the beautiful south…
I post once again from my temporary train-based mini office having regrettably begun an unplanned early return journey; the lack of Left Luggage facilities at Temple Meads proved an insurmountable obstacle and game girl though I am, I was not prepared to drag a heavy suitcase full of condoms, stockings, vibrators of varying sizes and unscented shower gel around Bristol for four hours like a dray horse.
As much as I would like to have stayed to enjoy a few more hours in this lovely city, it was not to be and the opportunity to sneak in a return trip to the SS Great Britain, which has taken over from Battersea Power Station as number one of my list of current favourite permanent(ish) structures (along with, needless to say, the Clifton Suspension Bridge which I was lucky enough to see on the way out for dinner with a much missed old acquaintance yesterday evening) was lost. My entry ticket, however, is valid for a year and since I have been planning a more in-depth investigation of the South West for some time I daresay I will be back, if only to get another look at the engine and propeller plus maybe weaken just enough to buy a little model ship and Brunelesque stovepipe hat in the gift shop.
The beautiful ship is worth a special mention, having just celebrated the fortieth anniversary of her return to Bristol from the Falkland Islands, incredibly being pulled 8000 miles on an enormous pontoon without any real incident (although judging by the photographs, looking a little the worse for wear in much the same dignified way as all the grandest of ladies are wont to do following a difficult and lengthy international journey). I myself have not forgotten my snarling, wild-eyed, Captain Caveman-like appearance when I finally made it home after being awake and travelling for almost thirty six hours in order to get back from Shanghai a few years ago – a bit of rust, a few cracks in the hull and the odd barnacle are trivial details by comparison, believe me. She now rightly resides gracefully in dry dock in the Great Western Dockyard where she was built and launched in 1843, and is well worth a visit if, like me, you are particularly impressed by very large mechanical devices and also like me are secretly (or not-so-secretly) a bit of a transport and engineering anorak.
My stay also included my first ever visit to the supermarket leviathan that was the local ASDA, which resembled an airport and exhausted me completely with food-variety overload; strange though it may seem I honestly do not believe I have ever shopped at one of these, fortunate as I am to have local shops a couple of minutes walk away and a moderately sized Tesco with a delightful view from the car park not too much further. A couple of bags of shopping for my visit took over an hour to seek out, although once the initial shell shock wore off, the experience was not unpleasant as such, although I will be very happy to return to normality and the cool, reassuring embrace and lack of confusing variety in Costcutter, Marks and Spencer and the fruit and veg stall in the precinct.
After repeated prior warnings about the rain proved to be entirely valid, I spent a wet Tuesday night at the pictures following a cancellation (and I can highly recommend Toy Story 3, especially being smugly in the know now about the special glasses after my Final Destination 3D experience in London a few months back, when I discovered that removing my own prescription ones predictably hindered viewing and it was indeed necessary to wear both) although this did not save me from getting drenched on at least three other occasions and the torrential downpour on Wednesday afternoon in particular was deafeningly loud and insistent enough to distract my companion and I, although not for very long, and a fine time was hopefully had by all.
Visit over, I left my accommodation promptly before ten, and having still found no practical solution to my suitcase problem, action was needed; thus here I am, £52 lighter after springing for a new train ticket but otherwise cheerful as ever and looking forward to home, goldfish and yes, more DIY. I will be back in Scarborough for around 4pm today and business will be as usual from tomorrow – I am particularly happy to be welcoming back a couple of particularly lively and charming gentlemen before my Glasgow trip and Thursday daytime/Friday afternoon and evening are already fully booked. I will also be continuing the finishing-off bits of the bathroom and beginning the hallway, so once again, reasonable warning please! I am told the school holidays have now begun and appreciate that plans can change very quickly but if we have not met before, please be aware that as much as I would like to, I do not lounge about all day beguilingly attired in lingerie eating Charbonnel & Walker Violet Creams and if you could see the state of my work-in-progress apartment, you would soon realise why.
New photos on the way (along with woodworm updates, for those who have asked)! Watch this space…
practical magic…
As anyone who dutifully read my previous entry will have suspected, unexpected events have been afoot in the form of a long-awaited and much adored visitor of the drop-everything kind and thus I have been persona non grata for a couple of days and basking happily in the resulting warmth, before returning to my usual weekend MO of drifting about the place serenely in fancy lingerie (yeah, OK), heart-stopping fry ups and being annoyed in B&Q.
