So, this morning  from my cosy seat on the no. 68 bus I noticed a strange phenomena outside waterloo station. People standing in lines for buses as they waited for them to arrive  and then boarding in an extremely orderly fashion. I started peering around, trying to look for some sort of bus-stop marshal or massive signs saying ‘You better queue, or else’, but there were none. Could it be that the commuters of the south west were fulfilling the expectations of the British etiquette for queuing all off their own back?

Have I got it really wrong and have been only making use of London’s rude bus stops where it’s more a case of bundling and shuffling as one great organism onto the bus?  You know, everyone probably trying not to be too rude  and to make allowances for those who really should go on first (kiddies, those with walking sticks, pregnant women) while at the same time trying  to make sure that sneaky, elbow-heavy people don’t get ahead and take that last seat.

I just wonder how it all started, this queuing in Waterloo business, when to my understanding bus stops elsewhere are more like bars- bundle and shuffle and no queue? Maybe the first person to get off a train and wait for a bus each morning is extremely polite! Maybe it’s one of those unsaid behavioural traditions like standing on the right on escalators that commuters just DO. Well, queues are said to be very powerful things. Potentially,  if you plotted yourself in the middle of a busy pavement somewhere in London other people walking by might nestle in behind you just because they thought you were a queue. Heh heh. I dare one of you to try it out.

Apparently we spend the equivalent of 23 working days a year waiting in queues! Surely that figure has got to be wrong- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/590856.stm that is an outrageous amount of time wasted! It’s got to be one of the most blood boiling activities on the planet. Just about doable in comfortable shoes and when the queue is moving along fairly quickly, but so unpleasant when not. Really, it’s a wonder we feel the queue and queuing is such an intrinsic part of our culture when I’m sure we all hate it so much.

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Only seems 5 minutes ago that the world cup finished but the new football season is already underway. Thus it’s time to find your team shirt and get down the pub to watch the games over drinks and have a good shout at the screen. I missed the first weekend of games but sure I will be tuning in to plenty of matches over the season. Many of you will no doubt throw abuse back at me for saying I support Man U! (more so as I’m not from anywhere near Manchester!) But he-ho, they had a good first game so we’ll see how it goes.

So have you guys been on your holidays already or do some of you still have them to look forward to?

I’ve just been in Ireland for a week, so I’m loving all things from and related to there even more than I did before! Spent a couple of days in Belfast and did a few of the obvious things, like the bus tour and being embarrassed by my friend who wasn’t at all conscious to open the map up fully to keep checking where we were! We were told to head to the Crown bar for a drink, and it’s a beautiful old pub. We ended up chatting to a local couple and carried on with them to the next stop on their saturday afternoon pub crawl. Just like that guy says on the radio advert; “Go where Ireland takes you”.

From Northern Ireland we headed West to the coast in Donegal and then down to Mayo. Beautiful loughs and mountains and beaches. Part of my criteria for the trip was plenty of pubs and traditional music, which we achieved 7 out of 9 evening so pretty good going. From The Reel Inn in Donegal to Matt Molloys’ in Westport, such a good time. I’m not a Guinness drinker, so couldn’t enjoy a pint but I think my friend drank enough for all 4 of us.

Any of you been to these places or from anywhere near them?

It’s a bit of a contrast to come back from the countryside and quiet towns to the fast pace of London city life! Any recommendations for other parts of Ireland and I can start planning my next trip??!

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Makes the world go round, right? We love to loathe it, but for most of us money plays a significant part in how we experience the world. Not just how much we have, but how we think about it and how we spend it.

Florence and me were having a chat here in the office about the difference between the UK and France when it comes to paying for drinks in a bar. She said when she first ordered a pint over here out with a group of friends she was counting out her pounds and coppers on the table like she always would back home, just for her drink, then was amazed when someone paid for all 8 or so people’s drinks in a round. I was saying that although that’s the general British culture, the recent recession has meant that people have been thinking differently about how to spend their pennies. For some people being extremely careful in their choices has empowered them, for others ignoring the media reports and enjoying each minute as they’d wish without a care for putting away savings has helped them keep happy while the rest of the country gloomily skulks.

