March 2018

March 31, 2018

Woke super early (4am), which is always the way when you travel west. Adam managed to doze off again, but I didn’t get back to sleep. Spent a couple of hours reading my Versace murder book.When we started watching the TV series last week, I realised I didn’t remember much of the story. Can’t say I’m enjoying it much. I’ve read several decent articles by Maureen Orth’s in Vanity Fair over the years (the surname always catches my eye), but this is book is pretty damn dull.

Adam and I set out about 7am for a recce of the neighbourhood. It’s a pretty edgy area — clearly the gentrification of Brooklyn hasn’t reached this deep yet. There are nice rows of brownstones (mostly social housing), mature trees and magnolia bushes just starting to bud.

The M-train runs overhead up Broadway. We checked out our local train station, bought weekly transit passes, and picked up some groceries before heading back.

There is a Dunkin’ Donuts next to the station. I know Lyra is keen to visit one, but this branch is pretty skanky. As we were passing, a raddled old gal with lurid blue eyeshadow lurched out the door and horked a big gob of something onto the sidewalk.

When we passed it again a couple of hours later, the clientele had improved somewhat and we ventured inside so the girls could buy their promised donut.

It was a glorious bright day, and warming up nicely when we caught the train. Compared to London, the rolling stock is prehistoric, and the tracks badly maintained. We jolted and clunked along, and when we changed at Broadway Junxion, the escalators seemed to be running on half speed.

It was immediately apparent that New Yorkers are bucking the obesity crisis gripping America. Practically nobody riding the subway was fat, or even particularly overweight. There were lots of dark, scruffy folk, and a lot of people limping. Put me in mind of urban pigeons, and before long we saw this specimen.

Got off at the foot of Brooklyn Bridge and walked across to Manhattan. It was pretty chocka all the way but definitely worth doing. Felt sorry for the people who had the big idea of riding a bike across. With the volume of people, that looked like no fun at all…

Once we reached Manhattan island, we wandered south towards the former site of World Trade Center. Stopped for some lunch at the Essex World Café, an old-style eating establishment that served as a triage centre during 9/11 and aftermath.

Next stop, Trinity church, where we saw the graves of Alexander Hamilton, his wife Eliza, sister-in-law Angelica, and Hercules Mulligan before moving on to the 9/11 memorial and museum.

It was incredibly well done, moving and overwhelming, I was in tears several times. I thought it was important to visit, but definitely wanted to do so at the start of the trip, so we could move on to happier experiences.

We spent a few hours there without seeing everything, but there is a limit to how much you can take in. “I feel like a sponge that is completely full of water,” Lyra put it.

Afterwards, we caught the subway to Canal Street, where we checked out Chinatown and the girls shopped for makeup at a couple of places.

Our last stop before heading back to the flat was the Canal Street indoor market. Very trendy stalls, but mostly out of our budget. Nova bought a cool mindmap of London(!) and Lyra had some bubble tea.

Dinner was chips, guac and salsa in front of Glee…

March 30, 2018

Quick dash to Waitrose first thing to buy plane food while Adam visited his parents. Packed a generous food parcel for each of us to see us through the flight. Norwegian is a budget airline, and while they do serve meals, you have to pay for them and book in advance. Better to just bring our own…Spent the rest of the morning finishing our packing and setting the house in order. Apparently, not everyone feels the need to leave their house clean and tidy when they set off on vacation, and it does add to the to-do list. My mum did the same, and it never occurred to me it wasn’t common practice.

“Helping” with the packing

The taxi turned up about noon to take us to St Pancras. The girls were straight into their lunches before we even started moving. The train to Gatwick ran smoothly and to schedule, and check-in was smooth as cream.

Our plane was a lovely new Boeing 787 — first time I’ve flown on one. They had a good range of films. I watched The Shape of Water and Wonder, then tried The Battle of the Sexes but found it dull and badly written.

The arrival hall of JFK was complete mayhem, and we were in the first time ESTA visa line, which was massive and ponderously slow. Even worse, we were siphoned off into a random sub-line that didn’t move at all.

People were getting mutinous by the time they finally resolved things and we made it through. Our luggage was no longer on a carousel, but we eventually located our bags dumped to one side.

The taxi queue was a doddle in comparison, and we were soon sailing off to our flat in Bed-Stuy. Our host met Gerald was there to meet us, with a long-cooled pizza and even colder Buds in the fridge.

The flat is very nice and surprisingly large, comprising half the ground floor of a large brownstone. There’s even a bit of garden, though we’re unlikely to be using it. Spotless and nicely furnished (if lacking in a few basics like bedside tables and cooking knives), it does get American Netflix. The girls were all over that, and although it was well past midnight UK time, they started watching Glee immediately.

March 29, 2018

Our last day in London before we leave — masses to do to get ready, as ever. Lots of other commitments as well, such as the Easter bonnet parade. Headed over to the church to catch them going in, but arrived too late.Opted to stay for the service, and catch them on the way out. I assumed the service would be a quick one, but boy was I wrong. Year 3 were leading things, scampering around the altar and aisles dressed all in white with headdresses of little lights.

