Texture

Bandstand Busking

The Pavilion, Victoria Park

Back of the net

Today I passed my 'Life in the UK' test, the first step in gaining dual-citizenship. To achieve this, I have studied a 145-page book that covers everything from government, society and employment. I now know all manner of important facts, such as the year in which women were able to vote at the same age as men (1928), the total number of parliamentary constituencies (646) and the minimum wage for 16 year olds (£3.30).

The test itself is a strange concept; I doubt that most people who were born and/or raised in the UK would pass unless they have a very good recollection of their secondary school history and citzenship lessons. And it's even more odd to me that there is a complete lack of cultural content included: no Fawlty Towers, Beatles, Alfred Hitchcock or Vivienne Westwood. And that's just for starters.

However, it's certainly been an interesting journey so to celebrate in true English style, tonight I'll mostly be having curry and a pint!

Assa

C and I met up last night for the first time in months for a general gossip and sharing of job hunting and travel tales. As it was cold and bucketing with rain, we both needed something hot and comforting. Assa, a tiny Korean joint in Soho fit the bill perfectly. The place was full but it was worth the wait for a table.

We ordered the kimchi and pork hot pot, vegetable pancake and sides of rice, spinach and seaweed. The hot pot was brought to the table rare and cooked on a gas burner placed on the table (although I stole a few pieces of tofu while it was cooking). All ingredients tasted fresh from the market; the level of chilli and spices was expectedly high. Our waitress was a smiling whirlwhind of efficiency and the bill was a pleasant surprise. Cheap, cheerful and very, very good.

Har Mar Superstar @ Pure Groove

He came, he danced, he stripped off, and at one point he even sang while in a side shoulderstand doing the splits. That's something special at any time of the day, let alone a Monday lunchtime in a record store.

Playing some new tunes, along with old disco-indie favourites DUI, EZ Pass and (appropriately) Power Lunch, Har Mar is truly one of a kind, singing and strutting his way through the crowd and even venturing outside at one point. His dry banter had the crowd in stitches: "This feels like a bookstore kinda crowd. That's cool - I can read". At the end of the hi-energy show, I heard one bemused punter ask "Er, what just happened?" An in-store performance like no other.