People of London — A Broad In London

Leah McLaren & Me ~ Authors, Single Moms, and All Around Hysterical Humans

Permit me, my beautiful readers, to introduce my special guest, Leah McLaren. She is more than a guest. She is a three-time published author, award-winning journalist and a G&T-loving friend. And don't we all need one of those?

On Leah's invitation during the deep and dark time of Covid, I boarded a completely empty train and got my ass to a little rustic Welsh farmhouse that Leah had rented. I was attempting to write my very first book, and Leah was pounding out her latest, a poignant mother-daughter memoir, Where I End, and You Begin. "Don't talk to anyone", she warned me. "I mean it, Christina, no one." She was terrified that the Welsh villagers would take one listen to my Canadian accent and, with torches high and pitchforks at the ready, storm the farmhouse and evoke a tiny-town-terror of Covid justice.

Prince Harry vs Team Never Complain: Never Explain. The Most Polarizing Subject In The UK Since Brexit

Unless you are living completely off the grid, with no access to the internet or Google Alerts, you have been recently flooded with a plethora of red-hot stories, gifted to us by Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The Oprah interview, the Netflix docu-series/reality show and most recently, Harry’s tell-all book, The Spare. The media, with a frenzy equal to newly hatched turtles rushing to the ocean, have been diving into those waters to digest, dissect, discuss, judge, condemn and regurgitate every last word. Like so many of us, I have officially reached my peak, my saturation level of Sussex consumption. So I swore I wasn’t going to write about it. The war of The Sussexes.

But something happened to me last week, twice, in fact, that has led me to keep this dialogue going.

Not one, but two friendly, white tablecloth dinners, out with intelligent friends, metamorphized into a full-out, drag ‘um down bar fight debate about the most polarising subject in the UK since Brexit, Harry and Meghan. I am not interested in highlighting the obvious conflicts of one of the world’s most famous dysfunctional families or once again discussing the “rivalry, jealousy and competing agendas” between Harry and his wife, the Sussexes, and Prince William and Kate, the Cambridges. The proverbial “they said/the Monarch said.” You can buy the book. Nor do I want to talk about Oprah, the Netflix series, or Harry’s “frost-bitten todger” (cringe).

The Queen is Dead. Long Live The King (that's still going to take some getting used to.)

What a year!

I cannot think of a single year in my life when living in London has been so historical. We have had a Prime Minister ousted, brought down by scandal. It was only a few months ago when decorated soldiers marched, gilded horses trotted, and trumpeters blew their horns as I, plus hundreds of thousands of others, surrounded Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to the Queen's 70-year reign. A milestone not reached by any other British monarch.

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

It's a party the likes the world has never seen…and likely will never see again. And whether you are a royal lover or not, it makes absolutely no difference. Because no one can deny the incredible lifelong dedication Queen Elizabeth II has given to her country. Seventy years ago, Princess Elizabeth, at the age of 25, became Queen. For those of you that don't get this significance, let me help you out.

In the history of the British monarchy, and it goes back, well, forever, there has never been a King or Queen sitting on the throne for this extraordinary length of time. To put this into layman's terms, the Queen is still working at her job a whopping thirty years past the age when most people have retired. That, my friends, is service.

What Brits Say: Versus What They Actually Mean

You only have to set your feet down on British soil for minutes before you can see it. The differences, the quirks, the idiosyncrasies, the orderly queues in the rain.

And let's face it, that’s what you’ve come for, right? You don’t want to hop on a sleepless, transatlantic flight to London and not to get the full British experience.

Of course, not all differences are understood. As a Canadian, I confuse Brits. I speak like an American, spell like a Brit, and know just enough French words to seriously confuse a nation of people.

So just like I might confuse the Brits, they too have elements of their British persona I have trouble understanding.

So, to save you all a heap load of time (and embarrassment) I have compiled a useful list to spare you my visiting tourist friends from making grave errors with the British vernacular.

People of London, Life LessonsChristina FordMarch 23, 2022Lingo, Canadian

Three Single GIRLFriends, One Man On The Prowl…How We Discovered He Was After All of Us....or, How I Found Out I Was "A Type", Not A Unicorn

I like to believe that within each and every one of us we have unique traits that allow us to stand out in a crowd, or at the very least, stop us from blending into a sea of sameness with our Lulu Lemon daywear, Canada Goose jackets, Uggs and beige hair. I’ve often fancied myself to be somewhat of a unicorn, I’ve even got the official I Am A Unicorn T-shirt, for further authentication.

But recently I’ve come to learn (in the most interesting of ways) that I am no unicorn. I am a type— a blonde, light eye, slim(ish), fashion-forward, on the other side of fifty who could be most often seen posing with a cocktail —type.

Now in most circumstances in life, this means nothing. A type? Who cares? What possible interest could this have more than some random stranger mistaking me for Brenda from Bethesda?

But wait.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Life Lessons, People of LondonChristina FordFebruary 22, 2022Dating app, online dating, friends, Soho House, Raya

16 Must-Have Apps Everyone Over 40 absolutely Needs

I'm going to be straight up honest with you, this getting older thing has its disadvantages. I can throw my back out from trying to hold in a sneeze. I can walk into a room and completely blank out what I went in there for, and don't get me started about how my whole world comes to a grinding halt if I can't find my reading glasses.

