June 2012

June 30, 2012

Woke up before seven, though our girls were still asleep. Someone else’s kid yelling about something outside our tent… Sunny start to the day, which began (for those who were keen) at the climbing wall at 9am. Actually, we hadn’t signed up for climbing, but went along in case the hope there were extra spaces. Adam, Nova and Lyra all got to have a go. Those girls were up and down like little monkeys, and Adam was no slouch either…  

Afterwards, Nova stayed on for her scheduled high ropes session. Lyra was most indignant about being too small to have a go. I took her back to the camping field and consoled her with snacks and mummy attention, until she scampered off to play with some other little ones.

After a picnic lunch, it was time for Lyra to do the obstacle course. It was divided into three parts: a rope course, an army-style, wriggling in the mud thing, and a dark tunnel challenge. To my surprise, Lyra excelled at all three of them. The dark tunnel thing involved wriggling 25m in tight underground pipes in total darkness. There were a number of teenagers who passed on this one, but not our Lyra…

I’d thought I was going to do high ropes in the afternoon, but through a mix-up Nova ended up going in my stead while I was showering Lyra. I went along to watch anyway, and was very impressed with her confidence balancing on a wire, 15m off the ground. They are wearing safety harnesses of course, but people still appeared to find it pretty daunting.

The barbeque kicked off about 6pm, with sausages, burgers and a long table of salads. Afterwards, we sat round the bonfire chatting and singing as the kids ran wild and darkness fell. I’d opted to drink beer this evening, but didn’t get drunk enough before I got full, and as midnight approached I decided to call it a night…

June 29, 2012

Today was all about getting ready for our camping weekend. Michaela is turning 50 later this year, and has organised a massive camping weekend with another 50-year-old friend. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t looking great, but it’s not as bad as it might be either…Did a big grocery shop, filled the car with petrol, and bought camping gas. We’ve borrowed a canvas bell tent from a family at school, with a view to buying it from them if we like it. Our tent is just too lightweight, and anyway, I’ll never trust it again after our scarring experience at the Green Man festival…;-)

We were on the road twenty minutes after the girls got home from school. The traffic was already terrible, and from the updates on the radio the M25 sounded like a ten-mile traffic jam. That was enough for Adam to decide against joining the motorway until the last possible moment. Personally, I always disagree with that approach. Even when it’s slow, the motorway is still the best route in my opinion. Instead, we had a slow-mo, one hour tour of the leafy smugness that is southwest London…

Three and a half hours after leaving the house, we finally completed our 56km journey. At least Lyra slept most of the way… Hindleap Warren is a PGL kind of a place, where school groups go for outdoor experience. We kept encountering pods of them in the trees as we drove round to the camping field. Michaela and Ben were there already with a number of their local friends. We didn’t know any of them, but will by Sunday I’m sure…

Pitching the tent was a bit of an adventure, as our friends have lost the instructions. We’d looked at a youtube video during the car journey, so we had some idea. They’d also neglected to give us the groundsheet, which slowed us down a bit. At least there was a suspendable sleeping compartment with an integrated groundsheet that we laid flat under our air mattresses, and managed to borrow a tarp to cover the other half. We were set, so long as it doesn’t rain heavily…

I love the feeling of space inside, with the high ceiling draping off one central pole. At 4m diameter, I wouldn’t want any less space for a family of four. Personally, I I like a tent to be cosy, and this will work just fine…

Dinner was baked potatoes cooked in the bonfire, supplemented by a bag of salad leaves and some mackerel paté I’d brought. People were standing around drinking and chatting. They all seemed to know each other pretty well, and once it started drizzling they huddled together under a gazebo thing, presenting a solid wall of backs. It proved too much of a social challenge for an introvert like me, and when the girls wanted me to lie down with them at 10:30, I was happy enough to do so…

June 28, 2012

Nova’s sports day, and amazingly, we got lucky with the weather again. A real bonus given the truly rotten summer we’ve been having…I got to the school early to help Emily set up mats and music for a dance club performance, then meandered around watching Nova do long jump, obstacle course, welly boot throwing and javelin before the races.

Nova’s first race was the hurdles, which she executed neatly enough, though not at great speed. Not that surprising, since she told me afterwards it was the first time she’d ever done it… Nova was in the sack race as well. She was much more on the pace there, though still outside medal range.

Today’s batch of bread turned out better than previous batches. I’ve been having an issue recently where the bread doesn’t rise to its full height, and the centre of the loaf is a bit doughy. It’s started happening since we replaced the heating elements, and I wonder if the bread is cooking too fast on the outside, and sort of sealing the bread before it can fully expand. May try making smaller loaves next time. Also made a batch of butterscotch oaties, as the oven was on anyway…

Alina came round for a playdate after school. She is such a gentle, sweet natured girl, and they had a lovely time together, dressing up in the belly dancing skirts, and staging little performances for us…

June 27, 2012

Adam and Nova bicker so much at the moment — they seem to set each other off constantly. This morning before breakfast, Adam told Nova to hurry up, she sassed him back, and he went ballistic…Finally tackled the paper mountain that has been accumulating in the corner of our bedroom. A mix of bank statements, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, theatre programmes, and drawings mainly. It seems such a lot of work keeping on top of the personal filing, but I feel better when I do. I believe that mess is energy sucking…

Headed for Brent Cross afterwards. Nova’s birthday is approaching fast. I had a couple of ideas for presents I want to get her, and had reasonable success. Not going to mention what I bought here in case she happens to read this…;-)

Nova had a party at her friend Amy’s after school, so I made a half batch of chickpea pasta soup for Lyra’s dinner. Took some extra photos as I went along so that I can write about it on the family recipe blog. I can see that the food photography is going to be a challenge. I’ll need to learn more about lighting and shooting food…

Nova carried on working on her poster when she got home, finally finishing it well past bedtime..

June 26, 2012

It was infant’s sports day at school, and for once we got a break on the weather. The threatened showers didn’t materialise, and the clouds eventually seemed to get bored and buggered off north.Lyra was very happy with her painted Camden Town teeshirt, which she complemented with red leggings and her “fast” shoes. Not fast enough — she tied for second last of fifteen in her running race. She was better in the beanbag balancing event, striding along purposefully and placing third against the same group of kids.

The last event pitted the two reception classes against each other in a tunnel crawl relay race. After our recent humiliation by Paddington class at Footie ‘Fun’ Day, it was embarrassingly satisfying to beat those little beggars…;-)

My health website finally launched today. Under pressure from Adam, I did a little self-promotion on Facebook and LinkedIn. Drew the line at Twitter… I am such a non-social media person…

Nova has taken it upon herself to make a large sign for her house team at junior sports day on Thursday. The junior school is divided into four houses — St Georges, St Andrews, St Patricks, and St Davids. As she’s in St Georges, she came up with a neat design of a red dragon weaving in and out of the Olympic rings.

