June 2011

June 30, 2011

School is shut today for a teachers’ strike over government plans to slash their pensions. The crap the government is spreading about public sector pay really makes me cross. They are forever going on about “gold plated pensions” and “feather bed pensions”, when more than half of public sector pensions in payment are worth less than £5600/yr.Once Lyra left for her playdate, I took Nova to Brent Cross. Bought her a new outfit, and picked up party bag supplies. Ate lunch at McDonalds on Nova’s request. Apparently, it’s been over two years since her last visit…

Her happy meal toy was a little music player with a sample disk of a Beyonce song. “Oh I like that song!” Lyra said, singing along the first time Nova played it. No idea where she’s come across Beyonce — she’s such a precocious little character.

Lyra is very interested in where babies come from at the moment, and we regularly have the “special hug” conversation. Unlike Nova, she isn’t content with a superficial version where the mummy and daddy do the special hug, and the sperms go in the mummy and find and egg and then a baby grows in your tummy. She wants to know exactly how it all works…

June 28, 2011

Nova’s school sports day… They made it through about half the events when the heavens opened up and drenched everyone. No great loss from Nova’s point of view, though I’m sure they’ll seek to reschedule it.Went to the Wrestlers for a panto viewing evening. The dvd quality is very good, but it was too noisy to hear much. I didn’t want to crawl under that table when my scenes rolled round — even the dreaded Cheryl Cole dance number — which is better than I was expecting…;-)

June 27, 2011

Spent the morning giving the flat a thorough cleaning. My new e-cloths did a great job on the windows. Swept the balconies, polished the fronts of all the cupboards, installed the oven racks and fridge shelves.It is roasting hot today, and after lunch in the garden I spent the afternoon sitting in the paddling pool with Lyra. We played “catch”, which basically involved taking turns splashing each other in the face…

Lyra insisted on wearing her new bikini to pick up Nova. It caused quite a sensation in the playground. She has a definite strut to her walk, and with her curvy little bottom and bouncing golden curls, heads were turning all over the place. Nova’s prudish year five classmates were scandalised: “OH MY GOD, Nova!” I heard one say, “Your little sister is practically naked!”

Ate dinner in garden — sausages, mini burgers and haloumi on the barbeque with a couscous salad. Another evening of curtain making, for the new flat this time. The basic IKEA curtains I’d bought only covered two thirds of the sliding door in the living room. My first idea was to buy a second pair and hang three (or even four) curtains, but I soon realised that would be a real pain when you open them. So instead, I cut an extra strip off either side of a third curtain, and attached it to the outside edges of the original pair. I didn’t have the energy for sewing in this heat, so I glued the seams with fabric glue…

June 26, 2011

What a scorcher of a day. Unfortunately, after dropping Nova at her book club we had to spend much of it in IKEA and Costco…As soon as we got back, Adam drove the new cousins to their airport hotel where they are spending the night before flying off tomorrow. I walked Lyra down to Greta’s house, so she could catch a lift to Mia’s birthday party, and Nova went off with Fay and family to the Greenwich festival.

I expected the kids to have eaten by the time they returned, but they both wanted dinner, so I threw together a quick pasta supper. It was too hot to sleep, and the kids were up and down like yoyos before finally settling about 10pm…

June 25, 2011

Zipped down to flat after drop-off to pay Mario his final weekly wages. We still have to cough up for the materials he used, but otherwise I hope we’re pretty finished spending money. Not that we’ve actually paid all the bills yet… Just need to rent it now! Took lots of photos of the new flat while I was there, as we’re considering listing it privately as well as through the estate agents.Made a sort of Thai beef salad for lunch. I can see the economics of cooking large pieces of meat. They seem expensive initially, but you get a lot of meals out of them. Plus small pieces of meat and deli cuts are relatively pricey.

We’d arranged for Elsie to babysit so we could see a West End show with the new cousins for their last night in town. I booked some great tickets for ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’, which Terry insisted on paying for. Elsie was so late that I had to leave Adam and head into town. Fortunately, he made it with minutes to spare.

