London to Paris - Training 06

The plan was good - a ride on Sunday with the CTC South West London District Association Cheam & Morden Section. A seventy (70) mile ride at a leisurely average of 11 mph with breaks for elevenses, lunch and afternoon tea. Not so much about upping the speed but improving our endurance.


CTC Cheam & Morden Section

Unfortunately Mary's body refused to cooperate. For reasons we have not fully fathomed she was simply unable to keep up the pace following a brisk take off. After a few miles we told the others to go on without us and we devised our own circular 40 mile tour of various parts of Surrey (Epsom, Effingham, Ockham, Stoke D'Abernon, Cobham and back to Cheam).

One theory is that the new lower gear, higher cadence technique recommended by her trainer was too much without more practice. Another is simply that Mary was not eating enough to provide the energy she needed. She has been following the Weightwatchers' regimen since November and lost an impressive 19.5 lb (8.8 kg).

Weightwatchers allow points for exercise to add to your daily allowance. The website says a maximum of 4 exercise points per day can be traded for food which has limited the compenstion for all the cycling. Now we learn that any amount can be traded. Since that ride alone counted as 11 points, never mind all the earlier training runs, that means she could have been eating more all through the week. So despite eating a substantial breakfast full of slow release carbs to give her the energy for the ride she was running with a shortage of fuel.

Conversely today I had a very light lunch and on this evening's ride of 20 miles I was really struggling to keep up with Speedy Gonzales - Mary was doing 17-18 mph when I was struggling to do 15-16 mph.

A bigger breakfast tomorrow for me!!

Update: 08-Aug-08
Yesterday we cycled to work and back then switched from hybrids to roadbikes and on to Richmond Park for a couple of cicuits. Thanks to a big pasta lunch and a cereal bar before I set off from work I was able to keep up with SWMBO. Bit of a relief that :-)

The Dark Knight - a Haiku

Psycho Joker. Zap!
Conflicted hero. Kerpow!!
Greek tragedy. Oh.

A show packed with interest

Dad had several paintings in Yvonne Arnaud Art 2008. This is the write up in the local paper:

A show packed with interest

A new look Yvonne Arnaud Art 2008 is getting the Guildford Summer Festival off to a flying start.

Many of the artists and sculptors are exhibiting for the first time this year in the 200-strong show that continues until July 24. The show, sponsored by Baker Tilly, features some leading British talents and includes photography.

The most striking exhibit, a mighty mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture by prestigious Surrey sculptor William Pye, takes centre stage in the foyer of the Yvonne Arnaud.

An arching tubular construction that appears to flow up and over it was inspired by the Narcissus myth. The bright reflections and fluid movement conjure a sense of magical watery depths.

All the other exhibits are on show in The Mill Studio, where a smaller harp-like silver sculpture by Pye is also on display.

Nearly all this year's exhibitors are newcomers to the annual exhibition, although they are, on the whole, established artists.

One of the few 'regulars' is Judith Gardner, whose delicately executed atmospheric landscapes are among the most memorable exhibits.

Using sensitive flecks, dashes and washes of the brush and employing a sensuous appreciation of colour, she invests each composition with a slightly dream-like sense of heightened perception. A central radiance lifts her homely view of a garden chair in a thicket of vegetation to a higher level.

Altogether more surreal but imbued with a similarly gentle and dream-like atmosphere, are a series of mixed media paintings by David Brayne.

One of the most eye-catching is The Dressing Gown, in which a leaning figure adrift in a boat casts a sparkling fishing net.

Shades of Surrealism also give additional pictorial momentum to a group of oil paintings by Michael McLellan which inhabit a theatrical landscape dotted with dramatic cut outs.

Also noteworthy in a show packed with interest. is Paul Newland. His eagle-eyed and crisply painted watercolour and Gouache view across the roof-tops of London is beautifully executed.

The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 7.30 pm.

Beatrice Phillpotts
Surrey Advertiser 11 July 2008

See also http://www.michaelmclellan.com/

London to Paris - Training 05

The training regimen is struggling to kick in fully. Last Sunday we were due to do a 3 hour ride with a group starting from Redhill. The plan was then to pop over to my sister in Reigate for afternoon tea. We put the bikes on the roof rack and drove down. Only one other person turned up and she was not the tour leader so after half an hour we gave up and devised our own 2 hour ride ending up at my sister's for lunch. Mum and Dad were there so that was bonus.

Tuesday night I was at the Kylie concert so Mary did a long route home via Hammersmith. Wednesday night Mary was in Birmingham so I did a circuit round Richmond Park. Even so we are not getting in the distance rides we need.

Last Thursday I also suffered a mishap on the way home. Little girl on edge of cycle path turned wheel of scooter, Mary braked, me too close behind, emergency stop!! Over the handle bars and chinned the pavement. Off to our GP surgery, as we were nearly home, who sent me to A&E at St Georges where they glued the cut together - better than stitches apparently - and sent me home. So a wasted evening and we didn't get to eat till about 10:30 by which time Pizza Express was the only restaurant in Old York Road who's kitchen staff hadn't packed up for the evening.

A week later all was healing nicely apart from my right hand where the swelling hadn't gone down as much as the other lumps and it was painful to open things (jars and doors). So I spent 3 hours this lunchtime first at a walk-in center then Barts getting an x-ray confirmation that nothing was actually broken.