Unfortunately, when it came time to colour it in, it became apparent that things weren’t — and in fact, couldn’t — interlink the way she’d planned, and there were some impossible intersections where a circle would just disappear into the dragon’s side…

Nova felt pretty upset about it, and was planning to start the whole thing again, until I had the brainwave of gluing shiny red, wrapping paper “scales” on the dragon, and hiding the part of the drawing that had gone astray…

June 25, 2012

Four kids to get ready for school this morning — twice the fun…;-) Adam took charge of Ollie and Marni while I focussed on our two. Nova has her Haringey dance competition today (they ended up winning!), which required extra preparation, including making a packed lunch. What a pain in the bum — I can’t believe I made packed lunches day in, day out for six years…I read a interesting newstory about a 9-year-old Scots girl who had been photographing and blogging about her school dinners until the council ordered her to stop… Speaking of food blogs, I’ve decided to build one as somewhere to capture the recipes that my girls are growing up with: chickpea pasta soup, snickerdoodles, flapjacks, bibimbap, heuvos rancheros… that sort of thing…

Had a handover meeting for the website I’ve been building –it’s looking good. I’ll see my client through this last day, then I’ll have to put my foot down about a fresh contract and more money for any new work.

Lyra went round to Lucia’s after school. Their apartment has an outdoor pool, and they had a lovely afternoon swimming and playing in the garden. So nice in fact, that when Adam went round at 6pm to pick her up, they hadn’t managed to eat any dinner yet.

Wimbledon starts today, and we’ve managed to get tickets for next Monday. Exciting, though the way the weather has been, it’s a bit of a shame we’re on court 1 rather than the newly roofed centre court…

June 24, 2012

Early starters, those little buggers…;-) We gave them a bowl of ‘bix to tide them over for a few hours, then produced a cooked breakfast for lunch. Six permutations of eggs (scrambled, poached, fried), bacon, mushrooms, beans… I don’t think one plate of food was the same…Adam had the big idea of taking the kids to the the Hampstead fair in the afternoon. The weather looked iffy, but we decided to chance it. “Bring a jacket, kids,” we told everyone, and they all did, except for Nova. By the time the bus reached Whitestone Pond, it was raining. “What should I do now?” Nova demanded. “Get wet?” Adam and I said at the same time, and burst out laughing, much to Nova’s annoyance.

Fortunately the rain stopped after a few minutes, but Nova had forgotten her money and phone as well, which meant she couldn’t wander off on her own. In typical Nova style, she did remember to bring a novel, in case she wanted to stop for a little read…

The kids had goes on a few rides, and we wandered the length of the fair and back, sampling food and drink. The kids tried some sahaja yoga meditation, and got to hold some owls. Bumped into Johnny A, a dad from Nova’s class who we encounter regularly in the most unlikely places…

Adam made mac and cheese for dinner, while I helped Lyra paint up a teeshirt for her sports day tomorrow. Managed to get all four kids washed and watch the first half of the England v Italy match before getting them to bed at half time. Result!

We’d paused the match to do bedtimes, and caught up by watching it at x2 speed. It looked so funny when we returned to the proper speed — like they were performing a water ballet. The match went to extra time, then penalties, which England inevitably lost. At least the better team won…

June 23, 2012

Went for my deep cleansing facial this morning. “When did you have your last facial?” the beautician asked. She seemed a little taken aback when I said probably fifteen years ago. This was followed by, “Would you like me to wax your little moustache?” I was tempted to asked her to style it like Hercule Poirot, but held my tongue. Aside from that, it was a lovely, relaxing experience, and I definitely look the better for it.

Adam headed off to collect Olly and Marni from their drama class at noon. They are spending the weekend with us while their parents attend a 50th birthday party in Spain. I fed everyone broccoli soup for lunch. I hadn’t realised that Ollie hates broccoli, but he had the good manners not to say so until he’d tried the soup and liked it.

Adam was feeling a bit sick, but found the energy to take them all swimming at Park Road swimming baths. Where Lyra jumped off both the 1m and 3m diving boards! That girl…

Dinner was veggie tacos. Ollie and Marni hadn’t had them before, but both liked them. So I’m two for two on the meal front. I’m impressed with their tolerance of spice as well. Both opted for the mild salsa that comes with the taco kit, and Ollie even tried the Cholula sauce that Adam and I were adding to ours. Strawberries and strawberry ice cream for dessert — no one had any problems with that either…;-)

June 22, 2012

Stayed for Lyra’s gymnastics club this morning — Cecilie went off to buy coffees for us while we watched. The kids were being assessed for their level seven badges, which Lyra was successful at. She was also awarded the special sticker for being the best listener, which always warms a mother’s heart…Met Birgit and Tessa for another coffee afterwards. A bit too much caffeine for me, especially after I finished the Turkish coffee that Adam had waiting when I returned home…;-)

Spent much of the day on the ceiling working on my website project. It’s really starting to come together, and I managed to work through most of my snag list by the evening, including a couple of design changes I thought would prove tricky. There is so much help for this sort of work available online now. Whatever challenge you are faced with — such as, “How can I remove the little smiley face from the bottom of my WordPress template?” — are solved with a couple of mouse clicks.

Headed up to the school at pick-up to see Nova’s dance group perform the number they are entering in the Haringey dance competition next week. It’s called Swarm, and the kids are all wearing yellow hoodies and black legs. I thought the piece was really ambitious, and love the way Emily has involved kids of all abilities to produce such a technically impressive piece.

Dropped Lyra at her piano lesson on the way back. Afterwards, there was just time for a quick frozen pizza dinner before Nova set off for Phoebe’s birthday disco. Her mum has invited both year 6 classes, which is a nice idea…

June 21, 2012

Happy anniversary to us — fifteen years, wow! Who’d a thought it…;-)
Adam presented me with a lovely card and a gift certificate for a facial. I’m ashamed to admit that I was too absorbed with my Istanbul experience to remember to organise a card or present. I did bring him lots of nice stuff back from Turkey…;-)Headed into town about noon for an anniversary lunch at my favourite restaurant, Bentley’s Oyster Bar. I’m incapable of resisting raw oysters, while Adam had asparagus, smoked salmon and a deep-fried duck yolk that was perfection in every bite.

My main course of scallops, serrano ham, sherry, almonds, and rocket was delightful, though I wouldn’t have been disappointed if I’d ordered Adam’s sea trout with girolle mushrooms, samphire and a verjus vinaigrette. Ordered a lovely bottle of 2011 Albariño Abadia de San Campio Rías Baixas to accompany it.

