December 2017

December 31, 2017

Lazy start around here this morning. It was 8am when Adam and I woke, and almost 10am before the girls emerged. I’m fine with that, as it’s going to be a late one tonight. After tomorrow, we’ll have to start rowing things back…Made muffins — banana walnut — the first time since forever. Another little step back towards our normal routine. Millie came by about 11am to collect Lucia, and Adam headed off to go mobile phone shopping with his mother.

Made a People of 2017 quiz for tonight’s New Year’s Eve gathering we are co-hosting with Will and Sara, and finished my food preparations — cauliflower, pea and cashew curry and a seasonal slaw with poppy seed dressing.

The three of us got to theirs about 7pm, to make the final arrangements. Only Lyra with us this evening — Nova had plans to go to Primrose Hill with a group of friends. Their three kids were all off out as well.

In an odd turn of events, only two of the guests they invited could make it, versus eleven of ours. So they were in the funny position of welcoming a raft of guests into their home they hadn’t met.

Actually, it gave the evening a little boost of energy — things weren’t as comfy-cosy as they can be with longtime friends. I always like it best when News Year’s Eve is intergenerational — same goes for weddings. This year we had a 13, 12, 2×10, and 7-year-old to celebrate with.

After drinks and snacks, we had a sit-down dinner, followed by the quiz.We divided people into four teams, breaking up all couples and spreading the kids around. I was concerned that I’d made it too easy, but no one managed to get them all. After that we played the cardboard box game, which the kids all loved as they put most of the creaky, old adults to shame.

That took us up to midnight and beyond… Returned to the table for dessert, after which people started heading off. We got back about 2am. Nova and her friend Clara were already home.

There had been a bit of excitement on Primrose Hill. One of Nova’s friends drank so much vodka, the paramedics had to be called. Nova looked after her throughout, and even managed to track down contact details for the girls’ parents so they could accompany her to the hospital…

December 30, 2017

Because there are no blinds on some of the windows, Debbie gave us sleep masks last night. Those things were the bomb… I half woke a couple of times, but not remembering I was wearing a mask, assumed it was still early and fell back to sleep. Even so, pretty sure I was the first person up, when I woke properly at 9am…After a pancake breakfast, we hung about until noon before setting off. Our sat nav alerted us to accidents on M25, and suggested an alternate route. It was slower than the motorway, but we were able to keep moving the whole time.

Stopped at Costco and Tesco, as we were passing anyway, and managed to squeeze everything in around the girls and bags. Back home, I did some cooking prep for the new year’s eve party tomorrow: another trifle, and a big lasagne. I’m also down to make a veggie curry, but I’ll do that tomorrow…

Lucia came round for a sleepover this evening. I sorted out a simple pasta for the girls supper. Actually, I just put the water on and left Nova to do the rest. We were out for dinner in Crouch End with Millie and her newish boyfriend. He’s a guy I used to work with at Dorling Kindersley, weirdly enough.

It was a nice evening, aside from a hitch with our order. When our food failed to turn up, Millie asked the waitress what was going on. Turned out she’d forgotten to hand in our order.

By that point, duck legs were off the menu, so two of us had to switch to guinea fowl. It was nice enough… and we got our bottle of wine comped to make amends. Cab home and straight to bed, despite the fact all three girls were still up and about…

December 29, 2017

Everyone slept until 8am this morning, which was nice. Lyra was keen to make churros for breakfast (she got a box of churro mix from Doron and Antonia for Hannukah).Adam was overseeing things, but I was summoned upstairs when the wheels started coming off the endeavour. It was proving fiendishly difficult to squeeze the churro batter out of the piping bag into the hot oil. I thought the batter might be too thick, but actually it was lumps that were causing the problem. Not the easiest thing to make…

Finished the Vancouver puzzle, then got organised for our expedition to Debbie and Dan’s. The traffic was heavy but there were no major incidents — the journey took about an hour and a half, which isn’t bad.

Dinner was blini, followed by chili and rice, with our Christmas baking for dessert. Mostly drank neat vodka (to keep Debbie company), aside from a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and lots of water. No desire to overdo things…;-)

One of their neighbours has created a pub in his garden shed. When he wants to open it up, he sends a WhatsApp message round to invite friends over. There was a darts game on this evening, and we all headed over for a drink. It’s an amazing space. The guy is an art director, so it’s beautifully done — one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while…

December 28, 2017

Nova was up early this morning to do a shift for Millie at the Beauty Mart office . Lyra slept until I woke her to take her antibiotics at 8:30. She’s already looking better, though she is starting from a low base…Went for my first run in almost a month — round Kenwood House, two and a half miles all told. Felt pretty unfit, plus my respiratory system hasn’t completely recovered from the cold. Even so, I was happy to have done it.

Headed out to Kew Gardens around four to see the Christmas illuminations. The train is very efficient, and it was barely an hour to get there. I didn’t have particular expectations, and was blown away by how beautiful they were. Some of the lights were quite elaborate and set to music, other times they just uplit the leafless architecture of their gorgeous trees.