If there was ever a film made for the stage, Priscilla is it. All those drag queens, amazing costumes, and song and dance extravaganzas. The only scenes I though the film did better was sitting on top of the bus and the mountaintop at the end. Otherwise, the stage production won hands down. By the intermission, my face hurt from smiling so much, and when a half-dozen green iced cupcakes with umbrellas twirled onstage for McArthur Park, my happiness was complete.

After a late tapas meal at Brindisa, we caught a taxi from Regents Street. What a great evening — I’m glad their trip finished on such a high…

June 24, 2011

Made a great batch of bread, which was satisfying after the pancakes I produced last week…

Terry headed off to Cambridge for a daytrip — he can’t have been feeling very well… Invited Ron up for a lunch of pea-mint soup and fresh sourdough. After seeing the main sights of London, he’s pretty much left the daytripping to Terry, and seems content to relax in the flat, reading his novel. Fair enough, though it does mean Terry is always rushing back from wherever he goes. Today, he spent less than an hour in Cambridge, and left without even seeing Kings College Chapel. But if they’re happy, what’s it to me…

Took the guys for fish and chips at the Two Brothers in Finchley. Haven’t been there in ages, but the fish and chips were as good as I remembered. I rarely completely enjoy eating out with the kids. They were bickering the whole time, winding each other up for the sake of it, and both ended up in tears. Friday probably isn’t the best evening to go out, as they are both tired after their long school week…

June 23, 2011

Finally managed a run this morning after days of slothfullness… Followed by a grocery run to Waitrose. I was hoping to keep the food bill down — our cashflow is trickling at the moment, what with all the flat expenses — but was seduced by a 25% off deal on one of the gruner veltliners we’d tried the other night…;-)Listened to an interesting radio programme on vampires and zombies on the way home. The premise was that vampires are passé, and the era of the zombie is upon us. Apparently, now that vampires have been invested with an emotional life, they can no longer evoke terror the way brain munching zombies can.

As Adam was working on actual paid work this evening (which makes a pleasant change!), I joined Terry and Ron for a nightcap in the flat. Terry was already pretty sozzled — I could see why when he poured me a rum and coke that was 50% rum. It’s interesting talking to them, and hearing their family stories.

I was also interested to hear that Terry was propositioned in Archway while waiting for the 271 bus. “Do you want some chocolate ice cream?” he was asked. “Only £2…” Which has to be cheap, even for Archway…

June 22, 2011

Should have gone for a run, but didn’t feel like it, strangely enough…;-)
Against my better judgment, I went to the class coffee morning, and ended up with responsibility for organising the rota for our stall at the summer fair…Terry and Ron returned unexpectedly early from their overnight trip to Stoke on Trent. They’d travelled up yesterday morning by train and rented a car to tour the surrounding area, visiting sites of family interest. Unfortunately, they were unable to navigate their way from the car rental place to the outskirts of Stoke.

After four hours of fraught driving in circles, they called for a taxi to lead them back to the car rental agency, which turned out to be less than half a mile away. They toured a bit by taxi that afternoon, but I’m pretty sure they ended up at the wrong church, in spite of the directions and map I’d provided them with…

June 21, 2011

Completely forgot our anniversary until heard the announcer on the Today programme mention the date. Maybe because we celebrated already by going to Paris, or just so busy with the flat project. Happily Adam appears to have forgotten too, hasn’t pulled some engraved bracelet out with a flourish, to compound my absentmindness. Fourteen years…Showed the flat to Pete and Pasc, who are thinking of doing the same thing. They currently have a rental flat in Rugby, but although properties prices are much lower there, rents are a lot lower too. Apparently the economics of renting London property is a lot more favourable.

Had Ewa to babysit this evening. She and Lyra were especially excited to see one another; Nova chose to play it more cool. Attended an Austrian wine tasting evening at the home of an acquaintance from school. It was very nicely organised — a series of paired tastings by grape, price, region. There was food as well — cheese and bread to start; a little plate of wurst; a slice of braten; and a delicious serving of Birgit’s strudel.

