Sad news and a train journey

This morning was again spent in the hammock. The cats love it when either of us are in the garden so they kept me company, showing off by tussling with each other on the grass and stalking birds. My invitations to join me in the hammock were haughtily ignored by both cats however; I don’t think they like the way that it moves. I made my way into a hot Glasgow by train to meet Ally W for lunch at Singl’End in Garnethill. We had a nice chat and then strolled down to the GFT to watch a French film “Full Time.” It was very thought provoking, and unsurprisingly very French! It ended very suddenly leaving me wanting to know what happened next, and I think that was the point; it was the story of a particular week of work and transport strikes in a woman’s life, it wasn’t intended to have a proper resolution. While I was strolling around a very sunny George Square before I caught the train from Queen Street to Inverness, the call that I had been dreading yet expecting came through from Julie to say that Katy died this afternoon. She was such a lovely lady, and she and Bill got on extremely well with my Mum and Dad. I am so sad.
The train was slightly delayed because of trespassers on the track, so we couldn’t set off until they were caught! The train was only three carriages so my seat reservation was invalid and the train guard told me that I could sit anywhere. So I took myself into the first class section of the carriage, which seemed much the same as second class although perhaps slightly cleaner, because less people use it? I ate my sandwiches and read my book, and the train arrived in Inverness just about on time three hours or so later at 10.45 p.m. James very kindly met me at the station and drove me to Ullapool. It is good to be back. 

Full on Spring

We are having a mini heatwave in Glasgow; a heatwave for this time of year anyway. The temperature has reached a dizzying 25 degrees and it is glorious. James put the hammock outside for me before he set off for Ullapool (he has gone there a couple of days ahead of me) and I have spent much of today lounging and reading in it. The garden is blooming, including my favourite plant, the variegated weigelia, with its exuberant pinks and greens. The sky is a powder spring blue with not a cloud in sight. Whilst dozing in the hammock yesterday afternoon I was rudely awoken by a loud retching sound. It was Flora, who was being sick on the grass just beside me. Just beside her was a frog whose back had a rather rough aspect, as if someone had been licking it! I presume that the frog’s skin either tasted very bad or was a little bit poisonous. It didn’t seem to do Flora any lasting damage. 
Earlier I had travelled to Airdrie, past familiar landmarks from the years that I used to teach at Airdrie Academy, to visit my lovely Aunt Katy at Monklands Hospital. Katy has always been a very healthy person, in fact Abigail told me that she hadn’t spent a night in hospital since Abigail’s birth, fifty years ago. She spent years looking after Bill devotedly as his health declined. Only a few weeks ago when I phoned her to arrange to meet up, Katy mentioned that she would have to postpone because she had a very sore back. I thought nothing of it, but then heard a few days ago from Julie that Katy has cancer and is very ill indeed. I messaged Abigail to ask if she would like some company at the hospital, because I didn’t want to intrude, and she replied that it would be lovely to see me. When I arrived Katy was very peaceful, drifting in and out of sleep. Abigail was so gentle and attentive to her Mum, adjusting her pillows and giving her sips of water. While Katy slept Abigail and I chatted quietly, when she opened her eyes we talked to her. When I left I said “That’s me away Katy, bye for now” but I’m very sad to say that I don’t think I will see her again. 

