Oh Sod Off!

I had a bad day today. I was in a bad mood all day long. It started with the stupid washer/dryer. I did a load of Snake's t-shirts early this morning. This machine never stops. I do a load every morning, noon and most nights. After the load was done, I tried to open the door. It wouldn't open. I tried to pull it open, it still wouldn't budge. It annoyed me. It annoyed Snake even more because just about all of his shirts were stuck in there. I called the building handy man. He would come by later that morning and check it out. He did, about 2 hours later. He couldn't budge it either. So he called the appliance repair man. The APRM promised he would be at my house within 2 - 3 hours. Fine. Five hours later I am still waiting. Six hours later, I am still waiting. Finally at about 6:45 pm he shows up. He can't get the door to open. His opinion, the latch is broken. Great. He will order one. Great. It will take 10 business days. Great. He leaves. He will be back when the part has been received. This entire process takes 11 1/2 hours.


Chizz calls and says why don't we meet downtown for a drink near Trafalgar Square? Something interesting was going on there. A tourism group, Visit London, arranged for the entire square to be covered in grass for two days. He thought we could have a drink, check out the grass at Traflagar Square and then head home. (We do lead an exciting life.) Okay, I could use a drink. A very large drink. So I head off on the #6 bus. Traffic is horrible and it takes much longer to get there than normal. Perhaps it was the draw of the grass - who knows? Well, when I get there I have to walk by the square to get to the pub where Chizz is waiting for me. What do I see? Workers rolling up the sod on Trafalgar Square! We missed it!! It figures, it was the perfect end to this day. At least the wine was cold and the glass was large, very large.

Don't Call Us, We Won't Call You

I have been receiving a series of obscene phone calls. But I have a confession to make, in addition to being repulsed (because I truly, truly am) I am also quite fascinated by them. It appears to be the same man making the calls, four to date. Almost all but a few words are unintelligible. But something about the manner in which he says the jumbled up parts you know, even if you can't make it out - its dirty, (similar to porn, you know it when you hear it). And, of course, it helps that several of the words I can make out are undeniably filthy. But that is not what fascinates me. It is the accent. Something about the British accent makes even dirty words and descriptions of vile acts sound almost polite and refined. Interesting. Actually, it sounds quite a bit like Tony Blair. I know he planned to go on a public speaking tour after leaving office in June but I didn't think this is what he had in mind. What is this - rehearsal? Okay caller if you are Tony, let me offer a few words of constructive criticism -
E-N-U-N-C-I-A-T-E each syllable, speak more slowly and perhaps a steady course of aerobics so you don't get so winded between words. And if this is not Tony, never mind.

Rock On, Really?

Kiki went to a cool event last night. The London Philharmonic Orchestra playing "rock" music at Royal Albert Hall. She went with a group of friends. Both kids are becoming very independent, they know how to travel all over the city, which buses take you where, when it is appropriate to take public transport or when you should hop in a cab. Skills they probably won't need in our hometown but good to know for other places. She said the crowd was mixed, quite a few older people, some dressed to the nines, some people dressed in jeans. Her crowd was probably on the younger side of the patrons. The event advertised that the orchestra would be playing tunes ranging from Meatloaf to Madonna to Coldplay to Oasis to the Stereophonics (Who??). Kiki's favorite songs included renditions of "Fix You" by Coldplay, "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys, "Leila" by Eric Clapton. She also said they did a couple of Queen songs (I would think you would have to) "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We are the Champions". I was happy to recognize quite a few of the songs and groups. It sounds really fun and I am going to put that on my list of things to do next year. I just hope that they continue to do a few of the old classics so I won't keep having to ask my kids - "Who is this? What song do they sing?".

Invasion of Normandy - 2007

Well, the day finally arrived. Ever since we found out we would be moving here, Snake has been patiently waiting for one school trip. The entire 8th grade went to Normandy France on Sunday for 5 days. They are currently studying WWII in social studies and this trip is the over the top culmination of that course. Last week, they had WWII reenactors in the classroom. The reenactors show up in full battlefield regalia, army greens, helmets, camouflage, guns, utility belts. The kids got to see exactly what the soldiers wore when they landed on the beaches. History is Snake's one of favorite subjects and he has been enjoying this section immensely. The teachers have been prepping the classes the whole week. They gave them all playlists of the music of the era to play on their Ipods this week. I made the mistake of asking him what if a student didn't have an Ipod. He gave me a look like I had just asked what if a student didn't have ears. Apparently, that is not an issue. I know he will have lots of fun and there will be loads of stories, just not from him. I will have to find out from the mother of another student (probably a girl) exactly what they did and how much fun it was. Sigh.