I liked all the wines (I always do!), but most were far out of our price range. There is a gruner weltliner that Waitrose do that I’ll be keeping an eye out for…

June 20, 2011

Trish bailed on our run (she has Wimbledon tickets) and I didn’t have enough motivation to go on my own. Spent an hour finishing Don DeLillo’s White Noise instead — what an amazing book. The first thing I read of his was Underworld, and I didn’t really connect with it. I recognised that he was a gifted writer, but was surprised to discover how funny he is.Tested out my new e-cloths this morning. E-cloths are microfibre cloths that claim to clean better with just water than most cleaning products, because they are so much better at trapping dirt particles. I gave the entrance hall a good scrubbing, and was very impressed with the result.

Tried out my new pressure cooker this afternoon. I was amazed at how quickly it cooks. Made a batch of kitchree — a lentil rice porridge — that takes about two hours normally in about 30 minutes. I’ve always been wary of pressure cookers, after a childhood incident where pressure cooker of applesauce blew up in dad’s face, smashing his nose and spraying boiling applesauce around the kitchen.

Pressure cookers, e-cloths??! “I sound like a housewife; hey Chel, I think I’m a housewife” to quote Michelle Shocked…;-)

June 19, 2011

Happy Father’s Day! Kicked off the morning with Lyra’s card — “Dear Daddy, Happy Father’s Day! We really think you’re the best. Congratulations! We hope you have happy feelings on Father’s Day. We’ll really protect you from wild animals and stuff. Love, Lyra” — and a production line of folded-paper-based presents. Nova had made him a card and a “Style File” of fashion outfits. I produced the bottle of whiskey and a pot of the coffee, and the celebration pretty much stopped there…Had Freddy and Beulah round for a bagel brunch. They arrived bearing anniversary presents: a presssure cooker and a set of Chinese placemats and chopstick holders. They headed off at 1:30pm, which gave me a bit of time to rest up before I needed to prepare a roast dinner. The other night, Terry asked me if I knew how to make Yorkshire puddings. “Sure!” I said, in spite of only having made them once. “Great!” he said, “Why don’t I buy a roast and we can have a nice Sunday dinner.”

His roast is only the second I’ve ever cooked. When I unwrapped it, I was surprised to discover a sort of enormous rolled steak, with no fat on it whatsoever. I made sure to baste it while cooking, to keep it from being dry, but managed to overcook it. I was expecting it to look browner on the outside when it was done, but maybe you need to sear it in a pan to achieve that effect. Or have a less crap oven than ours…

I also overboiled the roast potatoes, but I’ve dealt with that particular crisis before, and managed to salvage them. Followed Ed’s recipes for the yorkshires, which rose beautifully, and the gravy was very good. So not a complete washout…

They brought a very nice bottle of bordeaux, and a box of rum babas for dessert. I’m really enjoying their visit, and spending more time with the Shelley side of the family. Of my four family lines — Horth, Goode, Weddell, Shelley — I’ve definitely had the least contact with the Shelleys. Maybe because they were quite a disfunctional lot, and prone to feuding as well…

June 18, 2011

Mad day what with Saturday activities and parties. While Adam took Nova present shopping en route to her first party of the day, I walked Lyra to her swimming lesson. We got completely soaked in a sudden downpour on the way back. Terry and Ron have certainly brought the wet weather with them. No more talk of drought on Farming Today. Normal British summer weather has resumed…Drove Alina to the nursery party, which was off Holloway Road. Used the opportunity to do some flat shopping. I’m trying to find one of those once ubiquitous cheap bamboo blinds, which no longer seem to exist. Also popped into Waitrose — it’s Father’s Day tomorrow, and I plan to say it with whisky.

It was also the Highgate Fair this afternoon. Adam went up to do a stint on the Jackson’s Lane stall, but I had to give it a miss this year. Made lasagne for dinner, then headed out to a triple bill at Jackson’s Lane. We chose to drive the three blocks, which spared the new cousins climbing the path.

Pretty risque stuff — in the first act, the guy whipped out his dick and peed into a bucket; and there was some pretty raunchy dancing in the second act. Fortunately the guys seemed to enjoy it. Terry worked in show business for years — he was a gifted harmonica player, who cut several albums, appeared on Ed Sullivan, and opened for acts like The Temptations. So he’s been around the block a few times…

June 17, 2011

Lyra: “I don’t like that girl Gracie’s face in my ballet class. She always looks like she’s smellling cheese when she dances.” 

Nova: “She’s the kind of mum who bunked off her GCSEs to have a baby behind the dustbins.”