The light show at the end was projected over the lake in front of the great glass house and was absolutely magical. I’ve never seen anything to equal it. My video clip doesn’t come close to doing it justice:

Back home, we managed to finish half the Vancouver puzzle before calling it a night…

December 27, 2017

Called the GP first thing. I got connected right at 8am when they open, and was already 8th in the queue. Managed to get her a morning appointment, where the doctor diagnosed impetigo.Headed straight to chemist to pick up her antibiotics. He’s prescribed her something quite strong, and apparently she should be noticeably better within 48 hours.

Finished off the turkey in a final round sandwiches, though there’s still another meal’s worth of soup left. Inviting that big Australian guy over for lunch certainly put paid to the leftovers. I was envisaging turkey tinga tacos, but no need for those…

Watched Forrest Gump with the girls, a film we all enjoyed — can be difficult to find those. Met Jane at the Landseer for a Christmas drink, followed by a reasonably early night…

December 26, 2017

I love Boxing day — such a mellow, relaxing day in contrast to the lead up to Christmas. After a leisurely start, I got up about 10am to make the turkey soup. Left it to simmer out for a walk on the Heath.Lyra wasn’t keen to leave the house. The spots on her face are still looking pretty bad. The main coldsore thing is healing, but there are secondary satellite infections around it now. We’re definitely going to the doctor tomorrow (assuming they are open).

Lyra wore her furry snood pulled up to her nose, which hid the worst of it. Bumped into Gudren and Steve and their girls almost immediately, and ended up walking round the Heath together.

It was like Victoria station — half of north London out there. Saw Emma Thompson and Derek Jacobi, though not to say “hi” to, and by the time we were home we’d bumped into several neighbour families: the Franklyns, Nevins, Nolans, Parsons, Moodys, Perrys, and a few other folk besides.

We’d invited the Australian couple at the bottom of the path round for turkey sandwiches. (They don’t have family in the UK, and when we bumped into them the other day, they mentioned they were having a pub lunch for their Christmas meal.) Minutes before they were due, Lyra dropped the cranberry sauce on the brick floor downstairs…

Once Adam had whipped up another batch with some frozen cranberries from last year, we sat round the table to make sandwiches and eat soup. made more, wine, sat round the table sandwiches and soup. After they left, I tried to watch My Dinner With Andre, a film I loved back in the day. Don’t remember it being quite so boring…

No one needed any dinner, but I gave Lyra some apple juice and fruit to get some vitamins into her. Once she was down, we settled in front of the telly with a bit of wine and cheese and binge-watched Motherland. Very funny and true — there was even an episode set in the Mallinson, where I’ve put in many an hour of parenting graft…

December 25, 2017

Lyra came in to wake us at 7:01… I was pretty tired, but abided by rule 5 (no grumpiness). We all traipsed upstairs, and once the coffee was brewed, proceeded to open our presents one at a time, as per rule 3. I like that rule, though it took about an hour and a half to get past the present opening phase…I engineered things so the Hamilton book was the last present opened, which had the predicted impact. They were both thrilled, especially after months of me saying how impossible it was to get tickets. I’m pretty excited myself…

Headed up to church for the 10am service, which was mostly singing carols, interspersed with random bits of costumed kids stumbling through a facsimile of the nativity. I couldn’t really see much, but I don’t think they could have spent much time rehearsing…

I’ve never seen balloons in church before…

Back home, we tucked into our Christmas brunch. I’ve occasionally thought when eating melton mowbray that it’s like a pork pie, but when you eat a pork pie you realise it’s not much like a melton…

Only four of us for dinner this year — the small Christmas dinner I’ve cooked in many years. Had to decide what to do about the vegetable dishes — we didn’t need as many for such as small group, but at the same time, I wanted my dinner plate to include all the usual suspects. In the end, we dropped the pigs in blankets, and made a half batch of red cabbage.

Things were leisurely enough that I was able to watch all of It’s a Wonderful Life while sipping madeira. Skipping the blini meant everyone was quite hungry by time we got dinner on the table.

David called just as we were sitting down, and afterwards I talked to Wade, then Margo and Aaron. A somewhat different, but very nice, Christmas…:-)

It was all very tasty…

December 24, 2017

Left the house before 9am for our usual Christmas Eve visit to Borough Market. Our main objective was to buy a melton mowbray from Mrs King, but — shock! horror! — they were closed… Rolled with that punch, picking up a couple of small pork pies from the Ginger Pig. Monmouth Coffee was closed as well, but found an alternative there too.Also bought olives, saucisson, and a few other bits and bobs, as well as a bite of breakfast. Home by noon… Started the Christmas Eve puzzle, and made a good dent in it by time we were due at Pete and Pasc’s for our annual gift exchange.

Made more of a deal of Christmas Eve dinner than I often do, using it as an opportunity to fit in a few seasonal favourites: shrimp cocktail, mum’s fake souffle, and a trifle for dessert.

Opened their pyjamas from cousin Terry, and the girls’ present from Margo (coloured Goldfish crackers). After Lyra had posted her “Christmas rules” we’re all to abide by tomorrow, I settled her in bed and read The Night Before Christmas.

