Molly Goes to Bristol

Saturday we took Molly to Charles Ware's Morris Minor garage in Bristol for an Extreme Makeover (Upper body edition).

She has been sitting patiently in the garage of "Thatched Eaves" (aka "The Chocolate Box Cottage") next door to Avon Cottage since we moved out on Valentines Day. If you want to stay in a cute cottage in the New Forest I can thoroughly recommend "The Chocolate Box Cottage". Fran has kept Thatched Eaves immaculate, the garden is wonderful *and* you have "The Olde Beams Inn" next door!

Anyhow, we went down Friday afternoon, had a 'nouvelle' curry at Indigo in Ringwood High Street with Bob&Lynn and stayed the night. In the morning we picked up Molly after the guests had left. As usual she started first time - not bad for a 43 year-old car.


Molly at the end of her ride

We then drove 65 miles in convoy to Bristol with me behind in the Beemer and got to Charles Ware's before they closed for lunch.

We had Molly's 'bottom' done several years ago as Moggies (as they are affectionately known by us Brits) are prone to rust. The man looked her over and will give us a call in the week with estimates and options as to what we can do within our budget. Given how much I have just spent on my teeth I think it is only fair Mary has her extravagance too :-)

A New Bathroom for Wandsworth

Plan for new bathroom

Our bathroom is small and a previous owner has not made best use of the space.

The "before" as it is now has the bath against the window wall, the basin top left and the loo currently where the basin will be, bottom right.

The door opens the other way so, if you are sitting on the loo you get knee-capped as the door opens. Plus the shower window-side means the sill gets soaked and all the paint peels off.


This "after" was designed for us by the team at "H2OLondon". Hanging the door the other way and rearranging the units as you see here will make a big difference. Plus new everything and tiles and accessories will make a transformation. Well done chaps.

We have a final visit to the warehouse on Friday to see the bath in the flesh and choose tiles and colours. Then a six week lead time on the bath so the work won't be done till the end of July. Fortunately we have a shower room downstairs otherwise that might have meant a week of showering at work.

A Weekend in the Cotswolds

This weekend was a long weekend in the UK as today is a Bank Holiday (public holiday). Mary and I worked at home Friday and made a fast getaway to The Lamb Inn, Great Rissington in the hyper-cute Cotswolds. We joined usual suspects Bob&Lynn who had gone up Thursday and had just done a 17 mile walk around Bourton-on-the-Water with 100 of Lynn's work colleagues.

John&Andrea, formerly in St Albans, have recently relocated to Cranham, 25 miles down the road, so they joined us for dinner at the Lamb where we were on a "bed and evening meal" deal. The pub's "signature dish" is a slow roast half leg of lamb that just falls off the bone.

Saturday was a gentle 8 mile walk into BOTW and round in a big circle. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the countryside round there is delightful with gentle rolling hills and all the Cotswold stone houses. We ended up back at the Lamb for another fine meal - eaten very slowly by me.

Sunday was over to J&A's via the farmers' market in Bourton for a short walk to the Black Horse for a pint of local ale (except me - boo!) After lunch we headed back to London so we could get up early today and crack on with odd jobs about the house and garden.

An extraction and two posts

Well that wasn't as painful as I was expecting but that was mainly because I was doped up to the eyeballs. The extraction of the molar was the part I was least looking forward to. The work was done under a local but I was also sedated with a drip feed into the arm. I don't know what was in there but three hours of my life disappeared down a chemical black hole.

When I came to Dad was there as the "responsible adult" to make sure I got home safely. I had an hour's kip, we strolled down to the chemist to pick up a prescription for antibiotics, then - duty discharged - Dad went back to Farnham. When the anaesthetic wore off it was not too painful, no need for more paracetamol this morning. Now it is a soft diet for three months while the bone grows in and bonds to the implants.


CT scan of jaw showing site of implants

This is the CT scan I had done last week with the implants superimposed. The yellow is the implant and the green is the post that takes the crown. Number 36 is where the cantelivered crown was. Number 37 is where the extraction was and had to move close to the adjacent tooth because of the hole left by the split root. That will fill with bone over the next few months - the human body is a wonderful thing!

Street Life (New Kids on the Block)

Quite literally. Walking over Waterloo this statue appeared one day.

It was not for a couple of days that I noticed several more atop various office blocks and buildings of the South Bank Centre.

Then a couple of days later I spotted several more on rooftops on the North end of the bridge.

Turns out there are 31 of these statues according to the BBC. They are by Antony Gormley who did the Angel of the North and this work is entitled "Event Horizon". It tickled me.

Early May in Italy 07

Off to Italy *again* at the weekend. This time a free Alitalia flight courtesy of airmiles but the limited number of mile and availability meant we did have to catch an early flight. Up at 4am to catch a 6am flight and we only just caught it. The queues were horrendous and our flight got called forward twice: once at the check-in desks and again for the security screening.

As requested the gardener had started planting up the beds but has yet to start work on the automatic watering system. He has planted up the beds with typical Maquis shrubs plus some roses and iris.


Flower bed with shrubs

The weekend was spent doing a few useful things. Ordered a last couple of bits of furniture: a cupboard for the Lamia living room (storage is scarce) and a side table to put the small hi-fi on. We made another trip to Emmezetta (local hypermarket) and bought a giant parasol and an all-in-one TV and DVD player. We also bought a copy of The Blues Brothers to watch - in Italian of course - but I knew the lines so well that didn't really matter.

I also managed to clean out the pizza oven ready for my first attempt at real pizza cooking when we go out in June.

Note:
Edited post to replace camera photos with quality image from Mary's camera. [Tue 22-May-07]

CT Scan for Titanium Implants

Tuesday I went for a CT scan in preparation for a couple of titanium implants next Thursday. I swear I could feel the scan move down my head. The technicians said no-one had mentioned that before but I could feel a planar circular sensation rotating round and round and passing down my skull, most odd feeling!

