compendium 26 August 2008
It’s been a day of many thingettes.
Yes, we’re all in broad agreement about what went on on my plae journey yesterday – but as my friend jonathan has emailed ‘at least you weren’t on that Ryanair plane yesterday where everyone went down in a hurry … not just one stewardess.’ Snigger…
Mary in America says tomato flavours really depend on the soil they’re grown in (re tomatoes the other day). I did notice also that the cucumbers in Sicily were sort of drier than here – but given how much rain we’ve had over the last while that ain’t no surprise.
And just to clarify, I don’t post up the email responses to the blog but I do reply when needed, or even just for a lark, as regulars will know. I am assured this mean I should call this not a blog but a diary – I’m thinking about it all, fear not, and changes may ensue…we’ll see…
The builders have moved onto a second storey of bricks, which makes things look like they’re RACING along now – oh joy, ONLY another 4 months to go.
Have had nasty reaction to two of the many insect bites I got while on our jaunt – I was a human smorgasbord on the last night. Left leg and ankle twice the size of the right – not pretty, v itchy, bit purple.
In our absence the Visiting Puss seems to have got in and made a wee bit of a protest (literally). Herself is totally paranoid now. He has been banished and the cat flap blocked up in the hours of darkness. And no food shall be left for him nae mare (he is his own worst enemy, the little scrappy wretch). I feel bad about it but he will honestly ruin the place if he’s let carry on as he has and The G is SUCH a cranky wagon when things aren’t going her way that I haven’t the backbone to deal with that too. Sometimes, being a stupid, sentimental, easily won over human is hard.
PASSED GOK WAN IN THE STREET IN LONDON YESTERDAY – HE WAS WALKING BY OUR FLAT LIKE A NORMAL MORTAL MIGHT! – AND I COULDN’T EVEN BRING MYSELF TO MEET HIS EYE. He was with a gal pal and they were laughing and I had no make-up on and my hair was a worse mess than usual (quite a vile, limp sight, I assure) and I couldn’t say ‘hello’ or even meet his eye. HE LOOKED TOTALLY FABULOUS AND JUST AS STYLISH AS ON TV.
you decide... 25 August 2008
Could be just us and our over fertile imaginations but whaddaya think? here’s the story…
We took a flight with a budget airline (the fact that it was budget is probably incidental, but I want to paint you a full picture) from sicily to London earlier. All very smooth and nice staff. Here’s where it gets interesting – at one point the captain put on the seat belt signs cos we were promised turbulence, which never came, but in the meantime the co-pilot emerged and went to the loo while the very pretty female flight attendant slipped in to see the captain. Some time later and after the co-pilot had a chat with the head steward he phoned into the cockpit and swapped over as ‘twere with the flight attendant. Then the seat belt signs were turned off and we were free to move about again. We’d have thought nothing of it except for us being told to stay in our seats for the duration (and mot passengers won;t have noticed what we did – we were close to the front. So, here’s what it is – myself and the Hubby were just wondering if we were kept in one manageable place while a little delight was had…?
tomatoes 24 August 2008
Why is it that tomatoes only taste great abroad anymore or when you grow your own? On this weekend in Sicily I must praise them for being the best of the tastes. We’ve got the builders in the house this year as youse all know and that has spread into the garden too and I cannot grow my own love apples this summer, which is heartbreak because I do love to go out and pluck a few and feck them onto a bit of bread or whatever. Tomatoes are the man, as we say from time to time. And apparently VEH VEH good for you. Here, I have been eating the actual, fresh plum tomato a lot – usually at home we see it in a can and that’s that. It is a king amongst…fruit? as I think the tomato is classed?
palermo 23 August 2008
went into town – palermo – today and was not where i thought we were when i consulted the map. so we had a great but challenging walkabout in a HUGE city before admitting defeat (after 2 1/2 hours walking that’s non chi problemo, actually) Great town, one way or another.
Weirdest and nicest sensation is the pure heat – really hot in the day and then BALMY at night. you really could go about naked…
Best news of all, though, is from Edinburgh where David O’Doherty (a great guy and very funny man) won the if.comedy award tonight (the perrier to the rest if us), To be at his show is to be in his head for an hour and that’s a BEAUTIFUL place to be . When i did the book festival in Embra recently some people were there who’d been at my previous talk a year or two before and i had recommended that anyone with a pulse and humanity see the DOD, and they did and came back to report that he was, and clearly IS fabtastic…oh, and did i mention an AWARD WINNER
sicily 22 August 2008
WE MADE IT! and the stickyinny thing works, mirabile dictu.
