Bob & Betty go British

An Autumn trip to the Cotswolds

2007-11-05T22:00:00.001Z

Autumn Leaves
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson

Max and Jo are back in Sydney now but we were very lucky to have them as visitors for a week. It’s always nice to see people from back home and it was great to have an opportunity to spend a long weekend in the country. Despite the fact that all of us were at various stages in the latest virus going around we managed to see, take photos, eat, drink and be merry all the same.

We spent a day in the British museum before we left London for our trip to the Cotwolds. We saw the Egyptian section this time along with some of the bits we’d seen before. On our trip to the Cotwolds we stopped off for an afternoon in Oxford. Completely unplanned mind you, but it was as good a place as any to stop and have some lunch. It was a grey afternoon but it didn’t rain too much and we got to see some of the more famous colleges. I discovered that Magdalen college is pronounced Mawd-len and that gargoyles are all the rage on the ancient buildings. Looks like a very interesting place to study.

We made our way to Cheltenham and to our Bed & Breakfast in time for dinner. We opted for a local Italian place and were disappointed when the risotto was made from long grain rice rather than aborrio (sacrilege!). Oh well, at least it was tasty.

On Sunday the weather was forecast to be bad and it certainly turned out to be wet, windy and miserable. We decided that going to Bath would be a better option than trying to drive around lovely little Cotswolds villages. Robert and I had been to Bath before but only on a very short whirlwind visit with Juliet. This time we saw inside Bath Cathedral (complete with a plaque to Australia’s first Governor) but still did the rounds of the Roman Baths. Nothing much had changed since we were there last. We had a bit of a wander around the town and saw some interesting art on our way up to the Roman Circus. As we arrived the sun broke through the clouds and there was even a rainbow! We had dinner at a pub near Cheltenham. It had a good write up and did pretty decent gastropub food.

The weather was much improved on Monday. The clouds had blown away and so we went for a drive around the Northern Cotswolds villages. We had a little wander around Cheltenham itself and Max got his haircut. We went to checkout the Pittville Pumproom (apparently the original pumproom before Bath took over as a popular spa town) but it was hosting a conference so we couldn’t see inside. We drove through picture-perfect villages with quaint little thatched-roofed cottages and pretty cottage gardens. We took lots of pictures of old churches and some autumn colour. We had lunch in Broadway and climbed to the top of Broadway tower; a folly from which you can see into 6 different counties of England. For dinner we went to ‘The Daffodil’ which is an old 1920s theatre converted into a fine dining restaurant. We had a nice evening with live jazz and really nice food.

On Tuesday we had to head back to London. The weather was still nice so we went to Hailles Abbey and checked out a few more quaint villages like Upper and Lower Slaughter. We had lunch at a tiny café in Cirencester then drove to the Valley of the White Horse before heading back into London. All in all it was a really nice few days away. Max and Jo went off to Scotland on Wednesday night then were back at our place Friday night before flying back to Sydney on Saturday. We will miss them.

This weekend we’re off to Brussels as Robert has to work there on Saturday. My plan is to shop and take some more photos (hope the weather is nice). But for now I shall leave you with visions of fireworks on the horizon as London celebrates Guy Fawkes.

“Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”

The crack

2007-10-22T21:34:00.000+01:00

On Saturday I went to see a big crack in the concrete floor of the Tate Modern. One would think that something had happened, like an earthquake, or something equally catastrophic, but no, it was art! The crack is known as Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo who is making a comment on "the shaky ideological foundations on which Western notions of modernity are built". I'm not normally that intrigued by modern art but I saw a picture of the crack on a friend's flickr account and decided to go and see if for myself. I was surprisingly interested in it depsite the vast number of people milling about. I even went so far as to get an audio guide and find out a little more about the permanent collection.

You may have noticed that I said "I" rather than "We". Yes, I went alone to the Tate Modern. Robert had to work on Saturday so I went wandering about all on my lonesome. I have these sudden fits of ability to be alone, usually fuelled by necessity. I did however catch up with Jackie in Soho and then went back to London bridge to catch up with Yash as the sun was setting over Borough markets. We had coffee in Cafe Nero then went back to his place for some dinner before Robert joined us after he finished up at work. So it was a good day.

Saturday was just another day where I had to entertain myself after Robert was whisked off to Paris for two nights for work. I stayed with Caitlin and John on Wednesday night and then with Sarah on Thursday night and met Robert after work on Friday as he got off the Eurostar. He was lucky to escape from Paris after 3 days of public transport strikes.

On Sunday we went for a bicycle ride; the first one in many months. We did the River Wandle ride from close to where we live all the way along the banks of the river, south, to Mordor (ok, so it's Morden really, but we prefer to call it Mordor). It was a beautiful sunny day (with a top temperature of 14 deg) and aside from a few metres of busy road to cycle on the hazards consisted mostly of crazy kids on scooters and parents with strollers walking in the cycle lane. It was a 20km round trip which is never very taxing in London due to the lack of any sort of hill.

Last weekend we went to see The Four Season by candlelight at the Royal Albert Hall. The Orchestra was dressed in 18th Century costume and wigs and the conductor conducted from his harpsichord just as Mozart would have done. It was a mixed program of pieces by Vivaldi, Hayden, Mozart and Pacabel with the Four Seasons taking up the 2nd half of the program. The violin soloist was very flamouyant and very entertaining.

On the Sunday we went to the Victoria & Albert museum. Robert checked out the Asia section while Sarah and I went to two of the special exhibitions - the Life of Lee Miller (a photographer) and The Golden Age of Couture 1947-1957. Both were very interesting even if the fashion exhibition was badly layed out for the amount of people in the space at anyone time.

This Thursday we are looking forward to seeing Max and Jo who are on their grand tour of Europe and the UK (as all Australians should do at least once in their lives). Looking forward to getting out of London for a long weekend and taking lots of photos of autumn colour. Good thing Robert and I are coming down with a virus now and not at the end of the week... Speaking of which, it's time to make some honey and lemon drinks before we go to bed.

New arrivals

2007-10-07T11:23:00.001+01:00

So what's all this about me keeping you more up to date? I'm sorry but life just hasn't been that exciting. Robert has been on call and working hard for past 2 weekends and so we haven't ventured far.

The most exciting news has been the arrival of my new niece - Natalie Rose - on Monday 1st October. First child for my brother and his wife and first grandchild for my parents. She arrived a few weeks early but all is well and they are at home and settling in well.

Since I wrote last we've made a few purchases. Robert has been lusting after a new lens for the Nikon so he finally bought the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor. For those who don't speak camera geek it's got 11.1x zoom and has vibration reduction. It's a little heavier than the one we got with the camera, and a little longer, but only slightly so it still fits in the camera bag. Robert really wants his own digital SLR but I think one digital SLR between the 2 of us is probably enough. We thought about getting a new compact digital camera but now that we've seen the quality from the Nikon it is hard to go back to a compact. Perhaps we'll just have to learn to share.

I also bought a sewing machine (Janome Sewist 521) in a fit of enthusiasm for altering the clothes I bought last year that are now too big for me. So far I've managed to ruin one skirt and am reluctant to attempt to alter anything else. Perhaps I'll just use the machine to hem the new jeans I bought. Shopping for clothes is a bit of challenge at the moment due to the lack of inspiring fashions on offer. It's rather depressing wading through the racks of leggings and tunics. While I'm thin enough to carry off the look I'm sure they are only designed for teenagers. And don't get me started on the colours! I'm becoming difficult like my mother...

While sewing has been a bit of a disaster I have had at least one success on the knitting front. The blue cardigan in the photo is for Alex in Switzerland. Hopefully he isn't too big for it just yet. Just have to hope the postal strike is resolved so I can send it off in time for the beginning of winter. I did have to do a lot of un-knitting to get this finished. (I got confused with the sizes and was knitting it all out of proportion!) I now have grand plans to knit something for my new niece in time for the Australian winter.

On the work front I've decided to stop looking for a new job and stay for the fireworks. I just wasn't coping with the grueling schedule of interviews and decision-making. I really don't have a clear idea of what I want out of my new job and while there is grass on the other side it is usually just another bit of the same grass. I feel more settled now even if the situation at work is no different.

We haven't been out much lately although we did do Yum Cha with the Australian contingent a couple of weeks ago. We managed to get 10 people together which was great. Another Australian friend, Jackie, has moved over to London as well. Jackie and I went shopping Thursday night while Robert went out for a curry night with his team from work.

Our focus now turns to the end of the year and the coming ski season. I won’t mention the C word as it's still over 2 months away and I'm in denial as usual.

Travel, Festivals and the end of Summer

2007-09-18T14:17:00.001+01:00

Having been very slack on the blog-front, I figure it's pointless trying to add posts retrospectively. Instead I will list everything that has happened over the last 6 weeks since my last post then promise to be more diligent in the future.

- Brands Hatch - We went to see the World Superbikes race at Brands Hatch on the hottest day of the year and got burnt. At least the Australians did well.

- Christina came to visit - Christina arrived at the beginning of August for 4 weeks in Europe. She joined us for several events (Iceland, a Proms concert, the Peak District and Spam-a-Lot)

- Proms - We went to another Proms concert. This time it was Renee Fleming singing Berg (Seven Early Songs) and Korngold. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra played Beethoven Symphony No 8 and Schumann Symphony No 2.

