You're the apple of my heart, but now, the time has come to part (Badfinger)

Photo by Julie Johnson on Unsplash

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Apple smapple!

I'm over my Apple product bromance. It's sad but true.

Let me explain.

Tech issues consumed my weekend. First my ipod's battery died a while ago (still goes on an ipod dock but dead as Julius Caesar otherwise). Plus my iphone battery was a step away from critical failure.

Long-time readers will remember the search for a heater in the middle east and the search for a watch (also in the sandpit). The search for new tech was compressed in time but no less stressful.

Figuring it has an Apple store, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse, Zara, Foyles and HMV, we decided to trek into Stratford City Mall.

Bad bad mistake.

Mistake 1 - no HMV!!! Goneburger. 

Mistake 2 - West Ham United were playing at home so there were 60,000 fans milling around the mall adding to the thousands who normally spend their Saturday milling around the mall.

Mistake 3 - the Apple store was mad mad mad. People everywhere. Noise of people and noise of some trendy techno junk booming out. The twenty somethings dressed in natty tight fitting black Apple monikered apparel were friendly to a point. I was told I'd need to queue to make an appointment to talk to some other twenty something techie dressed in natty tight fitting black Apple monikered apparel about my dead ipod (no thanks) and they didn't have the iphone I was interested in buying.

You know - the slightly less than current and cheaper than the latest bright shiny one.

All this came after we'd queued in Vodafone to buy one there (they didn't have it and sent me to the Apple store on the top floor).

The Apple people suggested I go to the Carphone Warehouse (on the lower ground floor).

I did mention there were 60,000 Hammers fans and the normal thousands of mallsters present didn't I?

Eventually I made it down the escalators to the Carphone Warehouse. They made it a hat trick of stocking only the latest iphone (which is now using Superbowl style roman numberings...pleeeze!!!!).

So, by default I saw a slightly older and cheaper Samsung S7 on their racks and bought that.

Boo hiss Apple!! Not cool!

The ipod? I'll save that story for next time chums.

Love and peace - Wozza

I take your entrance back... can't let you roam inside my head (Pearl Jam)

Westfield's Stratford City Mall, London, with SWMBO's happy place!

Monsieur Gros in his book A Philosophy Of Walking says 'one always walks in silence'. Specifically he is talking about walks out in the country where the cutter of city noise is left behind and where 'all is calm, expectant and at rest'.

Recently, during our holiday break in norf London we've been taking the superb London Overground service from Canonbury to visit  the Westfield mall at Stratford. 

As you'll see from the photo, it's quite big - spread over four floors - there are over 30 places to find food alone.

Mr Gros would hate it! We went before Christmas - dumb dumb dumb - and it was a mad cacophony of noise and thousands of shoppers. We've been a couple of times post school getting back in session and it's now a manageable place to visit. 

Still, he wouldn't like it! Chatter is all pervasive - a wash of murmur that grows as more people arrive during the day.

Gros on chatter - chatter deafens: it turns everything into nonsense, intoxicates you, makes you lose your head. It is always there on all sides, overflowing. running everywhere, in all directions.

Hard to argue with him but I don't actually mind it too much - voices become largely indistinguishable - everything blends and after a while the brain just accepts it and blocks a lot of it out. Then the only thing that comes through are the ones with louder voices close to you. Some English people have piercing voices!

On our first visit (before Christmas remember so PACKED) a women started yelling close to us after we went from Marks and Spenser's to get to Zara. She was pushing a stroller with a couple of other kids in tow. 

Clearly her boyfriend/ husband, whatever, had done/said something she didn't like. Very loudly she started telling us all about it, passionately and LOUDLY shouting ' you're a f-ing wanker, a f-ing wanker. Everybody - there's a f-ing wanker in the mall!' And then she really let him have it. 

We did our best to slink away - hard given the relentless press of people and attendant body spam.

Clearly Christmas is a stressful time!  Remind me never to go to a large city mall before Christmas day again, okay. Instead - a long walk in the country sounds just the ticket.

Love and peace - Wozza