great london walks

For locals and visitors: a little gem from Time Out London.

Custom walks around the city with themes ranging from Street Art to Victorian pubs. Enjoy!

the hired help

So let's talk about this commute.

Leave the house at 6:30. Catch at 6.45 bus. Arrive in London at 8.45. Land at the London Business School roughly 7 minutes later.

That's 2.5 hours from point A to point B, or just 2 hours on a good day.

The return journey makes at total 4 - 5 hours.

The week makes 20 - 25 hours.

oh crap.

This was the primary topic of conversation with friends and coworkers last week. "Commuting from Oxford?! By bus?!" is the first 'question' i'm asked. In reality, the average Londoner's commute isn't much less, but Oxford seems so rural to these city folk.

And in answer to their next question I explain how the bus IS actually faster than taking the train, and to the next I reply, it's nice to enjoy the peace of a small-ish town after the bustle of Baker St.

So the number one topic on my mind this past weekend: time-saving techniques and maximizing time with hubby... specifically, the sensibility of hiring outside help: a cleaner.

When it was first proposed it seemed a laughable concept, but a full week (and multiple conversations with those in similar situations) in, I realize this could be bliss. Admittedly, it's a big psychological hurdle to leap for a Canadian suburban kid: have someone come in to do your chores. Unthinkable! But when my homemaker-extraordinaire mother, of all people, made this suggestion i took it as permission.

Other time-saving solutions on the table:
- ordering groceries online
- a London date night every fortnight
- working on the bus and delaying my arrival by an hour or so
- M&S readymade meals :)

finding my footing

So now that I'm a londoner by weekday, my feet have become a matter of great importance.

In between busses and trains, these tootsies are an essential mode of transport - the implications of which I'm deeply considering.

In every big city there is a contingency of women - yes all women, because men have the luxury of comfort AND style - who think it's accetable to pair bobby socks and trainers with tights and skirts, if not for the whole day, then at least for the walk to the office.

My view on trainers beyond the gym needs no explanation - akin to wearing Lulus to brunch - simply not to be done. But that doesn't mean I haven't looked at alternatives.

Yesterday I donned flipflops for the 15 minute schlep through Oxford, and switched to cute heels on the bus. But the London streets are unkind, and within minutes of my arrival I had lost a heel base. harumf. Thank heavens for Oxford Street. By lunch I had a nice purple shiny new pair of flats, and my heels were in for repairs (third time round).

New shoes cause blisters. I scuttled around in flipflops the remainder of the day hoping none of these posh Londoners took offense.

Today's happy compromise is gladiator sandals.

A question to the city kids out there: Any tricks for handling an on-foot commute in style?

a photo to start

It's bed time to be sure, with my 2-hour morning commute looming ahead, but Dean's off at a LAME conference in BORING Rome for the week, so there is not much incentive to sleep just yet.

We left Aberdeen two weeks ago, which suggests I'm overdue for some thoughts on life in Oxford. Stay tuned for some this weekend. In the meantime, I'll leave you with one of Dean's photos of North Lodge, from our back garden.

from the Ed.

Since internet is still unreliable at North Lodge, I'm dropping in from Day 2 at the new job to assure everyone that the 2 hour (each way, not including the 10 minute walk through Ox) commute has not deterred me, and the job so far is a gooder.

London was sunny and warm today and I joined in on an outdoor lunch in Regents Park with the Alumni Directors of the top ten business schools in the world. I forgot that I enjoy university gossip!

The first few days have involved lots of listening and soaking - just the way any job should begin.

On an unrelated note, to my friends in the UK, I've dropped my mobile one too many times and it died last weekend taking all your numbers with it. If you think of it, could you please email your mobile numbers to me at thefrontlawn@gmail.com. I have a new phone, but my number remains the same.

invasions

In our 2(ish) years in the UK, I’ve come to pity the unfortunate residents of sunny seaside towns in Italy and Spain – every spring, flocks of pasty white Brits descend on their shores, crowd their shops, get drunk in the bars and generally blemish the fashionable landscape (while Brits are, on the whole, trendy, they don’t do beach-wear well).

A week into life in Oxford I’ve discovered how the Continent gets its revenge: come summer these parents cleverly ship their children off in droves… to Oxford. What should be a country haven, is instead a traffic jam of Evisu/ D&G-clad teens, jumping the queue in Sainsbury’s, loitering on the high street, littering in the canals, and snogging in the parks.

As a relative newcomer to Oxford, I know I have little right to complain (or to use words like snogging, for that matter), after all, I’ve only been here as long as they. But when those kids in their purple skinny jeans start trying to open my front door while I’m curled up in front of the TV at night, I think I’m entitled to feel mildly affronted!

This morning, the ruckus of a thousand suitcases rolling their way towards the train station was a far sweeter sound than the wedding bells that later chimed at Magdalen College. The invasion is nearly over.

Here at North Lodge we’re also dealing with a second invasion… ANTS! We’re learning that living in a Victorian cottage comes with more charms than we bargained for: spiders, woodbugs, and a never ending trickle of six-legged friends eager to commit suicide in a lovingly made jug of GoodHost iced-tea.

