|
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Playing…
|
on the…
|
beach
|
Nova and daddy
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
A quiet moment
|
Thinking
|
I wonder…
|
Got it!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The naked secretary
|
Busy, busy, busy
|
Tea break
|
That’s it for today
|
March 31, 2004Slept really well! The new bed still feels a bit strange… I feel like one of those jesus bugs that walk on water, you kind of float on top of the mattress, instead of sinking into it. I’m pleasantly surprised how much difference extra six inches of width makes as well. It seems a lot roomier… Stopped by the office for an early meeting before my training course, but the person never showed and the Internet was down so it was a bit of a wasted effort. I managed to find the right route through Waterloo station to bring me out at the exit next to the training centre this morning. It was a much better than the route than the one I took the last couple of times, which led me down a stinking, dripping corridor, with mysterious pools of orange liquid on the floor. I was sure I must have taken a wrong turning and wandered into some Tube hell cul-de-sac. There was an abandoned cleaning trolley lying on its side, as if the cleaner had been dragged off by mutant rats or something. Soot-caked cables hung through the missing ceiling tiles. It was London at its worst… Today though, I glided along a moving walkway, past the deservedly award-winning industrial architecture that is the Jubilee line, and arrived in the booking hall in style on an immaculate escalator, passing flower stalls and a Starbucks concession as I made my exit. Much more like it… |
|
March 30, 2004Started my XML course in Waterloo. I think I would have enjoyed being computer programmer if I’d chosen that route. I like the logic, the problem-solving, and the creativity of it… Our new bed arrived this evening. After feeding Nova, we raced around moving beds so I could hoover underneath them, and making space in the flat for our old bed. However, there was no way our bedframe was going down that twisty flight of stairs. James — who was busy assembling the new bed in our room by this point — thought that the only way would be to take the bedframe apart and reassemble it downstairs, but we would have needed an electric screwdriver to even contemplate such an undertaking, and anyway where’s the fun in that approach? After a quick series of measurements, we decided to lower it out Nova’s second story bedroom window, then bring it back in through the front door. A number of plans were hatched:
Eventually we opted for plan D. James drove his van up against the side of the house then climbed onto the roof, we slid the bed out the window to him, and he managed to singlehandedly wrestle it from standing on end to lying flat, then slid it off the side to Adam… The new bed looks fantastic and the mattress feels amazing. It was Adam’s big idea to get a new bed. I wasn’t convinced, but now that it’s here, I’m thrilled with it…
I headed off to the cinema with Jemima, leaving Adam under strict instructions not to go to bed until I returned. I was my turn to pick, and I chose the new Takeshi Kitano film, Zatoichi. Jemima was pretty underwhelmed by it. I think I might have liked it better if I’d gone on my own — it’s inevitable that other person’s reactions affect how you respond to things, especially when you’re the reason they’re watching it. I’m a big fan of Kitano’s work, but this was a real departure from him, aside from the violence (and the fact it was in Japanese). It’s a period samurai drama about a blind warrior called Zatoichi who defends a village from rogue gangs who are terrorising the populace. It’s quite a simplistic story, but there are some lovely scenes, at times it was like seeing a woodcut print come to life. I love watching Kitano as well, he has the most amazing face. I found out later that the Zatoichi character is the Indiana Jones of Japan — there are dozens of films made of him. |
|
March 29, 2004Today is my only day in the office this week, as I’m on an XML training course for the next two days. I really enjoy training opportunities, but it’s frustrating the way that it’s always crammed into the end of the year. It’s seems like ages since I’ve been able to concentrate on getting any work done… I had loads of emails to catch up on after our week off, and was head down all day, until it was time to leave to pick up Nova. She really seems to be enjoying nursery at the moment and chattered away happily all the way home. I took a new route this afternoon — the other one has become so bogged down by her little routines with bus stops, telephone box, house addresses etc that it takes forever… “I want… to be.. a princess!” she declared the minute we got home, and changed straight into her fairy dress. |
