July 2023

July 31, 2023

Our last full day of our vacation… On the one hand, I’m ready for home, on the other it’s been really relaxing ignoring the mountain of work, expense and hassle that August will bring…

The weather was awful, but we didn’t let the driving rain deter us. Set off about 10am, grabbing a coffee and a roll then scuttled to the Photography Museum (FOAM). I’ve visited a lot of Amsterdam’s museums over the years – the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Museum, Film Museum, Anne Frank House, Museum Van Loon, Tulip Museum, Handbag Museum, Houseboat Museum, Cat Museum, Cheese Museum – some of them more than once, but it was my first visit to this one.

I was underwhelmed by fellow Canadian Sara Cwynar, but the Ara Güler exhibition is excellent. From there we walked to the Pijp for Surinamese food. I’d tried it on my visit with Nova and felt there was more to explore.

Weather brightened for a bit after lunch, but there is more rain forecast. I expect they are having a wet summer like the UK – the canals are fuller than I’ve ever seen them.

Walked to a market area in Southwest Amsterdam that I hadn’t visited before and had little look round. We considered seeing Oppenheimer, but it was sold out.

Took a tram back towards the centre, stopping for a drink in a bar Adam knew of before heading back to the hotel for a relax. Ate dinner in a local place, sharing a pizza and a salad. Back home again, we watched a couple of episodes of the Kominsky Method in bed – I’m going to enjoy that. Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas – what’s not to like?

July 30, 2023

Slept like a baby after that sauna. We were up at 7am and caught a bus to the Fischmarkt. The outdoor market was already busy, and the big hall crowded with people drinking pints, eating fried fish sandwiches and dancing to a band of oldies playing Status Quo covers. Some folks looked like they were finishing long evenings, but others like this was how they were starting their day.

Had a great breakfast back at the hotel – frühstück is the best meal that Germans do imho. Checked out and caught another bus back to the centre. There was a minor flurry of excitement when realised we were in the wrong station, but not a biggie as they were connected.

The train journey was fine. When we passed the Neumunster, I thought “new minster”, “New Westminster”, and suddenly made the connection between London’s Westminster and the city in BC, which I had never done before. Maybe because they are pronounced differently…?

Changed trains at Osnabruck. Having bought food this time, of course there was a buffet car. Adam did get a pint of cold weissbier to enjoy with our sandwich. At Amsterdam station, I saw two blind people, both with white sticks were making their way along the platform and down the stairs into the tunnel. The second guy had his hand on the first man’s shoulder – it was literally the blind leading the blind. And it occurred to me that instead of that describing something to be scorned at, it was quite a brave and impressive thing.

We’re staying at the Hotel Sebastians on Kaisersgracht, nice and central. As we were checking in, an older woman stopped at reception to ask where the nearest coffee coffee shop was. Pretty amusing to hear the receptionist clarify whether she wanted to get stoned or caffeinated.

Our hotel room is pretty nice, likely the most suited to our age and taste of all the places we’ve stayed. Chilled for a bit, the headed out for dinner at a place called Corner Store in Amsterdam-Noord. Walked ack to the station, caught the ferry across and then walked about another kilometre.

The restaurant was very modern, minimalist and cool, with a live dj, open kitchen and Asian-influenced menu. There was a special menu this evening – an “omakase with Oscar Sanchez” that promised a Japanese-Mexican fusion. We ate:

~ Watermelon mescalitas
~ Seared watermelon with salsa mach, peanuts & coriander
~Yaki onigiri – burnt butter, ikura, morita chilli
~ BBQ red mullet – pineapple butter, shiso, tare
~ Chicken tsukune – guajillo, jalapeno, dried shrimp
~ Corn mochi cake – chicken liver, kosho, escarole
~ Plum pit ice cream – cherry, sakura leaf

all of which was delicious. The crowd was very young and hip and all seemed to know each other and the staff. The only people our age seemed to be the restaurant staff’s parents. We were definitely made to feel welcome though and it was a really nice evening. Caught a bus back to the train station and walked home. It was spitting with rain, but this is nothing compared to what is forecast for tomorrow.

July 29, 2023

Up at 7:30am – just enough time for a coffee, packing and tidying the flat. Did the dishes, wiped everything down, made sure didn’t forget cables, adaptors, drying swimsuits etc.

Wicki had offered us a lift to the station, so we went a early to avoid a clash with swim club. It was so kind of her. She’s a keen tennis fan, and we’re going to keep in touch and try to get her tickets for Queens next year.

Bought a bit of breakfast, found a bench and waited an hour for our train. It was the same thing in reverse, more or less – a train to Funen, a replacement bus across the island to Odense this time, where we changed to another train.

There was nowhere to buy food en route. I’d considered picking up a sandwich in Copenhagen station but didn’t fancy carrying it around all morning and assumed there would be time at a station or food on the train.

All around us people unpacking sacks of food and tucking in. The little coffee station in the corner of our carriage had a few packets of Wasa bread cream cheese sandwich snacklets, so we had a couple of those each.

Finished my second LeCarré novel, which wasn’t as good as the last one. I’m reading Adam’s book club books now – it’s a shame they always choose such crap novels.

