It was snowing so hard I didn't fancy leaving the house. Not owning a winter hat type thing didn't help either. But as my friend Zoe had booked us a table at Chez Bruce, I decided to brave it, looking slightly ridiculous in nice clothes and a Cricket Australia sun hat to cover my hair. But I needn't have worried. It may have been cold and slippery, but man, was it great to be outside! Massive snowmen in Clapham Common, a white and quiet Wandsworth Common, everything looked ever so pretty.
And Chez Bruce? Fantastic. We both ordered pork belly as our main, with some veg and the best caramelised onion I've ever had. The cheese board for desert nearly killed me (it's hours later and I am still full), but it was delicious. What a perfect way to spend a cold December Saturday arvo.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Friday, 17 December 2010
Naughty
The other day, one of the directors at work called me naughty, and my friend Viv nice. It made me giggle, but only later I realised how appropriate that comment is with regards to my new perfume. It's Vivienne Westwood's Naughty Alice. I bought it in York last month, as a birthday pressie either from my folks or from myself (jury still out). Today I wore it (to go with my Vivienne Westwood pumps and t-shirt). It's sexy and musky and floral all in one. Ylang ylang, violets and black roses. The packaging caught my eye in the shop, and the smell is equally beautiful. When they threw in a free bottle of body lotion, I was sold.
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Edinburgh
The Brits don't deal with snow very well. And that is an understatement. Fair enough, at some point there was so much of it that I can understand things went a bit pearshaped but seriously....even on day 1 the train network was a complete mess. It took colleagues over 4 hours to commute home. Madness. I was lucky though. Tubes were pretty much running as normal, and when I showed up at the airport for my flight to Edinburgh on Friday, it was one of the few flights taking off from City airport. Without tea and coffee mind you, as the water supplies had frozen. Arctic circumstances in east London. I also managed to fly home as planned on Sunday, only for the snow to shut down Scotland again a few hours later.
So. Edinburgh. What a pretty city, especially in the snow. It was great to see my friend Lyndsay again, whom I hadn't seen since our farewell party in the Dam 2,5 years ago. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much time has passed, you just pick things up again. The snow did mean however, that I could only move slowly and had wet feet all the time. Wellies had pretty much sold out in the entire city. Other than that, it was a great trip. I wandered around for hours, stayed in Saturday evening and watched Strictly and read a book in my comfy B&B room. I like these weekends. It is not just about discovering new places, but the me-time is ever so nice. I could never be a hermit full time, but man, am I good at it occasionally!
So. Edinburgh. What a pretty city, especially in the snow. It was great to see my friend Lyndsay again, whom I hadn't seen since our farewell party in the Dam 2,5 years ago. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much time has passed, you just pick things up again. The snow did mean however, that I could only move slowly and had wet feet all the time. Wellies had pretty much sold out in the entire city. Other than that, it was a great trip. I wandered around for hours, stayed in Saturday evening and watched Strictly and read a book in my comfy B&B room. I like these weekends. It is not just about discovering new places, but the me-time is ever so nice. I could never be a hermit full time, but man, am I good at it occasionally!
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Sleep deprived
We're only three days into the Ashes and I am already so sleep deprived it ain't funny. For many reasons I wish Oz was closer, and this bloody time difference is on top of the list at the moment. And this is only the Brissie test. Starts at midnight UK time. Sydders and Melbs are half an hour later. But man, do I love it.
Take Thursday night. I went to bed rather excited (and rather pissed, but that's a different matter) as our batting was only just underway. Waking up Friday morning to a 220/5 and a wicketless final session (and a sore head) meant I had a slight spring in my step, making my way to work. My English partner and other colleagues were clearly starting to get worried, which only added to my joy.
Come Friday night, I stayed awake on espresso and jelly beans. Close to 2am, when Australia were at 308/5 I couldn't possibly stay awake any longer. Waking up this morning, the first thing I did was to check the score on my Blackberry. 481/10. Bring it on. And now, I am again counting on espresso and jelly beans to keep me awake for another 2,5 hours or so. In 2014 I probably need to take 6 weeks unpaid leave and just go to Oz. For now, I am accepting the fact that I will look like a ghost on valium by early January. It's all worth it.
