Customer Service Part 1

Several people I've talked to seem to think that it's really expensive to eat in London. I disagree. The secret is to leave Swedish eating habits behind (like eating a big meal at midday during the week) and adopt British ones. Buy sandwiches from Boots and eat them in St. James Park, and instead have a main meal between 5 - 7pm when many restaurants have specials on.

I'm going to give a shout out to 2 places I really like in London. The first is Bistro 1 in Covent Garden where the prices are great for such a central touristy location - 2 courses in the evening for just under £10. It's a small restaurant, with a homely atmosphere, serving simple, hearty food. They even have another couple of restaurants in other central London spots. Check them out here.


The second place I have to mention is the Brick Lane Brasserie House of Spice (Brick Lane is the mecca for Indian Food in London) who win my Customer Service Award 2009 ;). We'd just done the spooky Jack the Ripper walk and I was feeling peckish and fancied taking a curry back with me to the hotel, as no one else in the family wanted to eat. This particular restaurant was pretty full, while many of the others were practically empty. Not only did the owner do me a special half portion (to suit my student budget) but actually gave me some of his silverwear to take with me, as he didn't have any plastic forks. He gave the kids little chocolates to eat while we were waiting for the food and even put in some free poppadoms for them. When we then asked for directions to the nearest tube station he came out into the street with us to direct us, even though he was pretty busy.

That's what I call great customer service folks :)

London through a Kodak 620 Junior

On our recent trip to London I dragged 3 cameras around with me. The one that got the most attention was my dad's old folding Kodak 620 Junior, which I am now able to use after learning how to re-spool new 120 film onto old 620 spools.

Here are the shots that I delevoped in the darkroom yesterday. I love the vintage look to these, dust specks and all (no photoshopping needed here!) and how the overexposed edges (due to light leaks??) merge the image into its background.

Covent Garden
View over Thames to Big Ben and Westminster Bridge


London eye Marble Arch, Oxford St
British Museum, covered courtyard
My house!

London, here we come (again!)

It's always a good idea to have something to look forward to, to help you make it through the long dark Swedish winters. So, this Easter we're heading off to London again. As we had such a fab time there last year, we just had to go back for more. Here's a couple of photos from last year's trip - some sweet houses in Notting Hill (don't you just wish you owned one!) and A enjoying a cuppa in some old dive of a cafe that we stumbled across.