April 2017

April 30, 2017

Don’t think I would have felt too bad this morning if I’d managed to sleep later than 6:30am…:-(

I’d planned to take Lyra to church this morning, but when Veronika turned up at 9:30 she only had Nova with her, so I ended up going to church on my own. Definitely a first. Lyra and I got home the same time — sounds like the sleepover was a success.

Took it pretty easy for the rest of the day. Did music practice with Lyra, caught up on some correspondence, and submitted a bio to be considered for nomination to the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum. Much more Adam’s thing than mine, but I’d rather do it than have him sign on to yet another committee.

Final episode of Line of Duty this evening. It wasn’t as exciting as all the build up suggested, but at least they didn’t do that thing where they delay resolving things to another series…

April 29, 2017

Started my morning by baking up the loaves of sourdough I’d started yesterday. They came out beautifully — my starter is really vigorous these days. It benefits from regular use for sure.

After ice skating, Lyra’s friend Saya came round and they took Sophia for a walk in Waterlow Park. This outing has been on the cards for a few days. I’d agreed it with Saya’s mum in the week (a lot of parents aren’t comfortable giving their ten-year-olds the amount of independence we allow Lyra).

Lyra is currently obsessed with the idea of getting a tortoise, and the two girls spent a fair amount of time researching tortoise purchase and care. Turns out they are rather expensive… a baby tortoise the size of an apricot sells for about £100. And then you have to shell out for the vivarium, two types of lamp, special sand, turtle food, hides, baths, food dishes, etc. Plus the smallest vivarium is a pretty good size — it’s not at all obvious where we would set it up.

Fish tacos for dinner, after which we hopped into our party duds and headed over to Basil and Veronika’s with the girls. Nova is babysitting for them and Lyra sleeping overnight again while we attend our friend Niall’s 50th birthday.

Left the car and took the train together to the Redchurch Brewery in Bethnal Green. Didn’t know many people, but knocked back a couple of cocktails and started to mingle.

It was a fun night, and I paced myself well — drinking a couple of glasses of water, and spending time on the dance floor. Still full of beans when we taxied home with Millie and another mum about 1am, belting out Grease tunes all the way…

April 28, 2017

It’s a little less arctic inside and out today. Must have been a good 8°C when I set out for my run. Not really feeling it, but I knocked off 3.25 miles in an okay time.Adam remarked this morning that I looked a little trimmer round the middle. After my shower, I took another measurement round the navel and was surprised to see that was almost an inch less.

I decided to give fasting a try as some studies have shown it specifically targets visceral fat and reduces insulin resistance. I’ve fasted four days this month (roughly once a week), which I haven’t had the slightest difficulty doing.

It hasn’t affected my weight particularly (I’ve lost two pounds), but unless I did the measurement wrong the first time (or was particularly bloated that day), it may have reduced my visceral fat deposits. The best way to find out is to keep going with it…

Joined an online training seminar this afternoon about working for the Labour campaign during the election. There were a lot of us, which was encouraging. Adam is very pessimistic about this election, and convinced the Conservatives are going to win by a landslide. He’s probably right, but I’m holding onto the hope that people will see recognise them for the bastards they are. And also that all those recent Corbynite party members represent new voters.

Took Lyra to get her passport photos after school. The former post office in the village offers the service, and we’ve got both Canadian and British photos done there. I wasn’t that convinced by these photos, which seem weirdly grey to me. The guy assured me they’re supposed to be like that — I suppose we’ll find out when we take it to the post office to check-and-send tomorrow.

Sushi and miso soup for dinner, followed by Saving Mr Banks for movie night. Adam and Nova had both seen it before, and liked it. Lyra loved the film, I thought it was alright. Interesting story about how Walt Disney finally got PL Travers to sign him the rights to make Mary Poppins after twenty years of trying.

By all accounts, she was a dreadful harridan of a woman — the film goes into her childhood in Australia to show how it connected to the characters in Mary Poppins, and it was Walt’s finally understanding this that broke the impasse…

April 27, 2017

Lyra’s made her own lunch for the last two mornings, bless her. She says she’s going to keep doing it until it’s “not fun anymore”. A good approach to life in general, if not always possible to adhere to…:-)Adam worked from home, as he had both Jackson’s Lane and school meetings that impinged on his working hours. It’s always so much noisier when he’s around — he spends a lot of time on the phone — but the company is good too. Fitted in a lunch together between meetings…

One bright spot in our day… a former client got in touch, and we have a new project starting next week. Thank god for that — things have been getting worryingly tight. A couple more like that, and I can start shopping at Waitrose again…;-)

April 26, 2017

It is cold today! Some sort of Siberian front is blowing down from the north, and it was only a few degrees above freezing when I walked Lyra to school. Fine for running (though I regretted not bringing my gloves).Hadn’t been back home long when it actually started snowing — a couple of gusty flurries that stuck to the windows then melted away within minutes.

