"The Local"

A common expression in England is, "my local," or "the local." It is inevitably a reference to the pub that is closest to you, generally within just a few streets, and that you patronize on a regular basis. It's cultural here that you go to the pub regularly - and almost expected that you'll support your local business.

For me it's almost too easy. The Hobgoblin is just 100 yards away. I can always find a free seat (sometimes it's downstairs) and the beer prices are fair. But the big thing - and the real reason I go so often - is the Thai food. A Thai family has set up shop downstairs and cooks fantastic food at super-cheap prices. They can bring your food upstairs to the pub or you can get it as take-away, which me and my roommate often do. At 6-7 pounds per entree, it's a price and convenience that can't be beat in my neighborhood.

Culture! Class!

This is just a quick post to say, yes, I am getting my share of proper London culture in. This is a pic from a trip I made to watch the Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra play in the Chelsea old town hall. My friend Genevieve is both a Masters in Finance student at school and a musician in the orchestra, so she got a bunch of us some discounted tickets.

Even more impressive was my more recent trip to the Royal Opera House for a performance of La Boheme. I had awesome seats on the left hand side in the lowest balcony. Ok, so this is obviously a stock photo - but you get the idea. It wasn't really a "take lots of flash photography" kind of event - in fact, no pictures are allowed during the performance.

La Boheme is the most popular opera of all time. I think this is largely attributable to the fact that it is truly funny. I laughed out loud on a regular basis. And it's a little ribald, which reminded me of Shakespeare. I guess if you want to stand the test of time, you have to appeal to the masses, and to our lewdest sense of humor.

The opera was wonderful - it ran three and a half hours but felt like it ended too early. The actors/singers were amazingly talented - what else could you expect from a ROYAL opera house? I can't wait until I can go again.

The Christmas Spirit in London

London gets REALLY dressed up for Christmas! Far more than Atlanta ever did. This holiday season saw a remake of Disney's A Christmas Carol, an animated movie voiced by Jim Carey. Which also happens to be modeled after a British book by Charles Dickens. So there was a natural tie-in for them to sponsor Christmas decorations all over Oxford Street, a major shopping and nightlife area in London. It was great!

But it was Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park that really put me in the Christmas spirit. It was a HUGE winter carnival. I had never heard of a winter carnival before, but it's very much like a normal carnival, except there are more bratwursts and hot chocolates and mulled wines. I had a thick hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey's in it, and enjoyed it next to a fireplace; absolute perfection on a cold day.