- Iceland - amazing place full of extreme natural wonders - the iceberg lake was my favourite place. Photos can be found at: Iceland Photo Set

- Tour of Westminster Palace - In between Iceland and Hungary we went on a tour of the Houses of Parliament It's an amazingly elaborate building inside and out. It was bombed during the world war, evidence of which Churchill left in place as part of the renovations.

- Hungary - we went to visit our friends Ildi and Mark who were visiting Ildi's parents in Hungary. We were able to experience authentic Hungarian hospitality (complete with Goulash, salami and paprika) and a Hungarian wedding. It was our 4 days of summer with temperatures over 30 deg each day. Photos can be found at: Hungary Photo Set

- Finished Harry Potter - I read the last Harry Potter book and was pleased with the outcome. I was able to give Ildi a summary who just wanted to know what happened.

- The Peak District - we spent the last long weekend of summer in the Peak District in a little town called Bakewell. We went with Christina and friends of hers - Vayra and Ian. We went to Eyam, Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall, Ashby de la Zouch castle and ate a fully cooked English breakfast every morning. Photos can be found at: Peak District Photo Set

- Spam-a-Lot - before Christina went home we went to see Spam-a-lot with her. Yes, this is the second time we've seen it. I think it's funnier second time round.

- The Fat Duck - yes, we went to Heston Blumenthal's restaurant in Bray - the home of molecular gastromony and the best restaurant in the world. We had the tasting menu. 4 hours and 18 courses later we were amazed and very very full. Photos of all the courses at: The Fat Duck Photo Set

- Sikh Wedding - Robert's team leader got married and we were invited to the Sikh religious ceremony and the reception the following night. The wedding festivities for a Sikh go on for a whole week and cost many thousands of pounds. They even had their own fireworks display. Robert has posted some photos of the reception: Jane and Sunny's Wedding and some of the religious ceremony pics are up on facebook.

- Throat infection - I had to endure a week of antibiotics due to a Strep Throat infection :-(

- London open house weekend - One weekend a year sees many of London's buildings open to the public. We went to the Quaker meeting house in Wandsworth and the Hurlingham club in Fulham.

- London Walking Weekend - The same weekend happened to be London Walking Weekend. We went on two guided walks - one around our local area of Wandsworth and another around Lambeth. We found out lots of interesting things about the area we live in (it had the very first public railway in England - horse drawn carriages on rails to cart coal).

- Museum of Garden History - we stopped by this museum at the end of our Lambeth walk. It is in and old church and has a 16th century knot garden in the church yard. The grave of John Tradescant is at the church - he is a famous name in 16th Century English garden history.

- Thames Festival - on Sunday afternoon we went to the Thames Festival on the Southbank. We caught up with Yash and Sarah, saw the parade, and watched the fireworks (they weren't a patch on Sydney News Year's Eve fireworks). Photos at: Thames Festival Photo Set

Permission to live

2007-07-29T16:32:00.001+01:00

Friday was a bit of an anti-climax. As predicted the CT scan I had done showed no abnormalities and I've been told that I require no further investigations or follow up appointments. I think I'd come to the conclusion about 10 days before that I was just fine and that most of how I'd been feeling was related to my anxiety. I discovered that by realigning my thinking I was able to contemplate living and making plans for the future once again. After all, only I can give myself permission to live. The last 6 months have been a real roller coaster ride but I feel that the next 6 are going to be better. No doubt I'll think of something else to worry about (like all the aeroplanes I'm about to take in the next few weeks ;-))

In my quest to have a life once again we've managed to do a few interesting things in the last few weeks. We went to see the new Harry Potter movie and bought the last Harry Potter book. I thought the movie was very well done and enjoyed it immensely. Many will disagree with me I'm sure. I've not started the book but Robert finished it this morning so I'll start on it as soon as I finish another book I borrowed from the library. I might keep Harry Potter for the plane trip to Iceland. That book has the greatest chance of anything I know of being able to distract me from my anxious thoughts.

I'm currently watching the last stage of the Tour de France on TV. I have to confess that we didn't go into London to see the first stage but I have watched quite a bit of it on TV where I'm sure you get the best view anyway. It's very cool seeing the cyclists ride up and down the streets that I've walked down in Paris. It's such a shame that so many cyclists have been thrown out due to drugs.

You will have seen all the reports of floods in England. We haven't been affected at all except for the day when our local pub had a flooded kitchen and we couldn't have chips with our usual Friday pub lunch. Living on the 6th floor we're unlikely to have any issues with rising water even if the Thames did flood.

Last night we went to Lindsay House (http://www.lindsayhouse.co.uk) the London restaurant of another British celebrity chef - Richard Corrigan. It is classified as Modern British (despite all the wait staff having outrageous French accents!) and we attempted the tasting menu with wine. While it was very yummy, I did feel that the food at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant was better. Each dish seemed to lack a little something. The wine however was very well matched. We tried an American Riesling which was very enjoyable and discovered a sweet red wine which went very well with our chocolate cherry dessert. I didn't feel quite as full as I did after Claridges - I was able to have a coffee and partake in the petit fours. Perhaps the servings were smaller or perhaps my stomach is beginning to stretch again.

Last year I didn't go to any BBC proms concerts but this year we've already been to one concert and have booked to see another one. I hadn't been the Royal Albert Hall before but it is a very nice venue - lots of red velvet. We sat at the side of the stage in the stalls so we were quite close to the action. The pianist who played Ravel's Concerto for left hand was very animated and we were able to hear him make his own sound effects to go with his playing. Unfortunately the next concert we're going to is more popular and as a result we'll be sitting in the circle way up top. I hope we can still see OK. We'll be going with Christina that night - i hope she'll be able to stay awake after only arriving from Australia 36 hours earlier.

The last piece of news to share is all about motorcycles. Robert went to a track day on Thursday at Brands Hatch in Kent. He had a great time going round and round the track at ludicrous speed. He didn't crash and managed to get back in one piece. He even has some photos to prove it. Next weekend we'll be back at Brands Hatch to see a MotoGP race. Hopefully the rain will stay away or it could be a miserable day.

Stay tuned for my next update - most likely from Iceland!!

Did I say summer?

2007-07-11T21:27:00.002+01:00

Did I mention Summer in my last post? I must have jinxed it as there hasn't been a nice day since. It's been cold and wet and about 18-20 degrees - a bit like a Sydney winter really :-) We even had a huge hail storm which left some areas of London covered in snow-like piles of ice. Still, I do prefer the cooler weather to weeks of oppressive humidity and relentless high temperature without an air conditioner in sight!

But the weather hasn't prevented us from getting out there and doing stuff. We tried out a new yum cha restaurant the other weekend with Matt and Mel. Yum Cha without trolleys was a bit odd but you get a special menu with pictures so you can choose what you like and then it's brought to you freshly made. You don't have to wait for the trolleys to come around and you can order your custard tarts at the end of the meal when you want them :-)

Speaking of food, we celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary in style by going to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at Claridges (http://www.gordonramsay.com/claridges). We'd heard varying reports but our experience was very positive. The food was excellent as was the service. We had the 6 course tasting menu which was a stretch for my very small stomach but I made it to the last mouthful of my second desert before not being able to fit another thing in. I couldn't even have a sip of water let alone try the petit fours. We did discover a really nice sweet French white wine which was recommended to go with our starters (Mas Amiel 2003).

Of course you will have heard about the failed terror attack with the non-exploding nail bombs. Perhaps it was because the bombs didn't blow up but the Londoners hardly seemed to give it a second thought. They are a very stoic bunch, probably because they've been living with the threat of bombs for a long time courtesy of the IRA.

Simone came to visit us last weekend. The weather was much improved so we were able to get out in the sunshine. We visited two houses to the west of London. Ham House is in Ham (funnily enough) which is south of the River in Twickenham. It was the first national trust house we had been to since joining up a couple of weeks ago (how could i resist the offer of a free picnic blanket?!). I have to say that the house made me sneeze - now I remember why I prefer ruins to old houses. However all that sun and wind after all that rain did mean I had a bit of hay fever.

On the Sunday we went to see Osterley Park and House. This house was north of the river near Hounslow. Originally we planned to do a walk and have a pub lunch but we got stuck in traffic (yes, I slept in) and the pub they suggested didn't look so good once we got there. We ended up in the tea rooms of Osterley House instead. This house had been built then expanded then redeveloped until it was a mismatch of styles. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they added huge wooden pineapples to the pointy bits of the roof. Pineapples were all the rage in the 18th century - a luxury item that only the very rich could afford. Stone carvings of Pineapples were also a feature of Ham House as well. Still, these two houses have nothing on this house in Scotland.

Health-wise things are still a little up in the air for me. I have put on some weight but still feel extremely tired at times and I can still feel lymph nodes. I went for a CT scan this morning which the Dr has ordered for my peace of mind more than anything else I'm sure. I won’t find out the results for another 10 days. In the meantime I struggle on with my anxiety. My 2nd cousin died during the week. I know she was 87 but it's still sad. I hope the year improves now that we're over half way through 2007.

