I went to the doctor early in the morning. Doctor appointments in London are ten minutes long. It’s very short. Today I pushed my luck and got a few extra minutes. My original plan was to get some referrals to other areas but suddenly at the end of last week I got a very itchy rash over my whole trunk and one arm. I looked like I had measles. The doctor told me that the rash was a usual thing after a bad cold or cough and gave me antihistamine pills and ointment. Instant relief! The rash is still there but fading slightly. I’m a hypochondriac. I had ‘given myself’ several serious illnesses before this benign diagnosis.
Around by the clinic, there are some brick-cobbled streets filled with terraced cottages. I would love to see inside them. I have a romantic dream of having one become available to me…somehow. The cottages were built in 1881, 1882, and 1884. How do I know? It says so! (Hmm, are there some from 1883?)
Just around the corner from the doctor and through the rows of cottages is a lovely little coffee shop, Mouse and da Lotz. I somehow imagine this being the names of two Australians having an adventure in London! Don’t ask me why. They make lovely coffee!
A great coffee with white chocolate and raspberry loafMouse and da Lotz counter
There are still quiet hours at home. And time to make another doll!
Sunny day for the robots and the unfinished naked dollA saucy doll with some detail to show the bloomers!
Buy chocolates – a gift from my Marks and Spencer rewards point plan, so free
Have a cocktail, something delicious, somewhere relaxing
Have dinner out – decided on Shikumen (we had a coupon)
Eat cake
None of my birthday wishes worked properly! First the chocolates couldn’t be bought – trouble with the coupon I had. Then i decided the antihistamine i was taking (for a post viral rash) was making me very groggy so I decided against alcohol of any kind. Then Shikumen didn’t have the one dish on the menu that was my absolute favourite and I was forced to choose something brand new that wasn’t nearly as good. And we didn’t get the cake since the evening went flat at that point.
It wasn’t the happy birthday i’d planned.
I’ll survive and extend the celebrations until the end of the week so i can fit some good things in. But I did take a few photos.
We weren’t sure what this tree was all about – on Bishopsgate
Two photos showing the changing face of The City. Note the curve on the firstI really like this little closed street off Bishopsgate, with a tiny peek of the Gherkin. Must take a photo from insideThe contrasts around the Gherkin make me smileThere’s always some odd art establishment around the GherkinChicken Sha Cha at Shikumen – the substitute dish that didn’t come close to my favourite
There are some happy after-notes, though. Marks and Spencer were so sorry I couldn’t get the chocolates on my birthday that they sent me a e-coupon big enough for chocolates and cake. Hawksmoor are extending their half price offer so I’ll go back. Tom wants to take me to dinner on Wednesday. I picked up ingredients to make aperol spritzes today or tomorrow. Juliet bought me a cornflake cake with some tea on Thursday. Yay!
London has a very moderate climate. In the summer there may be a short burst of heat that’s surprising and stifling. There’s no air conditioning, indoors is as oppressive as outside, and things seem a bit surreal. The winters are mild, rarely reaching zero, and a few flakes of snow are magical, even if they don’t amount to anything.
For a few years the papers have promised ‘the worst winter ever’ – more empty promises. However, this Wednesday I woke up to a real blanket of snow. They had been calling it the Beast from the East. Beast? Well, it was definitely more than a few flakes but by Toronto standards this was slightly more than kittenish. However, the snow did keep falling, traffic was barely moving, trains didn’t run, airports were closed or chaotic – it was a Snow Day in London.
The Canadians in UK and London on Facebook had a great time making fun of the British, although they did appreciate that this country has nothing in place to deal with what would be considered quite ordinary in Canada.
It was all a good bit of fun.
I started my Bump Buddies mentor course on that first Snow Day. It was crazy getting to the place. The classroom was freezing and many of the attendees brought their children, whose schools were closed. The course is OK. Those two days we did soft subjects – Listening and Communications Skills, and Choices and Values. We start at 10am and work till noon, at which time lunch arrives. After lunch we work again until 2:30pm and then go home.
Most Londoners weren’t dressed for the weatherOur healthy vegetarian lunch at Bump Buddies training
On Wednesday night I had reserved a table at Hawksmoor Spitalfields. It was a bitter evening and, after a day at the training, I was tempted to call it off. But we bundled up and carried on.
I’ve wanted to eat there for some time but the prices are high and I’m not really into steak houses. However, Hawksmoor was having a soft launch period after renovating – Fifty percent off and I was lucky to get in under the wire. We had great service and the food was fantastic.
We chose three starters – Potted beef & bacon with Yorkshires & onion gravy, Bone marrow with onions, and Ash-baked beetroot with pickled fennel, horseradish & hazelnuts. I absolutely loved the potted beef option and could have this by itself for lunch easily! The marrow was very nice with the onions being a nice sweet contrast to the savoury, creamy marrow. The beetroot was lovely, so refreshing and like the one I’d had at Blacklock last year.
Starters at Hawksmoor – I’d go back at full price
We shared one main – Herb fed chicken – it was a lovely balance of flavours but I thought it a tiny bit dry. Still delicious, though. We also got sides – Dripping fries, Buttered English greens, and the Doddington Caesar salad. The fries were a nod to Krish. they were delicious but not special and not many of them. The greens were perfectly cooked. The salad was much bigger than I had expected and I was feeling very full but I did enjoy the presentation and taste very much.
