chocolates and Primal Scream

I've been slack, I know. So much has happened since my last post and since I haven't been forcing myself to sit down in front of the computer, it's now nearly a whole month of things to blog about!

Let's see... we've had Denis over from Melbourne- it was great catching up with him, as well as checking out the new Hotel du Chocolat, over near Moorgate Station. It's 10 mins away from work, guys. The first week that I found out about it, I was over there three times, in the same week! I was definitely wallowing in choccie heaven. Being the lovely person I was, I decided to appropriate Denis' pack mule services and deliver some to my workmates in Melbourne!

So it was appropriate when Keeley (boss lady) was over in the last week of November, that I tell her exactly where the shop is located, incase she wished to top up on supplies! Keeley was over to roll out some training in London and that sort of broke my routine for a bit. I also went over to New York for a couple of days to help roll the training out to our offices there.

New York was unseasonably warm. So much so, that in the last couple of days in Nov, we were wondering around with no coats! Bizarre, but eh, pretty enjoyable. Finally checked out Central Park. It's great! The squirrels are so much more friendly, in NY, and so not shy!

Unfortunately, I only bought my camera on my last day, hence the extreme lack of photos. But it was a too short visit, so I'll make sure I'm more prepared, the next time!

Back to London, and that same Friday, I head off to Brixton to check out Primal Scream, with a couple of guys from work. I don't think I've ever really listened to them before, but it was a spur of the moment thing to expand my horizons, awright?

Brixton's a little dodgy. We went into this pub where there were people wandering around that looked like they probably slept on the streets... and I was nearly caught between two such people, having a stare-off over who got to pick up the 10pence on the floor. I grabbed my half-pint and scurried back to the safety of my seat, with the boys.

Anyway, we then moved on, to look for dinner. It was weird. Brixton's supposed to be an area with a high Afro-Carribean population, yet every eating place we saw was Thai or Japanese food?! We were getting desperate when we decided to go into this Columbian restaurant. It decor was basic, bright florescent lighting, but it was reassuring to note that the waitresses and other diners seemed to be Spanish speakers. We ordered heaps of food, tapas and mains alike, to share. The tamal and the deep fried pork fat stood out.... bit stodgy, but oh so tasty!

We then wandered over to Brixton Academy, which was the venue for the gig. Nice- sloping grounds, not all that packed... we listened to the support act, "The View", who happen to be getting decent airplay on the London radiostations.... I got told that the acoustics make the singing and words a little muffled, but listening to The View on normal radio just supported my opinion that that particular band don't enunciate very well!

Anyway, Primal Scream came on, performed a lot of songs, of which I recognised two... and then it was time to head home! I'm sure you can tell that it didn't really affect me all that much... but I'm still glad I went. I liked the venue, and I liked the meal we had before the gig. Don't think I'll be rushing out to buy Primal Scream's CD anytime soon, though!

Ps- Matt didn't come to Primal Scream. Are you kidding?! The Cricket's on!
Pps- Finally wrote about Croatia- Have a look at the index on the right.