Jack Johnson at the O2

Patrick Entertainment, Music, UK Life

Yes, the picture below is supposed to be Jack Johnson and his band. I tried taking my new lens to get a really good view of the stage but apparently the lens was too big and I wasn’t allowed to bring it inside. Sarah and I had a laugh at trying to take pictures right at the other side of the stadium, with this big blur the end result.

Jack Johnson hasn’t toured for a while, and that was quite evident with the number of false starts and laid back laughs interrupting, his otherwise really fun set. Of course, this laid back attitude is what you’d expect from someone who puts out tunes best suited for lazy afternoons and the sun setting by the beach. I was thinking how cool it would have been if the O2 could actually open their roof up. Given that the weather has been wonderful, this would have been almost the perfect way you could enjoy some of Jack’s riffs.

I guess the main reason he’s touring is to promote his new album, To The Sea, though playing a mix of lots of his old stuff as well. A great way to spend a Wednesday evening in London.

Life in the UK

Patrick UK Life

I’m going to be applying for a different visa to stay in the UK since my five year visa is coming to an end. As part of the new visa, I’ve had to take the Life in the UK exam that meant acquiring a copy of the book and then reserving an examination.

Finding an examination centre is easy on their website, and although I found one nearby that did Saturday exams, the next available one was during a Monday morning period. Despite what you hear about the exam, the revised second edition seemed to be really pragmatic, and many tips that really would have been useful for anyone when they first arrive in the UK. They do a really decent job summarising the long history behind the UK and despite needing to sometimes memorise some strange percentages and facts, most of it makes a lot of sense.

When some people arrive in a new country, it is really safe for them to simply stay around the people and the culture that they’re aware of. Depending on how open that community is to other things, simple everyday tasks might seem strange. The book covers many practical aspects to living in the UK, such as how the government works around (and the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland), essentials that are easy to take for granted such as how rental agreements and the process for buying houses works all the way to the school system, work system and what things are covered by the NHS.

Sitting an exam was really interesting as well, since I hadn’t studied for one since leaving University. You end up with forty-five minutes on a multiple choice computer exam to answer twenty-four questions. I finished my exam in five minutes, after which I was allowed to see the steward to get my pass/fail result and although that seems quick, at least five people finished ahead of me, with one person finished in what seemed like two minutes. I made sure I even double checked them.

They don’t really tell you if you get stuff wrong, which would have been nice, but I’m glad I passed.

Pearl Jam at Hard Rock Calling

Patrick Entertainment, Music, UK Life

Summertime in London means festival atmosphere and this year, Gerrod got us some tickets to see Pearl Jam at this year’s Hard Rock Calling. Hard Rock Calling fell on the week where we fortunately had plenty of sunshine and, amazingly, no rain. As a result, Hyde Park ended up a bit like a dust bowl with the number of people, evidenced by the black feet by those brave enough to go barefoot or in thongs (i.e. flip flops) and by the stunning sunset that served to only highlight the low hanging haze.

Although it ran most of the day, I didn’t get a day off work for it, so we turned up to see Ben Harper and the headliners, Pearl Jam. They played for a very long time starting early due to the constraints of playing in Hyde Park, finishing up around 10pm. We managed to get fairly close to the stage – probably about a third of the way from the front where we pick up some decent sounds. Even from this distance, we relied on the big screens to work out what was going on. Given that it was summery and Pearl Jam did put on some decent tunes, it was hard not to enjoy yourself.

Here’s Stac, Gerrod and Wes all enjoying the tunes. What a fantastic evening and time. It was great seeing Stac and Wes as well since I hadn’t seen them for ages and, it being hard to see them when they live all the way up in Aberdeen.

Wimbledon at Last

Patrick Entertainment, London To Do, Sport, UK Life

It’s only taken almost five years to finally turn up to Britain’s well known tennis championship, Wimbledon. I applied for the annual lottery – something all residents in the UK can do to buy tickets without lining up, and although I didn’t get any tickets, my sister managed to get some. So off, we went to Wimbledon on a bright sunny, perfectly summery day.

The court grounds were heaving, although perfectly civil. I’m glad we didn’t really have to queue very long to get in, and with allocated tickets for Court 2, didn’t have to line up for a seat for any of the outdoor courts as well.

On our court, the biggest player match was probably Sharipova who literally towered over her opponent and easily won out her match. It was amazing to see the speed of her serves live. Most men seemed to hit at last 120mph-130mph, which Sharipova came close to, averaging 110mph. Compared to many of the other women players who did less than 100mph, she was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Here’s a picture of her victory over her opponent:

The other big news of the day was the visiting of the Queen. Unfortunately we didn’t get to share Court 1 with her, but managed to see her walking around the grounds (accompanied and blocked off my plenty of security guards). I’m glad that I brought my new zoom as I was nowhere near her for the photo below:

Even if you don’t get a ticket to any of the court games, it’s definitely worth going and indulging in the whole atmosphere. It’s fun and with so many people enjoying themselves, you’ll find it hard not to do so yourself.

