A quiet sort of working day today. We did decide that we must get curtains of some sort for the living room which has huge south-facing windows that warm up the place nicely in the winter, but the intensity of the direct sunlight makes it hard to work. After an afternoon coffee we popped by […]
Furniture shopping
We went furniture shopping and it was a surprisingly pleasant experience, though we didn’t actually find anything we urgently need (a small dining table, a bed, a fold-out bed, a wardrobe, a comfortable chair). We were going to a warehousey sort of place that does up old furniture and provides to film and TV sets, […]
At last
And so we finally moved into the flat. In the morning I had to go over and wait for the combi technician to come and turn the combi off. This required me to be present. He didn’t arrive between 10 and 12 as promised, so eventually I left. Meanwhile, the professional cleaners had arrived, and […]
Bulldozing
We rather ruthlessly bulldozed our contractor and architect, so today and yesterday a lot of work has been going on in the flat. Today, the plumber was there and installed the longer gas pipe, as well as the bidet and the various taps, so aside from actual hot water, all sanitary equipment is now up […]
A rabbit in the corridor
This morning a series of deliveries was made. Unfortunately the first of these was a very large and heavy fridge. First, the box wouldn’t fit through the front door, so the delivery men finally took it out and then it just about fit. Then, even removed from the box it wouldn’t fit through the kitchen […]
Dodgy
Last night the GF went to a party, which I backed out of, though I rather regret it. It seems to have been something of a metaphorical and literal underworld scene, the sort where you see, though doubled vision, both immense wealth and the dodginess that clusters around it. There were also a lot of […]
Mardan
Yesterday, the driver arrived at around 10. We’d planned to go to Taxila, see some sights, return, but one of our hosts proposed a different plan which I immediately leapt at. This was to go to Mardan, about 2 hours from Islamabad, there to visit the remains of a Gandharan Buddhist monastery at Takht-e-Bahi, and […]
Luxury travel
We took the Q-Connect bus to Islamabad. This is a new development since my last visit, a fleet (numbering 2) of ultra-luxury buses going between Lahore and Islamabad twice a day and costing twice our old friend the Daewoo. Everyone assured us that it was the height of luxury, very comfortable, or so they had […]
Flat evening
A rather flat evening last night. It was a much anticipated celebration, which was supposed to be at Baking Virsa, a famous Gawalmandi food place which is almost impossible to get into but where we had scored a table. But then the cook came down with dengue, so that was that. Instead we went the […]
Night work
Last night I was supposed to go out for dinner with friends, which I scheduled a little late so I could get as close to the end of my working hours as possible. But, half an hour before the designated time, I got a message saying that they wanted to publish a particular document that […]