Some while back I mentioned that I had 11 crowns (including 3 post and core) [1]. Here is the proof courtesy of the implant specialist Dr Ashok Sethi:



X-ray of whole mouthful of teeth

Below is the lower right 8 (on the left of the X-ray) that gave me such grief a while back [2]. But there will be no implant there. Raj will crown it and then wait till, one day, it eventually fails and then do two implants together.



X-ray of lower right teeth (8 & missing 7)

No, the implants will be where I had the extraction last October [3]. The extraction was tricky because I had a "siamese" crown. The lower left 6 only had one root; the tooth having cracked the other root had to go. Half a root wasn't enough to take the strain of a crown so Raj crowned the two as a pair. See diagram below.


Diagram of lower left teeth (6 & 7)

Eventually the other half root went and so it took had to be extracted *from under the crown*. That meant separating the root from the cantilevered crown then easing the root out sideways - not as bad as it sounds. Now the extra strain on the remaining tooth has caused its root to crack so that too will have to go and two implants go in their place.



X-ray of lower left teeth

Charity Double Header

Sunday was all a bit hectic as we had signed up for the Stroke Association's Thames Bridges Bike Ride* and then Oddbins announced their annual wine fair** (all proceeds to charity) for the same weekend! What to do? Forget the bike ride? Start and wimp out halfway through? In the end Mary had a stroke of logistical genius: activate the Emergency Drinking Trousers (pat pending). So this it how it went:

Thames Bridges Bike Ride: Sunday morning we got up early so we could cycle to Clapham, got the train to Waterloo and cycled to the start line at Tower Bridge in order to be first away over the line at 8 o'clock. We were in the very first batch. We then cycled 32 miles over 16 bridges in 3 hours dead arriving at Hampton Court at 11:00.

Intermission: We then caught the 11:35 to Waterloo where we chained up our bikes on platform 16 and changed into our day clothes in the public loos. Lunch was a sandwich on the train. Hopped into a taxi and off to the Design Centre, Islington.

Oddbin's Wine Fair: As usual we started with champagnes; tasted about 17 and the Billecart-Salmon was this year's NV winner with an honourable mention for the Charles Lafitte. I cannot find my notes so cannot recall which was the vintage winner - ah found them - the Veuve Clicquot.

We then attended a master class on New Zealand Pinot Noir. Very educational and the best of the bunch was the Murdoch James "Fraser" Martinborough 2004. The rest of the afternoon tasting at will until it was time to stagger home with out friend John. Though, truth to tell, he was staggering more then we were!

* Previously:
Got the T-shirt
In Training for Charity Bike Ride 2
In Training for Charity Bike Ride

** Previously:
"Oddbin's Wine Fair 2006"
"Drinking for charity - It's a dirty job but..." (2004)
"Amethystos (under the counter)" (2005).

Street Life (Counting Cars)

We live on the edge of an area of Wandsworth known as "The Tonsleys" (Street, Road, Place, Hill and some other streets). A half kilometer square of modest three bed-roomed Victorian terraced houses bounded by Fairfield Street, East Hill, Trinity Road and Swandon Way.

On Saturday we went to the Guinness Cup final at Twickenham with Bob and Lynn and afterwards went for a curry at The Chutney in Alma Road. In the short five minutes it took us to walk the 400m to the restaurant we counted 6 Porsche, 2 BMW Z4, 2 Mercedes SLK/CLK and a Maserati.

Mary's Mum once asked if we were not worried about having to park our 6-year old BMW 3 series on-street to which Mary replied "no" because there were lots of nicer cars for thieves to steal.

Dudok's Town Hall, Hilversum (1930)

DSCN0110
Originally uploaded by markmclellan.

A fabulous building. It was closed to the public but Ian chatted to the security guard and explained the cultural nature of our visit. The guy then very kindly not only let us in but also gave us a guided tour of the interior. We saw the concert hall, the registry office (where civil marriage ceremonies are performed) and even the mayor's private office. The detailed inside was gorgeous, gold tiled columns in the main hall, decorative tiles and stuff.

Duiker's Zonnestraal Sanatorium, Hilversum (1931)

DSCN0092
Originally uploaded by markmclellan.

We took the train to Hilversum to see two buildings, this sanatorium and the town hall. We haggled with three taxis to take the twelve of us to see this, wait for 20 minutes and then return us to the town hall. It was a beautiful, sunny day - we were very lucky with the weather.

This was built for TB sufferers, partly to help them recover with lots of fresh air and partly to isolate them from others so they did not spread the disease. The believed lots of fresh air was essentlal so there are plenty of balconies and windows - all very light and airy.

Reitveld's Schroeder house (1924)

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Originally uploaded by markmclellan.

Team photo outside a house that looks like a Mondrian painting in 3-D (Reitveld was part of the same group as Mondrian). The upper floor inside was amazing but we were not allowed to take photos so you'll have to make do with the outside. A Unesco World Heritage Site

(see http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/rietveldschroderhuis.html)

Architectural Tour of Amsterdam

DSCN0017
Originally uploaded by markmclellan.

The reason there have been no posts over the week end is that I have been in Amsterdam on an four day architectural tour lead by Tim Bruce-Dick (in the hat).

Jane has accompanied Dad (in the grey jacket) on a couple of previous tours but this time Ian and I decided to join them to make is a "siblings spend quality time with father" event.

This is also a test of my new flicker account to see how seamless, or otherwise, they are.

We left Mum at home but rang her every day.

The First Growths Tutored Tasting

Monday night was an extravagant tasting at BBR: eight first growth clarets.

