Boat Trip

It's a really hot day,
almost too hot to move,
but don't worry because
we can look at Lisbon from the sea.

It is a city of sailors and explorers

and these are the landscapes they saw
before they set out for new worlds

(gratuitous photo of sailing ship for my Dad)

the exquisite ivory Torre de Belém;

the multiple pinnacles of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos;

the arcades and grand arch of Praça do Comércio.

The Lisbon waterfront is a mixture of history,
modern architecture and container port.

This is the Museum of Electricity
which you will be disappointed to discover
that we did NOT visit. My bad.

The imposing Monumento a Cristo Rei
is seen through the bridge on the hill opposite,
a symbol of compassion for a city
struggling with the effects of the global recession.

I am delighted to spot the bold statement
"Landscape has no owner."
I imagine adding the word "Discuss."
in bright red graffiti

which tells me that my exam responsibilities
were more deeply embedded than I realised.

Bring on some rest & relaxation.

*****

Thank you all for your welcome yesterday.
Cake and kisses etcetera all round.

I'm a bit busy at work -
does anyone want to do the financial year end
so I can get on with replying to comments?
No?
Bother.

The Bowl from Marvão

in which MrsM demonstrates to MrM
that she was not exaggerating
when she stated that this bowl
would be an essential part
of her batterie de cuisine

lemon storage

peach and tomato salad

smoked mackerel and potato salad
in a horseradish cream dressing

lamb and red pepper casserole

cherry clafoutis

to be honest, after only a week
even MrsM is wondering
how she managed without it

*****

We had such a lovely time in Portugal
and I have some photos to show you.

Same time, same place tomorrow?

MrM, Travel Agent

Pack your bags MrsM
we're going on holiday!

I've booked us a boutique hotel
with a view of Lisbon.

Take casual clothes for exploring
and smart clothes for eating out at night.

How do you fancy a boat trip?

We could take an open-top tour of the city!

Did I mention the night out in the Jazz Club?

And if that is not enough
we are going into the wilderness
where you can practise your driving
on perilous mountain roads!

Where are you going, MrsM?

Come back!

Please come back!

I was just kidding about the driving...

a time of roses

When you ask about my hours, my days,
I shall say they were filled with roses,

that I was adrift in heady musk,
marshmallow petals melting sweet,

pearl white and shell pink light
clinging to my fingertips,

but of thorns that pierce, I shall not tell,
I do not think you want to know.

Alice Christie
1 vii 2013

Sunday Evening

In a strange turn of events MasterM is having dinner with my brother. In Buenos Aires.

We talk by Skype and it is so good to see MasterM who is in South America for a holiday with friends from South Africa. It is even stranger than it seems at first glance because my brother is now living in the same flat that MasterM spent six months in during his Gap Year. MasterM shows us around - there are several rooms that he did not even know about because he had an ergonomically efficient lifestyle which consisted of fridge, TV, bed. Do you remember the terrible accident with the fish tank? MasterM shows us the very cupboard where the fish lived their ill fated lives.

My brother is now headmaster of the school and Skype allows us to look from the balcony across beautiful lawns to the school buildings, we can see the lemon meringue pie that my lovely sister-in-law made and the bunk beds that my little nephews are so proud of. Then we must say goodbye and that is much harder than it is on the phone. Which is why we don't use Skype very often.

We had our first BBQ this evening. Another thing ticked off the list for summer.

Breakfast on Sunday

First buy your waffles, strawberries and cream.
Or grow them, make them or have them delivered
by organic lorries with free range drivers.

Pick a sunny Sunday morning
and heat the waffles in the oven.

Whip the cream.
With a whisk.
Exercise? Check.

Slice or halve the strawberries.
It's a personal choice.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Or not.

Spoon cream on waffle,
pile strawberries on top.
It's not rocket science.

Eat in the sunshine.

opening, closing, opening

I have spent the evening transferring my Google Reader subscriptions to The Old Reader - I know I could have imported them all at once but it was an opportunity to think about what I am reading. Sometimes it is good to let go, to acknowledge that  your life has moved on over the years and what you want to read will have changed too.

