This is more of a sporadic travel diary at the moment than it is a weblog – but I don’t suppose I can really do much about that – it’s not as if I have much time for surfing at the moment.
LA is an extremely odd place – particularly for someone more used to the rhythms of London. Superficially they have a lot in common – large metropolitan masses, both of which are centres of a country’s entertainment industries. But London is so much more condensed and compact, whereas LA is just so much more … overwhelming … than you’d expect.
I think the thing I feel strangest about is the absolute necessity of cars. In London, I can have a friend to stay and I need almost never see him. People can come and visit, crash on my floor, I can feed them in the evenings and chat to them before sleep – but all the rest of the time, they can jump on a tube and go and do their own thing (if they want). But in LA, if you don’t have a car you can’t even really move.
That puts strains on the guest, who lacks freedom of movement and is continually dependant on his hosts. And that in turn puts even greater strains on the hosts – who are continually having to be stimulating and entertaining (when I’m sure they would much rather be asleep). I should say at this point that Kerry and Sean have been more than great in this capacity – I have been taken to a couple of Hollywood(ish) parties, wandered around the shopping areas and seen a couple of films that aren’t out in the UK yet – some good (Scream 3) and some … less good (Drowning Mona) – I have been made to feel welcome by all concerned.
I can only hope that I am being as good a guest as they are hosts…