You can see the wider space between the index and middle finger bones in the main body of the hand. That is where the tender muscles and stuff are. So pop some Ibuprofen and let nature take its course.

It has to be said that there may have been over 6 hours of sitting about in waiting rooms but I paid not a penny for any of it. The NHS is a great thing and deserves all the support it can get and some more beside.

Mamma Mia - a Haiku

Streep cheeps, Brosnan croaks
Moussaka meets classic pop
Toes tap, feel good fun.

The Crystal Skull - a Haiku

Mr Stuffy over at Blog from the Barn has written a number of Haiku Movie Reviews. He has challenged me to do the same. Last week my sister and I went to to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Here is my review:

The Crystal Skull - a Haiku
Bad guys chase good guys
Alien MacGuffin skull
Enjoyable tosh

Kylie Minogue - In Red Latex Dress (new version)

It so happens that I am due to see Kylie at the O2 arena twice in the next couple of weeks. The second is a surprise Mary arranged for me (such a thoughtful spouse) and the first is a team outing from work for getting the "Gung Ho Team of the Year" award. They were trying for Wimbledon but that was over budget. Give my knowledge of tennis can be written on the back of postage stamp I reckon I got the long straw :-)

This reminded me that many years ago I had an excellent lodger called Neil and he was enamoured of young Kylie. Shortly after he left South Wimbledon, en route to Canada via Romford, I sat myself down to watch TOTP one Thursday evening. Who should be the guest presenter but young Kylie wearing a skin tight (is there any other sort?) red latex dress.

Quick as a flash I popped a blank VHS tape into the machine and hit the emergency record button. After the show I put the tape into a Jiffy bag and posted it off to Neil never to be seen again.

That was back in 1995. With these imminent concerts in mind I thought, what the heck let's see what YouTube has to offer. Blow me down if some thoughtful soul hasn't taken a recording of that ancient show and spliced together all the Kylie bits:



Since we are on YouTube here another Kylie clip that the boys might like:



The back story on: Kylie Minogue for Agent Provocateur

London to Paris - Training 04

It is all getting a bite serious this training lark:

Thursday, July 17, 2008: Went over to Raynes Park and picked up my new bike from Bright Cycles. I decided to go for the same as Mary, a Specialized Roubaix Comp. Spent two hours there first trying out the frame size up to make sure I was happy with the 54 cm frame.

Then it was a case of fitting all the bits and bobs - pedals, lights, lock, cyclo-computer, new helmet, gloves, shoes and socks. All the add-ins added another 30 percent on top of the cost of the bike. But hey it is my new "company vehicle" under the "Cycle to Work Scheme" so the company pays (out of pre-tax profit, we reclaim the VAT and it is a tax-free benefit).

Friday, July 18, 2008: Cycled to work and then home via Hammersmith and Barnes(!) in a figure of eight circumnavigating the London Wetland Centre. An hour and a half fast pace ride.

Saturday, July 19, 2008: Cycled to Richmond Park. As soon as we were off public highways and into the park we swapped Mary's pedals for clip-ins so she could get used to them with less danger of being run over by a truck. A circuit of the park and home. An hour and a half hilly ride.

Sunday, July 20, 2008: Cycled to Farnham for lunch with my parents. We took a more direct route than last time - 40 miles - but it still took us a lot longer than we had hoped. Those hills are the problem. Mary had the clip-ins and had three topples over. The bruises are starting to emerge nicely. A *mumble* hour long ride.

Monday, July 21, 2008: An hour down the gym with Mary's personal trainer to get a set of exercises to improve my core stability. I fear the six-pack is some way off :-(

Primitivo from Colavecchia

We are greatly indebted to our friends and neighbours Chris and John for all their help in getting to know the area in a way we cannot, not living there full time (yet). They have helped us sign up with the local council to pay our garbage tax for refuse collection and provided much useful local knowledge.


Chris and John

Key amongst this vital info is the existence of the Colavecchia cantina (just past Putignano and follow signs for Gioia del Colle). They make typical local wines and keep their overheads low by not bothering with bottling the stuff. Take along your own demi-john or 10 litre container(s) and get it filled direct from the tank!


Tasting direct from the "petrol pump"

Not only is it very quaffable wine - well made, gobs of fruit and a belter of a wine at 14 % - it cost a staggering EUR 1.10 a litre!! That is GBP 0.65 (USD 0.33) per bottle. So we bought 5 litres and bottled it ourselves when we got back to Trullo Azzurro.

London to Paris - Training 03

So we have been "off air" for two weeks in Puglia. Does that mean the training has let up? Exsqueeze me!

We have a couple of cheap and cheerful bikes in Italy bought from Conforama at Fasano - the superstore formerly known as Emmezeta. Top of their range which equates approximately to the bottom of any one else's, but they do the job.

We had packed our cycling shorts, we bought ourselves a couple of cycling helmets from the local bike shop and did a number of short runs to the local towns of Locorotondo and Cisternino.


Mark and Mary stand by their bikes in Puglia

Then the training plan suggested a 2 hour run on the flat. Looking around the Murgia hills of Puglia "flat" didn't really look like an option.

