Chinatown in London

Was great meeting up with my good friend from highschool and bridesmaid, Desray, in Chinatown for some dimsum at New World Restaurant.

Chinatown in London is made up of a few small streets and one long street.

A Vegan's worst nightmare!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas :)

Christmas is a month away, and already it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas :) The street lights are up, the Christmas Trees and Reindeers are out and the Snow Globes (yes snow globes!) are out!

Covent Garden with Lego Snow Globe and giant Christmas Tree

Eros in a Snow Globe!

Festive Covent Garden

Lego London

Giant red-nosed Rudolph 

Neal Street. Athol with left over Strawberry and Berry Scrunch from great vegetarian restaurant Food for Thought.

Lights. lights and more lights.

St. Martins Square. Feels a bit like Melrose Arch in JHB

Worst winter expected for Britain in more than 60 years!

I read this article below, all I can say is..... YIKES!

We've survived a Boston Winter, so hopefully we survive this! :) Luckily we brought all our Boston winter gear.

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100 DAYS OF HEAVY SNOW: Britain now facing worst winter in SIXTY YEARS warn forecasters

LONG-RANGE weather forecasters have warned that Britain should prepare for heavy and persistent snow for up to THREE MONTHS with winter 2013 set to be the worst in more than 60 years.

By: Nathan Rao

Published: Sun, November 17, 2013

The latest detailed forecasts for winter 2013 ALL point towards months of relentless extreme cold with heavy snow 'extremely likely' across the country.

Arctic air will roar in from the North Pole later this week, triggering the start of the worst winter in many people's lifetimes.

Experts in long-range weather forecasting said the WHOLE of Britain should be prepared for this winter to be the most severe since 1947, which saw the UK hit by relentless snow and some of the lowest temperatures on record.
February 1947 was the coldest in history with heavy snow the following month leading to seven-metre high drifts.

Flooding was also a problem as rain ran off frozen ground in torrents leading to widespread chaos on the roads.

As the Daily Express reported at the time, roads and railways across Britain were blocked by huge Arctic blizzards.

Coal supplies - already low in the wake of WWII - struggled to get reach power stations and many were forced to shut down, causing widespread blackouts.
The lack of power supplies became so critical that at one point radio and TV broadcasts were suspended, magazines were ordered to stop being published and many newspapers were forced to cut their size.

And the latest long-range predictions for this winter show a pattern that look eerily similar to that infamous year, with bitter Arctic gales leading to feet-deep snow drifts right up until February.
Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said: “Early indications are that this winter is looking particularly severe, and we could see parallels with the shocking winter of 1947.

“The models are pointing towards a high pressure blocking system which will hold cold air over the UK, and it becomes stagnant, meaning any rain turns to snow and temperatures are persistently much lower.

“There are signs it could hold out until March, meaning winter misery on the cards for millions.”

The latest dire warnings come as temperatures begin to dip around the UK with the first real taste of winter likely to hit on Monday.

James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said Britain is braced for “copious” snowfall this winter with extreme cold expected to last into the spring.
He added that Britain faces “an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times”.

He said: “An exceptionally prolonged period of widespread cold is highly likely to develop throughout this winter and last into next spring.

“It will be accompanied by snow drifts of several feet and long-lasting snow accumulations on a widespread scale.

“This period of snow and cold is likely to result in an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times.

“A scenario similar to December 2010 is likely to develop, but on a more prolonged scale in terms of overall duration.”

January is likely to bring the worst of the weather although Britain will shiver in below-average temperatures for the next three months.

He said: “This is certainly a record-breaking and historical weather period which is likely to see one of the coldest and snowiest starts to British New Year in a very long time.”

Doctors warn temperatures persistently dipping low as -15C (5F) will lead to a crisis on over-stretched hospital wards.

Experts say 25,000 elderly people die every year from the cold and this year’s toll could be even higher.

Professor Mike Morgan, of NHS England, said: “My message to the public is simple: look after yourself this winter.

