Dublin March 2012

Air Lingus were doing a special offer on flights to Dublin and it seemed churlish to refuse. Mary picked the Six Nations weekend when Ireland were playing Scotland. Unfortunately her membership of the Irish Supporters Club had expired so we missed out on the ticket release. But, what the heck, we would just go to a sports bar and watch the match from there so that is what we did.

Friday we took the afternoon off so we got to Dublin in plenty of time to have an early supper at The Farm - a free meal courtesy of our Top Table rewards. After supper it was time for our first Guinness of the weekend at Carr & O'Connell - another freebie thanks to the accommodation.



Saturday we took the open top bus for a tour of the city. We only did one "hop on, hop off" for lunch at Ryans of Parkgate Street. Apparently it has been visited by Bill Clinton and Julia Roberts. It has lots of original Victorian features including a snug - a small booth at the end of the bar with room for four people, six at a squeeze, with a door you could close and its own serving hatch from behind the bar.



Then it was back on the bus to central Dublin to find ourselves a match-watching venue. Mary rejected the first because it was full of Scotsmen so we repaired to Lott's Bar, claiming to contain the smallest bar in Dublin.



Unfortunately Scotland lost but that is the way it goes sometimes. So to console ourselves we went out for very nice meal at The Exchange Restaurant and Cocktail Bar.

Sunday morning we went to Bewley's Cafe for a latte with some amazing stained glass windows.



Then it was off to Trinity College to see The Book of Kells. The last time we went to see it the curators had sent it off for conservation and left a photocopy behind. This time we got to see the real thing - the almost microscopic, intricate art work is quite astonishing. We arrived just in time for the 11 o'clock tour followed by the book and exit through the long room which looks like something out of Harry Potter.

Then, alas, off to the airport for lunch and the flight home but we'll be back!

Dublin's Statues

The Dublin locals are prone to giving their statues humorous, rhyming sobriquet. These are my three favourites.


Molly Malone - "The Tart with the Cart" aka "The Trollop with the Scallops"


Two Women - "The Hags with the Bags"


Anna Livia, The Spirit of the Liffey - "The Floozy in the Jacuzzi"

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statues_in_Dublin for more.

Cultural catch-up 2012 Q1

It has all been a bit busy so I need to do some retro-blogging on our cultural doings:

Thu 26-Jan-12 Warhorse - at New London Theatre. Truly amazing theatrical experience to celebrate Mary's birthday, it deserves all its rave reviews.

Sat 04-Feb-12 The Descendants in the VIP seats at Cineworld Wandsworth. We like the VIP seats: big chairs, we're often the only ones in there, glassed off from the groundlings with your own sound system and you can take your drinks in. George Clooney and a fine supporting cast.

Fri 10-Feb-12 Carnage - in which Penelope (Jodie Foster) is clearly a woman who needs to lighten up. The Guardian likes it but I would not put it in the feel good category.

Sat 11-Feb-12 Umoja, The Spirit of Togetherness - at the Peacock theatre. Full of dance, music, bright colours and a tale of moving from the country to the city in South Africa through the decades. Loads of of fun and another fantastic, theatrical night out.


Cannizaro House Hotel

Sat 18-Feb-12 Cannizaro House, Wimbledon. Mary was in Ecuador for 14th February so this was a belated Valentine's meal. A delicious meal in the delightful setting of Cannizaro Park and romantically chosen as it was the hotel where we spent our wedding night.

Fri 24-Feb-12 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Delivered exactly what was expected. An ensemble piece full of of thesps who can act in their sleep (not that they did), and a feel good plot filmed against the backdrop of bustling Indian life with some cracking one-liners. I was most impressed with Bill Nighy's performance.

Sat 05-Mar-12 The Lady from the Sea at The Rose Theatre. We like to support our "local" theatre; it is only half an hour on the train - the same as getting to the West End - and half the price. Apparently this is one of Ibsen's lighter, more comedic plays, well the others must not be a bundle of laughs then. Thanks to good reviews the only seats left were the best in the house, premium seats - front of the stalls with a free programme and glass of prosecco included - and worth every penny.

