Original Thinkers and mouse, not monkey, business

On Monday I pottered around doing my usual things, and Mas went off to Brent Cross to meet up with an acquaintance. I had been listening to the radio on which there was a programme about Delia Derbyshire. She had worked for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and was responsible for creating lots of weird sounds and music. At the time, on the Third Programme (which became radio 3) they used to put on experimental and avant guarde plays which owed a lot of the atmosphere created to the work by the Radiophonic Workshop. Delia Derbyshire was most famous for realising Ron Grainer's theme tune for the original Dr. Who programmes.

Tuesday, and Diane is off to France. Mas spent all day meeting up with various people he is trying to work with. I walked to Edgware, picked up a little shopping and spent time browsing in the library. I began painting Grimsby, a dog character from Pete's book, but after a while I had to see Barry next door so I could look at his dog's feet, to his amusement.

I watched a programme called The Genius of Omar Khayyam. I was familiar with his poetry, I knew he was an astronomer but had not realised what an important mathematician he was also a philosopher. It is amazing what some people achieve in a lifetime.

This morning Salty bought in a mouse which immediately hid under the sofa. After a lot of cunning tracking I had the mouse backed into a corner (having excluded Salty from the room). I thought I would pick him up and then put him into the garden, hoping I would not be bitten too badly. As soon as I tried this, the mouse ran up my arm with the speed of light, and onto my head. I rushed out into the garden hoping I was still carrying him. Later, Salty seemed to have lost interest in the whole project, so I assumed the mouse had made it into the garden.

I went off for a walk, then later finished off the Grimsby painting for Pete.

Trundelling along as usual

Mas and I spent most of the week doing necessary but uninteresting things, and me going for rather dreary walks whenever I could. One good thing was that Mas went off to the hospital and got fitted with hearing aids. He said that they improved his hearing, and were so comfortable that he forgot he was wearing them, and they were almost invisible. We watched and listened to TV at a very low volume which I really liked.

I listened to the last part of the Jacques Brel series that I have been listening to on the radio, and spoke to Diane who is heading off to France soon. Pete came back from Guernsey, and I caught up with his news.

On Thursday Tania and Robert came down and we went off to 'the curry club'. We all felt a bit tired, especially Tania who was still suffering from jet lag. Ken arrived and had dinner too before he left to talk to other friends; he is off on holiday soon visiting India for the first time. We did not linger too long, but had a nice evening together.
















I watched a programme about Sacred Music which included interviews with Arvo Pärt which I found interesting; I think his music is amazing on so many levels. Later we watched 'Lewis', and although we had seen this episode before we still watched it again because it is a good one.

On Saturday Mas and I went for a walk to Stanmore, by the time we were there Mas had got the familiar painful tightening in his calves, so he bussed back home. I picked up a couple of things from the shop and walked home again. I tried my hand at painting more peculiar animals for Pete, as illustrations for his Skelly book. I watched an episode of Poldark which were first shown in the 1970s; I had enjoyed them then. We also watched another superb Wallander with Krister Henriksson as the detective. Mas has not been wearing his hearing aids and says he will wear them when necessary!

St.Albans visits, and Tania's return

Saturday, and we drove off to St.Albans to get shopping, and meet Robert at Sazios for lunch.
Robert had bought me some of the lovely business cards he had made for me, now all I need is the business. It is quite evident that Robert is missing Tania, but thankfully from his point of view she will be coming back tomorrow.

The fruit and vegetables in the market seemed rather expensive today, so we did not stock up with much. It still makes Mas laugh to hear all the market traders shouting out their wares for sale; they must be hoarse by the time they return home in the evenings.

On Sunday morning Wynford came round and gave us an enormous collection of videos, mostly Sherlock Holmes, Poirots and Agatha Christies. They have replaced these as they do not have a video player now. This will cause Mas to go through his collection, weeding some out so that the new ones can be put away, in the meantime they are stacked up in the sitting room.

We then drove up to Robert's house, and before long we were headed off to the airport to meet Tania as she arrived. Once at the airport we had a pizza snack and drink while we chatted until Tania arrived. Robert drove back home, and we stayed for a chat and tea. Tania has bought a karaoke machine which she wants Robert to set up for her. She showed pictures of her family which seemed to be full of laughing children and sunshine.

