Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Moving, Just Keep Moving...

Two months ago we had a flat which overlooked the Thames, in one of the busiest cities in the World. Now, I'm in Hythe with a distant view of the sea, and in one of the most old fashioned towns in the country. The shops still all shut on a Sunday, and the only danger is being run over by a blind old lady pushing a shopping trolley.

We've now been in our quaint little flat for nearly three weeks, but there was a point when I thought we would never find somewhere to live. In London, we were lucky and the flat we lived in was the first flat we liked and saw. Down here, we saw four, but liked many more. The 'experience' was full of disappointment, as well as meeting many letting agents who were Satan's children, and a couple who were lovely. It took six weeks, but we finally got a place we could live.

But then the next issue was that we had no furniture. Thus, too much money was spent. And then, too much time was spent by me putting it all together. I was in flat pack hell. I like putting things together more than most, but that was just a week-long binge of different shades of oak. However, by some divine intervention, not a thing was broken and nothing was missing. Even if I made a few silly mistakes...

And we had spent a week laying on a multitude of beds, in a variety of shops, watched by an array of shop assistants, who seemed to always have one hand on my wallet. The whole time, you sound like a spoilt Goldilocks going "This bed's very soft… Oh, this one is far too hard for my liking… This is just right… HOW MUCH?" Then, when you finally settle on a bed you can live with, which is only a little above your budget, you're told it's a month's wait. At which point, I would thank the man for his time, and walk out.

In the end, we gave up and brought a bed from Argos which we couldn't try on for size, just for the sheer convenience of not having to lay awkwardly on beds in public view. And you know what? It was the best decision possible, and it was cheaper. And it was the exact same process for our sofa too. You know what children? Internet shopping is the future.

The problem then though, is that you have to sit by the window for a week, waiting for the two minutes when the delivery man comes, dumps a load of cardboard by the front door, and leaves you carry a box containing an unassembled dining table and four chairs, indoors all by yourself. Two weeks on and my big toe is still bruised. And once everything was assembled, we were left with a mountain of boxes in the hallway. Stepping on the wrong floorboard could easily result in an avalanche.

Thankfully, we have a small garden we can retreat too. Well, I had to spend two days chopping my way through brambles and other weeds, and being covered in scratches so deep one could be forgiven for thinking I had started a new job as a lion tamer, and was awful at it.

Speaking of which, I am still unemployed. If one forgets the fact I'm spending money, when I have none coming in, I'm a little bit thankful for that. Imagine the stress of starting a new job amongst all of that? The dining table would probably still be on the doorstep, brambles would be smashing their way through the windows, and we'd be sleeping on cardboard boxes.

However, now that's all done, I need to need to get a job so I don't become too attached to our brilliant YouView box, and don't put too much of a dent in our sofa. I've never had Sky channels before, and I'm still not over the novelty of Simpson episodes that aren't at least 10 years old; I watched one from 2013 yesterday! This truly a beautiful time to be alive.

I have learnt over the past few months, that unemployment doesn't mean you have to sit watching people who have been subjected to bad dentistry, shout at each other on Jeremy Kyle. I have done something every day. Today is the first for a good few weeks where I've actually had the time to write a blog post. I can't remember the last time I even took a photograph. It's not only because I've been busy making this flat a home, but because I'm using the time to help those closest to me. Partly to be a decent human being, but also in a bid to fight off boredom.

I'm about to make an observation which is enlightening, positive and a cliché, for which I apologise for. Normal misanthropy will resume shortly, I'm sure… But life is what you make it. If you've sat in your bedroom who two years solely playing video games, then you must have the mental capacity of a peanut. Getting a job isn't as easy as most people think it is, but it doesn't mean you have to do nothing. Put some clothes on, stop hibernating and go and do something in the big, beautiful world. Not having a job doesn't mean you don't have a life. You're a disgrace to humanity; and peanuts.


P.S. A Misathrope's Guide to Folkestone and Hythe... Is that to be the sequel of A Misathrope's Guide to London?

Sunday, 17 August 2014

I'm the Cockney Chameleon without a Job

Over three years ago I wrote a blog announcing that I would soon be moving to London, where I would be attending the University of East London to study Journalism and Creative and Professional Writing. I spoke mostly about how worried I was about having to endure the local language, and how I was fearful of catching Cockney, and becaming alll Landan like. I now write this blog post, having completed my degree and moved out of our outrageously-priced South London flat that overlooked the Thames.