For dessert, we shared a serving of semi-soft, rinded Scottish cheese, and the strawberry, lemon curd and meringue mess. A quick double espresso and it was time to go…

Back home again, I had a catch-up meeting with my client, who has been beavering away on her new website while I’ve been in Turkey. By the end of the call, I had a significant snag list to work through by Monday. Couldn’t face tackling it yet, especially after half a bottle of wine at lunch.

Freddy and Beulah popped round to drop off an anniversary present. As it is our crystal anniversary (Beulah is very careful about that sort of thing), they gave us three more crystal wine glasses to match the set they gave us for Hannukah a couple of years ago. So we have a few in reserve for Mr Smashie to be working on…;-)

When Ewa arrived to babysit, we headed down to Jackson’s Lane to see a music act. One ofLyra a bit clingy, getting sick again as well, had a rough winter. Marcella Puppini, formerly of the Puppini Sisters, now has her own band called Marcella and the Forget-Me nots. Great punk cabaret style show and songs, but it was hard to hear the lyrics. Got chatting to the sound guy afterwards, and apparently we’d sat in the worst seats… Who knew?

June 20, 2012

Got up to see Shenda off before 6am, then headed back to bed. Set my alarm first, to avoid any nasty surprises…Started my morning with a shower, then ate the rest of the yogurt with the last two chocolate biscuits and a pot of Turkish coffee. I’d thought of going out for breakfast, but didn’t actually have that much time to play with.

Ieft flat by 11am, and staggered up the stair street with my much heavier bag to the taxi rank. Once installed, I broke a couple of nails digging out the unused seatbelt. I was happy I did because the man drove like a demented maniac. At least we made it to the airport ten minutes faster than estimated.

After a smooth check-in, I went straight through passport control. Spent my time doing a bit more shopping — just haven’t done enough of that this week! My flight was a bit late taking off, but nothing drastic…

Zipped through terminal 5, and caught the Paddington Express and a taxi, hoping to see the girls before they left for swimming. The traffic in Camden Town was awful, and I ended up passing out car at the top of the hill. Had a quick glimpse of their surprised, lovely little faces…

At least, it gave me time to get my bag unpacked, hop in the shower, and arrange my many gifts. Everyone loved everything, and we were treated to some very cute belly dancing routines. The Turkish tea set proved a big hit as well.

At bedtime, Lyra tried to convince me that lots of kids celebrate half birthdays now, where they have half a cake, invite a few friends over, and receive only a few presents. She’s a one…;-)

June 19, 2012

Our last full day in Istanbul…:-( Ate breakfast in, then set off for a wander through Cihangir. We’ve chosen such a great neighbourhood to stay in — you can count on Shenda to make sure of that… Checked out a beautiful shop/cafe with a lovely garden out back, but didn’t stop as we’d just eaten. Didn’t stop us stopping fifteen minutes later at an organic place we’d noticed earlier, for coffee and a rather worthy dill roll…Passed an hour exploring the side streets of Galata — an interesting mix of high-end furniture places, union halls, and rough cafes. Once more across the Galata bridge, on the top level this time, to avoid the entreaties of the restauranteurs. Stopped in the middle to enjoy the amazing view and experience the intense shaking as the trams and cars rumbled past…

Made what is surely our last visit to the Egyptian market so Shenda could buy some earrings that caught her eye yesterday. The proprietor was very happy to see her again, and told her how perfectly the earrings suited her. He said, “I always say this of course, but this time it’s really true!”

Somehow ended up in another tea merchants, where a very smooth operator charmed us into buying far more tea than we can feasibly drink in the coming months. Beat a retreat after that, before we ended up buying a 12″ carpet, or kilo of saffron or something…;-)

Stopped for lunch in a little caff just off the market — pide, ayran and the infamous chicken pudding, which we ate at a second-floor table overlooking the street. Tavuk gogsu is a sweet, milky, baked dessert, which contains puréed chicken breast, presumably for the texture? According to Wikipedia, it was one of the most famous delicacies served to the sultans in the Topkapi palace.

On our way home, we stopped off at the cafe we’d found this morning for a glass of rosé in their lovely garden. A surprising number of people tapping away on laptops — I could imagine doing the same in some parallel life where I lived in a little flat in Cihangir and worked as a parttime language teacher and freelance writer… 😉

Spent a bit of time in the flat getting our bags organised for tomorrow. Shenda has a very early start, and I’ve got to be off by 11am. Finished off nearly all our food for dinner, then headed out for dessert. There’s a patisserie on Istiklal that has an enormous mountain of baklava in the window, with honey dripping slowly off the ends and rolling down the sides that we hadn’t visited yet…

Found a bar to watch the football match. Inexplicably, the nice one we’d identified earlier was showing France v Sweden, so we ended up in crowded room in the James Joyce pub with a room full of expats. There was no sound, but that wasn’t a problem, especially with alll those ‘football experts’ helpfully providing commentary provided. The Ukraine side were robbed of a goal, and England prevailed in the end, going through at the top of their group. Go England!

June 18, 2012

Both felt better for a good night’s sleep, though Shenda’s cough still sounds painful and tight. Having just come through a nasty cold, I can empathise…Walked from the flat towards Galata, mooching in the shops. Bought a few little gifts before stopping for a second breakfast at the foot of the Galata Tower, pair of hobbits that we are. Order the menemen — scrambled eggs with peppers, tomatoes, and cheese — which is served in a little metal dish.

As we ate, I was struck my the number of people who passed carrying infeasibly large, random objects like mannequins or refrigerator doors. It was also interesting how often you see two women together — one covered head to toe, and the other wearing a short summer dress. Rode the escalator up Galata tower afterwards. What an amazing view — the perfect height for a great view of things, without being too high.

Spent a pleasant hour in the Egyptian market, buying jewellry, sweets and coffee. Shenda had identified particular shops in advance, and I was surprised how easy they were to find. It was interesting the way that having a set destination transformed the feel of the market from an overwhelming mass to an ordered series of shops.

Carried on to the Grand Bazaar, which was less pushy than I remembered. Took a while to get into bartering mode, but managed to get a nice deal on three little belly dancing skirts and a Turkish tea set for our girls.

Ate dinner at a trendy place near the flat. 5.Kat is on the roof of a five-storey apartment building, with seagulls wheeling by and great views over the city. We opted for the 80TL set menu, which included three local drinks. The food was nice enough, but it was the atmosphere that made the place.

Ended the evening in a beer house, with a young guy was playing guitar and belting out Turkish pop songs. There wasn’t a dance floor, but the young people were dancing between the tables. It was easy to see the influence of traditional Turkish dance in their movements, which were sinuous and involved a lot of arms.