“If you know someone who is frail or elderly or has an existing health problem and they are feeling unwell, encourage them to seek early advice, go to their local pharmacy or GP before one problem leads to another and they end up in hospital.”

The Met Office agrees temperatures will sink over the next 30 days with snow on the way.

Its 30-day outlook states: “Conditions are not expected to be as mild as recent weeks, instead, temperatures are thought more likely to be just below average than above.

“Snow is not unusual during late November and early December.

“So, with temperatures more likely to be just below average, the chance of seeing snow across the UK increases relative to recent weeks.”

Local Authorities are on standby for a particularly severe winter with gritters at the ready and more salt stockpiled than last year.

Around 95 per cent of councils are either maintaining or increasing stock levels this winter, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

Half of councils also plan to share resources with neighbouring councils while some are  adopting new methods of tackling winter including GPS trackers on gritters.

Local authorities are also using liquid de-icers, brine and sugar-coated salt which is less likely to be blown off roads by wind or traffic.

Airport bosses warned cancellations would be “the most effective way” of dealing with severe weather.

British Airways’ operations director Andy Lord said: “I can’t guarantee that. There will be, on occasions, desks that won’t have people on them.”

He said BA was considering moving some flights from Heathrow to Gatwick in bad weather.

But he warned some people diverted to Gatwick would need to then get to Heathrow for connecting flights.

He added: “Inevitably there will be disruption at Heathrow if there are problems elsewhere.”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/443462/Winter-2013-expected-to-be-worst-since-1947-with-heavy-and-persistent-snow-forecast-for-UK


 

Roberto Unger talk at LSE - 14 November 2013

Date: Thursday 14 November 2013
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Chair: Jo Fidgen 
                 
The progressive left lacks the imagination to tackle the fundamental problems of society. Renowned social theorist Roberto Unger calls on fellow progressives in Britain to think beyond current institutional arrangements.

Roberto Mangabeira Unger is the Roscoe Pound Professor of Law at Harvard University. He served as a minister in the Brazilian government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2007-2009. 

In 1976, at 29 years old, Unger became one of the youngest faculty members to receive tenure from the Harvard Law School. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Unger

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I was very privileged to attend this interview with Harvard Professor, Roberto Unger, on Thursday evening.

Athol had taken a course at Harvard with Roberto Unger so I have heard a lot about him.

Roberto Unger spoke about how he believed that we must all live larger lives, he felt that volunteering and being responsible for the welfare of others should be encouraged and maybe even compulsory. He said that we need to break the boundaries of family selfishness. I totally agree with him on this, as man needs to become less greedy and help those less fortunate. He also said that we need to focus on doing the small things that have a large impact in order to bring about change.

He is a great believer in experimental behavior and believes that that is how we will improve society, even if there are risks and high costs involved.

He believes in borderless countries and that we shouldn't be constrained by our place of birth.

When asked if he agreed with Russell Brand's view on not voting, he said that he disagrees and that it is our responsibility as citizens to play our part in society, we shouldn't just do nothing because we are not happy with the current system.

When asked to summarise his beliefs in one sentence, he said " we must die only once!".

Prof. Unger had some very interesting views,  I agreed with many of the things that he said.

The world as it is, has many problems and I believe that there is scope for change and improvements. This sort of radical thinking does challenge the norms and thus could lead to better systems which ultimately is better for mankind.

Walks along the Thames River

We are very fortunate to live right in the heart of London.

There are tons of shops within walking distance.

It is nice to walk along the Thames River, even at night. You can see the London Eye and Big Ben (although it wasn't lit up tonight!).

Athol with the London Eye

The London Eye & Sea Life Aquarian

Common in London - when you cross a road you will see 'LOOK LEFT' or 'LOOK RIGHT'.



