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 ;-)

All in a day

Yesterday started quietly enough.  Having no plans until late afternoon, I decided to start sewing together the small felt shapes that have sat on my desk since I got the urge to make these little Russian Dolls

They are so cute and in spite of there being several free versions around on the internet, for just over £3, the very detailed pattern was well worth downloading.  Being me, of course, I had to make them half size which might not turn out to be as good an idea as I thought, since felt isn’t the most robust fabric for a teeny tiny seam allowance.  Oh well, they’re meant to be decorative !

Whilst sewing Russian dolls together, several emails came in and needed serious consideration, for this was the day of the Big News.  Would I still have a job or would my work be considered a luxury we no longer have the budget for?  Having read confirmation of what I had already understood to be about to happen, I settled back and made a start on our Christmas Cards by punching out a couple of hundred circles.

That took me into my Christmas box, which was put away at the end of last January and contained one or two treasures I’d forgotten about.  I thought it was about time I began to prepare my Christmas Journal and gather together a few new things I’d squirreled away, including a sheet of chipboard shapes I bought online.

I was a bit disappointed by the quality of the print registration though and emailed the company to say so.  Full marks to them however, for almost by return I received a concerned email reply and an offer to replace, which was more than generous I thought.

After lunch and a little light ironing, it was time to get my act together and buzz off to Gloucester, where we had a tutor evening scheduled on a “cultural” theme.

Called into Staples on the way to get supplies for our Christmas cards and forgot how much traffic there is in a city centre at five o’clock!  Still, I arrived at the warehouse in the nick of time and enjoyed a chat with colleagues before the main event.

A salsa lesson! 

Mario, a young man from Cuba, ably assisted by our tutor Laura, did his best with the assorted bunch of women whose ability didn’t quite match their enthusiasm!  We stepped heavy-footed from one leg to the other, trying to match his rhythm and keep up with the steps.  He shimmied and swayed, his arms moved in sync with his legs whilst the crowd behind him wondered how something which appeared so easy could be so difficult.  We had a great time but after half an hour, we were exhausted, our brains full of side steps, rotations to the right and to the left and that last travelling “step three” to the left and right followed by a turn.

We stood back and watched the masters dance as it should be done, marvelling at their ease of movement and total coordination.

I’d love to learn more!

But the evening didn’t end there.  The second Thursday in the month is my WI meeting and we had a flower arranging demonstration planned: “Christmas on a Budget”. I rather wanted to see that that so I left the culture evening early, missing out on the chance to learn a bit of Mandarin or Japanese to drive to Avening, where our speaker showed us a few ideas of how to make great decorations using greenery form the garden and a few supermarket flowers. What magic she created from hardly anything at all and we all left inspired to go home and raid the garden for a bit of this and a bit of that, in the hope that we might manage something similar.

You know the day that began so quietly?

Cottonopolis

Where better to spend a weekend?

A couple of weeks ago,  we were offered the chance to go to a recording of Rufinatscha’s 6th Symphony at the BBC’s Oxford Road studios and immediately looked forward to spending a weekend in a city which neither of us knew at all.  We booked our hotel – the excellent City Inn – and off we went.

The recording was terrific – it will be on Radio 3 sometime soon and on a CD as well and having listened to the existing recording whilst driving north on Friday afternoon, we both felt the new interpretation to be far more dynamic.  Good stuff!

As for the bonus of exploring the city, well, we had a great time.  Friends had recommended a restaurant for Friday evening, which looked promising and having been whisked up to the 6th floor to join the smart set in the bar, I enjoyed one of the best mojitos outside NYC.  We admired the view of the city (with Salford screened behind frosted glass!) with the occasional firework lighting up the sky.

Sadly, however, the food didn’t live up to expectation – neither ours nor that of our somewhat embarrassed young waiter, who dealt with the whole situation in a most professional manner.  He offered immediate redress in the form of complimentary desserts and coffee, in addition to the offer already made for the main course blunder…

The weather was fantastic all weekend, which made pottering about a real pleasure.  We met friends for lunch on Saturday and sat until well into the afternoon, catching up and sharing news. 

We had tickets for the theatre last night, to see Ibsen’s “The Lady from the Sea” at the Corn Exchange.  We are not theatre goers generally, so this was quite an adventure and we remembered the Corn Exchange to be rather special from a previous visit.  Whilst not exactly a bundle of laughs, we both enjoyed the play and it continues to pique our curiosity in that we have both googled to learn more about the work.

Best of all was the city itself, though.  Less than two hours drive away, it’s hard to understand why we haven’t spent longer here before.  For sure, we’ve passed through, we’ve made short visits whilst staying nearby but for some reason the motivation to make a specific visit just never happened.  But I have a sneaky suspicion we’ll be back before long.

I took photographs of things which amused me: the sign outside the jeweller which has a small disclaimer underneath to say that it no longer applies, the ironwork of the Barton Arcade, the big wheel with poppies attached to each cabin, the bad tempered expression on the first Duke of Lancaster and the rather more curious face of James Joule, both in the foyer of the Town Hall.

A Night Out

We went to A Do last night.  One of those occasions that require a surprising length of time primping and preparing, especially when staying overnight.

The party shoes were out of the box and then there was the age old question of what to wear

Yes, there is a theme, isn’t there?

Anyway, the occasion justified a bit of bling – the kind that can be spruced up in soapy water and doesn’t need collecting from the bank.  It’s about now that I am reminded of how easy the men have it at a black tie do, because no more than half an hour before leaving, my hero begins and completes his preparation and is ready to go.

It was an awards dinner, held at a museum venue we’ve been to on several occasions – not that we’ve ever seen an exhibit!  We were sitting with people we know and whose company we enjoy and counting ten chairs around the table and twelve bottles of wine on it, it was clear it was going to be a jolly evening.

I wasn’t the only one recording the occasion.

In fact, there was a photographer, a video cameraman who was filming the former government minister giving his address, showing on the large screen and other smaller screens around the enormous room.  Occasionally, there was one of those moments where the video was of the photographer taking a shot of the cameraman filming the photographer and it all got a bit much.

Especially since the music was loud.  Very loud.  And guess who was sitting right in front of the huge speaker?  At similar awards ceremonies, Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” used to be cranked up full volume as the winners were announced but we’ve moved on to Take That and “The Greatest Day of our Lives”.  With flashing lights and moving spots following the winners around the room, the atmosphere was….pumped !

There was a token beautiful lady on stage to add, ahem, visual interest to the overwhelmingly male ceremony.

The cabaret was very popular too – who’d have guessed that a string quartet would go down well with this audience?!

siren from Siren Electric String Quartet on Vimeo.

Actually, it was a fun evening in the company of our generous host, dinner was good and the conversation flowed as freely as the wine.  The star of the evening was undoubtedly the last announcement, the special award, often given to one of the industry great and good to mark a lifetime’s achievement.  But last night it was different – the winner was someone almost everyone in the room could relate to, the local manager of Stagecoach in Cumbria.  When faced with a challenging situation – and there have been several in his part of the world in the last year -  he had taken the initiative and acted quickly to keep everyone involved safe and comfortable as he could.  It was good that his quick thinking actions were recognised and rewarded and he was a worthy and popular winner.

Good Man.