I confidently stipulated that I was 'not worried about picking up the accent and the slang however, because I'm very hard to influence.' Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to have been the case. Many people have been noting that I have a slight Landan twang. Luckily, I don't think it's critical, and I should be able to recover; in time at least.

However, I have become somewhat of a chameleon, being able to assume a persona which is similar to those around me. Back home in Kent, I am a bumbling, slightly posh-sounding lad. Should a Cockney gas engineer enter our flat, my language and personality change; partly in a foolish attempt to sound more manly and in a desperate attempt to be accepted. "Alright mate? How's traffic get'in 'ere? Bin busy? You still got your motors?" And so on.
A drawing for A Misanthrope's Guide to London, by Chris Parsons.
(Click to enlarge)
Our flat was very nice; apart from the constant presence of gas engineers having to resuscitate our boiler back into life. Oh, and apart from the numerous water leaks; all those magical evenings spent mopping up water from under the now bowed laminate flooring. Mind you, that's made up for by the evenings I spent watching the woman across the road get naked with her blinds still open; until she noticed. Those memories will remain with me for a long time. However, not as long as the dent left in my savings by paying nearly £1,000 a month for a flat. We could have never afforded that place if it wasn't for our generous student loans.

It's a cliché I've heard an innumerable amount of times, but those three years at University really did fly past. It doesn't seem that long ago since myself, my other half and a box of half-eaten pizza, were abandoned in Landon by my parents and left to endure the next chapter of our lives. Well, that chapter is finished, and it ended with us getting 2:1s, so yes, thank you for your congratulation. However, my grade is still a sore point. I was less than 1% away from a 1st. 0.4% more would have given me a 1st. And you know what? I can pinpoint the exact mistake in my dissertation that lost me that higher grade. If I had just italicised the words A Misanthrope's Guide to London, in the handful of times I wrote them together, I think I would have gotten a 1st. FOR FU...

Anyway, it was a mixed three years. I met lots of, as everyone says, awesome and amazing people who were mostly all far more talented than I. Some modules I loved and excelled at, and others I hated and just about scraped through. There is something about Sociology that makes me look and feel like I've just had a lobotomy. The next time someone talks me about the similarity between Adorno's theory of the Culture Industry and Marxism, I think I'll go into a coma from which I'll never awaken.

The Creative and Professional Writing side of my degree has proved invaluable, and despite feeling trepidation about what it would entail, I absolutely loved almost every minute. It made me read books I never would have, and yet enjoyed. It pushed me to constantly improve my writing, which having read some of my old stuff, is glaringly obvious. It has even made me look at my own writing very differently, and I have produced pieces I could not be prouder of. My dissertation project A Misanthrope's Guide to London, is one such example where I have really honed my style of writing. That is in no little part thanks to the teaching on the course.

At the start, I was most looking forward to the Journalism side of my studies, and I did very well and learnt a great deal. However, towards the end I dreaded Journalism modules. That was, in the most part, because I felt a great deal of resentment towards the fact that no matter how well I did, I would still not be qualified to be a Journalist, and would still find it immensely hard to get into a profession where experienced journalists are being culled, rather than new ones being hired. By the end, I had lost my desire to be a journalist; for now at least. Unfortunately, that in part also falls on the below-par teaching for journalism my University offers.

So, the bit of paper has now finally arrived confirming my attainment of a 2:1, and three months after finishing University, I am the stereotypical graduate who is failing to get any sort of job. Currently, the past few years look to have all been a delaying tactic for going on Job Seeker's Allowance. There are various reasons for this, such the little experience I hold, and trying to get a career in a specific sector. However, a large reason for this is because there has been a major push in apprenticeships by the Government. It means jobs that might have once gone to the likes of people like me, are now going to younger people who can be hired for a criminally low wage for a couple of years, whilst getting on-the-job training. If I was 18 years old now, and looking at what to do, I think I would be looking at being an apprentice too.

However, I keep sending out CVs in all directions (probably approaching a figure of around 40), and only getting responses from a few. Two job interviews in three months. The sad and depressing life of a graduate. Maybe it's because of my accent which has become tapestrised. Or the fact my University is at the bottom of the league tables; despite being a great place. It could be because of the economy, or that fact I am part of, what the media keeps calling 'the lost generation'. Possibly it is due to so many hundreds of thousands of young adults having a degree, it has become a worthless piece of paper. It could be because I have about as much professional experience as a foetus, and being stuck in the paradox of needing experience to get a job, but not being able to get the necessary experience. Who knows?