Arrived in Hamburg about 4pm. Stopped for a wurst and a roll outside the station then made our way to our hotel in HafenCity. It a strange sort of place, kind of like Yaletown, with that “if you build it they will come”, except so far they haven’t quite…

The hotel itself is great. Had a bit of downtime then headed out to explore. Walked along the harbour to the futuristic new concert hall, then looped back to a German restaurant we’d identified as pretty convenient to the hotel that serves local specialities.

It looked charming and has been around since the 1600s or something. Unfortunately, the grumpy front of house led us through the nice bit to a covered conservatory thing out back. I would have been annoyed, aside from the fact they’d already seated five other tables out there.

Adam had the schnitzel and I went for labskaus, which is Hamburg’s local speciality. They call it a stew, but it is a way of cooking beef with lots of spices and additions. I had a horrible moment when I thought it might be raw, but that was just the beetroot juice. It was nice, but I wouldn’t bother ordering it again.

Back to the hotel for a sauna in their open rooftop space. Sitting in deck chairs afterwards, the place to ourselves, sharing a cold beer, looking out over the lights of Hamburg was pretty special. It got me thinking about luxury and how to define it.  Adam says it’s a service that meets your needs and wants before you’ve even identified what they are. I think there is an aspect of something being exclusive or at least select as well, at least for me. If the deck had been crowded with other guests, it wouldn’t have felt like luxury. And they could have been there, it’s just that we happened to be up there at 11pm…

July 28, 2023

Adam was definitely feeling it more than me this morning. He drank two beers to my one at dinner and shared a whole bottle of wine with Wicki that I didn’t touch. It was a point of pride to be down there for our swim and made it on schedule. Wicki was looking a bit worse for wear herself.

Apparently she used to be quite the party girl until her mid-fifties when she became a grandmother, and now takes it easy. She’s a very interesting woman, funny, warm, generous and also competes for Denmark in table tennis for her age group.

There had been a vandmand spotted earlier, so a couple of watchers on deck while people swam.

After showering, we walked across the bridge to Slussen and then along the other side of the harbour into the town centre along a trail that wove through allotments, boat yards, fields and ramshackle houses.

Islands Brygge is a former industrial port that has been reclaimed. Some silos have been converted into luxury apartments and industrial buildings used as cultural spaces. There is a popular harbour bath which looked a great place to swim. It’s so refreshing that that seems to be no compulsion to break, despoil and litter there is in the UK.

Stopped for lunch on Christianhavn – thin sliced pork and pickled red cabbage on focaccia. I stuck with water, but Adam felt ready for a beer. Wandered through the free city, which is still pretty much as I remembered it.

Visited the North Atlantic House, a cultural centre focused on Greenland, Iceland and the Faroes. We watched a film installation on Greenland and then a wonderful photo exhibition by the Arctic Creatures – three friends who bring “high energy, humour and insight to address issues of the human relationship with nature, masculinity and plastic pollution through staged photography and sculpture.”

Walked across to Nyhavn and caught the water bus home. Had a bit of down time then headed out for dinner at Ancestrale in Vesterbro. We stayed almost next door to it on our last visit, but it didn’t seem a great choice with the kids.

The 7A deposited us a couple of minutes walk away. It’s one of those small plate places and we ordered a good portion of the menu and several of the wines by the glass:

• potato bun
• spring pickle plate with dip
• mackerel rillette & ’knækbrød’
• baby lettuce salad & yeast sabayon
• smoked halibut, cucumber & corriander capers
• ricotta gnocchi, beans & green peas
• mirabelle plum & nasturtium

Turns out the current chef is a Canadian guy currently putting in a few year’s cooking in high-end European restaurants.

July 27, 2023

Joined our gang of swimmers at 9am. After a careful scan for jellyfish we took to the water. Had a long chat with one couple while we swam. Everyone has at least a bit of English, but some are more confident than others.

Ate a bit of breakfast then caught the bus into the main train station. Bought tickets to the Louisiana art museum up the coast. The ride took about half an hour, followed by a good 15-minute walk.

I was wowed when I came here in 1986 and was just as impressed today – such a gorgeous building and setting with an excellent collection of modern art. Broke our visit for a late lunch in the café, then viewed the rest of the collection and current exhibitions – Nan Goldin, Niko Pirosmani (Georgia’s foremost artist), and Ragnar Kjartansson (an Icelandic artist). His multiscreen video installation “The Visitors” was amazing.

Back home we hung out in the flat for a bit, watching an episode of WeCrashed, and drank the last of our Tuborg.

On our way out to dinner, we passed our swim club buddies drinking wine on the wharf and gave them a wave. There’s a nice place to eat at the public swim wharf where I’d expected we’d do our bathing before discovering the flat came with its own wharf.

Being Copenhagen the public wharf is a beautiful, pristine and free piece of urban architecture. I had a salad for dinner, Adam went for a burger and chips.

