Happy memories of your time in the Grand Hotel .
Took this on a lovely warm evening earlier this week . two men at the front of the hotel , taking the air .
Friday, 27 July 2007
coffee
Photographing cakes and cups of coffee is becoming a bit of an obsession and its always a sorry reflection when the latte is just not worth getting the camera out for ( luckily a rare event now as coffee production is more and more an art form )
Laid back day with no cats to feed and just a bike to collect ( anyone else have trouble with getting the front wheel off ? the shop men make it look so simple ) and a building society trip to sort out finances , a speed fiends course to book ( Val's course was fully booked , so I will be on my own in September ) and of course the shoe cabinet to clear out so that the thirty four pairs of shoes in the porch , hall, under the bikes , and in D's office, could be safely rehomed . ( Two of these pairs of shoes turned out to be mine , I conclude that N may be developing something of a shoe fetish ). Piles of sand to be vacuumed after shoe clearing , as thanks to our proximity to the beach every homecoming is accompanied by a little heap of sand either in Reception ( hoho) or in the bathroom where divesting for the shower results in a fall of sand as well as a grimy heap of garments on the tiles . Now that Spidery Corners have gone though , I almost relish the crunch underfoot of the sand , making such a contrast to the pristine conditions at floor level . Best not ( yet ) to raise the eyes above the waist though . The ceiling and walls leave much to be desired though there is a sense of Change Afoot . Always promising .
CatFight
The cats are punching each other like kangaroos but it is always tricky to catch them on camera at such moments . They are cross as wasps and sit squaring up to each other , too close for comfort , faces almost touching , staring and scowling . If I move for the camera I risk pushing them as they are hard up against my foot , fur bristling . I am trapped , tray of coffee , nectarine and bran biscuits perched on the armchair edge , hoping I can hold it together till they are burnt out .The new bathrobe is already sporting a piccalili stain and I dont want that and the laptop awash with strength seven black coffee. the risk being that Toby will panic and retreat in one great backward leap , over the top of me . It's happened before .
Kitty's ears are flat back , like an owl , though she looks manic rather than wise . They are both still , the punching has subsided and I wait to establish whether this is an uneasy truce , the calm before the next bout , or something more . The silence goes on , the ears go forwards slightly and the atmosphere changes . I settle back , the end is in sight and I see Toby's fur soften and his tail subside and shrink . Slowly and carefully he begins to shift backwards , shuffling cautiously until he is right on my foot , withdrawing himself until he is out of range , then he streaks away and onto the table to a patch of waiting sunlight , to contemplate his shortcomings . Kitty raises a paw , examines it pompously and emits a contemptuous sneeze.
Thus the day begins . I return to my breakfast. D is sweating over a court report in the next armchair and I realise that I have no firm commitments All Day . I can plan to collect his bike from its service with perhaps a coffee and muffin thrown in for good measure , if he can be talked away from his desk for an hour . I can chose the next book to get me through the early morning starts ( none for several days though am not sure why this should be. ), the Fay Weldon havi ng been finished this morning at seven . I can tackle the Times crossword . Or , as the post has just arrived ,I can book myself on a speed awareness course .
Kitty's ears are flat back , like an owl , though she looks manic rather than wise . They are both still , the punching has subsided and I wait to establish whether this is an uneasy truce , the calm before the next bout , or something more . The silence goes on , the ears go forwards slightly and the atmosphere changes . I settle back , the end is in sight and I see Toby's fur soften and his tail subside and shrink . Slowly and carefully he begins to shift backwards , shuffling cautiously until he is right on my foot , withdrawing himself until he is out of range , then he streaks away and onto the table to a patch of waiting sunlight , to contemplate his shortcomings . Kitty raises a paw , examines it pompously and emits a contemptuous sneeze.
Thus the day begins . I return to my breakfast. D is sweating over a court report in the next armchair and I realise that I have no firm commitments All Day . I can plan to collect his bike from its service with perhaps a coffee and muffin thrown in for good measure , if he can be talked away from his desk for an hour . I can chose the next book to get me through the early morning starts ( none for several days though am not sure why this should be. ), the Fay Weldon havi ng been finished this morning at seven . I can tackle the Times crossword . Or , as the post has just arrived ,I can book myself on a speed awareness course .
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Summer ?
N and I have one of our intermittent trips to Debenhams planned for eleven am or at least after Assessor Man has been . She emerges at ten thirty just as he leaves and the three of us debate who might have been in the attic rooms and have moved a heavy trunk and left the light on in the storage room .( All of which I discoverd on accompanying Assessor man on a voyage of discovery leading to him hanging out of the attic window and photographing the Flashing . But thats another story ) .
N and I conclude that it could not have been either of us as the trunk is too heavy and beyond our capacity . That leaves D who insists he would have remembered if he had moved it . He comes back into the room later to point out that his obsession with tidiness would have made it virtually an impossibility for him to have left the storage room door open , light on , and trunk in the middle of the room with duvets cascading onto the floor . I have to admit he has a point . None of us say anything much but our thoughts are all turning towards the Attic Ghost , who has featured from time to time .
N and I both feel under the weather . I have a migraine and have knocked myself into a jelly baby with an Immigran . N is tired . We agree to go back to bed and reconvene at twelve . By tacit agreement we end up resting in the same bed , and Jessie crawls in to join us , though I threaten to eject her if she persists in the claws into my arms routine . She gets the message and we all fall asleep for an hour .