Up would leap some little mouse of a girl and start twitching her hips and commanding the room. Sometimes her man would go down on his knees before her, other times the guy would sort of undulate around her. It was fascinating to watch…

June 17, 2012

Slept like a log last night, aside from a funny moment when one of the street cats jumped through the window and landed on the bed. Gave him a little flick with my foot, and he jumped straight out again…Made it to Eminonu for 9:30 to board the Bosphorus cruise. Secured a decent spot by the railing, and after a short while we were off. We travelled up along the European coast, past villages, castles, a fortress and lovely old yalis (summer houses). I followed along in my guidebook for a while, until it got too confusing…

The water is an amazing turquoise colour, and although it looks like a big lake, the currents are very strong. Apparently, at one point on the coast, the crabs actually climb onto land and walk rather than battling them. We saw two schools of porpoise feeding, and lots of sea birds.

We docked briefly a few times, then stopped for a couple of hours and the entrance to the Black Sea. There were lots of restaurants (and eager restauranteurs) by the harbour, but we opted to hike up to the ruined fortress above the town and lunch there on grilled sea bream, meze, and raki…

We travelled back along the less developed Asian side. Left the ship at the Dolmabahce Palace, and walked back to our neighbourhood. Managed to find the Museum of Innocence this time, which was great, as we’d been lugging our novels around all day. Easy to see how we missed it before — it’s tucked away in a little side street.

The museum is a series of tableaux of objects from each chapter of the novel. Seeing them before me somehow made the book feel real, or true, or like I something that I knew from personal experience. It’s hard to explain, but I found it very evocative…

Stopped for a beer at a little bar/cafe. I noticed they had hash and walnut cake on the menu. Seemed unlikely to me, though I don’t actually know the status of hash in Turkey. Perhaps it’s okay to consume it here, but not to leave country with it? Having seen Midnight Express at an impressionable age, I had no interest in finding out…

Shenda is coming down with a cold, and had no appetite for dinner. Back at the flat, I snacked on some sliced tomato and the saltiest cheese I’ve ever tasted. Will try soaking it before eating next time…

June 16, 2012

Today was our first full-on tourist day. We were so determined to leave the flat early that I set my alarm, but was awake before it went off. After a breakfast of leftover dinner, we were en route by 8:30.Took the stair street down to the tram, and zipped into Sultanahmet. We joined the queue for the Hagia Sophia, and after ten minutes of rejecting tours and guidebooks and carpets, we were in.

What an awe-inspiring space, and such a vision of tolerance. Although it is so old, I’d like to imagine it as a glimpse of the future, an example of Christian-Muslim harmony. Apparently, its museum status rankles with hardliners on both sides, so it’s probably how it should be.

Stopped for a restorative borek and glass of ayran in a nearby cafe. My calves are getting such an unaccustomed workout after months of injury-enforced idleness, they’d practically seized up. From experience, I know that the second day is often the worst, so I hope they’ll start loosening again tomorrow. I don’t like the little locus of pain gathering at the back of my ankle where I tore the tendon, so I’m going to ignore it and hope it goes away…

We were just round the corner from the underground cisterns, so we made that our next stop. After paying 10TL, we descended a long flight of stairs into a darkened cavern. Rows of columns stretched into the darkness, water lapping round them. There was a walkway to follow round, and at far back of the space were two special ‘medusa’ columns, named for the carved medusa heads that ornamented them.

The Topkapi Palace was next on our itinerary. Here we faced a more serious queue, but the place is huge, and it was fine once we were inside. Wandered through gardens, and a series of buildings displaying clothing and jewelled objects. The clothing seemed ridiculously large, with long sleeves that must have dragged along the floor unless the sultans were a race of giants. The emerald encrusted Topkapi dagger was pretty impressive, but I was running out of steam or blood sugar by that point…

Like a mirage, the most perfect lunch terrace presented itself. Chose a great seat overlooking the sea and ordered a meze plate and a kebab to share. Shenda treated me in payment for a forgotten Berlin cab fare a few years ago…

Batteries recharged, we tackled the Islamic artifacts next — Moses’ staff, Mohammed’s tooth, some guttering from Kaaba. Felt a bit out of place among the faithful, and we didn’t linger. The harem made me think of birds in tiled cages… An exhibit of harem artifacts rounded out the picture, and by that point I was all Topkapi’d out…

Stopped for a beer at a rooftop restaurant, where we had brainwave of visiting the Blue Mosque in the evening. We had intended to see on a later day, and expected to queue for the privilege. Although it was bustling, once we were scarfed up we were able to go in straight away. Sat on carpet watching the bustle. Men were starting to gather in the main area, and we were just wondering if we’d be allowed to stay for prayers, when they started hustling the tourists out.

We noticed a stream of Muslim women heading upstairs, and discreetly joined them. We chlose a unobtrusive corner and sat there looking as demure as possible. The warden lady who’d already tried to shoo us out downstairs noticed us, and to my relief she gave us a little nod.

The floor was packed tight by the time the service started. When everyone rose to their feet, I followed suit, and did my best to copy their bowing and kneeling. I didn’t know what the women were doing with their hands, but no one knew what I was doing with mine either, aside from cheeky little girl sitting with her incredibly beautiful older sister. She didn’t take her eyes off me the whole time. Her older sister was mostly texting, but gave me a glance from time to time.

Afterwards the older girl spoke to me, asking why we’d joined the service and what I thought of it. She seemed very pleased about my interest, and suggested I go to Mecca next. Don’t think I’m quite ready for that…;-)

June 15, 2012

Made Turkish coffee in the flat this morning before we headed out. Managed to get organised a bit earlier than yesterday. I feel pretty much like I do at home, but Shenda is coping with a seven-hour shift in time zone.Walked up to Taksim Square to visit the tourist information booth, but they didn’t have the information we were after… Did score a cold Red Bull from a girl handing out free samples, and bought a sesame pretzel to go along with it. Breakfast of champions…;-) My first ever Red Bull — I can see that it would be a good way to get your caffeine fix when the weather’s hot…

Took the funicular down the hill, then walked along shore to Istanbul Modern, the recently opened modern Turkish art gallery. I found it really interesting the way Turkey dove into the Western art tradition in mid-stream in the mid 1800s. The government sent a number of artists off to France to study, the results of which were predictably derivative. You could pick off the paintings in the first couple of rooms — Cezanne, Morisot, Gaugin, Rousseau…

Gradually, the work became more authentic and free, and seem more rooted in Turkish experience. I especially liked the pieces where this was explicit. The video of dancing tiles with little arms and legs made me laugh out loud, as did the clip of two Turkish artists trying to travel to the Tate Modern by donkey, a la Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

I Wish I Had a Harem, Bedri Baykam

After viewing the permanent collection and temporary exhibits, we ate lunch on the balcony of their posh cafe, What should have been a great view of the Asian shore across the Bosphorus was completely blocked by one of those enormous cruise ships. The food was very nice, nevertheless, and the wine went down pretty well too. I tried manti, a traditional dish that is pretty similar to tortellini.

