Insider London Mystery Tour

Our first London Study Ambassadors event, courtesy of Insider London, was a scavenger hunt through the streets and underground of London. In San Diego I would normally get huffy and puffy about the rain, but somehow it doesn’t bother me as much here because, hey, I’m in London! We visited landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament,

image: fellow ambassador, Gracie Clemens, http://rulesoflondon.tumblr.com/

the Shard,

image: Gracie Clemens

and the blue cock of Trafalgar Square.

image: Red Touch Media

We meandered the streets of London…

image: Gracie Clemens

and although the picture above is meant to be funny, it represents exactly what I did for the first few weeks, being confused by the whole driving on the other side of the street thing. I did get honked at a few times in the beginning, but now I am very capable of crossing the street and scavenging through London on my own 🙂

On Meeting Paul Potts

You may know him from his stellar performance on Britain’s Got Talent, where he wowed even the stolid Simon Cowell. Ever since I saw that performance, I’ve followed Paul on his journey, while patiently waiting for his album releases. When I saw the link to the “Paul Potts Ultimate Prize Competition” on his Facebook, I thought, wouldn’t that be cool to meet him in person while I’m in London. So I sent in my entry, and I won!

Five winners were picked to watch two live tapings of the Alan Titchmarsh Show, which included Paul Potts as guest, along with Joan Collins of the TV soap Dynasty (most memorable for me because my mom used to watch the show) and Brian May of Queen.

After the taping, we made our way to Benugo Bar, near ITV studios, to meet Paul. While it is impossible to truly know anyone from a mere first impression, people will naturally want to know what my impression was. I found Paul to be the same man he was on Britain’s Got Talent. He has said before that having self-confidence was a personal struggle at times, but his charm comes from his ability to be his genuine unassuming self.

I thought his new biographical movie One Chance was entertaining, and I won’t launch into a full-out movie review, but I loved the experience of watching James Corden’s acting, the Vesti la Giubba scene, the Pavarotti scene, and drinking Bailey’s Irish Cream at Everyman Cinemas in millionaire town Hampstead! One Chance should hit U.S. theaters December 27, so I hope you see it!

Why am I such a big fan of Paul? Besides the fact that I love his voice, I admire him for his ability to do what he loves and for being himself, rather than yet another celebrity screaming for attention with outrageous acts of ridiculousness (I won’t mention any names). I leave you with a picture memento and links to two of my favorites: Godfather theme and Caruso.