I just came across a whole stack of emails I sent during my first few years in London. I have decided to climb in my time machine and share a little vintage 'Diary of an art student' with you circa September 2003 (I was 20 and a half years old):
"I think the inevitable has happened, summer seems to be over and once again England is a great place to be - if you are a duck. After 6 weeks of glorious, totally uncharacteristic sunshine, the heavens opened up a few days ago and have pissed on humanity non-stop ever since. *sigh* At least for the two weeks that my mom was over here the weather was good, no actually it was awesome, 30 degree heatwave kinda stuff. I can deal with grey skies, 6 months of puddles and raincoats if its the price pomms pay for 6 weeks of mediterranean scorch, then its not too bad a trade - besides I got a tan, damn I even managed to get burnt once or twice (woo-hoo!)
Okay enough about weather... onto far more exciting stuff....brace yourself because an account of my mom's 2 weeks in London could take a while. From day one it was "Mission: get mother to chill out". First stop, Cosmopolitans (a lurvely blend of cranberry, vodka, cointreau and lime over crushed ice) ... A Cosmopolitan a day (or 2, okay, sometimes 3) became an integral part of the tourist experience.
Food also became kinda important, but not just any old grub... proper 'be a lazy student' food. The picnic of Domino's pizza, cheap Itallian red wine and Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream on my mom's bedroom floor was particularly fantastic. Not quite as fantastic as our day out at Thorpe Park (BIG amusement park, lots of scary s*#! yourself rollercoasters), though. I was really quite proud of my mother, she braved the "Vortex" and even though after the experience she opted for the thrills of the Ferris wheel and the Carousel, I felt more at ease knowing that she at least gave her adrenalin levels one severe jolt whilst in London. After being out of SA, and without the thrills of every day life for a number of days I thought it necessary to make sure that her adrenalin producing glands still had a six-pack on 'em.
While she was here she got to see where I work, check out my university and meet all the delightful individuals who make sure that my social calendar looks like a 20 year old student's should... ( apparently more than 6 hours of sleep a night is being just plain wasteful). I have come to the conclusion, however, that my mother could give most 20 year olds a run for their money (or their overdrafts at least). In 14 days we covered a lot of ground -quite literally as I had a tendency to get us lost. The thing was that I would only admit it when we were smack dab right in the middle of a great big park with the first name of Hyde. On that particular day we took the scenic route and 2 hours later found ourselves in what she called civilisation : Knightsbridge (you can take the girl outta Sandton...) After our hike only a Cosmo and a little nibble in Sloane sq. could revive our tired (if well-shoed) feet.
One of the real highlights of the fortnight was watching my mom's face light up like a 3 year old when the Christmas lights are turned on at Ben Elton's "We will rock you". I found out that she had never seen a West End show before only seconds before the curtain went up. It was a real treat for her and her enjoyment only added to mine. It was a fantastic show, a modern musical based around Queen songs. I love Ben elton's sense of humour and his commentary on pop culture so I loved it from start to finish. My mom was humming Queen tracks for a few days after we left the Dominion theatre...
Its always good to get a spot of culture...we got a few more droplets at an exhibition of work based on Marilyn Monroe at teh County hall and @ the Tate Modern...some might say entrance was free because modern art isn't worth paying for - fair enough, some of it is pretty dire but the majority of work at the Tate is quite special. Being an art fart is like a disease, a brain tumour, it sneaks up on you, 3 years ago I would have laughed at stuff that these days I draw inspiration from.
London is all well and good, but after exploring Covent Garden, Leicester sq. , Picadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Greenwich (got there by boat along the Thames, which gave me a fresh view of London) Camden Town, Guildford, South Bank, Knightsbridge, Bond street and everywhere in between it was time for a little sea air. We hopped on a train and headed to Brighton for the day. Its the one place in the UK that feels a little like the SA coast... only an eskimo wouldn't put a toe in the water and pink is the new tan. A Henna tattoo stand took our fancy and once we'd each purchased a little memento we sat on the pier and drank a pitcher of Pimms while our purchases dried off and left pretty pictures on our skins. The seagulls, a crazy Australian street performer and yummy mussels in white wine sauce were all integral parts of a train fare very well spent. V.good day.
