August 2018 – slightly weird

25th August 201826th August 2018

Pain! And Paddington

Saturday, 25 August, 2018

Wednesday we went to see my aunt in Leigh-on-Sea. She’d asked me to be sure to check with her first: ‘Would be pleased if you can confirm this with me some time beforehand. At my age, one is never sure one will still be around.’ I confirmed…and she was! Fish and chips lunch accomplished, flowers distributed, birthday cake deposited in the fridge – we were too full to eat it!

On the way home all was well until I got up from my seat and had to struggle to get off the train (such pain in my legs and almost impossible to bear weight), down a lot of stairs, along a long corridor, turned back at the next stairs, back halfway along the long corridor and up another flight of stairs, into the train, and a slow limp home. My hips seem to have seized up – never happened before. Hobbled my way through the rest of the evening, very painful. Ugh.

Thursday I decided to just relax, do some stretches, apply heat, and not venture anywhere. Stretching was a shock. One leg moved more than a foot away from my body, the more painful side only a few inches! However, this plan seemed to work since by evening I was walking fairly well again. And my day on the couch meant I did a lot of organising for going away. Yay!

Friday I’d arranged to meet a friend from Wyandotte, Michigan (near Detroit). She’s part of an email group I joined about twenty years ago. The group was an offshoot of a Coronation Street newsgroup back before the internet looked so pretty. We’ve all met over the years and now Kate was in the UK doing her annual Doc Martin fan trip in the Somerset area. I’d booked afternoon tea at The Hilton Paddington so she could easily bring her cases in on her way to Heathrow to go home.

And I was good to go! Walking easily too, but took some pills just in case. I’d read online about a great new transport app called City Mapper so installed it and explored. The app shows every single transport method in the area to get wherever you’re going. This includes public transport, Uber, bike stations…and I noticed a little green icon I’d never seen before. Looking further it was a new ride sharing system under the TFL network, Smart Ride. One of their stops was just across at the Little Local. To get to Paddington, I’d be sharing with up to seven more people, it would take an hour and my first fare would be a discounted £4 (usually £9). To compare this – if I were paying full fare on public transport, it would cost £4.90, and by mini cab £26. Deal!

I could track my ride, which arrived on time, a Mercedes Benz minivan and I was and remained the only passenger all the way. Comfortable, quiet, competent – yes! I love it. Duly shared with friends and maybe I’ll get some referral money.

I do not like Paddington station. It’s my least favourite. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the layout but it has a lot to do with how unsavoury I think this part of town is. If I were just arriving for the first time to London from Heathrow, I’d be more than a bit disheartened at my first view of this city. Continue reading “Pain! And Paddington”

21st August 20182nd September 2018

Liat’s visit

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

Liat came to stay for about ten days. We looked about a bit other than our visit to the Tate Modern.

Not so many years since I could see the Gherkin on this skyline

What looks like a sponsored ad disguised as Street Art, Hanbury Street

16th August 201825th August 2018

Art at the Tate Modern

Thursday, 16 August, 2018

Liat has a friend at the Tate Modern and she can get us free entry to exhibits. Now, I’ve been inside the museum many times but mainly because the Turbine Hall is spectacular. (Hate that it’s now divided up by a newer middle bridge section. The view was so stellar before that.)

The Turbine Hall in numbers:
Height from ground level: 26m (85ft).
Size of area where works of art can be shown: 3,300 m2 (35,520 sq ft).
Length: 155m (500 ft), width: 23 m (75 ft), height: 35 m (115 ft).
Roof light consists of 524 glass panes.
Total area of basements under Turbine Hall, boiler house and sub-station: approx 1.1 hectares (2.75 acres), with an average depth: 8.5 m (28 ft).

I’ve never been into an exhibit and there are two at the moment.

One is Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy (just that year!). The other is Shape of Light, an exhibit of 100 Years of Photography & Abstract Act (it mostly shows how artists have worked with light – and subsequently shadow.

I don’t really like Picasso. So many millions disagree with me, therefore I must be missing the point. But taste is taste. Mine doesn’t lean to Picasso. I won’t say much more but I’ll caption some photos from the exhibit for you to ponder.

Ok Picasso, whatever! — OK Picasso, whatever!