I was up at the back so it was hard to tell, but at one point they seemed to be assembling a cross and strapping a kid onto it. Lots of singing and arm-waving — Lord of the Dance (I like that one) and Jesus Is Alive. A long, meandering “sermon” that involved playing three games of tic tac toe, and a riff on why one might think “Jesus is a loser”. Must admit, the thought hadn’t occurred to me…

Scampered round the shops afterwards, then came home to do some baking in time for the sale at 2pm. Made some carrot cake muffins, chocolate cookies with crushed mini-eggs, and a loaf of chocolate chip zucchini bread.

We managed to shift most of our wares before it started pelting with rain, but I ended up with a bag of unsold cakes we need like a hole in the head. (Maybe I can freeze them…)

Worked until it was time to take Lyra to the doctor. She regularly complains of stomach aches and headaches, and although I’m not worried, I wouldn’t want to be negligent. The doctor gave her a good going over, then announced that she wasn’t worried either but does want to get to the bottom of it. We’re to keep a headache diary, and come back in six weeks.

Millie’s close friend Ayo has died of a heart attack — only 59. He was a lovely guy who I’ve met several times. Very sad…

Sophia came for a sleepover this evening. Pretty much our last chance to see her, as she’s flying off to her new life in Australia a few days after we get back. It has caused a lot of bad feeling between Richard and his brother — they are no longer speaking.

Half an hour after going to bed, Lyra begged me to take Sophia out of her room as she wouldn’t stop farting…

March 28, 2018

Lyra is off on another school trip today. They are visiting to Bentley Priory, a stately home which was the headquarters of the fighter command during the Battle of Britain. Blast from the past to be making a packed lunch now she’s switched to school dinners…Down to the Whittington for a diabetes blood test. My numbers were pretty good last time, but I’m not as confident about this one. It measure the excess sugar in your blood for the last few months — which includes the holiday season and panto…

Afterwards, I walked down to Junction Road to buy something to fix Nova’s curtain rail. I needed a double-ended screw to attach to long pieces of dowelling. The original one provided had proved unequal to the load it was bearing, so I thought I’d use two, plus wood glue it as well.

That turned out not to be practical as of course it’s impossible to screw two screws in at the same time. Doh! Ended up resorting to duct tape and cable ties — not pretty, but at least it’s functioning again.

Committee meeting this evening, which was interesting in places, but mostly not. Gave my website update, which was well received. Instead of carrying on getting ready for the trip when I got back, I switched on the telly and watched an episode of Modus. Adam is out at the pub (for a “strategy meeting”), and I just didn’t feel like chipping away at it on my own…

March 27, 2018

Lyra’s class is going on a climbing trip this morning. I wasn’t sure she’d feel well enough, but she insists she’s fine. I know she’d hate to miss out…Headed back to the doctor again to get my ear looked at. Apparently it now looks fine, though I will travel with decongestant spray as something that might help if it gets blocked on the flight. I had a terrible time with blocked ears on our flight to Bahrain, that took days to clear up…

Had a meeting with Alicia to get the committee website project back on track. I’ve been neglecting that project, and I have to update people on my progress tomorrow evening. Worked until almost 8pm, when Adam got in, then made dinner together — lamb burgers and itch.

The girls want to see a show when we are in New York. I’ve been looking into it, but all the Broadway shows are crazy expensive. There are other (also expensive) things to spend our money on, plus we have London theatre on our doorstep.

That said, I’ve found an off-Broadway show called Puffs that sounds fun. It’s the Hogwarts story told from the perspective of Hufflepuff. Still not cheap, but in the zone…

March 26, 2018

Everyone slept in this morning… that spring ahead yesterday obviously didn’t take. Adam had to give Nova a lift to school to prevent her being late, and Lyra sacrificed her pre-school gymnastics class.I attended assembly this morning as Lyra was playing in the orchestra. A really good performance, and as ambitious as ever:

There was a cat yowling round the house all night. Heard it again this morning, and went outside to see what was going on. There was a pretty little black cat with big round eyes cowering miserably under the car.

I had the idea it might be our neighbour’s indoor cat who has escaped a couple of times before. I thought I’d try coax it indoors with food then check if it had a tag, but it was too timid. I left the crunchies under the car, and when I went back five minutes later it had scoffed the lot.

I guess he figured out there might be more where that came from and snuck in through the cat flap. When I came downstairs he panicked and somehow managed to break the plexiglass window of the cat flap in his haste to escape. I managed to Gorilla Glue it back together, but the whole mechanism needs to be reassembled.

I’d just finished dealing with that when the phone rang. It was the school telling me that Lyra was in the sick bay with a tummyache and I needed to collect her. A trip to the loo and some paracetamol sorted her out. She ate a good lunch and seems right as rain.

I’d agreed to have Lucia after school, so I had to go up to the school again to collect her. Finally got down to what I’d intended to do today at about 4pm…:-(

Made pesto with baby spinach instead of basil. The girls were initially fooled (though they thought it lacked salt) but went off it a bit once I told them what I’d done…

March 25, 2018

Daylight savings kicked in this morning… I could have used that extra hour — I was pretty tired. Adam headed off to get Lyra about 11am, and Nova made her own way home.Greek salad and hummus for lunch. Spent the afternoon doing New York research — haven’t found time to do enough of that. Adam booked the trip practically on a whim during panto week. There was no time then, and somehow I haven’t got back to it until now.

