I told her, don’t have a child. Adopt. There are too many people on this planet. I told her, I travel a lot. China, Uzbekistan, Europe. I travel a lot. She should just tell me what she wants. Ethnicity, gender. I’ll get one. I’ll get all the paperwork. All the legal paperwork. I told her, […]
Calmer day
A calmer day today after a troubled night in which the email exchange from yesterday was at the back of my mind. This morning I did some of the taichi, which I’ve been neglecting (and plan to start doing at night as it doesn’t mesh well with more active morning workouts). Not that there weren’t […]
Unpleasant taste
I received a startlingly rude email from a client, something I’ve only had once before. That time, on its surface, was much worse as it was the day after my mother died and was quite breathtaking in its nastiness, though I was quite numb to it, as there were plenty of other things for me […]
Faded grandeur
In my distinguished role as eldest sibling of the bride, I am arranging for the jewellery to be presented to her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. I am also a complete incompetent at such things (though I know and like nice jewellery when I see it) so we asked an aunt to take us to a jeweller […]
Ethical dilemma
Our long-time much-beloved crazy-beard manservant has bought a helper from his village up in Azad Kashmir, planning to help him find work in the city and to work in the house until them. On seeing the helper there was general consternation as he seemed to be about 12 years old and our family had come […]
Inauspicious start
While I finished my work and meetings before leaving, it was still an inauspicious start as I got in the taxi, was promptly stuck in Beyoglu traffic jams, idly looked at the ticket on my phone, and realised that it said Ataturk Airport, ie the old airport, not the new Istanbul Airport to which I […]
At the tea shop
In the ground floor of our building is a tea shop which we try to keep on side. They do seem very pleasant. Today our sofa was to be delivered so I went and worked at the tea shop, on a little table set under a tree, sipping cay, a very pleasant time indeed until […]
Paint
Suddenly, today, the flat looked absolutely lovely. The paint we chose with such difficulty (assuming it is the one we chose) is just the right colour, white but with a feeling of real depth, like plaster. The contractor’s son (and architect’s brother) is a specialist in paint and has done a superb job. There is […]
Epic
A really epic day. When the GF rose we had a quick lunch and then walked down to the pier to take the ferry to Uskudar, from where to take the metro over to Ikea. Only to find that the ferries were not running due to races, so the only part of the day we […]
Tap dance
So the GF went to buy the right tap and the mirror while I stayed in and worked. They will actually be delivered on Monday. It’s now getting uncomfortably close to our moving date. Tomorrow we’ll go to Ikea to order our kitchen cabinets and sofa though I am not confident that anything will be […]