Heart of the Empire

So I almost feel like I should recant my post on Amused (and I won't forget to link outraged). But after tonight I have my questions.

A few years ago they changed the laws in London that pubs/bars could stay open past 12. However, this by and very large hasn't changed. They all close an average of 11:30. I mean, this is the capital of the United Kingdom. This is a city of seven million people. And apparently it settles to bed around 10. Even gentle Norman in the summer doesn't follow this schedule. But I guess thats how they get so much done.

So the night life is pretty non-existent. But you when in Rome...I guess you just stay up because thats what you're used to.

In other news, we're staying at a Queen Mary University on the kinda outskirts of London. That means immigrants. There's plenty of "halal" (or the Muslim version of Kosher) fast food type places around. On the down side reading the menus I realized they're all Pakistani/Indian. So the precious little Classical Arabic I remember still doesn't do me any good.

On the plus side, there's tons of BBC's (British Born Chinese) around. Happy hunting. That is, until 11.