We left before too long, thinking how devastatingly tired Tania must feel after such a long journey, although she did not really seem as tired as we had expected. By the time we got home it was 8.30pm. We watched one of the new videos called the Fifteen Streets starring Sean Bean,
but I am not really a fan of gritty northern realism.

Cheerful friends and cheerless weather

I went off for a short walk this morning, and could not seem to settle down to all the things I should be getting on with.

As planned Robert came down to us early in the evening, and we went off again to The Man in the Moon as it was their curry club evening. Luckily we were early enough to get a booth to ourselves, and immediately the place filled up with customers. Before long Ken came in and joined us, and we had dinner and chatted, with many laughs, till 11.30pm when we all left to go home.

The cat woke me at 5.50am this morning, and I felt quite tired all day. The weather was depressingly grey and drizzly. I called Pete briefly, then listened to a Jeeves and Wooster on the radio. Later Toby called and chatted as he has returned home after visiting Alex in California. I watched 'Coast', and later Mas and I had a G & T to cheer ourselves up after such gloomy weather all day.

A bitter pill to swallow

Today the cat was due to have a worm pill, so I cut it into quarters and cunningly inserted them into his treats. Salty ate the first one, neatly spitting out the quarter of the pill, and regarding the rest of the treat with suspicion. Mas had to hold Salty, and I managed to drop the pill pieces one by one into his held open moth and down his throat; I was so surprised that this strategy worked! Mas cleared out the garden shed today, at last we can walk in without having to climb over things.

I spoke to Pete and found his hospital appointment had been cancelled. We talked about the Skelly illustrations he would like; I will try to do them soon. I did all kinds of boring necessary things and then went for a short walk. In the evening I watched 'Coast' which I find interesting.
In the evening I listened to the first of three programmes about the wonderful Jacques Brel, and they played lots of his music too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2wmKcBm4Ik&feature=related

The song 'ne me quitte pas ' has a lovely phrase in it expressing that he will be less than the shadow of a dog if she leaves him.

Sark Voices and gardening

On Sunday I did not do very much, except colour my hair with 'Mahogany' which came out an unlikely shade of red. Pete phoned and chatted. I had been listening to radio 3, Late Junction, where they played a traditional song by 'Sark Voices' sung in Sark French. I had not known before that Sark had its own patois which is now almost extinct.

Today it was warm and sunny for a change and I did some gardening. It was nice to be pottering about outside despite being ambushed and pounced upon by Salty. He seemed to have gone completely batty seeing me doing things in the garden again and kept running up and down trees.

In the afternoon I sat with Mas and we watched a new series called 'Missing' with Pauline Quirke in it, but I found it rather annoying and dreary.afterwards I went for a walk around Stanmore; it is odd how so many of the roads have now become 'private' with 'no entry' signs up everywhere. A sign of our troubled times I suppose.

Deja vue

I put the new 'spot on,' that we had bought from the vet, onto Salty before leaving with Mas who was going off to do some shopping. As I had another exhibition ticket I had arranged to go back to the Affordable Art Fair with Diane, for a day out together before she goes off to Normandy for a while.
After a difficult and slow journey, and because several of the underground lines were closed today,I had to take the bus, and after a roundabout journey I got to Sloan Square. I had told Diane about the Oriel, and so we met in the cafe bar of the Royal Court Theatre and had a glass of wine before going off to the art show.






























We walked about looking at the art for a few hours, and I had the chance to talk to one of the gallery people about painting watercolour on a gesso primed board or paper, which was useful.

After a while Diane suggested that we go to the Civil Service Club for tea as she is now a member, and after another long and noisy bus journey we got to Trafalgar Square and walked to the Civil Service club.

We had some Earl Grey tea and chocolate cake and talked for a while. Diane will be leaving for France at the end of March.

Afterwards we walked to the station and managed to get a train back to Edgware without changing trains.

The Affordable Art Fair

Today we were going to The Affordable Art Fair at Battersea Park, so we took the train to Sloan Square to meet Pete in the Oriel. We could not believe that the Oriel, one of our favourite haunts, has closed down due to the recession after 25 years. This is odd as the place was always busy, with the restaurant upstairs and the hidden away bar downstairs!

We sloped about disconsolately for a while, but eventually went to the bar cafe of the Royal Court Theatre, almost next door to the Oriel, hidden down the side.


































