October has certainly been the month for visitors. They have mostly been very welcome company, however there have been a few unwanted interlopers!
Lets start with the good…. we were delighted to greet an old friend and one of our founding members Steve Sidelnyk! He is here for a fleeting visit, although I suspect (aka am hoping) it could turn in to an extended one after looking at the current weather forecast in the UK. Longtime members may recall his superb drumming talents that I have persuaded him to show off at several of our events over the years. His bagpipe & drum band Dram! needs to reform methinks – what say you Lorne Cousin (the pipes part of the group) ? Perhaps for our upcoming Christmas party? Watch this space for details…..
The lovely Judy, our colleague from Air New Zealand, popped in to our weekly Breakfast Club on Tuesday bearing branded gifts for all attendees – I snagged a handy tote – which I have used several times already. Craig and I were particularly pleased with ourselves as we realized the handles were long enough to go over our heads and the bag does double duty as a bib – the perfect accessory for eating Cecconi’s Full English Breakfast! Don’t forget to use our exclusive ANZ discounts for flights if you are planning to go home for Christmas, also good for those of you who have family coming into town. They have now been extended to cover trips to Australia and New Zealand, so if you would rather head in the opposite direction for the impending Yuletide celebrations now is a good time to book! If you have trouble locating them drop me a line at eileen@Britsin.LA.
Talking of Christmas, we popped over to see Zoe of Express Rent a Car fame – I was stunned to see a pop-up shop already selling trees for the holidays!! Will they even last that long? We haven’t got Halloween out of the way yet! My friends Frank & Alan are also here for a little vacation – I am trying to give them a proper LA experience, so I have already sent them for Vitamin B shots with Dr Amy at Lyfe. I also took them to the premiere of the new film Suffragette earlier in the week – it’s such a good film and serves as a shocking reminder too. It is unfathomable to me that in certain parts of the world women are STILL denied the vote and equal rights. I also learnt something new, as apparently the word suffragette has very different connotations to the word suffragist; ending the word in ‘ette” was to serve as a putdown, and soon after came to mean they were the more violent of the protesters. Whereas the original word suffragist refers to the more conservative/peaceful campaigners. Either way I highly recommend you go to see the film – and fly the flag for Equality Now!
Frank and Alan thoroughly enjoyed it too and seemed to get a kick out of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan – not to mention the flowing champagne. It was nice for me to be able to keep up appearances for my UK guests – shhh, don’t tell them that we don’t get invited to star-studded film openings every night of the week!
Pub Quiz at the Pikey was also full of new guests – from Donald Trump to Princess Leia ! Just the scent of Halloween on the horizon seems to give everyone the dressing-up bug in this town – I’ve been everything from Snow White to Wonder Woman although I think my favorite costume from years gone by was probably sexy skeleton. If you are new to town don’t be surprised by the things people turn in to ‘sexy’ costumes – I have seen more ‘Sexy Bumble Bees” than I can cope with – this year I thought it might be fun to be ‘Sexy Traffic Light’ ……
Now lets get on to my bad visitors – I promise to make it brief! This horrid humidity, which is very rare for Los Angeles, has brought on an influx of pesky bugs. The flies have been driving me crazy for weeks, they appear to be the fattest and quickest beasts I have ever encountered. I have several fly swatters placed around the house for just in case, but the majority of the time I only succeed in smashing ornaments or hitting the kitchen counters in vain. I have been considering purchasing one of those tennis racket style swatters that electrocute them on impact, my only apprehension being that I am more likely to shock myself or one of the dogs!
Moving on to our new house guests the stink bugs – with a name like that need I say more! Last but not least are the annoying silverfish, who seem to thrive in the moist air we are currently experiencing. They have all defeated me, but at least we have an exterminator (who is currently on speed dial). He is doing his best to get the pest problem under control. It’s at times like this I particularly love America – customer service and prompt responses are unique to this country, in my opinion.
If you have any questions or comments or useful tips for us to share, please drop us a line at BritsinLA@gmail.com
Cheers!
Eileen
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