To quote the BBR website, "Technically the term 'First Growth' should only be applied to the properties identified as such in the famous 1855 Classification of the Médoc, namely Châteaux Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Haut-Brion, subsequently joined in 1973 by Ch. Mouton-Rothschild. However, as the title is synonymous with the apogee of excellence in Bordeaux, we will use the term more informally here to include the other truly great names of Bordeaux - Châteaux Cheval Blanc, Ausone and Pétrus - which are felt to be unequivocally of First Growth quality.

Mark Pardoe MW will discuss each property in turn, explaining and unravelling the nuances that distinguish each of the First Growths from one another, while illuminating the intrinsic seam of quality that runs through all these eight great wines. The wines will all be from 2002, thereby filleting the distractions of vintage variation and also allowing some contemplation of this fine and classic year which deserves greater credit and admiration.

After a delicious aperitif of vintage Champagne, you will be guided through the following wines, served alongside a selection of cheese and canapés:"

These were the wines and my notes on the 'nose' (wine speak for 'smell'):

Wine 1: 2002 Ch. Cheval Blanc, St Emilion - soft cherry, bonfire.
Wine 2: 2002 Ch. Ausone, St Emilion - purple, blackcurrent, woody root / leaf.
Wine 3: 2002 Ch. Pétrus, Pomerol - clean, redcurrant, chocolate, vanilla.
Wine 4: 2002 Ch. Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan - cooler/warmer?, murky.
Wine 5: 2002 Ch. Margaux, Margaux - tall green (grassy) fruit, warm.
Wine 6: 2002 Ch. Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac - redcurrant, sweet.
Wine 7: 2002 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac - mushroom, cheese, soap.
Wine 8: 2002 Ch. Latour, Pauillac - clean deep fruit, cajun spices, coffee, deep.

My fave was the Latour (concentrated, stunning, "gobs of fruit") followed by the Cheval Blanc with the Margaux and Mouton-Rothschild in 3rd and 4th place. My least favourite was the Haut-Brion (muddied, not clean). As Bron observed I am in alignment with Mr Parker's ratings as regards best and worst in this group though I can safely say my palette is not up to Parker's standard.

The Petrus was the most complex on the nose but at GBP 750 a bottle (that is correct, not a typo, USD 1,490) I will not be rushing out to buy a bottle let alone a full case. A most educational tasting to confirm that we were well beyond my "VFM" point of diminishing returns.

Mum's 80th Birthday

Friday was Mum's 80th birthday so we celebrated twice. I took the afternoon off work as did Ian (and Jane is a "home-maker" as the Americans say). I caught the train down to Farnham where the three of us, Mum and Dad had lunch at the Loch Fyne Restaurant.


Present opening

Then on Saturday we all reconvened at Jane&Pete's place in Reigate where we were joined by most of the grandsons for a great present giving ceremony and birthday toast with a glass of champagne.


Cake with 8 candles

We then had a buffet lunch in the garden and fortunately is was a gloriously sunny day. This was followed by a cake which Sarah had made complete with eight inextinguishable candles - one for each decade.


Nephews: Chris, Tom, Tom 2, Lorenzo, Joe

Lorenzo (Ian's eldest) joined us halfway through the meal. Only Mike (Jane and Pete's eldest) wasn't able to make it as the band he is in (Thumpermonkey) had a gig in PLymouth the night before.


Mum, Dad and Balloons

Firewall blues

Well it had to happen I guess. Ever since working at the current client site their company firewall has banned access to inappropriate sites. Fair enough. Their definition of inappropriate has always included web mail, so no catching up on your correspondance even at lunchtime.

Now the inevitable has happened and they have added blog sites, discussion forums and photo-sharing sites to that list :-(

That means no blog-surfing at lunchtime to catch up on the blogroll; no more quick posts from work; no more commenting on others blogs. Oh well. Apologies to my regular reads.

Street Life (Driver Does Not)

More corporate whimsy. This time on the side of a delivery truck for Wild Bean Cafe seen recently on my walk to work over Blackfriars Bridge:

DRIVER DOES NOT
HAVE ACCESS TO
MUFFINS

Pasqua in Puglia 2007

I have been off air as we went to the Hovel-in-the-Hills™ for Easter. This was our first holiday there planned as a holiday not chivying the architect to fix the snagging list. We went out with friends Tim&Sarah, their two children Alex and Zoe plus an old friend Ros.


Alberobello: Of course the world heritage site of Alberobello is a must. A town of trulli only 20 minutes drive away.



Sarah, Tim, Mary and Ros relax: We managed to fit in a good amount of sunbathing.


Moore Family on the Lamia Roof: Watching the sunset from the roof top with a glass of prosecco in hand is a daily ritual after a hard day's sunbathing.

American Visitors

Over the weekend Mary was in Scotland with her Mum and I was playing host to a couple of American visitors: Elizabeth (an old colleague) and Baylor, a friend of hers.

They arrived Friday morning and we immediately set off to Stonehenge with a couple of minor detours to look at where Elizabeth and I worked together for a while. Stonehenge was pretty chilly, grey and overcast but an unexpected bonus for Baylor; E and I have been there before but it is still an impressive sight.

Saturday they did not want to do the tourist thing so we chilled out around Wandsworth. We went to the farmers' market by the station and then for a walk along the Thames-side path. We took a route Mary and I do often over Wandle Creek, through the park (Grade 2 listed) to Putney Bridge and back through the residential streets. I was pointing out all the typical Victorian terraced housing. Then quick visits to Ros and to Sarah to drop off stuff for our visit to Italy on Saturday and finally home for a meal with the food from the market.

Restaurant Retro-Blogging.

