Reality struck today as I realised that I must go to Islamabad for work tomorrow and then stay there for the next month at least, going into the office almost daily. I had managed to avert my eyes from this unfortunate reality, but there it is. I’m off tomorrow. This morning I made a quick […]
Changing times
This afternoon I went with a friend to Daachi, which is a (now) long-running artisan/ craft fair that has become one of the city’s main events. It has a mixture of artisans from all over the country, including from some very poor and remote areas, and others who are less marginalised: older men and women […]
Sinking
So here I am, back. There is not a great deal to report as I sink back into Lahore life as though I were sinking into a swamp. The air is very slightly cleaner – the day I landed was one of the worst this year and since then it’s only been veering between unhealthy […]
Poison in the air
Here I am, in Lahore. Just before I left the startling news arrived that the seller had accepted the offer (we had assumed he would want to bargain). So I left the house for the last time. It was not the house I grew up in, nor was I born there (as the GF was, […]
Overspent
After a few days of anxious slaving, I sent off the report I was working on and then had a couple of days free before leaving. So of course other obligations cropped up, most importantly, collecting all the presents I need to take with me to Lahore. Today, first, we went to see a flat […]
Countryside cousins
We took the train to Tring, in Herfordshire, where some of the Gentleman Friend’s relatives have moved to a toll house on the Grand Union Canal. It’s a very picturesque house, quite large, with a little toll room and some pretty outbuildings and a large pond where the previous owner kept some rather grotesque carp. […]
Filthy
A filthy day today. Cold, raining, miserable. A bad day to go into town, for other reasons as well, but I had to go to Liberty and collect a gift I’d bought online. Liberty is always a hellhole, particularly on weekends, when the weather is bad,, and in the runup to Christmas. Today it was […]
Midnight detective
In the afternoon I went to finally order my glasses. Due to my high prescription I need to get quite small glasses, which don’t seem to be all that common these days, so the final shortlist came down to a couple of adult pairs that looked as close to my old pair (thick black plastic […]
In the clubroom
This morning everyone left, thank heavens, and the house is quiet again. The Gentleman Friend and I went to see a matinee of Blank at the Donmar Warehouse, first stopping at one of these newfangled food courts that seem to have erupted everywhere. Similar to Hutong at Lot 10, or a Singaporean hawker centre, I […]
Eyes
And so, in London. It is strange to return, as I’ve said a few times already. This house is soon to be sold, so when I leave I won’t return to it and, uncomfortable as it is, it is a beautiful house, one that I’ll miss. I was quite zonked all day, though luckily the […]