Popping out of the Oxford Circus Underground stop is overwhelming to the senses. It’s cold and the wind bites at the unprotected. There is humanity, and a lot of it. The sidewalks are rivers of shoppers, moving quickly. Slip into the stream or get run over. Those are your options.

Once in the stream other things become apparent. It is dusk – it does get dark early. White Christmas lights configured into stars are strung with customary English reserve across the street -- simple and beautiful. Traffic moves surprisingly well. Double Decker buses mix with Mercedes, Porches, BMWs, and the occasional Alfa Romeao – not many Ford’s on New Bond Street. The sounds of Christmas Carols float up from the disabled-persons choir just inside the tube stop. Occasionally, a bus will drown them out, but they are resilient. I wish you a Merry Christmas, too.

There is a vendor roasting chestnuts. One Pound Sterling for a small bag. Business looks good. The Armani store is busy. If clothes make the man, Armani makes MEN. A couple of Bobbies (policeman) walk by. They don’t carry guns, but they do have very big sticks. You never really think about crime here.

The river suddenly stops moving. There are simply too many people and the sidewalk ahead is too narrow. The mood is cordial though. Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, and English voices mix pleasantly in the air. No French, though. They aren’t much for England. I think the feeling is mutual (to see how the English feel about the French, watch Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail).

10:00 p.m., Camden Town. Camden Town is the heart of alternative-culture London. During the day, Camden Market sports an unbelievable variety of vendors and shops selling an unbelievable array of things you will never find in your parents house. Need a human skull? How about a home body-piercing kit? Leather underwear with studs your style? It’s here – along with the people who tend to need those kinds of accessories. This is not your father’s craft market.

New This Week:
A couple of Jokes, A couple of Photos, and a page in the Archives.

Camden Town by night is not substantially improved. Trash is strewn all over the street. Packs of drunk ("pissed" is the correct local term – as in "He was really pissed last night") English soccer fans with equally pissed women shout past. Strange thing about the English – they are perhaps the most polite people in the world, but put a couple of pints of beer in them, and they are loud, obnoxious, and quite aggressive. It’s a real Jeckel and Hyde thing.

I’m waiting in a large, completely packed pub named "World’s End." I’m supposed to meet an Italian friend, Luca (it’s Italian for Luke), and his Slovakian girlfriend. They were supposed to be here a half hour ago. Most of the patrons of the "World’s End" look as if the world has already ended for them. Why am I here?

11:00 p.m., Great Southeastern Railway – Somewhere east of London. Public transportation is a wonderful thing. I’m headed home on the Southend Victoria – the train that runs to Brentwood – my suburb. The great thing about a well-developed public transportation system is how convenient it is. For example, I can leave my apartment, take a five minute walk to the train station, buy a 7 pound 30 pence ticket that allows me to ride the trains, subway, and buses all day, and be in central London in 25 minutes. From there, the Underground, or Tube, takes you anywhere; No traffic hassles, no parking, just jump on the Tube and go. I think the key to its success is just about everyone uses it; Young, old, rich and poor. And you never worry about drinking and driving.

Monday, December 8, 1997, 9:30 p.m. I want to thank everyone for the nice words about the website. I really do appreciate it. I also want to say thanks for sending all of the photos, jokes, etc. I have posted some today, and will post more next week. Please keep them coming.

I’m listening to "It’s Good to be King" by Tom Petty. One of the lines is "It’s good to have friends." It is good to have friends; Some old and some new, but friends all the same. I hope you have a terrific week and keep checking out the site.