the ten botanicals

the pub (still under construction)







✥ oh i know its been ages, but we havent had internet so its not my fault!!! ...so much has happened!!!! most importantly, we finally moved into our own apartment!!!
after a week mashed between the wall and the edge of a single blow-up bed in jerry's friend's lounge room with worlds on the couch next to us snoring every night, i was about to kill someone... jerry or worlds, most likely.

hallelujah and praise the lord, amen to jo, our fabulous real estate agent! the flat she found us is a gorgeous, cosy, modern, fully furnished apartment with wonderful views of london city, and all the special bits and pieces like dishwasher, washing machine and balcony!!! we're super super happy with it! i spent my first night unpacking my suitcases and nesting into my lovely new room...

probably because of the stress of couchsurfing and lack of sleep, jerry and i had a huge argument over the left side of the bed (closest to the windows) which ended in me forcefully removing and relocating his things to the other side...we've become like kids in primary school who share a desk and draw a pencil line down the exact middle, and measure chocolate bars with a ruler before cutting and sharing them. :o)

to add some finishing touches to the place, we made a sunday visit to IKEA and left with an overflowing trolley full of goodies, including wooden deck chairs, table and plant for our balcony, which would be so nice on a summers day if it wasn't london....

as for my job, i love it! ive been doing full time training, 10-5 each day and its been so much fun! my colleagues are really cool and my bosses are genuine, caring, friendly guys who really give a shit about their staff. the weeks activities included a three hour wine tasting with a french sommelier and a treasure hunt in the local neighbourhood around the pub! we've also studies all about alcohol, the different spirits, their histories and how and where they're made...which was really interesting! i even learnt to recite by heart the ten botanicals used in bombay sapphire gin... pretty random and some may say useless knowledge, but in my mind thats what sticks.

the pub opens next monday and it's gonna be huge! the owner (i think her daddy owns the business) has three PR companies advertising it and has invited 4000 guests to the opening launch... they're all from that snobby area so it'll be interesting to see how they are as customers. according to the toffy, model, PR guy called hugo, 'this season its not cool to party on saturday nights anymore... now its all about sunday brunch.... and dom perignon'.

jerry has been offered loads of jobs, so has worlds.. all three of us have been able to pick and choose. and all three of us have been offered bar-manager jobs! but none of us want them! too much stress. jerry's decided to take the job at a michelin 2-star french restaurant in the west end. when he was interviewed the italian boss said to him 'this is not the kind of place where the bartender is cooler than the customer'. not like in stockholm where the startenders think theyre all king of the castle. in fact he loved jerry and said 'if your friend (worlds) is a third as good as you are, we'll hire him too'.

PS. just in case you want to know, the ten botanicals are: juniper, coriander, lemon peel, almond, angelica, licorice, oris root, cassia bark, cubeb root and grain of paradise.

:o)