Oh, before I forget....I finally got to go to London Zoo! I got to see Lions and tiger and bears! ha ha ! Lions and tigers and bears! (well, the tigers were missing in action, but I got to see everything else) The penguins are still my favourites, but coming in a very close second are the otters... third place at the zoo goes to cinnamon and sugar coated donuts... I do have to say that my least favourite animal at the zoo is the 2 inch tall screaming banshee a.k.a the human toddler, but hey, I might get broody one day...my mother does want grandchildren before her 100th birthday.
*sigh* unfortunately all good things come to an end eventually and I was sad to see my mom leave. I am happy that she had fun and relaxed and let her hair down (she can actually do that now, she's growing it and it looks oh so sweet in pigtails!). I go to sleep at night proud because she has taken back to SA a fondness for Cosmopolitans and if she insists on doing the apple a day thing I suggest she slice one up and mix it in with some cranberry, vodka and all the luscious components of a good Cosmopolitan.
After my mom departed it was back to the grind stone. My waitressing uniform had to be dredged from the depths of my cupboard and put back to not necessarily good, but financially rewarding use. England is back from their exotic European summer holidays and the restaurant trade is booming. A booming restaurant trade means thirsty patrons and thirsty patrons mean lotsa work for barmaids - oops! how un PC of me - bar PERSONS. I am really counting down the days until uni starts. Working over the summer was towards a very good cause. I am going to be a full time, totally devoted student during term time and only work during my holidays. Woo-Hoo! Bring on club nights at the Student Union! Only a few more weeks until I enter 3rd year at the Slade...
Anyways, I must now bid you farewell. Its back to my glamourous London lifestyle – its Wednesday and the garbage needs to be taken out for collection."
Dedicated to my amazing mother, who had a stroke at the age of 38 just a few weeks after I wrote the email above. It took a while, but she bounced back, astounded doctors and fully recovered. She is a constant source of inspiration and a daily blessing.
"I think the inevitable has happened, summer seems to be over and once again England is a great place to be - if you are a duck. After 6 weeks of glorious, totally uncharacteristic sunshine, the heavens opened up a few days ago and have pissed on humanity non-stop ever since. *sigh* At least for the two weeks that my mom was over here the weather was good, no actually it was awesome, 30 degree heatwave kinda stuff. I can deal with grey skies, 6 months of puddles and raincoats if its the price pomms pay for 6 weeks of mediterranean scorch, then its not too bad a trade - besides I got a tan, damn I even managed to get burnt once or twice (woo-hoo!)
Okay enough about weather... onto far more exciting stuff....brace yourself because an account of my mom's 2 weeks in London could take a while. From day one it was "Mission: get mother to chill out". First stop, Cosmopolitans (a lurvely blend of cranberry, vodka, cointreau and lime over crushed ice) ... A Cosmopolitan a day (or 2, okay, sometimes 3) became an integral part of the tourist experience.
Food also became kinda important, but not just any old grub... proper 'be a lazy student' food. The picnic of Domino's pizza, cheap Itallian red wine and Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream on my mom's bedroom floor was particularly fantastic. Not quite as fantastic as our day out at Thorpe Park (BIG amusement park, lots of scary s*#! yourself rollercoasters), though. I was really quite proud of my mother, she braved the "Vortex" and even though after the experience she opted for the thrills of the Ferris wheel and the Carousel, I felt more at ease knowing that she at least gave her adrenalin levels one severe jolt whilst in London. After being out of SA, and without the thrills of every day life for a number of days I thought it necessary to make sure that her adrenalin producing glands still had a six-pack on 'em.
