An early Mothers Day and my views on Iran

First of all, family.

We went down to London to see my mother for Mother’s Day.  We were to meet my brother, but due to a mixup with times, that was not possible. We were almost late due to issues on the A12, but got there in good time. While my daughter was not there, my Mum was very happy to see my son.  My wife had bought her a selection of gifts which my Mum loved. The food was good, parking was available around the corner and the dog loved it as well. 

I don’t know if the traffic would have been worse if The Epstein War was not taking place. It was something my Mum did want to discuss, even mentioning that a group of young men, who came into it, might be sent to fight in it.

Which brings me to the next topic, The Epstein War. While prices go up, it will cause harm to our economy. Living in Colchester, we heard some helicopter activity from the nearby base and my wife and I hope that this does not mean we are to help. Trump is an unreliable ally. While the first casualty of war is the truth, Trump is notorious for being ignorant about facts, and lying about them if the facts are inconvenient. An example of this is Trump blaming Iran for the murder of schoolgirls and their rescuers early in this one sided war. 

In addition to this, Trump has stated that NATO allies would not come to defend the USA, even though the only nation that was invoked Article Five, is the USA, and allies heeded the call. 

Once made aware of this, he lied, stating that NATO forces did not engage on the front, a comment he has since been forced to backtrack on. 

Trump has since stated that the UK only joins wars once the US has won them.  After that, he has called for the UK (and other nations) to send warships to help get oil out of The Gulf. 

Ignoring the ethics of joining in a hugely illegal war, Iran may be able to overcome or bypass any naval escorts with huge waves which overwhelm the defenders.  I don’t like the regime in Iran, not just for the way it exports terror, but also for the way it murders its own people. But in this conflict, Israel and the USA are in the wrong, and if anything, I back Iran in its call for compensation as a condition to end the war. 

Londonistan, the reality

I have been having a “debate” with someone on Twitter who has referred to London being run by Jihadists and Islamists. I say debate, they just spam stuff, but they have learned not to broach certain topics.  

Listening to BBC PM today, I have listened to a representative of Israel say that “The streets of London are succumbing to Jihad” when asked about the sanctions being placed on two members of the Israeli government. This no doubt relates to London having a Muslim mayor and he is not the only one to spread lies like this. 

Just a few things, I can drink alcohol in London. There is Old Compton Street where people are openly gay (attacked by The Far Right in the past) and of course there is London Fashion Week. I suspect that none of this can take place in Kabul and I don’t know how Gay Pride can take place in London if  “the streets of London are succumbing to Jihad.” 

If you want to listen to the words, it is eight minutes into the show. Last of all, while some call London a poo hole, this video from the USA demonstrates an issue I have never encountered in London! 

Our trip to Londonistan

We had a trip to London this weekend.  My son got to spend time in Spitalfields Market shopping for things and got things for his birthday which he wanted.  The dog was very tired by the end of it, though enjoyed spending time with us, though my daughter stayed in Colchester.  We also went to Brick Lane.  

While there, despite London being in the hands of Islamists, I ate pork and drank alcohol.  I saw loads doing the same.  Not sure how this was allowed considering the comments made by those on the right...

The Shard

My wife used up our Expedia points so that she could take us to an amazing night at The Shard. It was a late anniversary present, and also my Christmas and birthday present.

We drove there and we were met with a great view when we entered. The picture does no do it justice. The view was actually better today (the picture is from yesterday) as the sun was shining this morning. I am sad to admit, that in addition to looking at the Thames and the various buildings, I also spent time watching the trains. My wife dragged me away from watching the real life train set and we went upstairs to the cocktail bar. We watched the reflection of the sunset in the buildings as we savoured our cocktails. 

After getting ready in our room, it was dinner and watching night fall across London. Dinner involved interesting flavours at the start and later a fabulous fish dish and astounding stake. Sadly my wife was not to finish hers, so I got to eat that!