Montmartre and home

Our last day in Paris began with coffee and croissants at the Bar du Marché, just along from our hotel. The weather was absolutely glorious as it has been all week, and I felt sad that it was the last breakfast of this lovely holiday. We left our luggage at the hotel and off we went by Metro to Montmartre, where we had drinks in the Place du Tertre and wandered around the pretty streets. The atmosphere was festive, there were street performers and musicians and of course lots of artists touting for business. We visited the Maison Rose Café (as featured in Emily in Paris!) and had lunch in a wee side street slightly away from the main throng. We also went for the first time to the wee Dali museum which I thought was excellent. What a beautiful day. We walked downhill and through the streets for a few kilometres and ended up back at Galeries Lafayette, on the roof terrace, where we had a cocktail and a mocktail (mine was called a Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and it was very cold and tasted like heaven.) We had views back to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur in one direction, and to the Eiffel Tower in the opposite direction. We set off back to the hotel in plenty of time to take the RER to Charles de Gaulle Airport from St Michel station. 
Or so we thought. Sadly there had been an incident on the line involving a passenger, and as a result all of the trains were cancelled. To make matters worse we weren’t told that straight away, so we waited around with hundreds of other passengers thinking that it was only a delay. By the time we realised that the trains weren’t going to resume in time for us to make it to the airport for our flight, we were cutting it very fine even to take a taxi. Back up above the ground we headed and James very efficiently ordered an Uber which arrived quickly. But it turned out that there were huge traffic delays because Beyoncé was playing at the Stade de France! Oh no! We arrived at the airport with only forty minutes before our flight, and ran to security, which luckily wasn’t busy, then to passport control and finally to our departure gate and we made it with about ten minutes to spare. Such a relief! 

Versailles

Another excursion outside Paris for us today; a visit to Versailles. The weather was again fantastic - not a cloud in the sky - and the golden gates of the palace shone brightly as we approached. Our timed tickets stood us in good stead, and we were soon inside the palace, but it was busy and we had to shuffle around the rooms at a fairly slow pace with the crowds. It was interesting in an over the top way; Louis XIV certainly had a high opinion of himself as his many portraits conveyed - he had himself painted many times as a general riding a horse, a Roman emperor, and of course an opulently robed king. The highlight was the hall of mirrors which must have been unfeasibly expensive to create, and unique in its time. (And another Emily in Paris location - where she attended a fashion show!) I was glad to get back out into the fresh air though, and pleased that the crowds quickly thinned out in the large gardens. We walked around and admired the long avenues and beautiful fountains, one of which had classical music accompanying its water jets. We had lunch in an outdoor café and relaxed beside the lake. It was all so unfeasibly beautiful that it was hard to take in; the palace was so grand, the lake was Nile green, the grass so bright, the sky so very blue. We decided to do something that we did on our honeymoon to Paris thirty-eight years ago; we hired a boat and went rowing on the lake. It was great fun and although James nobly did most of the rowing, I took a turn at it and it all came back to me, from my childhood days rowing on Lake Menteith. We walked onwards to Le Grand Trianon, which I loved. I particularly loved its pink marble on the outside walls, although James thinks that it has faded from red to pink over the centuries. It’s very pretty and if I ever build myself a palace it will definitely be pink! The decor was simpler than that of the Palace of Versailles but still very plush. And it had attractive gardens too with its own big pond. At that point I was getting a bit footsore so I persuaded James to spend nine euros on two tickets for the little tourist bus that ploughs a triangular route between the three palaces. When it arrived at Le Petit Trianon it had only travelled a couple of hundred yards so I temporarily regretted getting the tickets. I remembered Le Petit Trianon and the Hameau de la Reine from our honeymoon, we enjoyed revisiting it and as a bonus it was very quiet because it was now after six o’clock and most people had gone home. We took lots of photos and saw goslings and marvelled at the cute but foolish pretend “peasant houses” and enjoyed walking along the little winding paths. We arrived back at the gate of Le Petit Trianon just as a little tourist bus arrived and we jumped on using our still valid tickets. And how glad I was now that we had bought those tickets! It was a good 3 km along dusty roads back to the main palace, well worth the lift for my tired feet. By the time we made our way back out of the gilded gates at the front of the palace it was five past seven - just over EIGHT HOURS since we had arrived! Back in St Germain des Prés we had a delicious dinner and then went straight back to the hotel, dusty and tired! 

Pompidou Centre and Le Grand Véfour

In the morning we went to the Café le Flore en l’Isle, on the Ile Saint Louis for breakfast (it’s an Emily in Paris location that I wanted to visit!) * and as we left we noticed security men blocking the end of the next street. Gunshots rang out and we saw a man slumping to the ground in the distance - it turned out to be a filming location for a film called “The Killer” starring Michael Fassbender (I asked one of the security guys.) We must make a point of watching it when it is released at the end of the year.

