For our final project in Photoshop class, we had to create a 3D animation. It could be anything we liked, whether for personal or professional use. Adding sound (in a separate program — in my case, iMovie) was optional. In fact, the only criterion was that it be a minimum of 10 seconds long. I [...]
What’s in an accent? Years ago when I was on the London Underground, there was an Irish drunk sitting opposite me. He was a merry drunk, but I didn’t want to engage him in conversation because he kept asking people around him some rather personal questions, and in those days I wasn’t very good at [...]
One thing I miss about living in London is the conversations I have with black cab drivers. I always ask them if they’ve ever had any famous people in their cab, and I’ve yet to hear “no” for an answer. It’s a good way to break the ice on a brief journey. London cabbies are [...]
I distinctly remember the moment when I decided to give up sugar in my tea. I was standing by the TV in my great-grandmother’s front room… aged five. This should give you some idea of how long I’ve been drinking tea for. Today I am grateful that I am married to a man who knows [...]
I think one of the joys of travel is having the experience of being a foreigner and trying to make ourselves understood. As a native English speaker, I’m fairly successful because my mother tongue is the most widely-spoken in the world – which means I can go almost anywhere and someone, somewhere will probably understand [...]
I can’t think of a single manufactured thing that is physically bigger in Europe that it is in America, except for magnums of wine. I just returned from a week in Spain and lugged two back with me. The only magnums I’ve seen Stateside are cheap, nasty bottles of plonk, retailing at less than 5 [...]
My friends and neighbours in London introduced me to the rather wonderful slice of the East End. Columbia Road Flower Market sprouts every Sunday and its stalls sell a whole bunch of plants, trees, fruity things and flowers in pots down the actual Columbia Road, itself a small street lined with pretty shops selling books, [...]