We then mixed a round of wallbangers, and watched A Christmas Carol. Nova toddled off after that, leaving Adam and me to finish the puzzle and fill the stockings.

In bed by midnight, which is good going for us on Christmas Eve…

December 23, 2017

Went to see the Jackson’s Lane Christmas show this morning. It’s been a big success, and all the seats had sold out, but Adam arranged for us to sit in the folding house seats at the back.Titled Underneath a Magical Moon, the show was a retelling of Peter Pan. The three Darling children are camping in the back garden, where Wendy tells her brothers a bedtime story. Lots of good songs, dance numbers and inventive use of props. Enjoyed it even more once moved to proper seats.

Afterwards, we went for brunch at Banners in Crouch End, then did a final bit of Christmas shopping before heading home. Followed through by doing all my wrapping this afternoon (instead of my usual habit of doing it late Christmas Eve).

Our main Christmas present for the girls is tickets to see Hamilton in January. We went online when sales opened last January and snapped them up, and I’ve kept shtum about it all year. I bought a biography of Hamilton, and planned to wrap it up with the tickets inside. However, when I went to do that, we couldn’t actually find the tickets anywhere…

Had a frantic half hour turning our bedroom inside out before remembering that we had never actually been issued tickets. Some paperless procedure they are imposing to cut down on scalping…

Sat down with a restorative cup of tea and some baking to watch The Snowman and Father Christmas. No one felt like dinner, so I did my cooking for tomorrow instead: shrimp cocktail sauce, fake souffle, and trifle. I haven’t made a trifle in at least a decade…

Poor Lyra’s not feeling well. She’s been looking peaky for a week or more, and now she’s getting these odd blemishes/spots: one on her tummy, a couple around her eyes, and another in the corner of her mouth that may or may not be a cold sore…:-(

December 22, 2017

Got up early to carry on with the writing work. Actually, I thought the stories were due first thing, but it turns out our deadline was the end of the day. Just as well, otherwise would have put off tackling them and then been scrambling. We finished up about noon and sent them to the client. Let the holidays begin!Spent a good part of the afternoon on food prep. We’re having Basil and Veronika and the girls round for our usual Christmas drink. It didn’t happen last year as Basil was so ill and in hospital.

Unfortunately, it was a bit of a washout this year as well. They arrived on time, just as I was putting the finishing touches on the food. Marli wasn’t feeling well, so Veronika settled her on the sofa with a glass of water and a Christmas film. We were just toasting the season when she threw up.

Veronika got her downstairs and into the loo in time, but it must have been quite a mess — there were multiple requests for towels, cleaning products and plastic bags. Basil took Marli home while Veronika deep cleaned the bathroom.

It was all a bit subdued after that. I could tell Veronika was worried about Marli — with her health issues, they have to keep a close eye on things. At the age of nine, she’s already had multiple heart surgeries and has a shunt at the base of her as well.

We sent them home in a taxi about 9pm, then popped over to the Sainsbury’s for a Christmas drink. I had one glass of wine before realising I was a bit worse for wear. I’d clearly drunk too much for the amount of food I’d eaten. Left Adam to carry on , and headed home…

December 21, 2017

Nova is off for the holidays now, but Lyra’s school is pushing through until the end of the week. She does get to stay off until the 9th though, while poor Nova is back bright and early on January 2.Lyra is ready for a break. She’s been looking run down the last week or so, and developed a number of blotches or spots on her face. There are look different , which is puzzling. Some are patches of dry skin, other like welts, a couple of pimply things, and now a cold sore…

Visited the accountant this morning to take receipt of our tax returns. Mine seem pretty straightforward, but it looks like Adam might that weird thing again where they don’t ask him to file, and then whack him with a massive tax bill that is due immediately. I hope not…

Tea at Doron and Antonia’s with all the Garfunkels as well as Antonia’s mum Maureen. Freddy seemed a bit forlorn and out of it — he’s definitely better on his home turf. That said, Beulah asked me how my dad was getting on (not so well, as it happens…) Not the first time she’s done it either…

December 20, 2017

Awake at 7am, but took the morning slow. Definitely feeling better than yesterday, my energy levels are up and once Lyra was off to school I tackled my Sisyphean laundry mound and the other thankless household tasks that are my lot…Ben the electrician came round about noon to sort out the bathroom light fixture that has been dangling by a wire since the party. He took a look at the lights in Lyra’s room as well, and gave me a couple of ideas about modernising them. Will have to wait until the new year…

Finally got round to tackling the Christmas cards this afternoon/evening. If I post them tomorrow I should be fine for the UK cards, but the international ones are going to be late…

Tinselled the tree as well — everyone but Lyra agrees it looks much better for it. I think the tinsel is what makes it magical. Otherwise, it’s just a tree with a few bits and bobs on it.

Both girls had dinner out. Lyra went back to Ava’s after school and Nova was on the “period poverty” protest, that has been spearheaded by a girl at her school. It’s a pretty impressive effort, and something that needs to be addressed. It is truly galling that sanitary products are still being taxed as “luxury items” in the UK.