I’m having a fasting day today (it’s been awhile — hard to do with guests around). Nevertheless, I ended up doing a fair amount of cooking — tabbouleh, soup, a batch of cookies, salad dressing, and the girls’ dinner. I’m surprised at how little it bothers or tempts me. It’s like a switch has been flicked and I just don’t put food in my mouth…

Made a quick trip to Muswell Hill to pick up a passport application for Lyra and some groceries. Got stuck with the triple swimming run too, as Adam was out at a meeting and Evelyn gave it a miss this week.

Sounds like Nova’s chemistry exam went well. She also found out today that she got an A* on the biology one and an A in physics (which she’d found hard). She’s certainly turned her science grades around the last few months, which is fantastic. Very proud of her!

Started watching Little Big Lies this evening. I read the book years back, so have a vague memory of the storyline. They’ve moved it from Australia to California, and shelled out for a big name cast: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, and a couple more.

It’s the talk of the playground, and actually I remember thinking how it reminded me of the worst aspects of our school when I read it…

April 25, 2017

Happy birthday, Kael!
Really should have run this morning, but used the McLaughlin’s departure as an excuse to wriggle out of it…;-) Took Lyra to school then had time for a coffee together before their friend Brooke arrived promptly at 10am to drive them to Luton airport for their flight to Barcelona.

Nova stayed home from school today — a rare occurrence. So rare in fact, that I had no idea of the process of reporting her sick. I assumed there would be an absence line like there is at Lyra’s school, but turns out they do it by email. Who knew?

She’s got a nasty sore throat and is worried about losing her voice before her French oral exam on Thursday. It’s a real GCSE and forms part of her final grades, unlike her chemistry exam tomorrow, which is another mock.

Did some revision together, learning some very interesting stuff about the Haber process for producing ammonia. I never enjoyed chemistry much in high school, but I’m really enjoying the chance to revisit it all with Nova.

Broke off when I needed to collect Lyra from her friend Margaux’s house. Had a job prising her out of there, as they were about to feed the pet rats. These aren’t little white rats like my brother David’s pet — these are big, fat, brown rattus rattus rats, exactly like the kind you sometimes see scuttling around the margins of London. The kind we own a big-ass rat trap to kill in the event one ever finds its unwelcome way into our home again.

Lyra is campaigning hard for another pet. She love a dog, kitten or furry rodent, but would even be happy for a tortoise or fish tank. It doesn’t seem right to introduce another rodent into a cat-owning home, but I’m warming to the tortoise idea. We’ll see…

April 24, 2017

Felt way less bad this morning than yesterday, though not saying a whole lot. Adam worse for wear, but to his credit he staggered out of bed and made Lyra’s lunch in time for early gymnastics club.I helped Jackie book a couple of things for their time in Spain, then they headed off with the friend Brooke to go on a bluebell walk. I’d have been happy to join them, but really needed to put my head down and spend some time on web work.

When the girls got home from drama, I fed them on leftovers. John, Jackie and I at next (Indian leftovers) and when Adam got home at 9:30 he got the same treatment. Stayed up a bit drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers with John and Jackie before calling it a night. They’re off to Barcelona tomorrow morning…

April 23, 2017

Felt shitty this morning, and hard done by as well. I drank only two glasses of prosecco and a glass of white wine. And I was in bed at midnight. Pretty sure it was the lack of food that did for me…:-(Adam stuck to beer and felt better for it. Got himself off to the shop for bacon sandwich supplies while I slumped on the couch watching other people run the marathon.

In the afternoon, he dropped Lyra at a training session for Footie Fun Day in Highgate Woods, then headed to the Dukes Head with John to watch the Arsenal v ManCity match — the second FA cup semi-final.

Jackie and I collected her at 4:30, and spent some time walking round the Woods to see the bluebells, which are looking fabulous. (Arsenal won in overtime, so it’s an Arsenal v Chelsea FA Cup final.)

When the guys got back from the pub, we taxied up to Finchley to meet Brooke and her new husband Laz for dinner at a Turkish restaurant in Finchley. Very nice food — a notch better than the Durum, where we always go with the Garfunkel family.

Afterwards, Laz drove John, Jackie and the girls back to ours, while we caught a 263. By the time we got in, Nova was back at her books. Lyra was holding court, in the living room with her new card trick, followed by a gymnastics display. Ushered her off stage and did her bedtime.

Brooke and Laz had left by the time I made it upstairs again. Meanwhile the others had carried on drinking wine. I’d taken it very easy in the restaurant, not touching my drink until I’d eaten most of my kebab. I’d be surprised if I had two more the rest of the evening. Adam and John were roaring drunk, and I was happy to leave them to it. Headed downstairs and had a catch-up with Wade before bed…

April 22, 2017

Lyra started her figure skating lessons again this week. Adam took her as per usual, while I made muffins for breakfast. It gave him a chance to talk to Palak’s dad, who is a financial advisor of some description. He had some interesting advice on how to get more cash into the business, to buy Adam some time to drum up some more new work. I have mixed feelings about it, not wanting to put good money after bad… but it would buy him some more time…When they got back, we headed up to the farmer’s market with John and Jackie. The bao guy was back from Australia — and the girls were thrilled about that. I got my usual Greek supplies, a bit of nice cheese, and some phyllo pastries for later.

