Monday 28 December 2009

New Year, New Blog

Dear Readers

I have been unable to write my blog of late as the sheer amount of alcohol and christmas food I have consumed have made my fingers too fat to type. I hope you have all had a wonderful christmas. I am off to Holland in the morning and, due to the liberal attitude of the Dutch government towards certain errrmmm.... inebriating substances, I doubt I will be in any state to write until my return.

In that case I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year and leave you with the promise of writing much more in 2010.

With love

GP xx

Monday 14 December 2009

Home Sweet Home

One of the best things about families are that they make the most amazing houseguests, and when they come to stay they make you enjoy your own home all the more. Yesterday Ollie, Will, Claire and I all went Christmas shopping in Oxford Street which was extremely productive albeit very scary and then headed back to the flat for Harissa Chicken (Quorn) and an evening drinking more mulled cider and watching Spaced.

Have three more days in London then am off to Southampton for Christmas with the family. Getting pretty excited now.



Sorry - this is a picture from New Year's Eve last year. Am not as snap-happy as I once was xx

Saturday 12 December 2009

Christmas is Coming...and I Only Just Got It....

So have had lots of thinking time over the past few days and am feeling much better. I have also had the benefit of lots of speaking time courtesy of my most wonderful friends and have had some good advice with which I can move forward.

Thursday I was taken to Vanilla Black for my work Christmas celebration and had the most wonderful lunch: baked beetroot terrine with horseradish cream and pickled fennel; followed by celeriac and sage dauphinoise, bergamot braised leeks and spinach puree; followed by sugar and spice tart with roasted satsumas and finally huge amounts of coffee with beautiful chocolate cups filled with white chocolate and Baileys. It was absolutely spectacular and such a rare experience to be able to choose ANYTHING on the menu (I rarely frequent veggie restaurants due to all of my non-veggie friends). I drank lots of wine and stumbled home to fall asleep in front of the TV.

Yesterday Will and Claire arrived from Southampton, which was exciting. I cooked us all some risotto and then we headed to the Amersham Arms to watch the band play. The gig was ace but the drinks were ridiculously expensive. Every time I spilled a drop it was like pound coins falling out of my glass. How a place in New Cross can charge £5 to get in and then £3.30 for a CAN of Red Stripe is beyond me. One good review in Time Out and they think they're the Koko. Oh dear.

Today we had a lie-in and then walked down to Forest Hill to check out the Horniman Museum. We wandered around the music gallery, the African worlds exhibition and looked at the Darwin 500 Wildlife Photography exhibition, the review of which will be the first entry in my new travel blog which is being started soon (just as soon as I figure out the last few minute details!) So exciting.

However, far from travelling, right now I am curled up in my flat in my enormous Goldsmiths hoodie about to construct a cheeseboard to have with the lovely homemade mulled cider that Will and Claire bought us. Loverly xx

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Rest

I have to get this out before normal service resumes.

At the moment I'm pretty tired and confused. It's been a heavy couple of weeks. I just need space and sleep. I will figure it all out in time but at the moment I just need to take some time to listen to my own voice and the voices of those around me. I'm not down or sad, it's just that something has shifted within me and I need to readjust. Rest assured, though, I am fine. For one thing I am way to bloody-minded to let it get me down. I apologise if this makes little sense. I'm going to write it off as some kind of self-therapy.

There.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Useless

Rest assured, I have not abandoned my blog. I have the worst case of Saigon Syndrome ever bought on by a week of fun, American and Canadian visitors and some excessive drinking. Aim to have a full account of this week in words by mid-week. Until then, my apologies.

LY xx