What are they like, my girls?!

Had Alice round for a playdate after nursery. For lunch, I made the nicest leek and potato soup I’ve had the pleasure of eating. It was made with care and attention — and you could taste it in the final product.

June 16, 2011

More flat shopping: doormat, toilet roll holders, and an unsuccessful search for a bamboo blind. Had Lyra’s friend Lottie round for a playdate. They got on reasonably well, until it all got a bit competitive around who was the better jumper.Lyra is remarkably good at the standing long jump. She can clear paving stones that are almost as long as she is. Although Lottie could only jump two-thirds the distance, she insisted that she’d jumped a bit further. Lyra was getting so cross about it, I thought her head might explode…

Adam went out to the pub with Terry and our friend Eytan this evening. Eytan can be a real shit disturber at times. I called Adam after a few hours to check he wasn’t being obnoxious. Adam was slurring when he got home — don’t know what state poor Terry was in…

June 15, 2011

Went for coffee with Birgit after drop-off. The “new cousins” (as Lyra calls them) were just heading out when I returned for a day’s sightseeing in London. They were back within a couple of hours, having seen nothing but Leicester Square. In spite of my instructions, they came a cropper on the Northern Line, were confused by the tour bus instructions, and oppressed by the number of people. It’s their first visit to Europe, and I think they’re finding it a bit overwhelming…Did a bit of work for Adam this afternoon, setting up a spreadsheet for his adidas project. I’m was happy to help after he’d spent the morning sorting out flat issues. We’re down to the snag list now — all those little details that need attending to. He’s brilliant and breaking up the mini-clots that form before the project suffers a serious coronary.

Did my afternoon gardening with all four Nolan kids perched on the wall for company. My “garden gNolans”. Apparently, they’ve seen Highgate school kids scrabbling up their side of the wall to nick raspberries, but they scared them off…

Chicken with tarragon and cream for dinner — what a happy marriage of flavours!

June 14, 2011

The curtain looked very nice backlit this morning. If I plan to alter the length, I should do it soon before we get used to it. No time to do anything about it today, as Terry and Ron were arriving at noon.Terry looks so much like his mom Pat! (He said exactly the same to me.) It’s been twenty-eight years since I last saw them. They were younger than I am now when I rocked up on their doorstep in Don Mills on my way home from my summer French immersion at Laval. What goes round, comes round…

I hadn’t considered what to do about lunch. Threw together a salad, which I served with the bread I’d baked that morning. I let the sponge rise too much while I was working on the curtain, and it collapsed on itself in the oven, but it still tasted nice.

Managed a bit of gardening in the afternoon before it was time to take Nova to ballet. Gave Miss Julie £19 so that we can acquire a “hooker lipstick pink” tutu that Nova will wear exactly once in this year’s show.

Baked a ham for dinner — at least for the girls. It was rye for us. The cousins had brought two litres of Gibsons, a quality rye I’ve never heard of. It was 9pm before we got round to eating some ham and bread…

After the guys retired, we watched an episode of The Shadow Line, a gritty crime thriller I’ve been following. There’s a good programme in there, but they’ve overcomplicated the storyline, and it requires regular consultations to unpick the latest twists and turns…

June 13, 2011

Happy 80th birthday, Dad!
Went for my regular run with Trish after dropoff. Made the mistake of eating breakfast first. I thought I’d try it after feeling a bit lightheaded last week, but won’t be doing that again…Lyra went to Alinas after school which gave me a chance to give the flat a good cleaning in preparation for my cousin Terry’s arrival tomorrow. Decided to tackle my curtain making project as well. The curtain in the flat is in woeful shape, stained and frayed and drooping. I think the fabric is actually rotting in places. I’ll keep it until Carolyn’s next visit though, in case she has an unexpected sentimental attachment to it.

Ordered pizza for dinner so I could keep on sewing. Now that the girls like pizza, the distribution of slices of our two mediums was 3, 4, 4.5, 4.5. Might order larges next time…

I’ve never actually made a lined curtain before, but figured it couldn’t be too hard. I used the existing one as a model, measured carefully and sewed and sewed and sewed. Curtains are astonishing long — it took almost ten metres of fabric to cover that window. Finished just before midnight… My curtain is slightly too short, and I think I should have done the side hemming before attaching the self pleating tape at the top, but otherwise I’m happy with it.

