Twice in One Week!

I haven't been into London since early December when I travelled in for my belated Mother's Day treat at the Van Gogh Immersive Experience. I also hadn't seen L since our holiday to Jordan, so I was feeling the need.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on whose point of view you're looking from), her washing machine broke down. I only discovered this when she phoned me from the local launderette for a chat. The symptoms sounded familiar. Years ago when R was going abroad for work on a regular basis, I noticed that, as soon as he left the country, our domestic appliances sensed his absence and took it in turns to play up.  On one occasion I recall the drive belt falling off our washing machine and R having to talk me through replacing it over the phone. The problem sounded very like L's, and, after R had a chat and confirmed the fact, she ordered a new drive belt. As J was away, we offered to go round the following weekend and help to fix it.

The job wasn't as simple as it should have been - in order to get the washer out, the cupboard under the sink had to be dismantled so the dishwasher plumbing could be removed, then the dishwasher could be brought forwards, thereby allowing the washing machine to be extracted. See, not so simple! Their kitchen isn't huge, so it was a bit like one of those puzzles where everything has to be moved in the right order.

To cut a long story short, R fixed the washer (and also their door where one of the hinges was a bit dodgy) and then we celebrated by popping to the Van Gogh Cafe for a vegan Sunday Roast.

The beetroot and cabbage were the best bits:

Rhubarb Creme Brulee.  It turns out that there is a reason that creme brulee contains egg! This was very runny but tasted nice anyway.

The following Thursday, I was supposed to be meeting my friend, S, either in Bristol or Bath. She has been having some problems with her eyes and, the day before our proposed trip, she had an appointment confirmed at Moorfield's Eye Hospital in London, so we changed plans and went there instead. As I said - twice in 1 week! This time, I went in on the train and we met in the cafe at the V and A. 

I had never noticed this sign before but there is indeed a lot of bomb damage to the building. Still, given the current news, and other areas of London at the time, it got off quite lightly:

The glorious cafe where I had the best caramel pumpkin cake and coffee. It was so nice that I had eaten it before remembering to take a photo!

After a short catch up chat, we set off for the hospital and just had time for a quick lunch at Wagamama's before her appointment time:

The appointment over, we wandered round looking for a cafe, that preferably wasn't part of a huge chain, for a coffee and to catch our breath before the journey home. We were astounded by the number of Prets in the area - at one point we thought we must be walking round in circles as there seemed to be one on every street corner. Really, a ridiculously large number. Eventually we found a little independent cafe and finished our chat. Then, we walked to St. Paul's underground station and split up to catch our respective trains. On the way home I received a text from S to say that she had made it onto the Exeter train and had bought a sandwich for the journey ........... from the Pret at Waterloo!

St Paul's at dusk:

Other happies this month:

Making a reproduction of the 'Goddess of Hayyan' plaque from the Temple of the Winged Lions in Jordan. L took a shine to the plaque on holiday, so I made her one as a joke present:

A trip to Arlington Arts to see the comedienne, Lucy Porter. To be honest it was a tad disappointing:

She did, however, give out badges, as adults (unlike Brownies) don't tend to get them anymore. There were badges for making dinner, putting the bins out, flossing your teeth and (the one that R chose for me) :

This isn't strictly accurate as, although I am a member of my local gym, I only go for the swimming and have never lifted a weight in my life. It currently lives on my fridge and I might donate it to L next time I see her as she has taken up weights.

The Peasemore and Leckhamstead walk:

My Camellia in flower:

Making chilli jam. It is really delicious, although it took me several attempts to get the consistency right. I kept having to get R to chisel it out of the jars when it had over-set, so that we could add more water. 3rd time's a charm!

A partridge in the garden at dusk. We don't usually see partridges, mainly pheasants. We did try pointing out the pear tree to it but it wasn't interested!

Finishing my Persephone Mitts. As you can see, I'm not one for matching up my yarn so they are quirkily different. :O)

Finally, a trip to the Corn Exchange to see 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide' by the Black-eyed Theatre company. There was a cast of 4 and they were brilliant. I would definitely recommend seeing it if it comes to your area:

The set - the photo is a bit dark but there was some beautiful furniture amongst that lot!

That's all for this month. I heard today that Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe is finally on her way home to her husband and daughter. At last, some good news among all the current horror going on in the World.

Toodle pip for now. x