You might be forgiven for thinking that my life has been quiet to judge from the paucity of recent posts. Of course the complete opposite is true. I feel like I have been burning the candle at both ends. Looking back over the last four weeks I seem to have been eating in restaurants an awful lot. So if you are looking for somewhere to eat these are all fine eateries:

• Wed 07: Cafe Espana with sister Jane
• Thu 08: Global with Ros
• Fri 09: Bank to celebrate Glen's 50th
• Sat 10: Centro Storico in Locorotondo, Italy with Mary
• Sun 11: Bar DiVino in Locorotondo, Italy with Mary
• Tue 13: The Groucho Club with family
• Wed 14: Quaglino's with Andrea
• Thu 15: Cork and Bottle before Little Shop of Horrors with Pete and Amanda
• Fri 16: Tony Tobin's Dining Room in Reigate with sister Jane and BIL Pete
• Sat 17: Ayudhya Thai to celebrate Kate's 40th
• Tue 20: Vinoteca with Andrea and Mary
• Thu 22: Shampers after burgundy tasting with Mary
• Mon 26: Criterion after Chateuneuf du Pape tasting with Bron
• Tue 27: Bankside SE1 with Andrea after Gilbert and George at Tate Modern
• Fri 30: Brady's fish and chip shop with Elizabeth and Baylor
• Sun 01: Konnigans after St Thomas's A&E with Mary (poked myself in the eye whilst gardening - no damage thank goodness)
• Mon 02: Vinoteca with Carolyn
• Tue 03: Da Mario with Bob and Robert

And just to round off the week we go late night shopping tomorrow followed by Enoteca Turi in Putney.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Fine Wine Tutored Tasting

I started out on burgundy...

Last Thursday it was a walk-around tasting of burgundy in The Winery at Liberty. Can't be bothered to type up the full list of 14 wines, just my two favourites:

White: Monthélie Blanc 2002, Dubuet - grapefruit and tropical notes on the nose. (GBP 21.99)
Red: Gevrey-Chambertin "Aux Corvées" 2002, Richard - hints of chocolate on the nose and yummy palette heading towards the strawberry end of the soft fruit spectrum. (GBP 25.99)

Available from http://www.thewineryuk.com/

... but soon hit the harder stuff. *

Last night it was a Châteauneuf-du-Pape Fine Wine Tutored Tasting at BBR tutored by Simon Field MW, Rhone Buyer. Mary decided to drop out and have a quiet evening in. Instead I co-opted colleague and old friend Bron as last minute stand-in.

Wine 1: 2003 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Ch la Nerthe
Wine 2: 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Domaine des Saumades
Wine 3: 2003 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine des Sénéchaux
Wine 4: 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Mourre des Perdix, Domaine de la Charbonnière
Wine 5: 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée Réserve, Domaine de Pegau
Wine 6: 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée de Mon Aïeul, Pierre Usseglio
Wine 7: 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée Prestige, Domaine Roger Sabon
Wine 8: 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Clos des Papes (en magnum)
Wine 9: 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Barbe Rac, Chapoutier (en magnum)
Wine 10: 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Vieux Télégraphe
Wine 11: 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Ch de Rayas
Wine 12: 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Ch de Beaucastel

Bron says: "The whites were idiosyncratic, strong flavoured and not for wimps. The reds were uniformly good and showed the variety within the region. The '98s and '00s are for drinking now and over the next few years. The '99s and '03s definitely need cellaring a few more years."

Afterwards we dined at the Criterion which apparently had a brief, unsuccessful period as a "Frankies" but is now back to its Marco Pierre White style brasserie. We went straight into the main course and split a half bottle - after all we didn't really need much more to drink! My Lamb cutlets were absolutely delicious as were the veg, especially the little roast potatoes. Service was fine. I can recommend and it is easy to find - on Piccadilly Circus right opposite the statue of Eros.

* Tom Thumb Blues by Bob Dylan

Innocent Drinks Label

It would be unfair to mention Tom Bihn's Care Label without giving a mention to our very own Innocent Drinks fruit smoothie labels which keep Mary and I amused on a regular basis.

The ingredients often include spurious items with matching footnote, such as Rubber duck (* Pass the soap) or Double-decker bus (* Hold very tight please, ting, ting!). Here is a typical label (click on it for larger version):



They also make An Innocent Promise such as "We promise that anything innocent will always taste good and do you good. We promise that we'll never use concentrates, preservatives, stabilisers, or any weird stuff in our drinks. And we promise we'll never cheat at cards."

Or "... And we promise always to wipe our feet" or "... And if we do you can tell our mums" and so on.

More at "The Label Museum"

Pictures from Restaurant Gordon Ramsey

When we went to Restaurant Gordon Ramsey I thought it would have been nice to show you what we had to eat. But I did not have a camera and did to think it the "done thing". But someone over at Muffin Top did just that. See this for a feast for the eyes and stomach: F*cking good! (Restaurant Gordon Ramsay)

Tom Bihn Care Label

Thanks to Paris Parfait for this one, nice to see companies with a sense of humour. Tom Bihn make travel bags. They have produced a novel care label:

<quote>
The inside label carries instructions on washing and caring for the bags. Because the bags are sold in Canada, the instructions are also printed in French. The French version, however, contains an additional phrase: "NOUS SOMMES DESOLES QUE NOTRE PRESIDENT SOIT UN IDIOT. NOUS N'AVONS PAS VOTE POUR LUI." Translated to English, the phrase reads, "We are sorry that our President is an idiot. We did not vote for him."
</quote>
source="http://www.tombihn.com/"

Cleo's Ashes

Saturday morning I collected Cleo's ashes from the Vets. They are now nourishing the roots of a rosebush and not just any old rosebush.

When we lost Oliver, our Persian ginger tom, to an RTA a few years back we buried him near the bottom of the garden. You can do that when you have half an acre. Our neighbour, cat feeder and house-minder Mike bought us a rose called appropriately "Whiskey Mac" which we planted next to Oliver. When we lost Oscar ["Saddest news about Oscar"] we buried him next to his chum Oliver.