Left the girls and repaired to the Wrestlers for a pint, before walking John and Jackie to the tube station. We needed to get the Oyster cards charged up so that could travel to Wembley for the FA cup semi-final match between Chelsea and Tottenham.

When they told us they were coming to the UK a couple of weeks ago, Adam got on the case and managed to find them tickets for the big game. They weren’t cheap and we’ve been feeling a little nervous in case they were some kind of scam. I was pretty relieved when Jackie texted to say they were in their seats, no problems at all…

Sounds like it was a great game — and worth the money if Champion’s League football is your thing. It finished 4 to 2 in favour of Chelsea (their team), with lots of exciting twists and turns along the way.

Adam and I spent the afternoon binge watching Broadchurch, which we managed to finished off before heading out to Pasc’s 50th. It started at 8pm, we arrived before 9pm, and still managed to pretty much miss the food. I snagged half a cheese toastie and scavenged a handful of chips, but it was essentially a night of drinking on an empty stomach…:-(

Caught up with a few people, and swung a lift home from Adam B (who doesn’t drink) about midnight…

April 21, 2017

Squeezed a run in today after drop-off, then got busy sorting the house out before the McLaughlins arrive from Canada. They’re spending the weekend in London before carrying on to Spain.Gave the flat a thorough cleaning, kicked the house into a presentable state of tidiness, then made a quick run to the supermarket to get some food in. I’ve been making an effort to run down the freezer and pantry, but that won’t cut it when you’re feeding guests for a weekend.

They turned up around 3:15, their friend Brooke having collected them at Heathrow. There was just time to make a pot of tea before heading off to get Lyra. Sounds like a brute of a flight — delays taking off, stacked at Heathrow, delays on the runway, massive queues at immigration. Airline travel, gotta hate it…

When Adam got back, we all had a beer and I got busy cooking up an Indian meal: bhel puri, chicken dhania, potato-spinach, mattar paneer, raita, rice, naan bread (didn’t make those). John had popped out for wine, and we had quite a merry time of it until the jetlag hit about 9:30 and they took themselves off to bed…

April 20, 2017

Up nice and early with a sense of purpose that I just haven’t been feeling for the last few days. I don’t have much option but to go through the motions of all the things I need to get done each day, but I wasn’t bringing much enthusiasm to it. Felt like it might be “a bright, bright, sunshiny day” for a change…:-)A bit of a cloud on the horizon in that I felt it necessary to blow off my run in order to draft some content I’ve been too lazy to get round to for the last couple of weeks. Got just about enough of it done before my meeting with my architect client at 11am, where we completely rethought the content of that page anyways…

Had a quick lunch together at Pan Quotidien, then headed home to bake bread, make fish pie (Lyra’s on a playdate this afternoon), do the laundry, wash the breakfast dishes, yada, yada, yada… Despite Adam working from home today, it seems he was unable to do any of those things…>:-(

April 19, 2017

Happy anniversary, mum and dad… would have been 55 years together today…Good thing Lyra was pretty much sorted for Greek day, as Nova left her jacket and bus pass at the swimming pool last night, so I had to drive her round to collect it.

Made it back in time to walk Lyra to school. She had the familiar anxiety about whether she would be the only kid in costume (made worse by the fact that it was only a year 5 thing — none of the many kids we saw on Southwood Lane were Greeked up.)

She needn’t have worried — Greek day has been embraced wholeheartedly. Mostly togas and tunics just like her, but there was an impressive Zeus and a Pan as well as a few gladiator types. Spartans perhaps, or maybe the wrong country/century?

Don’t know where the day went… I have a list as long as my arm, and I worked away steadily, but at dinnertime it was still past my elbow…;-)

David called unexpectedly. He’d been telling his boys stories about dad, and they wanted confirmation on his version of Suspense Theatre on Fridays. Basically, when I was ten or eleven years old, dad and I used to watch Suspense Theatre on Friday night. I think the programme started about 10pm. We’d stick a Snackery frozen pizza in the oven to split while we watched whatever Vincent Price or Christopher Lee vehicle they were showing that week.

David and Wade were keen to get in on the fun, but being only seven/five years old, it was almost impossible for them to stay awake late enough. Especially when the cue to put the pizza in the oven was when they finally nodded off…;-)

Got off the phone just in time to run Nova and Evelyn to swim training, then back to do Lyra’s bedtime routine. Adam was home in time to do pick-up, and eventually we sat down to watch an episode of Broadchurch together.

It’s better than the last series. The story isn’t great but David Tennant and Olivia Colman are just so watchable…

April 18, 2017

First day back to school… We were well organised for once — no last-minute scrambling round for gym bags or water bottles.Lyra and I were just heading off when Basil pulled up in our car — they had a great trip to the coast yesterday, so that all worked out.

