I’ve never lived that close to London, it’s always taken a couple of hours by train or car to get there, so visiting was always reserved to events such as school trips. All of this started to change at university though, when I had my first ever internship at The Times. I picked up a taste for working and living there, but it took another two years for me to actually move closer to the Big Smoke.
Nowadays…I’m in and all the time, and I love it! I go in for work, I go to meet up with old friends, and I know that I’ve barely scratched the surface of this gigantic, frantic, buzzing city.
Workwise, I’ve been twice in the past fortnight (on Fridays…win!). The first was an inspiration visit, whereby I went round the renowned Victoria&Albert museum to see their permanent collections and the What is Luxury? exhibition – that in particular is well worth a visit and also prompts you to really wonder, how fleeting is luxury, and is it worth it??
After that was a pit stop at Borough Market (I could eat there all day!) followed by the main event, the Designs of the Year 2015 exhibition at the Design Museum.
There are so many different designs for all aspects of life. Fashion, kitchenware, architecture, transportation, computing…this list goes on and on! If you think of yourself as someone who doesn’t really think or care about design, well I think that you should pop to this exhibition and take a look. It’s about so much more than just looks, it’s about functionality, and how all of these designs can impact our future lives.
Would I say that I was inspired by my day there? Oh, definitely.
My second trip involved slightly less gallivanting, but was essential nonetheless. As I work in medical advertising, I have to be aware of the ABPI, the code of practice that the pharmaceutical industry has to abide by when promoting prescription medicines.
The day of seminars was actually pretty interesting, and I definitely learned a lot. One of the biggest things that I learned, was how the cliche of companies wining and dining doctors at exotic locals or ski resorts is defunct. It just can’t happen anymore, or else you risk breaking the code and paying some pretty hefty fines.
Also, in a rather lucky turn of events, the industry does work with a degree of self regulation, and there are often cases of companies referring themselves to the regulatory panel, because they know that a breach of the code lies within their work. And people say that the pharmaceutical companies are completely untrustworthy…
Finally, it was time for myself and Max (a fellow Limey) to wander round the Southbank and meet up with an old colleague, who’s moved a big, snazzy London based agency for a catch up over Pimms and Mexican food!
When will I next be in London? As of this moment, it’ll be next month for some birthday celebrations in the West End and Soho…but who knows, I might be back sooner than I think!
Newbie Science 