11 October 2009

Adventures in London: Issue 64

This week has been all about counting down to the weekend! I was supposed to go to the O2 to see the NBA game (Bulls vs Jazz), but as you can guess - work got in the way and I had to miss out. As such...it was all about the weekend! This weekend, I took a trip to Whitstable, UK. Whitstable is a small little fishing town in the North Kent coast, located 60 miles from London and 6 miles from Cantebury. It is a quaint little fishing port that is famous for its oysters --- oh that's right, I said oysters.

Given our luck, the restaurant that we wanted to go to only had a booking at the counter, a hour from when we went there, so it was off to explore the town a bit. Unlike our experience at Oxford, Whitstable was an absolute delight to walk around. Okay..I should be fair. Oxford is a lovely town I am sure, we just went hunting for the wrong neighborhood and unattractive part of town :-)

Finally we made it for our booking at Wheelers Oyster Bar, a small restaurant established in 1856. In the time that we were there the restaurant was packed and a number of visitors were disappointedly turned away as there were no room to seat them.

We were definitely lucky to get the last seating available at the place as the seafood was out of the this world. Simple and basic, Wheelers offered fresh and refreshing food to its diners. The great thing about the restaurant was the "no-hurry", eat like you're at Mom's atmosphere. We started with a round of Guinness Battered Oysters and crab cakes. Not being entirely satisfied, we ordered a round of Whitstable oysters. We had the desire to keep eating...just hard to resist when the food is so delicate and fresh. It was my heaven.. oysters every which was your heart desires - what more could you possibly ask for (well there is plenty, but it works for dramatic effect).

The weekend also marked the start of the live shows of X-Factor. From now until the end of the year, each weekend will be dedicated to X-Factor. I have been throughly impressed by how the entire country stops for X-Factor. Even the pubs air the show when it is live. So what is this whole X-Factor phenomenon you ask?

X-Factor is essentially Brittain's American Idol with a twist. Created by Simon Cowell, X-Factor is a singing competition where millions of hopefully singers are filtered to hundreds that will make their way to "Boot Camp" From there the top 24 acts (in X-Factor you have both solo and group peformers) go onto the judges houses. I should add, in X-Factor each judge (there are four), mentors a group of performers. The groups are divided into the following categories: The Girls, The Boys, The Groups and the Over 25s. At the judges house, each act (6 for each judge) sings for their chance to make it to the live show. Only 3 make it to the live show.

To celebrate the start of the live shows, Powers came over for X-Factor taco night!! To put things in context, American Idol is definitely a hit in the US with nearly 30 million viewers (representing approx 10% of the population). X-Factor on the on the other hand had nearly 15 million viewers with its last season - representing 25% of the population. Where American Idol has seen the success of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson its 9 years, X-Factor has Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis its 5 seasons to air. Still hard to say which shows outputs the most successful selling artist. There have been plenty of American Idol winners that have been forgotten, whereas with X-Factor and the battle for the Christmas Number 1, there is much more of an embrace from the country. Guess it comes down to the fact that the US presents a challenge with a VERY diverse population.

So apologies, but please come to expect more updates on the events of x-factor. Right now here are my favorites (in no particular order).

From THE GIRLS (mentored by Dani Minogue)
Stacey Solomon, age 19 from Essex, mother of a 18 month boy.

Live Show 1 Video: "Scientist" by Coldplay

She is adorable. Listening to her voice you would not think she was a singer, but once she starts - it is amasing. Impressed.

Lucie Jones, age 18 from a small town outside Cardiff Wales.


She won me over in her auditions when she sang "I Will Always Love You". She is incredibly talented, but the test will be if she can sing something more upbeat.

From THE GROUPS (mentored by Louis Walsh)
Miss Frank, a group selected by the judges at Bootcamp to compete in the top 50.


This group is unique. I personally was not a fan of this song, but in their performance at the judges house - they were amasing.

From THE BOYS (mentored by Cheryl Cole)
Joe McElderry, age 18 from South Shields student


I had forgotten about Joe. Remembered him as the boy from Cheryl's hometown. Totally forgot that he had an amasing voice. He is going to be the dark horse of the competition.

From THE OVER 25s (mentored by Simon Cowell)
Danyl Johnson, age 27 from Redding


He is good, but there is something about him that I do not like. As an artist and singer though, he is definitely talented. He seems to be a clear favorite, but I am not a 100% with him.

Well...that is it for me. You can be certain that I will keep you updated on the events of X-Factor weekend. My worry however is what will I do when I go home...will miss out on 2 X-Factor weekends!!! Oye!

Miss you all - love you all more

xoxo

T
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