Cold Comfort Farm

I remember watching Cold Comfort Farm, starring Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry and Ian Mckellan, with my best friend when we were younger. It was a fantastic dramatisation (with a cast like that it should be) and I always meant to read the book by Stella Gibbons but never got round to it. I started it on holiday this year and it has taken me a while to get through it, although I'm not sure why. It was very very funny: both subtle and obvious in its humour with wonderful parodies of 'country folk' and the drudgery of the farm. Some books, though, just don't drag you forward and have you desperate for more. Rather, Cold Comfort was for picking up for half an hour or dipping into on the bus, the odd scene was enough. Has anyone else found this?

Two Weeks In The City

Apologies for long gaps between posts, I have made an autumn resolution to be more diligent. I keep a hand written 'to do' list and it never ends, page upon page of A4 plain paper stapled together lists everything that needs doing to keep life in some semblance of order. Crossing things off is immensely satisfying although it is more often 'take washing out of machine' than 'Update entire PR database' or something incredibly useful like that...

At any rate, I have been busy. Since my comfort soup the following random events and incidents have taken place, in date order, as opposed to importance:

Drinks at The Westbourne. This was with lots of old colleagues which was lovely lovely lovely. Sadly they don't do CHIPS, which in truth was what we fancied after quite a bit of rioja but the worn wooden benches along the left side and Parisien feeling cafe style tables are condusive to chatting and reminiscing.

Mexican celebration. Regular readers may recall that this time last year, and until Spring this year, a close family member was seriously ill in hospital. She has been recovering slowly but surely for a while and two weeks ago her surgeon gave her a very big thumbs up and sent her away to start life properly again. This called for big celebrations - Boyf and I sped back to Shropshire for a beautiful Mexican meal. Yummy I can taste that homemade guacamole now...

Hospital visit. Despite the previous night's jollity, sadly not everyone is well. My grandmother had a fall and has had a hip operation so we took biscuits and sympathy into the hospital and sat and chatted for a couple of hours, leaving a hopefully happier granny when we left.

Ma's birthday meal. A gaggle of family took over a small Italian restaurant in Shropshire to toast my Ma's birthday. The homemade pate was absolutely divine followed by parmesan coated chicken. Then, despite swearing we would not, Boyf and I headed to a club with my younger cousins and danced the night away to music I had never heard... The following day we went to my Ma's house for roast chicken and organic vegetables. The first fire of the year was blazing in the coal burner.

Dinner at Ha Ha!. It has to be said that I really don't like Ha Ha! at Embankment but upon meeting a best friend for drinks at Gordon's Wine Bar we found it absolutely stuffed to the rafters, or rather, the arches, and we couldn't squeeze in. Don't you hate it when you end up having to go somewhere crap through default? Company excellent, food, wine and service, distinctly average.

Dinner at The Chutney. Date night has become a tad haphazard and so Boyf and I resolved to get back out there and try our local Indian restaurant. It has rave reviews on Toptable and I pass it everyday yet we have never been. A 50% off deal prompted us to try it. Hmm... It was, okay. Lighting was bright and tables close together. Service was very friendly and very attentive, but the downside was our starters and mains came so quickly that even with a couple of drinks and good conversation (overhead by the couple on the next table no doubt) we were still only there an hour. However, we could have forgiven all this had the food been spectacular. Sadly, it wasn't.

Watching the rugby. Hurrah! We won! I watched the game with a gaggle of ardent England fans and one very amusing Frenchman in The Prince Of Wales, and then celebrated in Putney.

This week. Relax, catch up on The Tudors, Conchords, Hidden Palms.... Shop, for cute pumps from Topshop (see picture). They are on order and probably stuck in a mound of backed up post somewhere. Hurry to me my beauties...

Right, done. You are all caught up. Now I can get back to it. Mixed up in there has also been sending press releases, packing and despatching orders, sorting out the order process (still...) and general business paperwork. Phew...

Cosy

Over the weekend I made some beautiful homemade soup. I had some chicken legs in the freezer and plenty of vegetables so I threw everything in the pot and simmered all Sunday.
This evening drizzle enveloped London and so I picked up some fresh crusty bread and Boyf and I ate comfort food. Now we are sitting in the warm drinking red wine. Bliss.