Afterwards, we wandered down to the Galata bridge. I was surprised when one of the restauranteurs from yesterday recognised us, and remembered the excuse we’d given him as well… “Your lips look so dry,” he remarked, “Sit, stay, have a glass of wine…” Which we ended up doing. It occurred to me that he was fishing just like the sardine guys overhead, fishing for customers.

Returning with our glasses of white wine, he said, “I want to share with you a special Turkish delicacy — raw camel meat, which Turks eat with their bare hands apparently.” We told him that we didn’t want to try it, but he insisted, saying that if we didn’t like it, he wouldn’t charge us. He ceremoniously set out knives and forks, in case we were squeamish about getting blood on our hands, then returned with… a plate of watermelon… Uproarious laughter all round…

They are such practical jokers, these Turkish men. And such flirts. This pair wanted to take us out after work, drinking or dancing, “just as friends” of course. It was tempting on the one hand to see what locals get up to, but the expectation of something developing would have unavoidable whatever they said to the contrary…

Wandered our way to the Cagaloglu hamaam, which we’d settled on after some research as the right balance between traditional and tourist friendly. It has recently been included in the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book, which it was making much of. It was certainly beautiful, and the lighting very flattering.

After splashing ourselves with bowls of water, we stretched out on the hot marble slab to await the masseuse. Mine was called Nala, a strapping young woman in a black Greco-Roman wrestling singlet. She flew at me with a scrubbing mitt, energetically removing great rolls of dead skin, and dousing me with bowl after bowl of water.

Water streaming in my eyes, I felt like a little child, especially when Nala pulled me against her big tummy and shampooed my hair. It took my right back to childhood baths with mum, wedged between her thighs and exploring the amazing depths of her belly button. (Mum’s not Nala’s…) It was all very intimate and maternal, and sipping a cup of tea afterwards, I felt an enormous sense of wellbeing…

Bought some groceries for dinner, then caught the tram back to our side of the water. Yesterday, I’d noticed a sign for something called the Museum of Innocence. The name intrigued me, and I Googled it when we got back to the flat. Opening only last month, the museum is connected with the eponymous Orhan Pamuk novel. We had a look for it this afternoon, but failed to find it. Not letting that one go — we’ll try again later in the week…

Set off for an evening stroll after dinner, gravitating inevitably to Istiklal Caddesi, which was as jammed as ever. Bought copies of the Pamuk novel from a lovely guy who was tripping over himself to help us in any way. Apparently, you can use the ticket on page 713 of the book to obtain entrance.

Stopped for a beer and the second half of the England-Sweden match. An excellent game, especially as England won. Received a marriage proposal on the way home, so a very good night, all in all…;-)

June 14, 2012

In my dream last night, I was on a journey with three friends, travelling up the west coast of the US. We were going to take the ferry because the scenery was marvellous, but next thing I knew, we were on a plane. I was seated by the window, and had just turned to my companion to say something, when the plane turned upside down and pitched downwards. “Oh, no,” I thought, “oh, no…” But for some reason, I felt no fear, only an overwhelming sadness. And then I woke up…It was 10am, which is only 8am back home, but it felt late…
We started our day with one of those terrific Turkish breakfasts — cheese, tomatoes, cukes, hard boiled eggs, tahini, olives, spreads, breads… I remember breakfast being one of the highlights of a holiday in Turkey.

Fortified, we continued down through Cihangir, picking our way along the steep, narrow, broken pavements. Cihangir is regularly described as “a trendy neighbourhood with a bohemian flair” in the guidebooks, but I don’t think the street we chose showed it at its best.

Eventually, we reached Tophane, which is at sea level. Wandered into the Kiliç Pasha Mosque complex, where we were obliged to change into floor-length robes before we were permitted to enter. Shenda was provided with a fetching purple leopardskin robe, while mine was understated navy.

After a half an hour of photographing tiles and watching a pair of kids rough and tumble with their mum on the mosque carpet, we returned our robes and continued our walk. Reached the waterfront near the Galata Bridge, where a row of men stood fishing for sardines. Catching them too — every line that was pulled out seemed to have at least four little fish on it…

Carried on across the Galata Bridge, which spans the Golden Horn, separating old Istanbul from its more modern suburbs. The bridge is on two levels on each edge, with a gauntlet of cafes on either side. Each one we passed, we were entreated to stop for something to eat, or told we were looking parched and in need of a drink, or asked how they could take our money if we didn’t sit down…;-)

Outside the Egyptian market were stalls selling plants and pets — kittens, puppies, tortoises, and an endless variety of birds. There was even a peacock. There were leeches as well, though I don’t imagine they were pets — more likely for medicinal purposes.

Venturing inside, we found aisles of shops selling spices, tea, sweets, and dried fruits. The merchants were all keen to entice us inside, and it wasn’t long before we’d been hooked by a charming man offering samples of Turkish delight. “Come in, my angels,” he said, leading us inside, “and I am Charlie.” We drank tea and sampled his wares, before leaving with a sizable bag of tea each.

Wandered the back streets, which were thronging with merchants and shoppers and vehicles. It was interesting how many of the stores were selling such specific things — very large teddy bears, keychains, or cake toppers.

I’d forgotten what a hilly city Istanbul is — San Francisco hilly, or even hillier — and the road climbed steeply until we found the Suleymaniye mosque. Recently restored and gleaming, the mosque is work of the great Ottoman architect, Sinan, who seems to have built all the good stuff… My skirt was considered sufficiently sufficient this time, but I needed head and arm scarves. The interior was impressive, though the numerous lighting fixtures suspended from the ceiling do clutter up the space.

We got lost making our way back to Eminonu, and found ourselves in a tangle of streets filled with decrepit wooden houses, many of them wrecks. Not a tourist in sight… Finally reached Rustem Pasha mosque, which is famous for its beautiful blue Isnik tiles. My hat and skirt were fine here, though I had to cover my shoulders with a shawl.While undeniably beautiful, the mosque felt less welcoming than the others, and was covered with signs telling you what not to do. Quite a contrast to the other two we visited today, but it is a great deal smaller.

