Cape Crusader

Back in Blighty!

After a horrendous delay resulting in a 22hr flight via Doha back to London the last thing I wanted to do was sit at a desk and try to scoop my spilt brains back into my head and do some work. Sadly that's what happened, well at least for a couple of hours before I managed to contact Robbie C. What happened next could be best descibed as a liquid lunch and worst desribed as pure lunacy. 12 beers and 4 shots of Sambuca later I rolled out of a city pub. I had to stay with my folks that evening so I set about getting a train back to the airport. I made the train but fell asleep and woke up back in Liverpool St! The inspector smerked and sarcastically inquired "are you going to get off this time mate?". 12pm and a humbling phone call asking my sister to pick me up was the last straw for a day that would have broken any camels back.

Tired but patched up I went to work on the Friday as normal and met AP at Kings Cross that evening. While I was waiting for her train I decided to pop into one of my old haunts. The Ruby lounge on Caledonian rd hasn't changed too much since I was last there although the Kings Cross area is almost unrecognisable. I remember when I was a student at CMS visiting Rob's dad's studio and having to dodge the prostitutes and wino's on my way there. Now it's all coffee culture and stylish bookshops.

After what could be best described as a longer day than most AP and I finally arrived back at her house in Dalston and completely exhausted, passed out in minutes. On Saturday morning AP and I went down to Borough Market close to London Bridge to buy some supplies, champagne and drink the best coffee in London at the Monmouth Coffee House. The photo of above was taken close to the Market. AP's housemate Andrew had a family from Australia staying so that evening we had a barbie in Dalston. Chris, Shinomi and their two children Amber and Zoe were lovely people and at no point did the house seem crowded with all the extra people. The kids were the kind of kids that make you think you want to have your own; intelligent, sharp, funny and well behaved. Andrew even performed magic tricks (below) for them which was a lot of fun. Later in the evening I seem to remember drinking some rather choice bottles of South African wine and by the end of the night reading out the meanings of English phrases like 'blind drunk', 'robbed blind' and so on... a good night had by all.

On the Sunday AP and I attended 'Toast' in Regent's Park. Billed as a kind of All Aussie food and wine extravaganza with tickets costing £35 we were expecting a lot. What we got was not a lot. Now i'm not a zenophobe but I do question whether the Aussie ex-pat community actually know how to entertain! Thankfully the few Aussies I know disprove this theory completely and maybe Toast should consider drafting them onto the committee for next year! In South Africa I went to similar event near Franschhoek where all the wine tastings and a large selection of local produce were free, at Toast you needed a wod in your pocket even for an icecream! By the end I was thankful of being invited by some of AP's friends to the comparitively inexpensive option of Veuve Cliquot at All Bar One in Marlebone. In all seriousness it wasn't all that bad but I think if Toast had there thinking hats on and wanted to see the growth and diversity of the event really take off they could afford to offer a bit more value for money, focusing more on their hospitality and the promotion of Australian Food and wine. What was on offer was excellent and my hat's off to the fantastic food we sampled, but I did feel they could look to provide the same quality with a less obvious need to make profit. Oh, and it'd have been great if they'd offered a little shade from the seering 30degree heat! (Below: Toast main stage)

posted by Cape Cornetto @ 2:51 PM