Breakfast the following morning was great, the sun shining made the view even better. Our drive back home to reality did involve some traffic as well as watching the police rush into deal with the right wing protest against people marching for an armistice on Armistice Day. We did not get back for the minute’s silence, something which I hoped would have more relevance to my son who has just got back from Ypres, in Belgium, being taken through the remnants of the trenches and seeing the war graves as part of a school trip.

We are family

Just got home after a day in London. My younger brother is going out with a lovely South African woman, Lauren. Sadly, her sister died recently leaving behind her seven year old niece. Today, we met the two of them, her parents, her uncle, my other brother and my Mum. I was dreading it as it was over a two hour drive there (and the same coming back) so was expecting us all to be tired afterwards. We did get there early, but went shopping (I wanted to go to Richmond but was overruled) and ended up arriving last!

My children came along with Leia and they talked to my brothers, well mostly (my son resorted to grunts apparently with my youngest brother). They did not get to spend much time with my mother who spent time talking to the other parents. Lauren’s uncle ended going on a walk with Leia and me, he having had a dog in the past, but is not able to have one now due to him travelling a lot.

The last time my bothers and I got together like this was on New Years when we met up for my mothers birthday (which she decided not to attend) and I am going to have to badger them to make this a regular thing. Anyway, the kids are in bed along with my wife, Time to join them.

Yesterday in London

I went to a course in London yesterday. It was good, I learned a bit and was reminded about a few issues that I had forgotten as well.

My wife took the children around central London and after my course I walked to meet them at Borough Market. It was lovely walking through London, I have not done a walk like that in our capital city in years, possibly decades. It was also strange to do such a walk without Leia, our dog, who is at the dog sitters.

As you can see from the previous post, I have played my daughter at Dobble. She is under the illusion that she beat me, and that in one game I pushed her over (she fell and I was trying to help her). Obviously all know that I beat her as she would never be able to beat me…

And on the topic of winning and losing, Arsenal lost yet another game, this time against a team facing relegation, or rather they were until they beat us, allowing Manchester City to win the title before they play their game later today.  It is annoying that we lost the title, but I cannot complain too much considering that we overcame a twelve point deficit to win the league in 1998 and we finished the 2010-11 season in 4th place having been a point behind the league leaders at one point. 

The plague (again)

My wife tested positive for the plague last night. She has been out on Friday night to a book club and had been to a work meeting last week as well.

This means that the rest of us are probably going to get it was we went to London yesterday. As you can see, Leia found the Cat Café to be fascinating. My daughter said her being in there would be like a cage fight, which made me laugh and my wife despair! We did not get to spend long in London as we had to return as my wife felt unwell and also because my daughter needed to help a friend so had a great coffee before we left.

The downside of this is that my daughter may have infected her friend, assuming she was not the source of the infection anyway.  I have got back from work. My wife is isolating in her bedroom and the kids have been looking after her. Tomorrow they plan to meet up with friends, so long as they feel well. They say tomorrow is another day, we shall see. 

New Years 2023

Time for a quick update before bed. Yesterday we entertained Lyndsay and Nick while my daughter went to a friends for a sleepover. It was great seeing them though I passed out after midnight. 

Today, we met up with my brothers (and partner) in London. My daughter had not got much sleep the night before though. We were hoping that my mother would join us, but she declined.  I am not sure what we did to annoy her over Christmas, but she may relent and allow us to see her again.  I had offered to pop round and see her before the meal, but she said she would be out, but was present when one of my brothers visited her before our meal.

It was a great meal though and it was amazing seeing both brothers again as well as Lauren, the partner of one.  The only good point of my mother dropping out was that we changed the venue to a dog friendly place, which turned out to be at the site of a meal that we had with my mother several years ago.

Being in Islington always brings back fond memories from when I was younger. Back then we used to take the bus to Chapel Market as my brother and I found the walk too hard.  When older, my mother would give me a shopping list and on the weekend and I would get the shopping from Sainsburys’s (which is still there).  I used to know the prices of most the everyday items we got such as milk and bread as every hard earned penny my mother had was invaluable. My father did pay child maintenance at times, but he was never that reliable.

Anyway, time for bed after a very enjoyable start to the New Year.