It is strange having one child around the house. It is shades of what it will be like when Kiki goes off to college in what I am sure will be a blink of an eye. Kiki did not stay around to amuse Chizz & I this weekend. She was off working on a school project. So Chizz & I went to the National Gallery to catch an exhibit of Renoir landscapes. It was pretty nice but crowded. Those art lovers sure can suck the air out of room, it was warm. I always learn a few things when I go to these things, Renoir was for a long time considered a "modern" artist, which kind of blows my mind. I never thought of him that way. If fact until recently he was displayed quite prominently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York until they decided that he wasn't innovative enough and that his work wasn't trend setting or original in design. He also "borrowed" techniques from quite a few artists of the time. I bet that made him popular at the artist cocktail parties.

After the museum, a pub - naturally. Chizz picked one in Soho called the Dog & Duck. Soho is a fashionable area in London, close to the theater district, with many restaraunts, bars, shopping. In the days of yore, (the time period before the olden days), this area was a hunting ground. The name Soho comes from a hunting call "Soho", similar to "Tallyho". This particular pub has been around since 1734 but in this building since the late 1800s. It was a particular favorite of George Orwell and apparently Madonna likes a pint or two of the old Timothy Taylor Landlord when she drops by. Well, la-de-da!

It is quiet around the house these days. No melodic sounds of AC/DC or Pink Floyd drifting through the house, no size 9 shoes to trip over in the hall, no popcorn constantly popping in the microwave. That's okay, he will be landing back here soon enough. We will just have to do some reconnaissance to figure out if he had a good time. Cover us, we're going in.

And Many More, On Channel 4

Today is Auntie K's birthday. I won't say how old, let's just say she is much, much, much younger than me. She is the youngest of the five sisters. It wasn't very easy being the youngest. We were not a very, um, nice group at times. She was always the butt of our jokes, the target of our misguided pranks, the scapegoat for any trouble. She always got the worse parts in our games. For example,the character of "Dan Doggie" in the Dan Doggie game she played with Auntie M. & Auntie S. I know it sounds like a big deal, the title role, but it really just meant she had to carry things around in her mouth.

There are plenty of Auntie K. stories. There was the time when she was about 7 that we (Auntie L. & I) told her that the "B" word meant very nice person, so she went and called our mom that - much to our delight. There was the time when she was even younger, we (again, I think Auntie L. & I) told her that before she was born we had a dog but our family had a "5 thing rule" and so when she was born we had to give away the family pet. There was the time we all had to go to the emergency room with her during a typhoon because she swallowed a pachinko ball (or was that the time she stuck the popcorn kernel so far up her nose that it had to be retrieved by a special tool at the hospital? Who knew the hospital had a special "popcorn kernel removing device"?) We were mad at her about the hospital because at the time we lived on Okinawa, where US TV was only on a few hours per day but during typhoons they had it on 24 hours per day and they put on really cool movies, like The Wizard of Oz. By the time we got home from the hospital, the typhoon warning was over and we missed the movie. Stupid, stupid weak tropical storm system. More recently, the time she picked me up from the train station with my young children in the car who exclaimed "Mommy, Auntie drove in the dirt!!". She still denies that to this day!!

It is surprising that she didn't turn to drugs or petty thievery after being subject to all that. She is the only one of my sisters that lived near me in Northern California so I have relied on her more times than I can actually count. Emergency babysitting jobs, making an extra dessert or salad for a BBQ, FHB (family hold back) at a party when I wasn't quite sure I had made enough food for the guests, picking us up when our car broke down from the middle of California in a place where you only get country western music (in spanish) or religious programing on the radio, breaking all speed limits and several driving laws on September 11 to be with me that morning. Now she is helping us while we live here by taking care of our house for us. A house which chose to have several major malfunctions lately starting with the week we left up to the recent swimming pool leak. It is really hard making decisions about other people's houses, it is quite a bit of pressure and she handles it all. We really appreciate it more than I think she can imagine.

So Happy Birthday, Auntie K. We all love you, miss you and hope you have a great day. And no this isn't your present, I will bring that home this summer!

Mish Mash

We have done quite a bit of nothing over the past week here. The kids are racing toward the school finish line in June; big projects, school trips, final exams. Chizz has been busy at work, putting in some overtime, working a few weekends. I have been trying to coordinate our summer plans. It hasn't left much time for us to be out and about in a big way.

