I MET MY MUM in Town yesterday and we ended up in a patisserie having what my stepdad Brian declared "the worst latte I've been assaulted by in my life" (actually the second half of that quote's my own but I couldn't resist) plus some nibbles that I delighted in labelling "Thatcherite food". Brian really hates Mrs Thatcher. I love her. I just think nearly all her policies were wrong. But her sturdy influence did bring to this country ciabatta, fresh pastas sprinkled in fresh herbs ~ oh! and her biggest triumph: bottled springwater. I always go for "mineral" because at least then you're getting some free minerals. Springwater is almost the same thing as tap water left to chill 24 hours in an open bowl-type container, then filtered. No chlorine will be left...Anyway the highlight of the night came (apart from when I got carried away with myself and confessed to trashing Laundretta's room (after she and Matran (the RatMan) had moved out) and Brian looked like he was about to fall off his chair in shock)... came when pigeons came blithely wandering into our upstairs, indoor cafe. The sort of ultra-hard pigeons who don't flinch when you put the crumbs out which I did in abundance. I suppose you could say Paddington Station is a giant semi-open "concourse" in that you could drive a truck in the front and 15 or more platforms of trains are constantly rolling in and out the back... but it did feel bizarre, having strolled into a glassed off area with sushibars, pub grub, all sorts of grub actually, and WH Smiths etc suddenly to have pigeons at our feet. They even had the cheek to strut behind the counter where the foreign girl (it's always a foreigner in central London) was diddling with the latte/espresso/cappuccino machine.
She kicked her foot and they sauntered huffily off...
LADY GAGA: POKERFACE
I had to get in on this Gaga thing... they luuurve her over here. I think it has to do with the techno-centric music (which we think of as British or European) and the out-there fash-sense, which again could get her mistaken for a native Brit.
MADONNA: JUSTIFY MY LOVE
"Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another"...
OK: so legalize gear and crack ...
I hope you are doing well, Gled!
ReplyDeleteI'm repeatedly trying to steer away from heroin and not quite succeeding: but otherwise I'm fine...
ReplyDeleteNice for you to catch up with you mum and step dad. Makes a bit of a change for you, doesn't it? How did the robos take being left on their own? Probably enjoyed not being poked with a chopstick...
ReplyDeleteO they were ecstatic... I only do the chopstick poking thing on Sundays ;->...
ReplyDeletebtw they love nibbling the end
my Russian hamsters were "assertive" enough to nibble hard enough that I could pick one up, right up. But he would alwyas let go within half a minute, which kind of ruined the trick
wish we'd had youtube back then...
Hey Mr. Gleds~So nice to hear that you're visiting with the Mummy. Cherish that time with her, I lost mine way to early (age 57) and I regret not spending more time with her when she was well. Just my 2 cents! Be well my friend.
ReplyDeleteHi Gleds ~~ I hope you enjoyed seeing your Mother and step-dad for
ReplyDeletea brief while for coffee and nibbles. Thanks for your comments and it is hard to believe that India had a 40 C in Winter. They are close to the Equator, so perhaps that is why. 40C is 104 F. Thanks for your memories of India. Take care of yourself, my friend. Love and Best wishes, Merle.
Hello Gledwood. So nice to meet you. Forgive me for taking entirely too long to stop by and say hi :)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that you and your Mum get together. :)
ReplyDeleteQUEENEE: I try and bear that in mind at all times, I take your point
ReplyDeleteMERLE: It must have been over 100F ~ we'd been in the country 3 weeks and were acclimatized by then... also Madras/Chennai is on a darker red swirl on the climate map and that's right - it was noticably hotter than Goa all the time, not just that extreme one day... Glad you didn't melt in 114F!
KRISTIN: that's OK you're welcome here any time...
AKELAMALU: ;->...
Hi Gleds I had to take a look at the Gaga video, music's catchy reminds me of a hybrid mix of Boney M and Eurovision song contest ;)
ReplyDeleteSo the forgien girl behind the counter? What country do you think she was/is from?
ReplyDeleteWhat do Brits really think of American's? Girls and stupid men!
I love reading your blog so much, because I can just hear your accent while reading you posts.
I sometimes read them aloud, using my horrid British accent.
I'm a loser. LOL!
At least you only have pigeons. We have these massive Egyptian ibis, particularly around the harbour . .always threatening to pinch your chips.
ReplyDeleteBIMBIMBIE: Eurovision is being revamped... since they let in most of Eastern Europe it's gone crazy with neighbouring countries voting for one another in cartel-like ways... now they're trying to change the voting procedure and have Britain take it more seriously with Andrew Lloyd Webber writing the songs... seriously!
ReplyDeleteANNAGRACE: If you're a loser you're the most engaging loser I've ever met...
Do I really sound that British (??!?) ;->...
BAINO: Ibises threatening to pinch your chips?... I only know them as heirogliphics... the oddest mental imagery results...
ANNA GRACE: I forgot to answer your "where do you think she was from?" point ~ dur!
ReplyDeleteWell 10 yrs ago it would have been somewhere like Italy... now more likely Poland or Czech Republic...
If native-English speaking then most likely Australian followed by Kiwi, then South African, then Asian-British, then Canadian, then white "native" British...