Soup and grilled cheese sandwich for dinner with Adam when he got in. He mixed us couple of a manhattans to get us over the Christmas card line. Nice cocktail, the manhattan…;-)

December 19, 2017

Asleep by the time Adam got in from his pub quiz. I was surprised he was up for such a late night on a Monday, but he doesn’t seem much worse for wear…Got Lyra off to school while finalising the current crop of mining stories that are due this morning. Our next deadline is Friday morning, then we’re good until the new year.

Feeling pretty sluggish today. I should be over my cold, but seem to be taking a post-viral hit. Low energy, cold sore threatening, sinuses blocked again and an unshiftable headache…:-(

Managed some housework and baked the shortbread dough I made on the weekend, which made hardly a scratch on my to-do list. I was just starting to think about dinner when Adam called to say he was going straight to Jackson’s Lane for the evening, and Nova to a party in Camden.

Changed into my pyjamas at dinner time and zapped some leftover mac & cheese for Lyra. I don’t have any appetite at all. Watched Nativity together while she ate. I’d never seen it before — not the best Christmas film ever made, but it had its moments…

Would have gone to bed early, but wanted to wait up until Nova returned from Camden. Got a text from Jess at midnight telling me they were on the tube, and sure enough she walked in about twenty minutes later. Clearly a bit worse for wear, but in a mellow, happy sort of way. It’s going to take a bit of getting used to, seeing my baby under the influence…

December 18, 2017

Today was all about the old folks’ show at Lyra’s school (or “community cabaret” as they’ve unsuccessfully tried to rebrand it this year). Each December, the year six class hosts a lunch event for the elderly, with the help of their teachers and parents.

They handmade invitations (which were delivered to local care homes and neighbours) and rehearsed a cabaret of songs, dances and sketches to perform. Meanwhile we parents organised a car pool to deliver guests, sorted food and alcohol for 80 guests, and drummed up 80 appropriate gifts.

I’m still not feeling great, but as I was down to deliver thirty mixed finger sandwiches by noon, I got out and bought bread then set to work. Michaela called — the first time we’ve spoken since she detached her retina and underwent eye surgery on the weekend — which took my preparations down to the wire.

Got there an hour early to help set up. There were platters of food to prepared, a dozen tables to set, and buffer and bar to stock, which kept us going right to the wire. We set some food out on the tables, and the rest of the food and drinks were brought round by a team of child waiters.

The rest of the kids were busy on stage providing the entertainment. Lots of singing, musical instrument playing, and comedy sketches. The quality varied at times, but several were very good. The massed voices of year 6 singing “Let It Be” brought tears to my eyes.

Lyra’s dead parrot sketch went down a storm:

And her “Last Christmas” singing group was sweet as well:

There was an unfortunate moment towards the end when one of the more ancient guests slumped over in her chair and we had to call an ambulance, but other than that, the afternoon was a great success…

Had only a few minutes downtime before we needed to head off for Nova’s carol concert. I always really enjoy it, thought it was a shame we couldn’t see Nova — she was right at the back, and our view was obscured by a pillar…

December 17, 2017

Pleased not to be feeling too bad this morning… I’ve learned to be wary of prosecco, but it didn’t get me last night. I did drink a fair amount of water, and the long walking between parties would have helped as well…We collected girls from Lucia’s sleepover at 10am, dropping Lily home and bringing Ali back to ours. Adam had a coffee arranged in the village with a friend’s son who’s looking for work, after which he was taking the little girls to the new Star Wars film.

That pair managed to squeeze some industrial-scale slime production into that narrow window. It involved two bottles of white glue, a bottle of contact lens fluid (the kind with borate), and a can of shaving foam. The house utterly reeks of shaving foam — an instant headache on the second floor…

While they were out, I did the groundwork for the Christmas decorating. Adam had brought the tree inside and wedged it into the stand, but I did the lights, and shlepped the boxes of decorations upstairs. I also did the outdoor lights, made the shortbread dough, and baked the cherry slice.

After that, Nova and I sat down to watch Love Actually. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it is maturing well. There so many good actors in it: Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, even Julia (mum from Lyra’s class) has a little cameo.

Debbie and Izzy dropped round to collect Ali. Very nice to see them — we’re going to stay at their for a night next week. Then Doron dropped by with Lyra’s Hannukah present — also nice, but meant we were delayed in getting down to decorating.

The girls started with the cake while we did house stuff, then we all did the tree. There was a difference of opinion about adding the tinsel, so we left it off. For me, it just didn’t look like a Christmas tree without it — the magic was missing…

Cooked a mini roast for our traditional baron of beef sandwiches. I didn’t know roasts came that small — it was more like a fat steak. I was so cautious not to overcook it, that it ended up a little too rare in the middle. Ended up frying strips for the girls so they would eat them…

The meat itself was delicious. Afterwards, we cut the cake and broke out the baking. It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas…:)

December 16, 2017

Lyra’s ice skating exam this morning. We’d agreed to all go and watch her do her test, then have a family skating session afterwards. Nova was pretty tired after her party and late night, but she sorted herself out in time.We left Shira to let herself out and set off for Ally Pally about 9am. Arrived in good time to get Lyra laced into her skates and grab a coffee before settling ourselves in the stands. It wasn’t easy to tell how it was going. One of the skills looks solid, the other seemed to be in the balance. But she passed — yay!!