In Debenhams , though my plan was window shopping ( reduced income and all that ) N comes up with eminently plausible reasons as to why we should buy the new school trousers this very day , in the Top Shop dept , rather than Wait . Usually we Wait and all the shops sell out . She tries on a suitable pair but I cannot resist the urge to say " pull them up properly " ( I hear the voice of countless mothers and grandmothers before me , though I manage to sit on my hands to avoid pulling them up myself ) . N gets the giggles and squeals loudly "Mu....um .... look if I pull them up I ll get a camel toe . " This is another of those phrases of hers which sets me off tittering myself . We buy a pair which would be the right length if she wore them properly but will need two inches hacked off ( how I hate sewing hems ) to enable them to hang nonchalantly at the hips . Which reminds me of Michaela and me and our last hairdressing trip , when we were both fascinated ( perhaps the wrong word but am in a hurry here ; fascinated and aghast all in the same moment , perhaps ) by the young hairdresser and his hipsters positioned below rather than above his buttocks . I digress here . And reflect that I sound about seventy .
And I remember on the way home that during my recent ebay spurt , I ordered and paid for a dress ( for the summer ) . Neither arrived . I must get onto it .
N and I conclude that it could not have been either of us as the trunk is too heavy and beyond our capacity . That leaves D who insists he would have remembered if he had moved it . He comes back into the room later to point out that his obsession with tidiness would have made it virtually an impossibility for him to have left the storage room door open , light on , and trunk in the middle of the room with duvets cascading onto the floor . I have to admit he has a point . None of us say anything much but our thoughts are all turning towards the Attic Ghost , who has featured from time to time .
N and I both feel under the weather . I have a migraine and have knocked myself into a jelly baby with an Immigran . N is tired . We agree to go back to bed and reconvene at twelve . By tacit agreement we end up resting in the same bed , and Jessie crawls in to join us , though I threaten to eject her if she persists in the claws into my arms routine . She gets the message and we all fall asleep for an hour .
In Debenhams , though my plan was window shopping ( reduced income and all that ) N comes up with eminently plausible reasons as to why we should buy the new school trousers this very day , in the Top Shop dept , rather than Wait . Usually we Wait and all the shops sell out . She tries on a suitable pair but I cannot resist the urge to say " pull them up properly " ( I hear the voice of countless mothers and grandmothers before me , though I manage to sit on my hands to avoid pulling them up myself ) . N gets the giggles and squeals loudly "Mu....um .... look if I pull them up I ll get a camel toe . " This is another of those phrases of hers which sets me off tittering myself . We buy a pair which would be the right length if she wore them properly but will need two inches hacked off ( how I hate sewing hems ) to enable them to hang nonchalantly at the hips . Which reminds me of Michaela and me and our last hairdressing trip , when we were both fascinated ( perhaps the wrong word but am in a hurry here ; fascinated and aghast all in the same moment , perhaps ) by the young hairdresser and his hipsters positioned below rather than above his buttocks . I digress here . And reflect that I sound about seventy .
And I remember on the way home that during my recent ebay spurt , I ordered and paid for a dress ( for the summer ) . Neither arrived . I must get onto it .
Bathroom
The saga of the bathroom continues . I get excited when something which was supposed to happen , happens . Like the insurance assessor ringing me last night to inform me of his time of arrival today , at between ten and eleven am , as he had agreed he would . I find this hard to believe , accustomed as I am to the old days when people delivering things and assessing things would find it impossible to say even roughly what time they would arrive , so that even walking to the school and back at nine am would be fraught with fears that you would be in all day but for those ten minutes and yes you guessed , back home there 's a grumpy little note on your door, and its up to you to set the ball in motion again ( and book another day off work )
So now I have hope that maybe the bathroom saga will unfold at least to the next stage . I still have no evidence that Roofing Man returned as no quote has arrived . But if the assessor agrees the roof blew off in a storm rather than by some other means ( I stared at the roof myself one day trying to work out what else causes roofs ( rooves ? doesnt look right ? )to disintegrate , when they were only applied quite recently ), he may then recommend a building company other than Roofing Man . Who knows ? And then , when finally the water is not coming in the bathroom window , we can finish the decorating . I've almost chosen the colour . Watch this space .
I should add that Bathroom is already kind of transformed , with skirting boards smooth ( ish ) and dazzling white . Spidery corners and substances adhering to the pipes are a thing of the past . And most of the junk ( toiletries and assorted necessities )are sitting smugly in the new four drawer bamboo cabinet thingy . Why didn't I do all this five years ago ? I think its called Displacement Activity .
So now I have hope that maybe the bathroom saga will unfold at least to the next stage . I still have no evidence that Roofing Man returned as no quote has arrived . But if the assessor agrees the roof blew off in a storm rather than by some other means ( I stared at the roof myself one day trying to work out what else causes roofs ( rooves ? doesnt look right ? )to disintegrate , when they were only applied quite recently ), he may then recommend a building company other than Roofing Man . Who knows ? And then , when finally the water is not coming in the bathroom window , we can finish the decorating . I've almost chosen the colour . Watch this space .
I should add that Bathroom is already kind of transformed , with skirting boards smooth ( ish ) and dazzling white . Spidery corners and substances adhering to the pipes are a thing of the past . And most of the junk ( toiletries and assorted necessities )are sitting smugly in the new four drawer bamboo cabinet thingy . Why didn't I do all this five years ago ? I think its called Displacement Activity .
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Priory
The Priory as the sun starts to go down , Wednesday eight pm .
Walking round the seafront a strong warm breeze reminiscent of hotter days . Summer ?
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Migraine Days
Flower and Bee on a Sunday
art on a sunday
