Me? Cultured?

It was seemingly a good week for rocking music and West End theatre, what with the onset of May drizzle; the grey overcast skies have sucked the population indoors. Tuesday night was an incredible concert by that New York indie band Interpol, dressed in 1930's lounge suits, playing at the old school Koko in Camden Town. My ears were still ringing the next day as I listened to them on my ipod on the 6.15 bus to work....

... and three days passed before Dad's good friend Linda and her son, over from America, took me out in the West End, to see The Drowsy Chaperone at Novello. It was an hysterical satire of the concept of theatre - perfect for a theatre debutant such as myself. As Linda and David were keen for some curry (and alcohol!), we skipped over to Brick Lane and probably had the best meal I've had there.

And this morning I slept in so much - my first Saturday after a full week of 6.30am starts was a very lazy one!

Interpol at Koko

Building a Monopoly in London

This is what Fleet Street looks like at 6:30am.
But this was no tourist-driven frenzy to take early morning snaps of London; rather on the way to work at Goldman Sachs. As it turns out, I picked up a Chance card and was sent in the direction of Trafalgar Square. I have 'sold' Liverpool Street Station - location of Deutsche Bank - and have moved into Equities Research in a similar vain as the old times at Comsec.

Work starts early though. A seat on the top level of that big red bus in the picture is now my bed between 6:11 and 6:30. I can choose any seat, being almost the sole passenger; but I normally head to a regular position up the front. You get a good view when you're not sleeping.

The old heart of London is a regal place. Just down the road is St Paul's; the steps are good for enjoying lunch in the sun. Despite its proximity to 120 Fleet, two things tend to stop me getting there... Firstly, the sun that spoilt London in April has gone home again for May; secondly, I normally have lunch at the desk. Yes, that's right - I'm in the finance industry and that's just the way it works. And besides, our building has all the amenities we need. For just the GDP of a small island nation, you can get a bite to eat in the cafeteria/restaurant downstairs. You want dry cleaning? That's there too. Heck, why should I even go home?

For home cooking of course? Continuing the culinary spectacle that defines 51B Eburne Road, Mark "Pickles" Picone presents a Tandoori chicken and I rustle up a Bolognese. See, we're looking after ourselves!