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September 30, 2012I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast, then we headed into town to see an exhibition of African and Afro-Caribbean art called Untold Gold. Basil had entered a piece, and today was our last chance to see it. The exhibition ranged over all four floors of the Bargehouse, and included painting, sculpture, ceramics, film, photography, fashion, furniture…
Ate lunch at the Pieminister in Gabriels Wharf before heading home. Nova had arranged to go round to Etta’s house for the afternoon, which left Lyra feeling abandoned. Cheered her up by downloading a few new tracks for her iCod — a Katy Perry track, Video Killed the Radio Star and a Madonna track she likes. She is so much more plugged into pop music than Nova was at her age — or is now, for that matter… |
September 29, 2012Adam has returned with adidas goodies from the factory outlet store for the whole family. Fashion trainers for him and the girls, and a running top for me. Unfortunately, Lyra’s shoes are on the small side, but they’ll do for a little while. It’s going to be a lucky hand-me-down person who gets those…;-)The girls made us breakfast in bread, which was very sweet, then Nova headed off to her drama class. Adam took Lyra to the park before leaving for the Arsenal match, and I spent a couple of hours digging over the side borders and planting bulbs. Adam Jr emerged about 1pm, having slept for about fourteen hours. He obviously needed the rest — I think he works pretty hard at his music school, and does about eight hours of piano practice a day, in addition to his studies. Took the girls to the cinema to see Paranorman. Unfortunately, it was one of those films where the trailer contains every decent joke in the whole film. Didn’t help that there was an incredibly annoying kid called Nathan sitting behind me. I know his name was Nathan, because his poor mum kept telling him to sit down and shut up. You can’t expect churchlike silence at a childrens’ movie, but this kid was really something… |
September 28, 2012My mornings start at 6:45am now… First I launched Nova in the direction of the bus, and then bundled Lyra off to school with her water bottle and various bags. Headed into the village afterwards, and bought a coffee from the new Pain Quotidien that’s opened in the High Street. They’ll do well up here — there is an endless demand for high-end coffee shops it seems. They do good bread too, which should have the bakers and the deli quaking in their boots…Back home, I applied myself to the task of waking up Adam. You’d think his looming performance of Prokofiev at St-Martins-in-the-Field would be cause for some nervousness and alertness, but not a bit of it. Had to go down three times to prod him before it finally took. He half an hour to shower, scoff some food, and dress in his suit before it was time to go. He’d forgotten to bring any black shoes again. This wasn’t a problem when it happened last year, but his feet are bigger than Adam’s now. Found a pair of black leather trainers he can squeeze into when it’s time to perform. We took the tube to Charing Cross, where I handed him over to the programme organiser, then moseyed around Covent Garden until it was time for the performance. The hall was completely packed — there must have been a couple of hundred people there. There were four young pianists on the programme. Adam performed second, and roared through two movements of an intensive Prokofiev sonata in fifteen minutes flat. “See!” I overheard the dad next to me, whispering to his son, “You could do that if you’d just practice!” I doubt it somehow… I attended a New Zealand wine tasting organised by Kiran this evening. All the wines came from Craggy Range, and were introduced by the wine maker himself, who is one of only 250 masters of wine in the world. The event was at Christophers, an Islington restaurant I haven’t been to in ages. Adam arrived in time for the main course — lovely pink lamb served with a cinnamon-scented aubergine purée, and accompanied by their pinot noir and a syrah. He missed all the delicious whites unfortunately, but I have definite plans to track their sauvignon blanc down online so he can try it… |
September 27, 2012Nova got the day off from school, which made things I easier. I had to get Lyra kitted out as Matilda for Roald Dahl day. She was one of four Matilda’s in her class alone. There were some pretty good costumes — lots of Willy Wonka’s, witches, Verucca Salts, and Alex’s Fantastic Mr Fox. I saw a blue-faced kid I assume was a Violet Beauregarde, another in a bathing cap and swimsuit, and one dressed as an alligator — I have no idea who they were meant to be.Did my run in Highgate Woods, then rustled up a nice batch of scrambled eggs and bagels for Nova and me. After I got the flat prepared for Adam’s arrival this evening, we caught the tube to the Angel. Poked around in Paperchase and H&M before having a quick bite of sushi for lunch. Nova’s tastes still lean toward the cooked end of the sushi spectrum, but that’s fine. She’s getting a taste for it… Saw ‘To Rome With Love’, the new WoodyAllen film, which we both enjoyed, although it was pretty much a sex comedy. “I know, why don’t you have some sex?” Nova quipped when a character was unsure about what to do. It had some interesting stuff to say about the obsession with celebrity, which Nova found pretty funny. Caught the #43 home, hopping off to pick up Lyra from her friend