Gap Year: Week 7

Lessons finished for the week last Friday and a good old fashioned night out in London with Geoff. The diabolical thing I found out about Kensington and the surrounding area is that is it rather upmarket. Not really the scene expected and what pleasure we got out of seeing none other then..... Jamie Laing, none other than the creator of Candy Kittens and heir to McVitie's. I have not had much luck with celebrity spots in my life and it is getting worse with three 'Made in Chelsea' characters spotted now. Nonetheless this Jamie, drunk,  managed to get a couple of his mates through even after the queue was supposedly closed. I guess having connections to Candy Kittens is everything these days. It was interesting to notice that like Spencer Matthews, Jamie is exceptionally short, lucky for him he has a lot of money in his pocket. The pub was preferable across the road to be perfectly honest.

That night was a bit of a disaster because for us newbie's to the London life the fact of the matter is that  in Knightsbridge you need reservations for tables and probably at least two thousand pounds with you. £20 pounds for four beers and being passed on from place to place until you finally reach the only place that is worth going to really. That was Vingt Quatre, all-night perfect restaurant along Fulham Road, that for the area is remarkably cheap with top food. Nevertheless the people who had filled previous bars were now there after a scout of the entire area. Talking about next year's cycle and the plans for it with a potential member of the Tour la Spain was far more worthwhile. 

One night at the Cuban back in Canterbury (Canterbury locals, you can't beat them on a Saturday), briefly at home and watching with Ollie, Rupert and Charlie Murray's famous Wimbledon and then back to London for German lessons. Vegas hotel and Uganda flights have been booked which is great news, flying into Kampala will be a treat to remember for sure. 

Work experience with an Insurance/Political Risk next year should be interesting and good for the CV, however my Dad seems obsessed with me to go into accountancy and numbers. Urgh.... Numbers would get the better of me, I found it more entertaining and interesting to talk about the state of African relations and the Arab Spring with Geoff rather than the idea of staring at a screen of data 10-12 hours a day. Africa is the future for investment and planning, a potentially flourishing continent with plenty to offer. Early investment in projects as my dad has done can be very rewarding for both that company involved and the recipients of the country. Although as Uncle has said some things don't change with some farmers who invested in protecting their cattle from disease still have huts but massive cars next to them, quite remarkable opposites. To finish off I perplexed my sister with my great list of holiday reading:

• 'Getting Somalia Wrong'
• 'Heart of Darkness'
• 'From Genocide to Continental War: The Congolese Conflict and Contemporary Africa'
• 'Shake Hands with the Devil; The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda'

Top Purchase: Eye Opening 

A necessity for my future course either way I look at it SOAS or International Relations at a university I know not where yet. Nevertheless it was a great sporting weekend watching the Lions spank the Aussies in Sydney, Murray triumph at Wimbledon and watching as Chris Froome maintains the yellow jersey. Being caught on the Wimbledon ending montage with the old man is always a treat to remember.

Matthew Williams