The wonders when flying today were the mention in the inflight magazine of a Celebrity Facialist – couldn’t work out if he was the ‘celeb’ or did the facialism but it was a new one on me – his make up was DREADFUL by the by…
In Rome airport I availed of the facilities and was introduced to SMART toilet paper, as it declared itself on the container – have to tell you it was (bog standard) ordinary enough and of no great academic prowess that I could divine…
Sicily is SUNNY and WARM so we are bewildered (but charmed)
tired 21 August 2008
Sheesh – ever have one of those days were you are REALLY tired but really shouldn’t be? That was me today. I had me night’s sleep. I hadn’t been a DOG on the wine last night but I was bloody wrecked all day. Then I had to face into the news that the irish horse was on drugs – like last time – ah LADS, what’s going on?! I really rationed myself re olympics viewing but I did see both US teams drop the baton in the relay – shriek. In fairness, it’s a notoriously difficult race to prepare for because you must pick your squad from whoever qualifies for the games and lots of other teams had similar difficulties…but…what sport it was. Incidentally, the Jamaicans had NO trouble passing the stick from one to the other, male or female…
I am off to Sicily for the weekend cos it’s just going that way – hopefully my magic pluggy inny thing will allow me ‘interweb’ access – if not, I shall surely find a ‘cafe; somewhere that’s got it? more anon and fingers crossed.
oh, and by the by if anyone has Palermo tips I’d be interested
shame 20 August 2008
I am sickened by the antics of Gary Glitter aka Paul Gadd, and who wouldn’t be. I detest the sight of him now wandering arrogantly around airports, waiting for some country to take him in – and he has the money, we assume, to be welcome somewhere…that’s dodgy of itself, of course, and a whole area we could spend a lifetime getting to grips with. I also hate myself for having danced like a loon to his tunes at the time when he was quite the thing. They are still catchy and no doubt about that. And that’s a major problem. It raises a huge question as to Art versus (the morality/private life of) the Artist…and that is most worrying. Lots of greats were truly awful people. Paul Gadd is also a truly awful man. His art is a slighter one and so easier to dismiss – the problem, however, remains the same.
puns 19 August 2008
The Olympics reporters must be having a ball with the puns. They have the Lightening Bolt – fastest man on earth (over short distances I want to shout, though). Tonight there was a Messi pass from an Argentinian soccer player and I’ve heard rumblings that Team GB don’t fell they may be ‘peaking’ too soon…in China…I know, tis groan worthy, but that’s the olympics in part.
There was an interesting discussion on Irish TV tonight when a presenter said he didn’t think that the British woman who won the 400m should have been in the race at all, because at one stage she missed 3 drugs tests in a row and was suspended for a year as a result. The 2 athletes on the TV panel stood up for her resolutely saying it was awkward for any athlete to be available in the random way they are supposed to. And there was never any suggestion that she has ever taken drugs but the presenter’s point was that she had a cloud hanging over her, I suppose and that was her own doing and would never go away fully.
Great day AT LAST for the Irish with 2 guaranteed bronze medals in the boxing – c’mon the silver and, possibly, the gold now.
Oh and while I’m at it the fastest white man in Europe, according to TV commentators, is Paul Hessian, an Irishman, who only just failed to make the final of the 200m.
Yep, made the terrible mistake of turning the television on too early and now know way too much about today in Bejing, then watched the highlights later too…
olympics 18 August 2008
I am trying my best not to get hooked on the Olympics. The best thing is not to switch the tv on during morning or afternoon hours otherwise a near fatal interest may be aroused and the day lost. Not that I have to do much in the way of admiring the Irish team – we’re having a fairly torrid time of it, barring a couple of boxers and a man who ran fast today but will be up against Bolt and Co from here on out. I did hear one wonderful woman runner on radio yesterday, however, and to me she embodied all that’s potentially wonderful about the meet. She was selected at the last moment to represent Ireland in the marathon and is a total amateur (as opposed to the professional ‘amateurs’ competing). She went to China at very short notice and completed the race and DID NOT COME LAST. She was overjoyed and said the experience, particularly entering the stadium itself, was beyond words. She kept saying ‘I feel like I’ve won the gold’.
he nights... 17 August 2008
It has been pointed out to me that I said in yesterday’s blog that Ian was very excited about the ‘he night’ also present in the bar where we were celebrating (and damn that same place for not barring me early in the evening, or at all – I blame them for general seediness today…). I meant HEN NIGHT, of course, though it has to be said that there was a stag group in attendance therefore I wasn’t lying about a ‘he night’ but Ian wasn’t half as interested in them as he was the leggy lovelies of the hen party. Curly (sis in law) thought the lads were lovely, though, so something for everyone = hooray!