Alex’s house. It was clear they’d been having a great time — those two get on like a house on fire. Made a chicken curry that was so delicious could barely believe it. The ingredients were pretty straightforward — I was amazed they could transform into something so good. Adam, who was meant to arrive 8pm, turned up just after arrived 10pm. He said he’d been given a detention for using the elevator. It seems unlikely to me that a student travelling to London to give a concert the next morning would be given a detention that would delay his journey, but whatever… I was a teenager too once… It was great to see him — he’s such a lovely kid. We caught up while he inhaled the rest of the curry. I heard about his music and what he’s studying. He got great GCSE marks, and is doing three A levels: music, German and English. Apparently, he’s drawn to German because he loves the literature. According to Adam, “once you’ve read Kafka in the original, there’s no going back”. You’ve gotta love teenagers… |
September 26, 2012Nova woke up early today, and came in fully dressed at ten to seven to nudge me awake. What a difference that extra ten minutes made — there was time for a (relatively) leisurely breakfast, hair styling, and doublechecking whether she had her phone, bus pass, day planner and so on…Did a couple of hours work for Adam writing up a CV. He’s had a contract for the last year to rewrite all the CVs for the recently appointed execs in an organisation that has recently gone through a merger. Another little glitch with the new computer… The software for the digital camera won’t work on the new machine. I downloaded a more recent version, but unfortunately it wouldn’t communicate with the camera for some reason. I thought we might need to get the digital plumber back, until we discovered that we can use the Image Capture software already installed on the machine. As Lyra was on a playdate, I took the opportunity to serve fish for dinner. Made smoked fish baked with flageolet beans and cream for dinner — unctuous and yummy. Had to rush off to swimming afterwards, where I managed to do the worst parallel park ever, taking three attempts to maneuvre the car into a space the size of a bus. And inconvenience another car while I was at it. That ended up being someone I actually know.. Of course no one was present to witness my amazing parking achievement of last time…;-) |
September 25, 2012Adam joined me on my run this morning. I enjoy the company, but always feel a bit guilty about holding him back. Met a few former classmates of Nova’s on the walk down. Funny how they suddenly look small again in their new uniforms, after ruling the playground in year 6…Went through all the invoices and receipts I need to submit to the accountant for my tax return. Not a lot there, but time consuming nonetheless… Nova met up with a few old school friends in the park after school. Over dinner, she said how she was surprised how differently some of the girls acted. One announced that she swears a lot now she’s in high school. “That impressed me,” Nova said sarcastically. A girl that used to be mean was unexpectedly nice, and another who’d never showed any interest in sport has taken up cross-country running. High school is a chance to reinvent yourself, especially when you have a completely new set of kids to establish yourself with… Sausages and lentils for dinner, and an episode of Romanzo Criminale before bed… |
September 24, 2012It’s pissing with rain again… Sloshed off to school with little Lyra, and by the time I got back home my feet were soaked… Got birthday presents from dad and Wade in the post this morning. Dad sent me some money (which I’m planning to spend on a new pair of black boots) and Wade got me a really nice teeshirt and some Canucks merchandise. Journeyed round north London on various shopping errands: ballet kit, girls’ underwear, stationery and groceries at Brent Cross; Asian food supplies at Wing Yip in Cricklewood, and music books in Muswell Hill… The beef barley soup I made for dinner scored a direct hit with the girls. Watched episode 2 of Downton Abbey with Nova once Lyra was down. I can’t help but expect that the current difficulties the family are facing will soon be resolved, probably in episode 3. Less cynical Nova is feeling greatly concerned on their behalf… |
September 23, 2012What a difference a day makes… Goodbye Indian summer, hello autumn… It is absolutely chucking it down this morning, with heavy sheets of rain clattering against the glass. Perhaps it was the drop in temperature, but I felt a hankering for the full English breakfast that I’d spurned yesterday.Unfortunately, instead of ordering the Forest breakfast — one egg, rasher of bacon, sausage and grilled tomato — I inadvertently ordered the Crown breakfast, which had two eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, fried bread, tomato, beans and potatoes… Even though Adam ate almost half of it, I still needed a lie down afterwards… In spite of the rain, we forged ahead with our plan for a woodland walk. We donned raincoats, rain trousers and boots, and brandishing umbrellas, squelched off down the trail. The rain was relentless, and within minutes anything not covered in gore-tex was soaked through. It was cold as well — gloves would have been welcome. “Why are we doing this?” Lyra asked more than once. I told her it was character building, though privately I was wondering the same thing…