After a second restorative glass of wine and a modest snack, the surroundings looked less dusty and drab. We went around the corner and took the courtesy minibus to Battersea Park.

We looked at the artwork which is always enjoyable, and halfway through the exhibition we sat down for a while and had some sparkling water to drink, and more chat. When we all felt thoroughly tired we got the courtesy car back to Sloan Square and thus back home again.
A nice but tiring day.

Almost a car catastrophe

This week I spent a lot of time researching things, and sorting out direct debits. Boring but necessary. I called Margaret and talked to her for a while, and I spoke to Pete as well.

On Wednesday Mas and I went off to the Man in the Moon for lunch, only to find out when we were going to go home that the power steering in the car had gone wrong, and it was difficult to manoeuvre out of the car park. Mas dropped me off and I walked home with the milk we had bought, and he drove down to our local garage which luckily is within walking distance. The garage called later, saying that they may be able to part exchange something, if it was in good enough condition, also that the fan belt had gone as well. The car should be fixed tomorrow.

On a more cheerful note Joan sent a picture of Ethan's lovely cat, Skrimshaw, who is trying to fit in with the other cats and dogs ( his face is like my childhood cat Jimmy Lizard)















Today the garage called, the car was fixed, and for £100 less than we had expected. We cancelled the vet appointment as Salty is completely back on form now, but still taking the pills.

In the evening Robert picked us up, and we went, as planned, to The Man in the Moon as it was the evening for their Curry Club. When we went in all the tables and alcoves were being used, and we wondered if we would eventually get a table. While we were dithering we were invited to join someone sitting at a table as there were three available seats. In no time at all we were all four of us chatting and having an interesting time as well as a tasty meal. His name is Ken (from Kenya). We did not stay too long as Robert had to go home and work.

The Museum of London

On Saturday we went off to St. Albans and met Tania and Robert at the Waterend Barn pub for lunch. We has a good time chatting; Tania is off to the Philippines on Monday for a few weeks, and there was a lot to talk about.

Afterwards we got some shopping from the market and went home, and relaxed for the rest of the day. Salty seems much better, and loves his antibiotic pills and thinks they are special treats for him.

On Sunday we did our usual chores, relaxed and I went off for a walk just as the weather was turning colder, just for the exercise.

Today I went off to Old Street Station and met My brother Peter. We walked off through the city towards the Barbican. Peter pointed out these grim looking flats to me saying it was the highest residential block in London.

This 'sculpture' is a 500 year old tree, under which it is said Mendelssohn sat while he wrote the music for A Midsummer Nights Dream.

The highest London residential flats.

We walked through to the Museum of London ;I had never been there before, and in fact did not even know it existed. The display began in in London's pre history showing flint cutting tools and worked it's way through to modern times. There were lots of French schoolchildren looking at things.

The displays were very good, showing the kinds of rooms that people would live in during different ages, the food they would have eaten, and all the artifacts of their lives. Some of the displays were interactive which the children enjoyed. We worked our way through to Henry V11 times, by which time I was exhausted, and suggested we do the rest on another day.

The London Wall

This is part of the London Wall which is visible from the museum, which was begun around 194AD, if I remember correctly, and was added to and changed over the centuries.

Once we left, we went to the Watling Street pub and had a drink and chat until we got our walking legs back again, and Peter bought some exotic sausages from a bespoke butcher.

We walked off towards Trafalgar Square and took the tube home in different directions.

By the time I got home I was happy to sit and watch TV for a while, but I had enjoyed the outing with Peter.

Another visit to the vet

Yesterday I put some Frontline spot on onto the cat as it is now time to do him again. It got very cold in the evening, and Salty spent quite a bit on the night indoors.

Today I noticed that the cat seemed to have lost fur on his lower stomach, and that the skin was very red, so we made an appointment to take him in to the vet early in the evening. I had ordered some cat food and some of the usual Frontline spot on earlier in the week, and that arrived today. I walked down to the library as the weather was bright before taking Salty to the vet.

We tried a new, closer, vet today, but Salty was still very stressed even by the shorter car journey. The vet, after examining him, said that he had an allergy to flea bites, and although we had been using 'spot on' it was not working for him, so we have to use a more expensive one as the fleas in our area seem to have become resistant to the usual one. She gave him a quick injection of antibiotics, and we got more pills to give him tomorrow to start a course of antibiotics. After this consultation Salty got back into his carrying box, which surprised us because when we tried to put him in it earlier he had held onto the doorway with his arms and legs; he knew it was the only way to get home again, and he was ready! This short visit cost another £80.00! The good part was that he seemed to begin feeling better almost immediately.