Before I go I must mention my knitting progress. You'll be pleased to know that I have 3 different projects on the go - another baby cardigan, a free project from Rowan after I renewed my membership and a vest. Of course there is a ball of sock wool in my bag too - just have to work out who needs socks the most :-)

Summer and other warm things

2007-06-19T22:14:00.000+01:00

Yes, summer has arrived. But as it's quite the reverse in Australia I have just completed an adorable little cardigan for an adorable little baby. The little red cardigan is winging it's way to it's new owner as I type. For those who will most likely never see it I include a photo below (the buttons feature little cat faces).

I've now embarked on yet another cardigan for yet another little person. Blue this time. Baby clothes are good to knit during summer as they are small.

With summer in Britian comes additional tourists, more cyclists on the roads and huge music festivals. This coming weekend it's the Glastonbury festival. It's looking like a lovely wet week and weekend which will mean mud baths and foot rot for those who attend. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos from the people who were 'lucky' enough to get tickets and brave enough to go.

For those of us left behind in London, there are still lots of ruins and castles to visit. Since our visit to Warwickshire we've not done very much. Robert has been working hard and spent 2 weekends in a row working. One in London and another in Brussels. We did get the opportunity to try 'Canteen' - a London restaruant which is renowed for it's British classics. I didn't enjoy the experience having made myself ill by not eating for the whole day before going out for dinner. Very silly of me I know. I also attended a BBQ - the first of the summer - where we farewelled a friend who has now headed back to Sydney for a while. We'll miss Lorraine but I know she'll work out what is best for her.

With the warmer weather and longer days I actually managed to get on my bicycle for the first time since last year. We had a picnic in Battersea Park on the weekend to try and eat some of the leftover cheese from the BBQ last weekend. I think it's the first bit of exercise I've had since the operation aside from taking the stairs instead of the lift to get to our flat on the 6th floor.

So, we've been here on the other side of the world for a whole year now (as of May 16) so in memory of such I offer you the following observations of our daily life and commute to work in London.

1. Lanes are optional, especially on round-abouts. The roads are narrow and lane markings are sporadic so one can never tell if there are one or two lanes to choose from. There are huge one way systems where people make a dash for the lane they want even if it isn't the lane they are supposed to go into. They aren't very orderly.

2. Blinkers are also optional. As a follow on from the uncertainty over lanes, blinkers are sporadically used. Now, we thought the Australians were badly trained when it came to using blinkers, but I can tell you that the Londoners are worse. They aren't agressive about changing lanes, they just casually drift over until it would appear that yes, they have changed lanes and didn't want you to notice.

3. Scooters and motorcycles have no need for blinkers or lanes. It's a wonder they even bother equiping scooters and motorcycles with blinkers as lanes just get in the way of making it through the traffic. In fact, there is a special secret lane in between the two directions of traffic. It's a bit like platform 9 and 3/4 in Harry Potter - you close your eyes, make a rush for the oncoming traffic and hey presto, a lane appears!

4. Personal space is not required. There are so many people in London walking around, getting on buses and travelling on the tube that personal space is at a premium. The sidewalks are never wide enough and every bus, tube, and train is packed to the gills (especially at peak hour). Everyone is in a permanent state of being ever so sorry for stepping on your foot, running into you, or slowly dripping sweat into your open handbag. It's amazing that everyone remains so polite.

5. If you like it, and it fits, buy it. Again, due to the number of people in London, if you need to buy something to wear you need to grab it if you see something you like in your size. The London female population like to reverse shop. They buy up big in a shop, take it all home, try it on and then take it all back in a week after they've decided what they really want. This saves lining up for the change rooms at lunch times with everyone else and gives you the pleasure of shopping without really spending money.

6. Drinking is a national past time along with football. Need I say more.

A Long Weekend in Warwickshire

2007-05-30T21:26:00.000+01:00

The English know how to make the uncertain weather of May more bearable - have a long weekend. Actually, make that 2 long weekends. We didn't make great use of the first long weekend but that was mostly due to my recovery needs. However, the last time I visited my Doctor she suggested I needed a holiday and so I planned a last minute break in Warwickshire. Originally I was thinking Oxford and Blenheim Palace but everything was booked up. Warwickshire is only slightly further north west than Oxfordshire and there was plenty of accommodation available.

Friday night we got home from work, packed our bags and headed off into the traffic. A 1hr 58min trip was more like 2.5hrs but still, that's not so bad. The traffic in London was much worse than on the motorway and we made it to our guest house in Kenilworth before it got dark.

On Saturday morning we had our obligatory full English breakfast - my first one since January. I can't say it really appealed to me. Since being on a low fat diet I really don't enjoy eating fatting food anymore (OK, so chocolate and cheese are an exception). Luckily we had our hot breakfast when we did as the power went out just as we were having our last cup of coffee. The people running the guest house had only just taken over that week from the previous owners so were a touch embarrassed. The power was only out for about an hour so it wasn't a huge problem.

Despite the weather forecast being a little dire, the sun did manage to shine for most of Saturday morning so once the power was back on, we headed out to Kenilworth Castle. Unfortunately we managed to forget the battery for the camera and had to resort to buying a disposable camera which means film, which means getting it developed, which means having to scan in the photos before you get to see the evidence! A little disappointing, but then the rest of the weekend was very wet and so photo opportunities weren't the best.

Kenilworth castle is mostly a ruin now except for a gate house which is still standing. Robert Dudley built a special section on the castle for Queen Elizabeth I so she could stay there in comfort. The walls of the castle are littered with graffiti from the 18 and 1900s. People carved their names which such care back then with serif fonts and all. In the gate house there is a name carved in the wall dated 1649. It's very cool.

After the castle we decided to go off to Stratford upon Avon. I was a little apprehensive as I'd read about the lines of traffic and crowded Tudor rooms of the main attractions. I kept reassuring myself that it was not peak season and it would be much, much worse on a perfect weekend in July or August. there was a small line up of traffic but we found a parking spot easily and then walked the rest of the way into the town centre. We found the River Avon, grabbed a bit of lunch and headed off to the main attractions. We saw the 3 main houses in the town - Shakespeare’s birthplace, the house he bought just before he died and the house his daughter lived in when she married a Doctor. There was a lot of Tudor styling - heavy beams, white-washed walls and wide floor boards. I can see how hot it would have been had it been high summer. Aside from bus loads of Japanese school girls, there weren't too many tourists. Shakespeare's birthplace was the most crowded but it was quite interesting. Apparently his father used to make leather goods - gloves, purses and other things to hang off belts. One of the guides related the process of curing the skins - something to do with urine and dog poo I think...

Perhaps it was the lack of blue sky and sun, but I wasn't that impressed with Stratford. Still, we been there, done that, bought the coasters.

Saturday night we tried to book in to a fancy restaurant but we couldn't get through on the phone. We ended up at a 'French' restaurant which came highly recommended. I found the whole experience quite hilarious. I was a little concerned after reading the menu on the website. Every dish was over engineered and the last time any news had been added was back in February 2006. Still, we arrived and got stuck into the marinated olives. They had been marinated in citrus and the balance was all wrong. The duck liver pate on a crouton as an appetiser made me feel a little unwell - the crouton had been sitting in the fat it was fried in and was soggy. For entree I ordered the scallops on sweet potato with curry sauce. The scallops were cooked nicely but the curry sauce tasted just like liquid keens curry paste. Robert's crab and avocado starter was a little disappointing as well - a dressed up prawn cocktail. For main I ordered the Sea Bream on noodles. It was a very confused dish. It couldn't decide if it was Mediterranean (sun dried tomatoes) or Asian (snow peas and noodles in soy sauce). It was very, very odd. Robert's Duck was overcooked and it looked like someone had poured plum sauce from a bottle over the top. We did manage to have a nice bottle of French wine and by the time dessert came around we were ready to try anything. The dessert was the best part of the meal in the end. My brandy and peppermint chocolate mousse was light and fluffy and Robert had a rather nice citrus tart. Do you think we’re food snobs...?

On Sunday morning I opted for the fruit with honey and yogurt breakfast option. It was the only thing to have after all that food the night before. It had been raining all night and it was only 6 degrees but we still went out to do our tourist duty. Stoneleigh Abbey was our destination on Sunday morning. You can't go in without going on a tour so we arrived along with one other couple for the 11am tour. The Abbey was purchased and then modified by the Leigh family over the centuries. Jane Austen was a relative. She spent some time at Stoneleigh and used the house as inspiration when describing one of the houses in Mansfield Park. The plaster work on the ceiling of the main room is amazing. Apparently the phrase 'getting plastered' came about because plasterers mixed plaster with alcohol so that it didn't go hard so quickly. I was allowed to play the organ in the chapel. It dated back to 1740. It was terribly out of tune but very cool none the less.

After our tour we headed off to Sutton Coldfield to have lunch with Robert's Great Aunt Connie and Uncle Eric. They put on a lovely roast lamb shoulder and baked veggies. Robert got to find out more about his long lost relatives and a little bit more about his mother's teenage years. Robert even got to meet a 2nd cousin (Theresa) and spent many hours talking about Uncle Eric's years in the Navy.

