This is a restaurant around the corner from the school where I work. It appears to have once been a pub -- you can see the old name, The Blenheim, up near the roofline -- but now it's called Cafe Med. I like their Christmas tree over the doorway.
London is thawing out. The snow has melted from our back garden and the ice is finally gone from the front steps. (Fortunately, so I don't have to worry about the dog-sitter slipping on it.) I spent yesterday mostly indoors, doing lots of reading. I am loving "The Last Resort," the book by Sarah Stodola that I mentioned yesterday -- she takes us to all sorts of exotic locales (Cancun, Sumba, Barbados, Nicaragua, Fiji) and explores the relationship between modern, all-inclusive beach resorts and the nearby communities and ecology. It may sound dry but it is not. Stodola is lightly snarky about the overpriced cocktails, mediocre buffet food and absurd creature comforts, while weaving in lots of history about beach vacationing and the origins of certain resorts, and their future prospects in an era of pandemics and climate change. It's really good travel writing.
I did run out to do a couple of minor tasks -- buy trash bags, pick up our cleaning. I had to get some cash to leave the dog-sitter (part of the deal is that we pay her a daily stipend in cash, in addition to her daily wage, ostensibly for her fresh food which seems ridiculous to me but whatever) and I wanted to get a card for the dog-walker as well. Must keep Queen Olga's attendants happy!
Queen Olga, however, wasn't interested in a walk yesterday because it was raining.
I feel like all my pictures have been very monochromatic over the past week or so, so let me give you a blast of color:
I found this poster in the tube a couple of weeks ago. It amused me that they felt the need to specify drunken abuse. Surely sober abuse is no better? (TFL stands for Transport for London, the organization that runs the tube.)
The Last Resort sounds very interesting. My younger brother often goes to all-inclusive resorts in locales you mentioned and loves them. I on the other hand have never been to one. Although it sounds appealing for a day, perhaps two, I think I would get bored and want to experience the local culture which my brother says is often dangerous outside the resort in several of those places. As a result, I just haven't ever gone to one.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the poster is saying that they will accept sober abuse of staff. If one is to be abused then slurring and hiccuping can be most offensive - not to mention the alcoholic breath and lurching. I have no idea why a pink "Marigold" kitchen glove got in on the act.
ReplyDeleteSo now there’ll be a whole bunch of sober abuse. They’ve opened a can of worms. I want to take that pub and turn it into a house. They can leave the Christmas tree. Nice touch.
ReplyDeleteThis is part of a series of posters on the Underground each one covering a different form of abuse, some refer to crimes against staff and some refer to fellow travellers, hate crimes, abuse of all sorts, so your readers need fear not that only drunken abuse is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteCafe Med is a very handsome building.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your dog sitter is going to be living in high style! She may not want to leave when you get home.
You are spoiling your dog sitter so she can spoil your Olga! Sounds fair. Have you eaten at that restaurant?
ReplyDeleteThe service at your place is terrific. Much better than the places I house sat for pets sometimes. Your sitter ought to give Olga five star treatment.
ReplyDeleteI looked up the restaurant on google street view. What a lovely street it's situated on. I smiled to myself when I saw Loudoun Rd. I have a relative with that last name in my genealogy. I thought it was just a misspelling of London.
ReplyDeleteYour dog walker sounds a little entitled.
Cafe Med looks like a nice place to eat.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you have this time to prepare for your trip. I've had a couple of trips where it snuck up on me and I didn't feel quite prepared.
I wonder if the TFL get a spate of drunken abuse this time of year. There is a lot of seasonal drinking going on.
A daily stipend in cash above her daily wage? Shouldn't her daily wage cover her food? And it has to be cash? She can't get her own cash from her bank?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that restaurant had been a pub, it doesn't look anything like the pubs you've shown us. Probably just a named building, a fancy apartment building probably.
That's a lovely looking restaurant. Have you ever eaten there?
ReplyDeleteQueen Olga and I are a lot alike... I don't like to walk in the rain either.
Anything that keeps Olga's caregivers happy is worth it, as long as they do a good job. I've never been to a resort, all-inclusive or otherwise. Maybe it's something I'll do before I die. I love finding a good writer who can present otherwise boring information in a way that's interesting.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
What a beautiful building; it reminds me of the old Masonic Temple in Tacoma that's been turned into a McMenamins.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I can get my employer to give me a daily cash allowance for lunch? On second thought, I'd probably just spend it on candy & donuts, so maybe not. Ha!
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip, here's hoping you get decent weather.
ReplyDeleteAll I could think of was "Club Med" when I saw the name of the restaurant.... which, of course, fits right in with the book you're reading!
ReplyDeleteAny news of your health issues?
ReplyDeleteI just got off the phone with my cousin in North Dakota. She said it was 6 below zero and they'd received 13 inches of snow in the past week. She made a beach vacation sound like a great idea to me!
ReplyDeletePaying for a pet sitter's food as well as a daily wage for the actual work is a new one on me.
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas tree over the cafe is nice.
ReplyDeleteCash for food seems like an income tax dodge to me.
I think perhaps 2021 campaigns began here about abuse of transport staff and has moved into all areas now, especially retail and medical services. Rather sad that there must be a need for the campaigns.
Always interesting too read something that is written in a different style.
ReplyDeleteI guess if I'm not drunk I can be the biggest ass to people?? Good to know ...
ReplyDeleteEd: We went to one in Vietnam. It was nice and super-comfortable but I didn't like feeling so cut off from the local people and culture. Some resorts discourage guests from leaving by telling them it's dangerous to do so, because they then spend more money at the resort itself.
ReplyDeleteYP: Everyone knows how hostile those kitchen gloves are!
Mitchell: It would make an interesting house. In fact I'm surprised someone hasn't already done that, in that neighborhood. (Which is very swanky.)
Rachel: Thanks for putting that in context! I haven't seen the other posters. I'll have to watch for them.
Ms Moon: I had nightmares about that, believe me. What if she's some kind of scam artist and squats in our flat and we can't get her out?!
Ellen D: I ate there years ago but I haven't been back recently. I don't remember it being all that.
Boud: She would be Olga's own Jeeves!
Pixie: It's a very nice neighborhood. Lots of expensive houses.
Sharon: We scheduled it deliberately to give us a few days of preparation.
Ellen: I completely agree. I don't see why her food couldn't come out of her pay. This service is a little ridiculous.
Robin: I ate there years ago. I don't remember much about it.
Janie: As they say, there are no boring stories -- only boring reporters.
Margaret: Interesting! I love it when old buildings are repurposed.
Bug: We get lunch as part of our work contract. It's a fun little side bonus.
Allison: Well, we're not going now -- so much for that! (See subsequent post.)
Kelly: The book talks about Club Med and its origins, as a matter of fact.
John: Oh, they're fine. The scans turned up nothing untoward. I have been taking my PPI for indigestion and trying to be careful with my stomach and things seem better.
Catalyst: Ugh! Do you read Red's blog, up in Alberta? He's been getting weather like that.
Colette: I am not thrilled about this pet-sitter.
Andrew: I do think transport staff face a lot of abuse, but one wonders if some of that isn't due to the way the transport systems are run. I mean, abuse is NEVER acceptable, but our transit systems are being stretched and curtailed in ways that are frustrating to passengers. (Strikes, for example.)
Red: It's true; sometimes it's good to read something unusual or different.
Bob: LOL -- exactly!