|
March 28, 2004It’s the last day of our vacation. It’s been really relaxing holidaying at home, and although we did it this way because of the circumstances, it’s a nice reminder that you don’t always have to jet off somewhere, especially when you live in a city like London… Adam and Nova did the church thing. I’d planned to go for a run, but I felt too lousy. I’m still experiencing nausea in the mornings (and the car), which is kind of shitty. I guess it shows that my body just hasn’t got the message yet… Went for brunch with Jemima and Ruby at Banners. Nova was a little star, filling up pages of paper with her colouring, and eating most of her meal — I was very proud of her. I decided to buy her a fairy dress on the way home. What she calls her “party dress” is sized 12-18 months, and is really much too small for her. I found just the thing at Woolworths for £10: a three piece set, with pink and purple satin and net skirt, ruched pink halter top with wings attached, and a flowery headband. It’s a two-year-old’s wildest dream… She’s mad for it, and I did well to part her from it at bedtime. |
|
March 27, 2004I took Nova to a puppet show at Lauderdale House with Jemima and Ruby this morning. I feel like I should do more of this kind of stuff with her, but most children’s activities — and children’s entertainers in particular — produce an allergic reaction in me. Nova doesn’t seem to like them much either, and it cost us £8, so it’s a bit of a lose-lose. Nova obediently sat down on the floor with the other kids, clutching her Po, and Jemima and I found seats further back. Of course the show didn’t start for ages, the kids got restless, and trouble ensued. I had to make a few careful forays into the sea of toddlers to deliver snacks and settle disputes. On one occasion an aggressive one-year-old baby nabbed Nova’s Po, and instead of just grabbing it back, Nova sat there flapping her hands and saying “Oh, no!” and “Oh, dear!”. I prefer having a gentle little girl to a grabbing bully, but she does need to learn how to look out for herself as well. (She could have taken that baby easy!) Actually, the baby was completely covered in chickenpox, so maybe it was just as well they didn’t get into a wrestling match. No way to disinfect Po though… You have to wonder why her mother brought her. By the time the show finally got underway, Nova had abandoned the kiddie section, and was sitting on my lap, whining about going home. Some of the puppets were quite good, but she barely glanced at them, except to say of the donkey puppet in a loud voice, “That’s not a donkey — it’s a dog!” All things must pass, and after about half an hour we made our escape. I bought her a big gingerbread cookie by way of apology even though it was almost lunchtime… |
|
March 26, 2004We wanted to do something nice with Nova on our week off, so after breakfast we set off for the Science Museum, skirting the congestion charging zone. We took Pete and Pasc’s tip of parking in Hyde Park and walking, which was much cheaper than paying for parking on Exhibition Road. Nova had a great time in the play area: she spent ages in the water environment, and thoroughtly soaked a mild mannered little Chinese girl, although I think it was an accident. Nova enjoyed the bubble demonstration as well. The presenter made a series of big bubbles while explaining what bubbles are, why they are round and so one. For his finale, he had a child come on stage and stand in a ring of bubble liquid. With a special wand he produced an enormous bubble that completely surrounded her. It was pretty neat — and I was impressed that it was held her attention for 30 minutes, as it aimed at 10-year-old school children. We stopped for sushi at a mall in Swiss Cottage. It was called the O2 centre, and was a funny sort of place. Adam described it as a lifestyle mall, with its coffeeshop, book store, bars, restaurants, and gym. The interior was all decked out in plastic rocks, palm trees, and aquariums. Very American, Vegas even… Nova ate some salmon sashimi and a fruit plate. I had a moment’s doubt as I watched the slice of salmon disappear into her mouth about the wisdom of giving two-year-olds raw fish, but decided they probably do it in Japan… I thought she’d be intrigued by the conveyor belt that carrying the plates of sushi past your table, but she wasn’t that bothered. I guess it takes a lot to impress a cosmopolitan toddler like her. I was still excited by escalators when I was ten years old, while she steps on and off them as nimbly as any jaded London commuter. Of course I did grow up in a two-escalator town (and it’s likely still a two-escalator town — I’ll have to ask Wade)… |
|