Sunday night we tried out another recommended local restaurant. This time we went to an Indian Restaurant and again we were disappointed. The best part of the meal was the pappadums with condiments. The tandoori fish was dry and not very tasty and the lamb sagwala was tasty but didn't really taste like lamb sagwala. Oh well, it was food…

Monday it was Robert's turn to choose where we went. I think he was a little over the whole old houses and Jane Austen theme so far. So where did we go but a motor museum! There was a choice of 3 can you believe. I think that had something to do with Coventry being near by and it being quite involved in car manufacturing over the last 100 years. We ended up at the British Heritage Museum. It had just reopened after an expensive refurbishment. It was reasonably interesting and Robert seemed to enjoy himself. However, he was a little disappointed that there was only one Jaguar! In a museum celebrating British motoring!

After some tasteless quiche for lunch and a few photos we headed for home. I was so very tired but more relaxed and happy to go home, do the washing and have an early night. I guess I'll post up the photos as soon as we get them developed. Stay Tuned.

Life, sans gall bladder

2007-05-13T15:27:00.000+01:00

Yes, I took the plunge and had my first operation. I had my gall bladder removed on April 23rd and spent 2 nights in hospital. They kept me in an additional night so that my wound was able to drain for longer. Apparently the gall bladder was still quite inflamed and this meant additional drainage was required. Luckily I only had the keyhole surgery so recovery has been quite speedy. I'll see the specialist again next Wednesday at which point I hope to be able to remove the dressings and see how my 4 little holes are healing. Sorry, no hospital photos this time - perhaps some scar shots later on :-)

I didn't exactly have a relaxing time once I got home either as we had to move. As Robert was still waiting for his new UK license to arrive in the post he couldn't hire a van to move our stuff and so we made many many trips in the Porsche to take the stuff to our new home. Luckily it's a quick trip around the gyratory to our new place.

We're very happy with our new home. It's quiet, spacious, modern, and comfortable. It's nice to have room to swing more than one cat for a change. We ended up buying a small bookcase and a storage unit for the bathroom (nothing like a new development for skimping on things like storage). Robert is particularly impressed with the Bang & Oulfsen flatscreen widescreen TV that comes with the flat. Now we just need our broadband hooked up and we'll be set.

Aside from moving into the new pad we've also done a few other exciting things in recent weeks. The weekend before my operation we went to visit a friend of Robert who lives in Milton Keynes. We met up with David and Brit (his girlfriend) at a local pub for lunch and went for a very plesant stroll around the a lake. After that Robert and I took a detour on our way home to Bedford, the place where Robert was born. See photo of Robert standing outside the entrance. Not sure that part would have been there back in 1966 but it's the thought that counts.

The weekend after my operation we went for a trip to Windsor Castle. It only takes about 30-40 mins to drive there but then it took us another half hour to find a parking spot. There were people everywhere and queues out the gate at the ticket office. I had to keep reminding myself that it would be even worse during the summer and tried to cope, despite being a little tired. We saw only saw the state rooms as the queue for the dolls house was even longer than the ticket queue. Still, we filled in a little form which allows us to go back any time we like in the next 12 months and not have to buy another ticket! Not sure how likely that is. Still, I've put up some pictures of Windsor Castle on flickr. You'll be pleased to know that the Queen gets plane noise, just like we did in Stanmore!

This past weekend was a long weekend here in the UK but unfortunately Robert had to work on Saturday so we didn't go anyway. Aside from that I was feeling exceedingly tired from having done a full week back at work. On the Sunday we went to a party down in Surrey for a 60th birthday and 30th wedding anniversary party for my boss. It was a very plesant afternoon of eating, drinking talking, croquet, tennis, golf and clay pigeon shooting - Robert was quite good at the shooting and managed to hit the clay both times he had a go. On the Monday we went to the Imperial War museum for a few hours but otherwise we had a reasonably quiet day.

Now that I'm all better we can start to plan a few more trips. In the meantime I have to concentrate on recovery and putting on some of that weight that I lost. Looking forward to eating chocolate and cheese once again :-)

Property, Portsmouth and Porsches

2007-04-11T21:48:00.000+01:00

I guess you've all been wondering what we've been up to lately. I've continued to be distracted by health issues while Robert has been busy distracting himself from my problems by spending money on boy toys. But let me start from the beginning..

Back in March I decided that we needed to dedicate more energy to seeing and doing things around London. We had been spending way too much time not taking advantage of our proximity to all this history. So as a result we went to see Apsley House - the home of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. The house is filled with the paintings of the Spanish royalty 'rescued' by Wellington from Napoleon's brother after a battle. The Spanish said he could keep what he'd rightly taken as the spoils of war.

We've also been to Eltham Palace near Greenwich. Tudor meets art deco in this huge Palace. Originally built around 1066 it has been added on to and extended by various royal persons over the centuries. It was bought and redecorated in the 1930s by someone who refitted the Palace with an art deco theme - wood paneling, curved walls and geometric shapes. It's quite a strange juxtaposition. The great hall is still Tudor in style and even has the scorch marks on the floor from when a bomb hit the hall during WWII. To view the inside of the house you have to put little plastic bags on over your shoes so you don't dirty the white floors!

We have also been on a London Walk. We did a few of the London Walks when we were in London back in 2004 and found them very interesting. One Saturday morning we got up early and went on the foodie walk which was all about food history in and around London. As part of the tour we were taken through the Borough Markets. We had heard many good things about the markets but had never been. It was good to get an introduction from the people who know. Apparently it has only been a public market for a few years. Originally a wholesale market it turned retail when the parishioners of Southwark Cathedral bought the land and turned it into a market for the general public. Since then it has been thriving and is packed each weekend. We went back to the market this weekend and bought a very nice piece of lamb for Easter lunch.

We have spent quite a few weeks looking for a new place to live. We saw so many different properties but none of them were quite right - too expensive, strange layouts, ugly furniture, no parking, too noisy, etc. Finally we have found somewhere. It's not far from where we live now. It has views of the Thames from the balcony, it's quiet, it has two bedrooms and a large living area. It will be much more pleasant when we have people stay and we'll be able to entertain at the full size dining table and comfortable chairs. We even have parking for the Porsche (more on that in a moment). We move in on April 24.

The weekend before Easter we went to Portsmouth - not because we wanted to see Portsmouth but because Robert wanted to see a Porsche that was for sale. He liked it so much that he bought it! Given we went all the way to Portsmouth we had a little walk along the seashore and watched the Isle of White hovercraft come and go while we had some fish and chips and ice cream. It was definitely a long way on the motorbike, but was much more comfortable in the Porsche when we went to collect it during the week. We've had it for a whole week now and it has been very useful. We even managed to fit four people in it on Monday for a trip into the country.

This weekend we had Easter - our first Easter without family. Still, we were lucky to have our friend Simone come down from Edinburgh to stay for the weekend. We picked her up in the Porsche from airport on Thursday evening. Friday Robert had to work so Simone and I indulged in some retail therapy. I bought lots of new clothes for summer as nothing in my wardrobe fits me anymore. Saturday we went to the Borough Markets to get our food for Easter day then went for a wander into Putney to see the crowds at the annual boat race which starts at Putney Bridge (a race between the rowing teams from Cambridge and Oxford). According to the BBC, Cambridge won this year. We didn't stay around to see the race as there were too many people. Instead we did a bit more shopping and I managed to buy another outfit for my summer wardrobe along with 2 pairs of shoes! Sunday we cooked up a storm - cheese platter, roast rolled lamb shoulder with roast vegetables, and rhubarb crumble with ice cream for dessert. We didn't really eat that much chocolate after all that other food. Finally, on Monday, we went for a drive in the country. We picked Sarah up and the 4 of us went east to Essex in an attempt to find Hadleigh castle. We got stuck in traffic but managed to find a reasonable pub to have lunch in. We eventually found the castle after lunch with the help of our sat nav. It turned out to be more ruin than castle but still, it was nice to get out of London for a bit.

So that brings me back to the subject of my health. Tuesday I went to see the surgeon about my gall bladder. He seems to think that it will need to come out but wants to do an endoscopy to make sure there aren't any other reasons for my digestive issues. I don't really want to have an endoscopy but he's promised to give me valium first. I also asked if I could get this all sorted sooner rather than later by going private. He agreed and seems to think that the operation can all be over and done with in a couple of weeks. I was very impressed this afternoon when the Surgeon called me himself to ask if I was available next Tuesday afternoon for the endoscopy with a view to having the gall bladder out the following week! Can you believe it?! I was very impressed indeed. Just goes to show what you can get when you pay.

This weekend Robert is going to Paris for work. I'm going with him so hopefully we'll get to see some sights and eat some good food in between his work commitments. Stay tuned for more updates.

Spring is Sprung

2007-03-01T21:34:00.000Z

Yes, at last it's spring! We made it through the cold dark winter. Now we just have to make it through the cold spring. That said, there are plenty of pretty yellow daffodils all over the place, many trees are in bloom and the days are definitely getting longer. It's nice to hear the birdies singing in the morning in between the buses...

I know I've been remiss in not blogging lately but we've been slightly distracted by a number of things. First was the gall bladder. The latest is that I've been to see a specialist who sent me for an ultrasound and is going to refer me to another specialist as the first specialist no longer does the gall bladder operations. The ultrasound showed no stones but the gall bladder was rather small and scarred. So now I wait to see when my next appointment will be. I guess that means I'm not having the operation on March 12th anymore. Hmm...