Recipe for Clootie Dumpling

Clootie dumpling unwrapped

A Doric alternative to May's Dumpling Recipe

punna self-raisin' floour
punna currants an' a haunfa o' raisins
quanera punna suet
haufa punna granulatit sugar
fower wee teaspoonsfa o' mixed spice
a big pincha saut
some mulk

• Rummle up the hale jing-bang in the boul, addin' a wee tate mulk so's ye get a dough that's stiff an' no' runny.
• Tim some bilin' watter oot the kettle inty the fit o' the basin an' spread the cloath (or cloot) oan tap o' the watter.
• Cowp the hale o' yur dough oot the boul an' oan tae the cloot in the basin.
• Draw the coarnurs o' the cloot the gither an' tie wi' the string.
• Don't tie the string too tight or the dumplin' might burst efter swellin up an' ye'll be in a helluva mess.
• Noo ye've a big bag o' dough aboot the size o' a fitba'.
• Nixt ye pit a plate in the fit o' the big poat. Then gently ye lower the dumplin' oan tae the plate.
• Efter that poor as much bilin' watter inty the poat as will cover yur dumplin'.
• Efter a' this cairry-oan ye'll mibbe waant a cuppa tea an' a fag. or even a wee lie-doon.
• Anyway, whitivvur ye dae, dinny let the dumplin' simmer fur mair than three-an'-a-hauf oors.
• Efter that time wheech it oot the poat an' oan tae a plate.
• Peel aff the cloot an' therr ye huv a dish fit tae set afore a dizzen Egon Thingmys.

Cleaning the Wandle February 2012

This month the Wandle community cleanup was in South Wimbledon only half a mile from where I used to live in Garfield Road and where I first made my acquaintance with this river back in 1980.


Setting up base camp

The day always starts with donning waders, gloves and the safety briefing at base camp. Risks include drowning, 'sharps' and Weil's disease contractible from contaminated water. I also always wear safety glasses after a couple of A&E visits following some extreme gardening incidents. They protect against water splashes and pokey shrubbery.


Hauling a mattress up the pilings

Unusually no shopping trolleys this session but masses of carpets and a couple of mattresses. Hauling a water-sodden mattress up the pilings required some team heaving and grunting.

Another unusual feature was the large number of half coconut shells; South Wimbledon is not known for its tropical climate so why so many coconuts? The answer, it would appear, is the nearby Hindu Sree Ganapathy Temple in Effra Road offering sacred coconuts to the nearest river.


Soup to defrost the fingers

Lunch is provided at one o'clock: home-made soup to warm the fingers followed by cake and a cuppa. Then back into the river.


Working our way upstream

If you want a reason to support container deposit legislation you need look no further than the number of soft drink cans and lager tins on the bed of the River Wandle.


Rubbish collection point

A fair haul for four hours work from 41 volunteers.

Full set of pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157629313589231/detail/

I done a LOLCAT

Invizibul food

Serviss here iz terribul

Isle of Wight - January 2012

Our friends Tim and Sarah bought a second home in Cowes on the Isle of Wight last summer and this was our first visit to see it. Sarah was brought up on the island and has always had a bit of a hankering to go back there.

For us getting there was remarkably easy - a fast service from Waterloo to Southampton, a shuttle bus to the Red Jet ferry, a 25 minute crossing and a five minute walk to Tim and Sarah's house.



Their black Labrador (wittily named Zinzan) is extravagantly friendly, he wags his tail so enthusiastically he bangs walls, furniture legs, etc with a real thump that made me laugh.

We might normally have done a load of walking but Mary's bunion was still on the mend. Instead we were chauffeured around to see the sights including the surprise hit of the weekend - Brading Roman Villa.



It was so quiet that we got a personal guided tour from not one but two of the volunteer guides who had, as it turned out, actually participated in the most recent excavations. Two hours of fascinating, information packed exposition - we learned so much more than we would have got simply reading the labels.



Sunday we drove round the western half of the island including a stop at Newtown to look at the Town Hall and the Nature Reserve.



Pub lunch and then home but we'll be back and next time, with Mary's foot better, we will do some serious walking.