Wet, wet, wet We were back home by 4:30pm, unpacked the bags and arranged wet clothes on the radiators. We’d eaten a late lunch of service station sandwiches, so tea and toast sufficed for dinner. Autumn is definitely here — the windows are draped in spider webs, it’s chilly enough indoors for jumpers and slippers, and we all took hot water bottles to bed… |
September 22, 2012We’d arranged to meet for breakfast at 9am, which gave us a bit of time to loung about in bed with the papers first. I went for the veggie cooked breakfast, which was really nice. Even the fried bread was edible, not that I ate it all… I often fo for a full English breakfast in hotels and b&bs, then wish I hadn’t…The walk we chose for today, started at the hotel parking lot. We crossed the highway, then struck out across a field and into the woods. Gorgeous weather today, if anything it was a bit too hot. Especially as Adam had strongly encouraged us to dress in layers, nearly all of which ended up in the backpack he was carrying. Stopped for a snack and a long laze in the sun-soaked heather, before completing the second half. It was about 6 miles in the end. I’ve got both girls convinced that a person should be able to walk their age in miles, up to the age of 50, after which they start counting down again… So, when Lyra was four, we did four-mile walks, and now that she’s five, she can walk five miles. She was pretty concerned when she overheard us talking about six miles. “I can’t do that!” she objected. And pretty surprised to discover she already had… Stopped for tea and scones at one of the many, many tearooms studding Lyndhurst High Street. Happily, we chose a good one — it appears that teashops are a licence to print money around here. Must be annoying to actually live in a place so completely warped by tourism… Back at the hotel, we spent an hour in the swimming pool and sauna before heading off for dinner to the Trusty Servant pub in Minstead. I settled on this place after reading TripAdvisor reviews of local restaurants. For our price range, it seemed to get the least bad reviews. With reviews, I’m always aware that people are way more likely to write in after a bad experience than a good one. In the event, it served up reasonably good food in overly large portions. It was doing a brisk trade, and aside from a staggering overuse of red onion in pretty much every dish we ordered, there were no complaints. We returned to a raucous 50th birthday party in full swing, which had transformed our quiet hotel bar into something approaching a wedding disco. Fortunately, there was a quiet space with sofas downstairs, where we could nurse our pints and hold a conversation. The girls took themselves off to bed around ten, and we joined them about midnight… |
September 21, 2012Went for my sixth run in two weeks. Took 40 seconds off my previous time, which was encouraging, though I’m still only running for 18 minutes — nothing to get too excited about…Spent the morning getting ready for our weekend in the New Forest with Kiran and Birgit. We’re travelling down after dinner tonight and spending two nights in a hotel, so the packing was pretty straightforward. Walking kit, swimsuits, toothbrush, that was about it… Joined Basil for a birthday drink at the Flask before school pick-up. Downed a pint of Fruili, a very drinkable, strawberry-flavoured, Belgian beer. I gave him a little bag of the chocolate-lime, salted brownies I’d whipped up last night, a very edible, chocolatey baked good…;-) When Lyra’s class filed into the playground, I was startled to realise thatLyra wasn’t among them. Her teacher was pretty startled too, until she remembered that Lyra had gone for a piano lesson shortly before school broke up. Adam had been up most of the night working, and felt too tired to drive. I didn’t feel much like it myself. It was dark and pelting with rain when we set off, and the motorway was an ordeal. The journey went smoothly enough, at least until we managed to get lost in Lyndhurst. The iphone gps just wasn’t accurate enough to pinpoint our hotel. We’ve booked a nice family room at the Lyndhurst Holiday Inn, with a little bunk bed for the girls and a king sized bed for us. Joined Kiran and Birgit for a couple of pints in the bar before calling it a night… |
September 20, 2012Spent ages cleaning off Nova’s desk, filing all the drawings, old school notebooks, programmes and birthday cards. It looks so organised and grown up now with my old laptop sitting on the otherwise pristine surface…After lunch, I sat down for a bit to read a bit of my novel and conked out like someone had knocked me over the head. When Adam popped up at 3:30, he found me sprawled on the sofa fast asleep. He sprinted off to school to pick up Lyra, and managed to arrive ahead of Christine, though they were the last two. I’m trying to finish my Orhan Pamuk novel, The Museum of Innocence, which I started reading in Istanbul. I’m in the high 700s now, and appreciate that it’s a very good book, but it was definitely more compelling when I was actually in Istanbul. Plus the narrator is a sordid, obsessive little creep and I’m well tired of his company. I wonder how Shenda’s getting on with her copy…? Made an Asian pork dish that was nothing special — I thought it tasted more like a filling than an actual dish, the way that some soups just seem more like sauces. I do love the way my girls will tuck into my less inspiring efforts with the minimum of fuss… Went to a meet-the-teacher meeting for Lyra’s class. Apparently, she’s doing very well, and is confident and mature, with lots of friends. The kind of thing parents love to hear. We were given a list of words she should learn in year 1 and 2, and the little beggar can read all but three of them already (laugh, because, although). I guess she hasn’t covered ‘gh’ yet I guess. Her reading has really come together over the summer with little help from us, though I do read to her every day. I think spelling will be her challenge — she’s pretty random with both letter choice and order. An example: h “How do you spell cat?” “C A T.” “And how do you spell that?” “V A T.” “And how do you spell fish?” “F I H S.”… |