Veeraswamy

Knackered.  

We went to see my mother for her birthday.  We collected her from her house and left Leia there in her crate.  My brothers drove into town as did we and after dropping my mother and family there, parked and walked back.  I was nervous considering the levels of Omicron in London, but Veeraswamy is a great place to eat.  We used to go there at this time years ago, but have not been here for a while.  All loved the food and my mother loved having us all together.

I am not sure if we would have all been there as one of my brothers lives in Manchester and is doing his best not to catch COVID before travelling to the USA later this month.  But my youngest brother had told us that this was my mothers 80'th birthday.  Turned out that it was not, this being to come another year.  It is hard to tell my mothers age, as she looks younger than she is, also she was 50 for nine years many years ago.

Overall, despite being tired with the driving, it was really nice for us all to be together.  I am not sure when we are all to meet again, but I hope that it is not too long.

Red Notice

Today, I had a day off work.  My wife and I had it planned for a while and decided to continue even though Omicron is now spreading. Our rationale is that if there is a time to risk exposure, it is when the prevalence of it is low compared to it possibly/probably being higher in the weeks to come.

We took the train to London, and noted that most people were obeying the rules to wear a face mask on the train, though there were a handful who did not.  When in London, we visited Spitalfields Market, a place that we have been to on several occasions before the pandemic. We have not visited it so early before and the great thing about this was that it was a lot quieter than it was in the past.  Great for us, may be not for those selling things there.  

Lunch was at The Alchemist, a much anticipated return from our first trip many years ago.  The drinks were amazing, and the food was good as well.  

Once back we continued to relax by watching Red Notice.  As a film, it was fun.  Not a classic, but one I am glad to have watched with my wife.  Ryan Reynolds had managed some product placement in it, and while the film petered out towards the end, it still was fun.  And while I expected a twist, I was surprised at the nature of it.  Anyway, time for bed now.

Locanda Locatelli

Last night was amazing.  We went to Locana Locatelli.  We have not been here in some time.  I am not sure we have taken my son here, but we have been here since my daughter was born.  My wife and I love it here, and although last night was expensive, it was worth it.  She was a bit stressed about getting there on time as we had to leave the restaurant by a certain time (they had a booking after us) but we got there and that is when the experience started.  The service is warm and at the same time, professional.  The food is amazing and I was slightly annoyed that I had too much when my son and I had our late lunch.  Unlike Friday, the nice version of my son had joined us and I would like to think that we all enjoyed ourselves.  I know that my wife and I did, and I am sure my daughter did as well.

It will be a long time before we can put money aside to return here.  I am hoping that this will be for my birthday next year though!

Dishoom Carnaby

The day is not over but it has been a much better day for us all than last night was. 

First of all, we went to Dishoom, just parallel to Carnaby Street.  Like the TARDIS, it appears smaller on the outside, and like the TARDIS, it is full of surprises.  We loved the food, but my favourite was the chocolate Chai.

After this, it was shopping and while I had promised to take my daughter to the Doc Martens shop, we passed a place selling them. In addition to my daughter walking out with a pair, I did as well. My son had wanted some shoes, but sadly, it was not his birthday weekend and he had no money saved for this, but we may return in March and if they are still available...

Later, it was a journey to Brandy Melville, a store that has one size only.  I consider it the hell mouth as I think that it encourages eating disorders by only having one size.  My daughter knows my views on the place, but the day is about her rather than me.  So, she ended up with a jumper and a skirt.  

We met up with my wife who spent the rest of the day with my daughter, while I walked about town with my son.  He was keen on eating at YO! Sushi and we had to travel to Selfridges as some places had closed and one was fully booked.  Anyway, time to go as we are to have dinner soon.  It should be a good one! 

Pastaio, Carnaby Street

Today was the first day of our trip to London. We booked a place to stay for two nights.  We did not get here at the time we wanted, but got here early enough to make it to dinner at Pastaio.

The food and service here was just what we needed after what was an exhausting drive for my wife.  Things were complicated as my wife and son had a disagreement. She moved on from it but he stayed in a bad mood, which resulted in him wanting to return to the flat, and also at times, talked about returning to Colchester. 