Full set of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157629067099487/

Mary's Bunion Operation

At the beginning of December Mary went in for an operation for hallux valgus deformities - bunion to you and me. The timing was chosen to allow for the convalescent period to run into the Christmas break. It also coincided with the end of my contract so I was "at leisure" and could be house husband, chauffeur and general gofer.



The operation is pretty quick, about 40 minutes, and treated as a day case. I took Mary up to the New Victoria Hospital at 7am and collected her, and a pair of crutches, that afternoon at 2:30pm.

I was amused by the mark-up on her leg: not a subtle line to say "cut here" but a whopping big arrow to say "This leg!"



She had a Scarf osteotomy on the first metatarsal (the two screws) and an Akin's osteotomy on the great toe (the staple). Note that neither of those links go to gruesome, colour photos but nice black and white illustrations (the former has an excellent animation showing exactly how the Scarf joint works).



We set up the sofa bed in the living room so Mary did not have to do stairs, she only needed to hobble along the corridor to the downstairs loo and shower. In order to keep the dressing dry in the shower we invested in one of these fine "LimbO" leg protectors. Note - the photo is not of Mary but borrowed from LimbO's website:



She had heard tales of great pain so Mary munched on analgesics for 48 hours and then went cold turkey with no pain at all. So little pain in fact that she was worried about nerve damage. It's fine, of course, and I put that down to the skill of the surgeon - neat slicing and dicing.



The first two days were spent in bed and the next fortnight hobbling about with two crutches. At the follow-up appointment the surgeon pronounced things fine and to go down to one crutch.

The second follow-up appointment was a bit delayed partly due to Christmas intervening and involved some nasty digging about to remove two stitches that had not resorbed - ouch.

Now it is all clear and the surgeon has recommended some physio to get the foot (and leg) flexing again. The slow, gentle recovery proceeds...

Cleaning the Wandle January 2012

Has it really been that long since I last went to drag shopping trolleys out of the River Wandle - Cleaning the Wandle August 2009?

The second Sunday of every month the Wandle Trust organise a clean-up of a different stretch. As chance would have it, it was the very same stretch as last time I went - in King George's Park just south of Kimber Road.


River Wandle, King George's Park, Wandsworth

Despite being a chilly winter's day 42 volunteers turned up to don waders or push wheelbarrows and remove all manner of junk out of the river. By lunchtime we had 6 trolleys and by the end 13 not to mention bicycles, various bits of car, carpet, plus bottles, cans and carrier bags beyond number.


River Wandle, King George's Park, Wandle Trust Volunteers

Lunch was a cup of soup and a sandwich plus a cup of tea - less a beverage more to defrost the fingers. Then back in the water for a few more hours. I was very glad I had the foresight to wear my walking long johns, that water was cold!


River Wandle, King George's Park, Rubbish hauled out

At 3 o'clock we finished and as I was leaving the river I tripped over trolley number 14 and took a dive. Result - waders full of icy water and very soggy garments. I had a change of jumper and trousers but not much I could do about the long johns so it was a damp walk home.

I ache all over, especially my fingers from gripping and hauling, but in a good and satisfying way. Must do this more!

Update: Fri 17-Feb-12.
Post on the Wandle Trust Blog "Wandle cleanup: January 2012: Wandsworth"
Picked up by the local Guardian "Wandle clean up clears two tonnes of rubbish"

Christmas 2011 - Ambleside, Lake District

This was the first Christmas in our latest property acquisition - a timeshare in Ambleside in the Lake District. Since we would miss out on a McLellan family gathering we organised a pre-Christmas potlatch at our place. My family are always good value. Here they are debating the importance of children having the opportunity to learn an instrument and create art.


Geri (mum), Mike (dad), Mary (wife), Sarah (SIL), Ian (bro), Jane (sis).

The following Thursday we headed off to the lake district, a 5 ½ hour drive, to Quaysiders at Waterhead in Ambleside. The main room was bigger than I remember it - which is the better way round - and it is very well equipped. All the kitchenware is decent quality and we wanted for nothing.