September 19, 2012Went for a run after drop-off, not that I felt much like it. Though I said to myself when I was clumping around with my leg in a cast, that I would never again complain about going for a run, just be grateful that I’m still able to do it…Adam was out all day at a meeting of some description. He seems to have lots of work on at the moment, but nothing that’s right for me to get involved with. Oh well…;-) My Adobe software hasn’t transferred across from my old computer properly. I tried various fixes and patches before eventually calling our IT guy, the Digital Plumber over to sort it out. He installed a new version of Adobe Creative Suite, which is exciting, except now I have to learn how to use a bunch of new software. There are lots of little differences between this computer and my old one. The mouse/touchpad seems weird to me, I don’t like how the screen saver works in this OS, and the mail client no longer includes an rss reader. But these are quibbles — it really is a beautiful machine. It’s just not a good buddy yet, the way my old machine was. We haven’t been through any shit together yet…;-) |
September 18, 2012Happy birthday to me! I was woken at 6:45am for presents and breakfast in bed, Lyra has been focussed on this day for week. Apparently, when Adam woke her, she stumbled around her room retrieving things from various hiding spots. She gave me a book she’d written on insects, a bead bracelet and a lovely card. Nova made me a little cheque book of promises like emptying the dishwasher and entertaining Lyra.Nova has expressed concern about how we will do birthdays now that she leaves for school so early. I guess this is how, with the old 6:45pm birthday wake up. I suppose we could also run her up to school on those days… Adam and I headed into town for a lovely lunch at Pollen Street Social. Stopped by the Apple Store in Regents Street, where we picked out a new laptop for me! It is definitely the most expensive thing Adam has ever bought me. In fact, it’s the only really expensive thing he has ever bought me, considering he didn’t buy an engagement ring. Let’s hope it’s the start of an exciting new phase in our relationship…;-) Christine took me for tea and cake after ballet drop-off, and Pasc was waiting with a little pressie when I got home, so I’m feeling pretty spoiled. Dinner was linguine al limone (al a Adam), and a carrot cake from the village bakery. My new computer was delivered just as we were finishing up, and I spent the rest of the evening playing with my new baby… |
September 17, 2012Nova managed to get out of the house this morning without waking Lyra, which makes life easier. Otherwise, Lyra is up and about ages before she needs to get ready for school herself…Went for a run after drop-off, and added a little distance to the route I did last week. Adam was home from the Scillies when I got back. Sounds like they had a very sedate weekend — walking, crosswords and Scrabble — with not even a visit to the pub. At least he looks well rested…;-) Rosh Hashanah dinner round the Garfunkels with Jeffrey & Jenny, and Doron’s family. The food was great, as always: apples and honey, chicken soup, a cold buffet, and an array of desserts. Just when I’d filled every nook and cranny of my stomach, Beulah returned bearing a delicious-looking honey cake. Every year I somehow forget the honey cake… doh! I really couldn’t manage a slice this year, though I did have a taste of Adam’s piece… |
September 16, 2012Nova has forgotten to bring home the books she needs to complete her weekend homework. Not intentionally I don’t think — she’s still getting used to new responsibilities and routines…Took the girls for a swim after breakfast. Lyra is such a competent little swimmer now that I felt comfortable leaving them unattended for fifteen minutes and having a soak in the hot tub. I still kept an eye on them, but there is no need to hover over her any more, which is a good feeling. Made huevos rancheros for lunch, at Nova’s request. Her palette is really developing at the moment, and she is starting to enjoy curries and other spicy meals. The long-awated third series of Downton Abbey starts tonight. Nova was very excited about it, and I allowed her to stay up until 10:30 (on a school night!) so that she could watch it. From now on, we’ll tape it and watch it the next evening, which allows you to zip through the adverts as well… |
September 15, 2012Nova headed off to drama class at Jackson’s Lane after breakfast, then spent the rest of the morning hanging out with her friends in the park. It sounds like a lot of the kids were at it — she saw about ten other former St Michaels kids.Lyra and I had a nice morning together. We went for coffee at Costa, made a batch of rhubarb-strawberry jam, spent ages playingwith modelling clay, and mucked around with the video camera.
