Brixton Party and Garden

My old friend from UCH, Catriona, came here bearing some lovely fresh figs and nectarines from Walthamstow. We sat and chatted for a bit before leaving for Roxy's party in Brixton. Apparently two friends of Roxy's had birthdays that day, and there was some confusion about who could come when, so Roxy was having open house from 2.30 until late in the evening. In the cab, I discovered I had stupidly left my purse at home when changing bags, so Catriona stumped up a tenner for the taxi fare. We met some of Roxy's friends and relations, but as we did not know them had a bit of a problem working out which of them were couples. Roxy's garden needs a makeover, having cleared a lot of weeds. The men were all suggesting pouring concrete over, but since the previous concrete had all cracked and broken, this seemed a bit of a waste to me. I think if it were my garden I would get rid of one of the beds at the back and maybe put a few cement tiles, and create a large area with beds on three sides, maybe raised up at the back, then just clear it all up a bit and put some huge pots with fruit trees and various plants trained up against the walls and fences.

We drank some wine and nibbled a bit, chatting mainly to a guy who had retired early and was moving to Hertfordshire, having lived in Brixton for twenty years. He was quite funny with a very dry humour.

Catriona and I left at about nine and had to walk quite a way to find the station, there being no cabs around. I had worn a rather tight pair of shoes which was a big mistake, but we managed to get home in the end. I have never kicked a pair of shoes off so fast. I fell straight into bed after feeding Malvolio.

Experimental Tasting

Not at all sure about the root beer. It is quite sweet, and rather medicinal tasting. The Bundaberg name was interesting to me since I once met a couple in the South of France who owned all the sugar cane and rum factories in Bundaberg and invited me there should I ever find myself nearby. I think the root beer is another product from this family's portfolio. Anyway, it is quite refreshing, the bottles are too large, though satisfyingly chunky and old fashioned looking. I see that one of the ingredients is sarsaparilla which is reputed to be good for psoriasis. We shall see.

The Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange jigger is also a bit medicinal, but quite refreshing and contains ginger and herbs. Interestingly to me it contains Speedwell, my favourite wild flower, which I had not realised was a herb. On Googling, it seems that it is a different Speedwell.

The Roquefort and leek tarte is quite good, though not as nice as my own blue cheese tart. The beetroot falafel is quite pleasant but ordinary, the damson colour lifting it a bit.

Shopaholica

I became a bit carried away with my internet Ocado order, and instead of buying sensible stuff, among other rubbish I purchased: a Waitrose Bistro Bacon, leek and Roquefort Tarte; Waitrose Delicatezze Beetroot Falafel; four bottles of Bundaberg Root Beer; a jar of Cassoulet Au Confit de Canard; Economil Organic Almond Drink; Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger; Look What We Found Gloucester Pork Meat Ball; Gaea Stuffed Vine Leaves, The Food Doctor Oranic Omega Butter and Waitrose Kalamata olive and Anchovy tapenade. I must be completely batty.

My literary purchases have also been a bit crazy, in that I have discovered Persephonebooks.co.uk and purchased four books.

I shall report back on these experimental purchases later when I have sampled them.

Better Theatre

Although I was feeling rather tired, went to The Year of Magical Thinking at the National. Again there were crowds outside at what now seems to be called National Square, and some quite good kids doing a breakdancing demonstration to loud music, which was fun to watch. The performance was a monologue by Vanessa Redgrave, from Joan Didion's book about the deaths of both her husband and her daughter. The review in Time Out was not that good, but I found it fascinating,despite the rather gloomy subject. Good acting really does help.

My first husband once took Vanessa Redgrave to some garden party in Oxford in the sixties, and he told me she was very shy, though already quite famous.

After the play I thought that it is funny that even we oldies can be ageist, I remember thinking that it was so clever of her to remember all those lines at an age when some of us are forgetting which day of the week it is.

....and here are the teapots. My large hammered one, behind, needs a good clean.

New Sofa Cover and New and Mended Teapots

I am so thrilled ! Dorothy and Julia came around, and not only took my footstool cover off, plus the back and base cushion covers off my sofa for cleaning, but also put the other, washable covers on. It looks like a new sofa. The cover is called 'sand' and is a beige colour with a slight nap like fake suede. It tones very well with the floor.

I am a genius. Having purchased a bargain batchelor teapot on Ebay to replace the one broken by my cleaner, I felt emboldened to try and mend my teapot. I attacked it with a hammer in the garden and it is virtually back to normal apart from a couple of tiny dents so will again be a serviceable large teapot. Hooray! I decided it would cost more than I paid for it to have it mended by a jeweller.

Had a very good green curry for lunch in Lye Torng. As I was leaving I saw a large police van and several police collecting large numbers of junkies who congregate near the refurbished childrens playground to score drugs. Thank goodness they are getting rid of a few of them at least.

End of Olympics and Necklet

Dorothy and Julian have visited Dorothy's grandmother again. They just missed Madeleine, who had visited a little earlier.

The Olympics have finished and we won 19 gold medals, a pretty good show. I watched a bit of the closing ceremony on TV. I tried taking a couple of snaps but the focus was hopeless. I think I have developed rather unsteady hands as part of the ageing process. It has some interesting effects though (above).

I have more or less finished Romy's bracelet, and emboldened by my efforts, have now done a necklet which looks a bit daft, but I like it. Basically I had a rather nasty old enamel necklet from the sixties, which I covered in gold scraps and beads etc, including a few bits of an old watch. I will have to wear it with something very plain, as it is a bit over the top