25 July 2006
It is inevitable. Everyday the other secretary at work does something which results in great panic, frantic ringing round of people to reschedule things and making us both feel stressed for several hours before it all gets sorted out again. It's like watching a car crash about to happen. Whilst we get on alright, the errors she keeps making are driving me bonkers.
Can't wait to go on hols. I'm re-reading the The Dark is Rising series of books. They are very good indeed. It's been so long since I read them that I can't remember what happens next which is also good.
BB's mum's birthday do was fun. We had a nice meal at the Café Kintore which was roast duck with a soy orange dressing, beef fillet with bearnaise, chips & green beans and a strawberry pavlova. Nearly missed the plane back because BB misread the arrival time as the departure time when he checked us in online and then only noticed the mistake an hour before the actual departure time. I was rudely awakened by my post-prandial nap with, "AAAhhhh! The plane leaves in an hour. The gates close in 50 mins!" We hadn't packed or anything. Luckily, BB's family live 15 mins from the airport. Phewww.
Can't wait to go on hols. I'm re-reading the The Dark is Rising series of books. They are very good indeed. It's been so long since I read them that I can't remember what happens next which is also good.
BB's mum's birthday do was fun. We had a nice meal at the Café Kintore which was roast duck with a soy orange dressing, beef fillet with bearnaise, chips & green beans and a strawberry pavlova. Nearly missed the plane back because BB misread the arrival time as the departure time when he checked us in online and then only noticed the mistake an hour before the actual departure time. I was rudely awakened by my post-prandial nap with, "AAAhhhh! The plane leaves in an hour. The gates close in 50 mins!" We hadn't packed or anything. Luckily, BB's family live 15 mins from the airport. Phewww.
Labels: books, food, restaurants, work
27 March 2006
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.
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
8 January 2006
Have just finished reading A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine. Quite a good read but it strikes me, as it often does when reading a novel, that it takes so much effort to write a book. There's so much to think about, flesh out and tie together that it makes me tired trying to think about thinking about writing a book.
Another person is in the news for committing suicide despite having a seemingly perfectly happy life with no financial, personal or other worries. Someone who is very content in everyway and yet doesn't think life is worth carrying on with. The first person - a teenage girl on the South Coast somewhere actually wrote in her suicide note that she was very happy, loved her family and boyfriend and was really happy about her exam results (she was accepted by all her universities) but thought that as things couldn't get much better, she might as well die now. The thing is, no matter how bad things are or how good things are - I guess the end result is that you die whatever your circumstances, so maybe they're thinking - well what's the point of living out your life? It's a strange thing the human decision making process.
The 2nd half of the 2nd season of Battlestar Galactica has started. Watched it last night and it was so tense and gripping that I practically had heart palpitations. I'm not sure it's good for my health - but it's great.
Another person is in the news for committing suicide despite having a seemingly perfectly happy life with no financial, personal or other worries. Someone who is very content in everyway and yet doesn't think life is worth carrying on with. The first person - a teenage girl on the South Coast somewhere actually wrote in her suicide note that she was very happy, loved her family and boyfriend and was really happy about her exam results (she was accepted by all her universities) but thought that as things couldn't get much better, she might as well die now. The thing is, no matter how bad things are or how good things are - I guess the end result is that you die whatever your circumstances, so maybe they're thinking - well what's the point of living out your life? It's a strange thing the human decision making process.
The 2nd half of the 2nd season of Battlestar Galactica has started. Watched it last night and it was so tense and gripping that I practically had heart palpitations. I'm not sure it's good for my health - but it's great.
Labels: books, television
29 July 2005
Harry Potter and the HBP - fantastic proposed ending
Spoiler alert!
For those who have not finished reading said book, turn away now.
My mate, S, has come up with the bestest possible ending ever to the whole Harry Potter saga.
It transpires in volume 6 of the series, that Voldemort has distilled several parts of his soul into various receptacles - which can take either inanimate or animate form. S suggested that he's put 1 part of his soul into Harry, and that to kill Voldemort, Harry will have to kill himself. What a brilliant idea! That's the only way it CAN end in my opinion.
JK Rowling, take note - if that's not how you were planning to end it, then change your mind now.
For those who have not finished reading said book, turn away now.
My mate, S, has come up with the bestest possible ending ever to the whole Harry Potter saga.
It transpires in volume 6 of the series, that Voldemort has distilled several parts of his soul into various receptacles - which can take either inanimate or animate form. S suggested that he's put 1 part of his soul into Harry, and that to kill Voldemort, Harry will have to kill himself. What a brilliant idea! That's the only way it CAN end in my opinion.
JK Rowling, take note - if that's not how you were planning to end it, then change your mind now.
Labels: books
29 May 2005
Butcher
Actually something about Dulwich....
In our drive towards eating more healthily and frugally, we did our shopping at the local shops instead of the mega huge supermarket. Got lots of lovely fruit and veg from Pretty Traditional and then saw that a butcher's stall has finally opened up in the weekend market on Northcross Road. Hurrah! All free range or organic and looking nice, dry and hung rather than injected full of water. Unfortunately, we had already bought meat from Somerfield (I know - it's a supermarket) but next week...
Had lovely goat's cheese and courgette salad from Liquorish for lunch and then went to dance class. Leftover spag bog for dinner (yum) and now for tasty ham yook jung for breakfast today.
Finished 10,000 Miles Without A Cloud by Sun Shu Yun. Twas very readable. Now I know lots more about Xuanzang, the monk on whom Journey to the West is based. And it was good to read about all the remote countries and places along the route he took to India. Especially as I wasn't very sure where some of them were. Ah, what an ignoramus. It's bad that there are whole countries that I'm very vague about.
Off to Kew today. Hurray!
In our drive towards eating more healthily and frugally, we did our shopping at the local shops instead of the mega huge supermarket. Got lots of lovely fruit and veg from Pretty Traditional and then saw that a butcher's stall has finally opened up in the weekend market on Northcross Road. Hurrah! All free range or organic and looking nice, dry and hung rather than injected full of water. Unfortunately, we had already bought meat from Somerfield (I know - it's a supermarket) but next week...
Had lovely goat's cheese and courgette salad from Liquorish for lunch and then went to dance class. Leftover spag bog for dinner (yum) and now for tasty ham yook jung for breakfast today.
Finished 10,000 Miles Without A Cloud by Sun Shu Yun. Twas very readable. Now I know lots more about Xuanzang, the monk on whom Journey to the West is based. And it was good to read about all the remote countries and places along the route he took to India. Especially as I wasn't very sure where some of them were. Ah, what an ignoramus. It's bad that there are whole countries that I'm very vague about.
Off to Kew today. Hurray!
Labels: books, east dulwich