Dinner was macaroni cheese. Strange to think how for me, macaroni cheese was Kraft dinner. We practically never ate the homemade version, and the one time i remember mum making it, she covered the top with sliced tomatoes, which pretty much ruined it in my book. I think my kids would be horrified by Krap Dinner — I should serve it sometime just to see the look on their faces…;-) Went to the cinema with Jane while Elsie stayed with the girls. We saw Anna Karenina at the Phoenix. The film was framed as a theatrical performance, which had the characters picking their way through backstage props one minute, then opening a door onto the snow-covered steppes. Took a bit of getting used to, but by the end I quite liked it. Tom Stoppard did the screenplay, so I imagine it was his doing… Keira Knightley played Anna. For me, she always detracts from whatever she appears in. She never seems to lose her self-consciousness, and there is the grinny thing she does with her mouth that really bugs me… |
September 14, 2012Said farewell to Adam before doing the school run this morning. He’s off for a four day boys’ weekend in the Scilly Isles. He’s planning to work on his manuscript in the car as he still hasn’t finished his draft. And he gives Nova such a hard time for her last-minute approach to her schoolwork…;-)Had Alina round to play after school. The girls seemed at a bit of a loss about what to do, but they are very comfortable with each other. Made pot roast in the pressure cooker. I’m pretty sure I overcooked it — it was rather dry, but still tender, and the accompanying sauce was delicious. Served it with buttered noodles. The little ones hated it, but Nova liked it fine… Played Monopoly with the girls before bed. Lyra won as usual — the little property magnate ruined me. Once she was in bed, I watched “Who Do You Think You Are” with Nova. Tonight’s subject was Hugh Dennis, Outnumbered dad, and former St Michaels school parent (though it appears he’s living in East Sussex now). The show focussed on his two grandfathers’ very different experiences of WW1. One went over as an officer, was shot in the arm in his very first battle and missed the rest of the war. The other spent two and a half years in the trenches, on a horror tour of infamous and bloody battles… |
September 13, 2012Adam was up all night working on a big draft he’s trying to pull together for BAA on noise reduction. I got the girls off to school, then met my friend Wendy for coffee. She’s no longer at St Michaels, but as her daughter is now at Channing, she’s still in the village every morning. Heard all about their amazing holiday in Vietnam, which is somewhere I would absolutely love to visit…Headed to the Sunshine garden store to pick up some bulbs. This is going to be the year I manage to plant some bulbs in the autumn. Bought snowdrops, muscari, and fritillaries, as well as some narcissi to force for indoors. Picked up another stake as well, so I can extend the raspberry canes down to the rhubarb. Carried on to Waitrose for our first proper shop since the holidays. Bought a big flat of strawberries that were on the turn. Made a batch strawberry rhubarb sorbet, and will use the rest for jam. Dinner was squash risotto made in the pressure cooker. Contrary to the recipe’s extravagent claims, I did not have ‘perfectly cooked risotto with absolutely no effort in a matter of minutes.” The rice didn’t absorb all the liquid and was still chalky, which is better than cooking too fast I guess. I finished it off on the stove top, and was happy with the end result. Ignored the suggestion to garnish with shredded fresh sage leaves. Sage, like rosemary, is strictly to be cooked before eating, in my opinion… |
September 12, 2012I was running late getting the girls to their swimming lessons. We roared over to the Mallinson Centre in the car, but all the spaces on the road where I usually park were full. There was a tiny little spot, about a centimetre longer than the car just opposite the centre. “I’ll just back into this for a couple of secs so you guys can get out, then I’ll go find a space I can fit into while you get changed,” I said.I casually swung the car backwards into the spot, and cranked the wheel so the nose of the car wasn’t sticking out into the traffic too much. To my amazement, I’d somehow maneuvred the car perfectly into the spot. There was only about an inch to spare on either side, and I was practically touching the curb. I think it is the best parallel park I’ve ever done, and on the wrong side (ie, the right side) of the road as well… Each week after swimming, I treat Lyra’s infected toenail. She’s had a nasty fungal infection of the toenail for a few years now. I’ve been painting it with this horrible poison for eighteen months, and it is slowly showing some improvement, though there is still a long way to go… She has also got a stubborn crop of verrucas growing between the toes of her other foot. What was once one, became two, then three, and tonight I noticed a great grandchild starting to develop. The Compound W stuff I’m using is proving totally ineffective, and I keep meaning to make an appointment to get them burned off… |
September 11, 2012Managed only three hours sleep before Lyra came in, but it still felt worth it… Enjoyed all the radio coverage of this historic event. There is no mention of his Britishness in the interviews north of the border — it’s completely a Scottish success up there…With carpet cleaners booked for the afternoon, I took the opportunity to get everything out from under the beds and the dusty corners of the rooms, including the gutted and rotting mouse Cleo had stashed in the flat. ‘My trophy cabinet!” — she was probably gutted herself… Lyra’s first ballet class, reminding me all over again how much I don’t like Miss Julie, and her petty, prissy, passive-aggressive prima donna ways. At least Nova is free of her after seven long years… Pete and Pasc have bought a rental flat in Hoxton, and after dinner I went do there with them to witness the lease signing. It’s in a council tower block, and has lovely views of London. They didn’t much to it — not even paint it — and bought most of the furniture from the previous tenants. They had plenty of people wanting to rent it, so it wasn’t necessary to spiff it up, but I think I would have anyway. If only to send the message that you care about the place, and want your tenants to care about it too…
