Life in Dulwich

I'm on holleeeday! Sheffield here I come! Only on holiday for two days, but rehearsing for 3 days next week is like having extra holiday - sort of. I don't know where I'm meant to be on Monday though and my agent does not seem to be in a hurry to find out.

Today, at work, all the printers but one decided to give up the ghost. Someone has stuck a note on one of the printers to call me in the instance of a printer problem. Do I look like I work in IT? I think not. Sheesh. Anyway, I changed one printer toner, unjammed another printer and ordered toner. One of the other secretaries came in my room and said, 'The printer says call for service'. 'Well, call for service then', I said.

Labels: work

I have just been given a series of books as a belated Christmas pressie from my friend A. They are set in a Japanesque alternative world and they are called Stories of the Otori by Lian Hearn. Quite enjoying them - I'm on to the 2nd book - but not sure if they're for children or adults. Perhaps young adults.

Went to Ganapati, a South Indian restaurant, in Peckham last night for dinner. They do thosai! And paratha, which is almost like roti canai! We enjoyed it very much. We started with poppadums and various chutneys/dips and street snacks (some kind of corn fritter and a potato dumpling thing) with more dips (including coconut chutney).

Main courses were Meen Moollee (a mild Keralan seabream curry), Kerala Kozhi (chicken cooked with roasted coconut and coriander masala) and Erissery (green bananas cooked in peppercorn, cumin and coconut masala. It was very good and I've just discovered they do a cheaper weekday, lunchtime menu too. I suspect I shall be going back fairly frequently.

Just got back from Tango class at the White Hart on Kennington Lane. My tango teacher has started a new class there on Monday evenings, followed by a milonga. It was great fun and I hope lots of people turn up - it was a bit quiet tonight.

Labels: books, dance, food, restaurants

There was a dog on the bus yesterday wearing a bowler hat. It was on at a jaunty angle, to one side, with no visible means of support. He looked very comfy, although a little perplexed. Everyone on the bus was looking at him, though trying not to look like they were. He was with a rasta toting a very small trumpet in a case who spoke like Benjamin Zephaniah.

The new children's bookshop, The Neverending Story, has opened in East Dulwich. They're going to have story telling sessions starting in April and piano lessons in the back room. It is quite small and has mainly picture books. The only older children books are the bog standard Harry Potters, Roald Dahls, Jacqueline Wilsons etc. I put in a bid for some books of the old Puffin list ilk in their comments book. Still, it's a nice addition to the neighbourhood.

I note Caffé Nero was heaving with a long queue at the till at about 16:00 yesterday. So much for no one wanting a chain coffee shop in East Dulwich. I think the citizens of East Dulwich are voting with their hard cash. Or all the other coffee shops were full and Caffé Nero had the overspill. And let's face it - they do have soya milk as a substitute for dairy.

Labels: east dulwich, London, restaurants

Hurray! I'm going to Helsinki! And Singapore and New York! I'm so excited. The audition was a four hour workshop in which we had to introduce ourselves (not necessarily by talking), start improvising with people while they were introducing themselves, dance, choreograph, improvise other things, sing, examine tension, spatial dynamic, blah, blah, blah... The director was very intelligent, coherent, funny and we had fun.

And then I got the job!

Then my muscles ached for the rest of the day. This whole jumping around for 4 hours is more tiring than I remember it.

Afterwards I walked to BB's office and had mixed meze at a Turkish restaurant with BB and colleagues. Then work. Then gym. Then dinner with friends at a pan-Asian restaurant called Katana - some dishes good, some hit and miss. Lychee creme brulée deserves a mention though.

Anyway, now I'm pooped. Busy weekend ahead also, what with meeting with A for lunch (who is going through some mental psychosis) and then BB's friend, M, is coming to stay for a week (so have to tidy up to an acceptable level of order).

Labels: acting, restaurants

Tis been a very long day. Mainly because the internet was down at work (so no entertainment), as was one of the printers (so no scanning, faxing or printing) and actually had a lot of work to do. Also, went to the gym at lunchtime because was working for ex-boss in the evening.

Just got home (at 22:00) and will shortly be partaking of M&S super Welsh lamb Shepherd's pie and a multipack of tenderstem broccoli, mangetout & carrots. It's a funny ol' mix as the mangetout will be mulch, while the carrots will be rock hard, with the broccoli some where in between.

Audition tomorrow. I should be suitably ill-rested after today. And then, work and then dinner for R's boyfriend. It's strange that he doesn't seem to want to go out with his friends on his birthday but is lumbered with R's friends instead.

We left prawn crackers on the counter last night but Mickey, the resident mouse, doesn't seem to have partaken. He must be hibernating.

Labels: food, work

Well, half of the office, including boss, was off today. Of the remainder, only a select few are not walking dead. Everybody else has the lurgy. So I might as well have stayed at home.

