Disaster Date

I went on a date last Friday with a guy I met at a social meet up. He was very easy to talk to, seemed pretty down to earth, generous and all that. I'm guessing he's in his mid-forties since he comes with quite a lot of baggage in the form of a wife he's separated from and three teenage kids. I've always been wary of men who's already got a family but I thought I'd try and not be narrow-minded. However, one of the first things he told me was that he's had enough kids and doesn't want any more. He's been doing well in his career and now he wants to go travelling. Well, I have been travelling my whole adult life and really don't feel the urge to take the backpack and go off around the world again. I'm looking for someone to settle down with. We had a nice evening and I enjoyed his company. I guess that's the reason why I agreed to see him again on Sunday although I had already decided that it was never going to lead anywhere since we want different things.

Today I was snooping around the meet up website. It's a place where you can join different groups depending on your interests and then meet up with them when the organisers arrange a time and place. It's not a dating website (although some people seem to be using it for that) but it's a website which makes people go out and make friends rather than hiding behind their computers. You can write a short profile and post photos of yourself too.

I guess I was curious to see if this guy had had any messages from other women so I checked his page. To say that I was surprised of what I saw is a major understatement. There was a message from a man who'd posted a photo of himself stark naked! His message said: "Glad you like my pictures!!! Do contact me if you would like to meet [phone number]." To this my date had replied only yesterday: "Cool, will drop you a line soon x".

Man....!!!??? You may recall a while back I was posting about another man in his mid-forties who I was supposed to go on a date with but he kindly informed me just before we were due to meet that he was into stripping for other couples. What is it with men in their mid-forties? Are they having a mass-midlife crisis? Are they all of a sudden waking up thinking that they've done nothing in their lives and now they want to explore. And that exploration is sexually?

Don't get me wrong here. I am a very open-minded person. I believe that everyone has their right to do what they want, explore as much as they like BUT PLEASE... don't start dating me before you know what bus you're on, you know what I'm saying?! Seriously, men my age are frightening me. Thank God I have another date this evening... with a 30-year old. Wish me luck!

PS. Sunday's date has been cancelled.

Extra, Extra... Royal Engagement News!

Finally Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria is getting hitched to Daniel Westling! They've kept us waiting for years.... seven to be exact. I am a big fan of Victoria. I have always thought she is modest considering her royal roots, down to earth, good-hearted, intelligent, sweet and she's got a good sense of humour. I find her to be the most likeable out of the three royal "children". The fact that she's marrying an ordinary guy, a gym-owner originally from an almost unheard of place called Ockelbo, makes me like her even more. I have a feeling that it hasn't always been easy for either of them to have their relationship accepted by certain people since he's not from a "noble" family (and what the hell does noble mean anyway???). But the fact that they have kept their relationship going says a lot.

The wedding will take place in Spring 2010. I can hear the champagne corks pop as I write this.

Congratulations!

Congratulations Slumdog Millionaire!

I'm so pleased Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars last night! Being a low-budget film which apparently wasn't even supposed to be shown in the cinemas it's such an amazing achievement for Danny Boyle and his rather unknown cast to receive so many awards.

Did you see the children being interviewed on the red carpet? Look how excited they are. And don't you just love the accent?


If you haven't already seen it... GO! It's the best film you will watch this year.

A Different Type Of Snow

It's hard to believe that it's just over two weeks ago St James's Park looked like this

and today there is a different type of "snow"... little snowdrops

I'm hoping that spring is well and truly on its way although someone kindly reminded me that last year we had snow in April. I forgot.

Reclaim Love

It's Valentine's Day and here I am without a hot date in sight.... again! But don't think that I'm sitting here crying over spilled milk. Oh no, I've been to the "Reclaim Love" party by the Eros statue on Piccadilly Circus this afternoon. There were a lot of colourful people

a band was playing the drums on the stairs to the statue

others were handing out postcards

and stickers

and FREE HUGS!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Giving and Receiving

I fell out with another therapist a week ago. It's someone I met on a massage course and it turned out that we were working in the same clinic but on different days. It's Robert. I'm not even going to try and protect his privacy. Not after what he said to me!!!

Robert is a therapist and he also writes and teaches his own courses. He's been known to attend the shortest courses himself to quickly gain a certificate and then he goes on to teach. Personally I'm against this fast-tracking and make-money-quick-mentality but it's not really any of my business. However, when I attend a course I expect my teacher to have years of knowledge and experience behind them.

A few months ago Robert called me up and said "I've been thinking that we should do a swap. You can attend one of my courses and I'll get two facial rejuvenation treatments from you. Have a look on my website and see what course you want to do". Please note that Robert DID NOT ASK if I would like to do a swap. He TOLD ME to do it. I don't like to be told what to do.

A month later we bumped into each other at the clinic and he brought it up again. In my head I was wondering why he wanted to do this swap and innocently thought that he might not have that many attendees on his courses and wanted to up the numbers. Naive, Helena, naive! This time he said "We have to do that swap. I want to see what you're doing" And then he smirked. Big mistake, Robert. Big mistake! Now I knew that all he was after was to nick my techniques since he himself had only attended a one-day course in facial rejuvenation whereas I did a full on diploma course, four days in college followed by three months of home study, six case studies, a written essay and an exam. I was annoyed but still didn't manage to say no.