I also bid farewell to bloggers I followed that have stopped posting over the years. Thank you for your posts - they were opportunities for me to meet people and see places that I would not otherwise have had.

But mostly I felt overwhelming gratitude to all of my amazing blog friends who continue to post and enrich my life with their experiences. Thank you - all of you - you're lovely.

MrsM in the confessional

MrsM is having a one-to-one with her ironing guru.

Ironing Guru
Tell me exactly how you feel

MrsM
"It’s a feeling deep within your heart,
one you try to ignore, of heaviness.
Of dread and discouragement.
Of sadness and guilt and collapse."

Ironing Guru
How do you respond to this feeling?

MrsM
"I want to fall on a bed and shut out the world.
But that doesn’t work,
because the feeling follows me into bed,
and actually intensifies until finally
I have to get out of bed to try to escape it."

Ironing Guru
"You must take action!
Otherwise your life will degrade
to a point where you don't respect yourself."

MrsM
I have gone significantly beyond that point.
I have THREE ironing piles.

Ironing Guru
Follow my four step plan for ironing Nirvana
1.
"See the problem in perspective:
it's not the End of the World."

(MrsM "it feels like like it...")

2.
"Reframe the failure:
it's not you who are failing,
it's your method."

(MrsM "no kidding")

3.
"Change the method:
add some accountability."

(MrsM "Oh dear - I see MrM as Ironing Monitor")

4.
Iron the first shirt :
Just Do It

(MrsM "Deep, deep sigh of despair")

Ironing Guru
"The single [shirt] you iron today
is the antidote
to the soul-tearing effects of failure."

MrsM
Right.

*****

with apologies to Leo of zenhabits

A poetry reading in Acton

At the launch of 'Soil' by Tim Cresswell

Facing each other, the poets are embedded, sombre,
oblivious to crash and clatter of kitchen and bar.
The publisher, sole witness to the agonies of creation,
huddles behind a pile of books, leaking words.

The poets declaim in honour of the auspicious day,
earnest, incomprehensible, mischievous by turn,
while friends press against walls or lounge awkwardly,
uncertain about the rules on laughter. Or applause.

The poet they have come to hear opens his new book,
releasing from white pages the screech of parakeets,
red rowan berries, a cascade of pubs, old man Andy,
the glitter of an urban fox and a rabbit that swings.

After applause and congratulations, the friends leave,
meeting wet Acton streets for the first time,
but the poets remain, drinking shots at the bar,
a baptism of words that hang in the air, alive.

Alice Christie

*****

Many congratulations to Professor Tim Cresswell on the launch of his debut collection of poems, 'Soil' published by Penned in the Margins. It has been a  privilege to hear about the process of preparing the book over the past months and to be present at the launch. The collection has already had wonderful reviews from Jo Shapcott and Philip Gross who believe that Tim will be an important new voice in poetry.

It is a remarkable collection of poems, the urban landscape defined with compassion and affection. I love the wit, playful placement of words on the page, pitch perfect phrases and glimpses of wildness in the gaps between houses. My favourite poem - is such a thing permitted? - is 'On entering the home of the bourgeois intelligentsia for the first time'. Let's just say it sounded familiar and leave it at that.

Good luck to Tim and his family as they relocate to Boston this summer - the literary salons of Boston are in for a real treat.

[photo courtesy of Penned in the Margins]

attitude problem

Nope. Nothing. Empty brain syndrome. Doesn't happen very often. Have some avocado and prawn salad with pea shoots while I think. Even the salad looks a bit anaemic. Should have sprinkled some cayenne pepper on top. Needing some sofa time - it's been in short supply recently. The garden is looking pretty though. Roses, paeonies, geranium, lavender etcetera. Also many, many cushions. For everyone else to relax on, apparently.

I'll tell you about the poetry reading in Acton tomorrow. Or maybe we'll have a tour of the herb garden. Or a bento masterclass. Or my piece in the latest 'Oh Comely'...you definitely need to know about that. Tomorrow sounds as though it could be good. Come back tomorrow.