Beautiful Weekend

I wasn't expecting a lot from the weekend - I had no plans and Boyf was off to Surrey to play football. And what lovely things can sneak up on you from low expectations.

Friday night was spent having a few drinks with friends and then on Saturday lunchtime, after a brief sojourn to Waitrose, I waved off Boyf and set about doing some paperwork. A phonecall from a best friend was very much welcomed, especially when the result of which was Katy heading over straight from Borough market, laden with stuffed olives, harissa, rosemary salt bread, cheese, chocolate brownies and banana cake. We ate a lot more than necessary and washed it all down with a few gin and tonics and lots of chatting. Later, upon Boyf's return, we all set out to The Prince of Wales in Putney, a gastropub just bought by a friend of Boyf's and managed by another.

Katy stayed and Sunday morning saw us lying under duvets, drinking coffee and eating marmalade on toast, watching TV. Eventually, we dragged ourselves out, into the fresh air and sunshine and down to Old York Road to have a late lunch and white wine spritzers at Global.

The weekend was rounded off with a film and a Chinese before I slept a very sound sleep and woke up to a very very wet Monday morning.

Something about the unexpected nature of the weekend, the contrast between its beautiful weather and today's deluge, and the complete lack of work (which is very unusual for me) meant that I felt so invigorated today. I have got lots done and am now positive that good food, good company and good fun are very good for me.

A Little Treat

The time has come to revamp our wardrobes for the new season. The light jacket has been discarded and now the coat needs to come out. At Lilac Stripe there are lots of little treats that needn't break the bank - the new collection from Kate Sheridan is up and prices start from £14. I particularly love the hare and bear shoppers, which I have got my eye on for Christmas presents too (sorry sorry, I know it's still three months away). I have also been toying again with the idea of hiring a PR agency but I really feel that they are very expensive... for a small company like mine a retainer of £1000 per month seems extortionate, given what else it could be spent on, so I will continue myself for now either until we are bigger or until I come across an agency so perfect for the Stripe that I simply have to work with them.

Aside from business, Max's second birthday party was lovely and he very much enjoyed his day - as did us adults, quaffing the rose long after his bedtime. Boyf and I had roast beef on Sunday, sitting in the garden at my Ma's house (probably the last outdoor meal this summer), before heading back to start a new week.

Autumn On Its Way

We have had some beautiful weather in London this week. Weak morning sunshine plays on the river in the mornings, gaining strength by lunchtime; crisp bright days ensue. I have had a peaceful couple of weeks which have been very productive: getting on top of paperwork and filing, making some decisions about Christmas fairs and product, walking on the Common and cooking with the back door open onto warm evenings. This has been punctuated by a few evenings in the pub with friends, a birthday at 93 Feet East, a quite bite at Brick Lane Beigel Bakery and a full English in Farringdon.

This weekend is my godson's second birthday and Boyf and I are travelling back to Shropshire to join in his birthday celebrations. We are also planning a new floor in our kitchen which, once done, will prompt me to post some proper photos of the flat. I can't believe we have been here since January...

I am very much looking forward to the ensuing season.

Back

It was all fine in the end - the passport arrived, flights were booked and Boyf and I jetted off for sun and relaxation in Oia, Santorini. For a week we read, chatted, drank local wine, wandered through the boutique lined streets and ate seafood. We went down to the port and watched the catch hauled in, photographed the donkeys carrying tourists up the steep cliff paths and drank gin and tonics whilst yachts crossed the caldera, one of the most spectacular views in the world spread out in front of our terrace. For our last night I had reserved the centre balcony table at Ambrosia, as recommended in Conde Nast Traveller.
We arrived back on Tuesday with batteries recharged and skin bronzed. You can see lots of photos on my Flickr account.
Therefore I should be ready to photograph and upload the new season's stock that has arrived this week. And I would be, if I wasn't laid low with a streaming cold, so instead I am lying on the sofa, sipping a Lemsip and watching Totally Jodie Marsh...oh dear.