The other reason for my lack of blogging is that we've been looking for a new place to live. We got all excited by the prospect of living in luxury on the Thames, with space and airconditioning. However, this dream is not all it's cracked up to be. I am definitely looking for something that's a bit quieter than what we're in now, but it seems that London is full of traffic and there aren't many places where the noise doesn't permeate, even along the water's edge. We've seen a few really nice places but I'm rather nervous about laying out what seems like ludicrous amounts of money (when you convert it back to Australian dollars) just to live in something. So then we thought about buying and went to see a mortgage broker. We are now waiting to see if they'll lend us any money and how much. I'm not convinced it's the best thing to do as we'll just spend all our time looking for somewhere to live and the travelling will fall by the way side. Maybe I'd better let Robert buy his porsche, rent somewhere really expensive and distract him with shiney gadgets. Hmm...

The other problem is where to live. We went and checked out Islington last weekend. It seems like a pretty cool area. Lots of Georgian houses converted into flats. Lots of shops and lots of people and buses. The side streets seem a little quiter however. Part of me just wants to stay where we are but I know how awful it is in summer and how cramped it is when people come to stay. It's all too hard!

But back to spring. I was thinking that it would be appropriate to have a photo of a daffodil at this point but I've not taken one photo since Switzerland. Hopefully it will be nice on the weekend and I'll be able to take some flower shots then. In the meantime, here is a shot I took in our backyard in Sydney (daffodils look the same all over the world - trust me ;-)).

Snow!

2007-02-06T22:21:00.000Z

Anna and Robert
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.

Well it came a bit late but the snow finally arrived and we've just been enjoying it for the last week in Switzerland. We stayed with Robert's friend Anna, her husband Luke and baby Alex. They have a renovated chalet perched on the side of a mountain in the French-speaking part of Switzerland close to Champery.

While there wasn't a lot of snow there was certainly enough to ski on for most of the week. Dodging the ice, mud and rocks was a bit of a challenge on the lower slopes but we still had fun.

We took the train all the way rather than flying. It is certainly a more relaxed way to get around - no luggage restrictions, no queues, and less anxiety for me. Aside from one very keen gentleman in Paris who insisted on helping us and then insisted that we pay him we had an uneventful trip on the way there.

We were both rather tired when we arrived as I'd had a little trip to hospital on the Friday night before we left. After appearing to have a rash that was an indicator of menangitis I thought it was best to have it checked out rather than give it to the people we were about to stay with. It ended up being something called HSP (Henoch-Schonlein Purpura) which is an autoimmune disease that affects the kidneys. This means now I have to have my kidney function monitored for years to come to watch for signs of kidney disease. I feel like someone has pressed my self-destruct button and my body is turning on me. Fingers crossed that I have a mild case which has no long lasting effects.

Anyway, we had a fantastic time last week. The clean air, good food and great company certainly had a positive effect on me. I feel fitter and healthier even if I still feel very thin. There isn't really much more to tell. We skiied down the mountains and caught the chair lifts up again from Monday to Friday. I freaked out when there were icy bits and generally behaved like a big girl. Robert had a great time but didn't get a chance to use his snow board even though we lugged it across 3 countries! He skiied into France just to say he'd been there and did the swiss wall ski run. We played with little alex and laughed at his antics. He got his first teeth and ate his first pasta while we were there. I'll have to knit something for him now :-)

So we're back in London again and we wish we were still in Switzerland. Looks like I have a date for my gall bladder surgery - March 12 - would still like to talk to someone about my options before I go ahead with it. Maybe I can go back to Switzerland to recover after the surgery :-)

Happy Birthday to me

2007-01-18T22:09:00.000Z

Yes, for all of you who didn't realise, today was my birthday. My birthday has always been a disappoint to me. Mostly because I always had high expectations that were often disappointed. When I was at school my birthday was always in the school holidays so that meant that many of my friends weren't around for a party. Then there were the pool parties where it always rained. But at least back then I got excited. I remember being especially excited when a friend gave me a present that looked like a cordless phone (I was still in primary school at the time). My excitment quickly turned to disappointment when it turned out to be nothing more than a phone-shaped soap on a rope!

Today I was just apprehensive, having my mind on other things and all that. Thank you to everyone who called, emailed and sent cards. I do feel loved and thought about. Robert got me a card and treated me to a scenic (and wind blown) trip on the back of the motorbike along the River Thames to and from work (some people pay good money for that sort of thing). Given my fat-free life at the moment a dinner would have been wasted so it was poached chicken breast in front of the TV for me! Still, I'm off the antibiotics now and feeling a lot better for it. My present to myself was to finish off my knitted vest - see picture. As you can see I'm still thin and beautiful at 34 ;-) Ok, so going for weeks without food isn't such a good idea. I have since discovered that rapid weight loss is something that can bring on a gall bladder conniption! Better start eating again...

I'm off to the GP in the morning to try and get a referral to a specialist. The hospital doesn't seem to want me back which means I'll now have the chance to choose my own method and timing for treatment. I'm hoping that I can stay healthy enough over the next two weeks to enjoy our holiday to Switzerland and not end up in hospital in a foreign country.

NHS Holiday

2007-01-12T19:59:00.000Z

As many of you already know I've just spent a restful, if not painful week, in hospital. It's OK, nothing too serious. Just a flare up of what I thought was digestive issues. Instead it turns out that all those nights of agony over the past few years have been my gall bladder all along.

I ended up in hospital for several reason; the pain was so great I couldn't sleep, I was throwing up, and it was Sunday. So off we went to the emergency department of Charing Cross hospital on the bus. I took a spew bag just in case. I must have looked like I was in agony as they saw to me in about 5 minutes and admitted me straight away. I'd never had a drip in my arm before but it was certainly not as painful as my gall bladder so I survived. As soon as they gave me the anti-nausea drug I got rather sleepy. But then that's not surprising given I hadn't slept all night and I was finally being looked after. My blood results weren't great so they said they were going to keep me in over night.

The first night I managed to sleep and at 8.30 Monday morning I was suddenly woken surrounded by 5 doctors who came to poke and prod me and talk about what was going on. This was to become a rather startling event each morning. I went for a scan that day which showed an inflamed gall bladder but no stones. If you want to know what the gall bladder is then wikipedia is quite helpful :-). I stayed on no food with a drip and antibiotics for a few days.

My friend Sarah kept me company during the afternoons and Robert came to see me at night. I was on the 7th floor of the hospital and had quite a nice view out over north west London. I was in the surgical assessment ward (see, they always wanted to cut me open from the beginning!). The room I was in was called E Bay. The people at work wondered when my auction would end so I could come back to work (ha!). Robert took the rather flattering picture of me you see here complete with my swollen arm (due to drip), pink hospital gown and white circulation socks (standard issue).

The other ladies in the room had all had some sort of stomach surgery and you certainly wouldn't want to be squeamish in there. It was all about poo and wee at the end of the day. The lady next to me was rather old and very deaf. She was constantly whinging about things and asking people to help with everything. I was about ready to smother her with a pillow if I had had to put up with her for much longer.

Finally on Wednesday they said I could start eating again. I was very excited. Unfortunately I ended up in pain again. The doctor was very disappointed given my progress so far and improved blood test from the day before. Unfortunately the doctors mentioned the word surgery for the first time on Thursday morning. At which point I freaked out and managed to convince them that I would starve to death if I stayed in hospital any longer given the lack of 'no fat diet' options on the menu. So they packed me off home with lots of drugs and promised to call me later.

On coming home and doing research on the Internet I've come to the conclusion that the Doctors were right (sorry Doctors) and I do need to have it out. Now I'm out of hospital I've probably fallen to the bottom of their list of priorities and I may get to have it out sometime soon, maybe. Problem is I had no opportunity to discuss what was happening to me or my options and now I don't know what's going to happen or when! So I wait now to hear about an appointment and hope that it doesn't a) ruin my birthday or b) ruin our skiing holiday to Switzerland. I wont be having any cheese or chocolate fondue either way as my gall bladder has a conniption just thinking about it.

Thank you to all who sent their best wishes. Rest assured that I'm feeling much better now and just have to work on feeding myself food that wont cause me pain and will build me up again. Elisabeth cannot live on fruit and steamed vegetables alone. Will keep you posted.

Welcome to 2007

2007-01-04T21:12:00.000Z

Well, it didn't snow. I did manage to spot some snowy looking frost and there was a lot of fog around, but alas, no snow. Still, Christmas was nice and relaxing spent in front of the fire and eating our fill of Christmas foods - Christmas cake, mince pies, belgian chocolates, nuts, baclava, cheese, and anything else we could get our hands on. Of course all that sitting around in front of the fire gave me the perfect opportunity to do lots of knitting. I finished knitting the front of my vest but forgot to take the right needles to finish the ribbed edges. Luckily I had a 2nd sock project with me to get on with.

The Thursday night before Christmas we went to Robert's work Christmas party at the Park Lane hotel. It was very swish. All the girls were given white feather boas and all the boys got a black ganster style hat. We also got fancy bonbons, a fantastic meal and live entertainment! We bailed out at midnight once the DJ started playing loud retro music (I know, we're such old party poopers).

We picked up our hire car on Friday and got upgraded from a Ford Focus to a Toyota Prius because they didn't record the fact that we wanted to pick up the car a day earlier than originally booked. The prius was interesting and a novelty to start with but it was really rather frustrating for Robert. It's not a drivers car. Still it got us from A to B sucessfully.

