A good night’s sleep and the next day a slow morning. There’s something nice about going somewhere for longer than the usual week or two. There’s no need to rush to do anything. There’s plenty of time if you don’t get too lazy and this time I actually plan to be quite lazy and have some days of rest. Today seemed like a good day to do this. However, I do have to eat and eating is something that’s central to my life and travel. So…off to the market – briefly.
I now like the farmers’ market far more than the bigger market in the square. We mostly looked around to see what was being sold. Italians like to sell only what they produce themselves and this means everything is seasonal. At the beginning of September, the food looks a bit different than last year’s mid-September arrival. I bought a lettuce and some tomatoes.
The Farmers’ Market at Porta Palazzo
In the Mercato Orologio, we bought a pizzetta. Then we wandered a bit.
The big market at Porta Palazzo. I thought it would be fun to contrast this to last week’s photo of a pepper seller in Ridley RoadWandering through the Galleria. It’s been cleaned up and there are some outlets nowWe were amused AND horrified to see ‘Burger Store’ in the Piazza RepubblicaWe ordered an insalatina di polpo to go (osporto) and watched the pizza making skills in Rondini
Definitely time for a nap! It was just like the hot summer in London. Afternoon sleeps were normal and pleasant. We talked about going out for dinner but in the end we ran to the Carrefour, went to fill some bottles at the fountain and dined on package ravioli! A television night.
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.
Inside the Smart ride minivan
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”
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 StationOpposite Tunbridge Wells 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 heldThe garden at the crematorium
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!
The summer has continued very hot, sometimes with very little breeze. It’s hard to do much and people outside are quick-tempered and slow-moving. London in the heat isn’t a pretty thing.
I’ve stayed indoors as much as I can. And I decided to buy myself a Sindy doll. I really want one from the 60s, when I would have had my first one, but they are scarce and expensive. I got one from the 80s instead. She’s called Bunches. Her clothing is very flimsy but I made her a crinoline petticoat so that her skirt would fill out. I’m not convinced it looks right but it will do for now. I’ll keep my eyes out for another.
Sindy – BunchesThe grass has turned to gold and I wish I had a garden. Out back.
My friend, Susanne, and I used to meet quite often. We met through DigitalEve UK. She was feisty and interesting and had come to London from Austria. When her work contracted ended she had a lot of trouble finding something new. So I mentioned eModeration to her, as a stopgap, where she could find a job from home using her German. She’s gone from strength to strength and now works fulltime for them. So it’s much harder to pin her down for a meeting.
But we made it! I sent Susanne, a fellow foodie, a list of ‘hot’ restaurants and she chose The Smoking Goat Bar on Redchurch Street. Susanne is familiar with Northern Thai food so was game to try the new place. My review:
I got there to a quiet restaurant and asked to be sat near the back, where it seemed quieter. Back here there are low stools rather than chairs. There’s a good view of the bar area, where barbecuing takes place. By the time we left it was heaving with people.
We were recommended four sharing dishes so we deliberated. Here’s what we had:
Barbecue Tamworth Skewer – 1 each. This is marinated belly pork alternated with some of its fat and barbecued on skewers
Gai Yang Chicken with Sriracha – This had an extraordinary sour and spicy flavour that surprised me. I would have this again, while from the menu it hadn’t sounded interesting at all (friend’s choice)
Smoked Aubergine with Egg & Chill – an intensely smoky whole small aubergine with a lovely runny poached egg and some lovely herbs
Northern Thai Style Mutton Laab – this was a bit salty but delicious. It was strewn with herbs and chili. Spicy!
Stir Fried Cornish Greens & Soy – our nod to vegetables. Nicely done!
Lardo Fried Rice – I chose it since it’s described in reviews as ‘A must-have.’ So we had to have it! The rice was greasy in a good way and studded with green chillies, crispy lardo and some egg. I did really like it but now I’ve had it, I’ve had it and would move on to a plain jasmine rice, which I hear is bottomless.
I’d go again! (And the price was a nice surprise!)
Maybe one day we will buy a new couch but so far every attempt has failed. The couch is either too short, too long, too uncomfortable, too expensive… There have been five failed tries – the Ikea couch was too big, so too was the couch at Sofa Workshop, one that was advertised online was too short, the couch at a floor model sale wasn’t comfortable enough, and the Conran couch wasn’t sturdy enough. So I’m stuck with a couch that I can’t stretch out on and that sags in the middle. We think an interim step we can live with is to replace the foam inside the cushions. Soon! We did need to make two visits to Westfield, though.
The prosecco truck at Westfield, StratfordTake a photo, Krish the Lego fan demandedNachos at lunch, Giraffe. Brits aren’t so good at themNot sure they quite understand ‘tacos’ either
