October 2022

October 31, 2022

Nova headed back to Bristol this morning. Actually, she’s going to visit Beulah first, then take the tube down to Victoria to catch her bus. It’s been so nice having her home – she needs to get back to start her new waitressing job. 

The party wall agreement has been finalised at last, so we now should see some action next door. Joy…

Worked on and sent the final copy for the trauma-informed coaching website tonight. I’m pleased to have that work behind me – and to bring it in by the end of October.

Speaking of the end of October, it’s Halloween today. For the first time in ages I didn’t do anything – no food, no jack-o-lantern, no candy…

October 30, 2022

Lyra did another shift at Kalendar this morning. Sounds like it went okay, and she got to eat this time. It sounds like it will be an occasional thing. Alex has a few auxiliary staff he can call on and will let Lyra know towards to end of the week if he has a shift for her. That should work well – the last thing she wants is to have every weekend tied up.

Played tennis with Millie late afternoon. The weather was very iffy all day, but we managed to use most of our allotted hour.

Japanese curry and rice for dinner with the girls. Nova and I watched Pan’s Labrynth – Lyra had seen it before and opted out. Now I’ve seen it myself, I think I’d do the same. Didn’t enjoy it much at all…

Adam is travelling to Toronto from Vancouver today.  He has a few days there and then back home…

October 29, 2022

Went for my regular Saturday pond swim. Lyra was working her first shift at Kalendar, so I opted not to go and potentially embarrass her. There’ll be time for that…;-)

Nova arrived home in the afternoon to spend the weekend. We made dinner together – grilled aubergines with tomato and a tahini sauce, cracked a bottle of wine and settled in for a double bill: In Bruges, followed by Sexy Beast.

Lyra had Ellie staying over, but they headed out to Primrose Hill to meet friends. I think there was the idea that something might be going on. It’s an established place for young people to congregate on Halloween, New Year’s Eve etc. Back by 11pm.

When Nova went down for the night she discovered a little “present” from Cleo on her bed. It had clearly been deposited some time ago. I’d noticed the duvet was a bit rucked up when I was tidying the flat in advance of her arrival, and intended to straighten it but must have got distracted. (Cleo trying to cover up the evidence…)

October 28, 2022

Managed to get a run in this morning, which made a nice change. It’s just not a habit at the moment, the way it has been for years. Always happier when I get out and do it. Just getting outside in the morning is important…

A good part of the day was devoted to attempts to install a Meta tracking pixel on the beauty website. I got the original pixel in fine, and the destination code, but there was a third piece called CAPI which proved to be my Waterloo. It’s to do with getting round tightening privacy restrictions and allowing the website to communicate with Facebook more directly.

It’s pretty complicated, and I don’t understand it (nor want to). The woman from the agency who needs it set up arranged a meeting to talk me through it, but it turns out she doesn’t know how to do it either…

Had a kick-off meeting for a hurry-come-quick website build in Canada, for a new initiative around the purpose economy. I’m looking forward to doing some actual web building instead of just updating, amending and fixing sites.

Managed to send of a good trauma text, which was well received. I’ve broken the back of that project now – this was the services section which was the trickiest piece to untangle – and the remaining copy should be straightforward to write.

Watched Fight Club with Lyra this evening. I’ve never had the urge to see it, but thought it was very good.

October 27, 2022

Adam flew off to Vancouver this morning. He’s going to stay with Mike for a few days and have some management meetings, then travel to Toronto to deliver a workshop.

Got a Pond swim in before I started my work day. But not before my trauma coaching client chased me for their copy. I hate it when that happens… I committed to sending the build of the new copy by Friday afternoon and the balance on Monday. Should be doable…

Carolyn emailed today with an update on the party wall agreement which is nearly sorted. There is an outstanding clause about Alex being allowed to access our property to put up and remove hoarding between the two patios and in the garden, and that it could only be in place for a period of eight weeks.

I pointed out that they’d already put up some shoddy hoarding in mid-September and sought clarification about when the eight-week period should start: September 15, today, or when the agreement is signed. Apparently the existence of the hoarding was news to everyone despite the previous photos I’d shared, and it should never have been built with the supports on our side. Both party wall guys have been pretty shit in my opinion.

