Chalk

One of my friends has opened a gift shop in Southfields, London, so yesterday we planned our first inspection.  Of course, Chalk passed with flying colours!!

Sadly one friend didn’t make it.  Nita waited for her train but after standing for two freezing cold hours on the platform, very sensibly gave up and went home.  We missed her.

 

As you’d expect, Chalk is a classy place with all kinds of things that Lynn and I were keen to buy.  I’d also say that they have the best selection of greeting cards that I’ve seen – who knew that you could buy a card for so many occasions?

Jenny was taking care of the “front of house” whilst we chatted – her jewellery is amazing and remarkably affordable too.  Paulene’s done an amazing job to get all of this together so quickly and with lots of well-chosen, one-off treasures, nothing expensive and everything beautifully displayed, yes, of course we bought!

Couldn’t put it down

My Kindle, that is.

I’ve just finished my first full length novel delivered direct to it and I must say, I loved it!  I’d browsed my recommendations and having read a review of the title in a weekend paper, I’d earmarked it as my kind of thing already.  So, I hit ”buy” and within seconds it was there, ready to read.

Those recommendations were correct because from the moment I began the story of “twenty years, two people” I knew that I was going to love it.  The device of beginning each chapter on July 15th, moving forward one year at a time meant that the tale moved fast and didn’t dwell on the minutiae but rather swept along and allowed me, the reader to fill in the gaps. 

The Kindle remembered exactly where I’d left off each time and a slide of the button took me to the spot where I could start again.  Five minutes sitting on the bus was enough to enjoy another few pages, because the Kindle is small enough to fit in my bag. 

The problem?

Well, unlike a conventional book, the cover isn’t always apparent and for some reason, I simply could not remember what book it was that I was enjoying so much.  Even now, having savoured those last pages and sat back with a sigh, I can’t immediately recall the name and author!

All the imagined niggles came to nought – there’s a clear indicator of progress, it’s easy to see how far into the book I’d read and the battery life is incredible.  No worries there.  However, if I am to recommend you read the story of Em and Dex, Dex and Em, then clearly, you need to know where to look. 

Start here.

But be prepared with a hanky…

What fun, too, that David Nicholls has shared Emma’s playlist on Spotify!

Update on Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 10:46PM by Gill Thomas

Thanks to Janice, I found this.  One to watch out for (now I know the title....)

One Hundred Million

What does one hundred million look like?

I had no idea until I stepped inside the huge Turbine Hall of Tate Modern yesterday afternoon and gazed at a sea of grey.

Once downstairs and on a level with Ai Wei Wei’s thought provoking installation, then things begin to become a little clearer.

We were astounded to see each one of these sunflower seeds was truly different from the others and spent quite a while marvelling at the concept, the execution, the sheer brilliance of the man.

We’d watched the Culture Show on the previous evening and further enlightened by the film showing there alongside the seeds themselves, we felt surprisingly moved by the whole of this stunning project and what it represents. 

We loved it.

  

It certainly overshadowed all of this.

Hurly Burly

On the coldest morning for quite some time, we caught the train to London on Monday, for a few days of big city life.  We had a few plans, including meeting friends, a spot of culture and another awards do at a posh Park Lane venue.

Most of the time I feel that I am in touch with the zeitgeist and have a vague idea of what’s what.  On other occasions, I stand and stare and question that.  Standing looking at the Selfridges Christmas windows was one such time.  Do I get it?  No, not really.

But it was fun to watch the young girls queuing up to take a photograph of this particular window.

Country Bumpkin that I have become, I will express my preference for the windows at Fortnums, all created with a fine art theme and most rather more stunning than the one I managed to photograph without a reflection.  For sure I’ll take more photos of these – I’m looking forward to seeing them at nighttime, when stepping back to frame the photo properly doesn’t cause a huge pile up on the pavement!

Our bolthole in London is a stones throw from Liverpool Street station and I very much like this charming memorial to the Kindertransport.  I’m not so sure that McDonalds is an appropriate backdrop, however.

 

Walking through the City, I can’t help but photograph the huge variety of visual textures, the old and the new rubbing alongside one another.  From the top of a 23 bus, the best view of all.

Though we enjoy the reflections in the brand spanking new One New Change windows, I’m sorry for not taking the time to take just one step to the right before I clicked!

But there was something yet more compelling just over the bridge.  I think it deserves a post of its own.

Expanding the repertoire

For a couple of weeks, our preferred late night viewing, thanks to Sky+, has been Jamie’s 30 minute Meals.  I’m not sure how we missed the start of this series and all the related media hype, but miss it we did and we came late to the party. 

Out to lunch with a good friend last week, though, she mentioned that she’d enjoyed making – and eating – one of the recipes in the book, which reminded me that at the end of every programme, my hero and I both comment that the dishes on the table look yummy and we must give it a try.  So, I ordered the book from Amazon and with the perfect opportunity yesterday to gather ingredients for one single meal, we took Jamie shopping with us.

But a pound of mince for a Sunday lunch?  This had better be good…

Whilst sitting in the cafe at the supermarket, we’d selected the recipe for Superfast Beef Hash, with Jacket Potatoes, Goddess Salad and Lovely Butter Beans and Bacon.  But no pudding!  A request was made for the Sticky Prune Sponge Puddings and there we are.  An easy shop later and we were set to go.

We followed the instructions without problem and the end result was incredibly tasty and “different” from our normal, run of the mill lunch.  Who’d have thought that a pound of mince, cooked with onion carrot, celery and Worcestershire sauce could be so tasty? The butterbean dish was delicious and something we’ll definitely do again – though I think we’ll add the whole shebang to our repertoire with some minor changes.

As you’d expect, though, cooking a whole meal in 30 minutes – or at least, attempting to – is a fairly steep learning curve and like many others who’ve tried, we learned one or two things along the way.

First lesson, these menus are carefully put together and mixing a pud from one with the main from another isn’t really  as easy as you might think.  There’s a microwave oven conflict and the food processor needs to be washed up mid-prep.  Secondly, it’s vital to read and think through the recipe before starting rather than following it through on the fly.  Vital steps are easily missed which leads to added stress and anxiety.  Third, to make it all work, the instructions really need to be followed to the letter.  No matter that we have our own way of doing something – for this occasion, it was key to do as Jamie said.  Finally, even if all goes according to plan, a 30 minute meal definitely leads to an hours clearing and washing up.  Sadly no stylists or assistants here to deal with the fallout, just my hero, who stands at the kitchen sink as I type.

But unlike many of the other reviewers of the book and the menus inside, I feel very positive about the experience and enthused to try another meal – though perhaps not with the same expectations as far as the timings go.

The 2004 Tim Adams Shiraz helped, of course ;-)