The Miseries of London

MrsM's Father and MrsM's Mother
came to stay last weekend.

This is what they did in two days:

"First we visited the National Gallery and then we walked across to Westminster Abbey for the Candlemas Service. After that we went out for a meal in a nice little Turkish restuarant on the Cut. It was very hyper - so many people and so much noise! On the next day we went to the National Theatre to see if they had any tickets for the new Alan Bennett play. They did but they cost £47 each so we decided to go to the Elizabeth Taylor film at the British Film Institute later in the afternoon. After that we strolled across to Covent Garden and enjoyed the buskers and then we dropped into Gordons Wine Bar for a drink. We had lunch at the amazing food market on the South Bank and bought some delicious cheese and other goodies. Then it was time for the film which was terrific but unfortunately the cheese started to ripen so it was a little bit smelly."

MrsM hung her head in shame because she had not done any of those things recently even though they are all within reach. It is galling when your parents show you how to live the good life.

And so MrsM said to MrM:

"I'm going to be in Bedford Square on 19 February
Would you like to take me out for supper?"

And MrM made a note in his diary.

Hall of Mirrors

Can we have a little heart-to-heart?

I'm all about Borgen at the moment.
I want to be like Birgitte Nyborg Christensen
She is a great role model...
smart, sexy and no nonsense.

I told MrM that I wanted cashmere lounge pants
so I could look like Birgitte
when I was relaxing at the end of the day.
It was aspirational wardrobe management.

MrM immediately contacted my dear friend Mary
and said "Help me! What are lounge pants?"
Mary did not hesitate - she searched online
and found some fabulous lounge pants...
in cashmere! in a sale!
Clever, clever Mary.

Unfortunately, I am not a lounge pants person.
I do not do lounging very successfully.
I wish I did.
Even if I could lounge in an age-appropriate way
I am quite sure that cashmere would go baggy.

I am going to have to give up the dream
but at least I can wear a scarf like Birgitte.
Oh yes - I can knot like a Statsminister

Meanwhile

...in Mozambique...

MasterM is perfecting
his networking skills.

Fruit Salad cake

Today, Mary, I am going to bake
a Fruit Salad cake.

That would be because
I made fruit salad for breakfast
and we didn't eat it all.

Please enjoy my use
of "classic" baking equipment.
Or as MasterM says...
"museum pieces"

Yes...you have guessed correctly...
lining cake tins is
my secret superpower.

I could have used
the magic of Photoshop
to protect you from
the post-Christmas state of my oven.
But I didn't.
We are all adults here.

So.

Fruit Salad cake.

Packed with vitamins.

And slathered with cream.

(It wouldn't be edible otherwise).

Home Thoughts from Abroad

However often I go away,
no matter how exciting the location,
I still suffer from homesickness.

Not the lying-on-the-bed-sobbing variety
or the "Get me out of here" panic
but a sense of dislocation from the familiar.

It is the weight of the duvet that I miss,
the light that falls at certain times of the day,
the comfort of familiar food,
the bright pleasure of my china,
and the small routines of everyday life.

I take these thing for granted
so it is good to go away
and remind myself to be grateful.

Rio de la Miel

We stopped in a sheltered part of the bay.
After standing in the cold wind all morning
it was a relief to escape the constant buffeting.
I sat on the edge of the shingle
and the only thought in my mind was
"if this isn't nice I don't know what is".

that was the night that was

On the last night
it is time to go out and relax,

a drink in an Irish bar,
a game of pool

then off to the clubs,
raucous and full of life

where there is dancing
until late, late, late

followed by a quiet stroll home
through palm-lined streets.

5am and all's well.

(just for the record)

We took 127 first year students to Spain
and it was a huge logistical challenge.

What I shall remember from this trip
is the extraordinary teaching
I was lucky enough to watch.

My academic colleagues talking without notes,
answering challenging questions,
communicating their passion for the subject

I stood in a mountain layby
while a memorial to the unnamed victims
of the Spanish Civil war was interpreted
and it was impossible not to be moved.

Later, I watched as a group of students
explained their plan for project work
and were helped to design questionnaires
to interview people who do not speak English.

Here is a translator working with a student
to transcribe an interview which will
form part of the data set
for a presentation and report.

Not everybody had to contend with a breakdancer
but all of the teaching I watched was inspiring.

I wished, yet again, that I had studied Geography.

Paella on the beach

Cooked over charcoal.
Served by pirates

Hungry?

Blog post! Blog post!

Last week I was in Spain,
sitting next to a mountain river,
watching students measure flow rates.
It was raining and very cold
but I was with my friend Jenny
and she is a good person to be with.

At some point that day,
even though I was cold and wet,
the creative switch in my brain
that has been turned off
flicked on again.

At the end of the afternoon
I took off my gloves and said
"would you like to see me
take a blog photo?"
Jenny laughed because
it was only a dried up brown shrub...
I don't think she believed me.

*****

for Jenny