DjMagra’s stuff ‘n’ stuff

Apparently Jamie Oliver has been singled out as being responsible for one billion pounds of extra revenue generated by Sainsbury’s, courtesy of his advertising campaign with them. It’s no wonder they were so quick to forgive him after rounding against them in his “Fowl Dinners” show, and the fallout that came from there. For a one million pound a year investment by Sainsbury’s in employing Jamie, that’s not a bad return at all, I think he should be looking for a raise!

I’ve just had this pointed out to me! Somewhat strange irony (and if you’re not a geek, you won’t get it!)

daragh@leffe:~$ whois as666

OrgName: US Army Combat Systems Test Activity
OrgID: UACSTA
Address: Commander, USACSTA
City: Aberdeen Proving Ground
StateProv: MD
PostalCode:
Country: US

ASNumber: 666
ASName: CSTA-CISCO-AS
ASHandle: AS666

Grrr! That’s about all I can say to Singapore Air’s 20kg baggage restriction. The amount of fantastic books, clothes, and bits and bobs that I have spent a lifetime collecting have been sold, given away or thrown out over the past few weeks. It’s somewhat soul destroying having to give away books that haven’t been read, or clothes that haven’t been worn, simply because it’s far too expensive to ship them around the other side of the world. This really is a fresh new start, with nothing but a few t-shirts, a suit and some shorts to get me started!

I think a 20kg limit is absolutely measly, especially as most decent quality suitcases are going to be around 5kg themselves, so, in theory you have 15kg to play with. Going over this really isn’t advisable either, as when Kas was flying back, we nearly fell over when they told us that their excess baggage charge was £45 per kilo!!

Really liking Donncha’s shot of London taken whilst flying over head! Pity he just missed grabbing a shot of my apartment as well!

And whilst I’m sharing some photo love, OMG I think this is wonderful!

Does anyone out there know how I would go about getting an emergency seat up grade with Singapore, in order to give me a little more legroom on my flight over. I’d rather not have to pay for it, unless it was a reasonable amount. I know when I was flying back from South Africa last year, I paid EUR 175 for an upgrade, but, after a week on a building site, I felt that was justified! Don’t really fancy having to pay anything, but I can find no information on the Singapore Air website.

One of the things I love about London (and Paris, New York etc) is that people know how to stand out of your way on escalators etc. Here, you gotta stand to the right, so that people who want to pass, can do, on the left. God help you if you decide to straddle the escalators, or stop on the left hand side, it won’t be long until you are hurled abuse, and in my books rightly so!

It infuriates me as soon as I get off the plane in Dublin, people are straddling the escalator, sauntering down the platform, and generally do just about everything that they can to slow you up. Whilst I was living there, I guess I was just kind of used to it, and whilst it bothered me, it never really got me worked up. Now when I go back home, I’m ready to punch someone within about 30 seconds of getting off the plane, but know that there’s absolutely no point in saying anything because A) people aren’t going to give a shit, and B) I’d probably get a heap more abuse back from everyone around rather than people being in agreement with me!

I’ve just realised that since I started blogging a little more regularly last week, that I’ve had a 130% increase in readers here. Ok, so I was coming from a pretty low base given that I hadn’t been blogging at all really, but, if you’re new here, welcome, and if you’re old school, welcome back!

Not a lot really! In fairness, that’s not exactly true. I will write a bit about the things about London that I won’t miss over the next few days, but, in the meantime, some of the things I will miss about living in London include:

Camden Town: Definitely one of the coolest and most offbeat places in the world that I have ever been. Yes, it can be very in your face at times, but the variety of different people, the grittiness, the food, the market and the ‘anything goes’ attitude are very cool. Add to this the fact that Camden is also town to the uber-cool Hawley Arms, which despite its locals reputation has become my favourite pub in London.

Canary Wharf: Home! I’ve loved living in and around Canary Wharf. The architecture, the space, the shops and restaurants, and my favourite building in Canary Wharf, the Bank of America. Canary Wharf reminds me very much of walking around Chicago, everything is so open and clean but I like it. That, and the fact that you constantly feel like you’re walking around the set of 28 Days / Weeks Later!

Borough Market: If you want to find really good, really diverse food in London, Borough Market is definitely where you need to go. The largest food market in the city, this should always be on your list of places to go, regardless of whether you are living in or just visiting London.

South Bank: Probably the best place for a lazy summers walk with your partner, from Westminster Bridge all the way along to Tower Bridge (assuming you have plenty of time to spare, and stop off for lunch along the way!). The view back along the river toward Westminster, the London Eye, and the street entertainment around this area, followed up by the lazy walk along the river, stopping off in OXO Gallery for a wander on the way, before walking along Queens Walk past HMS Belfast and onto City Hall and Tower Bridge is probably one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a long lazy afternoon.

Covent Garden: Always has a really good vibe about the place, loads of good shops and restaurants, and market for a wander.

Harrods Food Hall: Harrods will also feature on my list of things I don’t like about London, but, the Food Hall is a must stop for any foodie. Yes, it’s going to be crammed busy, as everywhere else in Harrods is, but, it’s well worth the effort!

Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Westminster: The walk from Trafalgar Square down Whitehall to Westminster is amazing. Stopping off in Horseguards Parade, spotting all the various government departments and offices and then rounding the corner to see the spectacular Big Ben and Westminster is a walk I will never tire of, and will miss.

Spitafields Market: One of the nicest places in the city for a Sunday Brunch, really alternative vibe here as well.

Wandering around the City: I’ll miss walking around the City of London, past LLoyds, the Gherkin, Bank of England and the surrounding area. Ok, it’s a bit dead and boring at the weekend, but during the week when there’s a hussle and bustle its a very cool place to be.

OXO Tower Restaurant: Finally, without a doubt my favourite thing about living in London has been the spectacular OXO Tower Restaurant. Every time I’ve been, the food, service and ambience have been amazing. If you really fancy a treat in London, with spectacular views of the city, this is the place for you to go.

Nearly There!!

Originally uploaded by DjMagra

I’ve cleared most things out of the apartment today, have sorted through my clothes that I’m wearing for the week, and have my bag almost packed! Only 5 days left until I leave London, so exciting, innit?

I’ll admit, having been blogging here since March 2003, and having started off The Dublin Community Blog and having been a fairly avid blogger and active member of the Irish blogging community for quite some time, I’ve grown rather bored of them over the past few months. I still read quite a few blogs every day, but that number has certainly shrunk quite a lot from where it was, say two years ago. I also don’t get involved in the whole Irish blogging scene in a way that I used to. I do still quite enjoy writing, and expressing an opinion in a forum that people can tackle me head on in though, and I think that over time, I may just start to get back into the blogging game again!

As a result of all this, I have been missing out on quite a lot of the recent controversy that John waters has been causing amongst the Irish blogging community. I have yet to listen to the piece John Waters said, but I think that I may just go and do that now. But, in response to what has obviously been said amongst the community of late, Twenty has come up with the most fantastic piece on bloggers and blogging and stuff! It’s not quite Twenty speaking in terms that we usually associate with him, but it is the most fantastic defense of what exactly blogging is all about, and what makes bloggers tick that I have seen, and is well, well worth a read!