More Photos

www.DirtyBeach.tv

Pub

We finally went to a pub last night. Kathi & Emma get the record for longest time in London before going to a pub. We went to Salisbury Arms, which is just down the road from my flat. It's a massive old hotel, beautifully decorated with high ceilings towering over cosy little booths and a friendly local feel. We had dinner there and the food was actually quite good. Emma got fish and chips again. (We ate at the Rock & Sole Plaice the other day and Emma is hooked.) Here Emma does her impression of the stolid drunkard.

Flake

Yesterday we got flake ice cream cones in Leicester Square. Swooning, Emma declared them "beautiful and lovely".

More visitors

Kathi & Emma arrived yesterday on a much delayed flight from New York. It was a beautiful day so, even though (after dropping stuff off at home and whatnot) we only had the late afternoon and evening left to us, we headed into central London to wander around a bit. Meandering down The Queen's Walk along the south of the Thames, we peaked over the railing at some really cool sand sculptures by these guys. I think Kathi took a picture; I'll try to get it.

Refining my route

I thought cycling in London would be really scary and I used to be able to walk pretty much everywhere I wanted to go, so it was a good year and a half before I got a bicycle here. What a mistake. I love riding. It's definitely the only way to get around.


London has done a lot in the past five years or so to make the city more bicycle friendly. I have bike lanes along almost my entire commuting route, which is five or six miles. The roads that don't have bike lanes often have big bicycles painted in the middle of the road as a reminder to drivers that we're here. Actually, the scariest road I ride on the whole way to work is the road I live on. Unfortunately, there's not really a good way to avoid that one. When I first started, some of the roads I took near my office were a bit scary too, but I was able to eliminate those with the help of my free cycle maps.


Plus, there are four or five of these bicycle specific traffic lights on my route. Other friends of mine who ride here complain about the drivers, but they've obviously never cycled in Boston. In Boston, people would always yell at me and try to drive me off the street. Here, there are still some people who are oblivious but most people wait for me and give me space.

四川的地震

上星期一，中国有地震很大。在四川地震最不好。二万人死了，而且他们还找二万人。五百万人没有房子了。电话和手机坏。路坏。有的我的朋友和他们的家感觉一点点，但是他们都没事。我高兴他们好，可是我很不高兴因为很多人出事了。他们需要帮助。如果你可以，请给他们钱。

Sichuan's Earthquake

On Monday, there was a big earthquake in China. In Sichuan, it was the worst. 20,000 people died and they are still looking for 20,000 people. Five million people are now homeless. Telephones and cell phones are broken. Roads are broken. Some of my friends and their families felt it a little bit, but they are all ok. I'm happy that they are all ok, but I'm very unhappy because so many people are not ok. They need help. If you can, please donate.

Miserable excuse for a game record

Since Tanaka-san emailed me personally, I decided to go back and visit the Nippon Club's Saturday Go meeting. Apparently they've combined with the Central London Club, which used to meet on Saturdays up on Great Portland Street. The Nippon Club is in a better location for me.

I played Francis Roads, 3d, taking two stones. Below is my miserable attempt at reproducing the game. I'm rusty.


















I'm confident that, with a bit of brushing up, I could easily play him even. Except that I'm so slow. I thought I was playing quickly, finishing the whole game in less than two hours, maybe even closer to an hour and a half (I'm not exactly sure what time we started playing). Still, he spent the game complaining about and mocking my pace. I think he (along with most of the others there) measures his average game in minutes.

Good mornin', America, how are ya?

I showed up at The Royal George last night, was handed a spare ukulele, taught C, G and D and placed in front of a songbook.

I'm /so/ buying a ukulele.

Ukulele Wednesdays

Last night as I was cycling home, I passed, not far from my office, a guy playing a banjo shaped ukulele. I got about half a block further before wheeling around in a U-turn. I pedalled back to where he was standing, near a pub, tuning up in preparation for a rehearsal with some friends. (We all know how long it can take to tune...) I asked if I might listen and he played a song for me and then told me he was getting ready to meet some friends to practice but tomorrow would be Wednesday and hence Ukulele Wednesday.

He said the uke is spreading like wildfire in London. A group meets on Wednesdays in the basement of The Royal George, off of Charing Cross Road. He said it started out with just a few people, meeting each week to play and sing. But the toilets for the pub are in the basement, so of course people would come downstairs to pee and they'd never go back up. This sounds like my kind of event.

So, though I don't play and they'll definitely regret it if they press me to sing, I'm going to go check it out tonight. Of course, that means I'll have to make my excuses to the mathematicians heading pubward after the London-Paris Number Theory Seminar at Imperial College this afternoon. Perhaps I shouldn't tell them I'm ditching them for ukuleles.

Along my cycle route to work

Grand Masters Game 5

I just finished watching Jujo Jiang's audio lecture on this 1954 Jubango game between Go Seigen and Sakata Eio. I love hearing in his voice the delight he takes in reviewing these beautiful old games.