Unfortunately I have also had guests of the uninvited variety – Anobium Punctatum, or the common furniture beetle; yes, a woodworm by any other name is still a woodworm. More fortunately, my aforementioned two-legged visitor happens to be (amongst other things) an expert in these matters and has reassured me that the little bastards are unlikely to eat my apartment, confined as they seem to have been to a single picture frame containing one of my favourite acquisitions. Apparently they like plywood.
Chemical warfare was sought out and purchased, newspaper laid, all doors closed – the treatment is lethal to aquarium fish and needless to say I have been fretfully worrying about the fumes all weekend, despite wearing two pairs of gloves for spraying and changing clothes (well, pyjamas) afterwards. The beloved objects of my concern have been happily digging in the gravel, stuffing themselves with thawed out bloodworm and showing no signs of distress whatsoever, completely oblivious to the unpleasant business in the very next room and I believe I have got off fairly lightly, although I will be repeating the treatment in a few weeks just to be on the safe side. Once again, the glamour value of my daily existance is unequivocably proven …to be not much, although I did recklessly celebrate until I felt a bit sick with a very fetching array of smart Belgian chocolates presented to me by a kindly caller early in the week.
Bathroom news and the job is almost finished; among other things I have this week successfully and without incident put together a flatpack cabinet in under two hours, bought fixtures, framed prints and lovely new towels and discovered that silicone lubricant is superb for removing excess mastic from hands. Who knew? The next main-ish job will be underway shortly, but is unlikely to affect day to day operations bar a day or two where someone other than me is going to be wallpapering – needless to say I will keep things up to date here.
I know that some have already noticed the ‘QUESTIONS’ box to the upper right, and whilst I am the first in line to cynically denounce the likes of Facebook and (God forbid) Twitter, Formspring.me is proving more interesting, any and all questions are genuinely welcomed and I can say with complete confidence that they WILL be answered! The only exceptions (and I admit to deleting two so far, but it’s early days) are those which are so badly composed as to be unreadable; text speak is surely not an appropriate way to address a complete stranger and since I do not reply to booking enquiries written thus, I’m afraid I will not be spending my free time trying to decipher and respond to sentences with no vowels, structure or discernable purpose. A little effort reaps rewards. Honest.
To this week and Bristol – I will be preparing and packing tomorrow; there are pockets of availability left but not many, and I am planning visits to the Clifton Suspension Bridge and hopefully the zoo (although since discovering that there is no Left Luggage at Temple Meads, my plans for kicking up my heels and making a day of things on Friday have been curtailed somewhat). I will be back in Scarborough next weekend, and here for a week before heading off to Glasgow.
Back to the toolbox lingerie drawer for some gentle stocking-pairing (or whatever it is people think I do all day long). Until next week…
y viva españa…
And the best team won, as did I; having successfully created ham croquettes, catalan spinach, chilli and garlic sauteed king prawns and most challenging of all, the opening and arranging on a plate of pre-sliced packets of charcuterie (3) and a jar of huge, green, feta-stuffed olives (veering slightly from the Iberian theme, but I am as fond of meze as I am of tapas and needless to say, virtually everything else edible that can be unwrapped without fuss and arranged prettily in a serving dish). The news yesterday that the English squad has had it’s poorest showing in World Cup history will come as a surprise only to those who were fortuate enough not to have witnessed the matches, and few among them at that – hopefully lessons will be learned in time for the European championships in 2012. In deference to the host countries I will be investigating Polish and Ukrainian cuisine in a timely manner, particularly since the former is now so widely available in Scarborough.
Anyway, I digress; to business and a brief update for this week and weekend. Due to unforeseen circumstances I will not now be available at all from Thursday 15th to Saturday 17th July inclusive – there may be limited availability on Sunday. Anyone wanting a Bristol appointment is advised to make contact before the weekend (I will be answering correspondence as usual on the days listed above, but will not be taking calls, so emails only please).
London is also filling up and preparation is underway for the next dates, those who have missed out this time (sorry) need not despair!
Back soon…
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