I Thought London Was Empty
Various doom-mongers have said that London was empty.
I Thought London Was Empty
This Carluccio’s in Covent Garden seems to be bucking the trend. It looks like it’s standing room only!
Millennium and Wembley Stadiums Compared
I’m not comparing anything, but their use for football, as I’ve experienced both in the last few days.
I’d say Wembley is very Jaguar, whereas the much less expediently-built stadium in Cardiff is more Audi, with more concrete and wood and less marble.
On the other hand, the sight lines in Cardiff, may even be better to those at Wembley. You also seem to closer to the action. I wonder, if this is because it is a much squarer stadium than Wembley. Only an architect with experience of sports grounds would know.
Food in both stadia is the usual gluten-rich junk, but then as the Millennium Stadium is in the centre of Cardiff, anybody who like me is choosy with his food will eat off-stadium. That is not really an option at Wembley, so I always eat before I leave home or in the centre of London.
The Millennium Stadium does lose on access to the trains, whereas Wembley has improved greatly in the last ten years. I believe Cardiff Central station is being rebuilt, so hopefully, better access will come. But a nearly three hour wait for a train to London is unacceptable, even if First Great Western were their usual helpful self, even handing out bottled water.
A Coeliac Compares Islington and Highbury Corner Waitroses
I have two Waitroses close to me and both are just a single bus ride from the stop on my corner. The Islington store is at the Angel and the Highbury Corner one is just a littleWaitrose across the road from Highbury and Islington station.
I can get most things I need in the Highbury Corner store, except for the goats’ milk and yoghurt, that I like. They even have the Genius Gluten Free bread and a good selection of gluten-free cakes and biscuits.
The bigger store at Islington, is always a bit short and the bread is sometimes non-existent. They do generally stock some gluten-free beer, which I haven’t checked for at Highbury Corner.
The Rise of Gambling Spam
I’ve had the impression for a week or so now, that the amount of spam I’m getting from dodgy gambling sites has been grown somewhat.
On the 1st, to the 7th of August, I’ve received 26, 32, 25, 21, 35, 24 and 29 messages respectively. A few months ago, they were quite rare.
They are ideal practice for using the Delete key on your computer.
I must admit I do like the odd small bet, but then only when I have inside information about the nag involved.
The only thing I do with Spam is occasionally eat it, as I’m a coeliac and it’s gluten-free.
I have now found that most of this spam comes from a website called http://www.promotion-rewards.com,which is registered with a Slovenia address.
Canoe Slalom At The Lee Valley – Food
Inside the venue, there was nothing I could eat, but I did bring a salad from Waitrose and I ate that outside in the Park, before I went in. These pictures tell the story.
There was a stand selling what they said was healthy food. But it was vegetarian and not gluten-free! And there were no salads!
So luckily, I got it right, but then I always assume there is nothing for me inside a venue. Soft drinks weren’t a problem and I didn’t feel that £2.30 for the standard bottle of diet Coke was over expensive.
BTLondonLive At Victoria Park
I did pop in briefly to the free BTLondonLive event in Victoria Park.
The only gluten-free food I could find was the paella, which wasn’t labelled as such, but as far as I could tell didn’t contain any gluten-containing ingredients. Note that they don’t let you take in food and drink. So for a coeliac, it’s paella or nothing.
I left fairly soon after I got there, as they weren’t showing the cycling, which of course, I could view at home. But as it was only a short bus ride from the end of my road, I wasn’t really bothered.
The New Little Waitrose at Highbury and Islington
It opened yesterday and I was impressed.
The only thing I couldn’t find of my staple purchases was the Waitrose goat’s milk. But surprisingly they had the Genius bread and the Genius fruit bread, which is rather difficult to get elsewhere. There was also gluten-free biscuits and cakes.
It will be a great help for me, as often I come out of Highbury and Islington station after coming home on the Victoria line. So at least I won’t starve.
I was impressed, and the average coeliac could do a lot worse round here. If anybody is going to the Olympics on the London Overground, it will be a good place to pick up a picnic. You could even go round the corner and eat it in Highbury Fields, which is rather a smart little park.
Praise For Hackney, Wooden Spoon for Wandsworth
I know I missed the torch at the end of my road, but that was mainly because I took too long for a pit stop, but I did know where it was going to go, as the maps were good. But that is not what can be said for Wandsworth yesterday, where I tried to see the torch about 17:00. When I asked around, people seemed to be very anti-Olympics and it seemed mainly because of the Olympic Route Network, that made driving difficult. But then I always remember that driving is difficult south of the river.
Wandsworth or at least the centre is perhaps best summed up by the old Ram Brewery site. There’s even an old steam engine in there somewhere, that worked until the 1980s.
It used to produce one of the best real ales, but look at it now.
Chemical lager manufacturers have a lot to answer for. ADanish friend of mine once said that in Denmark, Carlsberg bought up every brewer and meant the only beer you could get is their product. He advised all in the UK, to not let it happen here.
It doesn’t matter to me now, as I can’t drink beer, but I know many feel that the destruction of the traditional British drinking culture has been one of the disasters of the last few decades. As a policeman once told me in all seriousness, you never get trouble in a real ale pub.
Are Carluccio’s Putting In Extra Seats For The Torch Relay?
Carluccio’s in Upper Street in Islington is covered in scaffolding, as this picture shows.
Are Carluccio’s Putting In Extra Seats For The Torch Relay?
As the Olympic Torch Relay passes their restaurant on the 26th of July at around 08:20, are they putting in extra seats to take advantage of the expected crowds?
One of the Only Gluten-Free Snacks At Eastfield
As I’ve said before Eastfield, or Westfield Stratford City as the developers prefer, is a place where gluten-free food for lunch or dinner is difficult to find.
This is all I could find, other than loaves in Waitrose and Marks and Spencer.
One of the Only Gluten-Free Snacks At Eastfield
Even Starbucks only had the usual excellent brownie and a cheese and coleslaw sandwich. And I just think coleslaw is food for German rabbits.
Returning to the Marks sandwich, what do you do if you’re Jewish or Muslim and fancy something substantial?
I suppose we could always live on Starbucks brownies for a few hours, but the lack of choice does really put me off going to Eastfield.
The Anonymous Widower 