Went to the cinema with Jane tonight to see The Banshees of Inisherin. I thought it was terrific, and that it had a strong In Bruges vibe, not only because it has the same lead actors. It was the way the camera lingered on domestic interiors, the pacing, the balance of humour and sadness, the tenor of the music.

October 26, 2022

Girls’ day out with Lyra. Started at Borough Market where we bought coffee and pastry before walking along the river to the Tate Modern to see the new Cezanne exhibition.

What an astonishing talent and evidently a massive influence on his peers and later generations of artists. Makes you realise how reproductions in books don’t do justice to paintings – the colours, the details of the brushwork, the flattened perspective just doesn’t come across. We both loved it.

Walked to the West End and grabbed some lunch in a chicken place before going to see a matinée of The Doctor. I was happy to see it again, and it was different knowing the outcome and the device of casting against type.  A bit of clothes/book shopping in Covent Garden, a visit to the Glossier boutique and then home on the tube.

Adam was back from Amsterdam by the time we got in. Just for the night then he’s off to Canada for a week…

October 25, 2022

According to Carolyn, the party wall agreement is still being resolved. There has been a lot of work undertaken that shouldn’t have happened without the agreement in place, which is annoying but we’ll have to move forward from here. At one point, there was some talk about Alex having to refill the hole, but that seems highly unlikely.

Carolyn made me a pair of lacy fingerless mitts years ago that I love and wear regularly. I’d like to make another pair and asked her if she still has the pattern, but she doesn’t. Invested some time in tracking down the stitch pattern for the lacy chevrons, and plan to have a go at making another pair. A great way to use up leftover bits of wool.

Polished up a case study on the Howe Sound biosphere designation and emailed it to Adam for a once over before I submit it. Put in a bit of work on the trauma coaching website, but really need to carve out a proper chunk of time to get that project off my desk.

Spicy cottage pie and Shameless for dinner.

October 24, 2022

Adam headed off to Amsterdam today, kicking off what’ll be almost two weeks away on business.

Lyra arrived back from Bristol in the late afternoon. Her train had got in at noon, but she stopped off at Liz’s for a while. Sounds like they had a good time with Nova in Bristol. Having done the trip once with a friend, she now feels confident about travelling on her own, which is good.

Dinner, Shameless, and to bed by 11pm.

October 23, 2022

Over to Beulah’s for a bagel brunch with Doron and Antonia. Beulah was on good form and it was a very relaxed, fun occasion. Like us (and people across the country) she’s holding off on turning on the heat (and paying a quadrupled rate). She has a nifty little heater/blower device in her telly room that might be something for us to consider.

Headed to Costco afterwards, as we are out of toilet paper, dishwasher tablets and laundry soap. Managed to find a trolley full of other things to buy of course… Split the tabs with Beulah so we dropped those off, and the TP with Doron and Antonia (ditto).

Adam’s cousin’s daughter Charlotte is getting married in Derby on a Friday in December. They’ve asked for money (so we’ve handed that over) and booked a nearby country hotel for two nights. Having never seen the invitation, I didn’t realise that they’d specified black tie/evening wear. I actually thought Adam was joking when he said it, but apparently not.

I think telling people what to wear is a bit much. I’m not sure if women are meant to wear long dresses, but I won’t be wearing one regardless. Quite tempted to sling a black tie round the neck of whatever outfit I decide on. Other people must have felt the same, because just after brunch Adam received an email from the couple, saying “that while they would like guests to wear black tie, our presence is more important than our outfits.”

When we were round Doron and Antonia’s she had me try on a navy silk halterneck dress, which I can wear if I’d like as she has another one. It looked pretty nice on my so I may go for that. With a black tie…;-)

Salad leftovers and the final episodes of Bad Sisters – recommend…

October 22, 2022

We all slept in a bit this morning, and Lyra had to hop it to get to Liz’s house and Paddington station in time for her 12:30 train. The two of them are going to Bristol for the weekend to visit Nova. 

Headed down to the Ponds a bit later than usual, which is a different experience than going first thing. A younger crowd for one thing, and the warmer air temperature was a change as well. Did my usual two laps and enjoyed every minute. Those swims are the highlights of my week.

By the time we got to Kalendar, it was early afternoon. Adam opted for pancakes, but I chose their fish and chip butty. Not my usual kind of thing, but hit the spot after the swim. We’d brought the weekend paper along, so we enjoyed that in companionable silence. Lots of column inches on the PM selection travesty, and the possibly that Johnson might stand again.