One of my brothers had come up to Colchester to look after Leia as she is in season (and we do not want puppies) which meant our dog sitter was not able to look after her.  I communicated with him by text to ask if my son could stay with my Mum, in his room. However he reminded me about the spare room.  Hopefully this will not be an option that we need to take up, but is need be. 

Finally, the flat is amazing, the view fantastic and the location is superb.  We may see if we can use this place again in the future.

London in September

It was a busy weekend.

One of the good friends of my wife celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary on the weekend and we went down to London for the event.  The kids are old enough to look after themselves but, they do have a tendency to bicker and we had an option to leave them at my in-laws, and then stay the night there afterwards, or stay in London close to where the event was being held.

With my wife having to complete her dissertation for her masters, we opted for the least stressful, but more expensive option.  On the way into London, we visited my mother who is to travel to India for a month.  I had meant to call my youngest brother to let him know we were going, but forgot.  That was a shame as I do not see him enough and he and his partner love to see the kids.

After that, we went to central London where my wife had her eyelashes improved and while she was doing that, I took the kids to Foyles.  They love books, and the promise that I would buy them books was greatly appreciated by them.  It was a bit of a walk for them and on the way to Foyles, we came across a Jazz festival in the street and in Soho Square, a Trans Rights protest.

Afterwards it was to the hotel.  My wife and I had stayed there before, during the life before children, and it was a different, but pleasant experience to take the children there.  They loved it, my daughter falling in love with the bath, almost as much as I did with the shower.

The night with Mariel and Robin was great as well.  We got to catch up with my wife’s old school friends who we had not seen since the birthday celebration of my wife.  Back then I was too busy to spend lots of time talking, but this time, as a guest that was different.

In the morning, while my wife slept, the kids and I went for an early morning walk.  They got on so well, I started to have doubts that they were my actual children.  We had fun in a playground and they had fun with some squirrels.

Once at home though, it was back to reality with a visit to work, where I tried to catch up with some paperwork and then later, swore while doing it while listening to the Arsenal match.  I will try to post more about that after watching the highlights!

Ocean's 8 as well as Love and Other Drugs

My wife and I had some time away from the kids as we travelled into London to have a meal together.

We went shopping at first, nothing too fancy, but my wife bought something simple and flattering to wear.  We had a sit down in the M&S cafe on the outside terrace and then made our way to the restaurant. Ember Yard is near where my wife and I went to one of our first dates, a location I almost remember as it was the first time that I had eaten meat in a year (it was chicken kiev, though the actual restaurant has since closed down).  My wife had arranged for us to go there and I have to admit that I was not too keen on this at first, as having had Tapas in the past, I was not a big fan.  I was very wrong.

The service was a bit frosty at first, though it was attentive and could not be faulted.  But it became warmer.  The food however was outstanding.  It had a good selection of beer and my wife loved the cocktails, but the food was amazing.  While I have had some excellent meals recently, this was the best of the best for at least a few months, with nothing as good as this eaten since we ate at Grain, and possibly before then.

After this, we watched a film, Ocean's 8.  My wife liked it more than I did.  I did like it, but it lacked the character development of Ocean's Eleven.  Also, as enjoyable as it was, there were a few loose ends, such as why the insurance company settled for part of the haul, and the morality of planting the decoy. I am glad I watched it, and it is hard for any film to follow Ocean's Eleven.

Anyway, now everyone else is in bed and I am watching Love and Other Drugs while they sleep.  While it is a very amusing film, it is also very sad.  But any film dealing with Parkinsonism is going to be so.  Rude and certainly not suitable for children (they observed a few things in it and my son is now asking awkward questions).  Ocean's 8 is an okay film, Love and Other Drugs is better.  It was a bit disjointed at times, but I was watching a television version of the film.  And as enjoyable as the film was, it reminded me just how lucky we are in the UK to have the NHS (despite the faults that it has due to the way the Conservatives have not funded or staffed it properly) and it amazes me that the Americans continue to have the healthcare system that the have, and fight for it.  We do not see bus loads of pensioners travelling across borders for medicines.  Well, we may do after Brexit, but that is a different matter!

