Frenchy's Rant

Today is our last day in London.

I’ve passed this inspiring street every morning on my walk to work:

Not a bad way to look at things, really.

Looking up this inspiring street, I noticed something else:

This one pole brings electricity, telephone and cable TV to about thirty houses, on both sides of the street.

Looks safe to me!

Thomas, one of our UK audio crew greeted me this morning with, “Cheers, mate. How are ya? Right. Well, I had a nice kit last night, man, I was bloody knackered.” Sounded just like a line from Austin Powers.

After the show last night, I planned to head to a nearby pub. In the past, I have had trouble getting served in pubs, for whatever reason (too Yank, wrong shoes, too intelligent… who the hell knows?) Keeping with tradition, the area pubs refused to serve. I always think that this time will be different, I guess I am the beer glass half-full type of optimist.

The only place I could get a glass of beer, full or otherwise, was at our hotel bar. Better than nothing, but not by much. My pessimist side emptied several glasses, while the optimist in me got refills. Around two AM, I went to my room and had a nice kit, because honestly, I was bloody well knackered.

I wandered into the arena this morning to get a few pictures.

The Set

PA – Hard At work

Camera Guys – Hard at work

Lighting – Hard at work

It’s true. The middle of the day is low stress for just about everyone (including bloggers!)

Pack Yer Bags!

Everyone is packed and ready to head for the Gatwick airport after the show. Most people will go home tomorrow, a few people will stay in London for a few days, some will go “relax” in Amsterdam, and a lucky few will head to Ireland for four days.

Tonight, Smackdown. Tomorrow Ireland!

Certified Angus Beef LLC
206 Riffel Rd.
Wooster, OH 44691

Dear Mr. Angus,

I am a meat eater from way back. Once I dated a vegetarian, but I had to dump her. Going out for dinner would always end in a fight. I’’d order a delicious Certified Angus steak, she’d get mad, and I wouldn’’t get any action for days.

But that’s not why I am writing today. What I would like to know is what does it take to become a beef certifier? I would like to get into the certifying business myself, but not for beef, as it appears you have that market pretty well covered. But there are a whole host of other uncertified products out there. Kites, lawnmowers, dog collars, and beer steins are just a few things that I think would benefit from my very own Frenchy Certification process.

Consumers feel better paying more for a product that is certified, so everyone wins.

Please let me know where to get certified for the certification process.

Certifiably yours,

Frenchy

After enduring the nightmarish Flight with the Undead Arm, and a three hour bus ride, I arrived at the Wembley Plaza Hotel, my home for the next four days.

It always takes a little while to adjust to the United Kingdom, things are a tad different here. For example, the elevators talk, announcing things like doors opening and closing. The elevator in the Wembley is a bit hyper for my taste, constantly reminding passengers in a cheerful female voice, “Lift going up… lift going up… lift going up.” Every floor, just in case you weren’t sure.

I don’t mind as much when the lift says it is ‘going down’…

Another thing that constantly scares me is crossing the street. Seriously. Cars in London drive on the left (wrong) side. I’m always afraid I am going to look to the right, step out into the street and get blasted by a speeding micro-car I never even saw. Splat goes the Frenchy!

I guess that must happen quite a bit, because in London they have painted helpful signs on the roads.

Jolly good!

Another thing about the United Kingdom that takes a while to get used to is how polite everything is. Here are a few actual signs:

To me, as an ‘Ugly American’ or ‘Septic Yank’ as we’ve been called, it’s almost scary how nice they are. I’m used to signs that simply say, “Elevator busted. Take the stairs, ya fat chump!”

As polite as the signs may be, the bouncers at most pubs aren’t. For whatever reason, I’ve had a hell of a time getting into a pub to spend some money and quaff a few pints in the past. Hopefully this time will be different.

Decided to be adventurous and take the ‘Tube’ into Central London. I was told it would take about a half hour to get there. I grabbed my friend Abi and a Tube map, and set off.

That should be easy to follow, no?

After some confusion, (not due in any part to the excellent map) we made it to Central London. And found a pub, called Shakespeare’s Head, that welcomed us right in.

I was never much of a Shakespeare fan, until I went into the Shakespeare’s Head Pub. Great job, Shakespeare!

After a nice, cold Guinness, it was time to find some dinner. We attempted to eat at a restaurant called ‘Tiger Tiger’, but the bouncer practically chased us out. Some things will never change.

Thai restaurants apparently enjoy paying customers, so we had a great meal of Pad Thai.

After dinner, we wandered around London for a while. I took some pictures that didn’t come out very well. I will return tonight to try again.

And that pretty much sums up Day One. Tomorrow, we start setting up for RAW and Smackdown.