On Saturday we returned to London after a fairly nice stint in Bath. Our room in the flat would was not becoming available until Monday but we had been invited round on Sunday night for a farewell dinner. On Saturday night we stayed at a hostel called the Globetrotters Inn. It was fairly nice and had the feel of a school camp with alcohol and no teachers. For 21 each we got a twin room with ensuite and breakfast. Pretty good for London but the antics of some of the guests (drunken sprints down the corridors at 3am) meant our sleep was not too sound.
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| Our new flat (corner house, first floor) |
In the morning we received a phone call from Emma, the girl whose room we are letting. That night her and her friend had lit the fire in the lounge and by some freak of nature during the night when everyone had gone to bed a spark had caught the unused firewood next to the fire alight. Fortunately the firewood was stored in a metal bucket so the fire was contained but unfortunately the intense unventilated smoke had filled most of the house. Worst of all for us we were sleeping in the lounge on Sunday night and it now reeked of intense smoke. It could have been worse however, if it was not for the fire alarm and the metal bucket the fire could have spread, burning the house down and potentially taking with it the occupants.
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| Our very small (but highly affordable) room |
When we arrived Emma was simultaneously washing everything in the lounge whilst packing for India and planning her going away party. The lounge stunk really badly but there was not too much we could do apart from buy air freshener. After a brief orientation walk around our new London suburb Emma escorted us out to the pub where her going away party was planned. It turned out this pub was miles away and so difficult to find in the cold and snow that even seasoned Londoners got lost. The evening was very good but Emma and I were both a little shocked at how much Londoners drink. On a Sunday afternoon these people were easily packing away half a dozen pints without blinking. Quite scary really, I think most of these people would put seasoned New Zealand drinkers to shame.
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| The smokey smelling lounge |
The flat itself is very nice. It is fairly small by New Zealand standards but the flatmates are very nice and it has everything we need (even hair straighteners for Emma). It occupies the first and second floors of a corner site and has excellent sun and internal heating (thankfully). Everything from supermarkets to railway stations are within easy walking distance which is very good because it is not much fun walking around outside at the moment given the temperature.
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| The dining room |