London 24/3/18 - Bookish Things - Meeting Angie Thomas and the Charles Dickens Museum

Since my birthday is the 25th March, I decided to treat myself to a day in London on the Saturday before. Angie Thomas, the author of The Hate U Give, was giving a talk and a book signing, so I had to go to that, and I decided to make a bookish themed day of it. So I also popped to the Charles Dickens Museum, and into the huge four floor Foyles on Charing Cross Road. I also found some nice things to eat during the day. What made this day different is that I was entirely on my own!

Under a cut for all the pictures!

Outfit of the day!
Rose jumper:
Unicorn necklace: Claire's
Mermaid earrings: holiday in Antigua
Unicorn bracelet: Christmas present from cousin
Jeans: one day I will wear someone other than jeans, I swear

The day started off on a slight issue - all the trains out of my station had been replaced with buses. Not a big deal, as I picked a later train up at another station, but I ended up running tight to time. The signing was taking place inside the Prince Charles Cinema, and I still had to locate the place once I got to Leicester Square.

Lucky I bought something to read while on the train!

At least once I got there, it wasn't too hard to locate, just a straight walk through Chinatown. I seem to always end up in this area lately.

I did like this intersection with the Chinese lanterns!

Here was the cinema from outside. I was glad that it was pretty noticeable, I didn't
have time to keep looking around if I was lost!

Sarah Shaffi, a writer at Stylist magazine, interviewed Angie first, before opening up questions from the audience. Angie talked first about the reception of her book and the awards it had won, but how that wasn't her idea when she sat down to write the novel. She wanted to write the book she wished to see on the shelves. And as she mentioned, it has been read and enjoyed by people from very different backgrounds. She talked about the code-switching she had to do in college, and how she tried to show that in Starr's own experience of two backgrounds. She also discussed how black victims of crime are treated by the media - to use an example from The Hate U Give, Kahlil is often described as a 'suspected drug dealer.' But she managed to inject some humour and lightness into the serious subjects she was discussing. And of course, there was talk about the second book, On The Come Up, which centres around rap and hip-hop music and culture. Angie said this was an important topic for her, as often Black culture is more accepted than Black people are.

When I mentioned to Angie that it was my birthday tomorrow, she signed my book with Happy Birthday.
She said she was honoured that I went to see her as my birthday treat for the year!

When we were getting our books signed, we went up row by row from the front, and since I'd came in late, I was towards the back, but. Got there in the end.

Honestly, if any of you get the chance to meet Angie, go for it. She's a great public speaker to listen to, and she's really nice to talk with one-on-one, too. She seemed genuinely pleased and almost overwhelmed that so many people had enjoyed her book and came to listen to her.

It was nearly 3pm before I left the cinema, so I decided it was high time for lunch. I'd read about somewhere online called Gaby's Deli, which is a pretty well-known establishment that has been going in London since 1965. It's family run, too. They serve Middle-eastern and Jewish cuisine. I had a salt beef bagel, and oh wow. Look, I'm not going to say it's the best salt beef bagel in the world, because I have nothing to compare it to and I don't want to open my door tomorrow to angry New Yorkers with pitchforks. So, I'll just say it was damn good in it's own right.

This is the shop front. Don't ask what sorcery I needed to pull to get
a shot with no-one standing outside.

The bagel in question. The meat had enough fat to give it texture but not too much,
and plenty of taste.

Afterwards, I was feeling like I wanted to top that off with dessert. So I walked a few blocks to another place I'd heard about online, called Milk Train Café. They do ice cream in cones wrapped in candy floss. While I wanted to try it, I was expecting it to be another gimmicky food thing that wasn't actually that nice.

The outside of the shop!

Matcha ice cream, in a cone, with rainbow drops,
a café curl and candy floss!

Well, was I ever wrong. I think matcha flavour helped somewhat, as the slight bitterness took the edge off the sweetness. I found the best way to eat it was by pulling the candy floss off first, then starting on the ice cream. It's got quite a structure to it for soft serve - it didn't melt easy. And even the cone had a nice flavour to it.

While eating, I wandered over to Covent Garden Plaza, because I wanted to get myself to an area that I knew. I made my way to Covent Garden Station to take a few hops on the Underground to the Charles Dickens Museum. It was a short walk away from Russell Square Station.

They've always got to have a commemorative plaque.

The dinner table! Apparently, Charles used to entertain a lot.
He had literary figures in the house often.

The kitchen, and the dining table where I'm guessing the servants probably ate. 

A piano, probably played by Charles or his wife, Catherine.

Two candlesticks Charles picked up while in Italy. I thought they were quite nice, myself.

The writing desk where Charles did much of his actual writing.
I'm fascinated by the idea that this is the place where he would sit and write

This writing desk was the one he used for his later works, such as A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.

Please never forget that Charles Dickens did a lot for the living conditions of the poor in London.
He wasn't just an old stuffy Victorian male writer!

One of Charles' many suits. Apparently, he liked to dress smart. He was a bit of a 'dandy' and
his clothes actually tended to be more colourful than this.

While there, I bought a bookmark. Another one for the collection!

The next place I decided to check out was the four floor Foyles. I didn't get much of a chance to properly look the last I came through. This time, I was going to take my time and take pictures of the different shelves, but I was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of books. It seems to have gotten larger. It is good that I can find books here that I don't see often back where I live. So, I bought Forest of A Thousand Lanterns and It's Not Like It's A Secret. One day when money is no object, I'll come here and I'll buy every book I've ever had my eye on.

Purchases of the day! Signed collectors edition of The Hate U Give,
Charles Dickens Museum bookmark and free hand-out leaflet,
Forest of A Thousand Lanterns and It's Not Like It's A Secret.