Things are certainly expensive, not helped by the shitty exchange rate at the moment. But there’s not much point in going if we don’t get out and see and do things…

Had a cheese fondue for dinner, something the girls have been asking me to do for a while. I made it from scratch, which I haven’t done before (or maybe once). Turned out alright, if slightly less thick than i would have liked/

Made it a bit healthier by adding baby potatoes, apple chunks and steamed broccoli florets to dip as well as bread. It was a great hit with everybody. Afterwards, I carried on with the NYC research until about 10pm, then to bed…

March 24, 2018

The power came on about 5am. I could tell from the delay in the dishwasher timer. Only lasted a few hours though before it cut out again. There’s a problem with a main cable. They had a work around in place by early afternoon, but repairing it will involve digging up the road.Skating exam today. Lyra did very well — she came reasonably close to passing on her first go, which is excellent.

When they got back she headed over to Nina’s to drop off some homework and stayed to play with her afterwards and had lunch there. Nina has missed a week of school with some weird virus. I hope she’s not contagious…

Quiz night at Nova’s school this evening. Nova is sleeping over at Jess’s house, but we arranged for Lyra to sleep at Lucia’s, so no babysitting necessary.

I had the big idea of walking so we could both drink. It’s not that far as the crow flies, but you have to go round the golf course, which adds a lot. We were practically jogging by the end, but managed to arrive only five minutes late.

The first round was a kamikaze — any wrong answers and you lose all your points. We gambled and lost, which killed any chance of ultimate success. (Though we were the top finishing team that chucked their first round.)

Got a ride home with Iris’s parents afterwards. It was too early for bed and we were both a bit hungry after our “dinner”. Fixed a plate of cheese and crackers and sat down to watch something on telly. Crashed almost immediately, and didn’t wake up again until 1am…

March 23, 2018

To support Sport Relief, the kids have been asked to come to school dressed as their favourite sport star. Lyra went as Tessa Virtue, clumping off wearing in her figure skates and 2010 Vancouver Olympics hoodie.Went for a run in the Woods, managing a bit over two miles. Felt okay throughout — I think the antibiotics are already making a difference. My ear definitely hurts less, and I feel more energetic than I have done for days.

Did lots of long overdue housework today. I thought I had an external meeting as well, but was postponed until Monday, which I’m happy about. Need to start organising things for New York as well. Eep…

Ava came back to ours after school. They disappeared into Lyra’s room to make spoof videos, and barely saw them again until dinner. Made salmon filo rolls, salad and rice, which was well received. I ate with the girls, as Adam is out tonight…

The doorbell rang about 9:30. It was John from next door. His power was out, and he wanted me to come over with a torch to check the fuse box. Everything looked in order, so I brought him back to ours, made him a cup of tea, and called his son Andy in Dorset.

Turns out there’s a major electrical fault in the area, affecting one third of the houses. It’s meant to be sorted during the night. Not long after we took him home, our power went as well. At least it’s not particularly cold at the moment.

Tanja has had her baby! A little boy called Liam — I’m so pleased for them…

March 22, 2018

Went to the GP first thing to get my ear checked out. It’s been hurting for a few days, and I’m experiencing a lot of ringing, plus having dizzy moments. Definitely not something i want to fly with.She could see that it was infected, and prescribed a course of antibiotics. Need to return for another urgent appointment next week to assess whether it has cleared up sufficiently.

Got out of there just in time to attend Lyra’s violin concert at school. There were twelve students performing, ranging from absolute beginners to Lyra’s level (Grade 3). She closed things down with a lovely performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Checked with St Marylebone again today. It sounds like they’ll be making additional offers next week, and that Lyra is still in a strong position to receive one. Fingers crossed…

Did a biggish shop at Tesco. I’m mindful that we are away from next Friday, but food supplies are running pretty low.

Opera outing with some mums from Lyra’s class this evening. It’s a pretty random crew — “Why are going out with those mums?” Lyra asked. “You hate them!” I absolutely don’t hate them — but in the eight years i’ve known and socialised with people in that class, I haven’t happened to do anything with any of them until now…

Saw La Traviata at the ENO. It was an excellent production of one of my favourite operas. It made me think of dad, and how I’d always take him to the opera when he visited us in London…

March 21, 2018

Walked Lyra to school, then went for a run on the Heath. I haven’t done that route in ages. First they dug up the Heath for a massively expensive, scandalously unnecessary flood protection project, which was depressing to look at and annoying to think about.As well as that, there always seem to be roadworks on Spaniards Lane and idling cars spewing out exhaust — which must counteract the positive benefits of going for a run.

Did a piece of finance work — adding a new page to the website, and was about to head off to the supermarket, when Tanja called asking if I could have Lily after school. She’s nine months pregnant and thought she might be going into labour, so of course i said yes.

Managed to rustle up a smoked salmon and sweetcorn pasta for dinner. Watched Masterchef with the girls (Adam was out at a meeting), then did a comprehension exercise with Lyra.

