None the less, I've decided to bore you all and write something.
I moved out of the Duke of Wellington around Christmas, for a variety of reasons, but I guess in general the atmosphere was getting a bit hectic (plus I was picking up too many South Africanisms, hectic being one of them). There is only so long you can live with between 12 and 16 people and get along with everybody, and towards Christmas the atmosphere changed for the worse. To be fair I think it was time to go anyway. I didn't really want to spend all my spare time partying in my own house, although it was quite good fun for six months!
Unfortunately I have moved in with a bunch of over the hill Englishmen and woman who are about as much fun as daytime TV. Well they're not all bad, I guess we all have our own things going on and its just the overall house atmosphere which is a bit of a let down after my previous digs.
I'm beginning to get a bit over Brixton itself. What a hole. You can feel the difference even on the tube...the Victoria line ain't too bad south of Victoria station, but as soon as you reach the home stretch between Stockwell and Brixton, the noise level jumps about 50 decibels as you listen to 100 year old rails screeching in pain. As the train hits the station it jerks violently just as you stand up to get off. And classical music is piped loudly through Brixton station itself to keep out the pimps and ho's (although I'll put my hand up as a bit of a nerd and say I don't mind their selection!) (the music, not the selection of ho's).
The walk out of the station is a gauntlet. I have never made it through without being offered skunk, (in that hideous loud whisper of 'skunk, skunk, hey man, skunk), and I've been asked for spare change by the same bloke with the same bloody story around twenty times. My street itself is quite alright, but the station is a zoo. Still if you are looking for the best crack in London, I have been assured time and time again that I'm at the right place.
Any more observations on the English? Class differences are larger and more obvious than in Australia, from the accents through to where people live. I'm starting to notice that sort of thing a lot more. They even have different classes of supermarket, and I'm not talking about Coles vs Bilo, its really graded over here. I'm learning that London is a completely different kettle of fish to the rest of England - sometimes it feels like you never meet anyone in London who's actually from the place - but some things remain the same throughout the country, eg, chavs and the weather.
Reading over this I worry that I am picking up the English knack for complaining. There are plenty of good things over here...the English countryside is beautiful. It lacks the feel of real wilderness and space you have in Australia but is less harsh and more picturesque. I even found some beautiful beaches over the weekend, and I struggled to believe I hadn't crossed the channel into France or Italy.
I was planning to do some European travelling over the summer (well ok, I still am) but am also hoping to spend plenty of time exploring Britain.
The English people remain a decent lot, once you get to know them, although having said that one of my housemates got knifed over the weekend in a club that I was at the other week, and he's had 36 stitches to put his ear back together. He's not sure, but thinks he may have looked at somebody the wrong way.