I vacuumed and sprayed the house, and washed all the covers that he normally sleeps on. Florence had called earlier, so I phoned her and talked for a while, and spoke to Diane too.
I watched 'Coast ' on TV

Cooking and 'Writing a World'

Yesterday we spent time doing comfort cooking: rock cakes, (unfortunately they got a bit overcooked so turned out as the kind of cakes visitors would hide behind cushions to avoid eating them in case they broke teeth,) soup and shepherd's pie (without adding a shepherd).

This last, reminds me of Mason's mother: she had a statuette of an organ grinder with a monkey who was holding out a hat for the money. When visiting her one day, she asked if we had seen her monkey grinder which made Mas and I snicker more than somewhat, until she lost patience with us.

Today I went to Borehamwood, and went window shopping and bought some Frontline spot on to put on Salty later. I saw this poem which I really liked :

Writing a world.

'While I talk and the flies buzz,
a seagull catches a fish at the mouth of the Amazon,
a tree falls in the Adirondak wilderness,
a man sneezes in Germany,
a horse dies in Tattany,
and twins are born in France.

What does that mean? Does the contemporaneity
of these events one with another
and with a million others as disjointed
form a rational bond between them,
and write them into anything
that resembles for us a world.'

David Morley

The Jersey Boys musical

It was sunny and bright in the morning which was cheering. Both Mas and I seemed to busy all day, but I did go for a walk as it began to get dark. I enjoy walking through the streets, and as I pass brightly lit rooms I wonder about the people who live in them; it is like viewing stage scenery from the anonymous darkness. I was rather puzzled as some of the homes seem to have wall sized TV sets which were on and displaying a variety of happenings, but the rooms were empty, and no one was watching.

Salty seems rather off colour still, so we decided not to give him any more treat snacks in case he had an alergy to them or something. In the evening we watched the Holcroft Covenant with Michael Caine, neither of us had seen this film before so that made a pleasant change; it was based on a book by Robert Ludlam.










Today we went into London to see the Jersey Boys musical which is a present from Romy and Toby. We had to get there a little early as we had to collect the tickets from the Box Office first. The people at the Prince Edward theatre were very nice. After a quick drink at the bar we found our seats, which were well placed with a central view.

As it was a matinee performance the audience were largely elderly folk who did not have to spend the afternoon working. The atmosphere was very good.

The performance was outstanding, the actor palying Frankie Valli had an amazing voice. All the cast performed really well, the dancing was excellent, and there were a few light touches of humour. The scenery was effective, and the lighting set the mood for each scene.

We both really enjoyed it, and it bought back memories for Mas of listening to the music while driving. It was very inspiring to see how hard everyone concerned in this production has worked to make the show so good. At the end of the show the audience gave a standing ovation to show their appreciation.

When we left the theatre we went to the nearest Stockpot eatery

And we had a glass of wine; Mas said he needed one to gain his eqinimity again. We then had dinner. I have a new plan which is to have a starter, no main course, and then to have a dessert. Mas is following the traditional plan.

We went home on the underground, and Mas avidly read the programme while we travelled and was surprised when we reached Edgware so soon. What a day to remember!

Peace and quiet after the storm

Today we went to Stanmore later than usual, and bought some cat treats in the form op chewy strips. Mas had bought him some earlier in the week, and Salty loves them. We then went to the Man in the Moon, which was empty except for the staff cleaning and tidying everything up. Apparently we had arrived at the perfect time as a football crowd had been partying there earlier. We had noticed the police van, and five policemen chatting together outside the pub as we went in which had given us a clue. We had a nice roast dinner, and gradually the locals drifted back in, and things got back to normal.

When home again Mas gave the cat some of the treats; I have never seen him react to food like this before, and am convinced that they must put some special cat drugs into the food.

In the evening we watched LadyHawk which was entertaining. Salty seems rather lethargic, and did not go outside as much as usual.

Chinese meal with Poppy and Ben

Friday morning, Mas and I went for another short walk; as we left we saw Poppy and Ben and invited them for a meal when it was convenient for them. They said they would like to come over this evening. We saw Margaret, and gave her a birthday card, and chatted briefly.

