How I get my news (and why there is no reason to ever buy a newspaper in London)

No matter what time you get on the tube, whether you have to get up well before the rooster to catch a train or you go in late to work, you will find a newspaper to read. There are at least 4 daily papers that I can think of off the top of my head and 3 of those have a morning and an evening edition. Oh, and these are just the free papers. Pretty good value. OK, fine, they aren't exactly filled with challenging articles that make you think or even use GRE words but they give you a very brief summary of the headlines, what's on the TV, and most importantly, what celebs were spotted in London, where they were and what they were wearing. For me, that's worth picking up the paper and getting the black ink on my fingers. I don't always know all of the 'famous' people in the paper but two of my favorite coworkers are helping to enlighten me on the local British stars. Who knew that Katie is Jordan and Jordan is Katie? Well, I do now. Also, thanks to the daily rags I know what a WAG is... well, actually, I didn't know what the acronym stood for, I just knew that Colleen, Cheryl, and Victoria Beckham all fell into the category. And to my great surprise it's actually not pejorative at all. Again, my friendly sources at work have educated me: Wife And Girlfriend (generally of footballers, but I think other sports stars can have them too, though I don't think they are as fab). Hmm, wait, it's not disparaging right?

But back to my point, which briefly escaped me, you never have to part with your hard earned pounds in order to stay loosely informed on important world events, sport, ridiculous happenings of stupid citizens of our world, and which hollywood celebs are living in or visiting London. The papers always cover the movie premieres that happen in Leicester Square or Covent Garden and everyday I shake my fist at the sky and say 'why didn't I know about this!' Maybe it's just me but some days I really wish I was Kyle Chandler's character in the great but short lived TV show Early Edition... but instead of preventing crimes or tragedies, I would just know when to show up to a premiere or a restaurant or a club to glimpse my favorites. Only my very favorites though. It would be fun and not stalkerish at all! Well, whatever, the paper occupies my loooong commute to and from our flat. (Note: we are moving next weekend so my complaining about the tube and hour commute will soon cease! hooray.)

The way you get your paper is pretty interesting too. I mean, sure, you can get one from the annoying guys that stand in middle of the street handing them out, or if you are really early to work you can pick one up off the stack on your own. But my favorite way to stay informed is to pick up one of the many many papers left behind on the train for others to read. It can't be that Londoners are big litter bugs, right? They are just contributing to the great information recycling scheme, I am sure. It is amazing though how few rubbish bins there are in London, particularly in the tube. (They were taken out during the days of IRA conflict for obvious reasons... and if it's not clear to you what I am talking about, email me. I just don't want to type that word on the blog, frankly.) So maybe it's just because people have no alternative and they have to leave their papers all over the tube. Or maybe it's just for me! Cheers everyone.

And in those highly irregular times when the tube is crowded and the paper math doesn't add up I am simply forced to read over someone else's shoulder. Oh, come on, everyone does it. I need the scoop! What would I do if I couldn't find out what Amy Winehouse's hair is doing and whether or not she is finally in rehab? (They tried to make her go but she said no, no, no). I don't even want to think about it.