So we removed the quick release front wheels, stuffed the bikes into the back of the Fiat Punto and drove down to the coast. We parked up and did a two hour round trip from Savelletri to Monopli and back followed by a seafood pasta lunch at Rosa's with half a litre of white wine, a siesta and a sunbathe.

Somehow training in England won't be quite the same.

London to Paris - Training 02

Sunday morning it was another training ride for the L2P. We cycled over to Richmond Park to meet up with Chris (mrtee) for two and a half circuits of the park and home again.

Only 30 miles but hard work what with the hills and the b******d of a head wind. Still Mary likes to see the positive side "think of it as a thigh strengthening opportunity"!


Chris, Mary and Mark Training in Richmond Park

The park is Cycle City, you could not move for lads in Lycra whizzing round the Park. Personally I dislike Lycra, artificial fibres feels clammy and unpleasant to the skin. The last time I wore nylon shirts was as a geeky schoolboy, never since. Give me natural fibres any day.


Tame Deer in Richmond Park

There is so much human activity that the deer are pretty unfazed by it all, no run-away deer here.

Hannington Hall

Another hectic weekend - is there any other sort? Straight from work to visit old friends Lorna and Carmichael.

Immediately after I finished college in '75 I stayed with L&C as their lodger whilst finding a job and as that happened to end up being with the local county council I stayed with them for the best part of three years.

Subsequently L&C moved to Switzerland then Canada and then inherited Hannington Hall from Lorna's Aunt Mary:



They are over in the UK for a six month sabbatical so we were able to meet up. We dined with them Friday evening and then on Saturday, between walks round the estate, met up with Carmichael's parents and other old acquaintances from Oxford.



Saturday it was off to Brasserie Blanc in Winchester to meet slightly more recent friends for more eating and drinking. A late train back to Wandsworth Town and so to bed ready for our training session on Sunday morning...

The Wine Society Dining Club - 235th Dinner

A while back we went to an Alto Adige Wine Tasting Dinner at Enoteca Turi and got chatting to Stuart and his wife. It turned out Stuart was chairman of The Wine Society Dining Club. He invited us to their next dinner but alas we had prior arrangements.

However time passed and we were able to make Thursday's dinner which happened to coincide with their AGM. The nature of these dinners is such that, even if you know no one, you can be sure to have an enjoyable time. People who go to such events are self-selected to be types who enjoy good food, fine wine and convivial company. The theme of the dinner was Champagne Alfred Gratien with a guest speaker from the house that supplies much of the Wine Society offerings.

The Wine Society Dining Club

The 235th Dinner
Tuesday 17th June 2008 at 7.00pm
Guest Speaker Mr Olivier Dupre
In the Chair Nigel Black
The Painters and Stainers Hall 9 Little Trinity Lane, London EC4



Menu

• Tian of Smoked Chicken & Avocado Smoked Pancetta Wafer & Lime Creme Fraiche
• Selection of Warm Organic Rolls
• Grilled Supreme of Salmon With Tied Green Bean Bundles, Fennel & Artichoke Confit White Wine and Chive Butter Sauce Chateau Potatoes
• Selection of Cheeses
• Mango and Fig Tarte-Tatin Served with Vanilla Pod Ice Cream & Butterscotch Sauce
• Tea and Coffee Selection of Indian Teas & Herbal Infusions Richly Roasted Arabica Coffee Hand-made Chocolates & Petit Fours

The wines

• The Society's Exhibition Blanc de Blancs
• The Society's Champagne, Brut
• The Society's Rose Champagne
• Macon-Farges, 2006, Paul et Mallory Talmard
• Alfred Gratien Brut 1997
• Alfred Gratien, Cuvee du Centenaire
• The Society's Demi-Sec Champagne

London to Paris - Training 01

A hectic weekend starting with a BBQ for Tim and Sarah on Friday evening.

Saturday morning was a trip to Bright Cycles in Raynes Park to pick up Mary's new bike - a Specialized Roubaix Comp. A shiny toy for the L2P bike ride but not for riding on the road until Mary has had a chance to ride off-road and get used to clip-in pedals.

Then it was off to Richmond for Jeff and Jackie's combined 60th birthdays and 30th wedding anniversary celebrations followed by seafood gumbo at home and an early night.

So Sunday was our first opportunity for a real long training run. Up at 8:00 on Sunday morning we set off to visit my parents. The direct road route is 37 miles but we chose the scenic route <rolls eyes>. Up the River Wandle as far as Carshalton then via Epsom, cross country to Guildford and finally Cycle Route 22 alongside the Hogs Back.

We are not sure quite how far we cycled as the little trip computer stopped working after 17 miles but we reckon easily 50 miles. We arrived knackered and a couple of hours later than anticipated for a light lunch and the train back.

We got to Farnham train station to discover engineering works meant a replacement bus service to Woking and we were told "no bikes on the bus". Arrgh. Mary's legs, especially, were done for and we were looking at locking up the bikes and coming back later with the roof rack. Fortunately the driver was a very nice man and let us put the bikes in the luggage hold.

I can tell you my thigh muscles are getting pretty solid and we still have a lot more trainng to do.