I tidied up somewhat, while Mas went off to gather up a few missing ingredients for the Chinese meal he wanted to make tonight. Poppy and Ben came over as planned, and we had a fun evening chatting and eating; so much more fun than watching TV.

Today we had a bit of a lazy day, Mas spent time on the computer, and I went for a walk looking at the architectural styles around Edgware. In particular at some houses in a small road called Garden City where each house is painted a different pastel colour. They were built in 1920 by an E. Appleby.


















In the evening we watched one of the Rosemary and Thyme series.

Hearing tests and electrocuted cat

I spent most of the day pottering about, and in the afternoon I went for a walk and picked up a little shopping. Mas went off to Edgware General Hospital for a hearing test; he has some hearing loss and will see if he finds hearing aids helpful.

We watched an NCIS in the evening, and went to bed fairly early.

Today after breakfast Mas and I went off for a short walk together for the exercise,and later I went for a longer walk on my own. It rained heavily all afternoon; Salty rushed indoors looking as if he had been electrocuted...all his fur was stuck together in points, he was really soaking, and his tummy was all muddy. He threw himself down on the carpet, and within half an hour he was dried, fluffed up again and white!

In the evening we watched an old tape of The Hudsucker Proxy which was a very strange film with Tim Robbins and Paul Newman in it. The scenery and graphics of the film were strange futuristic/ art deco for the period of the 1950s, but fascinating.

A treat to remember

It was raining all night, consequently, the cat was running boisterously around the house, and tearing up and down the stairs, going head over heels, but catching onto steps with his claws to prevent himself from crashing down the flight of stairs in the nick of time. All this kept me awake, so I listened to the radio quietly for hours, and felt tired all day.

While we had breakfast we watched the snow swirling down, but it did not settle. For some exercise I vacuumed violently and excessively, before settling down to more peaceful occupations. I am so bored by this weather.

Today I walked with Poppy and Ben in the park, watching Lilu frolic around. There were other dog walkers too, and we met Jim with his elderly dog. I had not seen him around for a while, and he told me he had recently had a hip replacement, and had been staying with his son while he convalesced.

Mas had invited Poppy and Ben to come for one of our cheapy pub lunches, but Ben was on call, and had to urgently leave. Poppy called to say this may take some time, so Mas and I went off to the Man in the Moon, as we came back it snowed, and then sleeted.

Later, Poppy and Ben invited us to go out for an evening meal with them, and have some Persian cooking. We drove off with them to Finchley Central and went to a restaurant called Shiraz which was peacefully appointed, and with friendly service. We had a really nice three course meal with wine, and Poppy and I had Persian tea afterwards, which was amber coloured, clear and delicately scented. Mason, unusually, really liked the wine very much. Really, just the very tasty starters would have been ample, but it was interesting to try all the different flavours, and we had a really nice evening.

Later on, just as we were thinking of going off to bed the cat bought in another minute mouse. I managed to take it away from him and put it outside again, but I don't know if it had been hurt too much to survive. At this rate I think I will have to try and find a small robot mouse for him to chase, otherwise the area will be denuded of wildlife, or at least mice.

All's well that ends well

We had breakfast, with the sun shining for a change. Salty was particularly happy as he could pounce on, and watch the small rainbows that came from the hanging crystal.

We arranged to meet Tania and Robert at Sazios for lunch. Just before we left, I realised that I had written down the date for our visit to the theatre in the wrong month in my diary, and that we had missed the show by four days! I was so mad I felt like stabbing myself, especially as this was a gift from Romy and Toby.

We drove off to St.Albans, and had a really nice lunch with Tania and Robert, and I told them about some of my pictures being used on television. As I was driving back home the weather got colder, and it began to snow, and we thought how lucky we had been with our timing, getting lots of fruit and vegetables from the market before the snow came.

In the evening we watched an NCIS, and then I left Mas watching TV while I listened to my new Nocturnes CD and did some knitting for a change, but kept thinking about our missed theatre outing. We had eaten so much at lunch that we did not bother to have an evening meal.

We had breakfast with a snow shower, and this gradually changed to rain. Mas phoned up about the theatre tickets, and they were very nice saying we could go on another day, but to return the tickets. I felt so relieved.