When we sold the cottage the rose was the one plant we had to bring with us; by that time we already knew Cleo's biopsy results. A small London garden is not really suitable for an inhumation so we had an individual cremation for Cleo. Her ashes went in first then a little soil to cover, then some fish and bone meal then the rose.

I cannot be doing with this macho "boys don't cry" b*ll*cks. I had a good old sob but in the summer I can look at the roses and smile.

Street Life (Non Verbal Communication)

I love how much can be conveyed with just the raise of an eyebrow or the lift of a finger.

On the North side of Waterloo Bridge there is a cycle path that crosses the pavement much to the startlement of many an unsuspecting pedestrian. As a cyclist I know it's there and cast a quick glance over my right shoulder. A cyclist is approaching so I pause mid-stride. We make eye contact, he give the slightest of nods ("thank you"), I echo back a nod ("you're welcome"), he whizzes by and on I go. Courtesies exchanged to complement the morning sunshine.

Lunch at The Groucho Club

Tuesday Mum and Dad came up to London to see Jane&Pete's flat in Soho and brother Ian came to join us. It had been meant as a family gathering but at the last minute Pete's Aunt Freda and Jane's oldest friend JaneF were added to the roster.

The assembled company marvelled at the transformation of the flat then we went round the corner to The Groucho Club* for a family lunch. Another long lunch catching up on JaneF's French hovels and back to work to make up the hours.

* The name of the club was inspired by one of Groucho Marx's quips; "I don't want to join a club that will accept me as a member"

Opening up the Hovel

We had a couple of enquiries about renting "Trullo Azzurro" which have not, unfortunately, turned into bookings. However it was enough to prompt us to squeeze in an extra trip to Puglia to see how the Hovel-in-the-Hills ™ had survived the winter.

Mary was going to the Madame Butterfly on Friday with her friend Andrea so we had to fly out on Saturday. We could not face Ryanair and anyway they are not so cheap as you get close to the departure date. Instead we flew Alitalia changing in Milan Malpensa (MXP). That meant we arrived in daylight with the shops still open so we could get breakfast stuff and have time to examine the property on arrival.



It had survived the winter very well: last year's plasterwork had obviously finished drying out and the bags and boxes we used for storage had done the trick. The hot water and heating seemed to be working fine but the control box was being a little erratic. We got the underfloor heating working and the place slowly warmed up.

Sunday was a little overcast but Monday was bright and sunny so we could open all the doors and get the bedding aired on the line. We called in Daniele, the architect, and Ignazio, the heating engineer, to look at the boiler controls and discuss a few minor repair items about the place. Then lunch and back to Bari airport for the trip home.

Lunchtime in Soho

Yesterday I met up with sister Jane to see how their pied-a-terre is coming along. She told me it was one year and one week to the day since they first went to see the flat. And now it is all but finished and they have done a good job on it. Just a few minor tweaks remaining.

It used to be basically one large room with a separate kitchen at one end and a bathroom. The whole place has been gutted and redone completely, new everything. The bathroom is great, all beige and tiled, it looks like a five star hotel bathroom.

The kitchen wall has been taken out and they have gone open plan. The bed area is now where the kitchen was and there is a small kitchen "corner" next to it which partially screens off the bed area. Then a TV and chairs in the actual corner and a desk / home office and storage in an alcove.

Having inspected the premises, we tested out the local Tapas restaurant to see if it would be OK for Mum and Dad's visit next week. Something of a leisurely lunch, I'll make up the hours later.

Previous visits:
 • Walking in the Wild West End
 • I'm up on the Eleventh Floor

Eating the Elephant

We are slowing digesting the contents of Avon Cottage. I took Friday and Monday off which helped. More stuff went to the dump; loads of stuff went to charity - Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Oxfam, RSPCA, British Heart Foundation; a load of boxes and archive went up into the loft; the TV, DVD and video went on eBay - but not, unfortunately, the Vinosafe.

The back bedroom is finally clear ready for our guest on Friday. We were able to eat in the dining room on Sunday for the first time since the move.

Street Life (Blackfriars bridge)

When I worked in the Drury Lane office my walk to Waterloo Station would take me over Waterloo Bridge with its fine views (see below). Now I mostly work in an office by City Thameslink some twenty minutes walk eastwards and a have a new walk and a new bridge to cross: Blackfriars.

The view isn't so pretty: I lose the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and half the London Eye but I do get a better view of the Oxo Tower and St Pauls. On the other hand I do get a stroll down memory lane.

If I choose the Stamford Street route it takes me past the old Sainsburys' Head Office where I worked in '78/79. New to the big city with a 33% pay rise (from 3k to 4k) and the bright lights to dazzle my eyes. Meeting the "Birmingham Crowd" and all those social nights out. Ah, the memories!

If I choose the Thameside Path I go past Doggetts Coat and Badge (public house) and Sea Container House once home to BIS Applied Systems a later employer '81/86. You will not be surprised, given their proximity that DC&B was our local when we were in the office.

Previous Waterloo Bridge Posts:
London So Good They Named It Once
Leaning Tower Of London
Street Life (Salty Dog)
Street Life (Pedestrian Chicken)
Metre Out Of Order

Vinosafe walk-in wine cellar, storage for 1,000 bottles

And the first item to go on eBay following the move is the wine cellar. 

Edit: deleted expired eBay link. 

Tomorrow three pieces of furniture go to the local auction house. At the weekend boxes of books will go to Oxfam and a big box of cat blankets and bowls will go to the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. It felt strange but calming to be scrubbing the litter trays so they could go to a good home.

This is the vinosafe in varying stages of dismantling ready for the move:

End of two eras

Yesterday was big day for us.

