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Eye, South Ken and going back to work
Jun. 19th, 2005 11:08 pmWe went on the London Eye (cultural note: effing big wheel with pods in central London). It was big and huge and high I had to sit down with shaky knees only once. The sky was blue and we could see all the way up the Thames, which was Brown. Regents park was an unexpected green hill behind Centre Point and from very high up, pigeons and people clustered on the grass below look surprisingly similar.
Afterwards we nipped to South Kensington to see the architecture gallery in the V&A. In South Ken tube station, we stopped to take a picture of something that M has always liked: a metal divot that had obviously been seen as a tripping danger once, because someone had carefully covered it in a strips of black and yellow stripy tape overlaid to form a star shape. This had then been painted over many times, but the divot and the tape gleamed through where people have walked on it.
There we were, M on his knees with the camera and me staring fixedly, when a small man with a beard and uniform approached. It was Ken, the South Kensington station manager, but he wasn't angry, he was interested. With a shy smile he told us the history of the silver divot and its tape. Sixteen years ago, someone had deemed it a tripping hazard (yes!) and so he'd covered it in many layers of tape and when they painted the floor, the paint always wore off. We were overjoyed to get this back story to the divot. A German chap stopped next to us as we were chatting and laughing. 'Is this art? Everything is art these days,' he said, staring at M in an accusing way. 'Oh no, it's not art. It's a health and safety issue.'
We thanked Ken and left.
Today was hot, yesterday was hot. I did some serious testing of the new sunlounger and the new aubergine coloured bikini, so I've gone brown. I've helped it with an application of 'Sublime' fake tan so I glow like a glowy thing. Just the right side of 'satsuma'. Tomorrow I'm off to Cambridge for a conference-- it should be easy and stress free and is in Madingley Hall which looks amazingly pretty and old, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm not looking forward to going back to work proper though. There are so many things swirling in my head right now about this job that it just makes me glum to even think of being there and of trying to wade through my swamp of self doubt and angst. Gah.
Also, the dreaded Woman's Time! I have some new sanitary towels that go by the exciting name of 'Nightwings'. Next month I'm going to try one of those Mooncups.
Afterwards we nipped to South Kensington to see the architecture gallery in the V&A. In South Ken tube station, we stopped to take a picture of something that M has always liked: a metal divot that had obviously been seen as a tripping danger once, because someone had carefully covered it in a strips of black and yellow stripy tape overlaid to form a star shape. This had then been painted over many times, but the divot and the tape gleamed through where people have walked on it.
There we were, M on his knees with the camera and me staring fixedly, when a small man with a beard and uniform approached. It was Ken, the South Kensington station manager, but he wasn't angry, he was interested. With a shy smile he told us the history of the silver divot and its tape. Sixteen years ago, someone had deemed it a tripping hazard (yes!) and so he'd covered it in many layers of tape and when they painted the floor, the paint always wore off. We were overjoyed to get this back story to the divot. A German chap stopped next to us as we were chatting and laughing. 'Is this art? Everything is art these days,' he said, staring at M in an accusing way. 'Oh no, it's not art. It's a health and safety issue.'
We thanked Ken and left.
Today was hot, yesterday was hot. I did some serious testing of the new sunlounger and the new aubergine coloured bikini, so I've gone brown. I've helped it with an application of 'Sublime' fake tan so I glow like a glowy thing. Just the right side of 'satsuma'. Tomorrow I'm off to Cambridge for a conference-- it should be easy and stress free and is in Madingley Hall which looks amazingly pretty and old, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm not looking forward to going back to work proper though. There are so many things swirling in my head right now about this job that it just makes me glum to even think of being there and of trying to wade through my swamp of self doubt and angst. Gah.
Also, the dreaded Woman's Time! I have some new sanitary towels that go by the exciting name of 'Nightwings'. Next month I'm going to try one of those Mooncups.