Sunny Stratford

After our lovely day in Buckinghamshire yesterday we decided to spend a few hours in Stratford upon Avon before catching our flight home. It was another sunny, cold day, and I was very excited about my first ever visit to Stratford. We got parked near the centre without any problems; I think that we benefited from the fact that it was off season. There were still plenty of people out and about in the sunshine and I thought that the town was very pretty, with lots of half-timbered Elizabethan houses, and ducks and swans on the river Avon. 

We visited Shakespeare's birthplace which was a remarkably spacious house in the centre of town; I hadn't realised that Shakespeare's father was a well heeled businessman. We also visited the nearby Hall's Croft, another good sized house where his daughter Susanna lived with her doctor husband. Both houses were staffed by enthusiastic guides who told us all sorts of interesting things about the buildings and life in those days, it was fascinating. For example the expensive timbers at the front of the houses were placed much closer together than at the back, just to show off the owner's affluence. And proper beds were a great luxury so the best bed (for guests) was put in pride of place downstairs where visitors could see it. 

Finally we visited the church where Shakespeare was baptised, and he was buried there 52 years later. Fifty-two. Younger than I am now. I really liked Stratford and hope to go to a play there some day. 

A political encounter

We have been in Buckinghamshire this weekend to celebrate Russell's 50th birthday (a week early so he's still a young man in his forties!) I left work fairly promptly on Friday and got a taxi to the airport for my flight to Birmingham. James had already been in Warwick for the day so he collected me and we picked up a hire car. James goes down there so often that the staff at Avis all know him and were chatting away to him. 

It was lovely to see Jennifer and Russell - I got a tour of Jennifer's "she shed" which was her birthday present from Russell last year! Josh and Ben have grown a LOT in the last year and Josh has developed a gruff man's voice. It was great to see them all. We went out for lunch to the Plough at Cadsden - I have been there before with Jennifer and it's just the kind of English pub that I like, very traditional with excellent food. It is also David Cameron's local when he is at Chequers, and since my last visit he has taken the Chinese Premier there for a pint - I remember recognising it in the news. Apparently this has resulted in a recent increase in the number of Chinese tourists who visit the pub. Replete from our delicious meal we decided that a walk was required, so Jennifer and Russell took us to Coombe Hill where we had a beautiful view of the Vale of Aylesbury. We then walked along the Ridgeway, chatting and admiring the views. And guess who passed us on the path? David Cameron! He was wearing a flat cap and was in deep conversation with another man, while a couple of security guys walked behind him. They were all dressed casually and if Jennifer hadn't pointed him out we wouldn't even have realised that it was him. I was quite excited! We descended into the grounds of Chequers, which are bristling with security cameras. Apparently if you stray off the path a car with security people arrives to give you a telling off. We then arrived back at the Plough at Cadsden where we had refreshments before going back to Jennifer and Russell's house. 

In the evening we went to the cinema in Aylesbury to see the unspeakably outrageous Grimsby - one of Sacha Baron Cohen's creations so we knew what to expect. Josh and Ben were with us and we were all laughing out loud in a mixture of amusement and horror! Subtle it was not, the jokes were very hit and miss, but it gave us plenty to talk about over supper back at the house! 

Three day weekend

I had an extra day of weekend on Friday which was as welcome as it is unusual. I had a splendid time, footering around the house doing a bit of admin and a bit of housework. At lunch time I went over to the west end where I met up with Ally for lunch at the Ubiquitous Chip, one of our old favourites and quite a Glasgow institution. We had a great chat and the food was excellent. I did a few useful errands on the way home then Christine, Gerry and Cat arrived at tea time and we all had a spontaneous curry. The only problem was that I was too sated after my delicious lunch to do full justice to my chicken pasanda! What a lovely extra bonus day to start the weekend.

Churchill's Underground Lair

Today we went to visit Churchill's War Rooms. We have never been before and Alasdair recommended them after his recent visit to London so we decided to give it a go. It was a fine morning so we walked there from Southwark, along the Thames to Waterloo Bridge, then across Horseguards to the Treasury building. The war rooms are underground there, in what used to be old storage rooms. Although they were reinforced, they wouldn't have withstood a direct hit from a bomb. There were meeting rooms, map rooms, living quarters, and there is a fairly large museum about Churchill's life. It was all fascinating and we were in there for hours because there were so many things to see. We had a late lunch of bruschetta and risotto at the Café Concerto and did a bit of shopping in Jermyn Street as well as some food shopping in Fortnum and Masons. And now we're back at London City Airport about to board our flight home. It has been a really fun weekend.

Tomorrow is a Latter Day

Our London weekend continued with a visit to the Tate Modern where I wanted to see the nine Rothko Seagram paintings. They are quite dark and brooding, but the museum was busy and it was hard to feel meditative with so many people moving around. James was not at all impressed by Rothko and I caught him checking the football results on his phone!

We had dinner at Palomar, a really good wee Israeli restaurant in the theatre district. The food and atmosphere were great and I had polenta with asparagus, mushrooms and truffle oil which was amazing, also Shakshukit which was a delicious kebab with minced meat, yoghurt and tahini. James had cod with octopus and harissa. 

James had booked tickets for the Book of Mormon because he had heard that it is very funny. I wasn't so sure; I don't like entertainment that deliberately sets out to shock. I find that it never actually shocks me, but often annoys me by its disrespect, either to me or others. I'm not sure if that makes sense but that's how I feel. When the show started I had my doubts but I was soon won over by the great songs and dancing, and found that under its veneer of outrageousness it was in fact funny, feel-good and surprisingly moral. It certainly poked fun at the Mormon religion but also at all religions and at human nature in general, and the humour was good-natured. The actors were brilliant; so talented and full of enthusiasm, and the plot was clever and very witty as well as entertaining. It's the funniest thing I have seen for a long time and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gardens

James and I are having a short weekend away in London. The official reason is that it is Valentine's Day tomorrow but it's really just an excuse for a wee break.

