Listen to a Londoner: Sarah Orrick

Listen to a Londoner is a weekly interview post with people who live (or have lived for a while) in London. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new volunteers. 

Sarah Orrick, 24

If you can find another native Kentuckian in London, you earn a cookie. Sarah came over in September 2008 to earn a Master’s degree in International Politics and Human Rights, and enjoys working for a children’s charity in Kentish Town.

LLO: How long have you lived in London and where are you from originally?
SO: I’m from a tiny village on the border of Kentucky and Illinois, smack middle in the bible belt, land of fried chicken and all things unhealthy. I came here in September 2008 and never looked back.

LLO: What’s the best thing about living in your postcode?
SO: I live in Camden Town and madly love it! There’s always a store open late, always something going on, always the most unusual people hanging out. Plus, it’s well-connected enough that night buses from nearly all parts of the city roll through.

LLO: Favourite place to find a taste of home?
SO: I miss great Mexican food from home, so La Perla in Covent Garden is pretty good when it comes to my Mexican cravings. Their Margaritas are to DIE for!

LLO: Best London “discovery”?
SO: That it’s legal to drink in parks? Weeee! (See last question)

LLO: If I only had one day in London and wanted to spend it off the beaten track, where would you send me?
SO: A Sunday roast (assuming the day is Sunday) at a pub in Kentish Town called the Pineapple or perhaps exploring Borough Market and ending with an evening bottle of wine at Gordon’s Wine bar..yes, not exactly unknown to London, but that’s what I envision FAR FAR away from Oxford Street.

LLO: Favourite pub, club or other place to spend a Saturday night?
SO: I’m madly in love with Retro bar, a gay bar hidden in an alleyway next to Charring Cross.  You really have to search for it, but it’s classy, clean and has board game nights! Otherwise, The Black Heart is your typical indie pub in Camden, also hidden in an alleyway, that’s full of ‘misunderstood’ but exceptionally nice people. They serve pizzas named after the seven deadly sins and banana bread beer. Highly recommend both, as alleyway pubs are the way to go!

LLO: What’s the most random thing you’ve ever seen in London?
SO: About 200 people dressed up in Santa costumes on a pub crawl in Camden. In January. They were a little late…

LLO: What’s the most interesting or unusual food you’ve eaten since moving to London and where did you go to eat it?
SO: A couple weeks ago, I went to dim sum with friends and tried baby octopus, duck tongue, beef stomach and beef tongue. Everything was good except the duck tongue….ugh.

LLO: Most quirky or unusual place you’ve discovered in London?
SO: I live in Camden, you want only one?! All I have to do is walk outside my flat and I see strange things everywhere. Especially in The World’s End.

LLO: Describe a perfect Spring day in the capital.
SO: A sunny, windy day for a picnic on Primrose Hill with great friends. The lunch includes some amazing hummous, pita, cheeses and wine, and the wind is helpful in flying our infamous dolphin kite. Bring on the summer!

 

Thanks Sarah!

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.

Listen to a Londoner: Koushik Ghosh

Listen to a Londoner. This is a weekly post where people who live (or have lived for a while) in London answer a few questions about the Big Smoke. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new victims volunteers….

Koushik Ghosh, 30
(Bonus answers from Koushik who sped past the 10 questions like Lucy a few weeks ago!) 

Koushik spends his days cutting people up working as a surgeon in Chelsea. By night he likes nothing more than playing chess, pool and occasionally listening to loud funky music whilst driving his car around West London.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
KG: Pretty much all 30 years of my life. I was born in Edgware General Hospital and brought up in North London. 

LLO: Where is your family from originally?
KG: My parents are originally from Kolkata, in West Bengal, India

LLO: Best thing about London?
KG: I think its probably the vibrancy and diversity of cultures, though the number of things to see and do are almost endless. Clubs, bars, galleries, museums, wonderful parks – from the young and eclectic to the cultured and sophisticated – there’s something for everyone.

LLO: North, south, east or west?
KG: Being someone who has lived in pretty much all parts of London, I can say there’s pros and cons for most areas. I grew up in North London and a lot of my friends live in and around various parts of it so that always has good memories for me. The last few years I have lived in South London and found it to be lovely in terms of parks and people, but it has slightly worse travel links. East London is certainly diverse and vibrant with some nice restaurants if you look in the right places, though it tends to be a little rougher than other parts. Though, to me London is like a mosaic – you won’t live in a bad patch without being a stones throw from a good patch.

LLO: Best restaurant?
KG: Ooo thats a tough one. I’d have to go for Buen Ayre in Bethnal Green or Tayabs in Whitechapel.

LLO: Best place to escape the city?
KG: Wonder out into the suburbs of North West London and beyond. Perhaps venture to Elstree in Hertfordshire and pick strawberries. Or get lost with the wild deer in Richmond Park and then take a rowing boat down the Thames in the summer.

LLO: 2012 Olympics – stay or go?
KG: Definitely stay – if just to say you were there. I think it’s going to transform the face of East London; the vibe will be amazing.

LLO: Best place to catch a gig?
KG: The Bull and Gate Pub, Kentish Town

LLO: Best local band?
KG: They started playing acid jazz in Ealing venues back in the early Nineties – Jamiroquai

LLO: Favourite book, song or film about London?
KG: It’s an old film from the Nineties called Martha Meet Frank, Daniel and Lawrence. I watched it with some friends from school and it made you feel quite excited about the city we lived in.

LLO: Favourite market?
KG: I really like Greenwich Market – so bustling and not a sprawling mess full of tourists like a lot of the other markets in London. There’s more of a feeling of authenticity to it.

LLO: Most influential Londoner?
KG: Joe Strummer of the Clash

LLO: Best London magazine, newspaper or website?
KG: I have always been a fan of The Metro – it summarizes important and entertaining news stories in bite-size, attractive chunks and is free and readily available.

LLO: First place to take a visitor?
KG: Ronnie Scotts Jazz club, Soho.

LLO: Boris is…
KG:…A hero for saving that lady being beaten up by those chavettes. Also a bumbling buffoon – but in the most entertaining way possible.

LLO: What would you change about the city if you had the power to do so?
KG: Introduce mobile phone reception on the underground and make it run 24 hours.

Thanks Koushik!

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.