Had a family skate for the best part of an hour. The girls went round together most of the time, which was sweet to see. Adam is a bit of a wall-creeper, so I left him to it, checking in every few laps to see how he was getting on.

Stopped in Muswell Hill for some light Christmas shopping on the way home. The girls went off on their own, and Adam and I mooched around a new bookstore that has opened on the Broadway.

Very interesting selection of books, reminding me how I miss that sense of discovery that bookstores used to offer. They are generally more predictable now — either limited to “best sellers”, or exhaustive collections more akin to a library than a shop…

Had a very frustrating encounter with Western Union, trying and failing to retrieve the money that Terry sent the girls for Christmas. Because he didn’t include my middle name on the order, and it appears on my driver’s license, they insisted that the names didn’t match…>:{

Two parties this evening — Vince and Danny’s Christmas carols, followed by a couple of hours at Alicia’s…

December 15, 2017

Lyra’s orchestra assembly this morning. I’m so pleased the invigilating has finished so I’m able to attend. I could count on one hand the number of assemblies and concerts I’ve ever missed, and want to keep it that way…I walked Lyra to school, then lined up for my seat. Got talking to a dad from the other class about Billy Bragg, who he’d seen perform last night — we’re both big fans, the other mum in the conversation had no idea who Billy Bragg even was.

The dad is someone I often see when I go for my run — we’ve been nodding at each other for years as our routes cross. I vaguely knew he was a writer, but after our chat I googled him when I got home.

Turns out he’s reasonably well known (though not to me). Downloaded one of his novels to read when I get time — maybe over the holidays…

The highlight of the orchestra concert for me was the James Bond theme. They also did an impressive version of In the Hall of the Mountain King. Overall, it was an ambitious programme for a group of six to eleven years who rehearse together for half an hour a week, but I thought they pulled it off…

Spent most of the day at Brent Cross nailing down the Christmas shopping. Not completely done, but I feel much more on top of things now…

December 14, 2017

My last day of invigilating this session. I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s been pretty intense, especially with this brutal head cold, and I’m glad it’s coming to an end.Basil pulled up alongside me as I was making my way to the bus and offered me a ride down the hill. I really shouldn’t have, but I took him up on it…

Separate room exam in the morning, then a big gap before the afternoon session. (We usually fill most of it preparing candidate cards and registers for the following day’s exams, but that wasn’t necessary today.)

Took Veronika for a coffee at a local café I like. Even though we’ve been working together for the last ten days, we haven’t had much time to interact. I’ve been in smaller rooms much of the time, plus she doesn’t do afternoon shifts.

The last exam was DT in the main hall — endless fetching of pencil crayons and tracing paper. They finally seem to be finally reining their behaviour in. There is still a lot of improvement needed before they sit their GCSEs in June. I’d estimate there are a dozen boys who would have been disqualified in a real exam.

Walked home for a bit of exercise. It was supposed to be class drinks this evening, but but mercifully they were cancelled. Anyway, Adam was out at another party, which he got home late from…

December 13, 2017

Nova was up early to make waffles for her and her sister before school. She is surprisingly pumped about her new waffle iron. “I think I’ll ask for a deep-fat fryer next Hannukah!” she said.Adam and I were up even earlier to finish editing the first batch of mining articles that are due this morning. Worked up until I had to leave for my meeting about the new Forum website.

Had about fifteen minutes at home before I needed to head to the high school for an afternoon exam. I had my usual candidate in a separate room. Physics paper this time — the only exam he’s been willing to sit beside maths. He rattled it off in about half an hour, after which we sat there chatting until an hour was up and I could allow him to leave.

He’s a funny little guy — quite personable, and rather childlike for his years. He reveals a lot of information — about his twin brother, grandmother who works as a nanny in Russia, favourite telly programmes etc. He’s curious about me as well, which is very unusual in a teenager (in my experience).

Walked to Gospel Oak in the pouring, icy rain and caught the train to Haggerston. Arrived at the office drenched and frozen for our seasonal drink. Blini with smoked salmon, a slice of jumbo mince tart, and most of a bottle of champagne. I was rat-assed by the time we ubered home…

December 12, 2017

Feeling terrible this morning. It really is a bitch of a cold, and having to get up early for work after a lousy night’s sleep isn’t helping matters…Adam and I managed to get the Hannukah wrapping before I left for work, so that’s one less thing to worry about this evening…

Celebrated Hannukah round at Adam’s parents this evening. Despite the snowy roads, we arrived pretty much on schedule, and the whole evening went off quite smoothly. No forgotten prayers, mix-ups with presents, or table incidents.

