Late Nights in the Middle of June: June Dump
June has been filled with sunshine, socializing, and lots of reading in the park! I've been madly trying to pack all of the things in before I move home.
Work has been decent. There are always some fun trips in the Summer term. Josh and I took 24-year 3/5s on a day trip to Oxford for a sports competition. We loaded the kids on the couch and made the 2+ hour journey. After dealing with some motion-sick children (gross) and hearing the same questions repeated a million times "Are we there yet?" and "How much longer?" we made it! The event was held at the Oxford University sports complex. It is cool to say I've been inside now, though it isn't as impressive as you might imagine. The kids participated in various sports competitions and had a lot of fun. After, we made the long journey back to the school. It was a fun day! We also took the Year 3's to Tate Modern, which was a pleasant trip overall. It was fun talking to the kids about what makes something art and whether they thought certain exhibitions were art. I've spent a lot of time making gingerbread and decorating it with the kids with something that makes them proud to be themselves, it was a fun idea! We've continued to have work drinks and foosball tournaments at Hare & Hounds almost every Friday after work; it has been nice to move from the inside to the patio. Tara and I went to Emine's house for an impromptu dinner/wine evening after work one evening. I saw a fox close up; it was very skinny and freaky looking!
Frances, Jin, Tori and I continued with our weekly movie nights, and Jin and I went for another Moroccan breakfast. Jin and I grabbed a drink at The Anchor Bankside, a charming pub overlooking the river. Jin, Frances and I checked out a cute little local pub near our place that I have wanted to try for nearly 2 years! It is called The Surprise and is tucked into a little corner of Larkhall Park. We ordered a pitcher of Pimms, which was so tasty, and we got some delicious wood-fired pizzas! Everyone there was so chill and friendly, with such a relaxed vibe. Ireland and I caught up over drinks at Be At One in Covent Garden for 2-4-1 cocktails after work one night.
I've been so lucky to have some Canadian visitors from home! My cousin Brock and I met for some drinks in Chiswick. We went to a cozy pub called the Crown & Anchor and then another one called The Lamb. It was so nice to catch up! I met up with my friend Larissa and her boyfriend, who has been travelling around Europe! We met for dinner and a drink at a pub called the Leicester Arms in central London. We had a really nice catch-up, it has been ages since I've seen them, and it was so fun to hear about their travels!
The weather has finally gotten gorgeous in London. A few of us headed to Hampstead Heath on a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon. We lounged in the sun, had a picnic and went swimming in the pond. There is a free pond across from the paid mixed bathing ponds where the water isn't treated. You aren't supposed to swim there, but everyone does. Despite the no swimming signs everywhere, we hopped in there to cool down. I just made sure not to put my head under; I felt pretty gross after, but I'm sure I've in worse. The British are strange when it comes to their 'wild' swimming here.
Ella and I took a lovely day trip to Rye. It takes about an hour by train. However, you have to make one change. Our train from London to Ashford was delayed so we missed our next train. We found a cute beer garden called Yard Bar and had a beer; it had such a nice chilled atmosphere. We then caught the train from Ashford to Rye and wandered the adorable streets. We found a charming pub/beer garden called The Ypres Castle Inn that specializes in craft beer, real cider, natural wine and some smaller bar snacks; their tap list is always changing. We had some delicious craft beer and a cheese platter in the sun. We wandered around some more and then grabbed a Mexican dinner at Los Gringos, the food and drinks were really tasty! It was such a lovely day to take a trip out of London, and it was so nice to catch up with Ella.
We had a lovely Saturday afternoon picnic and drinks at Regents Park. It was a beautiful day, and so nice to catch up with everyone, including my favourite London pup Stormy. At one point, five Pomeranians approached us and crashed our picnic; it was a dream come true! We journeyed to Kat and Camilo's flat to drop Stormy off. While there, we had a drink and played some ukulele and sang. Haley taught me to play a song! Then we headed out to go to Old Street Records. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us in as some people in our group wore athletic clothes. We found a few other places in the area, danced, and then headed home.
My friends from work and I headed to Brewhouse & Kitchen in Highbury and Islington for drinks before a concert. It has a nice vibe and some good interesting beers. We then headed to Emirates Stadium to see Arctic Monkeys. The concert was a lot of fun, they were excellent! We were lucky because they cancelled their show the next day due to laryngitis.
The Canadian gang headed to Brewdog Soho on a Wednesday for £13 bottomless buffalo wings. What started as a wing-eating contest between Kevin and Jin quickly became a whole group competition. We mixed in some cauliflower wings with our chicken wings. Jayden won, coming in at 37; I was second with 26 (apparently, I am more competitive and stubborn than I thought, I had to beat TJ), TJ ate 25, Haley ate 17, Kevin 21, Lindsay 14, Jin 13. I have never been so full, but it was so funny. After, Haley, TJ, Tori, and I stopped at a place called Below Stone Nest with a cool vibe. We listened to some live music and then headed home.
Comments
Post a Comment