Take Thursday night. I went to bed rather excited (and rather pissed, but that's a different matter) as our batting was only just underway. Waking up Friday morning to a 220/5 and a wicketless final session (and a sore head) meant I had a slight spring in my step, making my way to work. My English partner and other colleagues were clearly starting to get worried, which only added to my joy.
Come Friday night, I stayed awake on espresso and jelly beans. Close to 2am, when Australia were at 308/5 I couldn't possibly stay awake any longer. Waking up this morning, the first thing I did was to check the score on my Blackberry. 481/10. Bring it on. And now, I am again counting on espresso and jelly beans to keep me awake for another 2,5 hours or so. In 2014 I probably need to take 6 weeks unpaid leave and just go to Oz. For now, I am accepting the fact that I will look like a ghost on valium by early January. It's all worth it.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
A weekend in York
Knowing I have (much!) less than a year left in Old Blighty, I am determined to make the most of it. And that includes venturing out of London every now and then. Last weekend, friend Ilse and I boarded a northbound train, and were in York in two hours.
There are three distinct facts about York. 1. It's very pretty. 2. People speak funny. ;-) 3. Girls on Saturday night wear no clothes. Or hardly any. They do wear ridiculously high heels.
On 3: I don't quite get it. If you wear virtually no clothes, you will have to empty a Wetherspoon's supply of booze to stay warm in November. That doesn't quite match with the enormous heels tho, let alone on the cobbled streets. So this is a bit of a mystery to me.
Anyway. York was lovely. Pretty little streets with little shops. Nice food. Friendly people. Ilse and I both beeing foodies, we made sure to eat very well. Nineteen was a Yorkshire restaurant, with interesting dishes. Cosy and delish. The Blue Bicycle used to be a brothel, and came recommended by a work friend. Best resto in York apparently, which meant we could only get a lunch booking. So Saturday arvo was spent eating lovely food and sipping prosecco, cab sauv and tawny port. Dinner was a simple pasta while we watched the locals. Sunday lunch was afternoon tea at Betty's tearooms, including the obligatory Carpenters played by a pianist. It was lovely though in all its oldfashionedness (is that a word?).
Next UK trip: Edinburgh in two weeks time. Yeah!
There are three distinct facts about York. 1. It's very pretty. 2. People speak funny. ;-) 3. Girls on Saturday night wear no clothes. Or hardly any. They do wear ridiculously high heels.
On 3: I don't quite get it. If you wear virtually no clothes, you will have to empty a Wetherspoon's supply of booze to stay warm in November. That doesn't quite match with the enormous heels tho, let alone on the cobbled streets. So this is a bit of a mystery to me.
Anyway. York was lovely. Pretty little streets with little shops. Nice food. Friendly people. Ilse and I both beeing foodies, we made sure to eat very well. Nineteen was a Yorkshire restaurant, with interesting dishes. Cosy and delish. The Blue Bicycle used to be a brothel, and came recommended by a work friend. Best resto in York apparently, which meant we could only get a lunch booking. So Saturday arvo was spent eating lovely food and sipping prosecco, cab sauv and tawny port. Dinner was a simple pasta while we watched the locals. Sunday lunch was afternoon tea at Betty's tearooms, including the obligatory Carpenters played by a pianist. It was lovely though in all its oldfashionedness (is that a word?).
Next UK trip: Edinburgh in two weeks time. Yeah!
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Movember
It's that time of the year when more and more 'taches pop up around me. At work, quite a few men have started to grow a moustache. The reason? Movember. The month when men grow 'taches to support prostate cancer research. A bit like October is breast cancer awareness month for women. With one massive difference: men take the Mickey out of themselves by looking silly. For women, it's all about having fun and doing pink things in the name of breast cancer awareness. Every year, that annoys me more. I prefer the men's style. Hands down. A month of looking stupid, and reminding everyone who sees you of the importance of prostate cancer research. Bring on the mo's!
Friday, 5 November 2010
Busy bee
Working on a proposition for our Insurance clients, supporting two partners in bringing Finance practitioners across the globe together, working on a big proposal for Singapore (gotta love time differences....) and a two day conference in Zurich. That's been pretty much all I've been doing in the past two weeks, bar a few gym visits. So this weekend is all about not working. I nearly killed myself in the latin dance class in the gym tonight, watched Broken Embraces, and had a few glasses of vino. The weekend has officially begun, thank the lord!
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