So, I thought we’d make a silly little quiz to figure out which type of money-spending group you belong too. DISCLAIMER!! We made it all up. Oh.

Inane, we know. But Hee hee, it was fun.

1. You see a voucher in the free press for a free bottle of wine with any meal at your local pizzeria, so you;

a) Rip it out quick! Yesss. Free wine. Email all of you friends to say Friday’s plans are all sorted.

b) You ignore it. It’s a blatant scam to get you drunk and buying expensive tasteless pizzas,when actually you could spend a third of that AND have ice cream if you stayed in.

c) Voucher? Friday night? Dinner? Erm, no. If you’re going to go out for dinner it’s gonna be three courses and whichever damn wine you fancy.

2. You walk into a bar (ouch. he he), both you and your mate have no cash and there is a £10 minimum spend, so you;

a) Say lots of Ooohs. And erms. And what shall we do’s? Shall I go to the cash point? Then they end up paying with you promising to pay next time. Honest.

b) You pay, but next time you see them you make absolutely certain that they remember they owe you £3.75.

c) You say: But, Darling! It’s cocktail night, first round is on me. Of course.

3. You and your partner decide you need to buy a hoover. The way you go about this is:

a) Walk in the shop. See one. Recognize the brand. It’s marked down from £70  to £35. You think! Yesss, hoover sorted. Now on with my day and on to my next ingenious money-saving moment.

b) You spend about a month reading web reviews and talking with friends who have hoovers. You weigh up the odds. You end up spending a little bit, but compared with old a) type up above your cost per use is going to be significantly less- that’s right sucker!

c) You employ a cleaner.

4. For lunch in the office you;

a)  Purchase buy one get one free soup X 4. Friday is nice sandwich day.

b) You buy all the ingredients for sandwiches at the beginning of the week. On Friday everyone goes to the pub. You have the willpower to still eat your sandwich in the office, and then maybe join them for a drink afterwards.

c)  Have Hot paninis Monday to Friday baby!

Mostly a)’s- Bargain Bunny

You just can’t resist a little half price or BOGOF action. You dream of discounts. You measure your money performance in savings rather than spendings. Your unlikely to be much richer as a result of this type of behaviour, but you can still feel a bit superior than your mates as you always know where the bargain is.

Mostly b)’s – Hardcore Money Saving Expert

Wowzers. You could have your own TV show telling the rest of us how to save up for a mortgage deposit in multiple savings of less than a fiver. People envy your willpower, but sometimes they might get a bit peeved with your focus on savings.

Mostly c)’s- Credit Crunch? Waah hah hah. I don’t think so, buddy.

You are just carrying on like normal. Wow, if everyone was as confident as you maybe there’d be no recession- huh? You like luxury and you don’t think holding onto your dollar is going to make you any where near as happy as frittering it. Hurrah.

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Is Martin Luther King Jnr the first thing that comes to  mind when you hear those words?! Me too. But dreams come up in song lyrics all the time. People have always liked to write about dreams in poems and music e.g A Midsummer nights dream the play by Shakespeare. A dream being an aspiration or something you hope to achieve one day or somewhere you would like to go that would be a dream come true.

Or a dream can be an idea, something in your mind that gets explored in your sleep, when your subconscious plays around with something you’ve seen or experienced or emotions that you’ve felt. People spend hours analysing your dreams to try and work them out and discover what they say about you (that’s if you can remember them as a lot of people never do!… maybe that’s a good thing, especially if you have nightmares, definately not nice)…. I used to have a recurring dream of being chased by a lion (which i always assumed had something to do with my Mum reading me the Lion, Witch and the wardrobe when i was little!) The lion never quite caught me, but never stopped chasing me either…

I recently saw the new film Inception which is all about going into other peoples’ dreams and planting ideas in their mind (A really good film if you get chance to see it). Florence is going tonight so i await her review tomorrow! It’s quite confusing and makes you think which is always good, sometimes you want a film that challenges you and not something with an obvious ending that you can predict. In the film, other people can create the world that you see in your dream and interact with you as strangers or as projections of someone you know. When you are asleep, the subconscious has no idea that you didn’t create that projection of the world yourself so happily goes along with this…. until someone or something gives the game away and the dream starts collapsing.. cue buildings crashing down, car chases and gun fire all round!!