Our stay with Mark and Vega was great. We went walking in the Lake District, we got to meet family we didn't know we had, we went for drives in the country side and saw old houses and we ate and drank. We went to village parties and got to meet the other people in the village Mark and Vega live in. We went to local pubs for meals and did a spot of shopping (I have to confess to buying a pair of victorian stle lace up boots). We also took a quick trip into Scotland for a day.

Christmas day was very relaxed. We had drinks with the neighbours and cooked up a storm - roast pork, roast chicken, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, brussell sprouts (with proscuto and chesnust) and mash potatoes. Alas we didn't have room for the Christmas Pudding (we saved that for later in the week). With no presents to clutter the day it was all very laid back. Ok, so we did get a couple of things - a Rick Stein cookbook (because Mark and Vega got it as a present and they already had it) and Aunty Angie and Uncle Fred gave us some things they picked up in Hong Kong.

The weather on New Year's Eve was wild and woolly and we weren't sure whether we'd get our dinner cooked before the lights went out. Luckily the electricity stayed connected and we saw the new year in playing scrabble and pictionary.

Unfortunately we had to head back to London on New Year's Day. I tried to work out how we could relocate our lives and live in the country. We managed to squeeze Fred and Angie along with their luggage into the Prius for the long drive. Aside from a couple of accidents where trucks had been blown over on the motorway the previous night, we had a problem-free trip home. I'm not sure where all the people were, but it was certainly a quicker trip home than it was on the way up north.

So this week we're back at work. We both took Tuesday off so we could spend the day with Angie and Fred before they headed back to Hong Kong that afternoon. We went to the Victoria & Albert Museum and then stopped for a spot of shopping on the way home. They headed off to the airport and we went off to the supermarket to restock our cupboard.

So the next trip is to Switzerland at the end of January to go skiing. We've been told by a friend who went last week that there is snow so hopefully they'll get more between now and when we arrive. I just hope our ski clothes are warm enough. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Winter in London

2006-12-17T18:31:00.000Z

The London Eye up close
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.

It was a perfect winter day on Saturday giving us the perfect excuse to take the new camera out for a spin. We took way too many photos and it has taken me all day to work out which ones to post up. I've chosen a small selection for flickr, but I may add more later. The harsh winter light did mean that over exposure was the biggest problem. I have to say that the zoom did a pretty good job. Still using the automatic settings but warming up to experimentation.

It's only 1 week until Christmas and I managed to survive my work Christmas party. Bowling was fun despite the 2 broken fingernails and dinner at a tapas restaurant was yummy. I escaped after dinner and left everyone else to continue drinking into the wee hours. I wasn’t really interested in staying out late with 2 major websites to launch the same week.

We have one more Christmas party on Thursday this coming week for Robert's work before we head up North to Carlisle on Friday. At some point I need to find a wrap or something to wear with my dress. I might get a chance to do that one lunch time this week now that work is winding up.

I'm a little concerned that my white Christmas is just a dream. All the weather reports point to a mild winter with very little snow, even in the Alps of Europe. Maybe the best I can hope for is a bit of icy rain?

We've had a quiet Sunday after two late nights. Friday night we went wine tasting and had a fantastic vietnamese meal. We bought some really nice Champagne and a Port at the wine tasting to drink over Christmas.

Saturday night we caught up with Simone as you passed through London on her way to Sydney for Christmas. We went to a reading of 2 ghost stories in Hampstead after dinner at a Greek restaurant in Ealing with Simone, Vivian, Caitlin and John.

Work is a little crazy at the moment. I'm beginning to think that it's not quite the right place for me. I'm going to start looking for something else in the new year. Perhaps I'll go contracting for a bit - live on the edge and all that. Or maybe I'll investigate working at the BBC or a university. The main objective for me is to find people that I relate to and respect.

We may have to move in the new year as well if the flat we're living in is sold soon. I’m thinking London Bridge or perhaps Islington. But I guess there isn’t much point looking over Christmas.

Anyway, I should go and do something useful with myself after sitting on the couch for most of the day…

Out with the old and in with the new

2006-12-03T16:10:00.000Z

My little Nikon Coolpix 3500 has served me well over the last few years. It has taken some pretty reasonable shots in it's time but there comes a moment in everyone's life when 3 megapixels is no longer enough. I've been longing for some time now for better depth of field, brighter colours, more clarity and feeling horribly jealous of other peoples digital SLRs.

I am now happy to announce that I'm the proud new owner of my very own Nikon D80 digital SLR camera with an 18-70mm zoom lens. (OK, so Christmas has come ever so slightly early.) Of course I had to have a Crumpler bag to go with it which was big enough for the camera and those spare lenses that Robert tells me I will eventually need as my skills increase. I'm not entirely convinced of that need just yet. So far I've only been playing around with the default auto-settings. I guess I'll have to learn what all those f-stops and ISO numbers mean now...

Now I just have to find things to take photos of. We've had beautiful crisp cool days here in London. It hasn't rained that much and the sun has been out on numerous occasions. The trees are now almost entirely bare and the street sweepers are kept busy cleaning up all the leaves that have fallen onto the footpaths. It's almost light when we leave home in the morning and the sun is pretty much set by about 4pm. It doesn't seem to bother me as much as I thought it would. I'm enjoying being able to wear lots of nice warm coats and scarves and gloves and beanies and boots. So much more fun than sweltering in the summer heat.

Robert started a new job about a month ago. He's been in Brussels for 2 weeks being oriented and trained. It's been both a good and a bad thing him being away. The good thing is that I've had an opportunity to stay with some really nice people and to realise that I can cope without him. The bad thing is that he keeps bringing back lots of chocolate... OK, so that's a good thing as well :-)

I'm looking forward to Christmas being cold for a change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the all important white stuff. However, I am staying away from the shops until after Christmas. There are so many people out shopping it's quite ridiculous. Though I will have to go and take a peek at the Christmas lights on Oxford St - now there's a photo opportunity ;-)

Spanish Sunshine

2006-11-09T20:31:00.000Z

Cap De La Nau
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.

You've probably been wondering why I haven't blogged in a while. Well, I could tell you that it's because we've been so busy having a fabulous time but I would be lying. The truth is far less interesting. But, the good news is that I have something to report having just got back from a week in Spain!

The plane trip was uneventful although I did get myself worked up until I was a nervous wreck and arrived with a splitting headache. We picked up our hire car and managed to find our way to our hotel. For dinner we went to the nearest restaurant which was filled with ex-pat English retirees listening to some tragic live music. Still, it was food and we were starving. We should have paid for the food on the plane...

I had a varied experience of Spain. The first few days were hot and sunny. Motocycles were the first priority of our trip. Sunday was the final race of the MotoGP season and we joined the 128,998 other people at the race track in Valencia to see who would win. It was an extremely hot day and the main race was a bit of a disappointment. There were no real battles for the lead and when the favourite fell off, the atmosphere became rather subdued. The disappointment was heightened by the fact that it took us 5 hours to get back to our hotel. 1 hour trying to get out of the car park, 2 hours trying to get to the motorway and then another 2 hours taking back roads to avoid the traffic jams on all the other roads. Thank goodness for the sat nav or I'm sure we'd still be sitting in traffic!

Monday we wandered around the town that we were staying in - Moraira on the Costa Blanca (between Valencia and Alicante). There is a port, a beach, a tiny castle and more restaurants than you could possibly try in a week's worth of holiday. Still, it was a quiet little place and didn't seem too touristy. We caught up with some fellow motorcycle nuts that Robert knew. They have just finished building a house in the town and were kind enough to give us lots of tips for our stay. After a rather large lunch we spent siesta time sitting by the pool. Spanish siesta is a little annoying - everything closes after 1pm and doesn't open again until 4 or 4.30pm. This is very frustrating as a tourist, but does strike me as a rather relaxed way to live. For dinner we tried the Chicken and Rabbit Paella at "the best" local restaurant with some rather nice Spanish red wine.

Tuesday we explored to the North of Moraira. The weather was perfect and there were lots of photo opportunities with blue skies, blue seas and white houses on cliff edges. Aside from some suspect empanadas we ate from the supermarket, we managed to take in the sights of Denia and it's castle. It is interesting to note that the churches in most Spanish towns are topped with domes instead of spires. In England it is easy to see where the old church and castles are in any city. In Spanish towns it is much harder. The churches aren't as tall and the towns are so built up around the old areas that you can't see where it is. Again, the Sat Nav comes in handy for these things. We decided to have tapas for dinner (it was meant to be the light alternative) and ordered way too many dishes - garlic prawns, potatos bravas, octopus stew, anchovies, etc. Still, it was very tasty.

Wednesday we spent the morning tracking down a Doctor. Not only did I have to find a Doctor that spoke English but it turned out to be a public holiday (all saints day ... catholic country) and just finding a clinic that was open was a challenge. All I needed was antibiotics. Thanks to the lady at the hotel we managed to find someone. After that little drama we headed off into the hills inland from the coast. We found a castle to explore (in a sleepy little place called Polop) and were able to see the valleys filled with orange, olive and loquot groves. Half of them were covered in shade cloth which made it look as though someone had spread out picnic blankets all over the mountain side. We accidentally stumbled across the tourists at the local waterfalls so we escaped quickly and managed to find a motorcycle museum for Robert to enjoy. That night we had dinner at a local bar and tried the serrano ham and local cheese. Yum!