London to Paris Bike Ride 2008

Mary, Lynn and I are gearing up for a London to Paris bike ride in September in aid of the Stroke Association. The ride will cover 244 miles in 3 days. This involves 85 miles on the first day to Portsmouth; a ferry ride and 59 miles on the second; and a colossal (for us anyway) 100 miles on the last day!

This is far more serious than anything we have ever done before and we are hoping to raise substantial amounts of money as a result.

Stroke is the 3rd biggest killer in the UK. By sponsoring our participation in this event you will be helping the charity to provide the services stroke survivors and their families so desperately need. The Stroke Association (http://www.stroke.org.uk) provides help through community or information services, funding pioneering research campaigning or providing welfare grants to help improve the quality of stroke survivors lives, and relies upon donations from supporters to help fund these activities.

You can sponsor us at
"http://www.justgiving.com/marymgalashan",
"http://www.justgiving.com/markmclellan" and
"http://www.justgiving.com/lynnh3" or by cheque made payable to the Stroke Association sent to our home address.

Thanks for your support

Mark & Mary

---

And these are the bikes Mary and I will be doing it on:


Mark's 30 year old Claud Butler


Mary's brand new Specialized Roubaix Comp

Hampton Court Twice

Once again it is the Hampton Court Festival and we have been twice within a week.

Last Saturday we went to see Curtis Stigers, Cleo Lane and John Dankworth. We booked the tickets a while back to go with our friend Andrea. Unfortunately Andrea had to have a knee operation and wasn't able to come; she was not able to walk or drive or go on public transport. Then Mary had an inspiration, we knew that HC did wheelchairs from taking Mary's Mum round there last year.

So I was dispatched to off to Essex as a private ambulance to collect the invalid. We drove right up to the gates of the palace, popped Andrea in a wheelchair and pushed her to her seat. All the staff there were incredibly friendly and helpful.

Sunday the three of us spent several very pleasant hours wandering round the RHS Gardens at Wisley. Mary is a member, Andrea went in as her guest and I got in free as the "pusher". Wonderful gardens, a beautiful day and a fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Of course we came back with a boot (US:trunk) completely full of plants.

Thursday it was back to see Van "The Man" along with brother Ian and partner Sarah. The nice people from Sky accosted us as we entered and, on being answered that we came by train, gave us a complementary picnic blanket.



They had a photographer going round taking photos for free and downloadable at http://www.hcpf-photos.com/ - so that was a nice souvenir.

The Other Executor

Last week I spent a pleasant evening with the my parents albeit with a slightly macabre twist. I went down to Godalming to meet Murray Campbell, for years the family solicitor and also the other executor of my parents' will.

As the first born I was asked to be one executor and Murray the other. When I heard that he was retiring I expressed a desire to meet the man as I had never met him in person. Although he is retiring he has agreed to continue as fellow executor and any legalities will be dealt by one of the partners, Guy Crowther, at his old firm of Barlow Robbins.

So last Wednesday evening I went along to Murray's retirement party in a marquee in the grounds of their offices. I met Murray and Guy and I am glad to say formed a good opinion of them both. Murray especially is a very solid, robust seeming sort of a chap, he looks like he ought to have been a rugby player.

That done it was back to Farnham for a meal with Mum and Dad and a late train home.

I am forunate that Dad and Mum take a practical view of these matters. They have made a will, appointed executors, granted me "enduring power of attorney", drawn a list of bank and other accounts and even written a "living will".

Although I hope they will be around for a good few more years it is comforting to know that when the time comes my grief will not have salt rubbed into the wound with all the hassle of intestacy and legal wranglings.

Tramps Like Us...

...Baby, We were born to run.

Saturday was a busy day. First the Guinness Premiership final at one stadium (Twickers) then straight from there to another stadium (the Emirates) to see "The Boss". We saw the rugby with our friends Bob and Lynn but hardly hard a chance to chat as we rushed off in opposite directions after the game.

We went via Hammersmith for a quick bite to eat and meet up with Geraldine and Alasdair and their friends, Pat and Paddy. From there it was off to see Bruce and the E. Street Band.


Bruce at the Emirates Stadium, London, 1


Bruce at the Emirates Stadium, London, 2

It was loud and the crowd knew all the words but I only recognised a few of the tunes. I only possess the albums "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Greatest Hits". A good time was had by all.

Rhine Cruise Photos

On deck of the Serenade 1


Our cabin on the Serenade 1


Typical Rhine view


Lindt Chocolate Museum


Wine tasting in Cochem

Rhine and Moselle Cruise

I have been off air for a while as Mary and I have been on a river cruise with the mother-in-law. It was a Page and Moy cruise on the MV Serenade 1. As such my expectations were modest - a Granny cruise full of white haired old dears. Which is pretty much what we got but in fact it was OK although I am not sure I would necessarily repeat it.

I had not holidayed in Germany before, the cruise took us through some beautiful scenery, we tasted a number of wines and visited some interesting cities:

• Amsterdam
• Cologne
• Bonn
• Rudesheim
• Cochem
• Alken
• Koblenz
• Dusseldorf
• Arnhem
• Amsterdam (again)

The rooms were 4 star hotel quality but of necessity small, the food was good though the scales told me that a week of cooked breakfast, four course lunch and four course dinner with wine may have been more than was strictly needed to keep body and soul together :-(

One thing it did bring home is the importance of good diet and good posture. I have never seen so may people whose heads hung forward like a hump backed tortoise, with a gut hanging over the belt.