There was an interesting news story on tutoring today. A study has been published suggesting that wealthy parents who tutor their children in order to secure grammar school places should be taxed. Works for me…

March 20, 2018

Happy birthday, Adam!
Got up early to make chocolate-banana muffins, and wrap Adam’s present — a fancy new coffee pot. That was all that was on offer as the girls hadn’t bought anything, but did manage to rustle up a card…The coffee definitely tastes different in the new pot. Sort of cleaner and wetter somehow, or maybe less thick or something. Two thumbs up from both of us.

After doing a couple of hours work, it was time to ice my ginger cake. Had a dreadful time getting it out of the tin. I had baked in in a bundt-like pan, as we recently discarded our other springform tin, and wasn’t able to line it with baking parchment.

By the time I winkled it out, it was in a right state. I decided it was best to put the curved size down, and ice the flat bottom. Even so, it looks a right mess — one for my cake fail video for sure…:-(

As soon as the girls got home from school we headed into town to meet Adam for his second present — a family trip to Tower Bridge. Very interesting, and the glass floor good fun. I particularly loved the engine rooms. I wihs I’d taken dad — he would have enjoyed it.

Made our way along the river to London Bridge, then caught a train to Kings Cross. Our plan was to go for Indian food at Dishoom, but we got waylaid by things like the birdcage swing and platform 9 3/4.

By the time we got to the restaurant, there was a line round the corner and an hour-long wait. It was the same story at every restaurant we checked. Tuesday is clearly the new Friday, at least in this part of town. We’re too accustomed to the sleepy pace of the suburbs perhaps.

Ended up in a nice little wine bar, where we had charcuterie platters, dips, and so on. All very nice, and meant we had room for the ginger cake that was waiting back home, looking more woeful than ever.

On the girls’ advice, I stuck a leftover muffin from breakfast in the centre, and scattered it with mini-marshmallows.

It might have improved things slightly, but I was glad to be presenting it in the dark…

March 19, 2018

Walked down to the high school for my shift this morning. It is still bitterly cold and icy underfoot. I could have used better treads in some of the dicey stretches. I saw one child slip and pull her dad over with her…All was chaos at the school. The head of exams was late, the chief invigilator called in sick, I was meant to have three candidates, but nine showed up, none of whom were on my register.

It was a set of functional skills papers — basic writing and comprehension — two papers of 50 minutes each. Either the boys felt stupid and acted out, or they regularly act out, which is why they haven’t learned much. Probably both, and other things as well. Certainly earned my money today…

Back home, I made a ginger cake for Adam’s birthday tomorrow and did some work for my finance client. Nova was out at a friends after school, so I made a quick stirfry for Adam and Lyra after I collected her from film club.

Started watching “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” this evening — think it’s going to be a good one…

March 18, 2018

Woke up a bit too early for the amount I drank last night, but feel pretty much okay for four large glasses of cava and a handful of fries…Happily, Nova is also feeling fine, her migraine having cleared up. Poor thing… I hope that migraines aren’t going to be in her cards. I’ve never experienced a proper one myself, but have known people who suffered dreadfully with them.

When Lyra returned from karate Adam took her and Lily off to a dance expo at the Excel Centre, having been comped tickets from one of his clients. Headed out myself not long afterwards to run some errands.

It’s freezing and icy cold out, with a bitter wind. Had to watch my step as there was loads of ice underfoot. Dropped books off at Pasc’s, stray party presents at Christine’s and a birthday card for Danny, before hitting the Sainsbury’s on Archway Road and paying my tab for the yesterday’s gift.

Heated up some soup when I got back and dived under a blanket on the sofa for an hour. This coincided nicely with a phone call from David — hockey, politics, family news…

Dinner was lentils and sausages (a mix of veggie, beef and pork chipolatas — whatever I found in the freezer). Afterwards, I did some work for my finance client, who is back on the scene. Wrapped it up at 10pm to watch Homeland, then a bath before bed.

The Vancouver issue is still simmering… It’ll take a while to resolve that one — I’m feeling pretty bloody angry and hurt…

March 17, 2018

Although she babysitting semi-regularly and receives a weekly allowance, Nova never seems to have any money. After breakfast, Adam and I sat down and worked through what we think is reasonable for her to spend money on, and where the line falls between things we pay for and what she should cover.The upshot is her allowance needs a boost, her Oyster card should auto-top-up, and she should pack lunch at least once a week. We planned to discuss it with her after dance class, but instead of coming home (as agreed), she went out for McDonalds and a high-end cupcake.

That made me a bit cross, but it was nothing compared to how I felt when Adam told me that he’d booked a week-long trip to Vancouver for him and Shayla over a month ago, and hadn’t bothered to tell me.

I was so upset I just grabbed by coat and went straight out for a long walk. It was bitterly cold, with snow swirling and a vicious wind. Marched along, barely noticing where I was going until I found myself on the Archway Road.

Bought a card and present for Danny, whose 50th party we’re meant to be attending this evening. I say “bought”, but as I left the house with no money, my honest face allowed me to take it away on credit, with a promise to return tomorrow and pay for it.

Set off about 7pm. Just as we were leaving, Nova told us that she was developing a migraine. Got her some painkillers, a damp cloth for her forehead, and a basin, and briefed Lyra to keep an eye on her. That’s her second migraine now…

Ended up travelling into town by uber. It would have been a slippery walk to the station, and actually the roads weren’t great either. The driver was certainly concentrating pretty hard on his driving…

Despite arriving an hour after the invitation stated, we were the second couple there. At three previous 50ths we’ve attended, we missed all the food (and once the champagne) by showing up an hour late.

