well, the weather outside is (still) frightful…
And a fine weekend was had by all, well me at least, having braved the not-actually-all-that-bad conditions in woollies and wellies to meet a good friend who was visiting York (which was unutterably damp, sludgy and freezing, and made the sharp, crisp chill and fresh, powdery snow upon my return to Scarborough feel like the tropics).
Following my rare evening out, I can highly recommend the latest George Clooney release ‘The American’ (fans of trad US action-rubbish need not apply; you’ll be asleep before the second page of dialogue), fabulous northern Chinese food (see above for clay pot soup with mutton meatballs and crispy noodles on) grabbed in a bit of a rush at Red Chilli, and the star of the show upon alighting in the first place, the hot chocolate on Platform 3. Most excitingly of all, and also to be seen above, the festive spirit has even spread to the train ticket checks where the current clippy-things are a Christmas tree shape, which delighted me so much I am ashamed to admit it and nearly made up for my having to dash from the restaurant to catch the last train home without having time to order ‘Donkey Rolled in Mud’, from the dessert section.
Speaking of Christmas trees, this years proudly plump and bristly acquisition arrived promptly (considering the weather) yesterday afternoon, although by the time it was unpacked from the plastic shrinkwrap and tree-netting, carefully carried into the living room and set firmly into it’s cast iron stand it was all I could do to vacuum up the loose bits and have a nice cup of tea, and it was not until nearly bedtime that the rest of the decorating was completed (much to the amazement of the nearby fishes, whom I suspect haven’t quite figured out the twinkling lights yet). It is maybe a little early, but I left the delivery until around the 15th last year and was very upset as a result when January 6th rolled round and Tree was not looking even the slightest bit sorry for itself, despite it being time to go to the shredder. This year I and my visitors will be able to enjoy it for a whole month, and a little extra time with the VAX is not a tremendous hardship in exchange.
It would seem to be necessary to return to the current popular subject – the weather is still extremely cold and my eagerly awaited (and ever-punctual, including today) visitor this lunchtime assures me that his car-thermometer had read -11°C when he left work; in the event that those who have or are intending to book later in the week are reading, please do bear the conditions in mind when travelling! The forecast is apparently to improve from Thursday, and since I am back in London (assuming it hasn’t given up altogether and closed) from Sunday on, I am expecting to be busy. And to those who are still ringing expecting me to somehow sprout wings and materialise in York in an hour’s time – if you can’t easily get to me, HOW exactly do you think I am going to get to you?
London availability is filling up fast, although the typical last-minute cancellations and alterations are starting up – I still have availability on Tuesday 14th and a bit on Monday 13th, so do get in touch! Or don’t, because then I’ll have an excuse to hole up in the Wolseley all morning with a huge brunch order, reading the papers and scowling at tourists. I definitely intend to have my Aquarium visit this time and what with the annual trip to see the Christmas shop windows, I will almost certainly be planning any spare time I have by the end of the day before, so please do bear this in mind if you want to avoid disappointment! Any necessary changes to travel plans will be updated (as ever) here and on the front page of the site, but so far everything is on track and I am looking forward to my final visit of the year.
Back to the present-wrapping and card-writing; some of you may have noticed the unusually frenzied activity on my Formspring since the weekend so do feel free to join in too – everybody else is, it seems! And it beats listening to the weather forecast.
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