We then headed to the Pompidou Centre. We have not been there for about 40 years and felt that it was time to pay it another visit, especially because I think that it’s going to close fairly soon (next year?) for a long refurbishment. I loved it. I think that I have begun to understand Modern Art more as I get older, and I have seen more of it over the years, so the evolution and methods make more sense to me. Highlights for me included Dufy, Mondrian and Chagall. And it’s a spacious, airy museum, with its escalators and corridors on the outside of the building looking over Paris. 
After a pleasant lunch in the Cirque Café in the square outside, we went for a walk which took us past St Eustache in Les Halles, a big old church with lots of artwork including a nice Rubens painting, “The disciples of Emmaus.”
We eventually ended up at Galeries Lafayette where we did a small amount of shopping and visited the roof terrace for its views, followed by cakes and coffee under the gorgeous stained glass dome. 
We went for dinner to Le Grand Véfour, which I first heard about when I watched the tv series Emily in Paris * when Emily tries to reserve a table there for her clients but gets the date wrong. Luckily I had got our reservation date correct and we had a fantastic meal in the beautiful old restaurant, which is steeped in Parisian history and was much frequented by writers and philosophers over several centuries. Our waiter told us that we were sitting at Jean Cocteau’s favourite table, which made me very excited! I had artichokes à la barigoule, which is a springtime recipe of artichokes braised in white wine with olive oil. The service was absolutely excellent and it was a very special way to celebrate our 38th Wedding Anniversary. As we strolled back to our hotel we saw a stunning sunset and took photos of it through the glass of the Louvre Pyramids.

* Cat and I enjoyed watching Emily in Paris during lockdown in 2020 / 21. It’s such a feel good programme; nothing too serious, beautiful clothes, lovely Lily Collins and of course the real star - Paris! During this holiday it seemed appropriate to visit a few of the locations from the tv series just for fun.

Monet’s Garden

We got up in plenty of time to travel to Gare St Lazare for our 10.11 train to Vernon / Giverny. I hadn’t planned to visit Monet’s garden during our trip to Paris because it always seems a bit out of the way. However when Jenn F heard that we would be in Paris for just about a whole week, she assured me that it’s easy to get to, and well worth a visit. She was right! Once we got on the train it was only 50 minutes to Vernon, and then a shuttle bus awaited the passengers for Giverny, which is a further 7 km. along the Seine. The gardens were as busy as I expected but we couldn’t really complain since we are tourists too! They are certainly very beautiful and well-maintained, and the late spring colours of blue, lilac, white, pink and purple were gorgeous to behold. The house is very attractive; red brick and green shutters. Inside it is spacious and airy, no wonder that Monet bought it after initially renting it. The lily pond was of course spectacular; the lilies were flowering and there were Japanese style bridges at each end, one bigger than the other. Apparently Monet loved Japanese art and had lots of it in his house; not realising this at first, we were surprised to see a print of Hokusai’s “The Great Wave” in the museum shop and James said, “It must have been windy at the lily pond that day!” which made me laugh. There were very many different types of plants but my absolute favourite was white wisteria hanging down from the framework of the larger bridge; it was so delicate and beautiful, with a heavenly perfume. After a restoring lunch at a nearby café, we got the train back to Paris later in the afternoon. We had time for a walk round the little town of Vernon first and into its ancient church which unfortunately had been badly damaged in the 2nd World War; it’s stained glass windows had been blown out and had to be replaced with modern designs. 
Back in Paris we went out for our dinner and then watched a jazz quartet playing on the street. They were excellent, but it wasn’t long before we headed to bed, tired after a day out in the sunshine and full of delicious French food. 