Henry Moore at the Tate Britain

Patrick Entertainment, UK Life

We’re really spoilt here in London when it comes to museums and art galleries. Not only do we have some of the finest and interesting collections, but many of them are free to the public for viewing as well. One of the museums I haven’t been to until quite recently was the Tate Britain, although I’ve run past it many times during my jogging route around the Thames. Located much further away from many of the other museums, it felt like this one was visited by those who really wanted to go.

One of their current exhibitions is the Henry Moore exhibit, an English sculptor and artist. Although this was one of their paid for exhibits, we managed to score some free tickets. The exhibit takes you through all of Moore’s work, including many of his drawings and massive sculptures.

I liked a lot of his work, although I did find the repeated theme of disfigured, or stretched body shapes, particularly focused around the mother and son theme slightly disturbing given the number of times it appeared.

I think I’d need to be a fan to have paid for the tickets, but it’s a great display and well laid out exhibit.

Racing around Smithfields

Patrick UK Life

This weekend seemed to be one filled with sport, with not only most of London halted by the various World Cup matches displayed in pubs around the city, but a charity fun run and the Smithfield Nocturne that I could hear from inside my Clerkenwell flat this weekend. Despite the threatening clouds and ominous light splatters, I couldn’t help and see what all the commotion was.

The nocturne is actually in its fourth year (apparently!), hosting a cycling race around the perimeter of the market place. It’s big but it’s not really that big. However it’s all in the name of fun and this year joined hands with London Festival of Architecture to liven up the crowd. Given that this area is pretty dead during the weekend day, they managed to draw a sizeable 10, 000 people throughout the day.

Going for a large number of hours and various relay races, the first and probably most entertaining heats was the foldable bike category. Although some seemed to take it pretty seriously, many people took the humourous and dressed the part of the city cyclist in a proper suit, or at least some element of one.

Of course, they had a number of other heats including more serious heats of racers such as those pictured below.

Dotted around the central market, many stalls set up shop advertising cycling related gear, or accessories, including some very cool gear. HTC, the big sponsor even had a big stall handing out cardboard-bound mirrored periscopes to spot the action above the crowd. Makes me want to get a bike again!

Jellymongers at The Experimental Food Society

Patrick Food, UK Life

Last Thursday, on a very nice day ending with glorious sunshine, I found myself surrounded by other foodies at the Intercontinental’s Cookbook Cafe, for the inaugural event of The Experimental Food Society. I can’t even remember how I found out about it, but I bought a ticket as soon as I saw my calendar free. The first event, invited the famous and enthusiastic Jellymongers, Bompss and Parr (a very British duo in name and person) talk about their passion for food.

The duo told rapturous stories about how they first dove into Jelly, with several ventures into dining and atmosphere experiences that make me think they would host some of the best parties. I missed their Alcoholic Adventures; I look forward to their Complete History of Food event. It won’t be the first time these groups collaborated.

For its first event, the Experimental Food Society did well and I’m pretty sure all the participants enjoyed themselves with a £5 ticket giving us the entertaining dialogue and show, a glass of wine or champagne (that flowed freely after the formalities, not that it stopped a few people before the actual event) and scrumptious finger food provided by the Intercontinental. Their only improvements include ensuring everyone could see the projector screen, or to ensure everyone had a place to sit as I noticed several people hovering in the aisles. Not bad for a first.

Of course, Bompas and Parr did a few demos involving jelly and, being well prepared, we all got a small plate to wobble at our leisure, mine a deliciously light Absinthe and Lime.

Overall a fine place to spend an evening and I look forward to the next event.

Returning to Marlow

Patrick Restaurants, Travel, UK Life

I’d organised to meet some friends out for dinner at the Compleat Angler (pictured below) at at Marlow, one of the locations I worked at early last year. Although terribly inconvenient for commuting on daily basis, I could definitely see some of the beauty about coming out on a weekend and this was the first time I truly got to enjoy it. I think it helped that I visited last weekend when stunning summer hit all of the UK.

Funnily enough little towns like this don’t change too much. The town still had it’s little high street filled with a mish-mash of high street chains and the more boutique shops one would expect from a town like Marlow. I’m glad to see the local bakery/cake shop that proved particularly popular with the retired folk still operating. Although I arrived their quite late, it was nice to see the park was still ever busy and full of life.

One strange thing we did notice were the swarms of insects flying around the sky. They seemed to be particularly attracted to dark (or maybe it was the warmth of) objects since we saw a black car’s hood literally covered in them. We managed to catch one early on and although we didn’t really know what it was at the time, I guessed it to be a Mayfly (mainly because they sounded British, I didn’t know what one was but they just seemed like it).

Looking at the wikipedia entry and pictures, I think my guess was a good one.

We had a fantastic dinner at Bowaters restaurant in the Compleat Angler, and ended up with this spectacular view (above) on the way home!