Bob & Betty go British

Permission to live

Friday was a bit of an anti-climax. As predicted the CT scan I had done showed no abnormalities and I've been told that I require no further investigations or follow up appointments. I think I'd come to the conclusion about 10 days before that I was just fine and that most of how I'd been feeling was related to my anxiety. I discovered that by realigning my thinking I was able to contemplate living and making plans for the future once again. After all, only I can give myself permission to live. The last 6 months have been a real roller coaster ride but I feel that the next 6 are going to be better. No doubt I'll think of something else to worry about (like all the aeroplanes I'm about to take in the next few weeks ;-))

In my quest to have a life once again we've managed to do a few interesting things in the last few weeks. We went to see the new Harry Potter movie and bought the last Harry Potter book. I thought the movie was very well done and enjoyed it immensely. Many will disagree with me I'm sure. I've not started the book but Robert finished it this morning so I'll start on it as soon as I finish another book I borrowed from the library. I might keep Harry Potter for the plane trip to Iceland. That book has the greatest chance of anything I know of being able to distract me from my anxious thoughts.

I'm currently watching the last stage of the Tour de France on TV. I have to confess that we didn't go into London to see the first stage but I have watched quite a bit of it on TV where I'm sure you get the best view anyway. It's very cool seeing the cyclists ride up and down the streets that I've walked down in Paris. It's such a shame that so many cyclists have been thrown out due to drugs.

You will have seen all the reports of floods in England. We haven't been affected at all except for the day when our local pub had a flooded kitchen and we couldn't have chips with our usual Friday pub lunch. Living on the 6th floor we're unlikely to have any issues with rising water even if the Thames did flood.

Last night we went to Lindsay House (http://www.lindsayhouse.co.uk) the London restaurant of another British celebrity chef - Richard Corrigan. It is classified as Modern British (despite all the wait staff having outrageous French accents!) and we attempted the tasting menu with wine. While it was very yummy, I did feel that the food at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant was better. Each dish seemed to lack a little something. The wine however was very well matched. We tried an American Riesling which was very enjoyable and discovered a sweet red wine which went very well with our chocolate cherry dessert. I didn't feel quite as full as I did after Claridges - I was able to have a coffee and partake in the petit fours. Perhaps the servings were smaller or perhaps my stomach is beginning to stretch again.

Last year I didn't go to any BBC proms concerts but this year we've already been to one concert and have booked to see another one. I hadn't been the Royal Albert Hall before but it is a very nice venue - lots of red velvet. We sat at the side of the stage in the stalls so we were quite close to the action. The pianist who played Ravel's Concerto for left hand was very animated and we were able to hear him make his own sound effects to go with his playing. Unfortunately the next concert we're going to is more popular and as a result we'll be sitting in the circle way up top. I hope we can still see OK. We'll be going with Christina that night - i hope she'll be able to stay awake after only arriving from Australia 36 hours earlier.

The last piece of news to share is all about motorcycles. Robert went to a track day on Thursday at Brands Hatch in Kent. He had a great time going round and round the track at ludicrous speed. He didn't crash and managed to get back in one piece. He even has some photos to prove it. Next weekend we'll be back at Brands Hatch to see a MotoGP race. Hopefully the rain will stay away or it could be a miserable day.

Stay tuned for my next update - most likely from Iceland!!

posted by Elisabeth @ 4:32 PM 0 comments

Did I say summer?

Did I mention Summer in my last post? I must have jinxed it as there hasn't been a nice day since. It's been cold and wet and about 18-20 degrees - a bit like a Sydney winter really :-) We even had a huge hail storm which left some areas of London covered in snow-like piles of ice. Still, I do prefer the cooler weather to weeks of oppressive humidity and relentless high temperature without an air conditioner in sight!

But the weather hasn't prevented us from getting out there and doing stuff. We tried out a new yum cha restaurant the other weekend with Matt and Mel. Yum Cha without trolleys was a bit odd but you get a special menu with pictures so you can choose what you like and then it's brought to you freshly made. You don't have to wait for the trolleys to come around and you can order your custard tarts at the end of the meal when you want them :-)

Speaking of food, we celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary in style by going to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at Claridges (http://www.gordonramsay.com/claridges). We'd heard varying reports but our experience was very positive. The food was excellent as was the service. We had the 6 course tasting menu which was a stretch for my very small stomach but I made it to the last mouthful of my second desert before not being able to fit another thing in. I couldn't even have a sip of water let alone try the petit fours. We did discover a really nice sweet French white wine which was recommended to go with our starters (Mas Amiel 2003).

Of course you will have heard about the failed terror attack with the non-exploding nail bombs. Perhaps it was because the bombs didn't blow up but the Londoners hardly seemed to give it a second thought. They are a very stoic bunch, probably because they've been living with the threat of bombs for a long time courtesy of the IRA.

Simone came to visit us last weekend. The weather was much improved so we were able to get out in the sunshine. We visited two houses to the west of London. Ham House is in Ham (funnily enough) which is south of the River in Twickenham. It was the first national trust house we had been to since joining up a couple of weeks ago (how could i resist the offer of a free picnic blanket?!). I have to say that the house made me sneeze - now I remember why I prefer ruins to old houses. However all that sun and wind after all that rain did mean I had a bit of hay fever.

On the Sunday we went to see Osterley Park and House. This house was north of the river near Hounslow. Originally we planned to do a walk and have a pub lunch but we got stuck in traffic (yes, I slept in) and the pub they suggested didn't look so good once we got there. We ended up in the tea rooms of Osterley House instead. This house had been built then expanded then redeveloped until it was a mismatch of styles. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they added huge wooden pineapples to the pointy bits of the roof. Pineapples were all the rage in the 18th century - a luxury item that only the very rich could afford. Stone carvings of Pineapples were also a feature of Ham House as well. Still, these two houses have nothing on this house in Scotland.

Health-wise things are still a little up in the air for me. I have put on some weight but still feel extremely tired at times and I can still feel lymph nodes. I went for a CT scan this morning which the Dr has ordered for my peace of mind more than anything else I'm sure. I won’t find out the results for another 10 days. In the meantime I struggle on with my anxiety. My 2nd cousin died during the week. I know she was 87 but it's still sad. I hope the year improves now that we're over half way through 2007.

Before I go I must mention my knitting progress. You'll be pleased to know that I have 3 different projects on the go - another baby cardigan, a free project from Rowan after I renewed my membership and a vest. Of course there is a ball of sock wool in my bag too - just have to work out who needs socks the most :-)

posted by Elisabeth @ 9:27 PM 2 comments