Pictures to follow once I has winnowed out the chaff and selected a few representative images...

Good web design?

Occasionally I follow the link from a commercial web site to the design company that created it which is how I ended up at http://www.vohm.com/. There I was greeted with this:



Not even a "Click here for text version" or "Skip animation". Am I going to spend time downloading and installing the very latest software so I can see some flash animation? No.

Anyway it is a corporate laptop and against company policy to install unauthorised software. So I click "No" expecting the html alternative site. What I get is this:



So I click "OK" and get this:



A completely blank screen. Utterly content free. Hmmm! Would you buy web design services from this company?

Perhaps they should read: "Flash: 99% Bad" or "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2005" or "Making Flash Usable for Users With Disabilities". The articles may be a couple of years old but the song remains the same. And I am sure Google would throw up a few more articles on the same theme.

Thames Bridges Bike Ride 2008

Fourteen bridges, 33 miles in aid of The Stroke Association along with 2000+ other riders.

As I wrote earlier ("Cash Rich, Time Poor") for Mum's 83rd birthday "We took our bikes with us on the train and on the way back we cycled 30 miles but that is another story..." So here is the story:

Instead of catching the train back we donned our cycling gear and pedalled off. The first part of the journey was along the new national cycle route 22. This took us along a delightful valley running parallel with the Hog's Back as far as Guildford.

There we picked up the River Wey Navigation. It started off with a proper tow path but as we got into open country it degenerated into meadow. Cycling over tussocks is hard work and our average speed plummeted. By the time we reached Weybridge we had covered 30 miles and it was starting to get dusk. So we hopped on a train for the rest of the homeward journey. That had always been the plan we just weren't sure which station.

Then Friday just gone Mary said "Let's not cycle home for gym and yoga followed by a fish supper. Let's cycle past Wandsworth and keep going to Kingston!" So that is what we did.

A very pleasant 20 mile commute along the Thames Path arriving knackered at KOT about 8 o'clock. We dined at Frere Jacques, looking a little put of place in our cycling gear, then caught the train home.

Sunday was what all this training was for. Up at our normal weekday time along with our friend Lynn to cycle up to Clapham Junction, train to Waterloo and cycle to the start line. We were on the very first batch over the line unfortunately we only got as far as the first bridge, Tower, when Mary's bike took a puncture :-( that lost us some time but we were soon on our way.

After that is was the same routine as previous years: cycle, pit stop, cycle, pit stop, finish and go to the Bell for lunch and a well deserved pint (or two), then train home. All in all we did over 40 miles.

Clapham Junction at 07:15

At the start

Puncture at Tower Bridge

Richmond Park

Rest stop

Over the finish line

Helmet hair style

See http://www.flickr.com/photos/8179454@N02/sets/72157605025427055/ for a fuller set of larger images.

Thames Bridges 2007
Thames Bridges 2006

May Day 2008 in Trullo Azzurro

We have just had a long weekend in Trullo Azzurro. Out on the Italian public holiday (01-May-08) and back on the English holiday (05-May-08). That latter due to the English habit of moving holidays to the next available Monday.

Unlike the previous two <quote>holidays<unquote> this was billed as relaxing. South Africa was decorating and shopping and our previous Italian trip was unbagging the over-wintered bedding and weeding. Our efforts plus a "re-activation" of the gardener means the beds are looking good and starting to look established.



And mostly it was a relaxing trip too, I am glad to say. Apart from moving 20 quintale (two tons) of logs from where the lorry dumped them to the newly created woodpile.



The spring flowers are in full bloom. The poppies are everywhere and the road side verges are full of all manner of wild flowers.



One thing about the local market is that there are no beans from Kenya or mange tout from Mozambique. What you get is what is in season. Most noticeably on this visit fresh peas. In the pod of course not shelled or frozen.



We went to Locorotondo Market and bought food for the weekend. We had neighbours John and Chris(tine) round for Sunday lunch and in the evening, as if we weren't full enough already, went round to Mino and Carole's where we were arm-twisted into staying for the evening meal.

They had 15 for dinner as the first guests of the season had arrived: a Dutch family and a group of, mostly retired, English ladies on a painting trip. So Mary and I were co-opted into the brigade for table laying and mushroom chopping. We had mushroom souffle, green pea and bean risotto, vegetable stuffed chicken and one of Mino's signature dishes bread and butter pudding. All washed down with plenty of their own home produced wine.

Cash Rich, Time Poor

This phrase could have been coined for us. We do not have a problem with work / life balance - we have an equally excessive abundance of both! What we wrestle with is the triple constraint of work / life / hours-in-the-day balance - trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot. Hence two weeks without a post.

The last two weekends have had a tidy symmetry about them, both involving mothers and old friends. Last week end was Scotland to visit Mary's Mum, this weekend just gone was Farnham to visit my mum.

Last weekend we flew up to Scotland and did the usual: baby sitting for Mary's sister Sandra and George. Saturday was spent with May, shopping and cooking a meal. Sunday we went into central Glasgow for lunch with a couple of Mary's college friends: Christine and Geraldine and Alisdair.