The guys waved us over when we went past again, and we joined them for a drink. Turned into quite an evening. We ended up in Wicki’s flat (a couple of floors above us) where she and Adam drank an additional bottle of red wine  (I took a pass on that one). Well past midnight she was miking frickedeler and cranking the Danish music. Very hygge…

July 26, 2023

Met the 9 o’clock swimmers for a dip. They are a friendly bunch, I’d guess mostly in their 60s and 70s, but who knows. They could be our age, or remarkably well preserved 80 somethings.

We’d been in for five minutes or so when someone on the dock spotted a lion’s mane jelly fish (which they call a vandmand or “fireman”). They ensured we all avoided it when climbing out, which we did pretty sharpish.

Apparently if you do get stung, vinegar can help neutralise the pain, as can lightly scraping the afflicted area with a safety razor (there is one stored on the dock for that purpose).

Caught the water bus  (which stops a couple of minutes from the flat) to Christiania then metro’d across to Norrebro and did another self-guided walk. We had dinner reservations, so opted to graze rather than eat a meal – coffee and a bun at the food market, a glass of beer and some fermented French fries (which were insanely good – need to try making those at home) at a microbrewery.

Thought of going to a gallery to fill the time before dinner, but we were a bit late and ended up in a free exhibition of photographs of Copenhagen from the air. The walking we’ve done so far made it so much more interesting in terms of recognizing things and seeing how they link together.

We were almost an hour early for our meal at Fiskebar but decided to turn up anyway and they were fine to seat us. Started our meal with a natural fizzy wine to accompany Danish oysters and their amazing sourdough bread and seaweed butter.

We followed this with two raw starters – the brill with smoked mussel, seaweed, and pickled burnt onion and the less successful mackerel dish – two cooked ones – the smoked cod fish and chips and a sort of squid “chicken noodle” soup where the tube was shredded into noodles and tentacles diced to be like the meat and veg.

Caught a train back to our area, then connected with the 7A, our constant companion this week.

July 25, 2023

Went for a dip from the private dock first thing. The water was pretty cold and gave me a nice buzz. We were just leaving when a group of people rocked up and we got talking. Apparently there is a 9 o’clock swim gang that meet every morning. We’ll time things to join them tomorrow.

After a shower and a bit of planning, we caught the 7A bus downtown. They are extending the metro line out to Sydhavn (where we are staying), so the bus route is disrupted – we can catch the bus about two minutes from the front door, but it’s a ten-minute walk on the way home.

Visit the tourist information office first – it’s been years since I’ve gone to one of those. Picked up a few leaflets and information on a self-guided walking tour of central Copenhagen. Some stuff we saw last time, but there were new things as well.

Stopped for a coffee at the architecture centre, then lunched at a place on the unbusy side of Nyhavn, so we could actually admire it instead of being in the midst of a tourist throng. Delicious herring smorrbrod, beer and a rhubarb dessert.

The walk continued north into an area I was unfamiliar with – New Kings Square, some centuries old housing (now reserved for the military) Israelplads (where we ate last time with the girls), cutting through parks and the main student area, back to the train station.

Caught a 7A back, topped up our groceries and headed home for a drink and some dinner –salad, cheese, cold cuts…

Finished my Reacher novel (a particularly good one) and on to LeCarré. I’ve deliberately brought books I won’t mind leaving once I’ve read them.

Sinead O’Connor died today, aged 56. No details of what happened, but her son killed himself last year and her mental health has been fragile. Sad about that…

July 24, 2023

Up at 6:30am, which gave us enough time to shower and grab a bit of breakfast before heading back to the station. Our train to Hamburg left just after 8am. Things started well, but before long we were behind schedule, and our connection to Denmark in jeopardy.

We had to make an 11-minute journey across Hamburg by S-Bahn for one thing, and we ended up missing the second train by about five minutes. There were a lot of other people in the same boat, and Adam queued for 45 minutes at the ticket office hoping to get us reservations on a later train.

There was a flurry of excitement trying to make an alternate connection to Flensburg (which may have allowed up to catch our original train), but he misheard the platform and we missed that one as well…

(Adam sold me on this particular holiday with a vision of “luxury onterrailing”, but I have to say this feels a lot like the regular kind of interrailing to me…😉)

Ended up on our original route two hours later than planned. The train was fine though and made decent time – at least until we needed to change to a replacement bus for an hour’s drive up Jutland.

We knew that was going to happen, and it was smoothly organised. We managed to nab the last few seats on an earlier bus, which was great except we couldn’t sit together. I ended up beside a lardy Danish guy who reeked of booze and sweat and played murderous video games on his phone the whole hour. He also steadily encroached onto my seat, pressing his doughy thigh against mine. I’d shift slightly towards the aisle to avoid the contact and five minutes later he’d spread again. It was as if he was being silently inflated…

Arrived at Copenhagen station about 8:30pm and caught a taxi to our flat. Rana was waiting to show us round. It’s a little out of the way, but large and relatively good value. Actually I mainly chose it for its proximity to one of Copenhagen’s open air swimming spaces. Turns out we have our own private swimming wharf – even better!

Bought some groceries for a crackers and cheese style dinner on the balcony, then watched an episode of WeCrashed before bed. Great to be here!