Had a couple of glasses of cava by the time a few platter of fried things showed up: chips, what may have been chicken or squid, and some mozzarella sticks. None of it very tempting, but ate some so as not to be drinking on an empty stomach.

Chatted with a number of people for the next couple of hours, but I really wasn’t in the mood for a party. By 11pm, I was more than ready to leave. Adam said that he’d come too, and was just going to the loo on the way out.

I waited outside for a good ten minutes, but he never turned up. Eventually, I set of for the tube station. He called just as I was getting on a train to say he had booked a cab, but it was easiest to just carry on with my journey.

Interesting people watching on the tube. It’s St Patricks day, and Ireland has just won a famous victory in the Five Nations Rugby tournament, so you can imagine the scenes…

March 16, 2018

How did we get to Friday already? At least I’m feeling a bit more balanced than I have been of late… The house is in some sort of order again, and I got down to some actual paid work sorting out an email signature graphic for my finance client.

After a couple of lovely spring days, the weather is on the turn. Apparently, the “Beast from the East” is coming back for another swipe at us. The sky was quite foreboding when I popped out for a few groceries, and I missed a good soaking by minutes. (Adam was not so lucky…)

Nova is having a sleepover tonight with Issy, a classmate we have yet to meet. Due to my new policy of communicating with the other parents about any plans she cooks up, I had a very nice text conversation with Issy’s mother Mimi. Nova tells me she’s a lecturer at Hertfordshire University, which somehow involves travelling round Southeast Asia quite a bit. I wouldn’t mind that career…

Black bean and sweet potato tacos for dinner, which we ate while watching Donnie Darko for movie night. Lyra quite liked it, though she found it “creepy” in places. I’d forgotten how good the cast is — Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymare, Noah Wyle, Patrick Swayze…

Afterwards, I did some research on the “science” behind the story, which was interesting. An unstable, parallel universe opens up for a few weeks, and he gradually figures it out and sacrifices himself…

March 15, 2018

Went for a two-mile run this morning. It felt so good to get out of doors and moving in the morning. As always when I go for a run, I see people — Suzi and Andreas this morning. It just shifts the horizons of your day that little bit wider.I think there’s a lot of truth in the observation that most of what life throws at you can be dealt with by having a stiff drink, taking a nap or going for a walk.

Had Grace back here for a playdate after school. I’ve noticed over the years, that certain friends always want to do the same things when they come round. Mia likes to play Elefun, Alina likes to draw, Margaux always wants to go to the village, and Grace likes to bake something and sell it for charity.

I wasn’t that crazy about the idea. I’d just made banana bread, we were low on key supplies, I was trying to concentrate on a piece of work… but eventually caved in and said they could make brownies.

It turns out that Grace has given up chocolate for Lent. Not sure what that had to do with selling baked goods to other people, but dug out a recipe for blondies that we had the ingredients to make.

I left them to it at that point, which turned out to be a mistake. I’m not sure what happened with the mixture, but they definitely chose the wrong size of pan. Their blondies were about 2cm thick on one and 2ml thick on the other.

I suggested cutting them into squares and filling them with buttercream icing. For some reason best known to themselves, they dyed this a strange bluey bruise-like colour. Ended up giving them half the banana bread to sell as well. In the end, they made about £8 for WWF, which I submitted online…

Adam and Nova attended a higher education evening at her school this evening, which sounds like it was useful. Speaking of higher education, the deadline for accepting secondary school places has now passed, and the second round of offers will commence in the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed…

March 14, 2018

Woke to the news that Steven Hawking has died… He was 76, which is an astonishing age to live to with motor neurone disease. What a loss to the country — the world feels a poorer place today. He’ll join the pantheon of great scientists through history — Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Faraday, Curie, Tesla, Einstein, Hawking…Not only a brilliant scientist, he was politically active, a champion of the NHS, and extremely funny. The news has been full of clips of his appearancees in TV shows like the Simpsons, and The Big Bang Theory and his best quotes.

One of my favourites was when he said that he was happy to lend his synthesised voice to Eddie Redmayne for in The Theory of Everything, then added “unfortunately Eddie did not inherit my good looks.”

Kept Nova home from school again — she’s feeling better than yesterday, but still not right. As it was a lovely spring day, I was able to hang four loads of laundry outside to dry. So much easier to manage the overwhelming laundry mountain when I can dry clothes outside…

Nova was feeling much better by noon. She came upstairs and had lunch together while watching The Milagro Beanfield War. That film has become a bit of family joke from when I tried to get Lyra to watch it a couple of years ago. Completely unfair, I think it’s a lovely film and was pleased that Nova eventually got into it.

Adam out for dinner with a friend this evening. Made nachos for the three of us and watched the first episode of this year’s Master Chef.

Furthered arrangements for attending Nicholas’s retreat in the Charente in June. I was going to drive with Lawrence, but he cooled on that plan after realising it was a good seven hours’ driving from Calais. Have booked Ryanair flights to Limoges instead…

March 13, 2018

Poor Nova has some sort of stomach bug. She felt poorly when she woke up and was sick to her stomach before long. I called the school to sign her off for the day. Lyra complained of a sore throat, but felt well enough for me to take her in at 10:30.Rupert set off to spend some time in Kentish Town and Camden, before heading home mid-afternoon — and I finally had the place to myself. Tidied the place and even managed to do a productive hour’s work.