Did a three-mile run in the Woods — first one since last Wednesday. A bit sluggish, but fine.

Today’s house cleaning project was the main bathroom — scrubbed the tub and tiles; washed the ceiling, walls and floor; disinfected the counter top; polished the mirrors and the wood. It gleamed by the time I was done — hurt my eyes to look at it…;-)

Inevitable playdate pestering at pick-up meant Lily came back to ours. They haven’t seen each other all holiday, so I was okay with it. They’re seldom any trouble either — I barely saw her the whole time.

Ham and barley soup for dinner, with carrot cake muffins for dessert. They’re a winning recipe (and I managed to use up the excess icing from Adam’s cake).

After that, I whipped up a Greek toga for Lyra (as you do) from leftover ghost costume fabric. Living the mum’s life around here…;-)

April 17, 2017

Easter Monday — the last day of the holidays. I think everyone is ready to go back. Adam actually decided to make it a working day. He’s running a big workshop on Wednesday, and needed to get started preparing for it.Nova went along too, so that she could study for tomorrow’s physics exam undisturbed. That left me hanging out with Lyra. She was keen to do some school work herself(!), so we did some practice on verbal reasoning and punctuation.

When she tired of that, I spent a few hours spring cleaning the kitchen. I should say “part of the kitchen”, as I only managed to cover about a third of it. But I did an extremely thorough job…

Had a little doze on the sofa afterwards to regain my equilibrium, then got stuck into dinner prep. Made a spinach-paneer curry that was delicious. Even Lyra was noshing away happily until she realised that it was paneer and not tofu.

Some dinner party repartée: Lyra to Nova, “You were so yellow when you were born you looked like a Simpson.” Nova to Lyra, “Well, you looked like Kim Jong-Un.”

Reading and bedtime out of the way, we settled down to watch the finale of “Homeland” (curious message), followed by an episode of “Line of Duty”. Gripping stuff…

April 16, 2017

Adam did church this morning. I was planning to go for a run, but then didn’t… We have Basil, Veronika, their three girls, her brother and his two kids coming round this morning for an Easter egg hunt, and I felt the pressure to get organised for that.After a most excellent egg hunt, we’d planned to walk to the Heath for a picnic. What with the big bags of food, seven kids and threat of rain, it seemed too much hassle. Cracked the cava, threw a few blankets on the lawn and picnicked right here.

They’d been planning a trip to the Kent coast tomorrow, but lost car keys was threatening to derail things. Lent them our car until Tuesday (having double-checked that Basil is actually covered by our insurance.)

Pasc popped round to receive her gift, having recovered from her big birthday migraine. She loved the poetry book and celadine bowls (or gave every appearance of doing so).

Stuck the ham in the oven mid-afternoon, and did some veg prep before Jane and Ray arrived. I was able to relax and enjoy a cocktail with them (we’re still working through the remains of the birthday Cosmopolitans) before it was time to carve the ham.

The food turned out well. Everything really tasty, though there wasn’t quite enough of anything except ham. Strawberry-lemon sorbet and Nova’s big chocolate egg for dessert. Lyra was really enjoying Ray’s company, and it wasn’t an easy task to get her into bed…

April 15, 2017

We wanted to go for a family bluebell walk this morning, but Nova needed to study. Lyra was resistant as well, but her objections fell on deaf ears…;-)Debbie sent Lyra home with three packs of Romanian egg dye, so the search was on for white-shelled eggs. Headed to Crouch End to see if the Greek greengrocer had some (no), and also checked out a farm shop near Amersham before starting our walk, but they’d sold out.

Set off from the road into Shardloes House instead of the pub, the way we usually do. It cuts out the starting bit where you cross a series of ploughed up fields, and the long walk back in front of Shardloes.

Turns out we’re a bit early for bluebells, but we had great luck with wildlife. There were red kites soaring overhead, hares romping through the trees, numerous pheasant, a little rabbit, and even a deer.

We’d planned to have a restorative half at the pub before heading back. But once we were in the car it seemed more trouble than it was worth, so we headed home. Tried a couple more places for eggs (turns out our local Russian deli had them earlier today, but they’d sold out.) In the end, I had to go through multiple cartons of eggs at Tesco and gather together a box of the palest ones.

Each pack of dye does ten eggs, so we opted to make one batch of purple ones. They look amazing… like baby aubergines.

Katie, Owen and baby Noah popped round for a visit. He’s walking now, swaggering about like a little corporate executive, bent on wreaking havoc. We’d planned to pop inon Pasc (who’s 50 today), to give her a birthday present, but she’s been stricken with a migraine and is spending her big day in a darkened room…:-(

April 14, 2017

I’d glued the broken runner on Lyra’s bed with superglue yesterday, and this morning Adam screwed it into position using longer screws. It’s not a permanent fix (and I won’t be sitting on it again) but it should hold for a while (fingers crossed).Adam headed off to ride the Northern Line to its southern terminus and collect our Lyra. It’s really good to have her back where she belongs — we’ve missed our little fire cracker!