The fishmonger didn’t have scallops, which threw a wrench in our coquille dinner plans. Opted for a few dishes from the new Moro cookbook instead – roasted aubergine with tomato purée and tahini sauce, red cabbage salad, and a cucumber salad with nigella seeds and a tahini dressing. 

Got through four episodes of Bad Sisters and will finish it off tomorrow evening.

October 21, 2022

Mum’s 95th birthday…  We usually make coquille for dinner in her memory, but it wasn’t convenient to get down to the fishmongers on a working day, so we’re planning to do it tomorrow.

Lyra was exhausted when I woke her before 7am, and I allowed her to stay home. It’s only a half day (and the last day before half term) – a church service and PE didn’t seem essential to travel in for, and I don’t think she’s missed a day yet this school year.

Did a two-mile run in the Woods – my first for over a week – showered, then sat down at my desk to attempt some work. I didn’t manage much over the day, but did get the Danone case study over the line.

They’ve announced the process for replacing the PM. Although several of the usual suspects have announced they are interested in standing, this time candidates will need to be endorsed by 100 MPs by Monday afternoon in order to be eligible. It’s likely to come down to a contest between Sunak and Johnson(!), though there are differing opinions about whether he’ll make the threshold.

It was gone 8pm by the time we both finished working. I’d lost any enthusiasm for cooking, so we organized a cocktail and ordered pizza. Lyra was out at a party in Islington with some school friends for the evening. Started watching Bad Sisters on Apple+, which looks very promising. Plan to binge-watch the ten episodes before Adam goes off on work travel for a couple of weeks.

Headed up to the bus stop at midnight to meet Lyra and walk her home, then to bed. 

October 20, 2022

Lyra and Ava were already up when I went in to wake them. They’d stayed up revising until after 3am, but they seemed in pretty good shape. I brought them some breakfast, but they decided to buy lunch and to take the tube.

It was drizzly, but I headed down to the Pond for my usual swim. Surprisingly, the celsius temperature was up (13°) and the fahrenheit temperature down (55°). I’ve noticed that the women’s pond is much less hung up on temperature taking than the men’s pond. According to Adam, they measure to two decimal points.

I’d arranged to meet Jemima for a coffee afterwards, but she cried off again. She’s been having regular nosebleeds and isn’t feeling that well. Bought croissants for Adam and me to have at home instead.

Sat down to watch the 1:00pm news, just in time to catch Truss’s resignation. What a fucking catastrophe she has been. I wish there was a mechanism to call a general election, but the Tories are intending to inflict yet another prime minister on us.

Put in a good chunk of time on the Danone case study and managed to send Adam a draft by the end of the day. Lyra came home with Liz, who stayed for dinner – cauliflower & sweet potato tacos. Adam carried on working afterwards, and I did some knitting and watched random bits of telly.

October 19, 2022

Intended to run after getting Lyra up and away, but ended up dawdling over the news, my Spanish, word puzzles etc. The weather turned nasty and I decided against it.

The news is a slow motion car crash at the moment… Today, the Home Secretary was asked to stand down after sharing confidential documents on her mobile phone – another blow for the Liz Truss, who announced in Parliament that she’s “a fighter not a quitter”. Given the way she U-turns on pretty much everything that comes out of her mouth, we can expect her to announce she’s “a quitter not a fighter” by the end of the week…

Lyra came home with Liz and Ava, then headed out to a Beebadoobie gig in Brixton. Not the sort of thing I’d usually allow on a school night, but it’s almost half term, and she’s a massive fan.

Adam stayed at work to do the Zoom meeting on Highgate School’s planned construction projects. There are quite a few of them: the science block (where we got married); Dyne House across the street from it; the old gymnasium (right next to us); the Mallinson Sports Centre; and a couple of playing fields closer to Hampstead.

The residents gave them a lot of pushback, but it doesn’t sound like there’s much scope to influence the plans before they go in. It was good to hear that they anticipate starting the gymnasium work in the summer of 2027, by which point Lyra will already by at uni.

Waited up until Lyra and Ava got back at 11:30pm. They had a great time and had video footage to share. Turns out they have two tests tomorrow, and planned to stay up revising – made them a hot water bottle and left them to it.

