I will not use the word veggies. I am not 4. I will not use the word veggies. I am not 4.I will not use the word veggies. I am not 4.I will not use the word veggies. I am not 4

So today.... nothing to do with New Years or that malarkey... I am starting my transition to eating a plant based diet... I hesitate to say Vegan because it just seems to produce vitriol from ignorant meat eaters... I mean do I own leather shoes... currently yeah..will I phase em out... probably.

So I want to move away from eating meat and animal products. My love of my two dogs, Muppet and Daisy, and many thoughtful and occasionally shocking articles about animals has led me along with my own experiences to believe that animals do indeed possess emotions and feelings. 

I don't think I could stomach eating cow, pig, duck, lamb etc and I'm super close to feeling that about poultry and fish.  Last night as a kinda almost final hurrah I went out to celebrate New Years Eve with my wife. On the menu was filet mignon, lamb something or other, pork loins etc etc... I was drawn at first to the lamb dish since I only really eat lamb at restaurants never at home. Then without really forcing the issue I realized that I couldn't order it or eat it.

Love You Long Time?

Well its been forever... actually three years but I guess the muse must have struck again because I am posting on me blog. I am actually in Blighty again so if nothing else I guess that coming here sets me off. I am posting an iPhone photo of Westfield in Shepherd's Bush. I get sorta discombobulated here.. its a palace of retail that must be built on Satanic Ley Lines. Conversely I went to Borough Market which is heaven on earth for even a faltering foodie.

Greyland is greenland

ENGLISHMEN HAVING FUN IN A TELEPHONE BOX WHILST ESCAPING THE INCLEMENT WEATHER
















Well just got back from a fairly hectic trip to the UK which was full of mixed blessings. Ups and downs. Typical British annoyances and triumphs.

Why do Brits talk about the weather constantly? Because it is a stereotypical island climate influenced by the Gulf Stream and yes occasionally one does get weeks when it seems to be constantly overcast and raining. Last week was like that though the first weekend when we arrived we had a beautiful Sunday lunch in Tracy's garden with my brother's, wives and assorted children all hosted by the Brabins at their fabulous house in Godalming. At the risk of upsetting my other siblings I have to say that my little sister's house is a lovely example of perfect Englishness with a beautiful garden, patio and cosy conservatory.

The only obvious benefit of all the damp weather is that Britain [and Ireland[ are very verdant, lush places. If you long for abundant greenery these are the places for you just don't forget to take a blanket or some plastic sheeting if you are intending to sit down.

What were the annoyances? Well London traffic for one. It is now off the chart, the only place I can think of in the world that is worse is Tokyo. Also the cameras that imposingly bear down from all angles produce an overwatched feeling that is thoroughly unpleasant. Big Brother is a reality in nanny state Britain and no one seems to mind.



I couldn't wait to get home to New York.

The Roxbury Rocks!

This is the view from the upper deck of The Roxbury hotel where me and Shuddup went for a romantic Valentine's evening in the Catskills. The motel is running by a stylish couple who have successfully mixed chic and kitch in a stunning way in their renovation of a old style motel that is now any but. Check out the 'Clouds' room that we stayed in; it's impossible to show all the detailing but suffice to say that our drapes were black leather, the lampshades were of alien origin and.... it all worked! In the winter months the room was a bargain $99 but be warned this place is blowing up so book early.

I Heart Chocolate, T shirts and LIC

i heart Queens

This is my new friend, Ciara, she runs iheartqueens.com where you will see her fab line of LIC and Queens influenced T Shirts alongside links to her couture line of hand blocked vintage style Ts . She also volunteers at Art-O-Mat where you will find a great little gallery packed with a wide and varied amount of artworks and Ciara's T. Wait! Why is she holding up a chocolate bar? Well she also produces her own line of Belgian chocolate, LIChocolate. It's delicious. When Ciara isn't doing all this artsy fartsy stuff she is solving the problems of world hunger and global warming. Ok, I made that last bit up but she might be the best one for the job.

The Secret's out

I should have blogged about this a long time back but I guess not having subscribers makes blogging a little pointless.

This is England

I had to go to England for my friends wedding. I thought it was going to be an ideal way of also catching up with my family there and also to close down my house which I had put on the market around Easter this year. The sale had been dragging on whilst small proceedural points were made by the purchasers solicitor. [More of this later, it deserves its own posting].

So the trip started off pretty bad. The plane was delayed on the runway at takeoff for 3 hours. Naturally they turned off the a/c and didn't serve any water until at least an hour into the delay. All in all it was fairly distressing but we did eventually take off. I watched a great film on the plane called 'This is England' which is set in the grim early 80s. It recounts the struggles between a gang of skinheads who start out peaceful but after the return from prison of a former gang member the lighter mood soon darkens.

Then we arrived. It was raining and grey. At first we were relieved since NYC had been suffering 100 degree/100% humidity. Then we discovered that our advance train tickets to Leeds were invalid because we had missed our pre booked train because of the delays. They charged us 220 pounds for the privilege of taking their crappy train. Bastards.