Louvre-ing

It was another sunny day in Paris so we decided to start off with a walk along the left bank, past the Ile de la Cité and the Ile St Louis to the Jardin des Plantes. It was our first visit to this beautiful, quite formal park which is dedicated to science; how plants can help people. We heard a shout at one point and it was a parkie giving a man a proper telling off for walking on the grass! When we turned to head towards the Louvre, James pointed out that we were near a “Batobus” stop (a river boat which travels up and down the Seine, stopping at various tourist attractions.) There was one just arriving - the steward very kindly held the boat up for us while James purchased a ticket - and we jumped on and rode in style along the river right to the Louvre. We had prudently bought a “timed ticket” for the museum, which allowed us to join a much shorter queue than those who had not had our foresight. Soon we were on the 1st floor of the Richelieu wing, looking for a café on the terrace in order to have a light lunch. As we looked around a waiter noticed us and very pleasantly led us to a table on the terrace of the Angelina restaurant, which was exactly where we had hoped to be. The terrace overlooked the inner courtyard of the Louvre, where we could see the pyramids and the long queues of visitors waiting to get in. It was very sunny but there were large sunshades which kept us cool behind a row of statues perched on the edge of the terrace. It was just brilliant. Also, we have never been to Angelina before, which is a Parisian favourite, established in 1903, so that was a lovely new experience. The original restaurant is on Rue de Rivoli, but there are now about half a dozen of them around Paris, including the one in the Louvre. The meal was lovely; I had a delightful tomato tart with walnuts and burrata. Then we went up to the second floor to look at the medieval Dutch and French art, and then to the first floor to see the Italian Renaissance art including the three Caravaggios, first introduced to us there by Ewan years ago. After nearly three hours (not including lunch!) we felt that it was time to head outdoors. I hope that we’ll be back soon. We had paid for whole day tickets on the batobus so we had ourselves another trip up and down the river, looking at all of the buildings and passing under many bridges. Later we had dinner at the Café de Paris, pleasantly near the Artus, our little home from home. 

Manet, Degas and Choux Pastry

Oh boy were we lucky that the queue was so short when we arrived at the Musée d’Orsay without booking this morning! We went straight to the Manet / Degas exhibition, which was already quite busy. I think it was a good idea to have a “compare and contrast” exhibition of these two artists who were only two years apart in age and came from similar middle class back grounds; neither of them did well academically and their families both finally allowed them to pursue their dreams of being artists. They also knew each other and indulged in various petty quarrels, such as the time that Manet tore up an unflattering depiction of his wife by Degas, and sometimes they would give each other paintings and then send them or take them back in a huff! Manet did some great cat pictures, especially of black cats. Manet’s crowd scenes were better but Degas’ faces were better - sometimes. And of course Degas' ballet dancers and horses were great. Why do impressionist painters often paint scenes with fully clad men and naked women? (as in Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’herbe) It’s like a bawdy Carry On 70s comedy; “Oops my dress fell off!”
We had a pleasant lunch in the museum café and then continued to wander through the different rooms; Monet’s Poppies is just delightful, with a woman and child walking through a meadow with long grass. One of my favourite paintings of all time is Renoir’s Bal du Moulin de la Galette, I love its dappled light and sense of capturing a moment in time. For some reason I always think that it’s in the Louvre, and am always surprised to find it in the Musée d’Orsay. 
We decided to walk to our Patisserie course in the 8ème so we headed through the Tuileries Gardens and to the Champs-Elysées before turning off towards Rue de Penthièvre. There were fifteen of us on the course and it was great fun; we all worked together, taking turns to practise the different skills, which was a good way to do it, I felt that I learned a lot. The other participants were all French and were friendly, but it was amusing to see who wanted to take charge and were keen to offer advice to others, even though they were no better at the different techniques than anyone else! In a two hour course it didn’t matter but could have been irritating if it had been an ongoing issue. 
James was a star at chopping and mixing, he even held the bowls steady so that people of lesser strength could mix more effectively. The teacher called his crème pâtissière “Superbe!” which made me feel very proud. 
At the end of the course we went to nearby Parc Monceau, a very busy wee urban park with pony-trekking for children and a merry-go-round. It was nice to see families out enjoying the fine weather on a Sunday afternoon. We bought cups of tea from a kiosk and then ate all of our patisserie: chocolate eclairs, réligieuses (two choux buns on top of each other filled with crème pâtissière) and chouquettes (little choux buns topped with sugar.) We were so full of sugar by the time we had finished! 
We walked all the way back to St Germain des Prés along the Champs-Elysées, where we stopped at a shop to get James some lip salve and I couldn’t resist buying a little notebook that says “Mots” on the front (like the Sartre book!) James expressed doubt about me buying a new notebook when I already have so many of them at home, but I swept his concerns aside because it is so very cute. We then crossed the river and walked along the Left Bank back to our hotel. The day was rounded off with drinks at the Café de Paris in the rue de Buci.  