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September 10, 2012Walked Nova to the bus stop to launch her on her first solo journey to school. Through texts, we worked out which bus her friends Jessica and Shira were on, and made sure Nova boarded that one.I’d asked Nova to coordinate her journey home with them as well, but that didn’t work out. After school, Nova hopped straight on the little shuttle bus to Golders Green, Shira missed that bus and decided to walk, and Jessica headed off in the opposite direction to catch the 102. Nova hung around Golders Green until she bumped into Shira and her mum, and then travelled home with them. I wouldn’t say Golders Green station is dangerous by any means, but it is a busy national coach yard, and I don’t want my 11-year-old hanging around looking lost… Nova’s managed to mess up her padlock, resetting it to some unknown number. “That’s the third thing she’s mucked up this month,” Adam grumbled. My mum used to say that things always come in threes, so maybe that’s the end of it. We should find her a job stress testing technology…:-) Stayed up until 2am watching the American Open final — Murray v Djokovic, what an amazing match! And a big day for British tennis, as it’s been 77 years or something since a British man last won a tennis grand slam… |
September 9, 2012Woke up at 4am feeling a bit ropey… Took some nurofen and drank a glass of water, then went back to sleep for a few hours. Originally, we’d planned to cook breakfast before heading home, but decided just to pack up and go.We were home by 9:30 am. It was a lovely hot day, and we spread the tent out in the back garden to dry it thoroughly before packing up, for the season most likely. Nova headed off to go swimming with Fay. They took themselves down to Archway on the bus. It’s pretty cool that she can do stuff like that now… Lyra had a birthday party, which involved scrounging up a present and making a card. “Happy Birthday! i hope you have nice dreams,” Lyra printed carefully on the inside. Thawed out some bolognese sauce for dinner — we’d had little rain, which made it cool enough for pasta. Had a long phone conversation with dad, who’s back in PG after a marathon trapshooting circuit… |
September 8, 2012Tonight is the school campout, rescheduled from the washout that was last July… Adam took the girls to his friends’ party in Tufnell Park, while I got all our kit ready. It was a lot less of a deal than usual, as we can easily pop home to pick up anything I forget…We’ve loaned our old, semi-repaired tent to the family we bought the bell tent from. Actually, if they hadn’t needed it, I would have been tempted to use it ourselves. There is absolutely no chance of rain tonight, and it is very light and easy to put up compared to our new one. It was great to see all the old school crowd, but a little weird as well. As soon as the tent was pitched, we got stuck into the beer drinking. I’d made a big batch of guacamole and we devoured that, then bought sausage sandwiches for dinner from the pay barbeque. Without artificial lighting, the field got very dark once night fell and people didn’t move around much. That’s one difference between doing the campout in September instead of June. We were pitched next to Christine and Gerald, and spent most of the evening with them. Our girls ended up sleeping in their tent, so we had ours all to ourselves…;-) |
September 7, 2012I went with Nova on the bus this morning, once again meeting up with Jessica and her mom. I volunteered to travel home with the girls today, as Adam is around to do the Lyra pick-up. I’m hoping that next week Nova will feel confident enough to do it on her own, especially if she and Jessica coordinate their journeys.In the event, I left it so late to go meet them that Adam had to run me up in the car… which took all of seven minutes. Beulah wonders why we are making Nova commute by bus each day when we could just drive her. For the independence it gives her, the opportunity to socialise with friends, and the conflict with Lyra’s drop-off and pick-up are a few reasons. Also, it would take a bigger chunk out of my day than it would hers by the time I’ve gone there and back. Of course I would do it if she was running particularly late, or has an after-school activity that goes on particularly long. Made lamb keema curry for our dinner, and a sort of instant risotto with leftover rice for the girls. I was pleased when Nova really liked the curry, although Lyra found it too spicy. Settled down to watch Frankenstein after dinner. Nova wasn’t that captivated by it, and spent half the time faffing around with her phone. She managed to reset the touch screen so that none of the buttons worked, which infuriated Adam no end. There is a feature for recalibrating the touch screen (maybe for people with particularly fat fingers?), and Nova had deliberately ignored the directions about where to touch… This drama trumped movie night. Adam spent ages trying to find how to rectify it online, but apparently no one else in the global vodafone community has ever done anything that stupid…;-) The problem was you couldn’t even unlock the phone, as none of the buttons now work. It looked like another trip to the phone store was on the cards, until I had the idea of touching different parts of the screen to see where the buttons were now actually located. And it worked… eventually I figured out how much to transpose each button push, and recalibrated it properly… Go, mum! |
