Gordon Ramsay Book Signing

Smee is a HUGE Gordon Ramsay fan. He watches all the TV shows and has read his autobiography. He would quit his job if Gordon offered him a position at one of his restaurants. So when we saw the small sign in the shop window that Gordon would be appearing for a book signing, we absolutely had to be there.

Unfortunately, the whole thing was organised rather shoddily and the tiny sign attracted more people than I expected and even though the signing did not start until 5.30pm, by 5.15pm a pushy entourage informed fans that no more autographs were going to be given out and that the queue was closed.

WHAT!?!?!?!

Smee, Leesh and I lined up anyway in the faint hope that Gordon would see our puppy dog eyes. Lucky that we did because as we inched closer and closer, we got more and more excited. It was going to be victory over the pushy entourage!!!

Smee feeling the excitement.


He didn't get to ask Gordon for a job. Maybe next time.

Leesh getting her book signed.

I'm so glad our persistence paid off and that Gordon is nice to his fans.

A house party, a hairy duck and a familiar face.

The party house has been found!!! Old Kent Road has earned itself such an unofficial title. I didn't pull out my camera hence for some reason, the only photo I have is one of the punch and the fairy bread! There were heaps of other photos including Baoey's *let's make an ugly face* competition and a beautiful one of me cradling my ginormous baby, Lil Miss J. Aaaaah such moronic activities.

The next day we had a second celebration for Lil Miss J's bday at The Garrison, a quaint pub with wallpaper, lamps and rustic decor. Food was noice except for my duck which was a bit on the hairy side.

This was certainly compensated by the sticky pudding with ice cream. Mmmmmmm mmm mmmmmmm.

Afterwards, I had to run off to meet Mischka, who was dropping by London for the weekend after being confined to the Isle of Man. A cinnamon dolce latte was my drink of choice and it was nice to have someone who can mutually bitch about how cruddy the optical industry is here. She unfortunately was suffering from extreme emotional scarring after spending the night at Ministry of Sound and we had to part ways for her catch up on some rest.

Btw, Mischka, I forgot to tell you - you are sooooooooooo skinny!!! We need our Papa Ginos nights back!

Lil Miss J's Birthday Drinks

The beautiful Jessica celebrated her birthday last night with drinks at Sosho. I didn't vomit from drinking, hence I will classify it a good night.

The missing Asian member of Charlie's Angels.

Baoey showing us who has the smallest bum of all.

Us girls.

Baoey thinks she's fat. Whatever.

The Grand Empress' red shoes. *roar*

Mingling in the crowd.

Smee getting wasted.

Lil Miss J and Baoey in the midst of their not-so-secret handshake.

A group shot with not everyone in it.

Oh yes and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lil Miss J *muah!*

Day 8: Abbey Road, Jack the Ripper and Brick Lane

Being the Beatles fan that he is, Spuey had to see the Abbey Road studios and do the famous walk on the crossing. It is a rather hazardous activity which is not well depicted in this photo of an almost empty street. Annoying the locals comes with ease as numerous tourists waddle back and forth on the famous zebra crossing just to get that 'perfect' shot. We managed to get the shot in about three takes. Far less than another dude who I swear, walked across about 20-30 times, pausing each time in the middle of the street. Some drivers are nice and pause, while others (understandably) drive right through.

I do congratulate myself on getting a pretty good shot.

Yep, gotta get a picture with the road sign.

Afterwards we joined a Jack the Ripper tour and I must say, I have never had such an unenthusiastic tourguide in my life. A lot of people arrived for the tour, hence it was split in half. I had a gut feeling that the other half had gotten the better, passionate tourguide with the eccentric glasses and frizzy hair. Our tourguide clearly needed a beer and could not stop looking off into the distance. He lacked any excitement for his job and unlike the frizzy haired one, did not bother with any animated stabbing actions, nor did he bring us onto the actual murder sites. He brought us close enough, but the other group were standing where a body was found!!! It was quite disappointing as all he seemed to do was regurgitate facts that I could've read from a textbook.

Dinner was at nearby Brick Lane - the Indian equivalent of Lygon street. People spruik on the street offering you the 'best deal'. Having no idea we just opted for a fairly crowded restaurant.

Baoey and the pappadum.

The oil from the butter chicken. Gross.

A rather disturbing photo of Baoey and Spuey.

Next, we joined a few others for drinks at Tea Bar. Aaaaah such memories. Spuey got hammered. That's all I shall say. The rest of today, Day 9, was spent recovering.

Day 7: Tate Modern, Borough Market and St Pauls

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who believed that she could appreciate modern art. She thought that her liking for Andy Warhol's pop art, comic book images, Mondrian squares and Picasso meant that she could converse with the crowd who possessed the ability to interpret modern art with great meaning.

That little girl has shrivelled up and died.

Apart from all the famous pieces, I've come to the realisation that I don't 'get' modern art. This is coming from the same person who once contemplated a career as an artist. C'mon, I was 7 years old and EVERYONE loved my drawings. Unfortunately, my skills were not nurtured appropriately and they remain at the rudimentary stage where everyone I draw looks like a cartoon. But hey! People stil congratulate me on my attempts! If I could make a career out of drawing people and objects on the MSN whiteboard, then I would quit my job instantaneously.

And so begins our visit to the Tate Modern Museum. They did have a pretty interesting exhibition about Cities, which I will return for. J came with us too and was equally 'huh???'

Spuey and I inside the hall.

Dying to have a morsel of food, we headed to the nearby Borough Market for yummy foodies. This is the place where I get my favourite Portuguese tarts! After surveying our options, Spuey and I opted for a roast roll and J for a chicken han bao bao.

Spuey with the stash.

As you can see, I can barely contain my excitement.

Yum yum yum. Warm, fresh roast straight into the bun! And then into my tum!

J's chicken hamburger. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

That's right, you enjoy it, J.

Oh yeah, Spuey and I went to St. Paul's Cathedral afterwards. No photography allowed indoors so hmmph. What to say? We saw the crypts but were too late to climb up into the tower :(. I kept thinking "feed the birds, tuppence a bag".

Day 6: Stonehenge, Bath and some Drinkies

Stonehenge is something I always wanted to cross off on my To-Do list. Whilst I had heard bad reviews, it didn't deter me. What on earth do people expect? It's a bunch of stones!! They're not going to do anything fancy! I, for one took great enjoyment listening to the audio tour and I understand it's not everyones' cup of tea. Munabuna also joined us after his recent arrival in London.

My photo of Stonehenge, not a textbooks'!

The hoard of tourists.

Despite being called a clown, I have no regrets taking this photo, because....

.... I also have a boring shot.

Spuey on the audio tour.

Me on the audio tour.

Our next destination on the bus tour was the town of Bath, where Roman hot spring bath ruins remain to this day. Very pretty, quaint place where Jane Austen used to live and the perfect place to have high tea.

The main Bath




Hot water flowing through the spring.

Harry Potter in Latin.

The day is not complete without a photo like this one.

Mmmmmm food. We had lunch at The Pumphouse.

Mmmmmmm close up of food.

The river that flows through Bath. Very majestic when you see it on the bus ride into town.

Well, after a tiring bus tour, it seems most appropriate to brighten oneself up with drinkies! We met up with fellow drinking friends at some bar in Soho.

New drinking buddies.

Me, MShee and J.


Spuey and his other sister, Baoey.

We're all here except for a some notable exceptions!!!!!! Oi Baoey, watch your hand.

The crowd.

Kt and Bao are going through a terrible divorce at the moment. They can't bear to look at each other.

Lil Miss J proves how tiny she is by being buttoned up, torso and arms in Baoey's jacket.