Thursday it was overcast and humid. By the afternoon it was really raining. We took a walk up hill and took in the view over Moraira. After lunch we headed off into the hills again and found another castle and old stuff to look at. The rain held off mostly but as you can see from the rather moody picture on flickr, it certainly made for a different sort of landscape.
That night we had trouble deciding what to eat and ended up at the only Indian restaurant in town. I was amazed at the language skills of the staff. They all spoke English, Spanish and German. I guess they really know how to cater to their clientel.

Friday Robert woke up feeling like he'd been hit by a bus. I think someone ate too much... We headed off to Valencia in the rain but our hearts just weren't in it. Still, we managed to see the cathedral, the central market and lots of old and extremely new buildings. Then of course there was more traffic to encounter as we found ourselves in a jam leading up to an accident. The good thing the signs on the motorways are so helpful. For our last night in spain we settled for some tapas variadas and an early night. Sad I know, but neither of us were very well.

Saturday morning we checked out and headed down the coast to Alicante again. We had more tapas variadas for lunch and then found yet another castle. You'd think we'd be sick of them by now, but no, we just love the old things. Robert has uploaded some photos as well. Our plane trip home, while delayed, was again uneventful and we got picked up in a mini-cab by a very talkative driver. I never thought I'd be so happy to get back to London :-)

Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to London

2006-10-08T18:47:00.000+01:00

It's a quote from a t-shirt I saw in Leichester Square the other day as I was walking through. I guess that must make me bad?

You may have wondered why I haven't posted for a while. Well, let's just say I've been a little too self-obsessed to be able to focus on anything other than getting through the day. Anxiety-wise things are beginning to settle down. Irrational thoughts still have the power to send me spiralling, but I'm finally learning the value of changing my thoughts after all those years of counselling.

We've been living the London life lately. People staying on the lounge room floor (Robert's parents), waking up when it's still dark, suffering when the transport system comes unstuck, and learning how to shop when every other person and their pram is also trying to shop. The weather is definitely cooler and the need to find clothes to wear in Winter is becoming more of a priority. I think i'm pretty much sorted now. I bought some new boots, suit, skirt and a couple of tops (not to wear all together of course). I just have to put on the weight I lost worrying myself sick so that my black pants fit better again. I think I might need a trench coat however, preferably one that is shower proof to wear when it's wet and windy. Fashion tip for the next Sydney winter - grey.

We've been socialising a bit more and meeting new people. Last night we went to a party thanks to an invitation via Lorraine. The previous weekend we met up with Robert's friend from Melbourne and discovered the delights of the bars and pubs of Fulham Broadway. We even managed to find some live music - amazing what you'll find when you are desperate to go to the toilet.

Work has been going well. We were all sent on a Presentation Skill course for 2 days last week which was actually rather enjoyable. It was nice to be told that you have good skills in that area, even without much formal training. Maybe I did pick something up when I did that Toast Master's course back in high school afterall.

Robert is about to change jobs. His contract with Abbey Bank has been ended after a management directive to lose contractors. The good thing is that he was offered another job at about the same time so we'll head off to Spain and when we come back in early November, he'll start his new job. The new job is with a company called Euroclear - another financial-type institution from Belgium. Not sure if he'll need to ever go there, but at least it's not far to go if he does.

We've been feeling the desire to buy Kitchen things at the moment. Aside from the fact that we just bought Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook, Robert had to go out an buy a new knife as the ones that came with the unit are not as professional as he would like. I guess it's better to have a knife that works than one that you are at risk of cutting your finger off with every time you use it. I've also started to miss all the other things we don't have. We can't bake a cake or make muffins as we don't have any baking tins and we don't have a mixer. This is why I think we need to try and think like temporary tourists again. Think more about travel and less about making a home. Otherwise we'll end up with all the stuff that we already have back in Sydney, and that's just silly!

I'm making good progress on the knitting. I've started making a vest after finishing the little red bag. The little red bag is very little indeed. It will be a cute going out bag when you only need a mobile phone and a credit card but it isn't going to be very useful on a day to day basis. I'm also thinking of using the black wool I bought to make the socks to make a scarf instead. I'm not sure the socks will be very comfortable - they will probably fall down and might be a bit too uneven with the pattern to work well with shoes. Not sure. I'll have to see if I can find a pattern I like - perhaps something crocheted.

Now it's time for dinner. Even after all that Yum Cha, i'm still Hungry!!

Brussel Sprouts

2006-09-24T22:17:00.000+01:00

Mannekin Pis
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.

At least that's what everyone said when I said I was going to Brussels last weekend....

So we've established that the Mannekin Pis is the national symbol of Belgium, that they like their beer and they make some fabulous chocolate, but the question is, is Brussels worth going to given it's bad reputation. Well, I have to say that it is. It's a reasonably attractive European city. It has everything we like - old buildings, museums, good food and a public transport system that works. We took the Eurostar - the easy alternative to flying. Our five star hotel was very pleasant although we seemed to be in the street with all the strip clubs (this also happened when we went to Vienna) and we were all the way down one end of the hotel where the hall way narrowed to half the normal width. Obviously it was the special room reserved for people who booked on lastminute.com. Even though it was quite late, Robert and I went out to find some food. Robert got stuck into trying the beer immediately and had a burger with fries. I just had the chocolate sundae (no, we weren't at McDonalds). Fries are served with mayonnaise in Belgium. An interesting alternative.

We paid the ridiculous amount of money for breakfast in the hotel (all I had was a bowl of rice bubbles and a cup of coffee - oh and I did take a little tub of nutella for later). Then we headed out into the city. Robert was armed with his new Sat Nav and I had the old analogue version. We then played duelling maps for the rest of the day. First we explored the Comic Museum. This was quite interesting - lots of information about TinTin and the evolution of Belgium comic creators throughout the years. Not everything was translated into English but it was still very interesting. Then we found the Square of Martyrs - deserted now but used to be the place to live back 200 years ago. Then we went off to the Grand Place via the Royal Galleries. There seemed to be so many amazing shops with expensive looking handbags and shoes. I didn't dare go into any. There was a chocolate shop on every corner and art deco styling everywhere.

For lunch we just grabbed a quiche and a drink with the intention of going to the chocolate museum but that turned out to be closed - it was only open on Mondays! Still, we then made our way to the Mannekin Pis, had a drink at a pub and then had to make an emergency dash back to the hotel to get Robert some pain killers. He'd been suffering from a toothache and it suddenly got worse. We tried to find a dentist but everything was closed so we just settled for neurofen and a lie down. After a little nap, we went out for dinner to Restaurant Vincent. It was a predominantly seafood restuarant and the waiters even cook food in the middle of the restaurant. The walls, floors and ceiling were all tiled and as you can imagine the noise level was quite high. We struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to us - all the tables being so close together - they were from America and happened to have a house in Portugal. The lady was carrying her little dog around in a bag with her... it was all very Paris Hilton 20 years on. Back at the hotel we had a drink in the bar and starting talking to a Spanish guy who was living and working in Brussels as a translator. A rather interesting night.

Sunday was Folk Festival day and all the streets had been closed to cars plus public transport was free. We went to the Museum of Muscial Instruments which was in another art deco style building. It was an interesting approach to be given headphones which played pieces of music for the different instruments in a particular display. You stood on a number on the floor and the appropriate piece of music would be played. No words, just music. A rather relaxing way to spend a morning.

After lunch we walked up to check out the Palace. We couldn't go in as it was only open to the public until the beginning of September. So we decided to try out the underground system and go to the Autoworld. We walked through the Parc du Cinqentarie, through the big arch and spent the afternoon looking at cars. We then went back to pick up our bags from the hotel and then to the station to catch the Eurostar back to London. Unfortunately Robert was still in pain as we'd run out of Neurofen so the trip home was not as pleasant. Still, we managed to get home in the end.

It is now a whole week since we went to Brussels and it has been one of the longest weeks I've had since we got here. One of our friends said that it was the 4 month blues. My anxiety levels have been through the roof but I think I'm getting better now. As a result I've been rather unmotivated to write anything. I've been so bad that i'm still in possession of all the chocolates that we bought in Brussels!!

I'm hoping this week will be better. Robert's parents are now arrived safely from Singapore as of Saturday night and we'll be playing host to them until the end of the week.

Before I go I just want to say a Happy Birthday to all the people I know who have Birthday's in September - Mummy, Astrid, Christina and Philippa!!

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

2006-09-10T21:18:00.000+01:00

Today we took part in an annual motorcycling event run by the Ace Cafe. The Ace Cafe is an institution in London that attracts motorcycling enthusiasts from all over the world. Every year they have a huge ride to Brighton and take over the beach front with stalls and motorcycles. We made our way up to the Cafe for 10am and found thousands of bikes ready for the big ride. We took off pretty much immediately and headed off down the motorways. People lined the side of the roads and stood on the bridges over the road to wave and cheer. It was sort of cool and very very loud. We tended to create traffic jams where ever we were. With so many bikes in the one place, plus the usual Brighton crowd, plus the fact that it was a beautiful day, it was a little busy.

