After what we could conservatively call a lively and action-packed week I am officially relaxing today and the only meaningful activity in which I will be engaging is to be staggering over to the gym for some light cardio (as in looking at the treadmill) and a leisurely swim and sauna prior to organising one of my few New Year’s resolutions; I will be treating myself to a lovely spa treatment once a month, or at least until I tire of lying around being exfoliated, massaged, slathered in expensive body butter and wrapped kindly in warm blankets by delightful young ladies in smart yet pleasingly pyjama-y outfits which, trust me, is not likely to be anytime soon. Or ever.

This week I have also virtuously recycled the Christmas tree, finished off the last of the leftovers and braved the ridiculously long queues at the Post Office to send my passport renewal form; not bad value at seventy-seven fifty plus five pounds for postage, on top of another five pounds for new pictures from the photo-machine. This last not-inconsiderable price hike (since the three 50ps I remember feeding into the slot for the last set) instantly began turning me into my dad, although I was pleasantly surprised with the results (bar the runny nose from the freezing wind outside – since it is Passport and not Match.com, hardly crucial) and compared to the one gracing the passport I have had since March 2001 almost flattering, nose aside. I have checked my insurance, asked at the bank about US dollars and bought a Lonely Planet from Waterstones; the news earlier this week that some of these stores are to close filled me with horror and keen to show my support, I also purchased a 2011 diary and calendar, a nice new bookmark and whiled away a happy ten minutes tentatively investigating a Kindle.

As some will also know, my birthday is a scant two weeks away – I will be proudly thirty-eight and am already planning a day out to celebrate. The difficulty of finding things to do in mid-late January has been a bugbear for as long as I can remember and the current plan is a relaxing visit to York for Art Gallery-Afternoon Tea-Shops-Pictures-Dinner. I often feel sorry for those poor ladies who never seem to have any birthdays, and can only assume they must make other arrangements for special occasions with cake; not that there is anything wrong with this, I certainly have special-occasion pork pie at every opportunity that presents itself, and the more often the better. So far, I am waiting for weather updates before finalising details – I am sure we have all heard that the snow and ice are planning a comeback, but thus far these predictions seem to have been needlessly pessimistic and in the event that they are not, my fabulous snowboots will save the day. They should also save me money, since they take so long to take off and put back on I am unlikely to be interested in trying on anything else.

Needless to say, normal service is being resumed as of tomorrow and I am already virtually booked up from then until Thursday – apologies to those who didn’t manage to make their arrangements in time for discount week, but appointments were at a premium and as ever early booking is well advised – you’ll know for next year! I am currently taking appointments for my first London visit of the year (February 2nd – 6th) and would advise interested parties to make their presence known sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, I intend to enjoy the remainder of my first day off in over a week, investigate the recuperative powers of butterscotch Angel Delight (yet to be officially recognised, but I am fully prepared to vouch for them) and do precisely nothing for the duration. Happy New Year to me!

The past few days have brought a few intrepid visitors, although more cancellations due to the conditions (which was secretly something of a relief, given the likely pace of the next few days) and I have enjoyed ambling about the apartment in pyjamas and warm socks making the final arrangements for both my trip and Christmas itself; I had tentatively planned a trip to a vintage fair in York last Thursday, but the freezing temperatures put the kibosh on my plans to be shockingly selfish by Buying Things For Myself In December, and my secondary mission to return to Red Chilli and investigate Donkey Rolled In Mud (preceded by steamed buns, chilli frogs legs or possibly Big Grandma’s Stir Fried Whelk) was not to be. Rest assured that I intend to make up for it in the capital!

Speaking of York, I should report that I have this week been presented with a new zenith in mince pie quality; hand made and gift-wrapped from Betty’s, I can unconditionally state that the bar has been raised to previously unimaginable heights and a moment of silent contemplation was necessary (after wolfing the first one cold and straight from the box immediately the door closed) to compose myself. The thoughful gentleman who provided these triumphs of pie utopia also supplied a box from Waitrose (a resource we are sadly lacking in Scarborough) which will keep until the end of the month, and these have been added to the Christmas cupboard along with several boxes of Mr Kipling, the Christmas pudding and biscuit box plus the usual array of jars (beetroot, gherkins, piccalilli) and necessary oddbods like lebkuchen, After Eights and those faintly bizarre mini-pretzel things.