July 23, 2023

Happy birthday, Denise! Kitty woke me at 4am, sitting on my chest and patting me gently on the cheek until I opened my eyes. At which point she hopped down and left the room.

Up at 7am. Coffee and tackled the end game list – last laundry, dishwasher, compost, bins etc., plus a bit of work.

Took a cab to St Pancras. Arrived in good time for our Eurostar train and hung about for an hour before it was time to board. We’re travelling standard premiere and were served a nice enough lunch.

Our train was late into Brussels. The connection was tight in the first place and we had to run like OJ to make the connection. Found platform 7 and were on the sliding ramp to the platform when the guard blew his whistle. A great roar of NO/WAIT! went up from everyone, and they ended up holding the train a minute or two so we Eurostar people could connect.

It was a bit stressful, but nothing like those people (such as Jess) who are holidaying in Rhodes. The situation with the forest fires there looks awful. It does my head in that the two top stories in the British press are the fires/evacuations/heatwave in the Mediterranean and how both the Tories and Labour are considering rowing back on climate pledges so as not to alienate voters. Join the fucking dots, people…

Cologne Cathedral is amazing – thrusting into the sky with immense authority. It’s strange the way they’ve built the train station crowded right against it.

Walked the fifteen minutes to our hotel and relaxed for an hour before heading round the corner to Cologne’s smallest microbrewery (in operation since 1883) for dinner. Ate in a large panelled beerhall – cheese and rye bread for me, “heaven and earth” (blood sausage, potatoes, onions and applesauce) for Adam.

A guy walks round with a tray filled with little glasses foaming with beer, automatically replacing empty glasses until they are covered with a beer mat, which I thought was a pretty good system. Home and to bed by 10pm.

July 22, 2023

Lyra flies off to Ecuador today, which is hard to get my head round. They aren’t allowed to take mobile phones, so there will be no way of contacting her while she’s gone.

We drove her to Marylebone. She wasn’t keen for me to walk her in but I did anyway. Of course, all the other mums were there, including Jess. The team are spending the day on prep activities before taking a coach to Heathrow.

Ever since we agreed to leave keys with the realtor so they can take photographs and possibly show the house, housework has become a higher priority. Lyra’s room was looking particularly slovenly, so I gave it a thorough clean, hoovering under the bed, wiping down the skirting boards, her desk and vanity table, and clearing the mess from all the surfaces. It looks a lot better for it.

Made halloumi courgette mint fritters for lunch, a recipe from the Mildreds cookbook, which used up a bunch of stuff we have in the house. Froze half of them for when we get back.

Did most of our packing this afternoon. I’m never ready this early normally. Finished the first series of The Bear, which I enjoyed although the ending was on the dumb side IMHO. Bath and to bed by 11pm. Lyra will be in the air now…

July 21, 2023

I was hoping to have a productive morning as I’d agreed to go to see the Barbie movie with Lyra in the afternoon, but it didn’t happen. There were Ecuador things, moving things, and housework things, and I didn’t manage much beyond email.

When Ellie came round I gave her my old hiking boots for Ecuador. Actually they aren’t old at all, it’s that they’ve always been a bit small for me. They are definitely too small for Nova – and too big for Lyra, whose feet are unlikely to grow at this stage.

I bought them in Edmonton after testing multiple pairs at Mountain Equipment Coop. Back in the UK, I tried them on to discover they were a half size too small. There must have been a mix-up around which pair went to the till.

Drove to the cinema for 3:30pm and parked up a couple of minutes from our future house. It will be so convenient to go to the cinema when we move. The place has two theatres and as Lyra’s phone wasn’t refreshing we went into the first one and asked the nearest couple if it was the right one for Barbie. “Certainly not!” the woman said in an offended tone. Made us laugh.

Really enjoyed the film – it was funny, clever, and I teared up a few times. Walked round the ‘hood afterwards. It’s definitely more inner city than Highgate, which I think I’ll quite enjoy.

Dinner with Richard, Rachel and their friend Jo who is visiting from Australia at the Red Lion and Sun – oysters and chicken wings, followed by a burger and fries. Not a late one as we need to be up early tomorrow to get Lyra off to Ecuador!

July 20, 2023

Happy 70^th birthday, Wendy! Walked down to the ponds for a morning swim. It was cool and overcast and it was pretty quiet. After the craze for winter swimming, I expected the summer to be busier.

A woman came round from the realtor’s office to do the environment rating and measurements to draw up a floor plan. Some tidying and sorting was required in advance of that. We’ve given Robert a set of keys so he can access the house to take photographs, and potentially show it. I’m not crazy about people traipsing round the place while we’re away, but I probably wouldn’t enjoy having it happen when we are there either.

Flying visit to the allotment, swinging by Laurence’s first for a cup of tea as we haven’t seen each other in ages. Lugged my compost bin down (which was fucking heavy) and managed to find a place for it behind the shed.

Celery beef for dinner. Watched a couple of episodes of The Bear, which we’re all enjoying. Really knackered for some reason and in bed by 10:30pm.

July 19, 2023

Meditated and worked in the morning. Managed to convince Lyra to lace up her hiking boots and come for a walk with me on the Heath. She thinks I’m being silly, but it is so important that her boots are comfortable, too late once she’s in Ecuador.