Common dream themes include falling, flying or having to take a test. These each reflect how you are feeling or dealing with something in your life, whether you realise it or not! So those of you who enjoy dreams where you are flying high, are feeling in control of life and have a strong personal sense of power.

Have a look and analyse your own and see if you can make sense of it;

http://www.dreammoods.com/

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At the weekend I visited my sister up in Lincoln. We drove up and it was a bloomin nightmare. That’s the comeuppance you get for a) living in south London meaning an hour long struggle awaits you in any direction other than Brighton before you hit a motorway and b) not taking the eco option of travelling  by train.  But, once we’d got there it was lovely as usual and for a shortwhile I could imagine not living in London anymore.

Anyway, rambling aside ( it is possible that you might be thinking, when is it ever rambling aside. In which case, I am sorry, and I am trying!). Whilst up there, up north,  my niece was showing me her baby book. This is a book where parents of new borns collate interesting data on their child such as size of finger nails and number of eyes at birth. It’s actually really cool and I am going to make sure I do one if I ever have a sproglet. A loose leaf of paper drifted from this book which listed all the things that my sis and her hubby would like to pass on to their first born. It was a goodie. Things like how to make the perfect campfire listed high.

I wondered, if say, you were going to have a child, or perhaps leave a note in a time capsule for future alien life forms inhabiting earth to discover- what piece of knowledge would you choose to impart? What’s the most substantial/ important/ unique thing that you have learnt? Rachel. This is a rhetorical question-mark.

Perhaps instructions on how to build a kite.

Or, the basics of Suduko, so that it is never lost.

Or that being compassionate will get you further in life than being competitive.

Or that jerusalum artichokes are just not worth the bother.

Hmm. I think mine would be- you know, if you had to take a snap shot of right now- which might change. So don’t hold me to it…It would be….

Always peel your mushrooms, it means you don’t have to wash them and get all slimy and the sensation is truly unbeatable. It’s really fun.

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My favourite when I was young was ‘What’s black and white and red all over?’

‘A newspaper!’ Hahahahahaha. Trully magic the first time you get how to play with words.

Here’s a slightly more challenging riddle for you guys today.

‘You’re in a place called Jack’s world.There is a mirror but no reflection. There is cheese but not chalk. There is pepper but no salt.  There is a law in Jack’s world- but what is it?

Also, quite like this one too:

What jumps when it walks and stands while it sits?

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So opposites attract they say. They might also like to add that those with different personality types might find it rather difficult to communicate with each other. After years of trying to second guess why people didn’t act the same as me or me the same as other people I know it’s been a bit of a revelation doing some personality tests over a couple of years working at The Laundry. Tests like Belbin and Myers-Briggs have been created to try and understand the ways different types of people process their thoughts, communicate themselves or deal with certain  situations. It’s been really good to try and think of things from another person’s perspective, hard for sure, but definitely worth it.

Although teenage mags with their mostly a)’s  or mostly b)’s approach might have introduced me quite early on to the idea of how people are often very different from each other it was more to answer the burning questions,  ‘Is your man your soul mate?’ or ‘Which spice girl are you?’! See here for a modern day example (if you take part, you simply must let us know which one you are!! http://www.teenvogue.com/magazine/polls/trendtest/gossipgirl

Seeking a more thorough analysis on personality later down the line I reckon these type tests ain’t half bad. They’re not without their downsides of course. Generalisations, cheesy suggestions on how to deal with weaknesses on your part, being part of the whole management/self-help sector of the world isn’t so cool, facing up to the bits of yourself that aren’t so pretty- yeah all of that. And, most frustrating part about personality tests is filling them out. You tend to feel boxed in, like: ‘Don’t just give me one option or another- I’m both goddamit. Yes I am that amazing. I’m a relaxed perfectionist don’t you know.’ But after you’ve finished, the outcome is often surprisingly apt. And, who doesn’t love reading about themselves, huh?