September 6, 2012Today was Lyra’s first day of school, and once I launched the big girl out the door, I focussed on getting Lyra ready. Another round of photos, then off we went. It’s pretty familiar compared to Nova’s experience, but she does have a new teacher and classroom, and one of her good friends has left.Lyra has always been a ‘breast’ girl. Even after she’d stopped breast feeding, she liked to handle my breasts a lot, and rest her head on them. I think she finds it comforting. And even now, if she’s feeling a bit anxious or is somewhere unfamiliar — like Piccadilly Circus, say — she’ll reach up and sort of hold a breast. So when I felt her little hand clamp on to me as we were waiting in the playground, I didn’t say anything or move her hand. Many of her classmates were demonstrating their anxiety. Archie was clamped onto his mum’s leg like a cast, Tessa the new girl had her coat over her head and Mala was sobbing. After a minute or two, I felt Lyra’s hand let go and she scampered over to join her friends Alex and Lucia. Adam took Nova to school today, and saw her onto the little hopper bus that runs from Golders Green station to the school. She wanted me to come meet her, but that isn’t going to be Nova as I need to collect Lyra. Fortunately, Jessica’s mum is going to collect, so she can travel home with them. Met Wendy Porter for a quick coffee before heading home. I’m pretty sure that this is my first day alone since the summer holidays started. I relished the peace and quiet, or would have done if the doorbell hadn’t kept ringing. The deaf drawing selling Polish guy, the door-to-door fish seller, and Alan the window cleaner. I bought another drawing, and was happy to get the windows cleaned. It got me cleaning surfaces, and polishing the wooden window ledges. Put in some good time in the garden too, cutting back and tying in next year’s raspberry canes. Adam was out at a school meeting this evening, talking about our experience of choosing a selective school to anxious year six parents. I ate bibimbap with the girls for dinner. “We eat different food than the rest of my friends,” Nova observed. I guess we do — I can’t really picture Christine or Pasc whipping up Korean fare midweek…
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September 5, 2012Today is Nova’s first day at the Henrietta Barnett School. It was a bit strange to see her in the unfamiliar uniform, somehow managing to look awfully grown up and incredibly young at the same time…After the obligatory first day of school photo, I walked with her to the bus stop in the village. Through text messaging, I ensured we boarded the same bus as Jessica and her mum were on, and off we went. We opted to walk from Golders Green, which isn’t a completely straightforward route, but I’m sure they’ll get the hang of it. Joined a trail of new girls heading in the same direction (only the year sevens are attending school today to give them a chance to settle in). Everyone seemed very friendly, and Nova certainly seems to fit right in…
HBS year seven girls Caught the bus home with Jessica’s mum, then took Lyra to the park for a romp before lunch. Alice came round for the afternoon — those two were delighted to see each other and disappeared straight into the bedroom for the next few hours. Swimming lessons started this evening. We’ve finally succeeded in getting Lyra out of the holding pen that was group 2, by switching to a later time slot. She was getting pretty fed up after an entire year without progress. She’s going to have to pull her socks up in group 3 — they are in the deep part of the pool for one thing, so it’s either sink, or swim (or cling)…;-) Spent a good half hour blowdrying the girls’ hair afterwards so they’ll look salontastic for school tomorrow…
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September 4, 2012Our last day of summer holiday. Nova headed up to the village after breakfast to get her hair cut and blowdryed, then spent the morning hanging out with Etta and Sarah in the park. Half the year six graduates seemed to be doing the same, and I’m sure it’s nice (and maybe reassuring) for them to see one another before embarking on the secondary school adventure.Nova has managed to mess up her phone somehow. She’s got into setting passwords for various things, and then immediately forgetting them. After a number of guesses her phone locked her out. If you contact your provider at this stage, they quickly rectify the problem by sending you an eight-digit PUK (phone unlock) code. Unfortunately, instead of letting us know, she took ten stabs at guessing her number (of which there are 100,000,000 possibilities), until her SIM card locked. At this stage, you have to throw the SIM card away and return to the phone shop for a new one. Adam was less than impressed… Crystal chicken with homemade plum sauce (from a batch that is older than Lyra!), and lemon ice cream for dessert. Sewed name tags into school uniform until after 10pm… |
September 3, 2012We had Paralympics tickets to see the athletics today. I didn’t feel much like it after all the travelling we did yesterday, but it was fun once we got there. We feel like old hands at Olympic Park now, though we did forget you can’t bring your own water onto the site. I understand that safety must be paramount in this age of terrorism, but it does seem like an over-reaction for a one-off attempt (that didn’t even work) to keep up such drastic restrictions on water bottles.