The McLellan Family Celebrate Mum's 81st Birthday
Jane, Michael, Sarah, Pete, Mary, Mark, Geri, Ian.

This weekend we had my old friends Carmike&Lorna plus youngest son David for a DP. Saturday we saw the last night of "The Importance of Being Earnest" starring Penelope Keith. Sunday we went to Farnham for Mum's 81st birthday. We took our bikes with us on the train and on the way back we cycled 30 miles but that is another story...

The Persistence of Memory

Since about the age of fifteen I have kept a diary. Not so much "Dear Diary ..." more like "Went round to Bill's, played conkers".

I recently went up into the loft and came across my diaries from the early '80s when I was young, single and had a busy social calendar. When I read entries like "Drinks with Simon" and "Theatre with Caroline" I have to say I was thinking "Who the #~$* are Simon and Caroline?". Many of the names I recognised and am still in touch with but a scary number had sunk into the tar pit of time :-(

For a while I had a PDA - a Philips Nino - and that was my diary. When it eventually gave up the ghost I was left with 3 year hole in my memory. Now I have Gullible's Travels and it acts as off-site memory storage. It is like being able to Google my own brain to find out what I did and when!

So here is some spider food:

• Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Went to see the recording of Ready, Steady, Cook
• Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - Went to see Youssou N'Dour at IndigO2
• Saturday, April 05, 2008 - Hosted dinner party for siblings and partners
• Friday, April 11, 2008 - Went down to Farnham to give Mum some internet coaching

Furnishing the apartment 3

So I took the easy option and snagged the photos that Mary had already selected from our advert on http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p96973. The apartment is only 57.5 m² but the terrace is a whopping 64 m².

Everything you see in these photos was bought in the mad shopping spree that was our visit. And I do mean everything down to the bag of pegs in the bathroom and the washing up bowl in the sink. Plus, of course, the scatter cushions as well - it's a girl thing <rolls eyes>.

living room and kitchen

front view living room

terrace view towards mountains

view from kitchen

bedroom 1

bedroom 2

bedroom 3 (single bed)

bedroom 3 (2 beds)

Opening up Trullo Azzurro for the Season

The weekend was a flying visit to Italy to prepare Trullo Azzurro (formerly known as "Hovel in the Hills") for the coming season. We closed down back in October (see "Closing Down Trullo Azzuro for the Winter") now we have to get everything back out of the plastic bags and put all the bedding, sun loungers etc in the right houses.

It really was a flying visit, out 7:30 Saturday morning, back 21:20 Sunday evening. We went straight from and to work, staying at the SAS Radisson Friday and Sunday nights. Extends our trip and makes it feel more like a weekend break.

It was a productive visit. We met with Daniele the architect who brokered a meeting with the gardener who we had never actually met. We got quotes for some additional paving work and settled up our debts from last year, respectively. Then we went in to Cisternino to meet with Pierdonato to top up the kitty for the "meet and greet" and cleaning services. We also got an update on the water pump problems (don't ask). Finally it was out for a very enjoyable meal at Refugium Peccatorum with neighbours Chris and John.

Sunday we did popped round to see Mino at Truddhi where he kindly gave a bottle to the just-bottled wine we saw being pressed as grapes last year. Followed by an unplanned lunch at Chris and John's. The rest of the day was spent weeding the beds. No maintenance had been done over the winter and the place was looking very overgrown. Fortunately it is possible to make a huge visible difference in just a couple of hours. Then it was a final tidy up and off to the airport.

T5 may have problems with baggage but Stansted has problems with immigration. It took 45 minutes queuing to get through to the immigration desk so it was gone half midnight before we fell into bed. Which is why we stay at the airport. We are back out again in May for a long weekend over the May bank holiday which should be much more relaxing.

Hermanus Apartment on YouTube

As well as taking lots of photos of the apartment I took a couple of mini-videos with my camera:


The Living Room


The Terrace

If you want to see photos visit our ad on http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/

Street Life (Clerihews and Limericks)

Walking across Waterloo bridge this morning I was enumerating to myself those buildings that I could identify. Chief amongst them being, of course, St Paul's Cathedral where Mary and I got married.

Into my head popped a piece of trivia I inherited from my father, also an architect: a Clerihew about the architect of that fine building:

Sir Christopher Wren
Said "I am going to dine with some men.
"If anybody calls,
Say I am designing St Paul's."

The unbalanced and unpolished poetic meter and line length parody the limerick, which in turn reminded me of:

There was a young man of Japan
Whose verses never would scan.
When they said, "But the thing
Doesn't go with a swing,
He replied, "No, but I try to get as many words into the last line as I possibly can!" [1]

Our first braai

We ate out the first couple of nights and then decided we had to eat as the locals do and christen our 'braai' which is Afrikaans for barbeque. Out on our terrace we had barbequed ostrich burgers and boerewors, a spicy long sausage. Washed down with an excellent local wine.

We have a picnic table up on our terrace that Mary spotted and liked at a local furniture store but we decided sadly it would be not be possible to get it up the stairs and through the apartment. It was solidly built and did not dismantle. Next thing I knew four lads turned up to give it a go even though we had not ordered it. As luck would have it the four of them were able to grunt it up the stairs and, by taking *both* doors off their hinges, squeeze it through the apartment with millimeters to spare. Mary was a happy bunny.