Nova was particularly pleased with her requested waffle iron, and had us stop at Tesco for spray oil on the way home. She mixed up a batch of waffle batter before bed so she can cook some up before school tomorrow…

December 11, 2017

Started the morning by checking three school websites to see whether they had decided to close for the snow. Cancellations are general across the country, apparently. In the event, only Nova’s school has opted to close this morning.Garth and Cori are flying back to Vancouver this morning. Their flight is a bit delayed, but I hope that means they miss the worst of the havoc at Heathrow. Said my goodbyes and left the house in snow boots and parka, thinking I might have to walk to the boys’ school. But the bus was running fine and arrived at my usual time.

Spent the morning invigilating in private rooms with individual students, then the afternoon with a small group of A-level English students. They are so diligent and focused compared to the GCSE kids. Not a peep out of any of them for two and a half hours.

The sun was setting by the time I got out of there — gorgeous light. I caught the bus up the hill instead of walking. I have minimal energy to spare now with this bloody head cold clinging on. Sinus grief now, which is always the way my colds evolve these days.

It’s freezing outside, and only marginally warmer inside despite having the heating on…

December 10, 2017

Got a good night’s sleep last night — didn’t properly wake until after 7am. Might not sound like much, but it counts as a lie-in for me…We’ve had a heavy snowfall in the night. When I raised the blinds, everything was blanketed in white — so pretty. Lay in bed drinking coffee and watching snow continue to falls, thinking life is really pretty good. (Aside from serious sinus grief now and major lung hacking…)

Despite my head cold, I was keen to get out in the snow. In the afternoon, Adam and I went for a long walk in Waterlow Park. It was beautiful, the trees still iced in white, though the snow on the ground had been decimated by all the sledders and snowman makers.

Dinner was dhal and rice, made by Adam. Just three of us eating this evening, Nova was allowed out for Jess’s birthday tea this afternoon, having done her party penance…

December 9, 2017

I think I’m starting to perk up a bit, or maybe I’m just feeling better because it’s the weekend and I don’t have to get up by 7:30 for a change…No ice skating this week due to the annual Christmas ice capade. We were able to use our morning more productively. We’d done hte grocery shopping in Muswell Hill and bought the last of the Hannukah presents by the time we needed to collect Lyra from Ava’s.

Millie had texted, asking whether Lyra wanted to go shopping with Lucia. Swung by the house so she could sort herself out then dropped her round theirs. Did the food prep for dinner with Garth and Cori tonight, interspersed with rest breaks. I have no energy with this fucking interminable cold, and am falling so far behind on everything…

(Though I did find time to make a great playlist for the evening. Priorities…;-) )

Adam went off late afternoon with Will and Sara to buy the Christmas tree, and take advantage of their roof rack. We’re going to stick it in the greenhouse for a week until it’s time to decorate.

Garth and Cori arrived with treats from Borough market — salami and cheese and olives, that nicely complemented my broccoli confit canapés. The seco could have been spicier, but it was good for the girls, and the apple crumble was delicious. In bed by midnight…

December 8, 2017

Another day of mock exams. My separate room boy was a no-show for his PE exam. A bit annoying, as I’m missing Lyra’s class assembly. At least they found me another candidate to supervise — got to watch him do two hours of economics…Did a mammoth session of card cutting for tomorrow’s exams, which left me with fifteen minutes to scoff my sandwich before we needed to set up for the afternoon. I was doing a Spanish writing exam for ten candidates in a smaller classroom.

The hall was in complete chaos — a bunch of candidate cards had been misplaced, there weren’t enough papers to go round — but my kids were so well behaved it was surreal. They even observed exam conditions my not talking for about ten minutes before the exam commenced.

It’s the same group of kids we see for all the exams. I guess none of the shit disturbers were in the mix. It makes you realise how disruptive one little pest can be. I felt like I was in one of the invigilation training videos I’ve been made to watch. Sort of like what i thought the job would be like (and what it sounds like it is like at Nova’s school…)

Caught the bus home, then headed out again almost immediately to collect a parcel from the post office. That place has crappy service at the best of times — it took a half an hour at this time of year.

I was just getting home when Lyra called to ask if she could have a sleepover with Ava. She arrived with Ava’s dad, who’d collected them from school. She sorted an overnight bag, then I ran them home. With all that to’ing and fro’ing, it was a good two hours before I even sat down after work.

The house was so cold that the bedroom floor actually hurt my feet. My fingers were soon numb and white, and there was nothing for it but to dive under the duvet.

Lay there shivering away, thinking about those poor pensioners they find frozen to death in their own homes every winter. It’s partly the head cold that’s making me feel it so keenly, I imagine, but Nova remarked on the cold as well. Our bedroom seems particularly bad…

(It turns out Adam had the “brainwave” of setting the boiler on a timer to go off during the day. It also transpired the main bedroom radiator had been turned off. Once those things were remedied, the temperature became much more livable…)

Made a last-minute plan to meet Will and Sara for dinner at the Bull. It was nice to see them, and the food fine if nothing special. Home about midnight…

December 7, 2017

Another full day of invigilating. I’m working with Veronika, which was really good — it’s the first time our shifts have overlapped. She had her hair piled up on top of her head like a school marm, really embracing the role…;-)I was scheduled to do a full day with my special candidate, but he flatly refused to sit his biology/chemistry papers, saying he needed to study for English in the afternoon. In the event, he blew that off too… I waited a half hour for him each time, then broke down the set-up and went upstairs to help in the main hall.