I called Jean in Devon and talked to her for a long time; there was a lot to catch up on as we had not seen each other for years. I felt really happy to talk to her, and will try to call her more often.

I discovered that my pictures had already been shown on the BBC, on Click Bits on Friday, and L J Rich the presenter thought they had looked lovely on screen. Toby called to talk, and Pete too, so it was a great day for communications.

Good news

After having pains in one calf all night I got up early and went off to the hospital in case I should have DVT. After having my leg examined the doctor thought it very unlikely, as my leg was not swollen, the veins did not hurt, and the calf was soft when relaxed. I left reassured if somewhat sheepish, but reminded myself it was better to be safe than sorry.

Walking home, I met Ben who was walking towards the park with Lilu. We chatted for a while, and as it happened Ben had been out for a coffee with Mas while I was out. I had a lovely surprise when I got home as Jana had sent a letter full of news together with a CD of Chopin Nocturnes; the good news is that she will be coming over in April for a holiday. I really like these Nocturnes, and recalled how often while waiting for the Wednesday or Saturday play on the radio, BBC Home service, they would play a Nocturne first, which is how I became familiar with them.

In the evening we watched The Mentalist which is silly, but entertaining.

The Night of the Great White Hunter

We woke up with snow falling, but later in the day it turned to rain. We made some French Onion soup, with bread and toasted cheese on top, for lunch, and watched a Murder She Wrote in the afternoon.

L J Rich accepted all the pictures I had forwarded for Click Bits, so I cheerfully, and carefully, sent them off again in a higher resolution.

Mas called me while he was watching TV; Salty had bought in a mouse which was running round the room. We tried to catch it before the cat did, but he went under the couch and we could not see him. Later in the evening the cat found him again, so we were rushing about trying to get him into the conservatory with the help of a soft broom, so that he would not set up house in our home. Eventually after we had opened the conservatory door he left quickly.

We settled down to finish what we had been watching, and after a while the cat went out. In a short time the cat bought the mouse in again, but this time it was dead. As it did not appear to have any injuries we thought he must have had a heart attack. The cat in the meantime was very excited and playful, and obviously thinks he is the Great White Hunter.

Walking and dental adventures

Mas and I got shopping in the morning, and despite it raining most of the day I walked with Margaret, and Henry the dog, over to Edgwarebury Park. The ground was very boggy and waterlogged, but despite this, Henry spent some time joyfully rolling on the grass. Even though the weather was so bad we felt better for the walk.

I spoke to Pete today, and later had an email from Mex telling me that Click Bits on the BBC was looking for artwork, so I sent off six pieces to L J Rich the presenter in the hope that one would be suitable.

Today I had a dental appointment for a small filling which left my nose numb almost till bedtime. Luckily the weather was bright, but cold, and I went by bus. Waiting at the bus stop after the dental visit, the bus queue watched warily as a man hurled abuse at a kebab eatery close by; the owner meanwhile locked his glass front door to keep the man out, and we watched in disgust as he spat at and licked the window.

Mas in the meantime went and got some more shopping that we needed, especially fish for the cat. In the evening we watched an NCIS.

Salty snoring!

Walking in the woods with Margaret and John

Today Mas and I went to Stanmore to get shopping, but went to lunch instead at the Man in the Moon. I had to hurry back as I was to meet Margaret so that we could walk Henry. As I approached their house I saw John was getting his car ready.

We all drove off to Berry Grove woods, near Aldenham, and walked for more than an hour chatting and watching Henry cavort about joyfully. It was a very cold day, with the occasional snow flake feathering down. We saw tree fellers felling trees, looked for Muntjack deer, but did not see any, saw some signs of life with buds on trees and catkins.

Wall Hall was built in the 1800s, later it became a teacher training college, and now has been converted into flats.

Snowdrops

As we began to head back to the car the snow started falling faster, but luckily did not last for too long. I really enjoyed this walk, and felt about twenty years younger when I got home again.

Mas had been for his doctors appointment, luckily just a routine one. In the evening we watched Romancing the Stone, which although we had seen this before was quite fun.

Family visit, Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year

We had a quick tidy up, and organised the meal we would make for Eileen, Nina and my brother Alex. Diane phoned and chatted for a while during the afternoon. Both Mas and I were feeling particularly tired today, and think that the dreariness of the cold day does not help.