We are happy to say that we finally exchanged contracts on Avon Cottage yesterday and the sale will complete on Friday. We had a great 13 years there and feel like we are passing a piece of history over to a new set of caretakers in a better state than we got it. From talking to Karen and Andrew, our buyers, we are sure that they will take as much care of it as we did.

We are sad to say that Cleo passed away yesterday. The problem with her tooth at the end of January proved to be an aggressive form of cancer and the vet warned that she did not have long left. We watched her very carefully and yesterday we knew that the time had come to take her to the vet, while she was still purring. She was almost 17 years old and we are very grateful to have had her for so long.


Cleo at eight weeks / Cleo as an adult

Both Mark and I are relieved that the stress of the last few weeks is over, Cleo is not suffering and it now feels like a new start in Fairfield Street.

Avon Cottage Empty ...

... but Wandsworth house full!

"Well the move seemed to go smoothly" he said, looking at the chaos around him.


Breakfast room full of packing boxes


Dining room full of packing boxes


Living room full of packing boxes

It took the movers four and a half hours to pack up the cottage. The 17 metre van was full, we literally could not get another item in. And it is now all in our Wandsworth home!

We cannot move; we have two complete sets of *everything*. The bedrooms upstairs are just as bad. It will take a while to digest this lot. A few trips to the local auction house and municipal dump will help. And expect to see quite a few items appearing on eBay, we have already sold a washing machine and a day bed. There will be more to follow...

Oh, yes, and we had a lovely meal at The Food Room and fell exhausted out of the taxi and into bed.

Moving house tomorrow

And as you might expect the run up to tomorrow's house move has been hectic. Mary's Mum, May, flew down from Scotland on Thursday for a "farewell tour" of the cottage. We drove down Thursday night (with Cleo) and worked from home Friday so we would be ready early Saturday to continue the clearing out.

Primary target was the garage: boxing up the last dozen cases of wine, dismantling the VinoSafe, clearing out the accumulated unwanted possessions (or junk as Mary calls it) and doing tip runs to dump the rejects.

Saturday we went to Plummer's Restaurant with Bob&Lynne and Mike&Lynn. Mike deserves an serious award for good neighbourliness. When he and Lynn lived next door he fed the cats, took in the post, checked for intruders when the alarm went off and generally kept an eye on the place while we worked in various locations or countries Monday to Friday.

Even after they moved (about 10 miles away) Mike still used to do all that for little return apart from our heartfelt thanks and the occasional bottle of duty free malt. We have no way to thank him enough for what he has done over the years but we did offer him (and family of course) a free holiday in Italy.

Sunday was a family gathering: Mum&Dad and Ian&Sarah came down, partly house-cooling and partly because Sarah had never seen the cottage. After they left it was more tidying and sorting till it was time for our supper, traditional Sunday roast pork. Monday Mary stayed down at the cottage with May and Cleo while I drove back up to London for two days work. Back down tonight and the furniture van arrives at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.

We shall have deserved our Valentine's meal out by the time tomorrow night arrives.

Wines of Australia at Planet of the Grapes

Last week four of us "lads" from work went to a wine tasting at Planet of the Grapes. A small but select crowd were present, a dozen all told including Matt and Marc from POTG and Chris the presenter. As Chris was a wine maker and the group was small we were able to have more of a conversation than a presentation which made for an interesting and informative evening.

The Tasmanian sparkling is a method champagnoise wine to rival the French. The Reisling too was very much in an old world style and the Virgilius Viognier stood out amongst the whites. Unfortunately it is too long now for me to recall a ranking amongst the reds.

Mary joined us at the end, after her Italian class had finished, and got to taste the reds left over from the "no shows". We all chatted some more, polished off what was left of the meats and cheeses, then got a black cab back to Wandsworth for a supernumery glass of red.

The Wines of Australia with Chris Unger

 • Jansz 2001 - Tasmanian sparkling (GBP 16.50)
 • Mesh - Eden Valley Reisling 2006 (GBP 14.50)
 • Yalumba - The Virgilius Viognier Eden Valley 2004 (GBP 22.50)
 • Brokenwood - ILR Semillon Hunter Valley 2001 (17.50)
 • The Menzies Coonawarra Cabernet 2002 (GBP 22.50)
 • Vasse Flix 'Heytesbury' Cabernet Margaret River 2002 (GBP 33.50)
 • Yalumba Hand Picked Shiraz / Viognier Barossa (GBP 17.00)
 • Langton's Yalumba The Octavius (GBP ???)
 • Yalumba Dessert Muscat NV (GBP 9.50)

House Clearance

Did you know you can get sixteen and a half cases of wine in a BMW 330Ci Sport? That's 198 bottles with no room for passengers! Mind you it doesn't do much for the handling and acceleration. I was breaking gently well in advance of junctions and roundabouts (US: circles).

When we met our buyers two weekends ago ["Avon Cottage Under Offer"] the talk was of completion by Easter, last weekend this turned into "third week of Feb" and by last Tuesday it was Friday 16th. O-o-oh ****, that's less than three weeks away. We still had to clear the house, dump the rubbish, move the wine, ship the furniture, spring clean the place and complete the actual sale.

So we brought the skip hire forward and this weekend, while Mary was in Scotland, I was down the cottage in my blue overalls filling the skip. I thought 3.5 cubic metres (4.5 cubic yards) would see us through the next two weekends. But no. By 11:30 the thing was full.

The rest of the day was spent clearing Jabba the Shed, disassembling the shelving in the loft and casing up the wine from the Vinosafe. The VSP 214 holds a thousand bottles and that means quite a few round trips.

Sunday was preparing the Wandsworth house for the furniture onslaught. Moving furniture from room to room so we can free up the back bedroom as a temporary furniture depository. The 16.5 cases are all safely in the cellar but boy are my back muscles aching today.