Stopped for a “fish bread” — a grilled mackerel in a bun — cooked on these ornate fish boats moored alongside the harbour. Bought a glass of pickles from one wandering vendor, and a cold drink from another and tucked in. Every few minutes we were approached by another little boy wanting to sell us handwipes, but we turned them all down. “Ai, ai, ai! Why do you do that?” cried the latest little entrepreneur when Shenda produced her own moist towelette she’d saved from her flight…

Headed back over Galata bridge, stopping for a Turkish ice cream, which has a kind of stretchy quality to it, before tackling the stiff uphill climb. My ankle was aching by the time we got home — I think I overdid things a bit…

Ventured out for a late dinner in Beyoglu, in a covered arcade called Cicek Passage. We weren’t feeling very hungry, and just ordered a few mezes and a salad to share. It was plenty, especially with a large beer to wash it down. I was going to order a small beer, but Shenda wouldn’t hear of it. “You know you’re going to drink it,” she said. She knows me too well, that girl…;-)

Istiklal Caddesi is Istanbul’s main shopping street, and even at midnight it was crowded with people. Although pedestrianised, there is a tram line that runs down the middle of it, and occasional cars and taxi ploughing across. There must be regular accidents…

We were strolling along in the thick of the crowd, when there was a sudden power cut, and everything went black — the street lights, the illuminations, the shops, everything. There was a collective gasp from the crowd, and then a silence descended. I grabbed Shenda’s arm so as not to lose her. After maybe fifteen seconds, some lights came on again, and the street flowed back to life. Pretty unsettling while it lasted though…

There are cats everywhere, literally everywhere, in this city. Sprawled across the bonnets of vehicles, draped on railings and plants, sitting on the cushions of cafe chairs, soaking up the shade under every parked car. There are even little cat prints in the pavement sometimes…

I’d warned Shenda about how the character of the park changed after dark, but with two of us it seemed fine to chance it. Imagine my surprise when we rounded the corner to be confronted with a swingset full of toddlers being pushed by their mothers. This at 11:30pm — felt a bit of a wally actually…

June 13, 2012

Happy birthday, dad!
It was 1:30am by the time I turned the lights out, and 6:30am when I turned them back on again… 

I didn’t have anything particular to do, but next thing I knew it was 7:30am and my cabbie was ringing the bell. Lyra was not best pleased to see me go, and her parting gift was a ferocious scowl. Traffic was heavy, but I’d allowed for that, and got to Heathrow in good time. It’s my first flight from Terminal 5 — and it certainly makes a better impression than the rest of the place, which is pretty decrepit.

It’s a four-hour flight to Istanbul — long enough that they serve you a proper meal with wine and show a film. Didn’t bother watching once I noticed it featured Reese Witherspoon.

We were still over Bulgaria when the pilot announced we were beginning our descent. He arced the plane in over the Sea of Marmara, and practically grazed the rooftops as we approached the runway.

It was 4pm local time when we landed, and god it was hot. Although the airport was air conditioned you could feel the heat pressing against the windows. I went straight to the enormous immigration queue, and spent a good ten minutes there before realising I had to buy a visa first. (Turkey relieves all tourists of £10 upwards to visit the country. It can’t be paid in Turkish lira, and is pretty much a cynical foreign currency grab.) That line was horrendous too, but by the time I reached the front, the immigration queue was much short, so it may not have cost me much time.

Shenda’s plane had been delayed, so we’d agreed that I’d collect the keys to the flat we’d rented and meet her there. The heat body slammed me when I emerged from the airport at last. Following the semi-comprehensible directions our host had emailed, I boarded a shuttle bus to Taksim Square.

It took a long time to get going, and even longer to make the 15-mile journey to Taksim Square. I enjoyed looking out the window at the scenery and street life, and surprisingly handsome Turkish men.

After an hour, we finally pulled to a stop. I shouldered by bag, oriented myself, and struck out to find the Datli Maya restaurant where I was to collect the keys. The streets were crowded and a lot more crooked then they appeared on my Google map, but I got there eventually. The guy working the door spoke no English, and I speak no Turkish, but I finally made myself understood. He handed over some keys, and I ventured back into the streets of Cihangir to track down the flat.

The directions got pretty confusing at this stage:

“At the middle of Cihangir street, there is a 2 floor onto park. Alcakdam Yokusu is the little stairs street in front of this otopark, the building Sosel Palas is in your right hand number 6.”

I found the “otopark” eventually — a two-storey carpark with a little urban playpark on its roof — and figured out what a “stairs street” is. Istanbul is so hilly that some of the side streets are actually flights of stairs, with apartment buildings opening out onto them.

Unfortunately, there didn’t appear to be any ‘number 6’. The numbering went 2, 4 and then a service door that was secured with a rusty padlock. Tried my key in number 4 anyway, and to my surprise, it fit. (When I was in a more relaxed state, I noticed that there was a small, raised number 6 on the door itself, which had been painted over in the same green paint as the rest of the door…)

So now I was inside the building, but the flats weren’t named or numbered either. At this stage, I just tried my key in every door until I found one it fit, hoping that no one in the wrong flat would be home to confront me. This approach worked eventually, although unfortunately I gave up on the right flat (the second one I tried) too soon, and attempted several others before returning to it. (As before, I noticed later that there was an enormous ‘2’ spraypainted on the door, but as people don’t generally display their house number this way, I’d managed to overlook it…)

I was pretty pleased to be in the flat at last, which is small but very sweet. It took a while to figure out how the lights work, and find the discreet little notebook of instructions etc, but I got there eventually. Once I got the wifi working, I learned that Shenda’s plane had been delayed an additional three hours…:-(

I was pretty hungry by this point, so I decided to go out for a meal. This wasn’t that straightforward either… Some places appeared to be men only, or totally empty, or completely packed with couples. I ended up back at the Datli Maya, where I had a spinach pide and a bottle of ayran.

It was completely dark by the time I left. I opted for a route that avoided the park, as there were clusters of young men hanging about it in when I’d gone out. You can’t go half a block with encountering a cat — reminds me of how Rome used to be.

Shenda finally arrived about 11:30pm, looking very chic in a new, short haircut and remarkably fresh for someone who’s been on three planes in the last twelve hours. Split one of the beer I’d picked up and had a bit of a catch-up before calling it a night. There’d been a mix-up with her flight — the final leg of her journey from Germany to Turkey had actually disappeared — which caused a fair bit of stress and delay before it was resolved…

June 12, 2012

Happy 6th birthday, Isobel!
Finally spent some time preparing for my trip to Istanbul tomorrow, although there still was a fair amount of back and forth on the website. Now that the designer is getting into stride, I thought there might be an opportunity to bow out, but the client wants me to pick it up again when I return…Bruce treated us to a reading of the manuscript for his second novel. It has the same setting and characters as his first book, ‘On Potato Mountain’, but the action has moved on twenty years. The new book is shaping up nicely, and I look forward to reading the final version when it’s published.