The good thing about these things is seeing the findings from other people you know or work with. You might find some surprises. Nothing could be said to have done this more with the group of people The Laundry works with than the section that talks about extraversion or introversion within the Myers-Briggs test. Everyone seemed to have a strong feeling of which way they would fall, but actually it was just that everyone had the wrong understanding of what these opposite types mean. Someone recently explained it to me with a metaphor I quite liked: It’s like the introverts and the extroverts live in a house. There’s lots of people outside the house. The introvert and the extrovert go outside. The extravert’s energy is powered by the sun, so the longer they stay outside talking to people the more energy they get. The introvert on the other hand is mains powered, so even though they’re having a great time chatting to people, after a while they run out of energy and need to go back inside for a recharge. So, basically not that extroverted people are SHOUTY SHOUTY LOOK AT ME people and the introverts are quiet as mice. Really it’s just different ways of processing thoughts and feelings- either through other people, or internally.

I reckon people can be different and deal with things differently depending on their mood, or the weather or so many other factors. Sometimes I feel like the extrovert rushing around to see all the people I know and get their opinion, and sometimes instead I fancy a cool glass of water and a lie down on the sofa with a book inside on recharge. I guess knowing that you can be different form day to day should help you to understand how others can think of things and behave differently from you.

If you’d like to try out some of these tests for yourself there are lots of free ones online- here’s an example.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

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A few weeks back Charlotte and Florence went to see what actually happens at a plastics recycling plant and how your plastic bottles get recycled. It was very interesting indeed and here you can see some photos of the different stages…

In the UK at the moment we are only capturing about 39% of our plastic bottle waste. That’s a lot of bottles that are still being thrown away people, make sure you’re putting yours in our orange Laundry bags to help get this percentage up!! The bottles arrive at the plant in bales on a truck;

There are all sorts of fancy, technical processes going on at the recycling plant and the different types of plastic are seperated at several stages. There’s optical sorting where the bottles are scanned and then gusts of air shoot milk bottles in one direction and other drinks bottles in another direction! The plastic is shredded down into tiny pieces and then seperated again by another scanner into different colours. Then the flakes/chips of milk bottle plastic (HDPE) float in water which allows them to be seperated from the other bottle plastics and bottle tops (PET) which sink in water. So simple! The final bags of pellets and flakes are sold on to the bottle manufacturers to be made back into new bottles.

What you can see in this photo is what those in the industry like to call ‘jazz’ – it’s all the other types of plastics that don’t get used for new bottles but get sold on to other recycling companies. pretty huh!

As you can imagine big factory = big noise so we were walking around with ear defenders whilst we saw the different parts of the machines. The recycling plant uses the most advanced technology and it’s developing all the time as new plants are built and improved so that we can process increasing volumes of our plastic in the UK.  Keep up your good recycling efforts everyone!!

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So after our raving world cup fever got splatted last weekend, who are you hedging your bets on winning now? It’s funny, I love to watch a match when it’s your national team playing but I get sooo stressed it almost becomes painful. Like waiting for the terror to strike in a scary movie- the tension just kills me.

Watching the world cup matches that don’t involve England on the other hand (which will now be.. erm.. all the remainder) is somehow far more relaxing. No strings attached viewing. Well, that was supposed to be by silver lining comfort to you. That and the mention of this fabulous weather we’ve been having. Apologies if you hate football and sunshine.