Yes, we were almost bursting but did share a Burnt Butter ice cream scoop. This was a fantastic choice – not too much of it, not too sweet and intensely buttery and delicious. I couldn’t fault anything I ate. Beautiful!
Just about able to see Esmeralda, who was visiting from Bologna for the first time since 2004 or maybe 2003. I was just recovering from having a virus but now Krish was sick and it was tough to tell if I could leave him alone or not. The day before I’d been to my mentor assessment day and then come home to find Krish in bed barely able to lift his head.
Thank God for the NHS. They advised me over the phone to get hold of the doctor, who then called me back to talk about his diagnosis and off I rushed to the drugstore before it closed. After just one double dose of antibiotics, Krish could get out of bed and inhale some steam. Relief! And some hope for the next day.
Esmeralda arrived in Dalston some time around noon and we set off pretty quickly to do some exploring.
Quick visit to the Eastern Curve Garden – Esmeralda was impressed
No surprise that I followed my usual route. We made a quick stop at Shoreditch Church, then a peek into Leila’s, Arnold Circus and the glorious buildings on Boundary Estate.
Hard at work inside Leilla’sLovely piece from Shok-1 near Redchurch Street
Not many photos of that area today – I was feeling better but tiring quickly. Redchurch Street looked good, Boxpark was doing its retail thing, and on down to Brick Lane, watch some salt beef beigel action and a beeline to Meraz.
I ordered what I always do – no objections from Esmeralda. What is it? The tarka dhal (I really like their version), the sag aloo (not too spicy today), tandoori lamb chops sizzling wonderfully, and Es was brave enough to ask if they’d make a small portion of chicken korma – Of course! So delicious after a week or two of rather bland food. Esmeralda was pretty happy. What was really cool was the owner, Sami, arriving and coming over to shake my hand and say he hadn’t seen me for a long time. Oh, the groupie in me!
‘The usual’ at MerazA piece by Fanakapan on Hanbury Street
Embarrassing how I love this sort of encounter and I had one more to come.
I’m a huge fan of graffiti artist, Fanakapan. His art is so well executed – the 3D images he produces are spectacular. The first one I ever saw, in Star Yard, I honestly thought was a metallic helium balloon stuck on the wall! It was totally 2D but you’d never have guessed it. When we got into Star Yard, the first thing I saw was a hideous metal shed now built into one corner! The yard will never be the same! What’s it there for? There was an artist up a ladder working on the large wall at the entry. It was difficult to make out what he was doing but then a graffiti tour guide wandered by and mentioned the word Fanakapan. When he left, I asked the man on the ladder ‘Are you Fanakapan?’ He said he was and I managed to say that I was a huge fan of his work and delighted to meet him. He came down the ladder, asking my name and shook my hand. I had seen him before but never this close up. The piece he was working on wasn’t obviously his work and wasn’t finished. We moved on.
Fanakapan working on his newest – anamorphic – piece
Later that night, I saw a photo of the finished work. It had only appeared to be far from finished. It was in fact an amazing piece of anamorphic art – you can see it at https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgYq8JhsGm/?hl=en&taken-by=fanakapan I must go back and see if I can take it from the right angle. He let me know on Instagram what to do:
Its been a mad few weeks. I was housebound with either a mild flu or a nasty chest virus. After a week, I went out to an event at the Hackney Museum — Making Her Mark: 100 years of women’s activism. Not feeling as well as I’d hoped, I didn’t take a lot of time in the exhibition and managed to sit through a presentation called Radical Portraiture, which examined various portraits of women involved in the early days of feminism – a movement which has strong roots in Hackney. All of this led to women finally getting the vote. Apparently, there were many years before that where a large percentage of men couldn’t vote either – it was considered a privilege only for the upper classes of Britain. I plan to go back and look more closely at the exhibit and visit some of the other events during Women’s History Month (March 2018) – it’s the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which gave the vote to some women for the very first time.
Some of the exhibit at Hackney Museum
I had booked a table at the new Brook vegan restaurant for Lisa and me. We ordered four dishes, two of which I quite liked. I’m not a keen fan of veganism – in this case there was a little bit too much deep frying. I think the brunch menu might be better, with some fresher, more salady options!
Our ‘tapas’ meal at Brook – my favourite was the squash crostini
I really wasn’t well enough to be out yet but it was a welcome change from my housebound existence since this started. I no sooner began to feel more myself than Krish got sick too. What a crazy month for the two of us!
Being sick did mean I was home a lot and I made a new doll and a Valentine’s heart for Krish.
Two sides of a Valentine’s heartMy newest doll is a study in orange and purple – love that combination
I had two events this month that I wanted to be well enough to attend. The first was an assessment day for a new volunteer position with Bump Buddies I’m considering becoming a mentor and, when trained, Ill be paired with a mother-to-be, who is in need of extra support. I’m not sure how I will feel during the training. My knowledge is pretty strong but needs a bit of brushing up. Also I have zero clue about the experience of pregnancy or childbirth in the UK. Localising what I already know will be my biggest challenge, and that includes finding some humility, as well as learning to listen and adapt what I know to this new environment.
The assessment day went pretty well and I’ll be going every Wednesday and Thursday until 15 March for a four to five hour session each day. A bit daunting. I was probably thirty years older than the oldest person in the new mentor group so fitting in will be the other challenge.
My other event was Esmeralda finally making it back to the UK after being away for fourteen years. We spent part of Thursday and part of Saturday together, exploring a little. I’ll save that for the next blog post.