Regardless, if you're an employer looking for a marketing assistant/junior (or something not too dissimilar) somewhere in Kent, who's ideal candidate is a misanthropic, yet slightly amusing and committed individual, then I'm your guy!





P.S. I know prospective employers are reading this blog, because I put it on my CV, so why not beg? If you don't ask, you don't get… I am highly skilled after all.

P.P.S. I am aware that I'm applying for jobs that are not marketing related, and that plea might be off putting to other jobs; but I'm versatile and not as picky as perhaps I might have sounded. I'll do anything... apart from telesales anyway.

Saturday, 26 April 2014

McFly and Busted Travel Back to the Future

Pop conglomerate McBusted provided an entertaining trip back into my early teens at The O2 London. The new pop supergroup packed the arena full of old and new fans alike, and have potentially created a union that could have a bright future.
I was skeptical for how the evening was going to pan out, after getting a pounding, irritating headache from their warm up acts. Young Brando were good, and the sort of band I would have really liked 10 years ago; they could go far. Vix consisted of a red-headed female singer, who shouted covers pleasantly enough to get attention.

However, The 3 Dudes were on the cusp of ruining my evening entirely. They shouted and screamed into their microphones like boys singing in a garage. They were young, irritating, American and immature, talking about third nipples and other such nonsense. Their music was far too loud, and voices far too high. I felt ill by the time they finally left the stage. Music, it was not.

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Review: Maroon 5 Live at The O2, London

I have never been to the O2 arena, so on the 11th of January 2014, Maroon 5 and Co took my virginity. However, I had to wait a long while for my first time. We had planned to have our first time back in June last year, but due to American TV commitments, they cancelled on me, with a note to say I'd have to wait more than 7 months before we would try again.
A promo photograph...
So, the months ticked away, and the dome teased me every morning on the way to University as I went past on the DLR. All I could think about was the night we would finally get to spend together. Then the tickets came through the post. It meant, this was finally going to happen. Then the night came...

Friday, 17 January 2014

Review: Matilda the Musical

Most people seem to have seen the film, whereas I haven't, apart from the final few minutes when it was on TELLY once. As for the original book by Roald Dalh, it seems to be one of the few books of his that I haven't read. So, I went into the Cambridge Theatre, with no preconceptions of the story.

Saying that though, I am a huge fan of both Roald Dalh and Tim Minchin, and thus I knew it had to be good. The reviews have all been glowing, and the performances of songs from the show that I have seen on the TELLY, have made me want to go and see it even more. However, it is expensive, even by usual West End standards, and booked up weeks in advance, so it unfortunately isn't the sort of musical you go see on a whim.

Sunday, 10 March 2013

Major Congestion Reported Getting Into SimCity

I have come up with another insult to sling around the playground: "Your Mumma's so fat, that she's slower than an EA Game Server". I can imagine it would be, and quite rightly so, followed by a chorus of "RINSED" by some teenagers, who also slap their fingers in appreciation.
This comes in light of recent events, in which people spent tens of pounds on a PC game, only to be told they couldn't play the game because too many people were playing the game. One might think that if you made 'X' number of games, you would, in the end, expect 'X' amount of people to actually want to play the game. But I'm not an expert, so what do I know?

Monday, 28 January 2013

Let's Reminisce Into My 2012

This blog is an example of how neglectful I have become of my little bit of Internet space. 2012 has been and gone for nearly a month now, and yet I am only just about to write my usual blog on the subject. Anyway, it was another year to remember, which involved a lot mature stuff by me. It has changed me; for example I now own a washing up bowl.
So, the first four months of the year were fairly uneventful, what with it mainly consisting of writing essays and creating a student film. The film involved lots of trekking across London packed with a multitude of different equipment, and then hours of painstaking editing. Luckily, I enjoyed being with the people I done.

Saturday, 28 July 2012

The Greatest Show On Earth

I enjoyed the Olympic Opening Ceremony so much, that I think I might just series link them all. I was cynical about the entire thing, but I was wrong to be so because it was an amazing thing to witness - right from the beginning to end, despite the even lasting for nearly four hours.

The opening clip with the animation of the journey down the River Thames was very well done, and was actually quite funny I thought. However, this show wasn't just for us Brit's - it was for the entire World, and like many people have said: I'm not sure they really got most of it.