Paris in the Spring

I am tucked up in our comfy wee hotel room in Paris, and i am so glad to be in bed after a long (but excellent) day, which started some 19 hours ago! We had an early start for the 7 a.m. flight to Charles de Gaulle. All went smoothly until we found that the train line into Paris was closed for weekend maintenance so we had to make our way up and down various escalators to a replacement bus. Even that went smoothly; buses were rolling in and filling up fast, and soon we were on the metro to St Germain-des-Prés and leaving our luggage at our old favourite, the Hotel Artus. 

The weather was beautiful so we decided to go for a walk around the Ile de la Cité then across the bridge to the Ile St Louis. When we got to the narrow tip of the Isle de la Cité with it beautiful weeping willow tree, we noticed an unfolding drama in the water. The skipper of a leisure boat had foolishly ignored the warning triangle in the shallow water beyond the point, and his boat had become stuck fast on a mud bank. The fire department were already in attendance and soon a police boat arrived, followed by two more fire department vessels. We sat on the stone steps to watch. There was much Gallic hand gesturing between all parties involved, two divers investigated what was going on under the boat, and there was a failed attempt to tow the boat free. Finally, a hefty rope was affixed to the boat from the largest of the fire department vessels, and then two of the smaller fire speed boats circled near the stranded boat at speed to create some waves as the boat was pulled mightily by the fire department boat. And …. success! The crowd on the end of the Ile de la Cité all cheered as she floated free. It had been a very diverting half hour! James and I resumed our perambulations and had a pleasant coffee at the Brasserie Ile St Louis before returning to our hotel for a wee rest before dinner. We dined in a restaurant near the hotel and had drinks in a café before heading to bed. It’s great to be here! 

Barbecue and Eurovision

David and Chanel phoned me on Saturday afternoon from the car with some splendid news. Chanel has been offered a new job in Stirling so she and Davie will be moving back to Scotland in August. And since they were still in Scotland following Chanel’s interview they decided to come to the house to stay overnight on their way back to Manchester, and suggested that we could all watch Eurovision together. Well, this was all music to my ears! I quickly shopped for the ingredients for a barbecue - the weather happened to be particularly warm and sunny on Saturday - and when they arrived Davie set up and lit the barbecue. James arrived home from a hill-walking trip to the borders rather hot and sweaty, and after he had a quick shower we cooked beef burgers and halloumi burgers with baked potatoes, grilled asparagus and an assortment of sauces. It was all delicious and by 8 p.m. we were ready for an evening of Eurovision entertainment. James managed to stayed awake for the first hour, but tired from his walk and with a full barbecue belly he then took himself off to bed with our blessing. Eurovision was being hosted in Liverpool and it was all very slick. The only problem was that as part of the hosting team, Graham Norton had to behave himself and was not his usual sardonic self, which was a pity. I enjoyed the whole evening, discussing the performances with Davie and Chanel (and by message with Heather and Jennifer!) but there wasn’t really a stand out song for me. Sweden won and there was a general feeling that Finland had been robbed. The costumes were delightfully outrageous as usual and I loved new presenter Hannah Waddingham, who is in Ted Lasso, and seems to encapsulate the spirit of Eurovision! It was a fine Eurovision evening. 

Very sore eye

On our way home from London I suddenly developed a severe pain in my eye. I assumed that a bit of grit or even an eyelash had fallen into it. Despite flushing out my eye constantly with sterile solution that James kindly obtained for me in Boots at Heathrow Airport, the pain continued. It really felt like I was being stabbed in my eye! I phoned Carol, our optician, but although she was willing to see me, she mentioned that she was about to go away for the weekend, so I foolishly insisted on NOT going to see her, assuming that my eye would surely improve. But no. There ensued two days of pain, during which I couldn’t find anything stuck under my eyelid or anything else that could explain the pain. My eyeball was bright red and my eyelids were swollen. I would have cried but tears were already streaming from my eye! And it felt even worse in bright light. Nevertheless I soldiered on with pre-planned social arrangements, such as meeting up for coffee with Suzy, Harris and Gran Jan, and having lunch with Christine and Gerry, and having dinner with Jennifer, Caroline and Linda. My eye screamed at me throughout, but I put on a brave face and tried not to grimace too much! 