The flesh-eating bug virus demanded food just before 11am today, so I had a bowl of kitsune udon that I had cunningly stashed in my drawer. Thus pacified, I only had to eat M-A's leftovers for lunch. I wonder if I can live on leftovers for the rest of this week. Hee, hee.

Am interested to see that Mack and Mabel is going to be on at the Criterion starring David Soul, of all people. For some reason, I know all the songs but not the story of this musical. I shall investigate further.

BB has just told me that they don't check your passport when you arrive from Eire. Any prospective illegal immigrants should bear this in mind....

Labels: theatre, travel, work

Turns out there's not just cheese-based items on Aer Lingus. There are no items at all unless you're prepared to pay for them. I thought Aer Lingus was a proper airline that served food. It's not like the fare was super cheap or anything.

Didn't go to work. Am staying at home feeding some rabid hungry flesh-eating variety of cold that makes me ravenous, sneeze a lot and sleep constantly.

So far I have had two lots of toast, the remainder of yesterday's soup, 4 oat biscuits, an Eccles cake, a cup of tea and lots of water. And I've only been awake a couple of hours today. I need to go in search of further sustenance.

Labels: food, transport

Just had a series of sad text messages from BB.

1) The whole of Ireland is flying back home today after St Patrick's Day.
2) They just won the rugby at Twickenham.
3) His seat is number 13.

At least they let him on the plane. And he's not flying Ryannair.

Let's hope there's not only cheese based items on the flight menu as he's allergic.

Labels: travel

Went to dance class yesterday against my better judgement, did some food shopping and then was so tired when I got home that I couldn't cook. BB ended up doing Chicken Kiev, rice and salad for dinner instead. However, I licked the routine at the cost of my ever worsening cold. Pride cometh before a fall, and I didn't want to know that I couldn't do that dance routine. Sad, I know.

Anyway, today I made the lunch that was supposed to be yesterday's dinner. Steamed minced pork with Chinese mushrooms and salt egg, ham choi tau foo tong (my favourite), fried choi sum and rice with pieces of lap cheong thrown in. I've never cooked a salt egg before and was surprised to find that the yolk is rock solid before you cook it. I think it all came out well but I couldn't taste very much. BB said it was good and had second helpings which must be a good sign.

Poor BB is off to Dublin today for his mega huge presentation on his new scheme. He's up against Norman Foster for the tender of his project which must be daunting. He showed the scheme to me last night and it looks very impressive. It's a very prestigious site in Central London and looks very Canary Wharf mixed with Prada Tokyo. I think it looks cool.

Unfortunately, BB has to lug a 35 kilo model with him on the plane and the limit for a single piece of luggage, even with the excess, is 32 kg. I hope I don't get a sad phone call saying he's on his way back from the airport because they wouldn't let him onto the plane. These are the trials of not being the big boss and having to do all the carrying and lifting. Apparently, none of the courier companies would take it because it's fragile and the model makers said it had to be accompanied. I can't believe it's impossible to courier this kind of thing. It must all boil down to saving costs at the expense of BB's aggravation.

Labels: dance, food

Am developing some kind of a dry cough so didn't go to the gym. Instead, went for pre-dinner drinks with M-A and P from work. I had an Irish coffee in celebration of St Patrick's Day and for my throat. (I also fashioned a shamrock out of a green Post-It at work to stick on my computer for St Patrick's Day but that was the extent of the celebrations at work)

After drinks we went to the Gaucho Grill for Argentinean food - recommendation of P who is a New Yorker, loves food and has been looking for a good Argentinean restaurant since arriving in London. I had no idea Argentinean food was so varied.

It was VERY good. The restaurant is a tad claustrophobic as it's in the cellar of a building nr Piccadilly - all arches and low ceilings. The lighting and layout at the entrance was a bit disorientating and I kept thinking I was going to trip or something. That's the mildly bad stuff out of the way.

The food and service was just great. Our waitress and the manager, who both served our table, were very friendly, helpful and efficient. When the waitress spilt some food on the jacket of someone on the next table by accident, the restaurant offered to pick the jacket up from the man's place of work the next day (because he wanted to wear it home), get it laundered and sent back to him free of charge.

Now the food. M-A & I had churrascos - described as fork tender, marinated spiral cut beef fillet. It was so tender, just perfectly cooked piece of meat. J & P had the mixed grill with lamb chops, rump steak, chicken, sweetmeats (brain I think), chorizo and morcilla (both types of sausage). All tasty. All the meat is flash-grilled in an Argentinean sauce called chimmichurri which consists of oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, chillies and possibly parsley. There was a dish of chimmichurri on the table to put on anything you fancy and it went very well with the bread also.