The family arrived just past seven in the evening, and we sat in front of the warm fire drinking gin and tonic by candlelight while the meal finished cooking. We had plenty to talk about as we have not seen each other for a year.

Mas made a Christmassy meal with turkey and all the fixings, which we had after the nice sweetcorn soup he makes. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal and the conversation. Alex and I having the chance to snicker at things a couple of times, as we share the same sense of humour.

After a nice but exhausting evening we tottered off to bed without clearing up first, which is unusual for us. It had been fun though.

This morning I cleared up, but still felt tired. Later as it was Ashworthy's birthday I dropped off a birthday card and set off to walk for an hour. After a short walk I saw Margaret walking with Henry the dog, so I walked home with her chatting; it was too cold to stand and talk. As we approached her house it began to rain, so instead of walking I went in with her and had tea and bread pudding with her and John and chatted for a while. We planned to walk tomorrow with Henry if it was not snowing.

Back home again Mas mentioned regretfully that he had forgotten it was Valentine's day. After all this time together I don't think we need reminding how we feel about each other!
In the evening we watched The Lost World with Bob Hoskins, James Fox and Peter Falk which was entertaining.

Busy days with the Brotherhood of the Wolf

Mas and I went to Stanmore to get shopping, and had lunch at the Man in the Moon which was a welcome break.
Pete sent me some of his poems to read, and I heard from Joan too.
In the evening we watched this French film, Brotherhood of the Wolf which was a stylish historical horror film, but very entertaining, and ate homemade bread and butter pudding.









Today we had a busy day catching up with correspondence and doing various chores. Diane called with family news, and Alex called to confirm that they would be coming over tomorrow for a visit.

The Stafforshire Hoard, but not the Year of the Mouse

Today I went off to the British Museum and met Pat as arranged on the steps outside with the odd snowflake falling.

Pat wanted to see the exhibition about the Staffordshire Hoard. This is one of the most significant archaeological finds for the UK. At the end of last year a Metal Detectorist unearthed part of a hoard of treasure, and he and the farmer who owned the field reported their find. It is believed that some of the artifacts date back to AD 700. There are in the region of 1,500 pieces valued around 3.28 million pounds. http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/


















Inside the British Museum

We wandered around the museum until we found the Staffordshire Hoard display : two small cases displaying a few broken sword handles, coins and broken bits and pieces. Pat was very disappointed at how little there was to see, and she said if she had found any of it she would not have bothered to pick it up. The bulk of the hoard is being cleaned and valued.
After this disappointment we decided to go off and have lunch, so we went to Leicester Square,















and found The Stockpot for an economical lunch. The Stockpot was filled with people; it was mostly the pre matinee crowd. We had a filling lunch, and when we left decided to walk to Covent Garden and see what was going on there.
















We passed this interesting bridge which I had never seen before.

Once in Covent Garden we heard this lady singing opera to a small audience as it was so cold.

There were all the usual stalls set out, but not many people around looking at them. When we left, we walked to China Town to look at the decorations.

I saw these interesting cakes in a baker's window, and a tall man asked if I wanted a picture of me looking at the cakes longingly. When I showed him the cakes, he told me it would be the year of The Mouse soon, but the cakes didn't look like mice to me.

Later, walking back, the same man hurried over to me and said he was sorry, but the next Chinese year would be the year of the Tiger, he said he never made mistakes, but when he did he wanted to put them right.

Pat and I walked back to the tube, and took the Northern Line home, to the opposite ends of the same line.
In the evening Mas and I watched a new episode of Midsomer Murders with John Nettles which was fun.

Snow and visit to dentist

Monday it snowed all day, and was very cold. I walked to the post office and renewed my travel pass and chatted to the nice post lady for a moment. Christane dropped of some shopping bags for us that she had collected from a travel exhibition.

Mas was busy all day, and I felt bored an lifeless because of the weather. I have many things I could be doing, but can only manage enough enthusiasm to read; thank goodness for books!

Today we had snow while we had breakfast, but it did not really settle. Mas dropped me off at the dentist ( a new one to us) who is quite near to where The Red Lion pub used to be in Colindale. The dentist seemed quite pleasant, and thorough; I have to go back next week for a small filling. After this I went for a short walk before going home again.

