Listen to a Londoner: Colleen Wagner

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.

Colleen Wagner, 33

Colleen moved to London for her husband’s job three months after getting married in 2008.  She’s a high school English teacher who is at present working part-time for a London relocation agency rather than duke it out in the city schools (hey, it’s not like she didn’t give it a try…), and while she wouldn’t recommend undergoing three major life changes in one summer to even her worst enemy, her and her husband have come to truly, ecstatically enjoy their new life together in London.  

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
CW: A year and a half.

LLO: If not London, where are you from? 
CW: Chicago, Illinois

LLO: What is your favourite London discovery?
CW: Brompton Cemetery, a 40-acre plot of solitude among Victorian graves.  I almost don’t want to promote it, as I’d hate for it to become too populated with the living…

LLO: Where in London do you go to get a taste of “home”?
CW: Partridges on Gloucester Road provided us Stove Top stuffing on Thanksgiving Day.  Also picked up some Kraft Mac-n-Cheese and Golden Grahams–basically, a 10 USD box of cereal, but worth every darn pence.

LLO: What’s the coolest part about living in your postcode?
CW: On the SW10 / SW5 border, the Troubadour is ideal for coffee or cocktails and live music in the club downstairs (Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, and Joni Mitchell played there in the ’60s).  We attended the BRIT Awards last week just a 10-minute walk from home, and my bookish self particularly adores that Beatrix Potter lived only a few blocks away * sigh *

LLO: Heard about any interesting places you’d like to check out but haven’t had the chance to yet?
CW: After going to Proud last Saturday, I’d like to revisit the Camden Stables Market in the daytime.  Otherwise, after reading the book Longitude, my inner dork would really like to see the sea clocks at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

LLO: If I had one day in London and wanted to go “off the beaten path”, where would you send me?
CW: I would send you first to one of my trusted pubs like the Drayton Arms on Old Brompton Road for a proper English Breakfast.  Then, so you can get at least one London museum in, you’re off to the Cabinet War Rooms–its right by Westminster and St. James Park, but its low profile renders it easily overlooked by other tourists.  If you’re thirsty, I’m sending you deeper into the city to at least gawk at St. Paul’s Cathedral from the outside before you wander over to the hidden shops and pubs around Bow Lane and/or to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese tucked away off Fleet Street (during the day, though, before the work crowd filters in).  Or, if you’d prefer a quiet, leisurely day, scrap all that and head to Hampstead for the village atmosphere and rolling heath.  Regardless of the daytime itinerary, by night you are being sent to Edgware Road for Middle Eastern cuisine and shisha.

LLO: Favourite London shop?
CW: Zara, but for non-high street shops, the stalls at Portobello Road Market.  

LLO: Tell us about the most random thing you’ve seen in London.
CW: Feathers stuck to my store-bought eggs, as though straight from the chicken’s va-jay-jay.

LLO: Best place to try to meet new people if you’ve just moved to London?
CW: [insert shameless plug here]  Why, the new London Living social network at http://www.londonrelocation.ning.com!

Thanks Colleen!

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.

Listen to a Londoner: Joshua Jost

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. 

Joshua Jost, 35 

Joshua was roped into moving to London while on his way back to the States after 12 years of living in Scotland. He hasn’t regretted it since. He now works with his best friend from university in a tech company and spends his idle time dreaming about how to make the world a better place.  One of these days he might just do something about it.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
JJ: I moved to London in December–though I’ve been in the UK for 12 years–so I’m still quite new to the city, but exploring at a fast pace.  It feels like I’ve been here for months already.  Hard to believe that I can still count it in weeks. 

LLO: Where are you from originally?
JJ: I’m originally from California, but I’ve lived all over the US and the pacific.  The last 12 years I’ve been in Aberdeen, but I’ve made occasional trips to the city to visit friends, for business, or just to touch civilization again. 

LLO: Best thing about London?
JJ: Opportunity!  There is so much to do here and so many opportunities to grow, prosper, explore.  The city is filled with new avenues waiting to be discovered and re-discovered. 

LLO: Worst thing about London?
JJ: Infrastructure – You get spoiled in cities where things really work and flow well.  I often feel the system here is stacked against itself.  I’d hate to be a politician in London.  It must be aggravating.  Nothing feels particularly user-friendly. 

LLO: North, south, east or west?
JJ: South/West.  In my short time of exploration, I’d have to say that I really like the South/West.  I love the buzz of central London or the creativity of Camden, but the South West feels most like home to me so far.  I like Earl’s Court quite a bit. 

LLO: Best restaurant?
JJ: Best restaurant so far is Gourmet San in Bethnal Green.  It’s an authentic Beijing style restuarant (a girl from Beijing introduced me to it).  I’ve never had Chinese food like it and it’s cheep!!!  You’ll spend less than £20 a head including drinks. 

LLO: Best place to escape the city?
JJ: The gym.  I took out a membership at Virgin Active when I got here and it’s a lifesaver when you need to slow down in the sauna or burn some aggression on a weight machine. 

LLO: 2012 Olympics – stay or go?
JJ: Stay, but… I’m stoked it’s here.  I was in LA in 1984 for the Olympics there and the whole city was buzzing. I have this sort of cringe hesitation though about it, like when you watch someone on X-Factor that you think may bomb it painfully.  I’m worried that the infrastructure and bureaucracy is going to let us down.  We are following the footsteps of China.  That is hard to compete with.  Our contribution to the millennium was a dome and a ferris wheel.  What are we going to bring to the Olympics? 

LLO: How do you spend your time on the tube?
JJ: Studying an Underground map! I’m still not at the place where I can jump on and off trains without thinking about it. I try and confidently blaze from one train to the next and then find out I’m heading the wrong direction and have to, embarrassingly, change tubes and head the other direction. 

LLO: Most random thing you’ve seen in London?
JJ: A techno-didgeridoo busker in one of the underground stations. 

LLO: Best place to catch a gig?
JJ: I love The Troubadour in Earls Court.  Epic.

LLO: Favourite London discovery?
JJ: I love Beyond Retro.  It’s the coolest vintage clothing store.

LLO: Favourite market?
JJ: The markets in Camden are amazing.  I couldn’t believe that this place existed in London when I first saw it.  I don’t think I actually need to buy anything there when I go, I just love seeing what’s on display.

LLO: If you were to dress up as one of the tube station names for a costume party, which would you be?
JJ: Oxford Circus – I’d go as a posh clown.

LLO: Best place for a first date?
JJ: I went to the Mahiki Lounge the other night. It was great. You couldn’t take anything too seriously when you’re drinking from a coconut while being served dim-sum by waitresses with crazy hats and aloha shirts.

LLO: Boris is……
JJ: The mayor???  Did I get it right?

LLO: What would you change about the city if you had the power to do so?
JJ: I’d change the transportation system, upgrade the tube system and re-engineer the roads. I don’t think anything is engineered to be user-friendly. That said, I have to say the Oyster cards are one of my favourite aspects of travel here.  That works.  But the congestion charging scheme is a joke.  The EZ-pass system used in many cities in the US is far better.

Thanks Josh!

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.