I lied…and Berlin. I did not lie about Berlin.

I lied about the weather here not being as dramatic as the news suggests. It is still snowing in London and I am over it. O-V-A-H etc etc. It’s freezing but the snow isn’t settling. It’s all the cold and none of the fun. I long for the days I could wear less than four layers and not nearly die waiting for the bus. Of course when you get on said bus, you have to take your fifteen layers off, sitting nightmarishly close to the unimpressed communter jammed next to you. You’d think being forced so close to other people all the time would contribute to a tolerance for the spacio-emotional (Ridiculous and made up, but why not? This is my blog.) needs of others…but no. There are no such developments on bus route 55 anyway.

Anyhoo! Berlin. Here are some photos.

At the wall. One of the many frangments still standing. This was part of a huge memorial site still under construction (now there’s a contradiction). I think I was standing in no-mans land. It was still fenced off but we climbed through a hole. Eerie, cold and sad.

Checkpoint Charlie. This is where I fell over. An inch of solid ice iced every inch of footpath. Dicey. The photos are so dark because I was using a disposable camera. I think they capture Berlin well (wall?! AAAA hahahaaa).

Again, the disposable didn’t allow for the usual precision required to take photos such as the one I had planned here…but I like it.

Berlin at the moment. Groovy time!! ! Have forgotten my camera. Using a disposable plastik box kodak – Don’t Panic! !! (Alles Cool Dude),,,

I’ve been reading hostel pamphlets and the language is pfantastic.

Very, very cold. I fell over yesterday.

It’s aliiiiiive

Hello! I am a horrible, horrible meanie for not updating my blog for such a long time with anything but odd pictures, I know. Here, I will try and offer a clear and informative insight into what I’ve been up to of late, using the medium of words. Something about that last sentence would really upset my new boss, but I’m not sure what exactly it would be, so I’m going to leave it right there.

That’s right! New boss. Technically, I still don’t have the position, because I haven’t yet embarked on the ridiculous tedium that is the HR-approved process for keeping these transitions above-board, but I’m 99% sure I have it in the bag. Traditionally, writing anything down here has been the kiss of death when in comes to new job opportunities, but I’m just that sure this job will come through, I’m going to write it here as a stupid sort of challenge.

I have new pyjamas. This is a big deal because I haven’t owned dedicated sleepwear items for more than a year. I bought them in one of the big department store sales and they have given me a new lease on bedtime. The joys of putting a crisp white cotton outfit on just to go to bed. So decadent. I feel like the Queen.

Ah the Queen. My coronation mug collection continues to grow. Visiting Windsor was a good move in that respect. I spent more than an hour rifling through an antique store near Eton, the owners of which (the store, not Eton) seemed to share my facination with a good royal painted profile. I found two new cups before I’d crossed the threshold of the shop actually, and when I got inside, the husband pointed to a shelf behind him without looking up and said (referring to his similarly distracted wife), ’she’s got another couple up there if you’re interested’. A shelf of more than 50 commemorative mugs threatened to collapse under its own weight above them.

Winter rolls on, but it’s not nearly as dramatically cold as the news makes out. We had some snow for a few weeks, and it was really pretty, but it wasn’t that remarkable for those of us lucky enough to have a roof over our heads. Perhaps if I was forced to spend more than an hour a day outside at the moment, I’d have a news story for you, but to me this just seems like any old winter. It’s cold, you have to wear a jacket and watch your step, but that’s pretty normal. I remember it being colder at home, but after nearly two years here, my finer recollections of home are getting a bit blurry.

Berlin awaits my arrival over the weekend. Two nights of kooky euro-hostelling will be such a great antidote to busy, tense, stressy London. I cant wait to wander around for a few days like I did in Bruges. I still love looking at the photos from Bruges and I hope to get some good ones on this trip.

But phew, it’s been busy here lately. Apart from a massive increase in my workload, suddenly all of the efforts I’ve made in the last year to broaden my social horizons have come home to roost and I find myself most nights negotiating my very sweet book group responsibilities, or a craft-circle project, or an outing with Nicola, or baking, or going out for breakfast, or shopping with an All Stars friend, or if it’s a Friday, heading off to the Larder in St John Street with the PR girls from work…it’s wonderful to have all these things to do but I end up constantly feeling like there’s so much to be done and I’m never quite on top of it all. This feeling usually culminates in a shocking scene at the end of the weekend when I realise I haven’t done any washing or cleaning all week and I do a mad Sunday night house-sweep. Magnus wisely deals with this by going into the other room and watching the news, responding to my intermittent yelps of frustration with ‘okay, crazy-lady’.

Favourite restaurant of the moment: Il Bacio in Stoke Newington. If only I could take Julsie there. It’s pasta heaven. Because it’s been raining so much it’s great to have a cheap, good comfort-food providing outlet just round the corner. I’ve been keeping up the japanese food habit as well, discovering a greasy spoon style set up near Chinatown a few weekends ago. A picture of the food I had there recently was part of my random collage of a few posts ago. On that note: The cats are called Mrs Higgins (ginger) and Pogo (black). I’m teaching them tricks it the moment. We’ve nearly cracked ‘lie down’ and ’sit’.

I have nearly the whole of ‘The GoOd Terrorist’ to read before tomorrow night so I’m going to go and do that. Will report back when I’m further along the proper employment path, and probably after visiting Berlin!

Windsor…new favourite place

 

Phew! The comforting eye of CCTV. I feel SAFE.

 
 

Life lately…explanation to follow

 
 
 
 

Brocco-cauli glory

Christmas number two

The Alankos were good enough to take me in again this year. Finnish celebrations began on the 24th, then we all went our for italian on Christmas day, then a full traditional english feast rounded things off nicely the day after. The mandatory after-feasting walk was especially beautiful. We visited Hampton Court Palace.

I’m slowly learning that whenever there is an Alanko outing, I should wear sensible footwear. I had a pair of plastic slippers on for this walk. Yep, that’s a frozen lake.

It was silent, but for the dull clacking of deer antlers in the distance.

Ode to Sarah

Sarah is…I can’t find the words. Which is unfortunate, since this is a blog.

Sarah recently returned to the States in a whirlwind of excitement (tempered with quite an amount of indecision and anxiety), after her visa status to continue living here was…compromised. She is a wonderful lady and her send-off lasted days. On her last night in London, we visited a fish and chippie in Stoke Newington that served blissfully good food, and suprisingly different home-made pomegranate prosecco to go with.

 

Sarah had a broth and I enjoyed skate wing. Am upgrade from the usual shark and taties!

I’ve moved into Sarah’s role at work, too. It’s an interim (read: emergency)measure at the moment, but I’m really enjoying it. If and when I move to this desk permanently, I’ll deliver the full job title and description. I don’t want to jinx it!

Potato love

It’s snowing…

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