Lyra has informed me, “When I grow up I’m going to have so many pets. I’m going to have a hamster called Fluffy, and two dogs called Waggy and Renny, and a cat called Tracy, and three hamsters called Browy, Fangy, and Sunlight. I’m also going to have two tortoises call Slenny and Hidey.” What with the four babies she’s now planning on having, that’s going to be quite a houseful…

June 11, 2012

I’d been asleep only an hour when Nova woke me to say that she’d thrown up in her bed. With Bruce staying in the flat, the best option was to make her up a little bed on the sofa. Got her settled with her duvet and a basin, then staggered back downstairs.She was back at 5:15am to ask if she could have some toast, and again at 6am to say she’d heard a strange cat in the house, and at 7am to ask whether she could have a shower. Adam got up with her at that stage, and I managed another hour’s sleep…

Carried on working on the website, but my head was pretty fuzzy and I’m sure things took longer than they otherwise would have. Shared it with the client in the late afternoon. Overall, I’d say she was pleased, though like most people she focussed mainly on the little things she wanted me to change. None of them were very significant, so I take that as a good sign.

Bruce to us all out for dinner at Cote this evening. We all ordered steak frites, according to our age and appetite — the men shared a cote de boeuf, I had a rib eye, Nova had a minute steak, and Lyra the steak haché. Even on a Monday night they were doing good business. Their food is a notch above the rest of the competition around here…

June 10, 2012

Good sleep, feel like a wilting plant that’s been watered. And then the world was none so bad… Pancake breakfast with the maple syrup Bruce brought, one good thing about this bounty of Canadian visitors is we’re pretty well stocked up on Canadian foodstuffs.The bar mitzvah saga continues, with an afternoon do at a restaurant in Whetstone. It was pretty much a rerun of Alex’s bar mitzvah six years ago — same venue, same guests, same food — but in that instance, they’d compressed things into one day instead of taking over our whole weekend.

Actually, this one was a bit more fun. The girls were older and more able to feed themselves, and kick around with the cousins, so we had more opportunity to visit with people. Not that I knew very many of them. Beulah is an only child, and there is no family at all on her side. Freddy’s brother had two sons, but he died in his 40s and his wife remarried. We do see his two cousins very occasionally, but naturally they are much more connected with their mother and step-father’s relatives.

They’d arranged for a photo booth where guests could take comedy photos of themselves, which were then pasted into an album for the bar mitzvah boy with messages written round the margins. We did one as a family, and the cousins had a go as well:

Finally made an escape about 4:30 in the afternoon. Did my usual evening stuff — dinner for the girls (what are they like!), piano practice, bedtime stories, some preparation for tomorrow’s school day, then finally got stuck into my new website project.

I haven’t used WordPress since I put together Adam’s blog, so I was a bit rusty, but after a few hours I’d managed to pull together something I’m reasonably happy with. I was expecting more of a design brief to work from, and some assets like a logo, colour palette and fonts would have been nice, but that work is going on in parallel. Finally called it a night about 3:30am…

June 9, 2012

Went to a bar mitzvah for Adam’s cousin’s son Ben today. It started early enough that I didn’t even have time for breakfast, what with ironing outfits, and getting everyone dressed and groomed.Adam is really turning into his dad. He built such a large margin into our journey time that we were the very first guests to arrive. About forty minutes after we got there, the shabbas service finally started.

Most of it was in Hebrew, and largely sung. There was a rabbi and small choir on the bimah, who alternated in leading the congregation. We had prayer books to follow along. We started on page 23 and kept going until we finished up on page 323 two hours later. It was 12:30 at this point, and I was starting to feel a bit concerned that the rabbi was just going to plough on through into the section marked ‘Afternoon service’.

The younger kids had been led off to a play area after 45 minutes, which was probably a good thing. Ben did an excellent job of reading his portion, the rabbi gave an interesting sermon on what has happened since the “End Poverty” campaign finished. And the part where the torah scrolls were taken from the ark and processed among the congregation before being unrolled was interesting as well. Even so, two and a half hours of synagogue is plenty for me…

Stayed for kiddish afterwards, and scoffed a couple of gefilte fish balls, a handful of crisps and a slice of lemon loaf before we said our goodbyes. There’s more bar mitzvah tomorrow…

Stopped at Brent Cross on the way home. Nova’s request — she wanted to buy a new wallet to hold the pocket money she no longer has… Spent the afternoon finishing my work on the mining project. I’ve been feeling guilty about not getting to it sooner, but between the house guests and the head cold I haven’t had much opportunity…

June 8, 2012

The weather has been horrible the last few days. The rain is absolutely lashing it down, and the forecast shows this vortex of storm clouds whirling above the southeast. I can’t bring myself to venture out and look at how my poor bean plants are faring, but I’m sure they are feeling miserable…Got some productive (paid) work done today, what with Nova on her sleepover until the afternoon and Lyra farmed out for a few hours at her friend Lily’s. Bruce showed up mid-afternoon from Glasgow, where’s he’s been attending a conference and visiting with Gail’s relatives. I don’t think he has any particular plans for his time in London, but is hoping to get a lot of work done on the manuscript for his second novel.

Made a quick dinner of kofte and couscous with roast vegetables before Adam and Bruce headed out to see some circus at Jackson’s Lane. I did the girls’ piano practices and bedtimes, then started surreptitiously rereading Bruce’s novel. I originally read it as a manuscript, and haven’t reread the published version. While it’s still the same story, it has been much improved by a good edit. I’m sure that’s true of most novels that make it to print…

June 7, 2012

Woke up at 5am when John and Jackie started moving around downstairs. I had the brief thought of getting up to make them coffee, but then decided that would just make them feel guilty. At least that’s what I convinced myself…Still sick… boring, boring, boring… At least I don’t have the Legionnaires disease that’s sweeping Edinburgh. Or perhaps I do… Apparently, lots of people are likely to have mild versions of it and recover without even realising.

Bruce Fraser is arriving to stay with us tomorrow. I have so much laundry to do it’s not even funny. And it’s so wet that it’s impossible to dry it…

“Are you the most beautiful girl in the world?” I said to Lyra. She thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I think I might be the third most beautiful.” “Are you sure?” I asked. “It’s because there are two more beautiful girls are in countries like China or Italy and you haven’t seen them,” she explained seriously.

Nova’s off on a sleepover with Fay. She took her iPod, to share the new songs she asked me to download for her. Stuff she’s getting to like from all the discos she goes to apparently. Bruno Mars, Adele, Katy Perry, Coldplay…

June 6, 2012

Had my first ever mammogram this morning. They’ve recently lowered the threshold age from 50 to 45, which I why I got the letter. I’d heard a lot about how embarrassing and painful they are, but I found it to be a complete non-event that only took five minutes. Should have the results in two weeks.I went into the West End with John and Jackie in the afternoon, while Adam stayed home with the girls and tried to get some work done. We were in enough time for a drink at the Lamb and Flag, and ended up having some fish and chips as well. Walked up to Phoenix afterwards, for the matinee of Blood Brothers. It’s one of the longest running musicals in London, but for some reason I’ve never got round to seeing it. In fact, I didn’t even know anything about it. I assumed it was about the Mafia, but actually it’s set in working class Liverpool.