Finally on Friday James insisted on taking me to Specsavers in Rutherglen as an emergency and after a bit of waiting around I was examined by a very serious young optometrist. She soon found out what was wrong. I have a 3 - 4 mm ulcer on my cornea, quite deep into the stroma layer, caused by tiny ingrowing eyelashes. My goodness I didn’t expect that. At worst I thought that I maybe had a wee scratch on my eye. The next thing the optometrist was on the phone to the hospital to check which antibiotic cream to give me. And the rest is good news - my eye feels a bit tender but that is NOTHING compared to the previous pain. We went out for a lovely Rasoi curry that evening with Heather and Ewan and I was giddy with relief. The optometrist wants to monitor the ulcer over the next few days but it’s definitely on the mend. 

Afternoon Tea at the Goring

On Tuesday the young ones were back at work and it was the last day of our holiday. James and I went for a sunny walk to the Mall, where the last of the barriers from the Coronation were being removed, although the flags were still lining the road. Then we strolled through Green Park. The ruthlessly efficient gardeners were digging up the last of the tulips and narcissus (which were still beautiful!) to make way for the next display. We had a delightful afternoon tea at the beautiful and very upmarket Goring Hotel. This was a Christmas gift from Ally and Cat and it was a joy from beginning to end. There was Bollinger Champagne for James, and a huge choice of teas. There were dainty sandwiches, perfect little scones, and melt-in-the-mouth Coronation themed cakes. We were even given a free jar of Coronation jam and a Coronation programme!
As if that wasn’t enough, we then took a taxi to the Donmar Warehouse to see Stephen Mangan and Rachael Stirling in the darkly comic Private Lives. I remember seeing the famous initial balcony scene before but I didn’t remember the rest of the play and in truth I didn’t know what to make of it. The two leading characters are very witty but are also completely amoral and just horrible people. It’s very funny (although the domestic violence was uncomfortable even though it went both ways), and Mangan and Stirling were both brilliant. And then suddenly our jaunt to London came to an end. Off we went to Heathrow and home to reunite with the cats. We have had a great time and even a two hour delay to our flight didn’t bother us too much. 

More Coronation fun

London always has new experiences for us and on Sunday our young Londoners Ally and Cat took us to wander around Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market, the first time that we have visited these vibrant areas. There were stalls selling just about anything that you could possibly wish for, and a vintage clothes market which was fascinating. We had a delicious brunch in The Breakfast Place, and went to browse around Eataly, a huge Italian delicatessen which I loved. I have never seen so much Italian produce in one place outside Italy! Ally and Cat headed back to do some work at their flat and James and I went in to Piccadilly to get my bracelet adjusted, and bought macarons which we ate sitting in the sunshine with coffee in the courtyard outside the Royal Academy of Arts. Blissful. James and I then walked through Hyde Park all the way to Notting Hill, which took just over an hour, and had drinks in a nice wee wine bar. Ally and Cat joined us for dinner in a great wee restaurant in Notting Hill called The Tartine. I had a three-cheese and pear risotto which was really wonderful. 