Once he set off for Devon, I changed the downstairs bed and moved Nova back into her room. Stripped the bunks in Lyra’s room as well, as Nova has been in her sister’s bed all day so to have easy access to the loo.

Lyra’s parent-teacher meeting this evening. Sounds like she’s doing well and making good progress. As I recall from Nova’s year six, this is the point when the impact of the £1000s of hours of private tutoring makes itself felt. Unsurprisingly, Lyra is relatively unprepared for the SAT exams in May, and we should probably do some preparation with her at home.

Made a quick dinner for Adam, Lyra and myself, then headed off to meet Jane at the cinema. Adam gave me a lift so I could get there on time. We saw I, Tonya and both really enjoyed it. I’d thought I’d let Lyra watch it when it was available online, but it’s pretty grown up fare…

March 12, 2018

Rupert was upstairs having a coffee with Adam when I got up. It’s great to see him — he certainly hasn’t changed much in the last few years. A bit less hair and wearing bifocals now. All that unicycling keeps him pretty trim — excess weight is very aging…

He and Adam headed off to school together, and I walked over to Café Rouge for a yearbook meeting. I’m really hating that project — I so don’t want to be part of it, but it’s hard to extricate myself. (I’m also aware that post-panto blues are a thing, and probably affecting my mood.)

I called St Marylebone School this afternoon to find out Lyra’s position on the waiting list. Turns out she is first for her band, which is encouraging. No counting chickens though — waiting lists are fluid things, and people can leapfrog you if their child has special needs, newly moved to the area, or they hire a teacher with a daughter going into year 7.

Lyra was very pleased when I told her. It is a much sought after school, and it would be wonderful for her to get a place there. They’ll start making further offers the week after next, so fingers crossed…

Rupert got back at the end of the school day. Sounds like it went well — he did a one hour whole-school assembly on forces and gravity, the a series of workshops by year group. Only year six missed out, but Rupert gave Lyra a private session with unicycling, juggling balls, hat flipping, and pedalo while I made dinner — spaghetti and meatballs and a salad, with chocolates for dessert

Worked our way through a couple of bottles of red wine while we caught up. His younger son Reuben has just headed off to Canada on a two year work visa, and his older son has just started a family. Grandpa Rupert — the first of our peers to achieve that, I think. To bed about midnight…

March 11, 2018

Not feeling too bad this morning. Adam is far worse, having ended up at the after-party after walking Ann-Marie’s home. No sign of any Mother’s Day activity round here until after 11am…After Millie came by to collect Lucia, Lyra brought me a little pot of salted caramel ice cream, and Nova gave me a vase of hyacinths. bit of clean up. Got ourselves organised and headed off for lunch at an Israeli place in Southwark.

The place was overwhelmed with Mother’s day business, but we were eventually shown to a table, with a complementary glass of prosecco to make amends. Not my first choice of beverage this morning, but I appreciated the thought and it was the hair of the very dog that bit me…

We made it to Swiss Cottage in good time to hand Lyra over to Lily’s mum who is taking the girls to see The Great Entertainer for Lyra’s birthday present. Decided to look at the sofa sale in Habitat and ended up buying a new three-seater and an arm chair. Ours are pretty decrepit, and have been for some time.

It’s twelve weeks until they arrive, which gives us time to sort out something for the old ones (recycling ideally). It was a hell of a job getting that sofa bed up here — not looking forward to removing it — or to getting the new one upstairs…

Pretty knackered when we got back. After a bit of downtime, I helped Nova get the flat ready for our friend Rupert, who is coming to stay this evening. He’s a acrobat and science entertainer by trade, and has been engaged to do a day of performances at Lyra’s school.

Adam waited up for him to arrive from Devon, while Ii had a bath and a relatively early night. Reading a good book that Pasc loaned me called The Mother’s Recompense by Edith Wharton. It features quite the anti-heroine — a middle-aged, child abandoning adulteress, whose past toyboy lover ends up involved with her daughter. Racy stuff for the 1920s…

March 10, 2018

Saturday is always a challenge what with two shows pretty much back to back. I’m glad I didn’t drink all that much last night. A couple of aspirin sorted me right out.I’ve learned from experience that the matinee is best performed completely sober. It was good audience, aside from a couple of little boys who got over boisterous. One little pest kept trying to climb on stage…

One of the villager mums very kindly fashioned me a wig from her daughter’s old Frozen (Elsa) wig. It really completes the look — actually I quite fancy myself in it…;-)

Adam left after his dance number at half time and had a Japanese curry most of the way ready when we got back. (I’ve learned the hard way that you need to lay down a decent foundation of stodge before the backstage drinking and after-party…)

The final show went really well. The audience is always great on Saturday nights, which helps. To my considerable surprise, Adam and I were presented with champagne and chocolates in the on-stage thankyous after the walk down. And at the party at the Gatehouse, I won an Oscar for “too many years of service”.

