Bonjour Paris

We are in Paris. We fancied seeing Bob Dylan but he was sold out in Glasgow so we looked around to see where he’s touring and decided that a wee jaunt back to Paris would be fun. We spent a fair proportion of the day travelling and arrived at the Hôtel Regent’s Garden at about 4 p.m. We are in the 17ième arrondissement for a change, not far from the Arc de Triomphe, and after checking in to our hotel, we went for a walk to check out the neighbourhood. There are plenty of cafés and restaurants, and we are a short walk from the Palais de Congrès, where Bob Dylan will be playing tomorrow evening; the main reason for us choosing this area of Paris. We had pre-dinner drinks in the friendly wee Café Armance, on whose menu is written the eponymous Armance’s motto, “Ici, on pèle, on cuit, on monte au beurre, on rôtit, on arrose, on boit, on respire, on aime, on vit quoi...” How very French. 
By this time it had started raining and it was dark, so we headed back to the hotel and had a good dinner in the restaurant next door, which was called Môm, then back to our cosy room with flowers in its window box. 

Bosch and Bruegel

Yesterday I met up with my dear school friends, the self-styled Ladies who lunch. We had our usual friendly and supportive catch up. Out of the five of us, two have grandchildren and one has two grandchildren in the way. Not twins, an expected baby from each of two different offspring! On the way home I ran into Christine from next door, who has been very ill recently but has recovered; it’s nice to see her looking so well. 
Today I had my fifth session of Northern Renaissance Art; Bosch and Bruegel. They are different yet similar. It was very interesting. I would love to go to Madrid to see lots of Bosch paintings (the Spanish Royal family collected a lot of them so they are now in the Museo del Prado) and to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna to see lots of Bruegel paintings (collected by the Austrian branch of the Habsburg Royal family in the 16th and 17th centuries.) Maybe one day!  

Birthday sticky toffee puddings

We were woken at 2.30 a.m. by foxes screaming in the street. I mean really screaming, it was the most unearthly noise. After this disturbance we got back to sleep but when I woke up I was confused about what time it now was. Luckily the clocks went back last night which meant that we got an extra hour of sleep. 
I made gratin dauphinois while James made gammon joint with cherries, and we served this with buttered carrots for Chanel’s birthday lunch. Our lovely Chanel is 29 today and we have known her for a decade; I remember very well the day that we first met her in Dundee on 15th November 2015. Josh was here too; he’s working in Ayrshire this week so is staying with us overnight. The five of us had our lunch followed by Chanel’s favourite dessert - sticky toffee puddings which I made yesterday. They turned out very well and we didn’t have room for birthday cake, although we lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday. Then we went through to the lounge and played a board game called Seven Wonders which I purchased earlier this year, after seeing it being played very enthusiastically by a French family when we were in Madonna di Campiglio. They played it every night in the bar after skiing. Chanel deciphered the rather complicated instructions and thank goodness she did because I couldn’t make head nor tail of it at first. But by playing the game I gradually got the hang of it and we all enjoyed it. After Davie and Chanel went home (with the birthday cake!) Josh, James and I had pizzas and watched a very good film called A House of Dynamite on Netflix. It was an all too believable tale about the start of a nuclear war, and was told from three concurrent points of view. It was compelling and well acted. 

Anything for Love

Last night we went to see Steve Steinman’s Anything for Love at the Armadillo. We met up with Gordon and Morag there, which was especially impressive because Gordon has recently had his second knee replacement. Last week James and I took a picnic lunch over to him and Morag. We picked up some meats, cheeses, nice salads and bread at Marks and Spencer and when we arrived we set it all out. Gordon was moving about really well considering that it was only a few days after his operation. After lunch Morag made us all coffee and we drank it in the living room so that Gordon could elevate his leg. It was great to see them both and have a good chat. Gordon wasn’t sure whether he would be able to attend Anything for Love but he decided to come along and it was such a joyful evening. Steve Steinman originated his tribute to Meat Loaf when he went on Stars In Their Eyes in 1993, and he has been touring with it ever since. He looks nothing like Meat Loaf, being a skinny, bald 59 year old man from Oldham near Manchester, but his voice is very similar. At least I think so; James doesn’t think it’s as good as that of Meat Loaf. He was supported by a great band and they were all enthusiastic and sometimes humorous; it was an excellent tribute act. None were more enthusiastic than the male backing singer, who looked absolutely transported with happiness the whole time. I pointed this out to James and he said “He’s living his best life!”

Pub Quiz

Davie and Chanel recently invited us to come along to a pub quiz in Uddingston which they frequent regularly, and we went to it tonight. It was at the Rowan Tree Inn, which is tucked in behind the Main Street right beside the Tunnocks factory. As we arrived we saw an elderly man getting into a big car and I said jokingly “That’ll be Mr Tunnock!” Then we noticed that the registration plate was “AT 12” and realised that it probably was indeed Mr Tunnock, one of the succession of Mr Tunnocks that is; it’s a family business which has been going since 1890. We met Davie in the pub, unfortunately Chanel was not able to be there because she isn’t feeling well. The food menu in the Rowan Tree is so short that it is literally printed on a beer mat! But the pies and chips that we ordered were very tasty and the staff were friendly and efficient. The quiz was great fun, David knew the quizmaster and several of the other customers too. This is typical of Davie, who makes friends wherever he goes. My finest hour? Identifying Rembrandt from his self-portrait. Davie’s finest hour? The music round; he has a really good knowledge of albums of the past and present. And James’ finest hour? The tie break! We tied for first place with another team and the deciding question was “What is the height of Ben Nevis in feet?” James knew the answer in metres but had quickly to convert it into feet. He was correct (well, much closer than the other team) and we swept to victory.  

La Vie Bohème

Today I met up with Philippa at the Burrell Collection for lunch. It was great to see her and she had lots of exciting news to tell me. It was a beautiful autumn day and the highland cows in the fields were being admired by many visitors to Pollok Park. 
We watched Rent (the musical) this evening because we went to see La Bohème at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday, because I know that Rent is based on La Bohème. I saw it years ago and enjoyed it, but I don’t think that James has ever seen it. Rent is set in New York in the 1980s and instead of the tuberculosis of the 1830s, some of the characters have AIDS. The characters in both productions are similar in their drinking, drug-taking and living on the fringes of society as impoverished artists and writers. James did not enjoy watching Rent, he didn’t think that the music was any good, although he did admit that the indolent characters were no worse than those in La Bohème! Coincidentally Jamie went to see Rent at Sydney Royal Opera House on Thursday. He has been in Australia for a neonatal conference this week. 

Davie’s 30th Birthday Celebration

This evening we celebrated Davie’s 30th birthday with a dinner at Angels in Uddingston. Eagle eyed readers will realise that Davie’s birthday is in fact the 17th October rather than the 16th, however Chanel is taking Davie away for the weekend to a mystery destination, so we celebrated a day early. We picked up Davie and Chanel on our way and we were gratified at how excellent was the dinner. Great service and great food and great company. After the meal the birthday cake was produced; I had ordered a photo cake which turned out very well and I think that Davie was very pleased. We were lucky to be able to spend Jamie’s 30th birthday with him in New Zealand, and although Ally’s 30th was in the run up to the financial year end when he was very busy, we enjoyed celebrating with him a few weeks later. It was lovely to mark Davie’s special birthday with him and Chanel; I can’t believe that my youngest is now 30!