This morning James and I went to the David Hockney immersive exhibition at the Lightroom near King’s Cross. It was very interesting and colourful, as Hockney in a voiceover explained his aims and techniques as he experimented with different perspectives. It was a bank holiday Monday, so lots of parents had decided to bring their young children along. I don’t object to this; we took our boys to all sorts of museums and art galleries when they were wee, but oh boy some of those children today were feral! Later we popped round to Ally and Cat’s flat. What a difference! Their kitchen is nearly fully installed and it looks brilliant; I love the colour of blue that they have chosen for their units. There’s still quite a bit of work to do but it is going to be fantastic. Ally and Cat then took us to the Coronation Big Lunch in St Dunstan's Churchyard in Stepney in the sunshine. It’s only about 15 minutes walk from their flat. As well as lunch in the churchyard, suitably decorated with bunting and Union Jack flags, there were childrens’ races, an enthusiastic local brass band, and a dog show. The dog show was hilarious. As well as obedience and performing tricks categories, there was a category for pet that looks most like its owner. A grey haired man accompanied a dog with curly grey hair. A lady with long red hair in plaits accompanied a long-eared spaniel. The winner was a toddler with her hair in two little bobbles on top of her head who accompanied a Yorkshire terrier with the same hairstyle. The worthy winner of the final and most popular category - fancy-dress - was an Italian Spinoni wearing a very regal crocheted cape and crown. I’m making it sound like Crufts but in fact the same eight or so dogs competed in every category! After a look around the interior of 10th century St Dunstan’s Church, and a chat with a local historian who recommended some upcoming historical lectures to Ally and Cat, James and I headed to Paternoster Square to meet Neil for a drink. Ally and Cat went back to their flat to do some painting, and then met us and Andrew at La Figa restaurant in Limehouse for a slap up traditional Italian dinner. We had a lovely evening; great chat in great company. Andrew and Ally are so funny together; when Ally told Andrew that he and Cat had passed famous Limehouse resident Sir Ian McKellen in the street the previous night, Andrew responded “No!” in just the right tone of awe that Ally was hoping for! 

Coronation

The Coronation weekend started splendidly when on Friday afternoon I met up with Jennifer for birthday drinks (it was the day after her birthday.) We met in Covent Garden which was Coronation themed with much Union Jack bunting, and it was an attractive setting to laugh and chat. We met James and Cat for dinner before going to see Sheridan Smith playing Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York’s Theatre. I hadn’t realised that it was originally a one woman show (the film starring Pauline Collins includes all of the other characters) and Sheridan Smith did a magnificent job, she brought the story to life and had the audience spell-bound. She really is very talented. 

Today was of course Charles’ big day and we got thoroughly soaked in Hyde Park while watching the ceremony on the big screens there. With remarkable stamina, Ally arrived straight from the airport to join us. He had been wine-tasting with some of his clients in Bordeaux for the previous couple of days but nothing was going to stop him from celebrating the Coronation! Cat, Andrew and Iain were also there and we were a jolly if increasingly damp group. The atmosphere in Hyde Park was really good, we all cheered when Charles was crowned. I didn’t swear allegiance to him though when invited to do so by the Archbishop of Canterbury. I am pro monarchy but I’m not some sort of medieval serf! When the others headed for the Mall to watch the fly past I took myself back to the hotel to change out of my wet clothes and have a bath. It took ages to get out of Hyde Park because of the sheer volume of people. My timing was very good; I switched on the television in our hotel room just in time to see the Royal family coming out on to the balcony to wave to the crowds. Later we had a truly delicious curry with Ally and Cat at Mala at Canary Wharf; this will definitely be our go-to curry place when we are visiting Ally and Cat. 

Two plays

On Wednesday evening James and I went to the King’s Theatre with Gordon, to see The Mousetrap. This renowned old play based on an Agatha Christie murder mystery has now been running in London and on various tours for 70 years, and yet I have never seen it until now. It’s a lovely period piece, like a little snapshot of the early 20th century. I didn’t guess who dunnit and I won’t reveal who it was; at the end one of the actors entreated us not to spoil the surprise for others. So sweet. Our seats were up in the gods, the only ones I could get because it was nearly sold out, and it was very hot up there! At the interval lots of people were quaffing water that was thoughtfully provided in large dispensers in the bar. When we were having dinner beforehand James and Gordon were reminiscing about the first time they saw the play, which was fifty years ago, on a school trip to London. They both denied that they had been in short trousers at the time! It was a really good evening. 
On Thursday I went to Play, Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor with Ally W. It was about the history of anti-nuclear campaigning in Scotland and oh dear oh dear, it tipped way over from interesting to preachy and very one-sided. The protestors were saintly and the police and anyone with other opinions were buffoons. It was written and directed by Dave Anderson who I spotted in the choir singing protest songs in the background. The songs were the best bit. After the performance Ally and I treated ourselves to coffee and cake and a jolly good chat at a nearby tearoom.