June 12, 2011

Happy birthday, Isobel — 5 today, wow!
Spent much of the day shopping for flat. Non-fun shopping — gate locks, door handles, toilet brushes, that sort of thing. At least the steady rain meant we wouldn’t have been doing anything else.Nova had sensibly bailed to Fay’s house, but poor Lyra had no choice but to come with us. Actually, she was very good — after her 45 minute slot in the IKEA ballroom, she waited patiently while finished with IKEA, and worked our way through Wickes and Screwfix.

The North Circular is in a right state at the moment, and it took the best part of an hour to travel the five or six miles to the flat to drop things off. I was expecting it to be empty, but it was full of Polish guys painting and decorating. There is still a worrying amount of work to do, but they are certainly throwing themselves at it.

Stopped in for a cup of tea with Pete and Pasc before coming home for a Korean rice bowl dinner…

June 11, 2011

Felt rotten this morning, crampy and tired. Took Lyra to her swimming lesson. Apparently, last week she actually did some swimming with no noodle. I was keen to see that, but they didn’t repeat it this week.Made Italian sandwiches for lunch, with treats from Amici deli. Devoted the afternoon to flat shopping, grocery and buying curtain fabric. Rock ‘n’ roll..;-)

Watched the first Harry Potter film for movie night. Lyra very good, watching quietly except for when she asked sensible, clarifying questions like “Is the big giant on the motorcycle a baddie or a goodie?” She crashed out before the really scary stuff, which was just as well. Adam has a plan to watch all seven of them before the final film is released in July.

June 10, 2011

Had an embarrassing/hilarious start to the morning… While I was getting dressed to take the girls to school, Adam started talking to his computer screen. “What are you doing?” I asked, leaning topless over his shoulder to peer at the screen. “Hi Andrea!” said a voice from the computer. “Aaagh!” I shrieked, leaping backwards. Turns out he was on a Skype video call. At least it wasn’t a client, just his brother Doron… “A little sales technique we’re working on” Adam joked later on Facebook…Went for a run with Lynn after drop-off then for a coffee in the village. In the afternoon, I met my Kings Fund colleagues in Westminster for an active learning set. Much of the focus today was on Lawrence, but I did get the opportunity to explore my feelings around unemployment, and how I think other people might perceive it.

Went for a martini in the Gresham Hotel bar afterwards. Unfortunately, they make a lousy martini, tepid and watery. Probably the worst martini I’ve ever drunk. I hadn’t even realised it was possible to make a lousy martini — it is basically a glass of spirits after all…

Caught the tube back to Highgate and met Veronika at the Boogaloo to kick off our Jackson’s Lane evening. It’s the launch night for their six-week festival of circus and cabaret. The event was spread about the venue, with little tasters of acts that will be appearing in the festival. There was a good bit with a woman who can spin multiple hula hoops, and a mesmerising juggler who performed tricks with an enormous glass paperweight. The evening ended with three lots of trapeze work in the main theatre. There was a great band playing for those who were staying on after the show, but I was beat…

June 9, 2011

Lyra went home with Beatrix after school, which gave me enough time to go to IKEA. Couldn’t face it — chose to garden instead, and cook a cottage pie for the family, as I was going out in the evening.Collected Lyra from her drama class mid-afternoon. “Beatrix wee’d on HER OWN sofa!” Lyra reported with some awe in her voice. Not sure how weeing on someone else’s sofa would have stacked up against that…

Met up with my job share Tina, Segun and Stuart (two former suppliers) for dinner at Terroirs, a newish wine bar in the West End with great food. Really nice evening — we’ve been out for dinner with them a couple of times now, and there is a really nice dynamic between us. Very interesting to speak with them now we have left our job, and can be open about how things really were…

Started the meal with prosecco, then had charcuterie, cheeses, artichokes, smoked eel, and endive to share. Drank the most delicious bottle of Rouissilon wine with our food:

June 8, 2011

Lyra went to Alice’s house (or the ‘Alice Palace’ as it’s known around here) after school, which left me with nearly a full day to myself… After drop-off, I went for a run on the Heath with Adam. My legs were leaden today — maybe the tough run with Trish is still affecting me…In the afternoon, Adam headed into town for a meeting, leaving me with the house to myself. Rather odd, but nice too. Ended up spending most of the afternoon sorting stuff in the girls room…

Class drinks at the Red Lion and Sun. The reps had neglected to book a table, so we stood at the entrance for most of the evening. Had a good talk with Elena’s dad, who’s leaving his job after twelve years. He pegged my orange shoes as “unemployment shoes”, and there’s something to that. They do make a pretty loud “these aren’t work shoes” statement…;-)

June 7, 2011

Made an amazingly good batch of bread this afternoon. I think I’ve got a lively start to work with, and I did buy actual bread flour instead of the all purpose stuff. But I think a key reason for success is the different attitude I bring to bread making in my forties.I had numerous unsuccessful sourdough making efforts twenty-five years ago. I could never get the right amount of flour into the dough, the loaves didn’t rise, or they rose and then flopped again. I think the problem was impatience — and inflexibility. I was always trying to force it to conform with the recipe, or the timing specified, instead of just going with the flow.

Shopped for flooring today — “stone” coloured carpeting for the stairs, halls and bedrooms; and a blue studded rubber floor for the bathroom. Went back to the same place we ordered from last time. That has been an advantage with this project. We generally rock up to the same suppliers, invoice in hand, and say we want the same again please, and how about something off for being repeat customers? It’s working alright so far, fingers crossed…

June 6, 2011

It’s back to the school routine after a laidback half term week. Got the girls off, and the went for my run with Trish. It was lashing it down, which made me feel extra virtuous. We added an extra loop to our original circuit, which meant a few more hills, and my right knee was twinging at the end. It was fine on the uphill, not so good on the down…Did a Waitrose shop with Lyra, rewarding her for her cooperation by renting Tangled from the DVD store on the way home. Lyra’s been wanting to see it for ages. Basically it’s the Rapunzel story, with some extra twists. I only half watched it, but she was completely absorbed by it.

Spent a good hour playing pregnant princesses afterwards. Lyra was made for that game, and plays it very differently to Nova. With Nova, all the focus was on what we’d buy for our babies and she’d go into lavish detail about emerald encrusted pushchairs with ivory silk lining and so on, but didn’t really have much interest once the babies arrived. Lyra was the opposite — we stocked up on supplies pretty sharpish, and most of the game was about taking care of the babies.

Mapo tofu for dinner, a meal that always brings back memories of our time in China. The food was pretty grim in the mid-eighties, and it was one of the things we ordered pretty regularly. Sometimes all a restaurant would have on offer was a few scrappy looking pieces of meat, and some plants that look like they’d been uprooted from the roadside. One time a guy approached our table holding a live pigeon by the wings, and said, “You eat? You eat?” So we tended to stick to the tofu…

June 5, 2011

I’m in need of a quiet home day — house guests and evening revelry have left us in a state of disarray… Managed an hour’s organisation before lunch. Adam took the girls swimming and I carried on.Tonight’s dinner was ratatouille. Lyra was horrified at the sight of it; Nova thought I was joking — she didn’t realise ratatouille was the name of a real food. Reminded me of when Jeraldine Drexel told me about goulash — though her idea of goulash was stirring up a nasty paste using her mother’s toiletries and trying to get me to eat it.

Neither girl liked the rattouille one bit, but I was able to use dessert as leverage to get them to eat some. Gave Lyra a massage after her bath — she loves it, and it’s nice together time for the two of us…

June 4, 2011

Not feeling great this morning — too much red wine last night, I think… Unfortunate, as Nova and I were committed to running the Race for Life on Hampstead Heath with Trish and Safi.

The long walk to the starting point was a good head clearer, and the run itself went well. Conditions were perfect — just warm and breezy, not like some years when it’s been baking hot. Nova was a little trouper, walking a few times for a minute or so, but otherwise running the whole thing.

Stopped for the traditional dip in the women’s pond. Nova had to complete the annual kids’ swim test, and because the water was only 17°, she was confined to swimming within the first set of floats. She loved it though, and went back for a second dip before we headed home for lunch.