March 25, 2004Adam took Nova to a music group in Finchley this morning. With the answering machine not working, I wanted to stay home until I got in touch with the consultant. Finally got through to them about noon, and made an appointment for early April. He sees patients both privately and on the NHS, and — surprise, surprise — you see him much more quickly if you are willing to pay… I wouldn’t be the least surprised if I fall into the 20% of people he’s unable to help, but it’s a new avenue of investigation at least… After lunch, Nova suggested going over to Fay’s to play with toys. The minute we walked through the door she said, “Go upstairs,” and the two little girls headed off. Didn’t see them again until it was time to go home. They were tucked up together in Fay’s bed, and Fay was reading Nova a nonsense version of one of her books. It’s lovely to see her enjoying the company of other kids at last… |
|
March 24, 2004Had a day out in the West End. We started with dim sum at Hakkasan, which was wonderful. I’m a big fan of dim sum, and this is among the best I’ve ever had. We had an impressive array of steamed dumplings, a crispy duck roll, honeyed shiitake mushrooms, salt and pepper squid, and jasmine tea smoked ribs, accompanied by pot after pot of a delicious jasmine tea. I love the atmosphere in Hakkasan — I’ve never been anywhere that so successfully transfers you to another world, you either feel like you are in 30s Shanghai or on a movie set… Walked down Charing Cross Road to the Wyndham Theatre afterward, for a matinee performance of Dinner. A soon-to-be-jilted wife serves up a last supper to her husband and his friends, which features dishes such as Primordial Soup, Apocalypse of Lobster and Frozen Waste. It was extremely funny… Got home to discover that the answering machine had garbled a message from the miscarriage consultant. When I called them back, their call minder service was so full it wasn’t accepting any more messages which was a bit depressing. I kept trying and eventually it allowed me to leave a message explaining what had happened. Still haven’t had the miscarriage, and no sense that it is pending… |
|
March 23, 2004Beulah posted us an article today about a doctor who is having great success treating unexplained, recurrent miscarriage. His theory, which isn’t new, is that the immune system is involved. When a woman is pregnant, her immune system is suppressed so that her body doesn’t reject the fetus as a foreign body. He has found that many women with recurrent miscarriage have a high level of a particular white blood cell, and has successfully treated some of them with a low level of steroids. He has submitted a paper that claims an 80% success rate with 300 patients. I tracked him down on the internet, and sent an email.Went to the gym again this morning, and put in a good run. Came home for lunch this time and had a relaxed afternoon around home before going to get Nova. She was a little perplexed to see both of us — she’s not big on variety, she likes to know what’s coming next. That’s probably typical of two-year-olds. This evening as I was preparing her dinner, Nova ran into the kitchen crying. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” I said. “I bit my head!” she bawled. Wish I’d seen that… |
|
March 22, 2004Both Adam and I have this week off work. We’d originally intended to go somewhere like France, but once I found I was pregnant we scaled things down to a few days away in Cornwall or visiting friends. In the current situation we’ve decided to stay home.Went to the gym in the afternoon, where I ran 5km (didn’t bother about the time). Had a brief swim, although the vicious sinus infection I’m just getting over seems to have damaged one of my eardrums, and tipping it in and out of the water was a bit painful, so I retired to the whirlpool… |
|
March 21, 2004Felt a bit hungover this morning, which seemed a bit harsh, given that I’d only had a cocktail and three glasses of wine. I think it was the lack of sleep (about 5 hours) more than anything, although I’m certainly out of practice…Dragged ourselves around all morning, then mustered some energy in the afternoon, and headed out to east London to see the cabinetmaker who is making the bedside tables to match our bed. We talked it all through with him, but I think it would have been a better idea to find an illustration of something I liked and asked him to make it in a style that matched the bed. Nova slept in the car the whole time we were there, which was a blessing. It would have been a disastrous environment to try and keep an eye on an adventurous two year old: massive table saws for her to get tangled in, precarious stacks of furniture to topple over, mounds of sawdust to slip in or eat… Stopped in at Costco on the way home to stock up on nappies, wipes, Wheatabix, the usual… |