And now for some pictures from our meal...

And we bid goodbye

The cousin of my wife, and his better half has left.  They were only here for a few days, and it was good to see them again.  Yesterday we travelled to London where we ate at Maltby Street and then we took them to see the Tower of London.  That was a walk and a bit, and while I could have spent longer there, we came back.  We took them around London on a drive afterwards and then back. The food, history, weather and company made the day very memorable and an enjoyable one as well.

I am not sure when we will see them again but we hope that it will be next year.

A skeleton visits a pub and orders a beer, and a mop

It has been a good weekend so far.  Due to personal issues, I have not gone into work this weekend, which means that Tuesday will be interesting.  But this meant more time with the family.  Friday was spent in the garden, though my son was taken by some neighbours to the zoo which was very nice of them.  Yesterday we went to visit my mother, though we had a meal in Stoke Newington at a pizza place my wife had researched.  That meal, though simple, was excellent.  The pizza's were simple, but well made, and it was the view of everyone that these were the best pizza's that we had tasted.  My mother was glad to see the children and my son got to play Scrabble against her but not a full game as we had to leave.

Today though has been a bit more interactive.  We had a trip to find out more about the Moomin's which was mostly for my son, though all four of us loved it.  And afterwards there was a craft area where people were encouraging children to make buildings for a model London (well, central London).  My son, once again, was amazing and while lots of parents helped more, I let him have a much more free hand.  I did make one or two suggestions, but listened when he had declined some but accepted others.  Anyway, the picture shows his building which he is rightly proud of.  While some may say that it is not as spectacular as some of the other buildings, the others had a lot more help from parents than he got.  And I think that what he did was amazing.  All I did otherwise was help him cut a few things (he did most) and helped him by putting glue on the card that he used for windows (or balconies).  Afterwards we ate great food at a place called Ping Pong and then back to rest.

Dhan Waffle

First of all, the update on the family.

It has been a while since the last post when we went out for a meal.  Since then we have had a few things happen.  Last weekend we travelled to London to see our (that is my and my wife's) parents though due to an accident on the A406, it was a very tiring day.  In addition to this we have had a learning conference (or as I used to call it when I was younger, a parents evening) were my daughter was told that she is amazing, and my son was told that he needs to show everyone how amazing he is more often.  And it was his birthday.  That was great as we had a gaming party where my wife had arranged for someone (a very nice lady) to come round with two projection screens and she connected them up to some PlayStation's and also brought two virtual reality headsets.  Being boys, the kids absolutely loved it, and being a boy, I did as well.  It all went well for him and I have to compliment my wife once again on her amazing abilities at organisation and with the cake, cooking.

Today, while my son was at two birthdays I was in London for a course.  When walking back to my car (which was parked where I did not have to pay), I got to eat at Maltby Street, indulging in a very nice (and posh) hot dog as well as some amazing dumplings.  The picture does not do the flavour of the dumplings any justice as they were amazing.  And unlike many other places to eat in Maltby Street market, there was no queue.  After eating the dumplings, and then eating more, I felt sorry for those who walked past them.  I know that when I have my next course in that area, I am going to try to find an excuse to travel to Maltby Street so that I can eat before I return home.  The downside of driving home from there though is that I do not get to have any of the beer I saw being drunk there.

And on getting home, I got to listen to the Arsenal game.  The midweek demolition was demoralising to say the least and a friend of mine commented that Lincoln would be looking forwards to this game.  And considering that they nearly made it to half time with no goals being scored, you could not fault that statement.  But we won and appeared to do so with ease as Lincoln tired in the second half.  And it has taken away a little bit of the hurt that I have suffered as a fan, but I suspect it will return soon.

Anyway, my wife is in bed, unwell with a poorly knee which means that she was not able to go out tonight has planned, but instead has had to stay in bed watching Gilmore Girls while I watched the Voice with the kids (who vanished before the end) and a mug of wine (it saves on washing a glass later in the day when I am tipsy, an issue as my daughter broke our last habitat goblet).

