A Dichotomous December

We have already noted how interesting it is to see the different areas in London, particularly the different styles of neighborhoods and people. And last Friday was no exception, but blatantly pronounced. Steven and I went in to the City to soak up the holiday atmosphere and get started on a little Christmas shopping. We took the tube to Bank, and walked up to St. Paul's Cathedral, where you may have heard is the temporary headquarters of Occupy London. There were loads of tents on this cold December morning, and lots of people having big conversations over mugs of tea, while the bankers and businessmen of the neighborhood walked briskly by, seeming completely unfazed by the scene. The signs implored us to "reject capitalism" and "compost consumerism," and the faces were friendly and hopeful. We were impressed by the protesters' perseverance and surprised by the jovial and dismissive attitudes of the well tailored young men who rushed past them. I must say that it gave us pause to think about the current state of affairs (which is one of Occupy London's goals) and it also put a slight damper on our plans for Christmas shopping, which was just fine. Instead we looked at old buildings, walked up secret mews, had a cheap lunch at Bruno's Cafe, and took lots of photos, including the ones posted here. Another fab day.

Later that night I headed off to my office Christmas party. I had been warned that these can be raucous affairs, and our friend, Kevin told me that the traditional London Christmas party can be a "career defining event." Mine did not disappoint. Without going into detail (don't want to jeopardize my position with the company!), I will simply say that the sit down dinner was quite good, the dancing very amusing, and the open bar all night extremely crowd-pleasing. I was happy to hop into a cab just after midnight, almost Cinderella-ish but slightly too late, as a fight broke out on the street and folks were hurling insults the likes of which I had never heard before. It was good fun and lived up to all expectations; but I am thankful that I won't be one of the staff doing the walk of shame into the office tomorrow morning.

The rest of the weekend was also fun, although I was moving rather slowly the morning after the party. We had our little cousin, David, for an overnight while his parents went off to their own party. I took Franny and David to see "Arthur Christmas" in 3-D, which they thoroughly enjoyed (and during which, I managed to snooze slightly). Franny's football team won another game, and we had a great lunch at a local South Indian restaurant this afternoon. My plans to work out at the gym were thwarted yet again, and I'm worried that my new holiday dress won't fit for long, so I have resolved to exercise more during the coming weeks. The Christmas items that we sell at work (have you ever tried Christmas pudding yoghurt? It's amazing!) are mighty tempting, and I won a deluxe chocolate advent calendar in an office competition. Yes, the Brits like to start celebrating Christmas very early, and that includes indulging in all the holiday treats. We're fitting right in and quite enjoying it ourselves!