Near miss with Madonna

Well, despite a couple of slow walks past the movie set downstairs today, yet again I didn't see Madonna. Annoyingly, Matthew at work went downstairs to get a coffee for a meeting, and saw her buying brownies at a stall in the Friday markets. Here's one of the pics he took on his phone. I work just around the corner behind Madonna. She looked small and old evidently. All the papparazzi around the place were hilarious. Some guy with an enormous camera came up and asked us where "she" was, and Elize (somewhat optimistically) asked him to email his photos to her. Evidentally he couldn't, but only because the photos "go straight to the office"...

On the way home tonight, Mark and I also stopped by Trafalgar Square, where to promote tourism in the "villages" surrounding the city, they had laid turf all over what's normally a concrete surface in Trafalgar Square. It was kind of cool, but a bit underwhelming overall - they'd already started to take it up when we were there, and it was only covering the central bit and already starting to go a bit brown where people had walked the most. I took a pic on my mobile, but don't think I can get it off the mobile and onto the laptop right now, so will have to post it later.

Morning!

Friday morning. Cup of coffee. Nothing to do.

Brilliant!!

(I was going to say "What could be better?", but thent I thought if I was having this coffee in Oxford, after a quick fang up some nice B-roads, well, that would be better wouldn't it?!)

The immigration guy at the airport was a bit concerned about me. I showed him my itinerary:

Immigration Guy: Why are you here for so long?
Me: I'm on holiday.
Immigration Guy: Are you going to Europe?
Me: No.
Immigration Guy: What are you going to do for three months?!?
Me: Umm. See London.
Immigration Guy: Are you working? What are you going to do for money?
Me: Ah, my girl is supporting me.

Anyway, you get the picture. He made me realise that, from their point of view, it's probably a poor decision to let into the country. No job. Here for three months. My girlfriend is supporting me becuase I have no money. - I bet they love people like me! haha!

So! Today, I'm not sure what I'm doing. I'm still "bringing myself up to speed". Working out what I'm going to be spending my time on for three months. Difficult choices ahead!

Do I:
a. Take my CISA study materials down to a local library and learn about IT Governance, intrusion detection systems and IT general controls? or do I
b. Fall out of bed at 11am, stroll down to Soho and get a coffee and a bacon and egg roll, wander off to a pub in Marylebone (full of pratts no doubt) and stagger my way home at 2am?

Difficult choices indeed! Maybe I should ask the Immigration Guy.

"Filth and Wisdom"

Today I saw Madonna... 's trailer. She's directing a short movie called "Filth and Wisdom", and they're shooting a couple of scenes around the corner from my building in this dodgy little chemist shop today and tomorrow, so all day there were crowds of people all around the place with lots of really big cameras. The equipment trailers were in the street outside my building, along with supposedly Madonna's trailer, where she was having lunch at one point with this crowd of people at the end of the street staring down at it. It was kind of funny. What a pain in the butt to be a celebrity and have to put up with that everywhere you go.

Anyway Elize at work and I had a look out the window every so often to see if Madonna was wandering around the street or anything, but funnily enough she wasn't. Evidently her movie-directing outfit is a bright green tracksuit the colour of those Woolies shopping bags, with a matching hat. Stylish stuff hey? The movie she's making is apparently based on her life experiences. I think I'm more likely to watch it to see the street I work in than I am for the movie itself. Who knows, maybe we'll get it out on dvd one day back in Sydney.

Made It

As Ellie said, I made it.

Flight was OK. Didn't get much sleep. Still tired. Movies on the plane were OK. Stanger Than Fiction and The Dead Girl were good. They did make me think - What is it about humans that makes us so interested in tragedies?

The weather yesterday was fantastic. Too hot if you can believe it! Ellie and I got a little burnt while we were having lunch. I remember a South African telling us on our last visit that you know you've been in England for too long when you get sun burnt here.

There's only one thing that's brought me down a little since I arrived - the high pitch of an in-line four screaming up a distant street. Three months without a bike! I'll have to console myself with a trip to the WSBK at Brands Hatch in August. Can't wait!!