|
March 20, 2004Happy 37th birthday, Adam! We’d booked a table at Gordon Ramsay’s at Claridges three months ago, and it was a real treat. One small consolation about the pending miscarriage is that I was able to order whatever I wanted and to have a few glasses of wine (and a vodka tonic) as well. The food was absolutely wonderful, and I’d have had a real problem getting it all down, if Adam hadn’t asked the waiter for a copy of the menu. I think it speaks for itself: Menu prestige Pumpkin velouté with sautéed cèpes Mosaïque of foie gras and duck confit, Roast hand-dived scallops on a bed of Jerusalem Breast of black leg chicken with a fricassée or Braised belly of pork with aubergine caviar, Compote of blueberries with a or French cheeses Cinnamon crème brûlée with poached pear |
|
March 19, 2004Feeling a bit blue, but Nova and I had lots to do to get ready for Adam’s birthday tomorrow, which was a welcome distraction. Walked to the village after breakfast to get the ingredients for Adam’s birthday cake. It was pretty stormy weather, but Nova was very keen to get out and use her little umbrella — until we actually got outside, that is. “Oh no! Oh dear!” she kept crying as her umbrella was tugged and torn at by the wind.Spent the morning making our cake, Nova chose it from the “cakey book”, a double layer chocolate monstrosity garnished with Cadbury’s mini eggs. She took the lead on decorating. I just put the icing, and chocolate flakes and eggs in little bowls and let her get on with it. She was rigorous about “quality control”, and carried out thorough tastings at every stage. Went round to Pasc’s for a cup of tea in the afternoon. The two little girls headed off upstairs to Fay’s bedroom, and when we went up to find them an hour later, we could hear them singing a song about fannies and willies and poos through the closed door. They were lying on the bed with their legs entangled, singing away. Got home to discover that Jemima had dropped a little care package for me, with raspberry leaf tea (reduces menstrual cramps) and two tinctures (five flower remedy and walnut) which are good for shock and “change”, along with a leaflet for a medicinal herbalist. So sweet of her… I really am fortunate to have the wonderful friends I do. When I asked Nova what she wanted to give Adam for his birthday yesterday, she said quite definitely “a teddy bear”. I didn’t feel up to facing the London traffic in my exhausted condition, so decided to knit him one. I downloaded a pattern from the web, and assembled it in a couple of hours. Nova very involved in quality control here as well — teddy was thoroughly pre-cuddled before we wrapped it. With all this activity, I hadn’t had time to cook our dinner (and no groceries to cook it with) so we ordered a pizza. Watched Law and Order and Tim Henman beat Andy Roddick in the Indian Wells tennis tournament before calling it a night. |
|
March 18, 2004We got the worst possible news at today’s scan — when they found the fetus, the heart had stopped beating. The consultant and nurse performing the scan were both pretty upset. They asked if I wanted to book a D&C, but I’d prefer to let things happen naturally if possible. I’ve never found out that I’d lost a pregnancy with a scan before — I’ve always had some bleeding, then a follow-up scan to confirm the miscarriage. I have no idea how long it is likely to take…I called Dad when we got back home and gave him the news, then downed a couple of stiff drinks. One thing about knowing that there is no hope for the fetus is that I’ll be able to take painkillers to help me through it… Had a terrible night’s sleep — I turned the light off at 2am, drifted off sometime after the 3:30am news bulletin, and was awake by 6:30… |
|
March 17, 2004Things Nova did on the walk home from nursery today:
Needless to say, the fifteen minute walk home took closer to thirty minutes… |
|
March 15, 2004Got to work to discover that my job share hadn’t been in for the whole week, which meant things were in a real state. Very frustrating, because there is too much to do at the best of times, and we just can’t afford to have entire weeks with neither of us in the office.Ate our family dinner by candlelight this evening. Nova loved it, and may have even inadvertently eaten a bit of the stirfried mushrooms and bok choi I’d slipped onto her plate, mistaking it for grilled salmon in the gloom. The reason for the candles was that the lightbulb over the diningroom table had blown and I am incapable of changing English lightbulbs. They don’t screw in like the ones in Canada — you have to grip the bulb tightly in your hand and force it in against considerable resistance, then give it a twist to lock it into place. I’m just incapable of doing this — I keep picturing my hand full of shards of broken glass and just can’t bring myself to push hard enough. |