Overall, I thought it was very good, though I found the adult actors playing their child selves in the first act to be pretty irritating… Got home in time for Adam to play football. Made a Thai curry for dinner. As it was the McLaughlin’s last meal, we only got through the six beers and one bottle of wine…;-)

June 5, 2012

And I thought I was feeling rough yesterday… For some reason, Nova picked up her sister’s reins and woke me at 6:45, four hours after I’d staggered off to bed. Cheers, darling…Adam managed to make a batch of muffins for breakfast, but I could barely eat one. John and Jackie seemed to be feeling okay. They energetically headed off for a tour of Highgate Cemetery, and I took to my bed again.

Had a late lunch of Greek salad,then went for a walk on the Heath. The rain had returned by this point, but it was still nice. Kenwood was closed for renovations, but the rhodendrons were still impressive, and we checked out the bathing ponds, before repairing to the Flask. The other three grown-ups fancied a beer by this point, but I stuck to lemonade…

Sam came round to babysit so we could go to the theatre. I’d booked tickets for Children’s Children at the Almeida. It was entertaining enough, but both Jackie and I felt there were problems with the script. Gave it a thorough going over at half time and afterwards in the pub, where I was finally ready to face an alcoholic drink…

June 4, 2012

I’m still not feeling well — this cold is a real bitch… Mustered enough energy to do up the flat, in preparation for the McLaughlins imminent arrival, but that pretty much finished me for the morning.Nova and Adam headed off for her cycle training in Finsbury Park, and I mooched around the house with Lyra. Part of me wanted to do all this housework, but between the head cold and looking after Lyra, it just didn’t happen. Instead, we had a lovely lunch of open faced rye bread sandwiches and double lemon cake, and spent an hour playing with hama beads.

John and Jackie arrived about 3pm. It was great to see them — and they looked great too. They are among those annoying people who never seem to age a bit. In fact, I think they are looking younger than the last time I saw them. Retirement seems to be agreeing with them.

Lyra headed off to a sleepover at Alex’s house, and the rest of us headed of to the Wrestlers. John and Jackie treated us to a slap-up curry dinner at Kiplings, where we got through far too much wine, followed by a few whiskies back home…

June 3, 2012

Pat and Adam headed off just before noon for a week of mountain biking in Wales. The weather forecast looks atrocious, but they have no intention of letting a little rain get in the way…The weather has done for our annual street party as well. We usually hold it on the green, but it is far too wet for that. Plan B has always been to have it at Jemima and Rob’s, but Rob decided yesterday that he didn’t want to do that. Jemima was all for cancelling, but after a long chat (that included the possibility of hosting it here), Adam talked her round.

We made a sign so that anyone who missed the email would know where to find everyone. I laminated the writing part, and lacquered the background so it could withstand the driving rain.

My contribution to the food was steamed asparagus with wasabi mayonnaise. Overall, the food looked pretty good this year, with a lot of homemade things, instead of the usual Marks&Sparks readymade snacks and dips still in the plastic packaging.

I was relying on cold drugs to keep it all together, and when they wore off, it was definitely time to go. Like Cinderella leaving the ball at the stroke of midnight, though without the handsome prince chasing after me.

He came along a couple of hours later, and we watched the tail end of the river pageant on telly. The rain was pelting down by this point, and all the participants soaked. They appeared almost hysterical when interviewed on camera, though the lenses were so wet everything was sort of blurry. The poor old royals had to stand in these conditions for over four hours. I wouldn’t be suprised if it’s the death of the queen. Maybe it’s all a republican plot to finish them off…;-)

June 2, 2012

Still feeling a bit ropey, but nothing like earlier in the week. I was up before 8am, and made a batch of blueberry muffins for breakfast. Found the time and energy to do my physio exercises as well, which have suffered since I’ve been sick.Took the tube to Leicester Square and spent a few hours in the National Portrait Gallery. They are redoing the contemporary galleries, where I usually spend the most time, so it was an opportunity to look at something else. Started with the Victorians and early twentieth century, which was a bit underwhelming, though there was a great ethereal portrait of Winston Churchill — very different to the way such a solid, powerful, present man is usually portrayed. This reproduction doesn’t really do it justice — in the actual painting, Churchill looks no more substantial than the smoke from his cigar…

The Tudor galleries were better. The girls were happy looking at portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Henry VIII and his wives. Nova has an impressive knowledge of all things Tudor, having studied it in school and consumed a number of historical biographies, and kept saying things like “Henry VII was so miserly he made his wife wear tin buckles instead of silver,” or “Edward VI dates make it look like he was 16, but he was actually 15 when he died of consumption.”

Grabbed a falafel at Gaby’s before Adam and I headed back to Highgate with the girls. Pat and Adam opted for more art at the National Gallery. It’s the Diamond Jubilee this weekend, so we were expected London to be crowded, but I the most noticable element was the Belgian football fans in town for this afternoon’s friendly. Watched the match on telly (1-0 to England) before heading out for dinner at Zizzi — Pat’s treat, very nice indeed!

June 1, 2012

Remembered to say “rabbits” this morning. In fact, I said it twice. I can use some good luck. Having indulged my cold most of yesterday, I felt able to be a bit tougher with myself this morning. Showered and dressed and took Lyra to gymnastics by 8am, then put on some laundry, ran the dishwasher, watered the greenhouse and tidied the girls’ room.Pat Boeker arrived just before noon. Adam is travelling down from Manchester to meet him and spend the weekend with us before going off mountain biking. He was pretty zonked from the flight and had a nap before I took him out for lunch at the Laos Cafe. He was clearly still pretty dozy, and accidently added a heaping spoonful of salt to his iced coffee.

Nova returned from PGL at 6pm, and we all trooped up to meet her bus. She was happy and tired, and it sounds like they had a great week. I made two big trays of chorizo chicken for dinner, with baguettes and salad, and a double lemon cake for dessert.

Everyone was pretty tired for various reasons — exams, all night working, jetlag, heavy colds, activity week. The girls went to bed pretty much after dinner, and the rest of us slumped in front of the telly with hot drinks to watch Jubilee TV. Saw an interesting programme where Prince Charles watched home movie footage of his family, much of which he hadn’t seen before. This was followed by part one of a documentary on the rise of punk rock. Apparently, its origins are in pub rock, which started in the early seventies as a reaction to the excesses of glam/prog rock…