Saying that I thought I would share with you 16 Must-Have Apps for us folk who have slipped into the other side of 40. And for you youngsters, take note, there might be a thing or two that might benefit you as well.

10 Things Brits Do That Drive Me Crazy

Ok, maybe it has been the result of the last year and a half stretching everyone, including myself, Petrie dish thin. But I’ve been finding my tolerance lower than usual. I mean sub-zero, don’t look at me the wrong way, or I might have to squash your will to live, kinda low. As a result, a few things have bubbled to the surface I thought I’d take the time to share.

There are some things that the Brits do that I fail to understand or tolerate. I’m guessing there is an equally compelling list of rants that I’m sure drive Brits mental about their North American counterparts. And please…my British readers, bring forth your list.

Sure there are stereotypes between the stand-offish, horse-loving snobs with bad teeth versus the gun-wielding, overweight loud Trump supporters who want to Super Size everything. But for the most part, that’s not what my rant is about. On both sides of the ocean, there are good and not so good traits and customs.

People of LondonChristina FordJune 18, 2021British Phrases, British English, Tea, Queen, 10 Things

20 Royal Rules Meghan Must Obey Before She Marries Her Prince

Like most little girls I had a very strong imagination growing up. I played with dolls, I dressed up like a princess and I imagined (pretty much solely thanks to Disney) that someday my prince would come, riding his white horse and whisk me away from my little split-level bungalow in North Toronto to his fabulous castle with a Michelin Star chef and a full time masseuse... and of course live happily ever after. But what every Disney Princess did not know was that behind the castle gates, after that sun had set there lurked the in-laws...ohhhh the Royal in-laws. With their pending pre-nup, royal wedding planner and most importantly the countless rules and regal protocol for marrying into their family.

A Day With London Fashion Designer Charli Cohen and ... Her Instagram Famous Pomeranian Suki

A Day With London Fashion Designer Charli Cohen and Suki, Her Instagram Famous Pomeranian

London and Fashion. Two words that go together like ….er...London and Fashion. I love fashion and its crazy scene, its colourful people and its ever changing landscape. I was raised by a mother who was a fashion model turned photographer, my father a fashion editor/writer and I started my early days as a model in Italy followed by short career as a wardrobe stylist in the film industry in Canada. I was surrounded, raised breathed and weaned in fashion's colourful flamboyant fabric.

So when a opportunity came up to bid on a “Day With A London Fashion Designer” for UNICEF, well it was in my mind sold before the auction had even finished. I wanted this. I thought this would be a fun experience. You know, get a few insider tips, a brief fashion update…and a little bit of a fresh perspective on the world of London fashion as told from the inside. What I didn't expect was to be impressed with this new generation of the conscientious designer, and how through this ethically moral compass fashion and its people are being redefined.

Dating For Friends. Making New Friends In A New City.

Girlfriends are your life source.

They have gotten you through messy breakups, given you honest fashion advise (sometimes even unsolicited) been there to let you vent..and vent...and vent, hold your hair back when the Tequila shots are making their way back up, got you home safely, cried when you cried and made you laughed when all you wanted to do is curl up with your other best friends Ben & Jerry and drown your sorrows in a tub of Chuncky Monkey. Girlfriends are your life source.. you could show up at their door at 3:00 in the morning with a dead body and they say nothing as they go and grab their shovel.

So now here you are, in a new city and a zillion miles from anyone you knows you shouldn't drink tequila. So you my friend need to get out there and find yourself some new local girlfriends...start dating for friends.

PLAYING IN THE MUD. LOOKING FOR BURIED TREASURE ON THE BANK OF THE THAMES

You think you have learned all there is to know about London history? Been to every museum, taken every tour, listened to every audio guide about the Tudors "this" and the Stuarts "that". Well until you start digging in the London mud, turning over a few rocks your education on London is totally incomplete

Things to Do, People of LondonChristina FordSeptember 22, 2017Mudlarking, The Thames, London, Grenwich, Mud-God, Steve Brooker

The Notting Hill Carnival

An estimated 2 million people descended for two days for The Notting Hill Carnival, one of the largest Caribbean festivals in Europe. With thousands of dancers, performers and some of the biggest and (loudest) sound systems you can carry on the back of a truck, I had to go and let my inner "island girl" out.

LONDON'S DEVASTATING FIRE. Why was I so compelled to visit Grefell's charred aftermath? Because... LIKE A MOTH TO THE FLAME I had no choice

It is believed to be started by a faulty appliance. The fire broke out in Grenfell Tower, an apartment building in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea not far from where I live. Grenfell is located in a pocket of social deprivation within one of the wealthiest areas of Britain. London's wealthiest borough yet its poorest neighbourhood.

FEARFUL IN LONDON ? Strangely, Not Like You Might Think

By now everyone has seen and heard about the terrorist attack at London Bridge and Borough Market. Currently leaving seven dead and 48 seriously injured. As a Canadian living in London thankfully I have never experienced this kind of anger, panic and terror these extremist groups are invoking on others. However this Canadian girl has now found myself in the middle of city that is a prime target for attacks. Am I fearful….? Not yet. Am I keenly aware of my surroundings as a potential target….? You bet I am.

Crazy REAL British Laws You Are Likely Breaking Everyday.

So currently I am back in Toronto to spend some time with my mother and family. It is spring, it is April and the weather REALLY, REALLY SUCKS. Barely a crocus in sight. Currently in London however the weather and foliage looks exactly like this!