Family dinner was such fun, everybody talking and laughing and happy to be together…:-)

April 13, 2017

We’ve got Will and Sara coming round for dinner this evening, so after doing some studying with Nova, I made a run to the big Tesco for groceries.I’d planned to make baked turbot with green lentils and salsa verde, but I struck out on the fish front. No turbot, no bream, no plaice… Ended up getting a nice piece of cod in Muswell Hill (as well as a birthday present for Pasc, and a replacement handle for the Le Creuset casserole).

The late change of menu was a bit stressful. I switched to another one of my dinner party standbys — cod with Puy lentils and chorizo and creamy mash. It’s a lovely dish, but quite complex. It involves making a madeira reduction, for example, which forms the basis of the lentil dish.

I’d made the sauce and a strawberry-lemon sorbet, and not much else, by the time Adam got back at 6:30. I’d also foolishly opted to make an Ottolenghi salad of chargrilled asparagus, courgettes and halloumi. I should have paid more attention when Yotam wrote: “There is a fair amount of vegetable preparation here before making the basil oil and assembling the salad.”

No kidding… You need to slow roast cherry tomatoes, blanch asparagus, and mandolin the courgettes, then grill all the fiddly little slices and asparagus spears AND halloumi, before making basil oil.

With Adam’s help I was able to get back on schedule, and even change my clothes before Will and Sara arrived. I couldn’t quite forgive that salad for being so much work, but the others enjoyed it.

The cod, lentils and mash were as good as always, and the lemon-strawberry sorbet was amazing. The recipe comes from the River Café (via the Genius cookbook Margo gave me for Christmas), and is definitely a keeper. To bed about 1:30am…

April 12, 2017

We’re feeding Pete and Pasc’s cats for a few days. It’s been a family affair — Adam, Nova and I have each done it a couple of times. I popped in before starting my run this morning, and had just given the little beggars their crunchies when my mobile rang.It was my financial services client, reporting that there was an error in an email address on the newly launched website. I toyed with leaving it until after my run, then decided to pop home again, as I would have been bugging me the whole time.

Spent some time studying with Nova, until she headed off for a late afternoon picnic on Hampstead Heath with her friends. I left out some salads for Adam, who has the house to himself tonight, and headed down to Camden Town to meet Jane. I’d booked tickets to see Maureen Washington (a high school acquaintance from PG) sing jazz/blues at the Green Note.

Actually I went through school with her older sister Andrea. Maureen is David’s age, but I remember her. I’ve heard about her singing career from mutual friends. It’s an intimate venue and was a great gig — she can really belt it out.

She joined with us between sets, and we had a drink and a bit of a catch-up afterwards. Home about midnight…

April 11, 2017

Happy birthday Aaron and Marni!
Finally launched the website about 9am. There’s always that period where it seems to be taking just a bit too long, and you convince yourself that something must have gone wrong, then bing! there it is. I think it looks really good, and the client is happy too.Did a quick shopping trip to Muswell Hill for Marni’s present. We had a last-minute to a birthday tea this morning, and I couldn’t show up empty-handed. I wanted to get her some cosmetics, and was thinking maybe a brand like Benefit, which she’d appreciate. Couldn’t find anything in that middling price range — it was either really expensive or drugstore-cheap.

Eventually settled on some skincare stuff and a card, then rushed home to package it all up in a gift bag before wresting Nova from her books and driving down to Archway. Adam couldn’t make it, and Freddy and Beulah are travelling back today, but Doron came home from work (all of two blocks).

Stayed a couple of hours then back home for a bit before it was time to leave for Waterloo to hand Lyra over to Debbie. She’s going to spend a couple of days hanging out with Ali and their place in Epsom.

Arrived with just enough time to buy a little gift for Ali (pineapple lip gloss) before the meet. Lyra was very affectionate and cuddly on the tube, and I wondered if she was feeling a bit of separation anxiety. No worries on that score — she was clearly thrilled to see Debbie and went off without a backwards glance. Which is a good thing…

April 10, 2017

Yet another good night’s sleep — putting a good string of them together…:-) Did a zippy three mile run in the woods today. Encountered Sophie C running in the opposite direction — I often see those girls when I run in the Woods.Took Lyra for a manicure at the Vietnamese nail bar on Archway Road. I had mine done in a lovely shade of coral, while Lyra went for sky blue with glitter.

Spent the afternoon doing biology with Nova (circulatory system) and my website work. For dinner, I made a beef, egg and tomato stirfry following a Ken Hom recipe. There were a couple of interesting techniques that haven’t used before:

• Don’t heat the oil and the wok together. Add cold oil to a hot wok, when it starts smoking add the aromatics.
• Used ground beef, which was seasoned and mixed with cornstarch first. As a result, you didn’t get that watery stage when frying it off.

