UK Unites

We have waited for seven years, listening to the negative media about how London just wouldn't be able to cope, we're not well equipped, couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, it should have gone to France etc. But now it's here and almost over with, I personally would like to give a heart felt handshake to the people involved in making this an entertaining success.

To all those media misfits who were hellbent on ruling off the Olympics as a total waste of resources, I guess you are now feeling rather foolish. Ok so the shops and attractions haven't brought in as much tourism as we had wished for, but it has brought in so much more - compassion, hope, a united front and above all pride in our country.

The UK has had such bad press and there's been so much doom & gloom, what with the recession and last years riots, it's actually refreshing to see people in a good mood with a smile on their face.

It's the English way to be humble and we've always been overshadowed by other competition, but it's almost like we've turned a corner and can say, 'yes we are good, we've trained hard and we damn well deserve some recognition for it!'

I'm under no allusion that this will last once the games are over and it won't be long until everyone has their commuter faces on again, but for now, it's a step forward & I'm quite proud to say I am a londoner.

I Predict A Riot......

So, after a week of rioting it appears we are finally getting some order back on the streets and cleaning up the now somewhat wrecked Capital, from mindless acts of vandalism.

You can't help but speculate on how we got to this - is it really out of frustration of not being listened to, not taken seriously and constantly preached down to with no prospects? Or do the youth of today really not have a conscience, thus resulting in them not giving a shit what they do and who they do it to.

I can't help but look back on my life when I was growing up and dealing with different feelings and emotions I had. At 18, you certainly feel like you know everything and scoff at anyone who tells you otherwise - but it's only when you get older you realise that actually - you didn't. Even now, I look back and realise how naive you can be growing up, especially trying to deal with teenage hormones. I think it's only when you get older you realise you still have lots to learn from life, you just learn to be a bit more cautious rather than crashing head first into everything.

One thing I have learnt is that being passive really does not get you anywhere. Whilst I don't condone the acts of violence going on this week in any way at all, I also believe that if you try to be polite and air your views in a peaceful way you get talked over, brushed aside and nothing ever comes of it. These last couple of years I've realised that if you try to be a nice person, do the right thing and always be polite to be people, it really doesn't count for anything. People think they can treat you however they want, talk to you however they please and think they can get away with it because you never shout back and would rather opt for the quiet life of forgiveness than confrontation.

I know I am never going to be one of these people that argues back, or be rude to people in retaliation, because at the end of the day I do care what other people think of me. But, I am getting to the point now where I don't get upset by people's actions anymore and I am more than happy to turn my back and walk away if I don't think someone deserves to be in my life.

Who knows if there is a right or wrong way to deal with controversy, or if it is just down to individuals to decide what works best for themselves. But there really is no need for mindless acts of violence to get your point across, no matter how bad things are. A bit of self-pride and respect for others could be a lesson learned for many people out there in the world today.

London Wanderer....

What a nice feeling it is to have the odd weekend now and again where you don't actually have any definite plans, but come Sunday evening you can reflect back and realise that you have actually had a pretty cool weekend!

I had arranged to meet up with a friend to go the Tate & have lunch. After a much needed but rather guilty pub lunch on Saturday she had to dash back to greet the in-laws, so rather than head back to Essex before meeting another friend later in the evening, I decided I would make the most of being in London and blend in with the tourists.

I cranked up the iPod and headed west along the Southbank to Westminster, before heading across the bridge northwards towards St James' Park and up into Green Park, Hyde Park and then across even further West to Kensington Gardens. How nice it was to have no destination in mind and to just go wherever my feet felt liked carrying me. Normally I hate the crowds of London and use it as a place to purely travel to and from work and not really appreciating the essence that is London. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed being among the throngs of Crowds at Big Ben before heading up into the quietness of the parks.

I think my biggest find of the day was in St James' Park. Even though it is the middle of winter, the day was grey and drab and it was continually drizzling with rain, I happened to chance across the only tree in the whole of the park that had bloomed with cherry blossoms.

 Maybe it's just me being girly and a bit sentimental, but I was quite moved by the fact that there really is beauty in every day life. I think it's fair to say I got a few strange looks when I wandered over to the tree and circled it, taking pictures of the flowers covered in dew drops.

I guess it's my kookiness coming out, but you can't help but notice the contrast with the bare limbs and trunks of the stripped trees all around....

After spending a little too long marvelling at this one tree, I carried on my journey through the parks and took great delight in the mischievous squirrels running in and out of peoples legs, foraging for nuts. I even had one of them try to climb up my boot, but I think he soon realised I had no food to keep him enticed!

Onwards and upwards - I went from Kensington High Street up to Queenswater and then back across to Marble Arch, where I eventually admitted defeat and jumped on a train up to Islington to meet my friend for a well deserved dinner.

After all that walking I felt it was a just reward to unwind with a few bottles of vino over some girly chats, with some rather delicious Belgium Chocolates. Mmmmm.....all in all a good end to a very tiring but productive day!

Why Do Buildings Have Such Silly Names...

Have just found this article on the BBC News website and thought it was worth a chuckle:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11838167

If someone came up to you and mentioned the words Gherkin, Cucumber, Shard or Cheese Grater you'd think they would be talking about a dodgy party back in the 70's - but you would be mistaken, as these are the oh so clever 'nicknames' that cast a shadow across our skylines.

When I saw this report I thought 'hmm, maybe there is some deep meaningful purpose to these so called nicknames...' and thought I would take a quick peek to broaden my enlightenment into the British world of Architecture. In actual fact, I can't say I really gained anything from this article other than the fact that British designers seem to have a rather dry sense of humour.

I'm sure the average John Doe could come up with something more imaginative than the Cheese Grater or the Gherkin - lord knows I've heard much more cruder references down the local on a Saturday night! But I guess you do have to laugh at the absurdity of it.

Only in Blighty could you design a building, then give it a really dodgy nickname just for the mere sake of outdoing your fellow rivals. I take it they've never heard of a bit of friendly rivalry over a game of Poker......

Does one speaketh the lingo?

I love listening to conversations by different people, in particular the way things are pronounced and types of words that are used.

I used to live in East London and never used to think that I had an accent or spoke in a particular way that was outside the 'norm', but after moving out to Essex 4 years ago I am very much aware of the speech patterns different Towns and Villages develop. Especially of late, after becoming a sucker for The Only Way Is Essex - it just makes me realise that I am slowly going over to the dark side and sounding more and more common each day (as much as you can believe than from an East Londoner!)

I admit I've never been one to have a cockney accent or delved into the world of 'Lady Mcguivers or apples and pears' but still, I am who I am and I always liked to pride myself on the fact that you can't take the town out of the girl......but.....

The longer I find myself living away from East London the more my 'non-existent accent' disappears. Gone are the days of 'Alright Mate', 'Hows it going?!' and 'Yeah, nice one!' and in it's place I am finding myself replicating the local Essex sing-song sayings such 'Hi-Ya', 'How-Are-You?' and 'Yeah, that sounds lovely!' I even found myself chatting to the local checkout girl the other day and referred to her as luv! Oh, how degrading.

But I think I am not alone in these thoughts and apparently the local jargon not only exists in the outside world, but also take place in the world of business too. I loved reading this article today on the BBC website and was cracking up at the commentary.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7457287.stm

Not only is there such a thing as business jargon - it has also been complied into it's very own top 50 list, which is not bad going. I particularly love item number 22, having worked in sales for over three years this was a regular saying amongst the directors at our monthly sales meetings.

I wonder what the future holds for the English language and how the local lingo will differ by the time I reach middle age - one can only but imagine....