October 18, 2022

Lovely swim this morning. The water was icy at first, but then a delicious tingling numbness spreads across my body, and I don’t really feel it any more. I never do more than two laps (which takes about 16 minutes), but feel as if I could do a third.

Did some follow up work on Basil’s site and some social media stuff for the architect. Nothing really meaty to capture my attention at the moment…

Had a committee meeting at Lauderdale House – our first since the summer break. They are quite exceptionally boring, though I was mildly interested to learn that there had been squatters in the vacant Pan Quotidien over the summer, and that we are going to approach Lynne Featherstone to ask a question in the Lords about all the empty oligarch property in Highgate and if anything can be done about it.

There is often food at these meetings, but there wasn’t tonight so I fixed myself some cheese and crackers when I got in as Adam and Lyra had eaten the leftovers from Sunday dinner for their supper. Finished reading The Trees by Percival Everett, which was excellent.

October 17, 2022

Lyra’s last week of school before half term. Got her up at off to school pretty much on schedule – we’ll all be glad for a week’s break from this routine. I didn’t go for a run because I had Basil turning up for a strategy meeting about the art school website.

I haven’t seen him face to face for a while, and it was good to catch up. Afterwards, I made ham barley soup with the stock from dinner yesterday and tackled some emails and urgent to-dos.

The government looks to be in a tailspin. The new chancellor reversed the entire “mini-budget” (aside from capping bankers’ bonuses), Labour was granted an urgent session of parliament, the prime minister declined to attend, sending the leader of the House in her place. Had it on in the background, and it looked a complete bun fight. On the plus side, the market seems to be responding positively…

Knocked off at 5pm and caught the tube into the City to attend a private recital for Katie S’s string quartet’s CD launch. It was held at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, a little 14th century oasis squashed between the glass towers along Bishopsgate.

They played excerpts from the two pieces on the CD – the first ever recording of the Delius’ complete 1888 quartet and a string quartet from the composer Ethel Smyth. Wine and cheese and mingling afterwards. Caught up with Katie who got very emotional talking about her grandfather John.

His nephew Phillip and partner Frank were also there, who we know from various gatherings over the years, adn we eventually left with them and caught the tube back to Highgate. Egg, pepper and anchovy toast for dinner. Stayed up for Newsnight, which was pretty brutal for the PM. Call an election already!

October 16, 2022

Enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning with the crossword before getting up and making a batch of slow-cooked red cabbage and an apple crumble for dinner tonight with Beulah and Doron. Did some housework, simmered a ham in cider, and prepped the rest of the meal.

Doron brought Beulah round at about 7pm, which saved Adam a trip to Finchley to collect her. All the food came out really nicely – it’s been ages since I’ve cooked a ham, and really enjoyed it.

While we were waiting for the crumble to be ready, I chopped up the horned melon that we bought yesterday and gave everyone a slice. It was pretty unusual – a cross between a kiwi and a cucumber in flavour and texture – but not unpleasant.

Adam drove Beulah home about 10pm. We finished the cleaning up, made up the hot water bottles, and headed to bed.

October 15, 2022

Had a marvellous swim in the Pond this morning. The temperature was at 12.5°C, and I tried out my new swim socks as well as the gloves. I’m not convinced by the gloves, but the socks rock! They are a bit of a pain to get on and off, but made such a difference.

It was incredibly bright and a steady breeze was blowing sheets of leaves off the surrounding trees. The surface of the water was scattered with leaves, and the water studded with them. Did my usual two laps, showered and headed off to join Adam.

Coffee and poached eggs at Kalendar, then home. Spent a few hours kicking back, before we gussied ourselves up a bit and headed into town. An excellent pre-theatre dinner at Cora Pearl, then onto see The Doctor with Juliet Stevenson, which we both thought was brilliant.

Went backstage afterwards for a visit. We weren’t her only guests – there was a theatre critic from Toronto, and weirdly my former boss from my HEA days, Simon who is Juliet’s long lost cousin. Got through a bottle of prosecco, then shared a cab back to Highgate, which gave us the chance for a longer visit.

October 14, 2022

Such a terrible night’s sleep…:-( I was awake before 4am, and found it impossible to drop off again. Staggered upstairs at 6:45am to do Lyra’s food, then returned to bed, pulled on my eyemask and lay there in hope but nothing doing.