The side dishes were fantastic. There were heaps of things I hadn't tried or heard of. Yuca chips were made of some kind of root vegetable - the texture of really good crispy on the outside chips with really creamy, slightly sweet/sour flavour on the inside. Then there was chorizo fried rice, corn romero (sweetcorn with peppers), humitas (creamed corn steamed inside little packets made of corn husks - apparently similar to Mexican tamales), fantastic spinach (not squeaky on the teeth or gritty or overcooked and very flavoursome) and roasted mushrooms.

Dessert involved quite a lot of dulce de leche (condensed milk, but better as it's been caramelized). P declared he could just eat a bowl of that without all the other stuff like pancakes, icecream etc. It was really good.

Definitely one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had in London. There are several branches in London, so maybe next time I'll check out one that isn't in a cellar.

Poor BB had to work late, so missed the whole thing. I shall have to take him some other time.

Labels: festivals, food, restaurants

I have an audition for a corporate play/show coming up. The company is a consultancy that's doing work for my company. Maybe I can get the consultants we're working with to put in a good word. It sounds quite fun - a French director is involved and for the audition they require impro skills, physical/dancing skills, strong singing, comedy skills and lots of experience. Not much then. The best bit is that it will be performed in Helsinki and, possibly, Singapore and New York. I love being paid to travel and act.

Ate 3 Tunnocks caramel wafers today. Just a few months ago, I had no idea what one was, but now I do, I don't know how I managed without before.

Don't know what was wrong with me in dance class today but I just couldn't get the routine. I knew the steps, but they just wouldn't come out in time for the music. Very strange. Maybe it's the onset of Alzheimer's. Not that I'm alarmist or anything.

We've found out the specific strain of BB's recent affliction. It's suspected Henoch Schoenlein purpura but biopsy results don't come for a week. There are truly horrible pictures of pustules caused by said purpura on the John Hopkins site about vasculitis. Fortunately, BB's was nothing as bad as that or he'd have had to sleep in a plastic bag to stop weeping on the sheets.

Labels: acting, dance, food

I'm quite excited to see a new children's bookshop is opening on Northcross Road. I am partial to a children's book or two, so I expect I'll be there as soon as the doors open.

Just had our favourite dinner of siu yook, siu ngap, ho yau choi sum and rice. The siu yook was very crispy which is always a treat.

Think I am shortly going to be let go from work. I kind of thought with the new boss and all that there would be some restructuring, and lo and behold, he got sent an org chart from HR today with the two temp roles removed. Ah well, it was good while it lasted. I shall apply for the DTP job that was in the Guardian on Saturday. It does involve working some funny shifts but pays a whole lot better than I'm getting now.

Good thing the Inland Revenue have finally got round to sending me my tax rebate cheque.

Labels: east dulwich, food, work

Tried out the new-ish coffee place on Northcross Road yesterday for brunch. I was enticed by the blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup on the menu. The coffee was good but the pancakes were all wrong. They were very thick and stodgy and you could see the knife marks when you cut into them - like in butter or lard. Not a good start. They were not very hot and probably make of pancake mix. The bacon looked like it had been microwaved - lank and distinctly non-crispy. The coffee was good though and I suspect the pastries, which look like they've been bought in, are very tasty. Just steer away from any food that looks like it's been prepared on the premises.

We went to Putney today to pick up E's small TV that she was getting rid off. It's perfectly formed for the bedroom and we can hook it up to Homechoice, so we'll have more choice of channels on which there's nothing to watch.

After picking up the telly we went to the King's Road to the Big Easy for brunch. Altogether a much more satisfactory affair. I had their crabshack combo with Alaskan crab legs, jumbo shrimp, mussels, corn on the cob and fries - all downed with a strawberry shake. BB had their burger with coleslaw and fries, coffee and coke. It went down a treat and BB made friends with the small child on the table next to us.

We started wandering down the road to look at the shops but the icy North wind made us retreat to the car and come home. Slept all afternoon to recover from all the food and the cold.

There's a cute old bear in the window of one of the antiques shops down the road. We keep looking in the window at it and have named him Grandpa Bear.

Labels: east dulwich, restaurants

With reference to previous post on Caffé Nero, while I'm not one to encourage chain stores in East Dulwich, it does seem peculiar that no one is up in arms against all the chain betting stores, estate agents (of which there are gazillions) and the Somerfield. BB brought that point up. A valid point I feel. Nero is keeping a low profile I think - they probably realise something is afoot. Still, I guess the good citizens of East Dulwich will make the majority view known once it opens. As long as Starbucks doesn't muscle in on the high street, I guess we're good. Coffee is better at Nero anyway.

Had a big dinner with ex-boss at Cheyne Walk Brasserie on Thursday. It was the proper farewell dinner that we should have had about 6 weeks ago. It is a very nice restaurant near the river between Albert and Battersea Bridges. It's in Chelsea - a tad off the beaten track, in an area prone to muggings or so I'm told. Anyway, the restaurant is lovely.