Us with the London Eye Behind us



 Me along the Thames River with Big Ben in the background

Us in London! The London Eye behind us

Our adventure in London begins

This blog was originally called 'Year in the US' but I had to change it to 'Taryn's Adventures Abroad' since we are now also spending 9 months in London. This way, it's generic and will be a great way to document all our adventures, wherever we may go :)

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I've been in London for a week now. I arrived on Friday 1 November 2013. It's been pretty cold! Today's temperatures are 3 degrees (min) and 9 degrees (max). Much colder than I would have expected for London. Fortunately, I've brought all my Boston winter boots, gloves, thermal tights and jacket to keep me warm.

Athol arrived at on 28 September 2013 as registration at LSE was on 1 October 2013. He is studying Political Theory at the London School of Economics (LSE) and is loving it. This is a new area of interest for him, so is loving the academic rigor, learnings and debates. LSE is one (if not the best) of the best universities to study Political Theory.

London is great, we stayed here for two months (April - June 2010) when Athol still worked for Bain & Co. and I worked for Old Mutual. We really enjoyed living here so I was excited to be living here again.

We are living right in the heart of London -  about 2 minutes away from Trafalgar Square, 5 minutes from Leicester Square, 8, minutes from Picadilly Circus, 10 minutes away from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and 15 minutes from Buckingham Palace. So everything is within walking distance and very convenient. LSE is about 10 minutes away.

 

The one downside is that it is very noisy and always lots of people around.

I'm not sure LSE in in the heart of busy London. West End is very expensive as there are many theatres, fancy restaurants, Covent Garden, etc. Food and Rental is extremely expensive.

We had chosen to live in the LSE accommodation as we didn't have many other options. Trying to find accommodation from South Africa was difficult, I came across a few scamsters trying to pull a fast one on poor foreign students looking for accommodation. Luckily, our experience from Harvard has made us wiser so that we are not fooled by scamsters.

The accommodation is basic, we have a double room with two desks, chairs, cupboards, bookshelves, pedestals, lamps and bins. We are on the fourth floor, which faces the busy Northumberland Avenue. We have two large windows so we have a lot of natural light (when London gets sun!). The bathroom has a nice shower - its small but adequate.

My first day in London!

 My desk and our scullery (on the shelf! :) )

Athol's desk

 

We share a kitchen with a few other students - there are 3 fridges, a kettle, toaster, 2 stoves and ovens, 2 zincs, ironing board, vacuum and a little area next to the kitchen with a couch, armchair and 4 bar stools.  In the basement there is a laundry room with 5 washing machines and 5 dryers (costs $1.50 per wash/dry). There is a common room with couches and a TV, a computer room with computers and a printer and a study room. Real student life! :) There is a reception area downstairs with staff. This building is used as a hotel open to the public during the Summer holidays.

There are many little supermarkets nearby - Tesco, Sainsburys, The Co-operative, M&S, Tesco Direct and Spar. The Charing Cross station is also close, which has many shops like Burger King, Upper Crust, etc. The South African shop is also nearby, they sell all South African favourites like Chutney, Niknaks, Cream Soda, etc.

Last Sunday we went to buy falafel shwarmas and went to sit on a bench in Leister Square. They redid this square for the 2012 Olympics. There is now a William Shakespeare statue in the centre with fountains.

We live literally a 3 min walk away from the Thames River and from there you can see the London Eye and Big Ben. The one night we walked around to the London Eye and back along the pedestrian bridge which has great views of Big Ben. Reminds me of our walks in Boston, we used to walk along the Charles River to Harvard Square at 11pm at nights.

I've settled in nicely, so nice to re-united with my husband again :) thank goodness for Skype. Skyping twice a day and Whatsapp made our time apart much easier.  I had stayed back in CT to sort out a couple of things, in particular to get our book OAKY AND THE SUN printed and to manage our initiative READ to RISE to promote literacy by distributing books in Mitchells Plain. There is still lots to be done, but I can manage it from London, thankfully we have some people on the ground in CT.

So we will be here in London for another 6 weeks and then we will be back in CT on 19 December in time for our niece Hannah's birthday, Christmas and New Year. Then Athol's classes start on 12 January 2014.

So we've got 6 weeks this year to enjoy life in London! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some sunny days :)