bright young thing: just trying to shake you off...

i am crazy and most definitely needed to calm down.
so, i went from being really unsure of where i was staying/commuting to hertford...
and now, i'm sitting cozy in 'my flat' for the week. all to myself. =)
well, gemma's here tonight. which is absolutely perfect.

i arrived, met a cartoonish little bumbling lady with squinty eyes and a bright smile with paddington bear on her sweater, and then had the best cab driver i've ever ever had when i left paddington station. he told me all sorts of little anecdotes about musicians and things. (like pointing out the street where jimmy hendrix lived/died). when we arrived at canalot studios, the driver then, asked where he could get my music, got out and opened my door, and helped me with my bags...then left only when completely sure that i was alright and headed to the right place. i was. ash led me through a tiny blue door beneath some massive iron dragons, was introduced to justin and paul and within 2 hours of being in the country, i starting recording and working on a new song. a bit later there we were sidetracked by a beautiful rainbow on one side of the sky while there was a gorgeous sunset over london on the other side.
after working on tunes most of the day, i went to meet clive & jim at a pub. we then had the saltiest bacon & cheese thing ever...and went to this crazy club. i think we spent the majority of the time checking bags in and out of the coat-check. from there we got the train back to hertford, and we met the second loveliest cab-driver. like a sweet little 'gran'. she was absolutely lovely. she turned to me and said, "are you warm enough little one?" ...i melted. met clive's house-mate, chris and sister, claire...who are amazing. chris is hilarious. and claire is just the loveliest person...and so incredibly gorgeous, it's overwhelming. we had some wine, and laughed until we were all literally in tears at a flight of the conchords stand-up show. i finally fell asleep a little after midnight. =)
drove into town today, and tried to find my coveted boots on oxford street. aka. hades.
yes.
i said it.
it was christmas shopping day, apparently. and a saturday. the roads were even blocked off. it was out of control.
went to the studio to meet ash and got the key to the flat...(which i'm staying in for free. i mean, what?!) met up with gemma and friends...tom came out (yay!)...and then gemma and i headed to the grotbags christmas party. there was a massive line outside, but we sauntered up to the front and got in 'on the guestlist' which we weren't. but we got in for the discounted rate and walked right in. hehehe thanks to lou's trickery. found danny & lou and we danced to mariah carey and other such things. then, heard this band called exlovers. refreshingly good.
so on the last song, some people went mental dancing around and falling out on the floor. this jamaican security guy gave the 'boy' involved a little talking to, i guess. i know he was jamaican because after that, he then proceeded to come over to me and try to chat me up. it was so skanky and hilarious. i was like, 'ummmm. i'll be back!' and went far far away.
we walked from tottenham court road and made it to oxford street before we found a taxi. gemma and i held onto each other and shivered back to the flat...as i'd forgotten the street name AND the name of the studio. ugh. what good am i?! showered and snuggled down in bed where i'm writing you now.
and now for the photofun...(i'll take more)
sunsets...