Got to bed about 3:00am. I didn’t have keys, and had to knock on Nova’s door to get her to let me in, as Adam was walking Ann-Marie home…

March 9, 2018

Happy birthday, Liam — 15 years old, wow! That happened fast…Everyone is pretty tired around here and it’s only Friday… Adam worked from home today, which was nice. He discovered a funny coincidence — he happens to share a birthday with his business partner Mike. It turns out his new UK business partner Seth has the same birthday as well…

Friday nights are always a tough audience in my experience, and this performance was no exception. We were asked to speed up the costume change after the opening number, as the royal page corpsed yesterday when trying to making engaging banter.

Mine is the most complicated, so I was assigned a dresser to help. That backfired… she got into a complete flap, and hustled me on stage before I was ready, with my shirt inside out and wearing my bright red petticoat…:-(

Afterwards, Adam and I joined a few people for a nightcap at the Red Lion. Vicky (a former parent who now lives in Brooklyn) was there — got her number for when we visit New York. We weren’t particular friends, but good to have someone local to call if something unexpected comes up…

March 8, 2018

Such a bright, sunny morning today — it felt like spring might finally be around the corner…It’s was actually warm enough (11°) that the house started feeling a little overheated. I reset the heating to twice a day, and put the laundry outside to dry.

All that sunlight also threw the winter’s dust and grime into sharp relief. I spent the whole morning hoovering, scrubbing and dusting until I needed to break off for a meeting with my financial services client.

She was in a nasty cycling accident last month, that left her with a broken jaw and several missing teeth. It’s great that she’s well enough to return to work and a relief to see her coping so well with things…

Opening night! The audience seemed quite subdued at first, but they eventually warmed up. They do really love seeing the teachers up there strutting their stuff, and the dads’ dance always goes down a storm.

My moustache is getting a pretty enthusiastic reception as well. I’m not sure why people find it so funny — pantos are always full of cross-dressing. Maybe because it’s so realistic looking??

Over by 10:40, and home with our tired girls. Straight to bed…

March 7, 2018

Down to the high school this morning for some invigilation. Ten kids sitting a mock A-level film studies. Interestingly, for a school that I would say is about 25% Asian, 50% other non-white, all ten candidates were white British and Italian. It would suggest that immigrants don’t encourage their kids to fanny around with things like film studies…Made a grocery run in the afternoon, and picked up lots of wine and crispy crap to share in the dressing room. I’ve been making salads, dips and such all week so that anyone can quickly pull together a plate of food whenever they want to eat.

Saw the printed programme for the first time this evening. A bit disappointed that there is a bit of clipping on the left margin, which didn’t happen on my little inkjet printer. I’m not going to say anything — tempers are already pretty frayed and we are all giving our time/energy for free…

Met my moustache this evening. It’s really quite something — people do a doubletake when they see me. It’s Millie’s revenge after I gave her a pair of tweezers for Christmas…;-)

Things went pretty smoothly for a dress rehearsal. There were a few gaps and mishaps, but soldiered on, Actually, it felt a lot like a real show. The hall was full of kids who watched the whole thing, aside from their dance number. It’s their only chance to see it, as we’re completely sold out for all four performances.

I opted not to drink, having had enough yesterday to cover two weeknight performances. I still don’t really know how the show hangs together, how quickly my scenes come or the lines that trigger my entrances,. As I’m first on stage a couple of times, it’s important to get that right…

March 6, 2018

Didn’t get to grocery store for the second day in a row — or for a run either… I had a doctors appointment in the middle of the day that meant I always felt squeezed.Needed to check out something about the HRT that I wasn’t sure about, but it sounds like all is fine. Also got a referral for a diabetes blood test..

Bought some fruit and veg at the North Hill corner shop that will see us through until tomorrow.

Tech 2 this evening. Adam was at a meeting and Nova was working the sound board, so I left Lyra home on her own for a couple of hours. I’m generally okay with it, but not so much at night.

There was a table full of wine and beer set up and ended up having a few glasses of wine between my scenes. Practically the first time I’ve drunk this whole panto — it’s been a pretty sober affair thus far…

March 5, 2018

Spent the morning at home editing, and then an exam at the high school in the afternoon. A mock film studies A-level, which was pretty painless. The candidates are that much older, studying subjects that interest them, and just pick up their pens and get on with it…It’s a little unfortunate that both my school and the girls’ school next door are essentially building sites at the moment. Though even the relentless growl of earth-moving equipment outside the exam room didn’t seem to phase them…

Beulah and Freddy came by this afternoon with a belated birthday present for Lyra, which left just enough time for a quick pasta dinner before we were needed at the school for tech 1.

I was introduced to my staff/sceptre for the first time. It looks the business, but is pretty flimsily constructed of cardboard and plastic. I’ll have to take care not to bang it very hard…

March 4, 2018

Happy 20th birthday, Ceinwen! Amazing to think that she’s embarking on her third decade, wow… Which also means that Drew is pushing 40, and about to embark on his fifth…

It’s kind of interesting to observe how the ages get compressed in the middle years. The difference in age between David, Wade and me was pronounced when we were kids, and is pretty much irrelevant now. I have plenty of friends their age (or five years younger or older) and half the time I don’t even realise.

