The great pretender
I think it’s fair to say that West Hollywood is somewhat of a tourist trap, with hundreds of people of all nationalities taking in the sights from the Walk Of Fame to Grauman’s Chinese Theatreer. Everywhere you look there are people trying to hustle you into taking a bus ride around the homes of the [...]
At the drive-in
Eating on your own is always a strange experience. And never more so than when you’re in Hollywood on a Friday night. Thankfully, it’s the kind of occasion that diners were invented for. Having walked around for a while (which is Brit Out Of Water code for “made my way to the nearest record shop [...]
Hearing is believing
As if I didn’t feel enough out of water in New York, I’m currently in Los Angeles on work, having only been here once about three years ago. Suffice to say that I walk around with a confused expression that perpetually says “what the hell is going on here?” Actually, it’s probably the fact that [...]
Le petit dejeuner
Whatever you think about the French, you can’t help but admire their collective desire to protect their language. The French tongue is, after all, one of the things that defines them most as a nation, and it is rightly their belief that any attempts to erode its significance – particularly by the gathered forces of [...]
X marks the spot
Today much of the US has gone to the polls to decide which of the candidates will represent the Democrats and the Republicans in the upcoming election. With more than twenty states holding their primaries today, it’s one of the most important days on the road to the 2008 presidential vote. As a student of [...]
Flipping out
When I got to work this morning that I found out that it was Shrove Tuesday, and excitedly texted The Special One about plans for the evening. It was only when she questioned whether I really needed to make a display of religious deference that I realiszed that the tradition of Pancake Day isn’t exactly [...]
Lost in translation
On a day like today, when the Super Bowl is the predominant topic of conversation at the watercoolers of American offices, I may as well walk around the city with a giant pink neon sign above my head that reads “I’m British, please ignore me”. It’s not that I don’t understand what, erm, wide receivers [...]
Champions
So the New York Giants are the Super Bowl champions…pretty incredible game, and not just because of the number of burgers I managed to stuff down my neck. Watching the TV broadcast, a few things sprang to mind: 1. How can one sports game last four hours? That’s not a sport, that’s some kind of [...]
A small world
Waiting for The Special One in a bar on Friday night, I sat on a leather sofa reading the New York Times. Whatever people’s opinions of the NYT (and I meet a lot of people who don’t really like it), I kind of enjoy reading it. Don’t get me wrong I prefer The Guardian in [...]
Hands across America – update
Seems that my ability to unite America under one happy banner is perhaps more limited than I initially thought. After my impassioned plea to current readers to implore friends and family in the fourteen states that have steadfastly refused to click onto A Brit Out Of Water, only two more states have fallen. So thank [...]