|
March 14, 2004For once we had a day free of engagements. Adam took Nova to church — I’m still struggling with this wretched cold, and it was an opportunity for me to rest. Spent the morning with the Sunday papers. Nova was still very excited about Ben’s birthday party, and suggested that it might be Ben’s birthday again today. She’s already mentioning her birthday party, and has started compiling a guestlist, with Ruby the main invitee. “What about family?” she mused at lunch, and listed off some relatives here and in Canada that she wants to include.In the afternoon, Adam took Nova to Clown Town while I read my Elvis Presley biography and had a long phone conversation with Wade. |
|
March 13, 2004Popped in on Dave this morning for a cup of tea. He’s currently living in a shared house in Tufnell Park, although he’s moving soon. One of his roommates has a little blind dog called Jap that looks like an overgrown sheep. Nova was initially confused as to which end was the front. She was keen to stroke it though, and was very gentle. She even fed the dog a bit of Ryvita, which is good progress for her because she’s been nervous around dogs for the last few months.I did the Waitrose shop with Adam and Nova went for sandwiches at a nearby deli, then we bought a birthday present for Eytan and Dina’s son Ben who’s just turned two. Nova was uncharacteristically enthusiastic about the party had had firm ideas about what she wanted to wear: her fairy dress (now much too small) and pink polkadot tights. “I’m a princess” she said proudly, twirling round and doing her little jumps. She had a good time at the party playing with balloons and toys and eating crisps and two slices of cake. An acquaintance of ours, Sally, was there with her six-week-old daughter. I asked Sally how her three older boys were finding the new arrival. “Oh, they’re just crazy about her! They’re always hugging and kissing her and wanting to help me,” she enthused. A little while later she handed the baby to her oldest son, who’s about eight or nine and went off to get some food. The minute she left the room, he turned to me and said, “Do you want to hold her?” thrusting her in my arms as he spoke. “So, what’s it like having a baby in the house?” I asked. “A little bit horrible actually,” he said. “It never stops crying.” “Babies are noisy,” I agreed, before he skipped off to play with some other kids. |
|
March 12, 2004Nova and I went round to for afternoon tea with Pasc and Fay at Alicia and Scarlett’s. Alicia is an old school friend of Pasc’s who has recently moved into the neighbourhood. Her daughter Scarlett is at Nova’s nursery, although being almost a year older, she’s in a different group. Nova went straight upstairs when we arrived, and played really nicely with the other girls. In fact, the other two eventually wandered downstairs to watch videos but Nova was still happy to play upstairs putting Scarlett’s dolls to bed.I made Nova grilled salmon, rice and broccoli for dinner, which she wolfed down. big improvement on last’s night performance over the Gladys Beach stew, which she pronounced “scary” and refused to touch… |
|
March 11, 2004I don’t think it’s news to anyone who reads this website that I’m seven weeks pregnant. I haven’t been writing about it — we’ve been down this road so many times, and we’ve learned not to get our hopes too high. While I know that the best thing to do is think positively, I’m mostly trying to get through the days with as little stress and exertion as possible. Things have been going alright so far — I’ve experienced some nausea and other minor symptoms, which is encouraging. They have me on progesterone to help support the pregnancy, so twice a day I have to lie down for an hour while the pill is absorbed. Challenging at times with a job and a household to run and a two-year-old to look after. Adam has been doing a lot more around the house, which is a big help.I had my first scan this afternoon, to see if they could find a heartbeat. Everything looks fine: the fetus is in the right spot, the nurse detected a heartbeat, and the size is about right for a seven week pregnancy. “Well, that’s the first hurdle,” the nurse Yvonne said as she turned the monitor to show me. Yvonne and I go way back. There’s been a lot of turnover in the EPDU (Early Pregnancy Diagnostic Unit) since my first visit several years ago, but Yvonne’s been there since the beginning. I have a more faith in her judgments than in half the consultants we’ve encountered at various appointments over the years. She’s scheduled weekly scans for the next month or so to keep an eye on things and reassure me that things are going fine.