I definitely didn’t fancy running (or much else), but I plonked myself down at my desk shortly past 9am, and put in a decent day on the trauma website. I was able to send the entire About section copy by the end of the day.

So Kwarteng is out as Chancellor of the Exchequer – apparently his 38 day stint the shortest time anyone has ever held the post, aside from a guy who died shortly after being appointed. He managed to fuck a lot up in that brief time.

I had the news on in the background while I worked. Truss’ appearance was notably short as well. The question along the lines of “If Kwarteng was sacked for the crime of delivering the central plank of your own policy, why are you still here?” finished her off. What a complete shower this government is…

Lyra was out with friends for dinner, so I made a miso salmon traybake with roasted broccoli – nice, but nothing special. Passed on our usual Friday night cocktail as it would have been the end of me, but had a glass of wine with dinner in front of Withnail and I.

October 13, 2022

Happy birthday, Margo!
My coldest swim so far this morning – 12.5°C. I would have guessed it was colder, and compared to the men’s pond where they measure temperature to the tenth of a degree, our crew seem more laid back about it. I wore my gloves for the first time, but didn’t want to wrestle into the scuba socks. (I’ll practice with them a bit more at home first.)

I brought a thermos of tea with me as well, and sipped that while getting dressed. I’ve read about something called “after drop“, which is the way your body temperature continues to lower after you leave cold water, and ways to address it.

Put in my best day of client work in a while, sitting at my desk for solid blocks of time. I triaged my inbox, and did updates for a few clients, plus started looking at the second-level trauma content.

For dinner I made tofu and green beans with chraimeh sauce (a spicy tomato sauce of Libyan-Jewish origin and an Ottolenghi recipe). A big hit with the three of us. Watched three episodes of Community, cleared up, then read my novel (Glory) until bedtime.

October 12, 2022

It’s so dark when the alarm goes off these days. It’ll be a bit better once daylight savings ends, but I definitely need to turn the lights on to work in the kitchen. There are some lovely sunrises out the kitchen window to enjoy, which is a plus…:-)

Did a gentle 3.5 mile Ally Pally run after my coffee and meditating. Rather of than to music, I turned off all the updates in the running app and listed to an audio book instead. It was certainly more distracting than music – I barely thought about the run at all. I think it might have made me run slower though, without the beat of the music to set the pace.

It was a chilly, damp day and I had a nice shower when I got back then got down to work. Managed to make it to my desk today instead of working on the sofa, which is progress. I am so unmotivated by work at the moment – not sure why. I’ve got things to do, though nothing that challenging or chunky.

Lyra went back to her friend Liz’s after maths club and Adam was in a workshop until 9pm. No need to cook – just had a cold plate of nibbles and a glass of wine when he finally emerged from the bedroom. Knitted and listened to my second audiobook – the first Robert Galbraith novel in the series, having begun with the fifth. To bed before 11pm…

October 11, 2022

Alarmed myself awake this morning at 6:30am. There was just time to listen to the end of my audiobook. They terrifying denouement in the murderer’s house definitely got the old blood pumping.

Sorted Lyra’s lunch and brought her coffee and toast while she got ready for school. She’s getting increasingly tired and looking forward to half term (the last week of October).

Did a quick bit of work for the beauty website I hadn’t finished yesterday, then headed down to the pond for a swim. It was a chilly morning, though bright. Mist was rising off the gelid water, which had the slightest thickness to it. Lots of leaves floating on the surface and suspended in the water – disconcerting at first when they brushed against me, but I got used to it.

Stopped in at Gails on the way home, where I’d arranged to meet Jemima. Ordered myself a coffee and pastry, then sat down to wait for her. She ended up cancelling (due to a nosebleed), so I was home a bit sooner than I’d expected.

Put in a desultory day’s work, which was an improvement on yesterday at least. Shifted downstairs when Etta turned up to help Lyra with her studies. Dinner was lamb-feta meatballs, a red cabbage salad and hummus. Watched an episode of Community, listened to my latest audiobook and to bed.

October 10, 2022

Slept in a bit this morning, and had to scramble to get Lyra off to school on time. Nasty weather with pelting rain completely put me off the idea of going for a run. I’m really glad they reinforced that damn pit before the weather turned. I can see evidence that the earth is slumping behind the plywood now protecting it.