Quaysiders main room

Mary's mum, May, came down from Scotland the following day and was picked up from Oxenholme by Avril (wife of Mary's uncle Ronnie) who lives in Kendal. We then went over to Kendal and collected May from there.


Mary and May

Christmas day we had lunch in the nearby Waterhead Hotel chosen to be within hobbling distance because of Mary's bunion op and May's emphysema.


Christmas lunch in the Waterhead hotel

Boxing Day we had Ronnie and Avril over for lunch.


Ronnie and Avril

To entertain May, Mary and her went to Holbeck Ghyll country house hotel for a pampering spa half day. We also went for a drive to admire the scenery.


View of Windermere from Holbeck Ghyll Hotel

We also did lots of shopping including Lakeland (formerly known as Lakeland Plastics). Not any old Lakeland shop but the original, the mother ship! On the right you could peer through the window into their call centre.


Lakeland flagship store

Our neighbour, Jo, comes from that area and said it rains all the time. She was not wrong:


Weather forecast for the week - rain, rain, rain...

Despite the weather we had a good week of eating and drinking and keeping busy. On the 29th we dropped May back off at Oxenholme and despatched her back to Bonnie Scotland. We then drove home to be ready for New Years Eve.

Charteris final wine tasting

London, England. Thursday 20-October-2011

I have been going to the Charteris Wine Society tastings since 2005. Always interesting and entertaining and now sadly no more. It is (was) a work based wine group and as people retired or left the company it has been harder and harder for the organisers to keep the tempo up. So the mission for the final speaker was to blow the budget and dispose of all the surplus funds built over the last couple of decades.



The presenter was Robin Lane (http://winesuppliersupport.co.uk/home.html) and his brief was "personal favourites" which, given that he has over 30 years experience in the wine trade, has got to be interesting.


Jeremy Labram introducing Robin Lane...

... and this is what he came up with:

• Menetou Salon Blanc Jean Teiller 2010
• Pouilly Fuisse Domaine Daniel Barraud 2008
• Bourgogne Rouge Cuvee d'Antigny (Avery Bottled) 1976
• Lar de Paula, Rioja, Viñedos Viejos, 2005
• Hermitage Alain Graillot 2007
• Chateau Haut Batailly 1996
• Franz K Smit 2005
• Quarts de Chaume Chateau de Pierre Bise 2009

My favourite of the evening was the Franz K Smit 2005.



Mary was not able to make it so our old friend Bron stepped in at the last moment - what a trooper!


Carolyn and Bron

What makes a good wine tasting is not just the wines but the back story that goes with each of them; that we got from Robin. A fine farewell tasting.

South Africa, October 2011 - Cape Town V & A Waterfront

Cape Town, South Africa. Saturday 29-October-2011.

The first day we spent exploring the V & A Waterfront - indeed our apartment was chosen for its close proximity to all the sights and restaurants therein.


The Wheel of Excellence

A slightly smaller and faster whirling version than the London Eye but you do get four turns of the wheel instead of one. Good views and a nice greenhouse effect in the gondola on a cool day.


Mary looking relaxed

They were re-painting the clock tower over a couple of days so we got a view of some unique patchwork effects as they did primer and undercoat - this is the final colour scheme.



At one point being footsore and in need of refreshment we stumbled across a German style bier garten complete with oompah band. Somewhat incongruous but welcome and entertaining all the same.



Suitably refreshed it was back to the apartment to get ready for the evening.

South Africa, October 2011 - Wedding Licence

Talking of wedding anniversaries, Mary and I were married in *the* St Paul's cathedral. Mary would have preferred low-key registry do and sent friends a postcard from honeymoon. However courtesy of Dad's MBE we had the option of the chapel in the crypt. It cost me an antique, hand cut solitaire. Worth every penny.

Since this was not our local church we needed a special licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury no less and a wonderful document it is. Couched in positively Shakespearean language together with the legal habit of no punctuation and the liberal use of Capital Letters.



