London Retailers: Welcome to the 21st Century!

I've often been confounded at the seemingly random (and archaic) hours that retailers stay open for business on Sunday here in the UK.  Only in the Southern part of the US (where clearly, one must go to church before doing anything productive during the day, and return to church in the evening...) where I grew up have I ever experienced such a brevity of 'open for business' which typically meant noon to 6pm.

At the very least, given the size of the population (and spending power...) you would think that London businesses would be open at a more extended rate of time than they are.  Well, as of yesterday, I now know why these bizarre Sunday hours are what they are:  it's the law!

Only since 1994 have UK retailers been allowed to open on Sunday at all, and if you are a business with a shop of more than ~3000 square feet, you are restricted to be open no more than 6 hours on the day-and it has to be between the hours of 10am-6pm.   Also, apparently, only 53% of UK businesses are open on Sunday.  Crazy.

But wait:  that may all be about to change!  In an effort to 'stimulate the economy' during the Olympics and Paralympics, the Chancellor (think, 'UK Treasurer') is apparently soon to announce that they will suspend  Business Trading Hours rules on Sundays and allow shops to stay open for more than 6 hours.  Oh, and this is supposed to be a 'test' to see if the Trading Hours rules shouldn't be permanently suspended.

Erm...so, the crap-tastic UK Economy (read:  recession-and possible soon to come double dip) of the past four years hasn't warranted a revision of these rules already? Are we really *just now* thinking, 'hey! there's this thing called the internet that is open for business 24/7/365...if we want UK brick & mortar retailers to continue to be competitive, perhaps we should allow them to um...compete?'

As progressive as I think the UK is on many social and economic matters, something like this creeps up that just makes me smack my forehead and shake my head in complete and utter confusion.

My New Fave BBC Program

The Tube on BBC2 has become my new favourite guilty pleasure of the season.

This 6-part documentary gives a true behind the scenes look at the London Underground -in all of it's glory and failure.  After watching the past 4 episodes, I'm almost sympathetic to TFL.  Not to the point of being happy with RMT strikes, mind you (and I still think Bob Crowe, the RMT  leader should eat poo and die), but enough to at least have a good bit of sympathy for all of the TFL front-line employees.

At the very least, it's a voyeuristic look into how the general London population behaves, and is worth watching just for that.

Guess this will have to hold me until the new season of Lambing Live! :)

Spring has Sprung!

Spring in London

Seen at Borough Market today...no pun intended, but it put a bit of a spring in my step when I saw the flowering  tree today...Not to bad for March 10!

Happy Anniversary to Me

Four years ago to the day, I got on a BA flight with a one way ticket to London.

Time sure does fly.

Would you Like Fries with that?

Random seen on the way in to work...

Yummy in my Tummy

Pardon the self-indulgent nature of this post...It's less about being an expat in London, and more about me wanting to remember two of my favorite places to eat when travelling! :)

In Barcelona...Xaloc...on Calle de la Paja in the Barri Gotic.  Caramelized baked apple with Goat cheese and 'las bombas'...simply incredible.  Torres Celeste crianza wine for 13 EUR (found down the road for 35 EUR).

Carmelized Baked Apple, Salad, and Walnut Goat Cheese

The other place worth mention..Les Chapeliers in Brussels, just right off Grande Place.  We've been there so often now, that the waiter remembers us and calls me by name (and really: who doesn't love Belgian gay diva waiters?!?).  Incredible frite, moule, and 'steak americaine' (steak tartare).   Their sister restaurant, La Rose Blance is just as good, but the servers just aren't as fun. :)

Man, I'm going to miss these places when we move.

The Wellcome Collection

One of London's Best Kept Secrets

Everyone knows of The British Museum, National Gallery, Tate, etc..but, The Wellcome Collection isn't a 'museum' I had heard of until I moved to London.  I use the word museum as I really don't know what else to call it.  It's a facility that runs a series of incredibly unusual collections throughout the year that are unlike anything you'll elsewhere in London.

I was first introduced to The Wellcome Collection in May 2008, when I went to see a collection of photographs that were taken of terminally ill people fairly soon before and immediately after they died.  I know it sounds morbid-and on some level, it was.  But, each individual had a little story about them-who they were, what was wrong with them, and I found it an incredibly moving exhibit.  To the point, that like many people in the room, I was crying within the first few minutes of entering the room (you could hear the sniffs and see the tissues everywhere), and didn't stop until well after I left.

The collections aren't always this serious-or rather, depressing.  Over the years, I visited collections on dirt (seriously), skin (tattoos, ailments, etc), and most recently miracles & charms (an exhibition exploring 'faith, hope, and chance').

I think the tagline of The Wellcome Collection sums it up better than I ever could:  A Free Destination for The Incredibly Curious.  It's right across the street from Euston Station.  The next time you find yourself in the area and have 45 minutes, pop in.  It will be worth your time.