Amy's View

Last night we went to see Amy's View at the Garrick. Stall tickets were GBP 45 but Top Table were doing a deal. Two course meal at the Palm Court Brasserie and stall tickets for GBP 35. So you get a free meal, get to see the incomparable Felicity Kendall in an excellent production and still have a tenner change. As the Americans say "Go figure".

Cleo's teeth

Poor old Cleo had some teeth out yesterday. Thank goodness she goes in regularly for blood tests for her thyroid levels. Since her last visit she had taken to dribbling a bit and recently got a bit smelly. It never occurred to me it was bad breath indicating dental problems.

I took her in yesterday expecting a five minute visit to take a blood sample and walked out minus cat having signed a waiver form for an operation. A worrying few hours passed until the vet called at 1pm; a general anaesthetic always has some risk and for a 16 year cat that has to be a concern.



Fortunately she is a robust old girl and came through it and recovered well from the anaethetic. After discussion with the vet, Emma, we decided to leave her in overnight and collect her this morning. So now she is back home with a heap of antibiotics and pain relief. Now we await the results of the biopsy to find out whether it was a nasty infection or something worse.

Trulli Before and After (2)

More before and after pictures [click on images for larger version].

Back of the Lamia
 

The Cones from the Lamia Roof
 

Pizza Oven
 

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Yesterday was Mary's birthday and we were able to get a table at the original Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Royal Hospital Road. They only open the booking for each day exactly two months in advance. That Sunday the phone was constantly engaged all day or out of order. When I got though on the Monday morning the only table for four they had left was lunch at 12 noon. So we both booked the day off and Mary booked a hairdressing appointment with Fiona at Hebe's in William IV Street.

Having watch various episodes of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and The F-Word and read the restaurant's rave reviews I was greatly anticipating this meal and it did not disappoint.

We went with usual suspects Pete&Amanda. I was the first to arrive to discover that we were the very first table of the day and the Maitre D' was still doing the team huddle. Ear-wigging I was impressed by the level of knowledge of each party's special dietary requirements and that the waiters were expected to know and remember when the time came. But then that is what you expect of world class service. Little things like they know which person in which seat ordered what when they bring them out, no need to ask "who's having the lamb?"

When we were seated our waiter asked who was the host and, owning it was I, gave me the priced menu so as as to not constrain the others' choice. As it happens we all went for the "Menu Prestige" - seven course which allows the chef to show (off) what he can do. They then volunteered substitutes so we could taste even more by stealing off each other's plates (which permission of course, a fork in the back of the hand hurts). The menu went like this; simplified as each dish seemed to have a minimum of five or six name-worthy ingredients so imagine they all read "X with A, B, C and a veloute of D".

Amuse Bouche - tortelli with saffron and ginger sauce
****
Foie Gras with Sauternes Jelly OR Chicken Terrine
****
Scallops OR Lobster ravioli
****
Halibut OR Turbot
****
Fillet of Beef OR Lamb
****
Cheese OR Pre-Desert
****
Desert
****
Second Desert
****
Coffee and Truffles

Every dish was small but perfectly formed - immaculately presented - a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. Doubtless all from the freshest and finest ingredients. And of course wine with each course: R de Ruinart NV; St Peray (a white Rhone), a half of Condrieu, a Ribero Del Duro (spanish red) and a sweet French desert wine.

I chose the pre-desert, and when Mary didn't want one of her deserts had two Second Deserts. As it was Mary's birthday they brought us an extra souffle to share in lieu of a cake and right at the end a scoop of Mango Sorbet with a single candle for Mary but she declined the offer of a quick chorus of "Happy Birthday" sung sotto voce.

An interesting comparison to eat in two different Michelin Three Star restaurants within such a short time window [Daffodil Dining Club at Le Gavroche (2006)]. The service here was just as silkily smooth and efficient and, we agreed, more friendly. Our waiter(s) seemed less formal than La Gavroche and ready to chat about the food, the cheese and react to our banter with a smile. Plus they all managed that, so hard to do, balancing act between hovering intrusively and not being there when needed.

The entire leisurely meal lasted four and a half hours but the table was ours for the session and we never felt rushed. They actually managed to get two sets of covers on the next table but that was the only one. I do not think Mary's would allow me to mention the final bill (US: check) but it was an obscene amount of money half of which was on the wine. However if you want to celebrate a birthday in style in one of the best restaurants in the world this is the place.

Trulli Before and After (1)

Having, finally, finished the work on the trulli we went through the photo archive and dug out some before pictures so we could show you the difference [click on images for larger version].

Cones viewed from the garden
 

Inside of the Lamia from the door towards kitchen and bathroom
 

Inside of the Lamia looking back towards the door
 

Wandsworth Chainsaw Massacre

We got off lightly in Thursday's winds. One tree down and it was one we had wanted to remove as it was three quarters dead. Ours fell sideways and landed on the garages at the bottom of the garden. I was able to wrestle it back into the garden as it was only 8 in (23 cm) diameter. Next door's was three or four times that size and took out a lamppost in the street, they were lucky it fell sideways as well.



Nature has saved us the cost of a tree surgeon but it did leave us with the problem of disposal. As luck would have it we were going down to the cottage this week end to start the rubbish clear our - better to chuck it that move it - and so I brought the chainsaw up to London. Boys', big-cheesey-grin, kind of work.



The logs will go to Bob&Lynn next time we go down to the cottage.

Wallace and Grommit watched from the safety of the shrubbery.

CSC Alumni meet in the Crusting Pipe

Thursday, January 18, 2007.

Another CSC alumni gathering. Like last time in the congenial surroundings of The Crusting Pipe in Covent Garden.

