A tour of our flat

Just a quick update to post a very special eddtion to thelastspot: Video!

A quick tour of the flat! The audio is out of sync a bit, sorry

Futon addiction: won't anyone think of the children?

Friday night was one of the longest of my life.

Snap shot: It's 10pm, I am on a bus in Edmonton, North London, with two guys from Edmonton, Alberta. Between us we are carrying a double Futon, 24 cans of Strongbow, and 2 washing-up brushes.

Shannon an I needed to move all her stuff, plus half of my stuff, from the house we were sitting in London's Tornado Zone (North West), to Forrest Gate (East). Normal Journey time: 1 hour, 20 mins.

I did not even get to Tornado Ally until 11pm as I had to find us a bed first. I have a rare, but still crippling futon addiction. I don't really talk about it much. As soon as I finished work I Shang-highed Chris and Warren into joining my bed location and supply mission to darkest Ikea. I think Chris only came along was so he could visit the "other" Edmonton. As it turns out, I think the only thing both places have in common, is an Ikea.

And what an Ikea it is: As the bus drew round the last bend in the motorway, it suddenly loomed into view. Like a vast, dark, retail iceberg, floating in an industrial park. It even had a sister Tesco-berg floating near by. I don't remember ever being inside one before, but years of looking through Ikea catalogs while growing up means that seeing it all for real, for first time, was a very surreal experience. I was half expecting Edward Norton to stroll past, and to have all the prices float next to the various bits of furniture.

Then, suddenly, it dawned on me: Futons are a gateway drug. Not content with a normal sleeping experience, I had sought out a certain kind of bed, some of Japan's finest if you will. I know that soon, Japanese bedding may lead to low cost Swedish shelving, and from there to the heroin of the consumer world: Designer Furniture.

To Be Continued...

Tornado Update (What a title!)

It turns out that the tornado struck less then a block from where we are house sitting. Shannon and I ran in to each other on the way back last night, even though I had come all the way from east London. Since Chamberlayne Road was cordoned off, the buses were not running the entire length of the street, so Shan had to walk the whole way. It turned out OK as she saw me just as I was coming out of Kensal Rise station.

Two city blocks were (and still are) cordoned off by the emergency services. There were police and fire personal everywhere. Most of the damage occurred on and between Chamberlayne Road and Crediton Road. We are staying on Hanover road, which is basically just Crediton road, but a block down from us. There was no damage to the house we were in, and the Cats are all fine. Meow. We could see massive flood lights set up about half way down each of the effected streets. It looks like at least four to six of the houses will need to be demolished. Around ten have lost all or, part of there roof. Around 24 houses in total were un-inhabitable last night.

On my way to work this morning I walked past about three major news crews, all with satellite trucks, and one with a rented cherry picker to get high angle shots. There were also four police cordons, and tons of danger tape. There are still roof tiles littering the streets all around us.

It has been a strange week to say the least, and I still need to find a bed for Shannon and I tonight, as we are moving into the house we are renting in Forrest Gate tonight. The guys have been there all week, but we have barely stepped foot in the place since we have been house sitting the entire time in London's answer to tornado ally.

Tune in next week when we report on the predicted East London combined heat-wave and Ice-storm. It's like Hawaii, but with hail and Cockney accents.

Ok, this is crazy!

A Tornado hit Kensal Rise, in North West London today. Guess where Shannon and I have been house sitting for the past week? Kensal Rise!

The street we are house sitting on is the one right behind where the tornado touched down. In fact, we don't even know if there is damage to the place yet, 'cus both of us are still at work.

If you think I'm crazy, just have a look here and here. See?

I'll update this when I know more.

We have a flat now...

Our own house, a real house!