What they say every man has on his mind? Well, at least Picasso... — What they say every man has on his mind? Well, at least Picasso…

Um... sex while desexualising...anyway, sex — Um… sex while desexualising…anyway, sex

And my one liked piece in the whole show. Notice the lack of sex?

Oddly, I quite like this. Reminds me of Robin's cartoons as a child — Oddly, I quite like this. Reminds me of Robin’s cartoons as a child

Messaged Robin immediately to tell him to get started on his own Picasso career!

Oh, we women love lounging around admiring each naked other

Inspired by crucifixion, he said. OK then — Inspired by Matthias Grunewald’s Crucifixion, he said. OK then

A few words on the next two pieces. The program reads, ‘Picasso turned to a new and darker subject matter: the threat of drowning, and the possibility of rescue.’ This happened after his lover got a viral infection after swimming in contaminated water. ‘This is suggested by some of the works on paper in which fatal accident is transformed into sexual violence.’ What? This might lend a clue: ‘Some biographers have argued that, since the childhood death of his younger sister…Picasso felt doomed to cause women to suffer.’ Do I need to say more? Maybe. Maybe not. Not now, anyway. Sorry, Picasso, you’re not for me.

Continue reading “Art at the Tate Modern”

9th August 2018

More about the tree and the traffic island

Thursday, 9 August, 2018

I last wrote about the tree and traffic island a couple of weeks ago.

**One of the markers kept getting sideswiped**

**Then on 26 July the work finally started**

**So the new markers are up but the beacon was never replaced**

And the tree. We were quite delighted with the new growth, to be honest. Everything looked great and then we noticed the bark cracking and falling off. Shortly after that the leaves started to get very white. Some leaves are completely white now and some have withered and falling off. We think perhaps the tools transmitted a tree disease. So after hundreds of years, the tree may have met its end. If so, tragic!

5th August 201811th August 2018

A funeral, a birthday, and a bar mitzvah

July, 2018 various dates

I introduced you to my friend Julie not so long ago. Follow this – I have a friend Alistair, who I met back in the heady Usenet days. We became friends in real life. Through him, I met his mum, Juliet – she also became my friend. And then I met his wife, Julie – she’s from Montreal and lives in Suffolk so I don’t see her very often. Now, Juliet has recently had some health problems and was in and out of the hospital for a while so I messaged Al to ask how she was.

He responded saying that he was more worried about Julie than he was his mum. Julie’s son from a previous marriage had suddenly died. My heart really sank. Julie and I had chatted about her son, Olly, during her last visit. I was surprised to hear that he had similar mental health issues as (my son) Robin – both in their thirties. That Olly had died just hit me as if it had happened to me. I know better than anyone how difficult it is worrying about a child (no matter how old) when things are tough for them.

We got a bit of the lowdown from Al, when he came to visit a week or so later. To be honest, the story upset me enough that I won’t repeat it. I will say that Olly had had physical issues and that Al was the person to find him when Julie couldn’t reach him by phone. Tragic.

Krish’s birthday was on 10 July. It was also the day of Olly’s funeral. Krish let me know that he would come with me to support Julie and I was grateful for that.

We left from London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells, about an hour Southeast of London.

**The Shard behind London Bridge Station**

It seems that Oliver had joined the Mormon church, where he was admired and had many friends. This really softened the story for me. I was happy to hear that he’d found acceptance and happiness with this group. It made for a rather sombre service, though. There was one very nice tradition. After the eulogies, we were invited to come up and sign the coffin with messages for Olly. I hadn’t met him so I didn’t do this but I found it touching.

After that service we left for the crematorium, where there was another service. What was nice was the beautiful gardens surrounding the crematorium, so Krish and I sat and enjoyed it for a while.

**At the Mormon church where the service was held**

A rather predictable spread followed at the pub by the station and then it was home time!

I’d planned a birthday party for Krish and waited until his birthday to tell him about it. He was quite pleased. And then this very hot summer continued, making the preparations and shopping seem like crazy tasks!

Al and his son, James, came at first. They had been promised the football world cup final and so we sat and munched on snacks and tried not to sweat too much. Al left a little before James and, as James was leaving, Krish’s friend Mark arrived, followed an hour later by another friend, Rosie. And more snacks. The party had started at 3pm and we were finally done at 10pm. It all worked out very well! I hope the next party is in cooler weather!

Continue reading “A funeral, a birthday, and a bar mitzvah”