I had two medical appointments scheduled for today. My first was at the GPs to inspect a mole on my back that I’d caught a glimpse of after a shower. Apparently it’s seborrheic keratosis (haven’t googled it yet) and nothing to worry about.

My second appointment was at the Whittington to discuss the damage my right eyelid sustained in the fall. After a brief examination and review of the file, the consultant has put me on the list for corrective surgery, which should be happen in the next few months.

Although the damage is on one side, they would operate on both so that they match afterwards. The procedure involves an incision in the hairline on each side, removing some skin from the eyelid, and then stitching it all up again.

It’s day surgery, performed under local anaesthetic. I’d have to go back a week later to have the stitches removed, then return again after a month to confirm that everything was in order. So I have that to look forward to…

It left me feeling a bit depressed, but Lyra provided a bracing tonic of good sense. I’m not happy with how the eyelid is now, and it is affecting my peripheral vision. No one is making me do it, but it’s good to have the option. People voluntarily pay lots of money to have this procedure for purely cosmetic reasons. And most convincingly, I’ll be able to wear Cleopatra style eyeliner again…;-)

Made great strides with my audiobook with all that walking between medical establishments and sitting in waiting rooms. It’s taken a while to get used to listening instead of reading, but I quite like it now. Back home, I baked the two loaves of sourdough, which came out curiously flat in sympathy with my mood. Made a pot of cauliflower soup and ate with Lyra, as Adam was home late.

October 9, 2022

What a lovely morning – so much warmer than last week. Headed down for a pond swim with Adam about 10:30am. Although we were later than usual, it was still bloody cold –13°C. My feet felt a bit numb on the walk to meet Adam afterwards. The post-swim feeling is exhilarating as well – it’s hard to describe, but you feel mildly stoned and sort of tingly…

We’d planned to pick up a few groceries in Swains Lane, but when we got there the thought of a hot drink was pretty tempting. And once we were in Kalendar, we went ahead and ordered the usual. The place was crazy busy –  they had a sign in the window advertising for wait staff. Mentioned it to Lyra who plans to pop down and apply.

Back home, I spent a bit of time with the weekend paper, progressed my sourdough, then put in a good chunk of time cleaning the kitchen. Adam gave the bathrooms a quick going over before heading off to see Beulah.

Dinner was chicken breasts stuffed with preserved lemon labneh and roasted squash dressed with a rosemary and red vinegar reduction – both of which were very tasty. Watched an episode of KaDeWe and to bed.

October 8, 2022

Made pancakes for the girls’ breakfast (Adam was feeling better, but not ready to eat). They were up reasonably early as they were going to a carboot in Dalston. I had vague thoughts of going swimming, but the day was gloomy and I didn’t really fancy it.

We took things pretty easy, enjoying being back home and on our own after Cornwall. There have been some developments in the pit while we were away. They’ve now added three thick metal pipes running the length of the excavation and supporting the two adjoining gardens against slumping.

Mid-afternoon we headed out for a walk to Swains Lane – for exercise, fresh air and some groceries to christen the Moro cookbook that Adam got for my birthday. Lyra was dogsitting for Nick and Tessa, so we opted for sea bass. We also made roasted eggplant slices brushed with a tomato purée, and a potato salad with feat and fresh herbs.

Watched a couple of episodes of KaDeWe and to bed. I was asleep when Lyra got in at 1am, but Adam had a chat with her. They need a dog sitter because otherwise the dog howls the whole time they are out which upsets the neighbours. It also has some digestive issues and is unable to drink, so Lyra had to feed it ice cubes at regular intervals. Makes me glad to be a cat person…

October 7, 2022

We were up promptly to strip the beds, do the dishes, pack up the food etc. Departure time was 9:30, but headed off a bit before that. Travelled in tandem for a bit, but we lost track of their car eventually.

We stopped in Bristol to see Nova, arriving about noon. It was my first time driving over the Clifton suspension bridge, which was kind of neat. Nova was in good spirits after submitting her dissertation topic yesterday evening. It’s on depictions of women in post-colonial literature, comparing writing from the former British and Spanish empires. She’ll be refining it more with her tutor, but that’s the general idea.

Nova had chosen a Persian vegan restaurant called Koocha Mezza Bar for lunch. It was a cute little place, with great decor and an interesting menu. We opted for things we don’t have at home (like hummus), and chose a few little dishes, a vegan kebab, and some dirty fries. The food was all pretty nice, and Adam and Nova’s cocktails were beautifully presented.

