Another Qype event brought me to Salt Bar, a whisky bar on Edgware Road. I’m slowly trying to learn to like whisky. Usually I have to have mine mixed with gingerale. Yet, a pairing of whiskies with traditional Scottish foods sounded intriguing. Talisker Whisky from the Isle of Skye was our host and we sampled three of their whiskies along with salmon blinis, haggis and tatties, and a chocolate mousse. Yes, folks, I tried my first haggis, which was first addressed by a Robert Burns poem:
Address to a Haggis.
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin’-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang’s my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
‘Bethankit’ hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect sconner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither’d rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit:
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He’ll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.
Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
What a great little gem! I had no idea this pub was lurking just a street over from my bus route. This is why Qype events are so great–they call attention to places that should be on your radar.
From the time I stepped in for a pint and ordered some chips (with some yummy garlic aioli) to the time I met Henry, the world’s cutest chef, I was smitten.
The atmosphere is intoxicating (yeah yeah, har har) and the food on the plates that passed me looked delish. And while I cant speak for the things I saw (including some rarely seen cuts of meat, hello HEART?!!), I can say the Scotch eggs are worth a nibble. I’d also pull up a chair to the bar and order one of the charcuterie platters, filled with delicate slices of meats and amazing fresh breads.
It is the current trend in blogs to write some sort of retrospective or a ‘best of’ from 2009. Since I barely had time to blog this year, which really makes no sense as a student, I wont recall a list of links. I would rather share a few things that made life fun and interesting this year regardless of whether they made it on my blog. So here is my top 5 of 2009.
QYPE – Early on in my time here in London, I came to need a hair salon. Not having many friends who have similar hair needs, I went online and came across a recommendation. I booked at appointment, had a successful experience and returned to the website to add my own opinion. Not only did my hair salon reward me for this on my next booking by giving me a free treatment, but after I began using the website more and more, I received an email to join a guru event. I, along with some other fantastic ladies and a couple of men, had an opportunity to go on a speed boat tour of London. Meeting the lovely people of Qype, and some new friendly faces, I was hooked; thus began my relationship with Qype. They allowed me to attend master classes, wine tastings, food tastings, special shopping events and more in exchange for my opinions of the businesses online. Being a poor student, this was a great way to be treated to some of the best things London has to offer in a budget friendly way. It also brought me new friends and true understanding of the importance of peer recommendation.
Below is the video that shows that first Qype experience.
2: Social Media – Without Twitter, I would not have the social life or business connections that I have now. My first week in London I attended a social media cafe event called ‘Tuttle’ and a few weeks later I attended my first London tweet-up in Shoreditch. These events expanded my network and introduced me to other events coordinated via social media including Twestival, London Bloggers Meet-ups, Silicon Stilettos and various conferences. The list is long, but I’d like to mention some of my favorite people that I have met along the way: Mat, Darika, Josh, Mauricio, Lewis, Dom, Litman, Laura, Stuart, Melanie, Kai, Willem, Fernando, Alfie and Conor. There are many others who have been friendly faces to look forward to at each event, or even in random passing on the streets, but this list includes those people who have become friends. They are my dinner dates and drinking buddies and they are inspirational and encouraging.
3: Central Saint Martins – 2009 was also the year I returned to school for my Masters. I chose a program called Design Studies where the students from multiple disciplines come together to tackle briefs in a collaborative way. While many MA programs are based solely on research, this program also had a practical element, which I found to be more relevant to my needs. In the end, I tackled the subject of trust and how having an online/digital presence could strengthen trust in offline relationships. While my final exhibit was not a mind-blowing demonstration of my knowledge, I am perfectly comfortable with the wisdom gained from this project. While I do not have my degree in hand yet, I have completed my MA and can walk in full cap and gown glory in the summer.
4: Visits – I wouldn’t have thought I’d see my family so much this year, being abroad and all. My parents came in the spring and we set off for Paris for a few days and also had a couple days around London to visit. Then, in the summer, they flew over to Vienna for a cruise. I flew over to meet them for a quick visit. In September, I went home for a few weeks before returning just in time to have my sis and niece visit. We had such a blast! We did video-blogs for Lauren that were so cute. I loved seeing her discover London. It reminded me of why I loved this city so much after my first visit.
I also had a chance to visit with many friends who were either passing through or spending a few days in London. This list includes:
Steffi – a friend from Holland that I learned to surf with and went to school with in Australia — came to see me (twice!)
Chris – an ex-boyfriend/now friend — came to study the archives at the British Library for this PhD in Theatre (plays with absinthe!)
Megan S – a co-worker from BR — came over with her MBA class, we had dinner at Jamie Oliver restaurant Fifteen (yum!)
Megan R – one of my best friends from KC and former classmate at Oxford — here for work (please send her back for more!!)
Vince – a co-worker from BR and all-around great guy/good friend — here on holiday with his bros, it was bonus that I was here (haha)
Matty – Hendrix/Choir friend – here on holiday and was the one who set me up with a singing opportunity at Westminster Abbey (bless!)
John De- American Idol PA friend — here to photograph a wedding, and again, I was bonus (good times!!)
5: Sam – The majority of my year would not have been complete without this wonderful guy. I can say without hesitation that he is my best friend. On many occasions he was the voice of reason and encouragement, my caretaker and my ass-saver. He made me laugh until I had tears more times than I would care to admit – it seriously became a joke. We traveled together to Dublin, Brighton, the Cotswolds, Derbyshire and Vienna; played ridiculous amounts of Scrabble; and watched hours and hours of tv episodes. I have very few memories from this year that do not include him, which tells you how big of a part of it he was. While I dont know what the future holds for us, I’m glad he is in my life for now.
I am trying something new. I have added a feature that allows my reviews for Qype to be uploaded here. It posts automatically, so I will have to come in and do any posting of photos or videos to it after it is already live.
Great prices for a ton of food. Boy and I chose to share the Meze platter. We had so much food for us that it was silly. I dont know how to pronounce most of what we had, but as far as the standard eats – the tastes were right on! Lots of good veg and tender meat bites served with a basket of pita for the many dips and delicious sauces — yum. The only bummer for me was that the dolmas/dolmades did not live up to my taste standards. But one dish out of ten is not too bad.
