London Photos

Spring Term, Junior year - studying Psychology and Social Policy, working at St. Mary's Hospital Schoolroom, writing two novels at once (one alone, one with Catherine), queuing like shameless groupies at St. Stephen's Gate, and planning to take over the world ...

See that railing on the top of the building? My flat was up there. No lift. I climbed those stairs every day, half the time with groceries or textbooks. 77 steps. Buns of Steel has got nothing on me.

The fateful night.

"Bring me the guy who played Marius!!"

Rather grotty-looking advert for Shane's band. This night gave birth to too many in-jokes for me to leave it out.

Word to the wise: don't be in Brixton at three a.m., looking for a cab, with trombonists. Just don't.

Parliament Square, 19 March 2003.

"gathered under the scurrying clouds,

we fought what had long been decreed,

under the cold empty windows of Westminster,

and its glittering gold towers."

~ from "Parliament Square," by MLP, 31 May 2003

My place of not-so-gainful employment, the Schoolroom at St. Mary's. I prepared lesson plans, tutored individuals and small groups, kept records, etc.

You get offered an average of about four cups of tea a day at the British workplace. I believe that's how the British Empire was built - all these sailors hopped up on caffeine twenty-four hours a day; "hey, that's a nice-looking island, let's take it over!! Wonder what's beyond that ... let's take it over!!!"

The Natural History Museum. The black door on the white building on the right is Catherine's flat.

Every morning at 8 a.m. ...

"Commuters of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your Travelcards ..."

~ R. Tagholm

Preparing for Easter dinner. Bonnet, candles, pounds of potatoes, and a recording of "To Welcome In The Spring."

The dinner itself, which dissolved, with the help of two bottles of wine, into a salon of which nineteenth-century Frenchmen would have been proud. Left to right: Sapna, Stephanie, Catherine, me.

The food was good, too. I made lamb, potatoes, tortellini and tomato sauce, beans, improvised boereks with tomato and walnuts in them, baklava, and garlic and lemon sauce, as well as providing Cadbury's eggs and a beautifully set table.

Considering that I spent the first few hours after the Vigil the night before getting drunk with Jamie and the choir, this was no small feat.

Hyde Park, named after my illustrious ancestor Edward Hyde, the first Earl of Clarendon. Edward was a Member of Parliament, the King's Secretary (Charles I), and led the Pro-Royal faction in Parliament before the Civil War. His daughter, Anne Hyde, married James II (VII of Scotland) and was the aunt (I think) of Mary Stuart, who married William of Orange, of "William and Mary" fame.

We finished the novel!!!!

"Bring it on, you incorrigible conviction politician, you!"

Please tell me you know what this is.

This was taken from Parliament Square, after several near-death experiences with the traffic islands around Bridge Street.

Garlic & Shots! Home of the Soho Back Street Crawler, the Tony Montana, Lizzard Shots, Turkish Pepper, the Liver Massage, and Batwings From Hell. This place was excellent for the quote board.

Nicholas Burns (left), as Tony Blair, and half of Tom Arnold, as George Bush, in "The Madness of George Dubya" at the Arts Theatre, Leicester Square. This was taken from the New York Times article about the play in the window.

Slight inaccuracy - Blair doesn't actually wear a wedding ring.

I should not know that.

Okay, so I didn't take this one. But the fact is that on 7 May 2003, Catherine and I did get into the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Question Time, and it was fantastic. It's very hard, by the way, to just walk in off the street and get into PMQ. We were incredibly lucky, which proves that the Politics Gods love us