Adam developed one of his stomach upsets one the way home – not sure what triggered that. Sometimes brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage can do it, or fibrous stuff like bulghur wheat. Personally I suspect the enormous lamb sandwiches that he and Richard had for dinner last night. The mere sight of them made my stomach ache…

Roadworks on the M4 added an hour to our journey, and it had gone 7pm by the time we got in. Lyra had already left for a party in Hampstead. I traipsed up the path to feed Pete and Pasc’s cats, returning the favour for looking after Cleo.

Unpacked then kicked back with my audiobook, which we’d listened to for much of the car journey. It’s getting good, though this particular novel is not ideal in that it contains lots of tweets, message room chats, etc. The author reads out every word of the email addresses and hash tags which gets a bit tedious.

Lyra returned at 11pm with Ellie and Liz in tow, as I’d said I was happy for them to sleep over. After a bit of a visit, they disappeared into her bedroom and I headed to bed myself. Adam opted to sit up for a while as the stomach issue was still giving him grief, and lying down can make it worse.

October 6, 2022

Nineteen years today since mum died…

Started the day with a morning swim. Richard wasn’t keen, but grudgingly came along. Even in the water he was pissing and moaning, but on the walk home he was saying how great he felt for doing it.

Had a quick shower, then headed straight out for a walk into Tintagel and back along the lower cliff path. Ate lunch at the cliffside pub in our village – delicious mussels and chips – the back to the house for an afternoon snooze. A perfect day…

Nachos for dinner, along with some cheese and crackers for Rachel and me, and enormous doorstop lamb sandwiches for Richard and Adam. A few rounds of Uno before bed – a relatively early one…

October 5, 2022

Today is meant to be the worst of the week’s weather. The wind was howling round the cottage last night and is was raining when we got up. Eased into the morning with a coffee and a few hours work on some UN editing.

Broke off to watch the PM’s speech – loathsome woman… When we’d had our fill of the Tories’ guff, Adam and Richard headed off to the farm shop in Boscastle for roast dinner fixings. 

When the rain lifted, Adam, Rachel and I headed out for a walk. Climbed up behind the car park onto the bluff, and then across to the cliff path. The wind was howling and buffeting us about – I certainly wouldn’t want to be any closer to the edge, and if it was blowing that hard out to sea I wouldn’t have wanted to be up there at all. Turned round when we noticed a band of rain scudding in from the west.

Made it back to the house as the first drops fell. Richard cooked this evening – roast leg of lamb studded with garlic, roast veg, broccoli, and a rosemary-cranberry gravy, all of which was excellent. Felt like I’d eaten a Christmas dinner. Played a few hands of Uno and to bed.

Rachel has shared an audiobook with me – the latest JK Rowling novel (written as Robert Galbraith) and I fell asleep listening to. I rarely listen to audiobooks – I found this one a bit confusing, probably because I was dozing off in it…

October 4, 2022

Surprisingly nice weather this morning, given the long-range forecast I’ve been tracking. We’re supposed to be catching the edge of two separate Atlantic storm systems, but there’s no as rain yet and even some sunshine.

After coffee and a bit of breakfast we headed out for a walk along the coast. Climbed up from the village and made our way to Tintagel. A bit of shopping in the High street – gin, bread, scones, cheese, candy – all the main food groups – then headed inland and back to Trebarwith Strand.

Stopped at the Mill House Inn to make a dinner reservation, then back to the house for lunch. It was warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the sea view until the wind picked up and started blowing the food off our plates, at which point we retreated indoors.

Watched a good chunk of the Tory conference coverage on the telly. Overall, it was snooze inducing and Richard and Rachel headed upstairs for a nap. I did some client work, caught up on emails, and practiced Spanish so as not to lose my 180 day streak.

The weather improved again late afternoon and Rachel, Adam and I headed down to the beach for a swim. (Richard opted to stay back with Luna). The surf was up and I was feeling a bit trepedatious, but it was fantastic. The wind was mildly warm and the water felt cool rather than cold – very different to that glacial pond.

Had warm showers when we got back, followed by refreshing gin and tonics with the pink champagne gin. Headed out for dinner just after 7pm – a ten minute walk road along a completely dark road that required a torch. The restaurant was pretty quiet, with one other table besides us eating. Scallops, followed by the fish of the day (pan-fried hake), which was delicious. The portions were large, and dessert was out of the question.