The thought of tackling Scarborough’s high street shops in the actual few days prior to Christmas Eve is, in my opinion, enough to send any sane person heading for the roof, and I have carefully ensured that presents, cards, decorations and food shopping (including fish flakes) are all taken care of. The double-issue Radio Times has been purchased, all gift wrapping is done and with the exception of a spot of Putting Away when the good folk at Tesco Online bring the last odds and ends (aka Christmas dinner) on the 23rd, I am looking forward to a peaceful few days upon my return – it is worth pointing out that availability for Christmas week is dwindling surprisingly fast and anyone who would like to fit in a visit would be well advised not to leave it too much longer.

To this week, and I have a few appointments left on Tuesday plus one each on Monday and Wednesday – I am reliably informed that the snow has departed SE1 and normal service will be resumed later on! All the evenings are now spoken for, but anyone wishing to while away a few daytime hours, get in touch and don’t forget your mistletoe…

Following my rare evening out, I can highly recommend the latest George Clooney release ‘The American’ (fans of trad US action-rubbish need not apply; you’ll be asleep before the second page of dialogue), fabulous northern Chinese food (see above for clay pot soup with mutton meatballs and crispy noodles on) grabbed in a bit of a rush at Red Chilli, and the star of the show upon alighting in the first place, the hot chocolate on Platform 3. Most excitingly of all, and also to be seen above, the festive spirit has even spread to the train ticket checks where the current clippy-things are a Christmas tree shape, which delighted me so much I am ashamed to admit it and nearly made up for my having to dash from the restaurant to catch the last train home without having time to order ‘Donkey Rolled in Mud’, from the dessert section.

Speaking of Christmas trees, this years proudly plump and bristly acquisition arrived promptly (considering the weather) yesterday afternoon, although by the time it was unpacked from the plastic shrinkwrap and tree-netting, carefully carried into the living room and set firmly into it’s cast iron stand it was all I could do to vacuum up the loose bits and have a nice cup of tea, and it was not until nearly bedtime that the rest of the decorating was completed (much to the amazement of the nearby fishes, whom I suspect haven’t quite figured out the twinkling lights yet). It is maybe a little early, but I left the delivery until around the 15th last year and was very upset as a result when January 6th rolled round and Tree was not looking even the slightest bit sorry for itself, despite it being time to go to the shredder. This year I and my visitors will be able to enjoy it for a whole month, and a little extra time with the VAX is not a tremendous hardship in exchange.

It would seem to be necessary to return to the current popular subject – the weather is still extremely cold and my eagerly awaited (and ever-punctual, including today) visitor this lunchtime assures me that his car-thermometer had read -11°C when he left work; in the event that those who have or are intending to book later in the week are reading, please do bear the conditions in mind when travelling! The forecast is apparently to improve from Thursday, and since I am back in London (assuming it hasn’t given up altogether and closed) from Sunday on, I am expecting to be busy. And to those who are still ringing expecting me to somehow sprout wings and materialise in York in an hour’s time – if you can’t easily get to me, HOW exactly do you think I am going to get to you?

London availability is filling up fast, although the typical last-minute cancellations and alterations are starting up – I still have availability on Tuesday 14th and a bit on Monday 13th, so do get in touch! Or don’t, because then I’ll have an excuse to hole up in the Wolseley all morning with a huge brunch order, reading the papers and scowling at tourists. I definitely intend to have my Aquarium visit this time and what with the annual trip to see the Christmas shop windows, I will almost certainly be planning any spare time I have by the end of the day before, so please do bear this in mind if you want to avoid disappointment! Any necessary changes to travel plans will be updated (as ever) here and on the front page of the site, but so far everything is on track and I am looking forward to my final visit of the year.

Back to the present-wrapping and card-writing; some of you may have noticed the unusually frenzied activity on my Formspring since the weekend so do feel free to join in too – everybody else is, it seems! And it beats listening to the weather forecast.