|
|
March 10, 2004Woke up this morning with a nasty cough and laryngitis. I decided to go to my training course anyway, although I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gone to work. I’d been hoping to pick up some techniques for working with images for the web, but that didn’t really happen. Although I don’t think I was in a state to get the most out of the learning opportunity.I caught the #43 bus up Archway Road to pick up Nova at nursery. I made sausages and lentils for dinner, which turned out really nicely. Nova turned her nose up at the lentils but dispached two big pork sausages without any trouble. I’m really struggling with introducing her to new foods at the moment. She’s a good little eater, and likes a wide range of flavours — olives, pesto, parmesan cheese, salami, mature cheddar cheese to name a few — but if she wasn’t introduced to it by the time she was 18 months old chances are she isn’t going to eat it. Unless of course it’s coloured lurid green and red and shaped like alligator or something. That’s the part that gets me — how can she happily stick some nasty, rubbery, poisonous looking item like a jelly-worm in her mouth, then turn around and tell me that a spoonful of lasagne is scary? Went to see 21 Grams with Jemima this evening. It was Jemima’s idea; I hadn’t read anything about except to notice that it was nominated for a couple of Oscars. Given that it had Benicio del Toro in it, I just assumed it was going to be about cocaine. I thought it was a pretty good film. I’m a big Benicio del Toro fan, although I hadn’t noticed how much he resembles Brad Pitt before (honestly).The story unfolds in a chronologically disjointed fashion, and without giving anything away I assumed the main characters shared a past, when in fact their lives come together at the end, which had me a little confused for a while… |
|
March 9, 2004I started my advanced Photoshop training course today. I’m coming down with a cold and felt a bit bad about inflicting my germs on two other people in a stuffy little room all day, but it turned out the other student was snuffling away as well. I changed straight into my pajamas when I got home, and got under a blanket with a big glass of orange juice. Adam made kedgeree for dinner and we watched Man U lose to Porto and crash out of the European Cup playoffs. |
|
March 8, 2004Today was my only day in the office this week, as I’m on an advanced Photoshop course Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s hard enough fitting the job into three days — when it’s reduced to one day, it’s just a joke. I managed to get the newsletter out, and spent the little time I had left getting background material ready for Michaela before leaving to pick up Nova.Walking home from nursery this afternoon, Nova surprised me by reading out the number 96. She’s had lots of practice on her teens and twenties. The walk to the village along Southwood Lane takes us from number 22 to 2, and she stops in front of each house and says, “Two and two. What does that make? Twenty-two!” etc. But it’s only since we’ve started walking to the nursery instead of taking the pushchair, that she’s been exposed to higher numbers… I finished my Elvis Presley biography this evening. I’ve been reading “Last Train to Memphis” by Peter Guralnick, and have really enjoyed it. In 500 pages, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t say that Elvis was the nicest, kindest, politest boy they’d ever met. This is the first of two volumes. I’m kind of dreading reading the second (“Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley”). I just know it’s going to end badly… I remember the day Elvis died. My friend Jackie Molnar and her parents were in town for a visit, and sleeping outside in their motorhome. Jackie’s mom Eileen was a huge Elvis fan, and had posters of him up around the house, the way Jackie had Bay City Roller posters in her bedroom. Jackie’s dad Emil even bore a faint resemblance to Elvis, at least in the hairstyle department. We were all sitting around in the kitchen when Jackie came in. “Hey, mom, Elvis died,” she announced matter of factly. “Don’t even say such a thing!” her mother cried. “But it’s true!” Jackie said, “I just heard it on the radio.” As it dawned on Eileen that it might be more than a practical joke, she jumped up from her chair and ran outside to their motorhome. She didn’t emerge for the rest of the day, and when they said their goodbyes the next morning her eyes were swollen and red from crying. And this was a married woman with teenage daughters. He inspired that kind of devotion. I can’t see Jackie going into that sort of morning when Derek from the Bay City Rollers meets his end… |
|
March 7, 2004Made another trip to the beach after breakfast. I wore a few extra layers this time and didn’t get quite as frozen as yesterday. We spent our time making sand castles and shell mosaics then headed back to the room for hot chocolates.We set off for home around noon, stopping at a local pub for lunch. We ordered Nova the child’s portion of sausage, chips and beans, but when the food eventually came, the waitress set down this massive plate of food in front of her. Of course, as Adam pointed out, child’s portions are supposed to feed 10 year old boys as well as two-year-old girls. Nova actually made a pretty good dent in it, eating all the sausages and all the chips that hadn’t come into contact with the baked beans. They tell me she eats baked beans at nursery, but personally I have my doubts… |