Back home, we started watching a documentary about Tintagel, but it was a bit dull and I dozed off towards the end.

October 3, 2022

There was time to get ready, but not to do my other morning stuff. I packed for the trip to Cornwall, generated my monthly invoices, and sorted out an outfit for Jennifer’s funeral.

Made it to Horam in good time, and stood about chatting with Beulah and Doron until it was time to go through. There were maybe twenty of us there – mostly all family, aside from a couple of Alison’s friends.

I thought the funeral director did a creditable job, despite not having known Jenny. Her grand-daughter Raia spoke, and there was a slide show of family photos and images of her art work, a few pieces of music and an opportunity to say goodbye to the coffin as we exited.

There was a tea at a little café in Horam afterwards – sandwiches, cake, tea/coffee. Mostly talked to Beulah (who was on rare form), but made sure to speak to Alison and each of her children before we headed off to Cornwall. 

Headed back up to the M25, then across on the A303 until we hit the M5. Not quite as fast as the route we’d have chosen if we had started from home, but it wasn’t bad. I added Rachel to “find my friends’ so she could track our progress. 

They were standing in at the door of the cottage when we pulled up about 10pm. There was a pasty warming in the oven and a large glass of wine waiting. Sat up visiting for a bit but we were pretty knackered and called it a night before midnight. Nice to be back here…

October 2, 2022

Not feeling awesome this morning… It’s hard to unpack what is a side effect of the vaccines, lack of sleep, or too much white wine. Whatever the cause, I took things pretty easy. I didn’t get up until 10:30am when Adam got back from football, helped throw together a little fry-up for brunch, then took to the sofa for a nap.

Adam headed off to visit Beulah for the afternoon, as we’re away most of next week in Cornwall with Richard and Rachel. Roused myself at 4:30 and headed off to play tennis with Millie. I’m regretting not getting both shots in my right arm, which is pretty achy. The clinic was set up to jab people in the left arm, in terms of how the chairs and supplies are arranged – but actually I didn’t think of it. I wondered how it would feel when I started whacking tennis balls, but it wasn’t a problem.

Millie brought her 18-year-old niece along, but tennis very much wasn’t her thing and she abandoned the court within ten minutes. I played surprisingly well – I felt very loose and my mind was quiet and empty, which helped my concentration. I seemed to have more time to get to the ball and make my shot – presumably because I wasn’t getting distracted with other thoughts.

Veggie soup and bread for dinner – with a portion left for Lyra’s dinner tomorrow. I’d wanted to arrange for her to stay at Ellie’s tomorrow night, before shifting to Beulah’s on Tuesday, but Lyra insisted she’d rather spend one night in the house on her own.

To bed by 10:30pm – Adam and I were both pretty tired, and there’s not that much to do to get ready before we leave tomorrow…

October 1, 2022

Rabbits! I remembered to say it when I woke up at 4am… so I guess that’s somewhat lucky…
As it was Saturday, Adam and I headed down for our weekly swim in the pond. The water temperature this morning was 13.5 degrees, or cold as fuck as we say in these parts.

Breakfast at Kalendar afterwards, where we opted to sit inside. Just about warmed up by the time we left. We’d been invited round to Doron and Antonia’s for dinner, so we didn’t bother picking up any groceries – just some fancy crisps to bring along with a bottle of wine.

Adam has been feeling anxious about his pending travel later this month and the risk of catching covid again. He’d contacted Birgit who happened to be doing a vaccine clinic today at her practice. She called to say they had some extra doses left that would have to be tossed if they weren’t used, so we hopped in the car and headed over to West Hampstead.

They were administering a bivalent Moderna vaccine (part delta, part omicron), which was fine with me. Opted to get a flu shot while we were at it. It’ll take a few weeks to have maximum immunity but it feels reassuring to have it done. 

Caught a showing of Moonage Daydream at the Everyman in Muswell Hill – the David Bowie documentary. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t live up to the hype or reviews I’ve read. 

Walked down to Archway for dinner at Doron and Antonia’s – Thai green curry and rice, which was very nice. Marni joined us for some of it. She’s dropped out of her fashion retail course she was doing instead of her A-levels, and seems to be at a bit of a loose end. Home late…