Brighton was not as nice as I expected. It actually seemed a little shabby. There was a distinct lack of greenery and lots of very white buildings which would make the place quite oppressive in summer. Perhaps we were in the wrong area, but it was definitely down market. The beach has no sand, although the council had shipped in a bit to keep the kids happy. The sea was blue and sparkling and there were lots of little sailing ships on the water. The Fun Park on the Pier was also in full swing. We got some fish and chips, wandered along the water front and then decided that it was too hot and crowded and we'd be better off heading home. We drove along the coast for a bit and saw some white cliffs and possibly the more salubrious areas of Brighton - the houses were whiter, and the cars were more expensive. Golf and kite flying seemed to be the sport of the day.

After tracking down a toilet we headed for home. Robert set the Satellite Navigation system to take us home without the motorway (Robert's latest toy purchase, the Tom Tom Rider is specially designed to be mounted to a motorbike, is waterproof and has a special helmet insert so you can hear the instructions. Of course, you can use it in the car too!). Now we're completely exhausted. I think we'd better have a quiet week or our weekend in Brussels at the 5 star hotel will be spent in bed sleeping.

Oh, and I forgot to mention a couple of things. I got on my bicycle for the first time last Sunday. The weather was improving and so we went on a ride around Chelsea and Battersea. That's where those photos came from on Flickr. Also, yesterday we went to the Wimbledon Farmer's market. We bought lots of cheese (including buffalo), tasty non-wheat bread, organic vegies, pork, lamb and bacon. Looking forward to the difference that all this organic stuff is meant to make to the taste of things. If nothing else we can feel good for buying from the small producers rather than the big retailers.

After a weekend of almost perfect weather, I just hope we get more of it for a few more weeks yet. At the moment it seems that summer is back for a little while.

Promenading

2006-09-09T22:35:00.000+01:00

I made the exciting discovery today that it was in fact the last night of the BBC Proms. The Proms was always something that I used to watch when I was young and really had no idea what it was all about until I just read about it on the web. Turns out that it's a long standing tradition dating back to 1894. Originally it was one man's desire to educate and make music more accessible to the general public. By offering cheaper tickets to stand in the "Promenade" area of the hall, more people were able to come and listen. As the years wore on, it was taken over by the BBC and is now even available on your mobile phone.

I bought us two tickets to go to the Proms in the Park. We managed to make our way there and find a small spot on the grass with the hundreds of other people in Hyde Park. It was a very civilised crowd drinking Pimms and Champagne. We listened to all sorts of music until we got too cold to go on. We didn't count on it being as cold as it was. So we had to leave and go home early. I'm now sitting in the warmth of my lounge room watching the end of it on the TV. Shame really, but we get a better view of all the different concerts from here. I feel happy to have been part of the tradition if only for a little while.

Since we sent Juliet back to Sydney last Saturday we've been taking it a little quieter. We've booked ourselves a trip to Brussels for a weekend of 5 star luxury and a trip on the Eurostar. I'll let you know next week if there is anything else to do there except drink beer (as I've heard many people complain). We went to see some Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre on Wednesday. We went to see Titus Andronicus. I had no idea about the story but it turned out to be a rather violent tale of murder and revenge. It was very well done - lots of fake blood and suitably traumatised victims of violence. Wednesday was rather hot (the last hurrah of Summer) and with all the heat and the blood on stage there were quite a few females fainting in the audience. We were on the top teir and so had a great view of those dropping like flies. It provided an amusing distraction from the rather serious happenings on stage. A word of warning - if you are intending to go to the Globe theatre, prepare to be uncomfortable, hire a cushion and be happy that the play is entertaining enough to take your mind off the tiny hard benches that they have. I know this is all in the name of authenticity, but I do wander how some people cope (in fact a lot of the theatres in London are made for legless dwarves...).

Tomorrow we're off on a motorcycle adventure to Brighton with a whole lot of other motorcycles. No doubt tomorrow we'll be really hot after being really cold tonight.... nevermind. I'll let you know how that goes.

(Oh, and I've finished my scarf, but it's too short! I'm going to have to add some more length I think.)

Welcome to Britain, please join the queue

2006-09-02T21:22:00.000+01:00

While it isn't exactly most people's idea of a day trip, we did in fact go to Heathrow Terminal 3 for an afternoon of queuing. Yes, we took Juliet out to Heathrow and put her on her long journey back home to Sydney. We booked a hire car to take us all out to Heathrow so we didn't have to lug her heavy bags (full of all those shoes she bought in Paris!) on public transport. That was the easy bit. First we had to queue for check-in. The new hand luggage restrictions mean that you can take less into the cabin but you can put more in the hold. So no one seemed to raise an eyebrow when her 2 bags weighed 30kg together. Unless of course Royal Brunei airlines have a higher baggage limit in the first place. Who knows. We spent about 45 minutes in the check-in queue, but our next challenge was the security line. We joined it at what felt like 500m from the entrance and spent another hour waiting in line. Poor Juliet was a little concerned that she wouldn't make it to her gate in time but we assured her that everything would be fine. We had time to inspect the list of things not allowed in hand luggage as we waited. Juliet had to give up her lip balm and her toothpaste, but was able to keep her Neurofen and her organic oregano from Croatia. As we got within viewing distance of the security check area, she was called to the front of the line so she wouldn't miss her boarding call. We said our tearful goodbyes and we escaped to the tube. I guess it provides us with useful experience for our trip to Spain at the end of October.

The Boy of Pye Corner

2006-09-02T21:15:00.000+01:00

The Golden Boy of Pye Corner
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.

On Monday, the bank holiday with seemingly no reason to be, we went on another walking tour. This time we went to follow the trail of the Great Fire of London. We started off at Monument station. The monument was designed by Sir Christopher Wren to commemorate the fire in 1666 which burnt for 3 days cosuming more than 13,000 houses and devastating 436 acres of the city. The monument is 202ft tall and can be climbed for a small fee. We didn't climb it as we were feeling a little hungry and wanted to find somewhere to eat first. We saw Pudding Lane which housed the bakers shop in which the fire started. We also saw lots of little plaques on walls saying where old buildings used to be before the fire destroyed them. It was rather strange to walk around as there are so many office buildings in that area making it rather difficult to imagine how it used to be. Many of the churches and old buildings were rebuilt, while other places were demolished and replaced. Some of the buildings took elements of the old as part of the new. One thing I never knew was the fact that they blamed gluttony and sometimes the papists for the fire - at least that's what the little boy at pye corner was meant to represent:

"The Boy at Pye Corner was erected to commemorate the staying of the great fire which beginning at Pudding lane was ascribed to the sin of gluttony when not attributed to the papists as on the monument and the boy was made prodigiously fat to enforce the moral he was originally built into the front of a public house called 'The Fortune of War' which used to occupy this site and was pulled down in 1910. The 'Fortune of War' was the chief house of call north of the river for resurrectionists in body snatching days. Years ago the landlord used to show the room where on benches round the walls the bodies where placed labelled with the snatchers' names waiting till the surgeons at St Bartholomew's could run round and appraise them."

The grammar is a little troubled, but I think it makes some sort of sense. We left Juliet to check out the Notting Hill festival with another friend and we escaped home. I wasn't terribly interested in being caught up in the crush of hundreds of thousands of people all trying to fit in to the one place.

We sent Juliet off to Paris on Tuesday for a couple of days. Personally I think she just wanted to get away from me in my bad mood ;-).

The land where time begins

2006-09-02T21:13:00.000+01:00

Juliet and Elisabeth
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.

Yes, on the last Sunday of Summer Juliet, Robert and I decided to take a trip to Greenwich. Greenwich has attractions for both boys (ships, big telescopes and cool scientific stuff) and girls (pretty gardens, historical things and nice buildings). We went for a ride on the Docklands Light Rail for the first time which was a little like a roller coaster. As it was almost lunch time we found the pub called The Cutty Sark which was recommended in one of our walking tours of London books. We all had the Sunday Roast which was quite good and we watched the ships float by on the Thames. Then we walked into Greenwich park to see what there was to see. We found one tree hill then some roman ruins (which looked like a few bricks someone had left lying in the grass). We referred to our tour information and discovered that there was an old Oak tree which was known as the Queen Elizabeth's Oak. Ok, so old wasn't how they described it:

"This ancient tree known as Queen Elizabeth's Oak is thought to have been planted in the 12th Century and it has been hollow for many hundreds of years. It has traditions linking it with Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry VIII and his Queen Anne Boleyn, it may also have been a lock-up for offenders against park rules. It died in the late 19th Century and a strong growth of Ivy supported it until it collapsed in June 1991."

A new English Oak has been planted alongside the oak by Prince Phillip.

Then we moved on to the Observatory and the Prime Meridian itself. We piled into the grounds of the observatory with the rest of the tourists, took the appropriate pictures, checked out the exhibitions and tried not to spend too much money in the gift shop. I just liked taking pictures from up on the hill, especially when the sun came out. By this stage we'd had enough and headed back through the park taking pictures of the pretty buildings and the Cutty Sark. We subjected ourselves to the Indian Restaurants of Brick Lane. Juliet wanted to have a curry before she left London. We got sucked in by the second person - 30% off and a free round of drinks - and the meal wasn't too bad although the entrees had the smallest little lamb chops I've ever seen. We tried to check out the rest of Brick Lane but decided to abandon that idea when we kept being asked if we wanted another meal. We went home feeling tired but full.