Adam popped in after the girls had eaten for a quick bowl of food, then headed straight off for a drink with someone in Muswell Hill. I juggled biology, a complicated hair beautifying treatment Lyra was set on doing, and her desire to bake biscuits, followed by bedtime, with the last of the day’s client work and other demands on my time.

When Adam got back, we watched the first episode of latest series of Line of Duty. I’m really enjoying this show — Adrian Dunbar is always a pleasure to watch.

April 9, 2017

Another good sleep, though I woke a bit earlier this time. Breakfasted on toast and fruit salad while finishing the Hastings word search on the wall. That’s kept us busy the last few meals:

Afterwards, we walked from St Leonards to the pier. It was another gorgeous morning — I don’t think we’ve seen a cloud all weekend…

Despite my better judgment, we honoured our promise to take the girls for cake at the tea shop off the promenade. They both chose enormous slices of cake that were larger than their heads (and were unsurprisingly unable to eat). Adam and I had split a piece so were able to help them out, but it wasn’t the ideal preparation for our lunch date with Adam’s parents.

They were spending the weekend at a country hotel they visit regularly, which happens to be just a few miles outside St Leonards. We arrived promptly at 1pm and headed straight into the dining room.

There was a three course menu on offer, in general the food proved pretty good, aside from the leek and potato soup, which both Lyra and Beulah went for. It had absolutely no taste at all — it didn’t even taste like water. It was the strangest thing…

Alison and her daughter Lily made a surprise appearance part way through the meal. (After Jeffrey died, Jennifer moved to Sussex to be near to their only daughter, Alison. It’s Jennifer’s birthday this weekend, and Freddy and Beulah came down to celebrate with her.)

At Alison’s suggestion, we altered our route home so we could pay a visit to Jenny at her new bungalow. We haven’t seen her since Jeffrey’s death — a few years ago now. She’s aged of course, is having some trouble with her eyesight, seemed a bit fuzzy in her thinking.

The dogs were the biggest shock. They always had long-haired daschunds, which I remember as lively, beautifully groomed dogs. They’ve become grotesquely fat, which is a bad look for a daschund. Jeffrey walked them daily, but that must have gone by the wayside. Their fur was matted, and they are obviously incontinent (the house smelled eyewateringly of wee). It was sad to see…

The rest of the journey home took us through Tunbridge Wells — it’s always crap, but no worse than the A21 on they way down. We unpacked, got Lyra to bed then caught up on Homeland. The penultimate episode, and so tense it was difficult to watch in places…

April 8, 2017

I had such a deep night’s sleep, filled with fantastic, improbable dreams. I was at a fancy dress event in a ball gown at one point, but it was taking place on a hillside covered knee-deep in snow. Then I was in my old university halls of residence, having somehow returned there as a “mature” student…I wasn’t remotely hungry for breakfast after last night’s fish and chips. After the girls scoffed bananas and hot chocolate, we set off to have a poke round the local charity shops. Bought a great pair of fake croc ankle boots (£3), and some secondhand books.

Spent half an hour on the beach, paddling in the icy water and playing “guess the drawing”, before picking up some brunch food and heading back to the flat for a traditional English:

Headed out again mid-afternoon, leaving Nova to her books. Drove to Hastings, and parked up to visit the pier. It was saved from demolition a few years back and has recently been restored to glory, winning Pier of the Year 2017.

It has such an interesting history, which was presented through interpretive signs and a new visitors’ centre. The iconic ballroom on the pier is gone. In its heyday, bands like the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix played gigs there. Apparently, you could see the sea through the floorboards…

There was a knitting exhibition displayed on the pier, much of it done by local school classes:

Headed into Hastings old town on a search for fresh crab. Their fishermen’s huts were mostly shut, as was fishmongers in the town. Oh well…

By the time we got back to St Leonards, the cake shop we’d planned to have afternoon tea was also shut. Lyra had a strop about it, and wasn’t entirely appeased by the seafront wine bar we opted for instead.

After cheese plates for us and desserts for the girls, we headed back to the flat. I made the kids beans on toast and a salad for dinner. Neither Adam nor I wanted anything…

Another frustrating evening failing to get the fire going properly, despite a goodly supply of paper, kindling, firestarter and matches. I think it must be the stove itself — I’ve had an easier time starting a campfire with coal in on a drizzly night than I’ve had here. To bed about 11pm…

April 7, 2017

Did my run then spent the rest of the morning getting us ready for our weekend in St Leonards. It’s not that big a deal — we’ve got a little flat to stay in, and are only staying two nights.Even so, it was almost 3pm before we set off. Traffic was terrible from the start, with tailbacks in East Finchley. It’s never fun driving south at the best of times, but we made eventually.

The flat belongs to our colleague Julie, and is charming — small and funky, with wood burning fires in the living room and master bedroom.

We unloaded the car, then headed straight out for a walk to the beach. The route took us past gorgeous Regency terraces and imposing churches. You have to wonder why… It would have been a little town on the outskirts of Hastings — it seems disproportionate, even with the Victorian obsession with sea bathing.