Catching up

Today we drove off to St. Albans; the weather was still very cold. We met Tania and Robert, and as the place was filled with youngsters, as there must have been some event going on in town today, we decided to go to another Thai restaurant for a change, which was situated in a quiet alley way. We had a lot to talk about which was fun, but I thought that the food was very bland compared to the Bua Thai.

In the evening we has a colourful salad with lots of pungent guacamole. I watched another episode of Island Parish which is currently my favourite programme.

On Sunday we kept ourselves busy catching up with things and people. I phoned and chatted to Astrid who I have not spoken to for a couple of years, but we have known each other for a long time now; she has a distinctive laugh. Toby called as well which was cheering. Poppy has been ill, but is feeling much better now. I also called Pat and we arranged to meet up next week.

Flea bane

Yesterday morning I noticed Salty was covered in fleas; I had forgotten to Frontline him a week or so ago. I took all the fleas off him that I could see, which took a long time, and I put the Frontline liquid on the back of his neck. Not long afterwards I found I was covered in bites too, so stripped off my cloths and put them straight in the washing machine, and had a shower. I sprayed around the house in places that Salty sits, and washed his blankets and cushion covers.

Mas and I went out after all this, paid bills and had lunch at the Man in the Moon. Later I went for a walk for the exercise, and bought a flea collar to put in the vacuum cleaner.

Today I noticed I had more bites, so took the same procedure as yesterday, and vacuumed the whole house, and gave Salty fresh bedding again. I noticed that he was not sitting or lying in any of his usual places which must be a natural defence mechanism for cats who have had fleas.
At the end of the day I had no fresh bites so believe the fleas have packed their bags and left! Whew!

A BBC concert with Christiane

I met Christiane as arranged at the bus stop at 11.30 in the morning. We sat upstairs on the bus and went to Watford. We walked up the High Street, and I photographed this statue, and then my camera batteries ran out!




















The weather was very cold, but we had time to look in one of the charity shops before deciding that we had better see exactly where the Watford Colosseum is. Having found it, we went into MacDonald's and had a small sandwich and coffee each, and Christian had bought some very nice French cake with her too.

Feeling better we walked to the Colosseum where there was now a long line of people waiting to go in for the concert by the BBC Concert Orchestra, a programme for radio 3. While we hesitated, a man asked us if we would like to know a short cut to the entrance, and following him we went through the council offices, and out again, and came out near the end of the queue. I noticed how smart he looked, and as if he had just left the barbers, as his hair looked immaculate.

We were soon seated in the Colosseum with an excellent view of the orchestra. We listened to music by Balakirev, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Benjamin Britten (Four sea interludes from Peter Grimes), Copeland and Ravel. We had a short interval, but did not leave our seats. We noticed that the man who had shown us the shortcut was playing a cello in the orchestra. The conductor was Keith Lockhart.

It was a very good concert which we both enjoyed. When we left, Christiane bought a butterfly dish as she was going to make a grandchild a butterfly birthday cake, or more accurately, a two butterfly cake. We took the bus back, me getting off in Edgware, and Christiane travelling further. It had been a really nice day.

Avatar

When we woke there was another thin covering of snow outside and as it was sunny we got some shopping in Stanmore, and I bought myself a blue fleece top.

On Sunday we went to The Man in the Moon and had a roast Sunday lunch which we enjoyed and lingered over. the barman let us buy several bottles of the wine which was very nice, and we took them home for another day.

Later Florence called and chatted, and I called Poppy who is starting a new job tomorrow.

On Monday I went off early to have a blood test at the hospital, and then I walked up to Hampstead looking at the shops, and getting some stamps at the post office. On the way home I bought two fresh herrings for my lunch ( Mas does not like herrings as they, inconsiderately, have too many bones; the cat enjoyed the leftovers (minus the bones).

Today I went back to the Royal Free Hospital where I saw the specialist with the smiling eyes. He said my blood tests were all normal, and reminded me that I must walk each day, and not gain too much weight. Further appointments were set up for me, which makes me feel very secure in the knowledge that they are looking after me so well.

I hurried back home as we had planned to see Avatar in the late afternoon. It was a beautiful film, the scenery was amazing, and the love story good too. I was surprised that they had made such an obviously political statement, without any use of subtlety, which I think would have made the message more meaningful, instead of using crude stereotypes.

It did make a change for us to go to the cinema, and go out after feeling so confined by bad weather.