hanging flowers and the effect is quite beautiful.

I had been told that inside, in addition to your standard English pub, there was also a remarkably tasty and quite reasonably priced Thai restaurant but until tonight had never gone inside to visit either. Upon walking in, I was completely overwhelmed by the Winston Churchill and other period memorabilia on the walls. It was like an Applebees extreme but not kitschy or junky. You couldn’t even see the walls for all of the hanging posters, framed pictures, postcards, and for some strange reason, the occasional ocean buoy. But all of this was no where near as odd as walking past a few bar tables and finding myself in a proper Thai restaurant, complete with the front takeaway counter with people yelling at each other in Thai and piling delicious-looking food into Chinese take-away containers.

The food itself was wonderful. Because most of my cooking at home doesn’t end up particularly spicy (unless I just pour on red pepper flakes which does happen occasionally) I always love getting some food that’s got a kick to it and the pad thai definitely did the trick. This was no Waterville’s Pad Thai Too, folks, this was the real deal and it was wonderful to have a meal outside the flat.

In other news, I use the StumbleUpon social bookmarking tool (something I’ll explain more fully later this week, as well as how I use it to market Spoonfed) with some frequency and today I added my 1000th ‘liked site’ (imagine it’s like all of your saved favourite pages on your web browser, but online). I happened to find a really adorable website for my 1000th pick and I highly recommend you check out Oh How Lovely! which is a blog/online store that finds adorable things all over the internet and puts them in one place. The site also has wonderful weekly give-aways with very nice prizes (I wish I had found it when they were giving away a cupcake print apron! I would have loved that!).

Definitely stop by Oh How Lovely! and check out the lovely things they’ve got.