It was a weekend – a long weekend – of getting things done. On Friday the GF and I went to the framers recommended to us, a dapper working gentleman in a waistcoat of a type you see in this country but not so much in the UK. We handed over two of the prints […]
Our first guest
We had our first guest today, quite by accident. The GF went to the shared terrace for a bit of stretching while I worked and we both waited for dinner to be delivered as we were both finishing too late to cook. There he found a large old man from Sheffield who was very keen […]
Return
We returned to Istanbul last night. It was tiring but a surprisingly smooth journey considering we were lugging multiple suitcases and arrived at midnight. The flat is looking quite nice, though very dusty. We went for breakfast this morning, and I was struck by how flavourful the food is here, even though we had excellent […]
Quick work
I was going to meet a friend, and saw this on the side of a bus. A couple of days ago all the senior PML-N members of the cabinet arrived in London to ‘consult’ (and pay respects to) Nawaz Sharif, which was pretty outrageous. And this bus was presumably either spending by the high commission […]
Genteel seaside town
Yesterday, we walked around the beaches and the town. The GF went for reiki while I strolled about. Whiststable is a tourist town but also the sort of place well-heeled people retire, so there are plenty of fairly expensive shops selling linen skirts, French wooden toys, etc. There are innumerable places selling oysters, and much […]
The builder’s ring
We came to Whitstable yesterday afternoon, a pleasant seaside town in Kent, just in the Thames estuary. I’d been here before as the GF’s parents have very close friends near here, whom we’ve visited as well, but never overnight. This time we’re staying for the weekend and other relatives of the GF arrive this evening. […]
Story, spectacle
Last night we went to watch the new Punchdrunk production, The Burnt City. They do immersive theatre, so one wanders around rooms, corridors and huge spaces where a story is playing out. The audience wears masks, so there is a feel of ghosts following the only real people in the space, the actors themselves. For […]
To the almost-country
Took a train out to the almost-country, not too far from Milton Keynes, where a relative of the GF lives in a lovely spot along several waterways. The house itself is beautiful and historic, the gardens are wide and green, the hens copiously lay eggs. Less keen on the interior, as it’s a bit dark […]
Bad timing
I chose to restart the blog on the most uninteresting day possible, one where I was working all day (and indeed late the previous night), didn’t manage to leave the flat one, and the only respite was to make dinner as it was my turn. I did discover the wonders of steaming, though, something I’m […]
Other people
We were invited to brunch by the friend of a friend of the GF. It was to celebrate their climbing Mount Kenya, specifically a bit which requires very technical climbing. It was a funny old gathering. Mostly women. The friend of a friend was a thin white American woman and her fellow climbers were two […]