Made celeriac soup for dinner. It was just Lyra and me — Adam took our guests to an Arsenal match, and Nova was at some sort of comedy event in Soho. I wouldn’t have allowed her to go given her grounding, but the tickets had been purchased a couple of months ago, so I permitted it.

Lyra and I were both in bed by 9pm. Watched an episode of Mindhunter, and was asleep by the time either of them got home…

December 6, 2017

It’s the worst day of the cold so far… I’m hoping that this is as bad as it gets…Started a solid block of invigilating at the local boys’ high school. Mock GCSEs mostly, but some mock A-levels as well. Kicked things of in a separate room with a boy who’s meant to be tricky. He seemed pretty pleasant to me. Clearly low on confidence and a bit left field, but I didn’t find him any trouble at all.

Did a Spanish listening exam in the afternoon. You set a tape running for half an hour for them to answer questions and translate bits of Spanish. Had to go into the corridor to have a good cough a couple of times so as not to disrupt proceedings…

No buses running for some reason, so ended up walking home up the hill, which knocked the stuffing out of me. Made mac and cheese for the girls and Nina, who’d come round after school.

Nothing would have suited me better than climbing into my pyjamas and taking to my bed. But Adam had organised a team meal at El Parador this evening, so I shlepped to the tube and caught a train to Mornington Crescent.

Nice enough time, though I didn’t have much appetite, couldn’t hear half the conversation with my blocked ears, and should never have been drinking red wine. Nonetheless, I carried on drinking beer with Garth and Cori when we got back to the house. (Needed those like a hole in the head… Actually, a hole in the head might be more useful to me at this stage of my illness if it could do something about these wretched sinuses…)

December 5, 2017

My last day round the house before I start an intense week or so of invigilating. At least I had no pressing Junxion work, which allowed me to focus on my smaller clients.I also managed to on top of the house stuff I’d neglected over the weekend, taking frequent rest breaks for my developing cold…

Lyra made chickpea pasta soup for dinner — left her to it, other than helping to shell the chickpeas…

December 4, 2017

Our colleague Garth (and his wife Cori) are arriving from Vancouver today to stay with us for the week. He’s here to do a workshop, and after setting up a complicated series of arrangements for their two little girls — including his dad flying up from Florida and collecting the kids in Comox — Cori was able to join him.It’s her first-ever time outside Canada. At least the girls won’t be throwing house parties in their absence — they can rest easy on that score…

Here’s Nova’s list of party reparations:

She worked away steadily after school, and has made a good dent in it. One positive — I found the advent calendars stuck in a random cupboard. Nova didn’t know anything about it, so I’m guessing Jess or Shira hid them away so they didn’t get eaten…

Spent the day writing a user manual for our CSR softward client. Nova made sweet potato black bean tacos. Ate them in front of Blue Planet — we are all loving that show.

There was a panto read-through scheduled for this evening at the Bull. I think I’m coming down with Adam’s cold, and just couldn’t face a night in the pub…

December 3, 2017

Our last morning in Berlin. After a more leisurely start than yesterday, we moseyed downstairs to enjoy the hotel breakfast. I’m generally not a fan of hotel buffets, but this one was excellent — wonderful German breads, cheeses and meats; meusli, fruit and yogurt; great coffee; and a tempting selection of pastries.

I didn’t give the cooked food a look-in, though it looked equally good — and Adam’s eggs benedict were among the best I’ve ever tasted…

Went for an hour’s walk in Tiergarten — as far as the Soviet monument commemorating the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for Berlin in the spring of 1945. The monument was erected a few months later (in the British sector of the city).

Caught a taxi to the airport. Our driver was tempermentally unsuited to the job. He seemed a bad driver for one thing, crap at merging into traffic, or even changing lanes, and prone to flapping and cursing in German over the most minor setbacks…

Check-in was slow and bothersome, but once again, it was a nice enough flight. The luggage took an age to reach the arrivals hall. Spent the time arguing with Gatwick Airport on twitter about a longstanding pet peeve — the way their luggage trolleys require you to insert a coin.

When we got on, Nova met us at the door. She picked up our suitcases and hustled them upstairs to our bedroom. “I’ve been cleaning the house all day” she volunteered. “What for? I didn’t ask you to do that,” I said. “Oh, I thought you did,” she replied. I’d just asked her to sort the flat out, as we have guests arriving tomorrow.

There were a number of odd little things around the place, including a light fixture dangling from its wires in the bathroom. Within half an hour, she confessed to throwing a house party — and everything made sense…

I was pretty annoyed about it. Not the idea of a party — if she’d asked, we’d have let her have one, though not when we were out of the country, and not without securing things around the house I wanted to keep safe.