At The Laundry this week Charlotte has been getting mad for Wimbledon and murray’s mound. Ooh I say. And a bar and a half chocolate bars- seemingly just the right size to satisfy the afternoon urge. Yess. Florence has been working extremely hard canvasing our neighbours into joining The Laundry- so, well done to Flo! She has also been having the worst week in IT ever- it always comes right when you don’t want it, ey? And, she’s been sampling all the many examples of humous that one can now pur-chase. Peppers, lemons, herbs, pesto. The lisr is endless. She warned me only moments ago, that although humous has this holier-than-thou reputation as super healthy- in fact, the shop bought variet is really fatty! Shock horror. Harry has been getting back in to the swing of things since an epic 2 week long holiday. This has involved loosing her fob key to the office- boo after having put it somewhere especially secret in her flat for safekeeping, only to go and forget. Harry would make a bad squirrel.

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Chapeau! As we would say in French! Bravo! Well done England! Let’s see what happens on Sunday.

Hope your team won’t get the flight return ticket as soon as the French team…

It’s so cool to spend a summer in London with all these events such as the World Cup, Wimbledon…and music festivals!

What about music festivals? Which one are you planning to attend this year? So much choice!

Just back from France and Paris where every summer’s day so the 21^st of June we celebrate “la fete de la musique” all around the country since 1982 by playing music down the street mixing all generations and all kinds of music.

That’s brilliant! I am wondering why a Country like England which is so famous and musically creative hasn’t developed this kind of event so far, has it?

Actually in France we have couple popular events such as “la nuit blanche” in Paris a night at the beginning of October where artists and amateurs offer a demonstration, an exhibition or music bands down the street all night long that’s why it is called litterally “white night” that means you don’t sleep!

We also have free museum night where you can appreciate light games in beautiful monuments and places and discover special exhibitions of course. Another event which is growing  “la fete des voisins” so the “neighbourhood day” where neighbours meet each other and share food and drinks… Best way to establish a proper relationship! In my city rouen we obviously got the “fete Jeanne d’Arc” Jeanne of Arc’s Day or a funny one literaaly called “the belly day” where you taste and get proper fresh food from the deep country side.

What famous popular event would you enjoy or recommend the most?

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Come on England!

Ok who’s been following the world cup?!! I’m looking forward to the next England game tomorrow and hoping that it will go better than the first one! (If by some chance you didn’t hear what happened, our goalie made a big blunder, failing to make a very easy save and letting the ball roll out of his hands and on into the goal. No, don’t think about it again!) Wonder what the chances are that he will be in the starting 11 tomorrow. hmmm…

And what about the Vuvuzelas! We were listening in the office and at first couldn’t work out what the sound was.  There’s not much sign of the noise subsiding either and now there’s loads of money to be made selling ear plugs (just read in the Metro!) Great idea whoever thought of that one first.

It’s an easy topic to bring into conversation, did you see the football last night?/are you going to watch the match tomorrow?. Just like the topic of our lovely ever changing english weather… And even though I find an England match is never quite as good as you hope it will be, or are told it will be (often also like the weather!) I still always continue to hope that we will play at our best and close the next game out when we have the chance instead of sitting back, leaving room for the dreaded equalizer. All we can do is hope!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the World cup 2010 and get behind your respective county!

Do you know anyone who has actually flown out to South Africa to see a match?

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So, did Carnation just feed some milk into the rain cycle to come up with their ‘evaporated’ and ‘condensed’ milk products? Hmm. No it appears the similarities drawn end here. I tried to remember something about heating up liquids in science class and apply it to this situation and these words in a conversation in the pub, but it doesn’t seem to stretch to answer my quandary:

Do you know the difference between the two? Until recently I thought they were the same thing. But having made the mistake of buying Evaporated when I wanted Condensed, I now know they most definitely are not. Condensed milk is sooo damn tasty you can practically eat it on its own from the tin (bit gross, but don’t tell me you didn’t have a little lick as a kiddie). A milk based goo with added sugar, it forms the basis of many wondrous desserts such as Banoffee Pie. My friend also makes a deee-lish coffee of sh0rt espresso with a dollop of condensed milk plopped in called a ‘Bon Bon’ it is bloody brilliant but must imediately rot your teeth on contact.

Mightily tasty is this beige elixir but surely someone is pushing it with this-a recipe for condensed milk mayo- eeeuuurgh!

