7 January 2006
Picture the scene:
It's Friday night (or more techncially, Saturday morning), and you're just getting home because you went straight to the pub from work.
Unfortunately, although you had a lovely evening, you didn't manage to get any food during it, nor did you eat any lunch.
In fact, the only thing you've eaten all day is a sausage sarnie.
As you walk along the street towards home, and bed, you spy the chip shop, its lights bright and inviting, and suddenly, you find yourself crossing the road, desperate for a battered sausage and chips (or, as we call them up north - a sausage supper).
So you push open the door, barely noticing the tall bloke standing waiting as your eyes fix on the cabinet, scanning... there must be... ah! yes! the holy grail, one sausage in batter left. Perfect.
The guy behind the counter smiles and asks how you are and what you'd like, and you can hardly be bothered with the pleasantries because there's a sausage there, waiting to be eaten, so before he's really finished asking what you want, the words "oooh, the battered sausage please" spill out, possibly not with as many spaces between them.
He pauses for a second and looks up, and exchanges glances with the forgotten other punter.
A moment passes.
You realise, that's his sausage.
Damn it.
Without realising it, the words "oh, is that your sausage" come out, with far more disappointment behind them than you intended, and then something magical happens.
He smiles, and says "nah, it's all right - you can have it", and I thank him.
He has a plain sausage, and I get my battered sausage, and the man behind the counter wishes me a good night and tells me to wrap up warm against the cold, and as I walk home burning the inside of my mouth on napalm filled chips, two thoughts pass through my mind.
1) Who says London is an unfriendly place?
2) I'm really going to miss living here.
That's really funny! Thanks a lot for brightening my day!!
Glad you got your heart's desire.
re 2):
Where are you going to live?
Will there be mice?
Love
sue
xxx
I found London to be an extremely friendly place - I didn't even know it had a different reputation.
Hi, I'm from Kilmacolm.
Where exactly is "outside Glasgow"?
Have I seen you in NMA?
Diggy
Sue: Don't know exactly where I'm going yet, but it'll be somewhere in North London. I'm hoping Camden but we can't always get what we want... and as for mice - bloody well hope not!
Christine: When I was about to move to London, several people tried to put me off by telling me London was dirty, smelly and unfriendly. I haven't yet found it to be so.
Digbeth: Outside. More specifically Lanarkshire, but I'm not getting any more specific than that... and as for NMA - if you have I'd be quite surprised, I'm not aware of having been in it, but I haven't really looked at it lately.
London is friendly, everyone's just busy, that's all. A great story. I really fancy a battered sausage now... I wonder if my local greasy spoon is open at 8:30am on a Sunday. No, haven't been to bed yet.
Also, I've thieved your great shot at Oxford Circus to illustrate a blog post of mine. Given you full credit and a link. Hope you don't mind. If you do, email me, and I'll replace it. Thanks!
Your hearts desire is a sausage?
Also, I have to say I disagree: London actually is a smelly, dirty, paranoid, unfreindly place, and as I love to say (I may even have said it here on your blog before) "When your tired of london, you're tired of strife".
But London is a conflicted place full of contradictions: It is also warm and friendly and full of unexpected smiles and kindnesses.
If youre lucky they balance each other out.
:)
Damn you! I want a battered sausage now. Mmmm... they have always been my favourite.
"When I was about to move to London, several people tried to put me off by telling me London was dirty, smelly and unfriendly. I haven't yet found it to be so."
This is what Andy Hume told me, but he said it would be what I'd love about London. I totally did, though I couldn't and hence didn't experience any form of friendliness there. What I did experience was friendly enough, at least friendlier than, say, Amsterdam.
Yes. London is dirty, smelly and noisy. And I love it.
Beautifully written Pix.
I am a little concerned about the density of sausage in your diet however.
Only two meals with sausage?
I was told the same about down south when I moved there, totally rubbish - but that was Aylesbury mind you.
I'm racking my brain trying to remember which part of Lanarkshire your from, I'm sure you've mentioned...
Del: Not a problem provided you link back with credit, which you've done. glad you like it.
Simon: Not usually, but right at that particular moment in time it really really was.
Lori: Sorry. They are good though, aren't they?
Rob: I wasn't in Amsterdam long enough to really be able to compare it, but I do remember it being very pretty.
Neil: Some days all you need is some good quality sausage.
Gordon: I probably didn't. It's not a million miles away from where you are though.
so tell us, how do you feel about square sausages?
I haven't had square sausage in a long time, and the last square sausage I had was actually really not nice.
*sigh*
I miss good square sausage.
... the online home and (not very) alter(ed)-ego of Ann McMeekin, a recently freelance Web Accessibility Consultant.
... passionate about many things, most of which will turn up on this site at some time or other.
... contactable via email.
Design and content copyright 2000-2007 pixeldiva, except where noted.
Copyright of comments remains with the individual author.
All rights reserved.
Left comments