Back home just in time to ferry the girls to their annual dentist appointment. Adam waited with them while I popped to the new mini-Waitrose to do a quick grocery shop. It is so the wrong scale store for us. It’s much more geared to young professionals popping in for two ready meals and a bottle of wine. We caused a twenty-plus person tailback, and required two tills to process our groceries. Dinner was fresh tuna salad niçoise. “I thought you knew that I really don’t like this kind of food,” Lyra groused when she saw her meal. “You like all these things except the tuna,” I pointed out. “But i don’t like them together, you silly banana!” was her comeback. Our salads featured cukes from the garden. Pete hadn’t picked any while we were away, so they were a bit seedy, but still nice. I love have cukes on tap, especially the way these girls get through them… Watched our Third Man dvd after dinner. To my surprise, it kept Lyra’s attention, and she asked a number of intelligent questions about the plot, which is pretty complex for a five-year-old to follow… |
September 2, 2012Our last day in Vienna… We packed up all our stuff, the headed over to Café Sperl again. If I lived in Vienna, I can picture myself eating there every week with all the other regulars.
Had just enough time for an hour at the Leopold museum before we had to catch the metro to the airport. It was an uneventful flight. I got the solo seat this time, while Adam sat with the girls across the aisle. It was a bit more relaxing, though girls pretty good on planes now.
Took the train to St Pancras, then caught a taxi home. Cleo seemed happy to see us for once. Usually, she gives us the cold shoulder (if cats have shoulders — I guess they do…) She’d inflicted some grievous damage to the carpet next to the toybox, but otherwise the house was looking good… Got a load of laundry on, then waded through the unpacking. I’m feeling no enthusiasm about returning to London, which was odd. In past summers, I’d be returning to a job I didn’t want to do anymore but would still be happy about being home. Just not feeling it this time, and Adam says he feels the same… |
September 1, 2012Happy half birthday, Lyra — five-and-a-half today! A couple of months ago, Lyra decided that henceforth we shall celebrate her half birthday every 1 September. She’s put some thought into the matter, and would have liked a half cake and a small present, but has compromised on the family going out for cake and singing a half-birthday song at some point during the day. Not a hard requirement to satisfy in Vienna…Another drizzly day… the promised clear skies haven’t materialised. Started off with breakfast at Café Sperl. I love that place — had the fried eggs baked with thinly sliced ham, and a mélange, as they call a white coffee here, a grosse brauner, or big brown for Adam, and hot chocolates for the girls. Walked down to Ringstrasse afterwards, and rode our first tram round to Schottentor to see the doorway where Harry Lime is exposed when the light is suddenly turned on. As it was right next to Pasqualati House, one of Beethoven’s many addresses in Vienna, and the location where he wrote his only opera Fidelio.
There was a pair of complete arses overseeing the collection, not that there way much to see, though it was interesting to be in the space. I thought that at least Beethoven was spared from hearing how horribly the floorboards creaked. Though if he was a pacer, and somehow I imagine he would have been, he must have driven the neighbours crazy. There was a pair of headphones with samples from each act of Fidelio. Lyra listened intently to the whole thing — she loves her music, that girl.
We’d intended to continue riding the trams all the way round the Ringstrasse, but they were being diverted because of some techno street party thing. Ended up walking most of the route instead, which was nice enough, if a bit drizzly. Had a little peak at Mozart’s house, and checked out the Beethoven statue in Beethovenplatz, from the opening scene of The Third Man.
Stopped for the promised half birthday cake in the Ressel Park cafe. In the event, we all went for whatever we fancied: chocolate pancakes for Lyra, sachertorte for Nova, applel strudel for Adam and apple fritters for me. I was a bit concerned when it appeared I was being served five large doughnuts, but it turned out to be large chunks of apple in a light tempura batter — fresh and very good.
It finally stopped raining just as we arrived at the Third Man museum, where we spent a very interesting couple of hours. It was bit boring for Lyra, and she certainly let us know it, otherwise I would have happily spent longer. The museum is arranged over a number of separate rooms, and you have to be let in and out by the guy who owns the place. It’s clearly a labour of love. Highlights were the short screening of some of the original film on a 1930s cinema projector, a genuine old-style subway grate that illustrated how Harry Lime could never have stuck his fingers through as they are far too thick, and the rooms he’d curated on Austria during WW2. “You won’t find this stuff in other Austrian museums,” the guy said, as he led us down the street to the third section of his museum. “Most Austrians say that Hitler was German, and Beethoven was Austrian.” Before we left we bought a remastered version of the film on DVD, and the catalogues he’d prepared of the collection as well. We would have watched the film straight away, but it turns out we don’t have a dvd player… Went out for dinner at another little biesl round the corner form the flat. This one a little more upmarket, with candles, tablecloths and oversized wine glasses. Adam had wild boar schnitzel, I had pork medallions in a chanterelle sauce, and the girls went for the inevitable kinderschitzel, though N started with the rindsoupe — beef consomme with shredded pancake. Viennese food is great, but it will be a bit of a relief to return to our normal dining habits…;-) |
