Monday 11 December, 2017
It’s dark before 4pm these days. That seems so early. I can totally understand why there are so many festivals that involve light and fire. I’ve gathered my Christmas lights, placed some strategically, bought the smelly candles, and hunting down the elusive Chanukah candles. (This is getting harder so I think I’ll buy two boxes!) Strange they should be so hard to find in a heavier than average Jewish environment.
At any rate, the living room is slowly taking on a Chistmassy look. It’s a bit of a jumble at the moment but eventually a bit more effort will snap things into shape.
I’m also whimsical about my Christmas – Chanukah mix. I have one ancestor who converted to Judaism and I wonder if it was Mary Ann who snuck the traditions in, or was it merely adaptation across the years after all the various branches migrated to the UK.
One day last week we went out to Angel. It’s a zone 1 area just north of central and just a 20 minute bus ride away from Hackney. Angel retains its independent nature, despite all the chains and franchises that have stealthily crept in. There are lovely churches and greens, a wide high street, a fancier stretch of restaurant after restaurant, three cinemas – two indy – and some mews areas. Soon a new mall will open and it will be interesting to see how this might change the way it looks and operates.
The mews area of Camden Passage has a lot of little shops and cafes. Like most similar places, the prices are a bit steep here. This year it’s not looking as seasonally attractive as other years and the grey weather doesn’t help. I’ll go back after dark when the lights will cheer things up. Meanwhile I did enjoy looking at the windows but didn’t venture inside anywhere.
I also like the signs. I’m a big fan of ghost signs, the ghosts of the past that are still maintained. I’ve seen these in every city I have been in and they all have the same effect – grandeur, nostalgia….
Last week I included in a grocery order a pack of corn tortillas from the chain restaurant, Wahaca. Corn tortillas are hard to find in London, and I’ve not yet sourced masa harina to make my own. Wahaca is a passable Mexican chain here, although doesn’t compare to the Californian, nor the Toronto offerings. Wahaca’s tacos aren’t too bad so the tortillas, I thought, would do.
When I first opened the package I knew they weren’t so great. I couldn’t smell that wonderful fragrant corn smell. The package said that over a third of the tortilla was corn, the rest wheat flour. I wouldn’t have known. And each tortilla is small, the usual puny London size. I must ask my brother to measure one for me so I can tell if this is true.
Still, I moved on. I was making chicken enchiladas and two fish tacos – I upped the amount by one because they were so small. Verdict: my memory for the recipes (especially the ubiquitous – in California – enchilada sauce) didn’t fail me, the food was OK – adapted for the London grocery selection. For us it was fine and different – novel after all this time – but I’d not have been comfortable serving it to people who know what it should be like. Experimentation ahead!
I woke up on Saturday morning and followed my usual routine. Turned the heat up. Turned on a lamp in the living room. Opened the curtains. Trailed into the kitchen to boil water for tea. It was dark outside. It’s amost 8am before the sun rises. I went back into the kitchen to make my tea and turned around to go back to the living room. And there it was! Snow!
Snow is rare in London. In Toronto, I’m still excited by the first snow but after that, barring a heavy blizzard, I don’t pay it much mind. The snow is normal, it usually sticks and some time in the Spring, as late as early April, it starts to melt. Meanwhile, it’s a pristine snow, grey slush cycle. It gets piled against the curbs and on corners when that becomes too much. Everyone shovels and salts. Clothes and boots get ruined. Back streets become undriveable but beautiful and serene. And life goes on.
Here in London, unused to any quantity of snow, things slow down, may crawl, may completely stop. Recently there’s been a move to gritting and even salting after any fall. Saturday the snow was lovely. Not too heavy but continuing to fall, hopefully to settle for a while. I had planned an outing but decided not to go in case the trains couldn’t manage the snowy tracks or the signals froze. In Toronto, even a blizzard wouldn’t have stopped me.
This morning, it’s been raining. The snow is gone.