The town itself is pretty run down these days, though there’s something of an artistic vibe going on too: vintage/antique shops, a few trendy cafes, and one of the pubs has gone all hipster.

Passed on all those to eat at The Anchor, and old-style fish-and-chippie and a recommendation of Julie’s. While it wasn’t that busy, there was onlyone guy running the whole show. Service was slow but dedicated and we got there in the end…

We were full as ticks afterwards, and glad of the walk home to work some of it off. It was getting pretty hinking on the high street as night fell, and both the Co-op ans Spar where we shopped for groceries were a slice of a very different world to Highgate. “This is where they shop in Jacqueline Wilson novels,” Lyra observed.

Back at the flat, I spent far too much time starting fire without kindling or even much paper. Eventually managed it, and spent the rest of the evening sipping wine and reading our novels. To bed about midnight…

April 6, 2017

I let Lyra sleep as late as possible before taking her up to her sports activity club. She’s meant to go back to Ava’s afterwards today, which I confirmed by text.Ava’s mum also invited Lyra to sleep round theirs tonight, but I declined that invitation. I think they could use a break from each other, plus Lyra wants to walk Sophia this afternoon.

Having a fasting day, so it was lemon water for me for breakfast. After that, I sat down to try to write a new section for the architect site. I’m really struggling with it, and eventually realised that I don’t agree with the whole idea of it. It doesn’t seem remotely customer focussed, and after a couple of hours I’d managed only a couple of crappy paragraphs…:-(

I was just about to head off to Ava’s to collect Lyra, when they called to say they were just on their way back from the Woods and would swing by with Lyra. Made the girls some dinner instead: fish fingers, rice and edamame. (No need to cook for Adam as he’d told me that he was going to be back late from Oxford.)

I’d just served up when he texted to say that he’d be home soon. Decided to let him sort himself out foodwise… Definitely didn’t feel like cooking two dinners on a non-eating day.

April 5, 2017

Adam headed off to Oxford first thing for the Skol World Forum. He’s not attending the main thing, but there are a lot of events organised around it that are relevant to his business. Back late tomorrow night…Dropped Lyra at her sports club then carried on for a run. I was full of beans today, and completed it much fast than on Monday. My ankle felt fine too…:-)

Studied science with Nova all morning. She’s had the idea of revising according to her school schedule. So, she’ll sit down to revise math at 9am on Monday morning, when she’d be in maths class, and follow it with chemistry, then lunch break etc. It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out.

Ava came back to our house for a sleepover after sports club. The girls were excited about the idea of sleeping in the flat, and making it their own space. Barely saw them for much of the day, and was able to crack on with the website uninterrupted.

Until I looked out the window and saw a child’s trike on the lawn. “Where did that come from?” I asked Lyra. “Oh, we got it from the Nolan’s garden?” she said. “Well, take it back. You shouldn’t be going in there.” I was surprised when I saw them returning it to their little shed…>:-(

Made pesto pasta for dinner, which the little girls scoffed then headed back downstairs. I was at the table with Nova finishing dinner, when I looked out and saw them in going into the Nolan’s shed again. I yelled at them from the balcony, and they slunk back to ours looking pretty sheepish.

About half an hour later, I was called downstairs. They’d rehearsed a little song-and-dance performance for me by way of an apology, which asked me to “forgive them for their trespasses”. Very sweet, but FFS…

They had concocted a plan to watch five movies over the course of the sleepover — and they made a good fist of it. They were both looking droopy when I returned from collecting Nova and Evelyn after swim club, and I was just about to go down at 10pm to tell them “lights out” when Lyra came up to tell me that Ava was feeling homesick.

After talking to Ava, I called her parents and arranged for someone to come collect her. Brought the girls upstairs to make hot chocolate — I’m not sure if it was the reprieve from sleeping over or the chocolate, but Ava seemed right as rain by time her dad arrived.

Apparently Ava has form at bailing on sleepovers, and her mum later said “I can’t actually remember the last time she slept at someone else’s house.” Fair enough, but a heads-up would have been appreciated. The episode left Lyra feeling that she’d done or said something wrong. We talked it through for an hour before she was able to settle for the night…

April 4, 2017

It’s Nova’s last ever day in school uniform after eleven and a half years. My little girl… here she is on her first/last day:

Adam collected Lyra from her sleepover then dropped her at school on his way to the office. I pootled around the house, waiting to hear from my financial services client, who is supposed to be giving the go ahead to launch the site this morning.

In the meantime, I broke my fast with a green smoothie, though I wasn’t actually hungry. I’m going to try a 5:2 fasting plan first (you eat normally five days a week, and extremely limited (or no) calories on the other two days). I think it might be the most conducive to running, but we’ll see…

Made some bliss balls this afternoon — the kind of thing Nova was always making in her “Deliciously Ella” phase. I was assured that they would taste just like carrot cake, but I beg to differ. They tasted nice enough, but more like puréed carrot, dates and sunflower seeds than they did like carrot cake.