We arrived last night and checked in to our favourite Premier Inn at Southwark before starting our weekend with a drink at the Swan Bar at The Globe, just a few minutes walk away.

This morning we arrived at the Royal Academy just before opening time because we were keen to visit the "Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse" exhibition; it was really fascinating because the styles of painting were evolving and so were the types of garden. I didn't realise that Monet planted his water lilies specifically in order to paint them. 

There were lots of paintings by Monet but also other artists from the late 19th century and early 20th century. They varied a lot in style (although of course given the time frame there was lots of Impressionism) and of course I had my favourites. I don't know exactly why certain paintings appealed to me more than others; it's really a very personal choice. 

Those I especially liked included Raoul Dufy's The Little Palm Tree (1905), Emil Nolde's Large Poppies (1908) and Edvard Munsch's Apple Tree in the Garden (1932).

But my absolute favourite was one of Monet's - not one of his many paintings of water lilies but a painting of The Artist’s Garden At Vetheuil (1881) which featured tall sunflowers, two small boys and an amazing blue sky. It was as if he had captured a moment in time. 

Do the cats love me back?

Any reader of this blog knows about my fondness for my two kitties Tom and Ruby. I find them to be very cute and endlessly amusing, and I have always thought that these feelings were reciprocated. However yesterday I saw a news item about a leopard which had wandered into the grounds of a school in India. Video footage was shown of the frisky leopard chasing unfortunate individuals, leaping up at them and biting them. It also climbed up a wall and walked along it nonchalantly.*

And in its movements and behaviour it reminded me a great deal of my own two cats, except bigger. Tom enjoys reaching out with his paw to grab at my foot when I walk past him. Ruby likes to bite my hand (gently) when I play with her. They both stalk us around the house and garden in what I always assumed is an affectionate manner. 

On seeing the news item I wondered how Tom and Ruby would treat me if they were leopard sized. Would they still defer to me as one of the adults of the house, or would they play with me like one of the unlucky mice they bring in? They play with these mice to death - and beyond - throwing the poor little bodies against the wall in an attempt to liven them up for more fun. 

While considering this I started clearing up ready for bed and this is the signal for the cats to demand supper (they always like to guard against night starvation.) As I carried my tea mug towards the sink both cats slid off their beds and padded after me silently. Their eyes looked intent, their faces absolutely expressionless. I felt as if I was an antelope in the Serengeti.

* The story had a happy ending; no one was seriously injured and the leopard was tranquilliser and rehomed in a nature reserve. 

Quiet in town

I'm sitting in the hairdressers for a much needed hair cut and paint! When I arrived in town the first thing I noticed was how quiet it is. The weather is very unpleasant; windy and rainy, so that may have put a lot of people off venturing out. My favourite car park where it's usually difficult to find a space was delightfully quiet, Buchanan Street was so deserted it looked almost post-apocalyptic, and when I went to Costa Coffee to pick up a coffee and a pastry it was nearly empty with no queue at all. 

It has been a pleasant weekend so far. Jamie is home for a few days so we have had some nice chats and he joined us for dinner last night with Heather and Ewan. It was a lovely relaxing evening; the food all turned out well especially the lamb tagine, and we enjoyed seeing Heather and Ewan's photos of their recent and excellent ski holiday. Cat came up from Wales on Friday to go to Ally's Law Ball so we have seen a bit of them over the weekend in between their social occasions. They had a great time at the Law Ball and were visibly exhausted on Saturday after their late night. We were out ourselves on Friday to a quiz night with Christine and Gerry, it was great fun and I felt that I was a useful member of my team especially in my specialist areas of France, films and of course celebrities! 

Theory test

Last night was another stormy night. The wind was whipping and whooshing around, and there were some huge gusts that seemed to shake the whole house. And this is a Victorian house which is well settled on its foundations and has withstood the weather for about 120 years. As usual I quite enjoyed listening to the storm from the comfort of my warm bed. When we woke up it was still windy but not so severe; our garden fence has been partly blown down and there were reports on the radio about flooding and damage. The day was steely grey and very bleak and wintry. 

Ally passed the theory part of his driving test today. He was describing very amusingly how, when each candidate went up to the desk to get their results, the clerk either gave a pleased smile or a sympathetic grimace, depending on their success or lack thereof. 

A concert for Bert Jansch

When we were having lunch yesterday with Catherine and Iain we discovered that, coincidentally, we were all going to the same concert this evening! It was "Bert Inspired; a concert for Bert Jansch" and it was the very last performance in this year's Celtic Connections. 

Bert Jansch was a folk musician who died about five years ago. He was a singer-songwriter who was sometimes known as the "British Bob Dylan" and he was an influence on many performers, some of whom were at the concert tonight to pay tribute to him by singing his songs. Among others there was his former band mate from Pentangle, Jacqui McShee; Graham Coxon of Blur and younger singers like the excellent Karine Polwart and the very enthusiastic Riley Walker. The most famous friend and devotee who was there to pay tribute to Jansch was Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame. It was a unique line up whose singing and anecdotes about Jansch made for a very personal, affectionate concert. My favourite songs of the evening? The hauntingly beautiful "Needle of Death" and the lovely "Is it Real?"