Last of all before videos from artists from The Voice UK, my standings on two chess tournaments were a bit respectable.  Thanks to a few time outs, I finished 6th (out of 12) in the quicky tournament, and in the 34th Chess.com Quick Knockouts (1401-1600) I finished in 197th place out of 315 places (and 527 players).  Well I was proud!    

Today did not go quite to plan

Today did not go quite to plan.  But, it was still awesome.  We had intended to travel into London in the morning to get some breakfast for the children, spend some time on the South Bank and then take them to see the Christmas lights and then see my mother before heading home.

But, sadly, we did not wake in time to do exactly what we wanted.  The children had been up the night before watching the Strictly Come Dancing Final, but had not gone to sleep straight afterwards.  Due to this, and a late night on the part of my wife and I, a rest in bed meant that we had missed out on the early morning window that was needed to park in Brick Lane.  In the past, we had taken the children there for bagels, and this was a plan that they were keen on.  But, due to the time taken to get there, we were not able to get any parking as close as we wanted.  But instead, we went to a past memory.  When studying in the East End, there was a bakery that we had gone to after we finished our degrees.  During our courses, my wife had got me into eating Challah (cholla) and when in the area, we would often get bread from there.  But when driving past it last, we noted that it was closed.  Today we saw it was open.  And as our usual place to park was taken, we turned around and found a place to stay near the bakery and ate there.  Unlike the place we had eaten before, this had seats and that meant that we had a more relaxing time.  But with the time that we arrived, this was more of a Brunch than breakfast.

After this, it was a trip to the South Bank.  The kids, as on the day before, were playing Pokémon Go, and as we drove through London, they had loads of fun doing so.  We have learned though that we have to stop them from doing this when we are not driving slowly, and this has been learned the hard way as they can get headaches or start to feel nauseated.  Once we parked, it was a walk along the South Bank to the Tate gallery were we sat for another coffee and after some art work from my son, a walk for them to some of the entertainment that was on offer.  We did not get to see as much as we would like, but later, had a late lunch and then made for the lights at dusk.  And they my wife and I felt that the lights that we were able to see on Regents Street.  We did not get to show then Buckingham Palace, but were able to show them other sights and explain bits about them.  However, we were not able to get time to see my mother as my son started to feel unwell.  Hopefully, he will be better tomorrow, but they are both now asleep, tired after a great day out for the family.

Time with the children

Again, I have had the opportunity to spend time with my children.

In the last week, I have technically been off work for most of the week.  I still had to go in to complete the work that I have allowed to pile up, but this was a lot more relaxed than this would otherwise be.  As I had been slightly under the weather I had not cycled in after walking the kids to school but took the easy option to drive instead. This was not an option on Wednesday when I work in my other job, but I was up to cycling then.  Which was just as well as I am not allowed a parking space at that job, and that in turn has made me have to become fitter. I am not up to the standards of others in my area of Colchester who cycle to work (or as part of their journey to do so) but I am much better than I once was.

On Thursday I was back at my usual job, and it was a hard day. But yesterday I got to spend time with my amazing wife. It was not long, but it was time together without children, who while we both love them very much, at times distract our attentions from each other.  I did return to work, but later had to take the kids to an appointment which meant that they were taken out of school early. But later, after school, we went to watch a film, or rather the film I have been waiting most of the year for.

And it was awesome. All four of us loved it.  I was wary as some films we not as appreciated as the original three were by me.  But I was a child and these films are really meant for children. But the magic of Star Wars was present in Rogue One. We now await the extended version which should be available for Christmas next year.

And today, we traveled to London as my wife had a reunion to attend. The children were entertained by Pokémon Go on the way down, and we had a late lunch in East Ham. The food there was, as before, amazing and this is a place the children look forwards to going to.  They do not like spicy foods, but this appears to be an exception.  They are peacefully asleep now, after watching Strictly Come Dancing, but this week spent with them, has been treasured once more.