]]> http://www.adoreamy.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/12/07/well-the-weather-outside-is-still-frightful/feed/ 0 http://www.adoreamy.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/06/19/we-think-its-all-over/ http://www.adoreamy.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/06/19/we-think-its-all-over/#comments Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:50:43 +0000 amy http://www.adoreamy.co.uk/blog/?p=2429 Another Saturday, and whilst the peaceful and relaxing time I had envisaged did not go entirely according to plan, I have nevertheless had a pleasantly low-key week and managed to see every World Cup game bar three. Unfortunately last night’s England game was not one of these three, and I extend my sympathies to those who unwittingly handed over money to see such a shambolic and woeful display; the astronomical ticket price ought in my view to have included provision for this, perhaps in the form of a good book or better still, a bottle of Jack Daniels and a blindfold.

It would appear that the balance has been very much tipped in favour of the deserving with some unmissable play by teams whose players (unlike the England side) arrived on the pitch looking as though they had met one another before the game, and I have especially enjoyed watching North Korea hold their own admirably against Brazil until the final moments, Argentina and Germany in their opening fixtures whereas up next is Ghana v Australia this afternoon. I have explained this to two callers already today, neither of whom were seemingly aware that the World Cup is a football tournament. You would think the name would give it away.

Inbetween the during-the-day television watching (a rare enough treat to be thrilling in itself), I have taken advantage of the lovely weather with an impromptu trip to the beach and also got many of those irritatingly small ‘household’ jobs completed which are so insignificant individually as to be easily put off, but build up when you are not looking – a stack of superfluous paper has been shredded and eco-responsibly put out in the blue bag, the duvets have been to the laundrette and returned sparkling white, fluffy and smelling like summer clouds plus all of the clothing needing repair beyond my skills is currently ensconced at the menders in town for collection on Monday. In technical news, the crooks at BT have been unceremoniously dumped (the last straw being their declared intent to charge me slightly under three pounds a month for not making any telephone calls from my landline, which I do not use) and in complete contrast, the lovely folk at Southern Electric noted that I had overpaid my bill and kindly returned a couple of hundred pounds to my bank account without being asked, as well as adjusting my monthly contributions to reduce the likelihood of a repeat. Life is indeed a sea of contrasts, and never more so than when trying to organise the provision of household utilities.

I have also managed to fit in some carefully arranged meetings, and particularly enjoyed a change of scene for an extended assignation in York at a charming hotel by the river;  an unexpected addition being dinner at the Blue Bicycle which turned out to be an extremely happy accident, having fabulous food, warm and welcoming decor and as I found out on my return home, a story all of its own – it turns out that the building was a well reputed brothel at the turn of the century, and the name refers to the bicycle its mistress would leave outside to signify that her premises was open for business. I am already planning my return visit, and am hoping for a look around the cellar where my Victorian contemporaries would have greeted their gentlemen callers, as well as some more of the ham hock terrine and possibly an extra order of braised ox cheek to go home with – all in all, the experience was a delight, and set the scene well for a couple of days of comforting inertia on the settee, with the occasional mini dilemma providing variety and interest (like the forgotten and slightly misshapen part-bar of desirably soft and warm milk chocolate unexpectedly discovered in a dressing gown pocket last night after tooth-brushing time).

To this week and very little to report apart from my Wednesday pit-stop in Manchester is fully booked bar a final late-afternoon/early evening appointment – I will be away until Thursday evening and Tuesday is also filling up quickly. I am in the very early stages of scouting accommodation and travel arrangements for Glasgow and very excitingly, a trip to Jersey, although those who remember the shenanigans in Aberdeen may know that this is another place where we ladies are decidedly unwelcome, and the practice I have already had in stealth and subterfuge will once again been called upon if the visit is to be uneventful in the good sense of the word. Bristol is also looking to be a resounding success, and I am likely to be fully booked before I set off, although there are always cancellations and enquiries are still very welcome, and I am looking forward to pastures new once again!

Whistle’s gone. Until next time…