My first pair of leather boots fit perfectly but were torture devices for the first couple of weeks until I broke them in – in the balance who was going to break who. And this was despite wearing them round the house etc before we set off.

Made a late lunch when we got back – bruschetta again – then she headed off to spend time with her friend Olive.

Made a crustless cauliflower cheese quiche for Adam’s dinner and headed into town for a leaving do. Stuck to beer – two bottles of Peroni over four hours– which seemed prudent, as you can keep better track of what you drink. Just as well, as food was in short supply. Home about 11pm.

July 18, 2023

I’ve managed to meditate the last few days, and always feel better with that in my life…

Spent a couple of hours on a thorny membership issue for the beauty website.  I think I’ve resolved it or at least worked out why the numbers aren’t adding up…

Into town to see Mark Rylance in a play called Dr Semmelweis, a true story about a Hungarian doctor who theorised the existence of bacteria and reduced the rate of maternal death in childbirth through having doctors clean their hands and implements. Unfortunately, he was such a cantankerous bastard that he rubbed everyone the wrong way and eventually was committed to an asylum by his colleagues where he was beaten to death.

July 17, 2023

My ISA has money arrived – now to transfer it to the account where we are stockpiling our the deposit.

A social worker from Haringey Council called to talk to the family about Lyra’s mishap last week. Apparently it’s standard practice when an ambulance is called for minors under the influence. The woman spoke to the each of us separately and gave me a few routes to information/support. It’s a positive thing that they are on the alert for vulnerable teens, but it felt pretty odd for something that seems like a not untypical teenage screwup to have such consequences…

There’s still a reasonable snag list for Ecuador. To that end, Lyra managed to chase down her prescription migraine meds, which have expired. They work by lowering blood pressure,  and I’m annoyed/concerned she has come off it and needs to build up again, as she’s going to areas where altitude sickness is a definite concern.

Found time to recondition our pocket knives – washing them in hot soapy water and then oiling all the joints.  I also ordered Lyra a new wristwatch, as the one she got for Christmas has mysteriously had the metal strap twisted and bent…

July 16, 2023

Happy anniversary Greg and Wendy! Had a decent clothes clearout before heading down for a swim in the ponds. Maybe it was going a bit later, but we bumped into so many folks on the way down thought I was going to miss the free swim block.

There’s a second crop of ducklings to enjoy – mallards this time – though apparently the heron has been feasting on them. I’m happy not to have seen that…

Made a fry up for brunch, which we haven’t done in ages. Jane and I were scheduled to go see a film at the Japan Centre but changed our plans and ended up having an afternoon drink at the Flask instead. It was good for my morale – I’m feeling pretty daunted by the whole moving situation.

Home to watch the Djokovic-Alcaraz match – great stuff. That Alcaraz is really something and gave Djokovic a lesson in what it’s like to play himself. I always like Djokovic better in defeat (not that it happens enough) and thought he gave a gracious speech.

Tofu hotdogs and green salad for dinner. Watched Deliverance following the Ned Beatty connection from Nashville. Lyra didn’t like it, claiming it is too realistic and made her feel bad. I know what she means, but count it as one of my favourite films.

July 15, 2023

Happy birthday, Landyn! I didn’t feel too bed when I woke up but probably still a bit drunk. I certainly felt worse later…

I’m not unaware of the irony of getting drunk like that the day after Lyra’s big performance. Despite all my advice about making sure you eat, drinking water etc, it wasn’t enough to keep me out of trouble.

In hindsight, we should have ignored the invitation and had a bowl of porridge or something before we left, but it was too early to be thinking about dinner. Thinking back, I’m pretty sure we didn’t eat lunch either… I drank about fifteen glasses of water over the evening, and it didn’t make much difference.

In the afternoon we headed up to High Barnet where Millets was having a sale (ha!) to shop for Ecuador kit. Beulah hadn’t answered her phone all day, so we swung by to check she was okay. Both the nextdoor neighbours we out, but Adam eventually got keys from her friend Susie.

I had a bad feeling, but everything was okay. Apparently she’d been shredding documents in the office and hadn’t heard the phone. Doron had been calling for five hours, but whatever. The main thing is she was absolutely fine.

Had to attend a leaving do at the school for Fran. I couldn’t have felt less like going out, but wasn’t something we could miss. Adam was doing a dancing dad number for one thing.

I ate before we went (naturally there was a big buffet waiting) and stuck to water all night (the hell with this alternating lark). I’m not much for dancing when completely sober, and actually had to hide when the karaoke machine got cranked up so as not to be press ganged on stage. It was great to see people though, and a surprisingly good time was had. Home about 11:30pm.

July 14, 2023

Pretty busy day. Worked in the morning, then headed over to the new house to measure up for furniture. Lyra was meant to come but not feeling well enough…

Man those people have a lot of stuff! It’s hard to believe they had it all stashed away in here, but encouraging as well I suppose. We measured rooms and ceiling heights, and took a good look at cupboards and storage options. There’s not enough, but it isn’t hopeless either. Our working idea of running bookcases behind the sofa is out. We are more likely to surround the telly with them on the opposite wall.