George Leonard by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan by Authority of Parliament lawfully empowered for the Purposes herein written To Our Beloved in Christ Mark Sebastian McLellan of 76 Garfield Road Wimbledon in the County of Greater London a Bachelor and Mary Mitchell Galashan of the same address aforesaid a Spinster

Whereas it is alleged that you purpose to contract a true pure and lawful Marriage and earnestly desire the same to be solemnized with all the speed that may be We do therefore of Our especial grace In order that such your desire may more readily have effect and for other causes Us hereunto moving Give and grant by these presents Our Licence and Faculty (so far as in Us lies and the law doth allow) for you the Parties contracting for any Clerk in Holy Orders thereto lawfully authorised and for all Christian People willing to be present to celebrate and solemnize such Marriage between you in the Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire within the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in the City of London between the hours of eight in the forenoon and six in the afternoon upon any day within three calendar months from the date hereof Provided there be no lawful impediment thereto

Given under the Seal of Our Office of Faculties at Westminster this twenty-fourth day of September in the year of Our Lord On thousand nine hundred and ninety-three and in the third year of Our Translation

South Africa, October 2011

Cape Town, South Africa. Friday 28-October-2011.

Our first trip to South Africa for two years, since our wedding anniversary in 2009 in fact. Again the timing was planned to allow us to celebrate our actual anniversary in South Africa. This time in Cape Town which we had not yet visited despite this being our fifth trip to South Africa.

After doing the tourist thing in Cape Town for four days (blog posts to follow) we went down to our apartment in Hermanus to investigate putting it on the market. It has not really been bringing in anywhere near enough rental to cover its costs and we have not been getting the use of it ourselves, partly because of our busy lives and partly the cost of the flights.

We also needed to find new agents to manage it for us. We sacked the previous agent (don't ask) and our friends Percy and Ronel had been holding the fort for us. As they are tourist guides and coming into their busy season it would not be fair to impose on them any longer. Our plan was to find a local agent who could do the meet-and-greet and arrange cleaning and laundry which we did - more anon.



Mary found us an excellent and characterful apartment just 10 minutes walk from the historic V & A waterfront - Green Point holiday cottage.



It was great to be in such a historic building and really convenient for a short stroll into the V & A Waterfront which we did on a daily basis for the sights and the restaurants.



Groenehof
This restoration was officially opened by the Hon. Dr. Wm. Nicol
Saturday 15th November 1965
These cottages form part of the original quarters, barn, and farm workers homes erected about 1815 and attached to the De Goede Verwachting. Proclaimed to be an historic monument in 1964.

Full set of photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157628307045775/

Olive Harvest 2011

Puglia, Italy. Friday 26 November 2011

The usual close down visit and olive harvest with additional birthday planning.

As every year we go out long after the last paying guests have departed to prepare Trullo Azzurro for the winter. That mainly consists of putting all the bedding and linens into VacuSacs but also rearranging the furniture - the garden tables and chairs get brought indoors or stacked into the antechamber of the pizza oven.

We also go out to harvest the olives. Our friends Carol and Mino had already harvested theirs so we only had ours to do. We were expecting a small harvest because of the heavy pruning in spring. This year we only picked 18kg compared to last year's 84kg. However we predict a bumper crop next year because of all the new growth plus the habit of fruit trees in general to alternate good and lean years.

We also had time, therefore, to harvest a couple of trees belonging to our neighbours, Mark and Sue, which yielded another 7kg off their two trees. At a 12 percent yield that means our combined output will be 3 litre.

Storage space is at a premium which means the nets needed to be very carefully folded away so they will fit inside the crates which can then be stacked away inside the pizza oven storage space.









Mary insisted on a shot of me stripped to the waist as proof of how warm and sunny it was even in the middle of November.





The other item on the agenda was finalising the date for my 60th birthday celebrations to be held at Truddhi in the local village of Trito. We fixed on Sunday 23-September-2012 rather than the Saturday. That fits in better with Truddhi bookings which are Saturday to Saturday. Also Mino is normally doing weddings on a Saturday, so by having it on the Sunday makes it much more likely he will be there as well.

Trullo Azzurro: beautifully restored trullo in delightful, secluded valley near Locorotondo, Puglia, Italy. Available to rent on a per week basis, sleeps 4-6. For more information visit http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/trulloazzurro