There's a big grill in the middle of the room as you walk in with slabs of good meat glistening on the side. The Grill is definitely what you go there for. They have a great room upstairs to have drinks pre/post dinner with views of the river. The dining room is downstairs and all matchboarding in pale heritage type colours.

I shared a mixed platter of starters with H which was alright but not spectacular - all cold meats and cheese. I eyed E's escargot ravioli enviously until she gave me one. Main course was rack of lamb which was very tasty, and I was surrounded by everyone else's lobster, duck, leg of lamb and steak - all of which looked good. Just grilled au naturel with dips.

No time for dessert because dinner went on forever and was midnight before I got home. P, my ex-boss, gave us all presents and mine were all a 'red, heart theme'. I got some nice Clarins make-up brushes and a T-shirt with a diamante heart, proceeds of which go to a good cause. Very thoughtful indeed.

Had Nga Choi Kai Fan for lunch yesterday and bought new boss Nasi Lemak. He was very pleased. When he was in Malaysia his PA used to bring him curry puffs, ham yook jung, nasi lemak and roti.

Labels: east dulwich, food, restaurants

So little of interest has happened over the last few days that it has all blurred into one. Trying to arrange a weekend away in Sheffield so that we can see Assassins at the Crucible. However, there doesn't seem to be anywhere boutique-y, cool and contemporary to stay, unless we go to Nottingham or Leeds. I found one place - The Crown at Bawtry which looks pretty good - a converted 17th century coaching inn that's been made all stylishly modern. But then I found this.... Eeek! Everyone at work wants me to stay here so they can have a good story, but I'm not sure.

I'm quite taken by a restaurant with rooms that I've found near Nottingham called Sat Bains.. Definitely, more my kind of thing.

Anyway, once that's sorted out should all be fun. We can mooch around the Peak District for a bit and best tickets at the Crucible are only £17! What a difference from the West End, eh?

On Sunday, went to the gym to do a bit of rock wall climbing. My arms are now killing me. Fell off the wall at the end because I couldn't hold on any longer. Then yesterday the instructor made us do a gazillion sit-ups and so my stomach hurts.

This evening will be working for ex-boss on some presentation. Yesterday's team pizza lunch, what I organised, went very well. Some people scoffed more than their requisite two-thirds of a pizza though, as lots of people only seemed to have two bits. Had to feed sixty-five people though so, all in all, I estimated things pretty well. We were a sight carrying forty pizzas, fifteen salads, four boxes of dough balls and sundry dressings, toppings etc across the road. Made the whole office envious.

Labels: gym, travel, work

Did some voice work for the BBC on Thursday. Boy, they really don't pay that well. It was for a dramatisation of the Krakatoa disaster playing various Indonesian villagers, Chinese coolies, Dutch plantation owners and so forth. Apparently the Dutch speak in received pronunciation. Actually, it's quite difficult to tell them all apart when you're mainly screaming, wailing and crying. Fun way to spend a morning though. They had someone at the casting who was supposed to be the Malay expert but apart from her actually being Malay, she wasn't much more expert than the rest of us. We were all scuppered when they asked us to say things like 'clear the poopdeck', 'batten down the ropes', 'get up on the wheelhouse' etc. Mostly, it was all 'lari!', 'tolong!', 'ayuh!', 'cepat!' and 'apa terjadi?' from us.

Met a mate from days gone by who had just been for a casting for an Eskimo. Darn, I thought I had the market for Eskimos sewn up. Thought of striding into the casting but as she said she had to snog a perfect stranger, I passed on by.

There was an excellent dramatisation of the downfall of Berlin in Hitler's bunker on telly the other night. It was about 4 hours long and all in German with subtitles. I hope they bring it out on DVD. The actors were excellent - particularly, Hitler, Speer and Goebbels' wife. They were all really completely insane. I learnt the words for 'committed suicide' and 'we will not surrender' in German.

Finally, tried out the restaurant W'Sens last night. Only went for a drink amd a light snack. It's run by the Pourcel brothers who run several Michelin starred establishments in France, although I believe W'Sens has yet to get one despite being open for a while. Might be wrong. Still, the light snack was very good. My selection of amuse bouche was a rare beef teriyaki, squid satay in some kind of a sauce, an artichoke with figs and pesto. All enjoyable and amused my bouche greatly - the beef was particularly tasty and very tender. The others had foie gras, aubergine tempura and the artichoke. Unfortunately, for a Michelin star aspirant (which I guess they must be), they were rather let down by their service - often the case I feel. The staff kept moving furniture around which meant we kept having to get up and shift our chairs which eventually resulted in P knocking his glass of wine over. They also didn't bring us any cutlery or napkins despite the snacks not being finger food, forgot what drinks we had ordered (despite having written them down) and so forth. Ah well. Maybe I'm just harsh.

Labels: acting, food, restaurants, television