These vegans are deluding themselves if they believe vegan alternatives are indistinguishable from the originals. I’ve been told more than once that a particular brand of veggie sausage or bacon is “just like the real thing”. No, they so aren’t — they are fine in themselves, but let’s be realistic…

Lyra walked Sophia on her own today, which went smoothly — no killer chihuahuas to contend with… Eventually heard from my financial services client in the late afternoon. For reasons nothing to do with me (thankfully), the site launch is going to be postponed a few days.

Asian chicken noodle soup for dinner, which I ate with Lyra while watching The Cat Returns. I served her dinner to her on a tray, which she really seemed to appreciate — apparently I never do that.

I think it was the tray that made it special, as we do occasionally have a pizza or even a more tableworthy dinner in front of a movie. It’s not a regular thing… when I think of the years we ate family dinners that way when I was growing up.

Dodged the swimming bullet tonight, as Christine did the taking and Adam the picking up. Once our evening duties were done, we settled down to watch the finale of Line of Duty. Ay caramba, what an ending!

April 3, 2017

First run in a while. My ankle felt a bit unstable and I decided that two miles was plenty. I’ve learned the hard way not to push things when it is acting up… Alice came round to ours to hang out with Lyra for the morning. They’d planned to walk the neighbour’s dog Sophia, but when they went round, he wasn’t home. They hung out in the garden, and mucked around with the microscope. Not sure what they had in mind, but I had my own work to attend to.

They eventually got ahold of Sophia and headed off to Waterlow Park with her. It sounds like everything went fine, aside from them getting snapped at by an aggressive chihuhua (apparently it made Lyra scream).

Came upstairs for lunch, which they ate on the balcony, then disappeared off again. Lyra is now at an age where having a friend round is less hassle than her being bored and on her own, though there is still the odd friend that seems to create work: “Do we have any borax?”, “Can we made fudge?” “Where’s my <<obscure item that she hasn’t thought of in years>>?” Happily, Alice isn’t one of them.

They headed off mid-afternoon to play tennis with Christine, Tom and Evelyn, then headed back to theirs. This was followed in due course by the inevitable sleepover request. I was happy enough with that, though we need to collect her promptly tomorrow morning for so she can attend sports club for the morning.

I’ve been reading about the impact of fasting on diabetes — it’s supposed to be particularly effective in tackling pre-diabetes. There are different ways of going about it, and I’m not sure which one (if any) will agree with me. I’m trying a 24 hour fast today and not finding it particularly taxing. I cooked a smoked salmon pasta for Adam and Nova, the studied chemistry with her afterwards.

Watched another episode of Line of Duty — it’s getting really exciting…

April 2, 2017

I thought about going running this morning, but we’ve been too long without a church visit. They’re really going for it over the Easter season. Apparently it is Passion Sunday (news to me).The little programme they hand out that is usually four pages was eight and required stapling. There were lots of prayers for us to say and a goodly amount of it was sung (or mumbled in my case). It was quite beautiful actually…

Adam made some veggie soup for lunch, and afterwards headed off to visit his parents. Having neglected to get his mum a card or present for her birthday in January, he has now managed to forget their anniversary and his dad’s birthday entirely. He’s very much in the dog house, and is slinking over there with a deck of belated cards and some chocolate ginger to do penance.

Lyra was roped in to the visit against her wishes to provide moral support, while I did some physics revision with Nova. We were tackling lenses today, which was damnably difficult and confusing… and then suddenly it wasn’t. I love it when that happens…

Made a roast chicken dinner. It was so delicious… we rarely eat meals like that, which made it a real treat. Strawberries for dessert… a little early in the season but I wanted something light.

Watched another episode of Line of Duty — we’re really enjoying it.

April 1, 2017

April Fools’ Day — not that you can tell with the state of the fucking news these days. I wish it was all a joke. George Takei made a spoof announcement that he was running for Congress against Devin Nunes — I’m disappointed that one isn’t true…Adam headed off to get Lyra in time for her skating exam. Turns out she didn’t pass on three elements, so same level again next term.

I had a hair appointment in the village to get my highlights done. Half head is still sufficient but she recommended going browner this time. Apparently the blonde doesn’t take as well now I have more white hair in the mix. Plus, it takes longer to fade, and I should avoid that weird platinum stage.

I’d asked Adam if he could make the girls some lunch. He covered that base by giving them some money and sending them up to the farmers’ market. When I got home, I ate some leftovers then napped on the sofa for an hour or so. Those beauty treatments are exhausting…;-)

Family outing to see Beauty and the Beast at the Muswell Hill Everyman, where we amazed the girls by letting them buy ice cream sundaes. I try to keep them on their toes with my general frugality broken by spurts of random extravagence…

Quick grocery shop at Sainsburys afterwards then home. I wasn’t hungry, but the girls had eggs on toast and Adam hoovered up some leftover curry.

Started watching Line of Duty this evening — very promising…