London Appologies

Yes, yes - I actually made a decision NOT to take my camera on this trip. My thinking was this...

I was going to be in a suit and tie most of the time (all of the time, as it turned out) and my only current digital is a bit too large to fit into a pocket. So I didn't wanna walk around with an albatross through the streets and tubes of London. Next time I'll arm myself with something smaller.

The one complete day that I had to myself, Thursday, I packed in with lotsa stuff. I got up way too early and set out for the day. Hopefully I can remember it completely.

I got up showered, shaved, and suited up for my 11:00 AM appointment with SkyMedia to sell them PokerBeat and rang them up (that's what they do there in the UK) and found out that I had been cancelled.

They wanted to re-schedule for May because they were all going to be working on some tournamnet. Bastards.

Worry not, tho. I hopped the tube at Marble Arch station and headed out. I decided that as long as I was in London, I should really go check out the Duchamp store in Notting Hill. They make the coolest ties on the earth. A few tube stops and a mile or two of walking and there I was. I bought me one. One - I could have emptied out the place (and my savings) but I treated myself to one.

From there it was over to Harrod's to check out the food court. This wasn't Chik-Fil-A and Sbarro and Taco Time, no. Incredible. Everything in the world and lots of people to divvy it up for you.

From Harrod's to Harvey Nichols - Liz's Uncle Paul suggested I lunch there on the 5th floor. I did and it was excellent. Amazing service and some tasty risotto with a $5.00 bottle of Harvey's still water (I don't like the fizzy).

From there I went to Temple Church to get my tickets for The Tallis Scholars that night. Temple Church was built by the Knights Templar (the fabled keepers of the Arc of the Covenant) in 1166. It was amazing.

From there back to the Cumberland Hotel to drop off my purchases and relax a bit, then back to Temple Church for the show. It was a true delight. After the concert I bought another copy of Peter Phillips book and had it signed for Uncle Paul (He's a choir director, too) and then off to Old Delhi for dinner.

Old Delhi made me some delicious Persian food and I was lucky enough to have the company of the owner, Sam, throughout the meal. He was fascinated by the fact that I could pronounce Koobideh (is there more than one way to pronounce that?) and that I was in the gaming industry. He was fun, it was fun, food was great.

Posted by Michael at April 11, 2005 05:51 PM