Wild London

It's rare to see wildlife in London, unless you count rabid squirrels or mangled pigeons with pinkeye and crooked broken feet or the pesky mice that are still at plague proportions but nowadays the population tends to ignore them. But we are living in the centre of a throbbing metropolis that's filled to bursting point, 7.5 million and counting - its not like the Serengeti, when it's just you and a thin layer of canvas protecting you from a pack of hyenas howling at the foot of your tent - and you're so scared they'll take a nip at your feet you curl up into a ball and stay frozen in that position till morning, spending the night listening as they take over your campsite along with some wild cats and later on a pack of lions - true story this happened to us in Africa. But recently late at night I've been hearing this strange wild howling coming from the park that faces my window. Initial thoughts that it were the local crazies from the halfway house across the road being filmed for a Bumfight were soon disappated when I looked out the window and under the full moon saw two grey furry foxes complete with bushy tail and all locking fists. I didnt hear them again for months until now, when they make an appearance just about every night. We think they may be living in a completely overgrown and wild garden owned by some people downstairs. Can you imagine, foxes living in your garden that's no bigger than an average patio? Sounds scary, but still not as bad as having hyenas at your front door.

New york, new york...

Still getting over the jetlag not helped by matters that I got a bit sloshed at a book launch last night - alcohol and jetlag does not mix - lets just say that. Memorable moments so far from NYC in no particular order (more may come as the haze starts to fade):
1) a pimp and his prostitute fighting near Penn station
2) living as a local in a Chelsea apartment
3) Being chased by an MTV scout in Sephoras (why can't we have one of these shops in the UK?) to see if I wanted to be on an MTV show. I said sure, without thinking, and invited my friends to come join me. But she saw them and said well, we are only looking for people between 18-25. Rock! I still look young. I declined in the end anyway.
4) Times square - it's cheesy and gaudy, and the centre of mass consumerism but there's nothing like it anywhere else.
5) American Breakfast TV - we only watched TV at that time, but I couldn't help wonder why the BBC's Breakfast show couldn't be more like this, rather than interviewing 80 year olds about the the state pension for 40 minutes.
6) Bagels for breakfast
7) Halloween! How surreal was it to walk next to serial killers and sexpot nurses for days on end.
8) Texas sized drinks. Imagine a 12oz cocktail, beer or soft drink even.
9) Being able to eat and drink at any time of day. And more importantly...
10) Being able to shop for shoes at 1am.