This past weekend was a bank holiday weekend. Bank holidays are like public or government holidays in the US. In the early 1800s there were 30+ holidays taken off during the business year, mostly different saint's days or days of religious significance. In 1871 that all stopped and they went from 33 different holidays to just 4, (Boxing Day, Easter Monday, First Monday in May, First Monday in August). Holidays like Christmas and Good Friday were already recognized as common holidays and not covered under the Bank Holiday Act. They were called bank holidays mainly because the banks were closed that day and by special legislation if any payment is due that day, the due date is pushed forward a day with no penalty assessed. Originally the guy who sponsored the legislation thought they should have one or two days off per year that would allow bank employees to go to cricket matches. No lie! So he threw a few dates in there to cover that requirement. It has evolved over the years to include more dates and each country in the United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and England/Wales,) has slightly different bank holidays. For example, Ireland has a bank holiday for St. Patrick's Day and Scotland for St. Andrew's day.

The kids had several social obligations this weekend and of course, we had none. One of the benefits of the kids having socials lives is that it gives us a lot of time to do stuff together. And of course for Chizz, free time means pub time. So we went to our local favorite pub one night for dinner. The next night we went to the Canalway Cavalcade. It is a festival of sorts on the canal in Little Venice not far from our house. During the day they have all kinds of floating performances, puppet shows, food booths, etc. At night they have a parade of illuminated canal boats. Most of the boats are decorated with Christmas lights and thousands of people show up to watch the different boats pass by.
Some of the passengers on the boats put on quite the display, sometimes fueled by enthusiasm, sometimes fueled by something more liquid. We saw some over enthusiastic baton twirlers that I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up their night in the canal at some point. I didn't have my camera but I found a photo on the internet that gives you an idea. It is kind of hard to make out but the canal boat is going under a bridge in Little Venice.

Ended up the weekend the kids favorite way, an exhibit at a museum. One of the great things about museums here is that they are for the most part free. Sometimes a special exhibit might have a fee but usually entrance is free. So it gives you an opportunity to go to the museum and see one thing or concentrate on one wing for an hour or so. An hour is just about Snake's limit. We went to the Tate Britain and saw the JW Turner exhibit. He was an English artist especially known for his landscapes. While we were there we saw a controversial new exhibit by a local artist, Mark Wallinger called State Britain. It is a recreation of a protest display in Parliament Square. A man named Brian Haw has been demonstrating in Parliament Square outside the Houses of Parliament since June 2001. Except when he has been arrested or to
appear in Court he has been there continuously since 2001, before September 11, to protest Britain's policies against Iraq. The exhibit is a recreation of his 600 pieces of posters, banners, newspaper articles, safety cones, flags etc. This is a picture of the actual protest site. Apparently it became such a nuisance to some of the Members of Parliament that they passed a law making it a criminal offense to erect a semi-permanent protest so many feet from the Houses of Parliament. Unfortunately for them, there were enough loopholes and ambiguities in the law that the one person they passed the law to run out of town, it doesn't affect. The courts have ruled several times in Mr. Haw's favor, indicating that there were no provisions in the law for it to
be retroactive and other issues. It has been an ongoing tug of war between the lawmakers and Mr. Haw and it will probably continue. The exhibit of his protest is now nominated for an art award. This is a picture of the exhibit at the museum.

You know, I think I can create that kind of art here at home if I don't put out the recycling for a few days, wash the pots and pans or let the kids's rooms pile up. Yes, it would be difficult but I would be willing to sacrifice for my art. Maybe I will get nominated for a prestigious art award. I will let you know.

Perhaps a Little Bit Too Much Information?

The other day I was scrambling up some eggs. I used all the eggs in one carton and reached for another batch of eggs. While waiting for the eggs to cook, I noticed the cartons were two different colors and since I knew both cartons were bought at the same store, I examined it more closely to find out the difference. Can you see it?







Since when do we as a society want this much information about the habits of our food? I am not sure that I care that much what the chicken that laid my egg did in the hours prior to laying the egg and what level of freedom she had. Cages in barns, no cages in barns, roaming the countryside, scoring heroin in an alley. Okay maybe I do want to know if I am eating the egg of a drug addict chicken. But other than that kind of info, which I have yet to see on the egg carton, I don't really want to think about how my food (or in this case - its carrier) spends its day. Do you want to know what the cow that provided the hamburger for your bacon double cheeseburger did all day and should it be on the label? "Spent days in crowded enclosure, like cattle, walking in own feces, mooing, eating grass, until led up plank to the butchering table - ". Get the picture? I just don't see how this is useful information.

Although maybe this is the tactic those foie gras activists should have taken a few years ago. Perhaps if it is put right on the label how foie gras is made and how the goose or duck spends its last days, it might gross some people out. But probably not the people that buy foie gras, just their chef or maid. And that is not the market the activist are targeting. Just a thought.