Thursday, 26 July 2012

London 2013

Breaking news! The Olympics are coming to London, and are set to start Friday, 27th of July 2012. So, let's start looking ahead to London 2013; the year which won't be very sporting at all.
There will be no build-up to London 2013; I doubt if it will even affect anyone. It won't cause traffic chaos or lead to the people of London taking two weeks off work. Also, unlike the Olympics, there will be no-one running around carrying ignited fuel, which will travel the country causing disruption where ever it goes. It will be an event which will allow everyone to carry on their lives however they wish.

Sunday, 4 March 2012

My Day With The Stars

I don't really enjoy doing blogs about events in my own life. I don't understand why anyone would be vaguely interested in anything I have ever done in my life, unless they were nosey, a stalker or in need of their own life. However, sometimes things happen that I want to share, and I take pictures that I think are occasionally worth sharing. In the past two years, I have taken over 6000 pictures and I only have 198 on my Flickr page: THAT is how self critical I am...

Anyway, this week, I spent a day with the stars in London (not as exciting or interesting as it sounds).

Monday, 22 August 2011

Rise Of The Morons

Once upon a time in a street in Tottenham, London, a black man was shot under dubious circumstances by a Policeman who claimed to have been in danger. However, an IPCC investigation found evidence to disprove that, such as the bullet in the policeman's radio to be of police issue, and the victim’s gun to have not been fired. The friends and family, rather graciously, disagreed and wanted a real answer to the reason for the shooting. The big, hypocritical, media Ogres seemed to ignore this news event and saw no reason to bring attention to it, like they would have, for example, if a Policeman was shot in dubious circumstances by a black man. Then, on a lovely, quiet, summer's afternoon, the victim’s family were upset, and therefore set up a small vigil outside a Police Station in Tottenham.

Then the Morons invaded from across the London borough of Tottenham. Their invasion left much devastation. Police cars were vandalised and set alight. A bus had petrol bombs aimed at it. Shops were looted by these morons for their own personal gain and set about burning various other buildings; one which had survived a World wars. The Morons of Tottenham had invaded, and the News crews had swarmed in to film the burning devastation and make irrational comments. The Tottenham Morons stood behind the various presenters, talking on their phones and lurking about in an attempt to be considered famous by their other Moronic friends. The Moron's grew weary of the vain attempts at being a celebrity, so set about destroying passing cars, before setting upon the news crews and destroying thousands of pounds of equipment. The violence continued for hours, into the early morning hours of Sunday the 7th of August, and news channels speculated from their cosy studios, miles away from the violence, about how bad it was. The morons eventually went home to sleep in their grubby council flats, gathered around the light of social network websites, and their event pages.
Many people spent the following day, insisting that Tottenham was a lovely, happy community, in which the many different races lived together in one, harmonious family which have no problems or 'issues with the black, teenage community'; despite the evidence proving otherwise. The sun began to set, and the disease of Moronicitis [muh-ron-ik-tahy-tis] had spread through to other London boroughs such as Enfield, Islington and Oxford Circus. This violence was much stronger than the previous nights, with more buildings being pointlessly set alight and raided for the consumer goods. A Sony warehouse in Enfield was set ablaze for no reason other than to course as much destruction as possible, and apparently, make a statement about race quality and joblessness. This again continued late into the night, which lead to news channels sending out their helicopters in an attempt to film all huge fires from above, while the ground film crews tip-toed around the city to film the aftermath of rioting, instead of the actual swarm of Morons, ripping their way through toughened glass and metal shutters, and occasionally farting out fire bomb. The Morons eventually grew tired of the lines of ill-equipped and ill-trained police officers following them about, and went to their homes to sleep, in their brand new tracksuit which they had just looted.

The light of Monday morning shined through London, showing the amount of destruction which was left after the swarm of Morons had made their way through the various boroughs. While the Morons slept, the news announced that over 100 people had already been arrested, and that David Cameron was to cut short his holiday to return home, after seeing that Nick Clegg had clearly ballsed up being in charge of the country; much like getting a phone call from a neighbour, to tell you that the person you asked to feed your pets and water the plants, had in fact attacked everything with a flame thrower and hearing the screeching cat through the phone. More people went to the media and to social networking sites to give their own, unwanted opinion to decry how stupid every single teenager who currently exists is. FYI: I'm a teenager, and from my eloquence, you can decipher that I'm not exactly stupid.