Much the usual band of suspects, again: there was me, Tony Korn, Simon Hargrave, John Warren, David Pelta, John Patient, Carolyn MacDowell, Tony Hazel, Roy Thompson, Barry Wilton and Anne Carter. Apologies from David Martin and Paul Toledo (not yet on the mailing list). A good turnout - thanks chaps.

I learnt from the last time and got my food order in early, I just can't take drinking on an empty stomach like I could in my youth. I remember in my mid twenties when I worked at Coopers & Lybrand (as they were then) how a crowd of us went drinking regularly after work. I always used to tip the lemon from the previous Gin and Tonic into the next so I knew how many I'd had by counting the slices. At least in those days many city pubs shut early (sometimes as early as 7:30pm) which probably saved our livers.

By the end of last night transport demands has whittled the crowd down to a hard core half dozen all of whom worked for Inforem which was subsequently acquired by CSC. We got all nostalgic for those glory days and it set me thinking.

When I look at the friends I have made and kept in contact with they come mostly from specific groups. For example I am not in touch with friends from school, nor college, nor my first two jobs. But I am from my time at BIS Applied Systems and my time at Inforem. Something about working with a set of similarly educated, trained and dedicated professionals. We were good at what we did (I think I can say that), we enjoyed it and worked hard at it. There was a real sense of camaraderie and that is why we are still in touch.

That reminds me I must given the BIS crowd a call...

Also, in a piece of brazen and shameless self-promotion, I promised a link to our holiday home - now available for rent. http://www.trulli-puglia.com/ (no longer active).

Previous gatherings:

• No really it's networking not drinking!
• CSC alumni meet in All-Bar-One

Avon Cottage Under Offer

We have accepted an offer on the Cottage so, subject to survey and contract, we will be selling and moving on after 13 happy years there.



We went down to the cottage on Saturday to meet the purchasers and it was a most satisfactory meeting. Moving house is not just a financial transaction, it is an important emotional transaction as well, especially with a house of such history and character as the cottage.

Andrew and Karen were charming and understand the need to care for old things; they are Morris Minor owners as well. Is is good to feel that it is going to sympathetic new care-takers for that is how we consider ourselves.

Now we need to set the wheels in motion for all that moving will entail. High on the agenda is what to do with all our furniture. The house is Wandsworth is fully equipped and now we have a three bedroomed house to merge into it! Some stuff we will include in the purchase price like short wardrobes that fit in the low-ceilinged bedrooms, some we will try and find good homes for and the local auction house will be taking much of our overflow.

Suitable for Vegetarians

I have friend, let's call her - say - Danielle Byrne, who is a vegetarian. On flights her veggie meal is usually accompanied by some kind of tisane or herbal infusion. Her reaction is along the lines of "What is this? Bring me red wine!" Just because one might be vegetarian that does not mean one is also TT.

Last night I was finishing off a bottle of 2004 Saint Joseph when my attention wandered to the back label. There I spotted a large "V" and the legend "Suitable for Vegetarians". Phew. that's a relief then!

As if any dead animals went into the making of wine, honestly what an egregious bit of labelling. See also [Full of Fruit Goodness]

ICE: In Case of Emergency

Chatting to JohnP over lunch I mentioned ICE and since he had not heard of it I thought many others might not have either. Very simple idea:

In your mobile phone book include an entry with the name ICE and the number of someone you would want to be contacted in case of emergency e.g. when the paramedic scrapes you off the road after an RTA.

The original idea came from a Cambridge paramedic [full story / further tips]. I have two programmed into my phone: "ICE Mary" and "ICE Parents".

Health and Beauty

We had a good last day for May and Duncan's visit on Tuesday. We took them to Simpson's in the Strand for dinner and then saw Porgy and Bess at the Savoy - an excellent production.

Wednesday we dropped them off at Heathrow and headed straight to Grayshott Spa for four days of detox and relaxing. My project decided on the cost-saving idea of making all contractors take a mandatory three week break: good for them but not for us. So we decided to make use of the enforced down time and take some time out.

The Health part consists of not eating so much and only drinking a glass of wine a night instead of a bottle a night. Mary has gone completely dry for a few days. Though when I say dry that is not counting the gallons of water; it may be good for you but it don't 'alf make you pee a lot.

Also we are getting up at 7:15 every morning for the pre-breakfast power walk through some lovely NT countryside which will make the Monday morning alarm less of a shock.

Not sure how much it is doing for my "beauty" but is is very pleasant to have various massages and scrubs and being forced to lie about doing Su Doku and crosswords. Do I really have to go back to work Monday?

Happy New Year 2007

A Happy New Year to all my readers.

We had a pretty good NYE. Six of us went to Albannach on Trafalgar Square for a gala dinner with ring side view of the revellers outside. The food and wine was excellent as were the band, apart from we were sat next to them and had to ask to be moved to enable conversation to resume.


Me and Mary's mum, May

The restaurant showed the fireworks on a big screen and they looked pretty darned spectacular.

We got a taxi in OK but the return journey was a little more problematical. After booking we discovered that most of north of the river was due to be closed to traffic. No problem: get the tube to Waterloo and get the taxi to pick us up there.

Unfortunately the crowds were such that the police were restricting access to Charing Cross Station. We had a chat with the constable on the barrier and explained that we had not one but two registered disabled with us. They let us through and, as luck would have it, a Waterloo East train was due in about 5 minutes.

Then the taxi driver phoned to say that he could only get as close as Lambeth Bridge and could we get there. No chance with May's conditions! When we got to Waterloo there was only one train showing, leaving for Wandsworth Town in 10 minutes - another result!

So we got home about 2:15 am. A little later than intended but May coped incredibly well under the circumstances. Next time we will arrange something closer to home. That is if we are not in South Africa for Christmas as we hope; we are planning a trip there for this time 2007/8.

Live Long and Prosper :-)