It doesn’t sound like it got out of hand, and she had friends help her clean today (to the extent that they jammed the hoover from over-vacuuming). But if something had gone wrong — accident, overdose, assault, fire — we’d have been in no position to deal with it…

Lyra was upset at the thought of her room being involved in the festivities. There were a couple of minor things missing, and new things that shouldn’t be there. Also, her bed had been remade the wrong way. But worst of all, her advent calendar appears to be a casualty…

December 2, 2017

Our only full day in Berlin. Up and out at 8am to make our breakfast reservation at the Reichstag. Great morning light and the grey, quiet streets — very atmospheric…

Having breakfast atop the Reichstag is one of my favourite Berlin things to do — and it spares you some of the hassle and line-up to get in. Didn’t get a window seat this time, probably because it was much busier than usual. I think I’ve always done it on a week day before…

Afterwards, we walked up Unter den Linden, poking in the shops, visiting church visiting St Hedwig’s Cathedral, and browsing a Christmas market. When we reached the museuminsel, our plan was to visit the Pergamon.

There is massive construction underway (I think they are adding a new tube line), and it proved very difficult to find the entrance. Eventually ended up in the Alte Nationalgalerie, where I was delighted by their collection of CW Friedrich paintings, and the special Rodin exhibition.

Moseyed round the Hackescher markt, doing some light Christmas shopping, and also picked up a gorgeous pair of leather ankle boots for myself. Wandered over to the foot of the Fernseturm to see it all lit up from below, then carried on in the Nikolaiviertel for a beer before heading back to the hotel.

Spent the evening at the Gendarmenmart Christmas market, which is reputed to be the best of the hundred or so Christmas markets round Berlin. It was certainly popular — and pretty expensive — but there was lots of seasonal food and glüwein to enjoy.

Rounded out the evening with a visit to the Brlo brewery, a few stops south of our hotel. Young, hip crowd — we fit right in…;-) — enjoying the impressive array of craft beer on offer.

December 1, 2017

Remembered to say “rabbits”, which always pleases me. Not that I’m particularly superstitious, but all the same… (Reminds me of that old joke where someone asks the old Irish woman if she believes in leperchauns. “Of course I don’t! But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist…”)Got up at 7am and finished the rest of the packing and such. Needed to get the house ready to leave it empty for the weekend. The plan is for Nova to check in during her comings and goings and to feed the cat.

I wanted to see Lyra off to school before I left, and with one thing and another it was almost 9:30 by the time I set off for the tube. I’d worked out my timings — with 45 minutes at Gatwick to get to the gate, I thought I would be fine.

Everything was proceeding on schedule until I boarded the Gatwick Express. It pulled out of Victoria a couple of minutes late, and crept geriatrically through London, before coming to a complete halt somewhere past Battersea.

There we sat for a good twenty minutes… You could feel the anxiety level in the car rising with each passing minute. There were no announcements explaining the delay, and no guard we could ask.

Finally the damn thing started creeping along again. We crawled through Clapham Junction, then gradually picked up speed. Even so, the delay was longer than the scheduled journey time, and I was in serious danger of missing my flight.

I was poised by the door when we finally arrived, and took off at a run. Sprinted up the escalator, along a few corridors and into the departures hall. There was no sign of my flight on the board, or any EasyJet flights whatsover.

When I asked, I was told it was in the north terminal. Took off running again, doing several stretches of moving walkway to save time. Came off the end of the last one, flew through the air, and slid along the floor on my chest. People came to my aid, but I sprang up and kept going…

Turns out it was all for naught, as I’d taken a wrong turn somehow and was now at the Arrivals terminal. Ran back along the moving sidewalks in the opposite direction, and found the turning for the monorail to the north terminal. Naturally, I’d just missed one, and had to wait four minutes for another to arrive…

I sprinted to security and shoved my way to the front of the queue, then ran like OJ for another mile or so, including up a massive escalator. At last the fucking gate came into sight.

There was still a flight attendant, mostly because of two people who were begging them to wait for the missing third person in their party. Otherwise, I’m sure they would have closed the flight…

The flight itself was perfectly pleasant. I was tempted to knock back a couple of mini bottles of vodka, but resisted the impulse, ordering a bottle of mineral water and, tempted to have a drink, but held off, opting for a mineral water and a sandwich.

Caught a train into Berlin from Schönfeld. I’d intended to get an airport express but ended up on a local train that went east of the centre. No biggie… I’m reasonably familiar with Berlin (having spent a good couple of weeks zipping around on Berlin public transit) and sorted myself out easily enough.

No trouble finding the Four Seasons in Potsdammerplatz either. Spent a few minutes in our room, the headed to the conference hall to see the end of Adam’s event. He was up at the front with a panel of people taking questions from the audience. They got a good round of applause at the end, and he tells me his two presentations were well received.

After an hour in the hotel bar with some of his fellow conference attendees, we set out for the evening. Caught a train to Friedrichstrasse then walked, heading vaguely aiming for that area around Hackescher markt.

Ended up in a hamburger joint in Oranienstrasse — good food and excellent beer.

Back at the hotel, I had a welcome bath before bed. My left knee is badly bruised — I’m surprised it isn’t hurting more. Actually my thumb is my worst injury — did something nasty to the nail when I fell, and it hurts like fuck…:(