There has been some recent research into why people are so exhausted these days. One factor is that people are averaging an hour less sleep a night than they got a generation ago. Another factor is a lack of what they call “active rest” — little breaks in the day’s activity to just sit quietly and recharge the battery. Apparently, people don’t make time for active rest anymore, and it takes a toll on them.

After seeing Pat and Adam Jr off, I practiced some active resting. Adam took it to the next level, and had an afternoon nap… I’d have happily continued in laid-back mode for the rest of the day, but Lyra had other ideas. She had a vision of being read a book with no pictures by a stream, so that’s what we did. Ended up back on the Heath by a pond, with me reading her the first chapter of ‘Beezus and Ramona’ (or ‘Jesus and Ramona’ as Lyra calls it).

Indian takeaway from Kiplings this evening. Lyra filled up on poppadums, cucumber and naan bread, but Nova tried the various curries…

June 3, 2011

Made a double batch of Margo muffins for breakfast — half in our new silicon cases, the other half in paper. Personally, I think the paper ones make better muffins, but the others are less wasteful.Had a girls’ day out with Nova. We got off to a late start, not leaving the house until after 11am. First stop, John Lewis for school sandals. Nova decided on some white Birkenstocks, but unfortunately they didn’t have her size. We ended up walking all the way to Marble Arch, and checked a dozen stores without success. I’ll order her some online, now that I know what size/style to buy…

Next stopFoyles (to pick up her book club novel) then on to the National Gallery. We had the best part of an hour to look at the paintings before it was time for tea in their restaurant. The waitress showed us to a lovely window seat with a view over Trafalgar Square, and took our order for high tea — sandwiches, scones, pastries, the lot…

Our tea came promptly, but no food. The place wasn’t particularly busy, and there seemed to be a lot of staff about, but no one seemed to be eating anything. After half an hour, I flagged down one of the waitresses and asked what was going on. “Oh, it will come very soon,” she said.

Ten minutes passed, no food… This time I flagged down the floor manager. “I’ll sort that straightaway,” he said. Within a minute, fresh pots of tea arrived, followed shortly by our three-tier stands of goodies. Even better, the whole thing was complementary to make up for the appalling service…

Didn’t have much appetite for dinner after all that food, but threw together a pasta sardine supper for the rest of the gang. They’d spent the day at the Science Museum, where they had seen an iMax movie on sardines, which happily didn’t spoil their enthusiasm for eating the little beggars…;-)

We’ve booked our Canada plane tickets at last! We’ll be arriving on 4 August and heading home again exactly one month later…

June 2, 2011

Went on an outing to the Geffreye Museum with Pat and the girls. We only ever go at Christmas ordinarily, when the rooms are decorated in the style of the times. I was able to focus more on the rooms themselves this time. Also, the herb garden was in full bloom, which was an added bonus.

Ate some lunch at the Song Que — more Vietnamese food. I had a salad roll, while Nova ordered an astonishing looking pancake/crepe stuffed with chicken and beansprouts. Delicious Vietnamese coffee for dessert.

The new train line from Highbury made the journey pretty straightforward. It used to be quite a pain in the bum getting there, requiring either a series of infrequent buses, or an unappetizing drive and parking headache.

Pat treated us to dinner at Zizzi, after which we repaired home to introduce him to the joys of The Wire…

June 1, 2011

Had the most horrible start to my day…
I was woken by the sound of screaming, in that way sounds can insinuate themselves into your dream. It slowly dawned on me that the screams were real, and they were coming from directly under my pillow. Cleo had dragged a live bird under our bed, and the poor thing was making these terrible screams — Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh! — before Cleo finally put it out of its misery. That collar is so going back on again now she’s caught the pantry mouse…Lyra’s not keen on tennis for some reason she won’t share. She dragged her heels getting ready, and we had a disorganised departure as a result. Forgot their water bottles and the sunscreen (though I did manage to bum some off a more responsible mum).

A morning of housework — three loads of laundry, a mountain of ironing, moved the bed and hoovered the cat’s killing field, and did up the flat in readiness for Pat and Adam’s arrival.

Made a screamingly hot pho for dinner. Everyone claimed to love it, but Adam’s head was gleaming like a glazed doughnut by the end, and Pat’s ears were glowing scarlet. The lemon ice cream that followed was very welcome…