Adam dropped me in Golders Green so I could cash in my ISA early. There’s a penalty for cashing it, but at least it has made a bit of interest…

Walked home for the exercise, despite the rain. There wasn’t much time before we needed to leave for Colin and Adine’s wedding, who have decided to tie the knot after many years together.

The service was private, but the reception was in a pub in Primrose Hill. We’d been told to arrive at 5pm for canapes with a champagne toast at 6pm. Everything was considerably delayed, and we were in the party room for a good two hours drinking wine before the promised toasts and food.

There were lots of people to talk to and a fun night was had, but despite multiple glasses of water could feel I was getting drunk. And then you hit a point where you don’t care. I think it still would have been just about alright if we didn’t end up sharing a taxi with Vince and Danny who came back to ours.

They had a row shortly after arriving and she stormed off. Adam cracked a bottle of red wine, and we proceeded to drink that. The rest of the evening is a blur and I probably prefer to keep it that way…

July 13, 2023

Pretty productive day. Made a batch of muffins in the morning, achieved some progress on the moving front, and did some actual paid client work.

Lyra had a party at her friend Max’s house. She left about 2pm and met Loki somewhere so they could travel together. Adam was working at home but had planned to travel in for a work social event. I was to meet him there and we had a reservation for dinner at a place in Shoreditch he wanted to try.

I’d just got to the allotment when Ellie called. She said that Lyra was throwing up and we needed to collect her from the party. Adam hadn’t left so he drove to Kensal Rise to collect her. By the time he arrived, Lyra had passed out and Max’s mother had called an ambulance.

It took a while to arrive, but Lyra took even longer to come round, and they allowed Adam to bring her home. I got back a couple of minutes after they did. Lyra was still completely out of it, wanting to go to the party, and had no idea why we wouldn’t let her etc. Got her out of her sodden clothes, washed and drinking water.

Ordered an Indian takeaway for dinner. Lyra felt well enough to eat a bit and to text Max’s mother to apologise for the trouble caused. Turns out she drank whisky on an empty stomach and it knocked her for six…

July 12, 2023

Headed down for a swim first thing, adding a walk round the Heath, and back through Swains Lane where I picked up serrano ham and pecorino for dinner.

Worked for my engineering client mainly also finally got back to the trauma coaching text, so long overdue…

Baked bread, then a crustless veggie quiche in the cooling oven. I also blanched some broad beans, tossed them in a dressing of sherry vinegar, dijon, olive oil and parsley, then served them atop the ham.

I had Nashville on for much of the day, stopping and starting to see if I could learn anything about when/why the streaming craps out. It didn’t ­­– maybe because I’d establish a connection earlier in the day? Watched the rest of the film, then an episode of WeCrashed before bed.

July 11, 2023

I’d like to get back to running regularly, but it never seems the right day to start. It was lovely weather this morning, so I opted for a walk instead on the Heath. Swung through Swains Lane to pick up a couple of things, then home via the pharmacy, where my prescription, which they’ve had for more than two weeks is still not ready…>:-(

After a couple of meetings, they called to say they had something for me and I popped up to get my hands on two thirds of it. What a palaver…

Alex accosted Adam on his way out to ask if we’d advised Carolyn to appoint a realtor. He said she’d been advised to get an evaluation done (not mentioning that we’d done the advising) and we recommend Rob, who we know personally.

If his 85-year-old mother was selling her £2 million home, there is no way in hell he’d let her be hustled into a private sale with a property developer without testing the market. It is so fucking distasteful…

Helped Lyra with her Ecuador packing list – we have to source an awful lot of stuff to source in the next couple of weeks – mosquito net, walking trousers, bamboo toothbrush and toothpaste tablets, headlamp. Guess I’ll do that in my spare time…;-)

Pea risotto for dinner and Nashville for the film. I thought the TV issue might be resolved. It worked fine when I checked in the day but it isn’t streaming again tonight. I had to cast the film from my phone to the telly…

Nashville is a great film. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it and barely remembered it. It’s pretty long – we watched two hours, and will save the rest for tomorrow. Such a great cast –Keith Carradine almost unrecognizable as the rock star sex god, Karen Black belting out country music, Jeff Goldblum the enigmatic trike-chopper riding magician, Ned Beatty, a great turn by Lily Tomlin, and Shelly Duvall bringing her special thing.

July 10, 2023

Bumped into Alicia and Steff, then Trish on my walk home from my morning swim. Radio Waltho is transmitting at full strength and thanks to Pasc her whole network knows we are moving.

We’ve hooked Carolyn up with a realtor who lives in our street and who has sold properties in KP. He is a very nice man and we have him an outline of the situation and our concerns. Carolyn has opted to engage him to sell the property on her behalf, so we can go back to worrying about our own house sale now.

Made lunch for Lyra and me – tomato bruschetta. She’d slept until noon, tuckered out after yesterday’s Lana del Ray gig. Baked lemon crumble cookies, then headed off to the allotment for a couple of hours. Dinner was slow cooked courgettes with bulgar wheat and yogurt – very nice.

