How I know I'm a Londoner

10 ways London has rubbed off on me...

1. I've adopted the London scowl.

The London Scowl unexpectedly came in very useful.

Perfected within my first week on the London underground, this peculiar facial expression is distinctive amongst Londoners who have to brave the London underground in peak hour. I swear it's evolutionary, a survival-of-the-fittest to ensure you make it to work alive. The look says 'I'm LATE, YOU'RE in MY WAY, and where I have to be is VERY IMPORTANT because I am VERY IMPORTANT, so get OUT OF MY WAY.' You need this look so that tourists get out of your way, children are scared into silence, and pregnant and disabled people lose the confidence to ask for your seat.As demonstrated above, the scowl can also be used to ward off potential (drunk) suitors.

2. I don't make eye contact in crowds.

Gah.

Londoners don't stick to walking on the left, or right, or any sort of order on the streets. So I found myself constantly in those awkward 'sorry dances' you do when both people try to get out of each others way. Someone told me the only way to stop running into people was to stop looking at them. It works! Want to get through a crowd? Stare into the middle distance as you walk, avoid any eye contact, and miraculously, everyone moves out of your way.

3. Most of what I eat is pre packaged.

Mmmm... and S.

Don't judge. Everything you would want to eat comes out of a box in London. Most central London supermarkets are the size of service station grocery sections, so buying anything that requires more than a zap in the microwave is quite difficult. The food that does come out of a box is such good quality that you'd never know. Pre-marinated steaks, sushi, fresh sandwiches, even fresh fruit and veggies are all pre-washed, pre-cut, zap in the bag. Cooking ingredients are a rare thing in this city.

4. Most of my coats and jackets come with hoods.

Everyone loves a hood. Except Jess.

Umbrellas in central London at peak hour are as useless as a chocolate teapot, and as welcome as a fart in a phone box. But survive the rain I must, so the hood is indispensable.

5. The first thing I do when anyone walks into a room is put the kettle on and offer everyone tea. It's like a reflex response.

Cream Tea in The Lake District.

 More ways continued...

Fashion spotlight #5

Helsinki, Finland.
Even in sub zero temperatures, there's never an excuse for not wearing your crocs.

Happy Jubilee!

Thanks to Lizzie for a four day weekend and lots of opportunities to party.

In no particular order...

A Victoria sponge was baked:

I stood on my balcony on Saturday and watched a mini-flotilla of blow up rafts team up with the river boats down Regent's Canal. Of note was this slightly dramatic slow motion crash, due to an inability of one of the river boats to make a timely three point turn:

Saturday night, I saw Coldplay at the Emirates Stadium. Ah-mazing!!

Everyone was given a wristband that lit up and flickered to the music.

On Sunday we queued with thousands of other flag bearing Brits to watch the flotilla:

We had a good view of the screen, and if we jumped really high, we could see the tops of some of the boats.

Get excited for mini bunting.

Actually, we watched it exactly the same way my Aussie friends did, on a big screen. But we did it in true English fashion, standing for three hours in the drizzle. My stiff upper lip got a workout.

On Monday I watched everything from the comfort of my lounge, before heading off to watch the concert from the comfort of someone else's lounge.

But the best bit, Friday night, we celebrated in true Royal style, accompanied by Kanye West:

A great weekend indeed!