Sim Carter: Past Tense Imperfect

Painting by Andra Hancock via Andra Hancock.com I'm writing bits of memoir and putting some of them together under the label On the Street Where I Lived stories. Hoping to get them published in a book someday. This one dates back to the early seventies, I was nineteen, still living with my parents on 14th Street in Santa Monica. (orig posted 12/12/14) Boys and Black Coffee The last thing I wanted was a part time job that had anything to do with food. Or uniforms. Not after my stint in the employee cafeteria at my mom's work . Still, somehow I ended up hemming a turquoise uniform to work at the snack bar at the grocery store right across the street from our apartment. The snack bar at Vons—if it had any other name, I never knew it—served up mostly cheeseburgers, milk shakes made with scoops of real ice cream, and deep-fried chicken. Plus a whole lotta coffee, especially to the employees. I ’ d see the stock clerks coming, and after working there a couple

image via 84CharingCrossRoad.com I’m taking a virtual walking tour ‘above ground’ on the London Underground. Using  my Tube guide & my fitbit® device, my goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day roughly following along the Underground route, reporting back here on Fridays with my findings.  Here are the days that came before .  We're following the Piccadilly Line, this is Day 34. Last week I got a little sentimental about my dad, sharing a photograph of the two of us taken in Hayes, on the outskirts of London when I was a toddler. I'm back on track this week, still at Leicester Square, right in the thick of things, so close to so many points of interest.  Checking my map I see the National Gallery is just a few minutes away down Charing Cross Road. Charing Cross Road! I can't go anywhere until I see 84 Charing Cross Road, the site made famous in the book 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, which in turn became a play, then a film starring Anne Bancr

Leicester Square by Ross Ashmore I’m taking a virtual walking tour ‘above ground’ on the London Underground. Using  my Tube guide & my fitbit® device, my goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day roughly following along the Underground route, reporting back here on Fridays with my findings.  Here are the days that came before . This is Day 33 & we're still on the Piccadilly Line. Looking at my map I see Angel's Costume House is a short four minute walk from the Leicester Square tube station. That is a trip we have to take! I heard about Angels when I was writing a piece about the period costumes worn by Carrie Mulligan in Far from the Madding Crowd for Chapter 1-Take 1, my book to movie blog, and learned that the costume designer had used the BAFTA & OSCAR winning Angels costume house as a source.  While the 'Visitors book' is filled with scrawled thank you's from the stars, I also learn that that the company moved its production facilities to Camden

  Photo by Kevin Yiu for Londonist.com   I’m taking a virtual walking tour ‘above ground’ on the London Underground. Using  my Tube guide & my fitbit® device, my goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day roughly following along the Underground route, reporting back here on Fridays with my findings.  Here are the days that came before . We're still following the Piccadilly Line. This is Day 32 Piccadilly Circus is a world famous tourist attraction. But why? For Brits, the term Piccadilly Circus is synonymous with Bedlam. Because let's face it, it's crazy-busy, with over half a million people passing through it every day, and crowded with a dizzying, possibly headache or seizure-inducing array of corporate signage ala Times Square. So what's it all about Alfie?  Matt Gedge, a tour guide with FunLondonTours.com shared some facts I certainly didn't know about Piccadilly Circus: One ... Where? Image by  Martin Kraft / Creative Commons license Whi