The telly is acting up in the evenings. It’s like we don’t get enough bandwidth to stream after about 7pm. I blame the new neighbours…😉

July 9, 2023

Adam headed off to give blood first thing, Lyra had another Kalendar shift, and I spent the morning sorting photographs. I have a pretty big stack of them up to about 2007, which everything went digital. That took me into the afternoon. I was planning go to allotment but day got away from me.

Carolyn is continuing with the disturbing emails. She has now had two Zoom calls with Alex and his sister. They have made an offer, and are ready to buy the house sight unseen. Carolyn seems to think that the sister (Hollie) plans to move in with her husband and two kids at the start of September.

When we checked whether to use her Canadian address or her lawyer in the high street when we transfer the utilities, council tax etc, she actually said “you can probably put them straight in Alex’s name and give them the keys.”

That is not happening, nor is the sister leaving her undoubtedly fancy family home in East Finchley to move into ours with her husband and kids at the end of August. I don’t know whether that’s what they are telling her, or if she’s misunderstanding things, but it’s pretty weird.

It sounds like they are trying to take advantage and we strongly advised having an evaluation of the house done before any further negotiations. On the one hand, it’s not our problem but it is a pretty shitty way for them to act and she does seem vulnerable…

July 8, 2023

Had our usual Saturday swim but didn’t go to Kalendar afterwords as Lyra was working and it stresses her out to have us there. Made poached eggs on toast at home instead. We were meant to be meeting Dave at the Crouch End festival, but the weather was awful and we didn’t fancy the half hour walk in the rain.

Lyra headed off to meet her friend Loki, bringing him back to ours for the evening. After a quick introduction, they disappeared into her bedroom. Watched White Noise, which we both really enjoyed.

July 7, 2023

Adam and I went for a walk on the Heath first thing. Adam usually goes with Doron but he was busy this morning.

Received a very tone deaf email from Carolyn this morning, informing us that the little shit next door had contacted her to ask if she’d be willing to sell the house to him and his sister. She seems delighted by this development, and wants us to arrange to show them round.

I’ll need to sit on this one for awhile. Neither of them are considering us to the slightest extent, so it’s down to me to do that. I don’t see how Alex and his sister traipsing around measuring up the place is going to add to my happiness, and am currently inclined to say no.

On a more positive front, we exchanged contracts on the next house today, which is exciting. The sale is set to complete on 8 August.

July 6, 2023

To my surprise my legs and feet weren’t particularly tired this morning. Walked to the ponds with Adam perfectly happily. It was a cool morning, and the water temperature was down to 18°C.

My swimsuit wasn’t in the lost and found, but I eventually located it in the shrubbery near where we’d been changing, so that’s good.

Had a morning coffee with Jemima, who was shocked to hear that we’re moving. We’ve held off from telling people as so many English property transactions fall through ­– I think it’s about a third. I’m still not completely convinced that this one is going to happen.

Had a long chat with Nova before she headed back to Bristol in the early afternoon. I managed some client work afterwards, but I wasn’t that productive. As usual, it’s been a palaver to get the HRT prescription filled – another Brexit benefit.

Lyra was out almost all day – her final rabies shot in East Finchley, then into town for her sixth form taster day and then out with local friends.

Had a snacky supper – cold pea mint soup, cheese and crackers in front of the tennis. Murray vs Tsisipas, which was halted due to lateness. It was a shame as Murray had the upper hand and could have finished it in another 45 minutes. Bed about 11pm.

July 5, 2023

Nova and I walked the length of the Victoria Line today, something she’s seen on TikTok. I should have been working, but I’m not that busy at the moment, and decided to just take the day off.

Adam drove us to Finsbury Park at 8:30am. Our plan was to take the Victoria train north to Walthamstow Central, which is the northeast end of the line. Like a numpty I jumped on a train just as it was leaving the platform, which turned out to be a Piccadilly line.

I assumed Nova was right behind me and we even talking to her. I was stunned to see her standing on the platform with her mouth hanging open. I still was thinking that she’d missed the door and would catch the next train, until it dawned on me what I’d done.

I was laughing like a crazy woman, the other passengers strenuously not looking at me. Apparently Nova was laughing so hard on the platform that a man asked if she needed assistance.

I got off at the next station and travelled back one stop to find Nova waiting for me. We took the right train this time, five stops north to the end of the line

I’ve always liked Walthamstow – it seems a very liveable sort of place. We used to go to the dog racing up here, back when there was a greyhound track and we did that sort of thing.

Crossed the Lee valley wetlands to Tottenham Hale, which I’ve only ever seen in the middle of the night. Found it to be surprisingly nice, and Tottenham itself was alright too.

The next leg dragged a bit. There was one long stretch of main road, and when we finally arrived at Finsbury Park, we found it in full summer gig mode with hoardings and metal railings everywhere.

Stopped for coffee at a great place on Blackstock Road, then walked through Highbury to Islington. Cut across Barnsbury, making our own route, as I know this section pretty well. We made sure to hit each tube station and take a photo.