While she was here she got to see where I work, check out my university and meet all the delightful individuals who make sure that my social calendar looks like a 20 year old student's should... ( apparently more than 6 hours of sleep a night is being just plain wasteful). I have come to the conclusion, however, that my mother could give most 20 year olds a run for their money (or their overdrafts at least). In 14 days we covered a lot of ground -quite literally as I had a tendency to get us lost. The thing was that I would only admit it when we were smack dab right in the middle of a great big park with the first name of Hyde. On that particular day we took the scenic route and 2 hours later found ourselves in what she called civilisation : Knightsbridge (you can take the girl outta Sandton...) After our hike only a Cosmo and a little nibble in Sloane sq. could revive our tired (if well-shoed) feet.
One of the real highlights of the fortnight was watching my mom's face light up like a 3 year old when the Christmas lights are turned on at Ben Elton's "We will rock you". I found out that she had never seen a West End show before only seconds before the curtain went up. It was a real treat for her and her enjoyment only added to mine. It was a fantastic show, a modern musical based around Queen songs. I love Ben elton's sense of humour and his commentary on pop culture so I loved it from start to finish. My mom was humming Queen tracks for a few days after we left the Dominion theatre...
Its always good to get a spot of culture...we got a few more droplets at an exhibition of work based on Marilyn Monroe at teh County hall and @ the Tate Modern...some might say entrance was free because modern art isn't worth paying for - fair enough, some of it is pretty dire but the majority of work at the Tate is quite special. Being an art fart is like a disease, a brain tumour, it sneaks up on you, 3 years ago I would have laughed at stuff that these days I draw inspiration from.
London is all well and good, but after exploring Covent Garden, Leicester sq. , Picadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Greenwich (got there by boat along the Thames, which gave me a fresh view of London) Camden Town, Guildford, South Bank, Knightsbridge, Bond street and everywhere in between it was time for a little sea air. We hopped on a train and headed to Brighton for the day. Its the one place in the UK that feels a little like the SA coast... only an eskimo wouldn't put a toe in the water and pink is the new tan. A Henna tattoo stand took our fancy and once we'd each purchased a little memento we sat on the pier and drank a pitcher of Pimms while our purchases dried off and left pretty pictures on our skins. The seagulls, a crazy Australian street performer and yummy mussels in white wine sauce were all integral parts of a train fare very well spent. V.good day.
Oh, before I forget....I finally got to go to London Zoo! I got to see Lions and tiger and bears! ha ha ! Lions and tigers and bears! (well, the tigers were missing in action, but I got to see everything else) The penguins are still my favourites, but coming in a very close second are the otters... third place at the zoo goes to cinnamon and sugar coated donuts... I do have to say that my least favourite animal at the zoo is the 2 inch tall screaming banshee a.k.a the human toddler, but hey, I might get broody one day...my mother does want grandchildren before her 100th birthday.
*sigh* unfortunately all good things come to an end eventually and I was sad to see my mom leave. I am happy that she had fun and relaxed and let her hair down (she can actually do that now, she's growing it and it looks oh so sweet in pigtails!). I go to sleep at night proud because she has taken back to SA a fondness for Cosmopolitans and if she insists on doing the apple a day thing I suggest she slice one up and mix it in with some cranberry, vodka and all the luscious components of a good Cosmopolitan.
After my mom departed it was back to the grind stone. My waitressing uniform had to be dredged from the depths of my cupboard and put back to not necessarily good, but financially rewarding use. England is back from their exotic European summer holidays and the restaurant trade is booming. A booming restaurant trade means thirsty patrons and thirsty patrons mean lotsa work for barmaids - oops! how un PC of me - bar PERSONS. I am really counting down the days until uni starts. Working over the summer was towards a very good cause. I am going to be a full time, totally devoted student during term time and only work during my holidays. Woo-Hoo! Bring on club nights at the Student Union! Only a few more weeks until I enter 3rd year at the Slade...
Anyways, I must now bid you farewell. Its back to my glamourous London lifestyle – its Wednesday and the garbage needs to be taken out for collection."
Dedicated to my amazing mother, who had a stroke at the age of 38 just a few weeks after I wrote the email above. It took a while, but she bounced back, astounded doctors and fully recovered. She is a constant source of inspiration and a daily blessing.
Comments