I’ve also noticed that it can broaden out again at the end. That happened with Anne and John next door. They seemed indistinguishable age-wise until Anne hit ninety, at which point she began to seem noticeably older than John, who was a relatively “youthful” eighty-five…

Lyra skipped karate this morning. With Ali here, it seemed the best course of action. That’s the thing with weekend activities — you have to accept that you’ll miss them from time to time. Otherwise you become a hostage to them…

Dan came around by noon to collect her, and we set off for the school soon after. We were there all afternoon and into early evening doing what is called the “stagger through”. It’s where we string the whole thing together and see what you’ve got. A lot more work to do, is what we’ve got…

Saw my costume for the first time — a pirate “Captain Hook style” coat and a ruffled shirtfront. I’ll add my own knee-length leggings and long white socks. Apparently Millie has ordered me a massive moustache online…

When I got home, Adam surprised me by announcing that he wants us to go to New York for a week over the spring break. We’d wanted to do a special holiday for his 50th, but money was too tight last year. After a bit of discussion, he went ahead and booked the tickets, and we lined up some accommodation as well. Exciting! It’s been 20 years since I last visited…

March 3, 2018

The thermometer has finally crept above zero, but there was still snow blanketing the street when we woke this morning. Straight after breakfast I got out there and started shovelling. Spent a good three hours clearing our forecourt and the first half the street (to the bottom of the short hill) so we could get the car out for Lyra’s party.Wasn’t early enough for her to get to ice skating… I’d have had to be up at 5am for that… Had just enough time to throw together and ice sixteen fairy cakes before we had to leave. I hadn’t managed to shop for cake ingredients, so they were real store cupboard affairs…

This year’s joint party with Alice was at a laser tag place in Enfield. It was a bit of a trek, and pretty scruffy looking. Our thirty guests (the whole class) were very excited and in high spirits.

Eventually they all disappeared into a door in the wall, and quiet descended for twenty minutes. They got a break after the first game for a drink, disappeared again, eventually returning for food and cake.

It seems to have been a massive success. Veronika told me later that Alina said it was the most fun thing she had ever done in her life. Curious to try it myself now…

Brought Alex (who is spending the night) and Nina home with a carload of presents. (Nobody seems to have paid attention to our suggestion that gifts were optional, or to bring one gift to be distributed between the two girls.) I kept a careful list of who gave what though its going to be a few days before we have time to oversee any kind of thank-you card effort.

There was next to nothing in the house for dinner, and no one fancied going out again, so Adam picked up some pizzas while I made a bit of salad. Finished watching Requiem — as i suspected, it was all a bit naff and unsatisfying at the end…

March 2, 2018

Both schools were open again today, much to the girl’s disappointment. It’s bitter cold out there, and inside too. The temperature on the ground floor of the house when I measured it was 4°C, and the top floor maxed out at 11°…Swathed myself in multiple layers, woolen socks, fingerless gloves, scarf, and two fleece blankets so I could stay warm enough to work. We need one of those electric heaters for times like this…

Cleo popped out briefly to see what was going on, then sensibly settled herself next to the bedroom radiator and didn’t budge all day…

Put in about ten hours work on a materiality analysis for an African mining company. Dry stuff, but weirdly enjoyable… I was just about done by dinner time, aside from a frustrating inability to label the data points on my scatter graph that I never did properly crack…

Made big bowls of tom yum noodle soup for dinner, which was very warming. Nova was out at the theatre with her friend Evie. She set off underdressed in the extreme. I can remember having the exact same conversations with my mum when I was a teenager.

I’d set off to school when it was -20° in my jean jacket and North Star running shoes. My feet would be soaked through in minutes, and I were perpetually stained turquoise when from the dye…

March 1, 2018

Happy birthday, lovely Lyra! 11 years old today, wow…

Upstairs for pressies at 7am so that Nova could participate in the gift opening before heading off to school. It’s been my experience that siblings delight in watching one another be showered with gifts…;-)

Lyra was very pleased with everything — her dungarees, Rapanui teeshirt, and Nintendo Switch (though she wasn’t completely sure what it was at first…) She’d asked for something to play “Just Dance” on, and after researching the merits of X-Boxes, Nintendos, Wiis etc, I came to the conclusion that a Nintendo Switch was the best platform for this household.

After waffles, the girls headed off to school. There was a definitely possibility that school would be cancelled due to snow — some of which had already fallen, and some that was predicted. Many schools closed up and down the country, but they had no such luck.

Made a birthday cake — Victoria sponge with lemon curd and whipped cream filling. We were going to have Adam’s parents round for tea after school, but it out of the question with the icy roads. There is no way cars will be driving on our street while things are like this. And the footpath is very dicey as well…

Lyra had requested sushi for dinner. Not really the weather for it, but I added miso soup and edamame to introduce a bit of warmth. Birthday cake for dessert, then up to school for rehearsal. Lyra needed as well to do her Reservoir Bunny cameo — that’s going to be a very funny scene.

Got the email about school places just before we set off. Lyra has been offered a place at Parliament Hill, and placed on the waiting list for those schools she would prefer (Marylebone, Highgate Woods and Wren).

For now, it’s a matter of waiting until places are turned down and new offers made between April and the end of August. She wasn’t thrilled with the news, but her friends Lily, Lucia and Ava are currently going to Parli as well, so that’s a positive…