Evaporated milk on the other hand is like the ill fated marriage of UHT milk and flattened squirty cream. I mean, where is the fun in squirty cream with no squirt? Who came up with that? And, what, pray is it used for?

A close friend of the Laundrettes reported that Wimbledon strawberries are sold with evaporated milk on!! So, so sad to hear. I always imagined hand whipped REAL whipping cream being jazzed into a frenzy by the delicate and skillful hands of gentile elderly tennis folk, and then lovingly plopped onto brilliant red sugar-dappled strawbz, oozing in the sunlight. But no.

Maybe I’ve got it all wrong and evaporated milk is the misunderstood milk product of the 21st century? Maybe you have a way with it that will change my mind? If so, as usual, we want to know.

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Picking up from Charlotte’s fabulous ele-spotting update in last week’s Laundry Blog, I thought I might write this week’s about other London treasures and perhaps ask my dear Laundry folk for their very own summer time suggestions. Not like we’re trying to be timeout or one of those ’secret London’ facebook groups or anything, BUT collectively I reckon our 1300 recycling-loving brains must have a few gems of summer outings stored away to share between us.

So, the only rules are the treasure must be free and it must be fun! Here are our ideas. If you have any to add to the list post your comment so other Laundry readers can join in too.

1. Waterloo sunset. What a winner. The best fun is to try and decide which way is the best view. Like if you were only able to look one way for the rest of your lives would it towards Westminster and the wheel or towards the city/ Southbank?

2.  Blackheath Bike and Kite Festival on the 12th and 13th June sounds amazing!! Free kite displays on one of the windiest parks in London has got to be spectacular.

3. My friend just let me know about Free cinema screenings in the Grand Union pub on Acre Lane in Brixton on Thursdays. I’m planning to check that out very soon! Obviously you’d probably need to buy a drink to take part, but on a warm summer evening why wouldn’t you want to enjoy the film with a nice cold something-something.

4. On a similar theme, the scoop near the Mayor’s building by the river in between London and Tower Bridge has a schedule of free cinema screenings on during September. Sooner than that, during lunchtimes and evenings in July they have free music concerts. One of which I went to last year and accidentally danced on someones hand. Eeek.

5. Open House in September offers the chance for some super snooping around some of London’s most interesting architecture, including a windmill in Brixton (!) and The Laundry’s old digs, that sustainable village BedZED down in Hackbridge. www.londonopenhouse.org

6. Lovely Clissold Park up north in Stoke Newington has a zoo! Well, Zoo might be a bit of an exaggeration but there are deer, goats, rabbits and chickens. Definitely the wow factor. On that note, which is your favourite London park/square?

7. Free Opera! Carmen Sing Along in Trafalgar square next Tuesday 8th June from 6.15pm and more opera events throughout the summer. Be cultural without the commitment of spending lots of your hard earned cash, without trully knowing whether opera will be your thang. I’ve certainly been burned before- Hansel and Gretel Opera anyone?

Now, if you end up going to any of these we want to hear about it! Equally, if you think our suggestions are rubbish or have many more of your own then write to us and share the knowledge.

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Has anyone noticed any elephants around London lately?! No I’m not hallucinating or going crazy! I really did see one yesterday in Notting Hill…. It was small and white with writing all over it like an extract from a book.

There are 260 around the city but a large group of them are sitting on display in Trafalgar square. They are being auctioned off for charity and will hopefully raise £2 million to help conservation efforts for Asian elephant populations and to ensure their habitat corridors are protected so they can continue to move around safely. I used to live in Norwich and there was a similar display of these arty animals a couple of summers ago. Again, lots of money was raised for charity. What a great idea and something so quirky and different to see around town!

For those of you who know your big fashion names, Julien Macdonald, Diane von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger and Paul Smith are amongst those that have contributed designer dumbos to the parade! There are also ones that celebrate London life (such as a black taxi design with real headlights for the eyes that are solar powered!) and topical event (1 representing each of our 3 main political parties).  No doubt thousands more people will witness the spectacle over the bank holiday weekend (including me i think!)

Where have you spotted one?!

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