Since then I have tried to avoid him hoping that the subject was going to be forgotten about. Well, a week ago we bumped into each other again and of course it was being brought up. This time I told him that I did not want to do this swap because I thought it was uncool of him to try and get my techniques and then go on to teach. Wwwwooooooo!!! That did not go down well. And I'm assuming that it didn't go down well because he was fully aware that I was right. He started telling me that he has been soooo kind to me (eeehh, yeah, you asked me to cover four shifts for which I paid you the room rent) and how could I not do this for him since he's been so good to me?! He then went on to lecture me about how it's all about giving and receiving and the importance of keeping a balance between the two. I was gobsmacked. I'm usually quite quick in my response but to this I couldn't get a word out. How dared he portraying himself as a good-hearted saint and myself as the ungrateful bitch?!

Later I was stewing in my treatment room thinking about what I should have said. Things like: I know the art and the beauty of giving and receiving. It's when you give without expecting anything back. Give without any ties. And it's when you receive without having the feeling that you must give something back. Think about that, Robert!

Yesterday I went to Caffe Nero for a coffee and two elderly ladies asked if they could share my table. Of course they could. As they sat down I stood up to clear the table from empty cups the previous customers had left behind. One of the ladies thought that I was leaving but I told her that I was just clearing away the rubbish for them. The look on her face... her jaw dropped and she thanked me so much. I thought to myself that such a small act of kindness could be so appreciated. After we'd finished our coffees she asked me if I wanted another one. My first instinct was to say no thank you. But then I thought about giving and receiving and how it's important to accept a gift in order for the other person to feel happy about giving. So I accepted.

One of the ladies had bought a sandwich but couldn't finish it all so she wrapped her leftovers in a napkin and was going to take it home. They both left before me and when it was my turn to leave I realised that her sandwich was still on the table. I put it in my bag and as I walked past the bus stop there they were. When I fished the sandwich out of my bag the old lady couldn't contain herself. She was absolutely delighted. Bless her! The rest of the evening I couldn't stop thinking about how I had experienced the true feeling of giving and receiving with no expectations and what a great day it had been thanks to it.

Before I went to bed last night I got my angel cards out and asked if there was anything the Angels wanted to tell me about the day. Guess which card came flying out of the pack? "Giving & Receiving"! Say no more.

Blissful Music

I absolutely love "Bliss". They're a spiritual band from the UK. On their website it says that they are the UK's best kept secret and I have to agree. Therefore I was very surprised to see that one of their songs was featured in Sex And The City - The Movie. Or so I thought.

I downloaded "Kissing" on iTunes yesterday and have had it on repeat so my ears are now bleeding. I wanted to share it with you and imagine my surprise when I found it on YouTube and realised that the singer looks nothing like the singer in the "Bliss" I know. It's a different band!!!

Anyway, here's "Kissing" by the other "Bliss".



(The original video was removed for copyright reasons. This video with pretty pictures works just as well.)

Thawed

Dear God,

I would like to thank you for bringing me this

and this

By yesterday afternoon I was wearing a hat, scarf, polo neck and double cardigans to keep warm. I couldn't leave the house because I was waiting for a delivery. It never turned up, by the way. Thanks DHL! At 5pm there was light at the end of the tunnel... the rescue came in the form of a man who carried nine portable heaters up to us on the top floor. Not all nine at the same time, mind you. I made him a cup of tea to show him my gratitude. The evening was nice and warm. I decided a bottle of wine and a re-run of Sex And The City - The Movie was a good plan for the night. Shame that I later set both my alarm clocks for 8.45am instead of 7.45am. Ooops! But very lucky that I woke up at 8.15am thinking that surely it must be time to get up. And, oh yes, it was!!! I made it in to work with 10 minutes to spare before my first client arrived. Thanks God, for waking me up too!

Cold, Colder, Coldest

I'm terribly sorry but I can't write for very long today. You see, it's very difficult when your fingers are frozen and you have to wear double gloves. I would type with my feet but I can no longer feel my toes and they are starting to go blue'ish-black. Should I be worried? My nose has already fallen off since there are no knitted nose-warmers on the market. Maybe I could turn that into a new business. Oh no, I just forgot I can't knit because my fingers are... yeah, frozen. I'm gearing up for the third night without central heating. Am I annoyed or am I annoyed. Yes, I am annoyed. And had I been living in America I would have sued my landlord!

Ice Ice Baby

Well, it was only a matter of time before the boiler was going to pack in. Like everything else in London it decided it doesn't do snow. Great!

Stunning Snowy Landscape In London

I've been checking the weather report in the last few days and we'd been promised snow to fall last night. Snow in London generally means and thin layer of powder which nevertheless causes havoc in the city. Buses don't run, tubes and trains are delayed, schools shut... And every year I'm sitting here thinking "don't they ever learn?". So when we were promised snow last night I didn't expect much. Well, I was still awake at 1.30am and by then there was already a lot more snow than I've ever seen in London. I decided to set my alarm for 7am this morning so that I could go out and see the beauty of it before everyone else.

It was one of the most stunning mornings I've ever experienced during my 13 years in London. Check out all the snow on the cars outside my house.

I walked to St James's Park. There was only myself and a few other people. It was magical.


View of Buckingham Palace in the distance taken from the "photo-bridge" in St James's Park.

I continued walking to Piccadilly Circus.

Then to Leicester Square.

And into Chinatown where they had the official new year's celebrations yesterday.

Covent Garden Market.

Trafalgar Square. By now more people were out taking photos of the unbelievable amount of snow.

I walked back through St James's Park again on my way home.



All in all I was out walking for two hours this morning. It was a lovely atmosphere out there. People actually looked at each other and said good morning. Someone started chatting to me. A boy was holding a snowball in his hand, looked at me, trying to suss me out, then when he saw the glint in my eyes he threw the snowball at me. "This doesn't happen every day", he shouted with a beaming smile. Quite right!