Hit a spot of rain just as we were looking for somewhere to lunch in Soho. Chose a Spanish place off Carnaby Street, for a lunch plate of tapas and a glass of rosé.

St James, Green Park, Victoria station for a loo break. Meandered through Pimlico, crossed the Thames to Vauxhall then south to Stockwell through Little Portugal to our final stop in Brixton.

We were getting a bit tired by this point – we’d walked about 30km – and were glad to stop for a couple of happy hour margaritas before catching the train back to Finsbury Park, which meant we’d done the whole line both on foot and by train. Caught the 210 bus home which avoided the final hike up the hill.

Having noticed an unlikely number of Ethiopian restaurants on the route, we decided to order Ethiopian food from Lalibela in Tufnell Park. Watched The Lost Boys, swhich is so bad it’s good…

July 4, 2023

Happy 22^nd birthday Nova! Started her special day with a mum and daughter swim in the ponds, where I managed to forget my swimsuit in the changing field.

My birthday present for her hadn’t arrived by yesterday evening, but Lyra had bought her a lovely red dress and earrings from France. When the sandals she’d asked me for turned up mid-morning, there was no point in wrapping them.

The weather was pretty iffy, so Nova restyled her birthday picnic with a few old school friends as a lunch party at ours. They stayed until nearly 5pm, and I was starting to get a bit antsy as falafel require a certain amount of prep.

It all worked out fine. The girls pitched in with the salads while Adam went to collect his mum, who was bringing dessert. Made far too many falafel but they make good leftovers.

July 3, 2023

Happy birthday, David! Adam headed into the office first thing. I meditated then got stuck into my invoicing. Not a bumper month, but I still had a fair few invoices to generate, just smaller ones. Notice that more people need chasing up now, which almost never used to happen.

My ladies exercise group came back to say that old versions of the classes still appearing online, so went through and unpublished everything, deactivated the plugin etc.

Nova got here late afternoon – great to see her. She helped me cook dinner – the chicken-dill meatballs with orzo with fresh broad beans on top, and strawberry-lime sorbet for dessert. Watched an episode of Black Mirror, which was pretty entertaining – I tend to really enjoy them.

Walk round the neighbourhood with Nova before bed – as I hadn’t been outside properly all day. I’ve formed a virtual team with Wade, David and Denise to walk across Canada from St Johns to the west coast, and wanted to get a few more steps in 🙂

Lyra got back from France about midnight looking tanned and well. Sounds like they had a lovely time, apart from some weirdness around money. People have different ideas about what hosting entails I guess, and they are probably worried about money. If we weren’t also in the midst of a serious cash crunch to fund this house purchase, I may not have even noticed. To bed about 1:30am…

July 2, 2023

Headed down for a morning swim with Adam and then over to Swains Lane for some breakfast. Picked up groceries for Nova’s birthday dinner on Tuesday. Beulah is coming, and Nova has requested falafel. I’ll also made a chopped salad, and serve pitta bread, dips etc. Beulah is bringing chocolate mousse so I won’t make a cake.

Did the weekend puzzles, then headed to Finchley for a visit with Beulah. Adam dropped me at Tesco so I could pick up some laundry soap and walk from there. The cricket had just ended when I arrived – England are 0 for 2 in the Ashes.

Haggis, neeps and tatties for dinner, continuing the clearout of the freezer. It has nothing in it now except wonton wrappers and the bowl for the ice cream machine.

July 1, 2023

Happy Canada Day! Despite only drinking a couple of beer last night, I felt pretty ropy and got off to a slow start. It was afternoon before I felt like eating anything.

Popped into Richard’s get him to sign the new mortgage deeds, then caught a bus to meet Jane in Finsbury Park. Doron and Marni happened to be on the same bus as they were off to the Pulp gig as well – first time I’ve seen Marni since her return from South America.

Met up with Jane’s friends at a house off Blackstock Road. I’d have liked to leave in time to see Baxter Dury, but no one else was bothered and we ended up missing all but his last song.

Wet Leg were surprisingly good – I’ve been vaguely aware of them, but hadn’t given them a proper listen. I think maybe the name has put me off. I thought we’d found a pretty good spot to stand, but the others were shorter than me and and weren’t happy with the posse of Norwegians in front of us.

Sidled inwards and a bit forward where things were definitely worse. The people even taller, and I was now behind a chainsmoking, head wagging wanker in a poncy velvet suit he’d been sweating in all day.

I had a peephole of a view to the stage when he eased up on the violent metronomic head movements. His friend on the left smoked like barbeque as well, and the friend on the right bellowed out the lyrics to every song at his poor girlfriend.

Even with all that it was a terrific concert. Jarvis is a great showman, mover and throws the most incredible shapes, his legs are worth the ticket price on their own.

It took ages to get out afterwards – there were 45,000 of us. We were steered all the way up to Manor House, then down the road to Finsbury Park again. The station was rammed, and we decided to walk to Holloway Road where I caught a bus from the cinema.

Had a snack and watched a bit of telly with Adam who’d fallen asleep in front of a made for TV film called Page Eight. Surprisingly good cast – Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Saskia Reeves, Michael Gambon – but less than the sum of its parts somehow.