As a good wife, I went to Ikea so the GF would not have to. It’s a surprisingly smooth and averages out as pleasant journey. There is the metro ride, which is like any other metro and often crowded, but against that is the beautiful ferry ride to Uskudar. I have decided that the old […]
One month off
Not a very eventful month, I should say. I’ve been in Istanbul throughout. There is work. There is flat related stuff. This weekend was Pride and our area was basically besieged by police. At least there was no tear gas so far as I know. The GF is out of town, roistering with his schoolfriends. […]
Getting things done
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 […]
Vertiginous
The currency’s plummeting is vertiginous, and there is an air of fear, of not knowing what comes, of dread and powerlessness all around. It’s hard to see how it will end, but no one seems to think the end will be anything other than a generation cast into poverty. It’s remarkable how prices have changed. […]
Wind from the southwest
Last night there was an almighty windstorm, closing off the Bosphorus, ripping off rooftops and sending trucks skidding onto their sides. Here one of our windows rattled rather a lot, as it is not fully fastened in, and I was a bit worried it might rip itself out of the window frame and fall on […]
Bits and pieces
A few bits and pieces, some more satisfying than others. First, and most satisfying, the items we bought over the weekend arrived today. The lamp in particular is very beautiful, the towel rack is useful and the little coffee table is discreet. All three are welcome additions to what is starting to feel like an […]
Travails of homeownership
The kitchen sink is leaking and since I’m no longer a tenant I can’t just chuck it into someone else’s lap. Very frustrating, in a place that is new, and a reminder of why it’s nice not to own a place, as of course I was terribly worried about our new kitchen cabinets etc. I […]
Settling in
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 […]