Furnishing the apartment 2

Saturday as soon as the fridge was delivered it was back to Tafelberg Furniture to finish off the shopping. And boy did we shop. The third bed, a truckle, a three piece suite, four bar stools for the breakfast bar, bedside cabinets and assorted housewares. All to be delivered Tuesday.

By the time we got back it was late afternoon and time to get ready for the evening meal.

The next three days can be briefly summarized: Mary shopped, I decorated. Ten hours Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday till 2 was painting the ceiling and walls of the living room and smallest bedroom. It looks so much cleaner and fresher.

Today all the furniture arrived and the place is transformed from a messy disaster zone into a very smart apartment. Now it is off to Mediterranea for a nice meal to celebrate. The other to bedrooms can wait till christmas for their lick of paint.

Furnishing the apartment 1

We landed at Cape Town airport at 9am to be met by Ronel of Percy Tours. By 10am we were in Tafelberg Furniture at Somerset West looking at beds. Having bought two queen size beds and bedding it was off to Hermanus and the estate agent to pick up the keys.

At the apartment it was a case of drop off the luggage and into town to buy the bed linen. Then back to the apartment to take delivery of the beds. Impressive same day customer service.

Then it was back into Hermanus to buy a kettle and a fridge for delivery the following morning at 9am. By then the shops were closing so it was back home to make our bed.

We drove into town for a meal in the fish restaurant at The Marine Hotel; the first place we dined on our first visit to Hermanus. Then home to fall knackered into bed.

Father's Birthday 2008

... this year was on the Monday. So the three of us siblings-plus-partners gathered at Loch Fyne in Farnham on the Sunday for a celebratory meal with Mum and Dad. Followed by the giving of gifts and general chat back at the house.

Mary and I did not hang around over-long as the back bedroom decorating was nearly complete and we were due a guest staying with us Tuesday (last) night. A bedroom needs curtain pole and curtains!

Chatting to a colleague on the Monday and hearing of her family's "X is not speaking to Y" and "I can't remember when we last got together" reminded me yet against how fortunate I am with my lot.

Mothers' Day 2008

Was spent in Scotland visiting the MIL. The usual routine: Friday evening and night at Sandra & George's, Saturday daytime and night at May's.

The original plan had been the not-usual routine of meet up with friends in central Glasgow but it was not to be. So instead one of them, Geraldine, popped down to May's for afternoon tea:


Mary, Geraldine and May admire a pashmina

Sunday we met up with G & S and their two, Ross and Sandra, for a Mothers' Day meal. Then home late Sunday.

Triple Crown settling in

It is eight months since my implant and I went back to Ashok last week for a check-up. The hole left by the extraction has filled in with bone as has the dodgy area to the right of the right-hand post.


Post and crowns - eight months later

The whole thing is made to amazingly fine tolerances, measured in microns. The posts have to be exactly parallel so the two ends of the "Siamese" crown can slide on. Compare the above with the before. The dark area is the part that has healed nicely thank you.


Posts and temporary crown - just after operation

Sainsbury's line caught Haddock fillets

extra trimmed
a succulent flakey white fish

So says the label on tonight's supper and on the back label the legend:


Ingredients
Haddock.

(!) Allergy advice
Contains fish

Well I suppose it would! Another gem from the labelling geniuses.

Alto Adige Wine Tasting Dinner at Enoteca Turi

Another fine eating and drinking experience at Enoteca Turi. This time the wines were presented not by Giuseppe Turi but a guest speaker: Tom Harrow from A Moveable Feast. We had the pleasure of him at our table so we not only got the speechy bits but more background as we ate and chatted.

Stuzzichini
Tastes from Alto Adige Canapes
Muller Thurgau DOC Borgo del Posseri 2006
*
Carne salata con barbabietole rosse e cren
Salad of salted beef, roasted beetroot, horseradish sauce
Gewurztraminer Kolbenhof DOC Hofstatter 2006
*
Canederli con speck e crauti
Canederli with speck, home made sourkraut
Teroldego Rotaliano DOC Dorigati 2005
Lagrein Riserva DOC Steinraffler 2001
*
Filetto di cervo con tre polente, radici di stagione e funghi di bosco
Venison fillet, three polentas (buckwheat, plain, potato) roasted baby root vegetables, mushroom sauce
Barthenau Vigna S Urbano DOC Hofstatter 2002
San Leonardo Vallagarina DOC 1999
*
Strudel di mele
Apple strudel with cinnamon, pine nuts, raisins, rum
Moscato Rosa DOC Elena Walch 2004
*
Coffee and fried pastries

My favourites were the Gewurztraminer, a powerful wine at 15% in a sweet Alsace style, and the Vigna S Urbano, which had the lovely strawberry nose of a mature pinot. However when we ate the food the San Leonardo and it swapped places. The SL was a bit chewy on its own but came into its own with the food - very much a food wine. For those who like to know prices they were:

1. Muller Thurgau DOC Borgo dei Posseri 2006 £13.00
2. Gewurztraminer Kolbenhof DOC Hofstatter 2006 £22.50
3. Teroldego Rotaliano DOC Dorigati 2005 £9.50
4. Lagrein Riserva DOC Steinraffler 2001 £22.00
5. Barthenau Vigna S Urbano DOC Hofstatter 2002 £37.00
6. San Leonardo Vallagarina DOC 1999 £37.00
7. Moscato Rosa DOC Elena Walch 2004 (37.5 cl) £20.00

All available, of course, from A Moveable Feast.

