Oh, America...

Bastion of the free world, champion of progress, perpetrator of capital, convenience and efficiency... why won't you switch to metric?

I'm trying to brush up on my cocktail skills, as it's an art I'm rather fond of. And this book (Tequila Mockingbird - buy it!) makes for perfect practice, if not for one thing... it not only gives measurements in fluid ounces instead of mililitres, but American ounces which, as I understand it, along with American shots and American pints, are not the same as their British counterpart. So when reading the list of ingredients I really can't even gauge what the drink is supposed to come out like! I'm gonna draw up a reference chart, me. A crib-sheet for alcoholics.

Met Francesca by her work for a deelish stew-lunch, and snapped the city a bit although didn't take anything worthwhile, really. Meandered around the West End, getting lost somewhere behind Oxford Street and then stumbling out of a backstreet right onto Gower Street, as one tends to do in London. I can grow weary of this city, as I've already discovered and as I'm sure many have before me - but how can I possibly tire of London?

And so I came to find myself in the British museum, reading about 'the Islamic World', and spending a particularly long time trying to take in as much as I could about the ties between the Ottoman Empire and Islamic Southeast Asia. All very interesting, but I've never had the memory for history - it was never my subject at school because I found myself having to try and trick my brain into memorising facts and dates, rather than making it about recalling accurate stories as most good historians seem to do.

Anyway, then I saw there was an exhibition about sex and pleasure in Japanese art, which of course I had to check out! Again, very interesting, and as it was a (very) illustrated tour, I managed to hold on to a lot more information (not like that, cheeky!). I actually had some thoughts on the exhibition - or rather, how the exhibition was presented in the museum - and intend eventually to note them down here, so watch that spot... and please call me out if I don't, 'cause knowing me it'll take a lifetime!

Then into Pret for a warmer-upper while snooping through this book some more, and back to Francesca's work, where she met me to walk to Comedy Biscuit, her friend's stand-up night where I sat inconspicuously on the end of the 2nd row while Francesca stood inconspicuously behind the 'spotlight' (desk lamp) and took pictures of the acts.

I've accomplished a lot for someone who is accomplishing very little!