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Kitchen
Source: Landlord via current add for one of the spare rooms Living with 12-15 people is not something I have experienced before, nor am I likely to again, but it does seem to be a definitive part of the London experience (or so I am told). Located in Shepherd's Bush, an area notorious for Aussie's, Kiwi's and Drunks (associations unproven) our place has seven bedrooms over four floors. With five double bedrooms (one with a single) and two singles, we officially have 11 in the house, but with girlfriends, couch sleeping friends and associated vagrants, the numbers have occasionally swollen to 15.
Despite this it never really feels busy, although it has often been very loud. There is not a lot of communal space (a narrow kitchen and laundry, and small dining and living areas) but big bedrooms with doors that won't hold open. Although our room is nice enough and quite spacious, the house is terribly built. It is new but every expensive has been spared and it is not coping with the numbers. One of the two showers began to leak in our first week, resulting in large bubbles of water forming in the kitchen ceiling. One of these bubbles burst whilst I was in the dining room, resulting
in a huge crash and the spreading of water to all parts. Realising that I was now in charge of the mess, and resisting my narrow instinct to take flight, I made a half-arse job to clean up the mess (half-arse for effectiveness, whole arse for effort) and left the house. The resulting fix up saga is ongoing.
Yet, with several flatmates working odd shifts, the house has been very manageable, generally clean with plenty of quiet times. That said, almost the whole house will have changed over by the end of the month so it could be quite different - it does operate on a narrow margins; one unclean frypan can stuff up the system entirely. In someways our flat is just like London, there are nice private spaces, but the public areas are overflowing and one gets the impressions that a flood would leave a hell of a mess.
Our League of Nations (the United Nations being too fancy for us) was originally made up of four Kiwi's, four Italians, a Portuguese guy, a Dutchman and an Irish girl. Living with Latin folk has been an experience. They are wonderfully nice (and clean) but very, very
Lounge
Warning: Objects may appear bigger than they actually are loud. Two of them have the ensuite* room at the top of the house, which is four floors above the living room. Late at night, they could often be heard yelling to (and at each) other from top to bottom. One girl's boyfriend (Lucca) gets a pretty rough time. Often I have been lying in bed at night/early morning only to hear,
'Luccaaa'
'Luuuu!'
Yelled up and down the stairs. Only later have we found out that is not the girlfriend but her friend that is pushing him around. Rough. The poor guy only wants some peace, particularly when watching his team lose the soccer. The World Cup has been a perfect introduction to the flat, a great talking people when communication is a little rough. Overall though, we have all been getting along well and it is great to meet people that I would otherwise not have the opportunity to interact with.
Another highlight has been 'Fake Mateo'. When we moved in, we eventually met an Italian guy who introduced himself as Mateo. Later we found out that there had been a previous Mateo who had gone back to Italy but couldn't get out of
One of the bathrooms
Out of action for a couple of weeks due to a fear of its imminent relocation to the kitchen, the other bathroom is a quarter of the size. his lease. Instead, his friend had moved in and introduced himself to everyone as Mateo in order to avoid catching the attention of the landlord. We discovered this in talking to the other Kiwi's, who were surprised by his presence and insistence on being called Mateo. After this 'Fake Mateo' was born, his shadowy presence providing the perfect excuse for all kinds of household malfunction.
Vin and Anita, the other Kiwi's, have really made things for us. Easy going and experiencing much of the same things we are, they have been living the same hours - making for great 'Home and Away' viewing companions. We have been able to discuss the foibles of living in London, and share trips to Wimbledon and Brighton which has been excellent really. Their friendship has made things feel much more like home - it is unfortunate that they are moving out to go travelling in a couple of weeks.
So, despite the inner-city pressure and an awareness that I'm not in high-finance when I'm washing my second hand underpants, we are beginning to feel at home now. Catch our next edition, when we discuss the joy of unemployment and the seductive power
Our room
Not pictured, us as we hadn't moved in here yet. of medical research.
*A sneaky look at their vacant room suggested that ensuite is perhaps not the right term. The room did have a shower and toilet, but no seperation between room and toilet/shower. What made it odder was that the two who shared it were male and female friends. Italians. Odd.
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