Jury Service

It has been such a hectic week that I have not had time to write about the jury service. Mary prudently suggests that I do not identify the specific trials nor am I allowed, by law, to discuss the jury's private deliberations.

What I will say is that I sat on two panels: one trial each week and the jury acquitted in both cases.

In the first trial my personal view was that both complainant and defendants were lying but for different reasons. A "not guilty" verdict was not difficult to arrive at.

In the second case I was sure the accused was guilty but based purely on the evidence presented by The Crown we could not be *sure* - tafka "beyond reasonable doubt". In the end it went to a majority verdict based on some good defence work and the poor quality evidence put forward by the prosecution. Bit of an own goal by the police and CPS.

There were various instructive and entertaining aspects to the whole business. One of which was hearing Mi'lud and learned counsel utter the F-word and other demotic English phrases in their best BBC English.

Another item was the little ritual exchange as each police-person gave evidence:
Counsel "Did you make notes?"
Police person "I did."
Counsel "And were those notes made within two hours of the events?"
Police person "They were."
Counsel "And were the events still fresh in your mind when you made those notes?"
Police person "They were."
Counsel "Would you like to consult those notes?"
Police person, turning to the bench "If I may Mi'lud."
Mi'lud "You may"
Counsel "Thank you Mi'lud."

At the end of the evidence the usher swears an oath to conduct us to a "private and convenient place" where we deliberate our verdict. I have to say that in both trials we, as a group, took our responsibility seriously and a good quality discussion, based on the evidence, lead to the verdict.

Wikipedia on: Jury (England and Wales)

Valentine's Day Meal 2008

Our Valentine's Day meal was at Brian Turner's restaurant in The Millenium Hotel, Mayfair. I reckon it was fair value at 60 quid for all this *and* a glass of champagne and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

 • Lightly Spiced Oyster, Ginger and Shallot
 • Maple Basted Quail Breast, Mushroom and Hazelnut Risotto Light Chicken Tarragon Cream
 • Warm Lobster and Halibut Dumpling, Wilted Ruby Chard, Caviar Butter
 • Cream of Celeriac Soup, White Onion Tart
 • "Between the Sheets" Sorbet
 • Rack of Kentish Lamb, Creamed Spinach Onion Squash Mash, Vegetable Spaghetti
 • "Chocolate Indulgence" Soft Centred Chocolate Pudding, Milk Chocolate Mousse Dark Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce

The food was excellent. Mind you, as usual, we bumped the bill up a bit with a half of Meursault from Giradin and a bottle of 2001 Chateau Gloria. Then a taxi home; ah the joys of living in Zone 2

Italian Wine Tasting at Charteris Wine Society

More specifically wines from The Wine Society presented by Nicolas Belfrage MW, an Italian wine specialist who helps the Society select their Italian range. We used "The Society's Guide to Italy" written by Nicolas as our agenda working through all 10 wines, two whites then the reds working North to South:

White wines
 • Coffele Soave Classico, 2006
 • Le Giuncare Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva, 2004 (Monte Schiavo)
The North East
 • Boglietti Barbera d'Alba, 2006
 • Pio Cesare Nebbiolo d'Alba, 2004
The North West
 • Hofstatter Pinot Nero Riserva, 2002
 • Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Allegrini, 2001
Central Italy
 • Poggiopiano Chianti Classico, 2004
 • Flaccianello della Pieve, IGT Toscana, Fontodi, 2004
Southern Italy
 • Agliancio del Vulture DOC 'Armand', 2001
 • Brindisi Rosso, Vigna Flaminio, 2004 (Vallone)

Of the whites I preferred the the Soave to the Verdecchio although the latter cost 50% more, and I was not alone there.

Not surprisingly my fave was the Amarone (gobs of fruit to use a Robert Parker-ism) but the Flaccianello, which was a new one on me, was right up there with it. The latter is a Super Tuscan and at GBP 32 and 33 respectively there was a gnats whisker between them in price and quality although the Amarone got my vote. However for that price I could drink four bottles of the Chianti Classico - hmmm, tough call!

Working North to South was a bit unfair on our chosen alternative homeland of Puglia. The last two were perfectly OK drinking wines but at GBP 5.95 the poor old Brindisi Rosso trailed home after the two Tuscans. However I still preferred both of the Southern reds to either the Nebbiolo or the Pinot Nero.

All in all another interesting and educational tasting.

Sitting on a jury

and playing with my new iPhone. I am just over half way through my (expected to last) two week jury service. I shall write more when it is all over but it has been interesting to see the English legal system in action. Meanwhile this is a test of this new techo-toy's ability to blog.

I should point out that this was written while killing time in the waiting area prior to being called down to court. Of course phones have to be switched off whilst sitting and when you retire to consider your verdict they take your phone off you completely.