The darkness of Monday night loomed, and the Morons woke up for yet another night of pointless violence, despite the news that the Prime Minister's return home was looming. They went on to cause even more, pointless, copycat destruction; still claiming to have a cause to be angry about. It became evident that Moronicitis had spread to both sides of the River Thames, to boroughs such as Lewisham, Woolwich, Peckham, East Ham, Hackney, Camden, Bethnal Green, and even Stratford. The news crews hurried around, again filming the aftermath of the swarms, and interviewing random, angry onlookers who have their own personal, upsetting story, such as having bricks through the window or witnessing violent attacks etc. People which were caught up in the aftermath of Moronicitis, called into the news channels and said, usually very angrily, how pathetic the riots were being and how over stretched the police were. This was usually broadcast over repeated footage of a rampaging fire, or footage which demonstrated the police being over stretched.
As the evening carried on, it continued to become evident that Mononicitis had not only spread through London, but across the country, to other cities such as Bristol, Liverpool and Birmingham. The news had not planned for it to be so wide-spread, and therefore these events were described pointlessly down the phone by local news correspondents, agitatedly saying how Birmingham has small outbursts of violence, sometimes even played over mobile phone footage of Morons charging at a line of police with bins and wood, before running back home. This led to a change in news headline going from 'London Riots' to 'UK Riots'. Monday night was the night when Moronicitis became a national pandemic, with no cure in sight.

The following day, after the Morons had yet again gone back to their hovels to sulk in their own filth, and as the sun once again shinned over London, and other cities, there was light at the end of tunnel. Not the hope of 13,000 police in London to act as a vaccine to Moronicitis, nor was it David Cameron's speech, in which he basically said 'You should all be very ashamed of yourselves'. No. The bad and evil social networking websites, changed their allegiance, and done positive work to help the lives and communities destroyed. Volunteer clean up operations were organised via Twitter, asking people to bring brooms and rubbish sacks, and within the day, totally cleaned up all the London boroughs, as well as other major UK cities. There was hope for humanity and forces of good, just like the end of most, blockbuster, apocalyptic films. Those events remind us that humanity isn't just a violent, moronic species.

Then the evening came. The 13,000 strong army of police officers circulating the English capital, seemed to act as a deterrent, or a vaccine, if you will, resulting in Moronicitis being almost completely cured in the main problem areas. However, the rest of the country was now in the heightened grips of suffering from Moronicitis. Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester were the English cities hit badly by Moronicitis, with many shops in those cities being looted, and yes, pointlessly burnt, as well as the needless violence aimed at the Police, because they ‘like’, represent authority. One of the shops, which the News channels swarmed to, to film its destruction, was a Miss Selfridge in Salford, Manchester. How that represents racial quality issues, I don't know. That, to me at least, (and remember, I don't live in the 'Ghetto's', I live in a Middle class, consistently Conservative village in Kent) seems like needless, pointless violence.

From then on, the nightmare of Moronicitis seemed to subside, and the country, which was once in the grips of this deadly disease, is still continuing to recover. Many people appear to be very lovely and helpful, and are good advocates for humanity. Yet, we are still reminded of Moronicitis, by the facts that the disease took the lives of 5 people, as well as injuring 16 bystanders and 186 police officers, as well as the hundreds of millions of pounds of damage caused by these large swarms of Morons.

Initially, Humanity comes out of these events as a terrible species that does not deserve our place on Planet Earth, however, overall, when you take into account the willingness by the general majority to help communities and individuals recover as quickly as possible, and this 'Keep Calm and Carry On' attitude that, England as a nation has, puts a positive spin on a such an frightening and appalling ordeal, and maybe, just maybe, Humanity isn't that bad after all. I hope the people who were overpowered by Moronicitis will receive the treatment they deserve; being severely punished to the extremes of the Law system, despite their age. As David Cameron said in his speech after his return from Italy; "If you're old enough to commit the crime, you're old enough too punished". The thought of 16 year olds committing these crimes is very depressing. The thought of 10 year olds committing these crimes is upsetting and very worrying. One hopes that the families of those young offenders are also punished, and the Governments threats to do so, were not empty ones.
Anyway, if you want to look at a gallery of scumbags and recent suffers of Moronicitis, then visit 'Crimefighters'. If you recognise one those faces; Shout! Shout loudly, preferably over the phone or on the Internet, at the right source.

If you want to blame the police for the nationwide spread of Moronicitis, then go and see about having that lobotomy reversed; they done their absolute best with the recourses at their disposal. Also, if you're one of those stupid fuddy-duddies whose answer to everything is 'National Service', then go and hang your head in shame at diminishing the work done by our Army.


P.S. I'm not in the slightest bit patriotic, but some people just don't fully appreciate anything!