|
March 6, 2004Our room came with breakfast, so we headed over to see what was on offer. They’d gone down the “continental” route, offering juice, cereal, toast, jam, ham and cheese. Nova had several glasses of juice, a bowl of “flakes”, and a slice of toast with cheese (all the jams had some form of alcohol in them).Ventured across the road afterwards and climbed the little path through the dunes that lead to the beach. Nova was very excited when she saw the wide expanse of golden sand, and had a happy time gathering shells and making sand castles, although it was too windy to play with the ball. Nova was cozy (if a bit encumbered) in the five layers she was wearing, but I was half frozen by the time we got back. Our room actually felt warm… Retreated under the duvet with a cup of hot chocolate and a few dozen readings of Nova’s books. Drove into Rye for lunch. We stopped at a little mom-and-pop cafe for sandwiches and coffee. Nova was very well behaved, and the owner came over with a little bag of sweeties for her. We went for a wander afterwards. Lately Nova’s taken to saying “I want to be a princess!”. I’ve been meaning to replace her little fairy princess dress for a while, and we stopped in a kiddies clothing store to see what was on offer. There weren’t any princess dresses, but there was a pink fur-lined, jewel studded plastic tiara that Nova took a shine to, and wore proudly round the streets of Rye for the rest of the afternoon. Rye is a lovely little place. Away from the shopping streets there were beautiful old houses and a peaceful church and graveyard, where Nova frolicked among the “standing stones” as she called them. When Nova fell asleep in the car on the way back, we immediately snapped off the nursery rhymes and decided to carry on past our motel to Dungeness. The road went through some of the ugliest scenery I have ever seen. The landscape itself was flat and bleak, but it was the manmade additions that were the real eyesore: barbed wire fences guarding military installations, wrecked vechicles, rusting machinery, and nuclear power station lowering in the background. Dungeness itself is private land, and had an interesting atmosphere. It reminded me of an Indian reservation, the way the buildings are just sort of scattered around at random, instead of organised the way they are in municipalities. The little houses are built straight on the shingle. Derek Jarman’s house and garden looked very well kept compared to most of the surrounding properties. We stopped for a look, but I was very aware that it’s a private house and not a pilgrimage spot. Not everyone seemed to feel that way. There was a family wandering straight through the garden, and pressing their noses against the windows of the house. The mother was taking dozens of photographs, while their daughter tossed rocks in the air and whacked them about with a piece of driftwood, sometimes hitting the house. Adam took Nova for dinner, while I had my rest. Like yesterday, I got her settled and we headed over for our meal. I stayed away from fish tonight, trying their pork in a mustard herb crust, which pretty good, although I could have used a sharper knife. There wasn’t much to do once we got back — Adam watched the football highlights with the TV volume set low, I went to sleep. |
|
March 5, 2004Had a busy morning getting everything ready for our weekend away at the seaside. Adam went into the Body Shop for a half day to make up for his hookey playing on Tuesday. Packing isn’t quite the military operation it was when Nova was a baby, but it’s still quite a palaver… Gone are the days of sharing a small knapsack for a weekend away, or taking hand luggage only on a flight…I got a phone call from Michaela this morning who was thrilled to be appointed to the project manager post. It’ll be good to work with her, although I can’t help but feel that the job is a bit of a poisoned chalice in the current environment at the agency. Set off for Camber Sands after lunch. The drive only took a couple of hours and Nova slept for much of the time, so it was pretty stress free. We’d booked a room at The Place, a modern motel-style place right next to the dunes. The room was a good size with a double bed for us and a single for Nova. It was pretty chilly — they’d obviously turned the one little radiator on about 15 minutes before we arrived. I don’t know what it is about the English. They seem to have the delusion that the miserable, weather-swept North Atlantic rock they huddle on is actually a temperate paradise momentarily experiencing a spot of bad weather, and there is no reason to actually adapt to conditions by insulating their homes, installing proper heating, or building a transportation network that can actually cope with the weather they experience every single year. Or perhaps they are just tight… Either way, it was bloody cold, and we spent the next hour huddled under duvets until our body heat seemed to raise the temperature a little bit. Adam took her over to the restaurant while I had a rest. When they returned, I got her settled for the night, then we switched off the lights and headed out for our dinner, armed with the baby monitor. Had a very nice meal — most of the ingredients were local: Rye Bay fish, Romney Marsh lamb, local organic vegetables. I had squid to start, followed by Dover sole and we shared a chocolate pudding with pistachio ice cream for desser. There wasn’t much to do when we got back to the room except go to sleep, so we called it a night about 9:30pm. I suppose that’s the silver lining to taking a two-year-old on your weekend break — you get lots of rest. |