Either because of the cold, the distance from plants, or just the height of our Aberdeen tenement flat, we've never had to deal with this kind of infestation. Obviously not leaving sugary drinks out overnight is a start, but does anyone have any other suggestions for taming an army of ants?

from the house in norham gardens

Internet has been spotty this week, putting a damper on the many things I've wanted to share!

Above all other good news, summer came to the United Kingdom yesterday. After 2 days of busy-beeing around town on various errands, I rewarded myself by spreading a blanket out in the park (AKA our back yard) and plotting future weekend adventures. Dean and I spent the evening exploring two nearby neighbourhoods. We are still stumped as to where we can find groceries nearby - the closest supermarket is 10-15 minutes away and typically has a queue out the door. For all its slumminess, at least King St had convenience in its favour!

So just briefly the highlights... in the last four days we have:
+ celebrated Dean's 30th birthday with the best dessert in Oxford
+ caught up with a friend from some long-ago European adventures
+ braved the box store hell that is Milton Keynes in the name of cheap swedish homewares
+ picnicked by the canal, calling out encouragement to those punting by
+ seen Dean off to his first day of work at the University
+ pretty much fallen in love with this stunning city

all the rest has been painful details like sorting out railtravel to london (and determining whether it's actually worth selling our firstborn to pay for it) and trying to figure out creative decor solutions in a furnished house with green carpet!

Tomorrow I'll sit down and catch up on email. stay tuned

gone

I've got 13 minutes left at the College, on hold with Scottish Hydro Electric and then we're away.

The Honda Jazz/Fit is living up to its North American name - we've fit a shocking amount of possessions in that car.

Internet should be all hooked up when we arrive in Ox, so you'll be hearing from me again soon!

wish us luck on these rainy roads!

commitment

This weekend we've experienced two very important variations of commitment.

1. marriage: Our good friends David and Cheryl made their vows yesterday in front of 100 well-dressed witnesses. It was certainly one of the most beautiful weddings we've ever been - our first in the UK - and hands-down the best dinner company.


2. major purchases: Today we bought a car. Yep. We'll be making our way down to Oxford in a very adorable 2004 Honda Jazz (AKA Fit). Turns out the Regiers are not so good at branching out when it comes to car makes, but you won't hear me complaining!

big smoke

So, I guess I just won the lottery.

Well, in the sense that I'm about to be getting a lot more money than I ever thought I would, that I'm a bit shell-shocked, and that I'm not quite sure what to do with myself.

I got the job in London, and yah, it's impossible to turn down in spite of the commute and the demanding role. It's just too good. Minus the Oxford-London commute :)

When I call and accept tomorrow, I'll be the editor of an alumni publication at the second best business school in the world. I'll be working with a seasoned editor (and MBA holder) for the first six months or so, and then I'll be taking the reigns of a quarterly magazine. WOW. I know I'm capable, because I've done it before. But I'm still astonished to be offered a job like this. First and only job I applied for in London. It seemed like such a long shot.

We'll have a week to settle into Oxford before we both start our new gigs. Dean at Oxford, me at the Business School. From then on I'll be in full work mode, but on the upside I'll also be devouring books on the train each day, lunching in Regent's Park, nipping down to Selfridges after work (or Muji, or the Conran Shop)...

More excited than I thought I would be. It's one thing to live near and work in London. It's another thing to have the income to enjoy it. We are really blessed.

waterfalls

As Olafer Eiasson's waterfall installations around New York garner plenty of attention, I quite enjoyed this little NYTimes slide show about the city's 'indigenous' waterfalls.

concluding remarks

Yesterday my hubby officially submitted his PhD thesis. He is very smart. I know this because I read the entire paper which he spent the last three years writing (with the exception of the 17 appendices, which essentially double the length of the thesis) and it was not only well written, but contained math that I will never grasp.

Tonight we plan to celebrate big style... or as big as it gets with us Regiers: with pints and single malts at Under the Hammer. You are invited (9ish).

So while these are not actually concluding remarks as far as thefrontlawn is concerned, they do indicate the end of a significant period: Dean’s student career and our life in Aberdeen (only nine days remain).

I’m already sitting in a dreamy pool of reminiscence as I consider our time in Scotland. Admittedly my relationship with these highlands has been love-hate, but I have a knack for weeding out the bads (though, the Baltic wind and rain may stay with me for some time yet).

anyway, some updates:

+ my twin sis arrives on Thursday for visit #3. She’s already seen most of these parts so I’m going to recruit her to do my packing and cleaning while her beau is at work during the day ;)

+ I got a call from the business school of bad-interview fame. Shockingly I am still in the running. Even more shocking is the astronomical salary this job pays... which would make it impossible to turn down an offer. Part of me (the part that wants a life in Oxford) kinda hopes they make it easy for me and tell me to take a hike. I'll know in about a week.

+ We got possession of North Lodge today. If we were actually in Oxford already, I’d be on a train to celebrate Canada Day in Trafalgar Square. Very much looking forward to our new proximity to Londontown.

+ This Friday we go to our first British wedding (actually two Northern Irish kids but it’s in a Scottish stately home). Question: should I wear a hat?