|
March 4, 2004A kerfuffle with HR kept me busy on the phone for much of the morning. They said we and should have involved them in the process, hadn’t gone through the proper interviewing procedures, and that there was no money in the budget for the post. None of which turned out to be true. I dug up the emails I’d sent them last month, doublechecked we’d followed the correct process, and Susan talked to our director who confirmed that the money had been approved before Christmas. A storm in a teacup, and more to do with this latest round of restructuring and the way our director is being squeezed out than anything else…Nova and I went to the village to run a few errands, but it was so bloody cold out I lost enthusiasm for the library trip I’d planned for the afternoon. Jemima and Ruby came by about 7pm, while Nova was having her bath. Ruby was in her pajamas and pink bathrobe and was carrying a little suitcase full of sleep-over essentials. Jemima settled her in the inflatable bed in our room, and then we headed upstairs for dinner. We kept it quite simple and Adam did a lot of the cooking, which kept it even simpler from my point of view: olives and tuna-stuffed hot peppers (from a jar); spaghetti al limone; baked seabass with fennel served with a green sauce and roasted new potatoes; and the never-ending chocolate-chestnut slice. Jemima’s husband Rob was invited too of course, but he’s in the middle of directing an advert for British Airways and is working crazy hours. He’d hoped to join us at some point, but when Jemima left about midnight, he was just leaving the office. Sent him a doggy bag… |
|
March 3, 2004Spent the afternoon interviewing for a person to write the requirement specification for a big web project that I’m managing. I’ve done a fair amount of interviewing over the years, and this was definitely the best shortlist I’ve ever had. (I suppose it shows how many web people are still out of work since the dot-com bust.)One of the candidates was my friend Michaela. I had to push a bit to get her on the shortlist — I knew she’d be a good candidate for the job, but that didn’t come through from her CV. You can’t actually tell that much from CVs though, and in fact the most impressive CV belonged to the only candidate who wasn’t appointable. In the discussion afterwards, we quickly narrowed it down to Michaela and another guy, each of who had different strengths. I left the decision to Susan and Trudy at that point, because I felt my friendship with Michaela comprised my ability to make an unbiased decision. Beulah was at our place when I got home. She’d come by to keep an eye on Nova while Adam took a conference call to America from the bedroom. We had dinner together: minestrone and fresh bread (supplied by Beulah); spaghetti with chilli, garlic and parsley; and slices of chocolate-chestnut cake from last Friday. Not bad for a mid-week effort… |
|
March 2, 2004Took the day off work. I still have holiday to take by the end of March or else I’ll lose it. I’d saved the time to visit Canada last October, but then things worked out very differently, and instead of holiday I ended up taking compassionate leave. I bumped into Pasc on my way home, and she came round for a quick coffee. Adam had planned to work at home today, and it didn’t take much effort to convince him that his afternoon would be better spent watching The Return of the King at the Islington multiplex with me than working on the Body Shop annual report.I thought it was an awesome film and every bit as enjoyable as the first and second parts. Stopped at Wagamama for noodles before walking up Upper Street to Holloway Road to catch the #271 home. A really nice afternoon — it felt a bit like skipping school to be slipping into a movie theatre in broad daylight. Not that that’s what we used to do when we skipped school. We’d generally go to people’s houses whose parents weren’t home, or drive around. I almost never drive to the nursery, but I left it so late that I had to today. After buckling Nova in her car seat, she surprised me when I asked her if she wanted to listen to some nursery rhymes, “No — Johnny Cash!” she said. She changed her mind by the end of the first track, and it was Pop Goes the Weasel for the rest of the journey. (Maybe she meant to say “NO Johnny Cash!”) |
|
March 1, 2004Well, today is the tenth anniversary of my arrival in the UK. When I walked out of Heathrow with my three pieces of luggage I had no idea I’d stay this long. The whole of my thirties have been spent here. I still don’t feel British — and don’t suppose I ever will — but I am definitely a Londoner. It’s easier to feel allegiance to a city than a country
|
|
