back from the borough (just the one)…
And I’m back, technically as of Tuesday night and realistically as of Wednesday afternoon when my parcel of work bits arrived some twenty hours after I did and four days after I plodded up to the Pimlico Post Office in the snow to send it rather than lug it to New York and back – all the more space in the carry-on for Saltines, Old Bay seasoning (to be trialled later today now the meat man from Heartier.com has been) and the requisite Sephora haul, although the <100ml liquids-in-the-cabin rule curtailed this a bit. Fortunately I managed to fill the remaining space with socks, duty free perfume and a shiny new smartwatch that I have coveted for weeks and was (completely unsurprisingly) some eighty pounds cheaper Stateside than here – yay!
My pre-holiday downtime in London took me to the Impressionists in London exhibition at the Tate Britain (time and end date being a factor, or admittedly it would have been All Too Human which I’ll hope to catch at the back end of May) and over to Battersea Park for a change of running route and a chance to have a nose at the building work’s progress as well as some fresh air and daffodil spotting. I haven’t seen Battersea Power Station closeup since it was still derelict and looking fairly sorry for itself as recorded here some four and half years ago, when I (and roughly forty thousand other people over the space of a weekend) was lucky enough to be admitted for a nose about before the work began in earnest. As we can see, it’s now looking very spruce, the chimneys are all back on, and whilst yet more overpriced flats may not be what the world needs most, at least – reassuringly – it’s no longer looking about to fall down.
New York, or rather Manhattan (since the forty eight hours or so I had didn’t really allow much time for a jaunt out into the boroughs) is likewise still under construction and a Sunday morning excursion along the Hudson for a change turned out to be more a circuit of riverside building sites and skyscraper-spotting, but fun nonetheless! The temperature was on the bracing side as can probably be guessed from the pictures; the payback of blazing winter sunshine is being bloody perishing (minus two at 8am according to the phone) and whilst the monster pancakes seen above definitely did the job, it still took a full hour, two more coffees and a couple of extra layers to get close enough to normal core body temperature for a stroll along the High Line back up to the shops. It’s also only fair that I admit the shame of pancake defeat, since I did leave half a one. I’ll try harder next time.
A fine time was had by all and a much needed break as well as an all too brief reminder of why I missed the place so much – thank you Virgin Atlantic for reminding me I had points to spend! After a seriously jammy overnight flight back where I got a row of three seats to myself and therefore a kip (in stark contrast to the one out, where – as predictable as the passage of night into day – the thundering twat in front of me spent the entire daytime flight trying to rest his seat back on my knees and slice me in two with my mini-table; when will these selfish fuckers be given their own part of the cabin so they can all lie on top of each other and those of us able to sit upright can get on with conducting ourselves like civilised adults?) plus an unexpected extra Gü pudding when the bloke across the aisle wasn’t bothered (sadly the plane ones don’t come in the little glass ramekins, but you can’t have everything) I arrived home for a hot bath and early night, and it’s done me the world of good.
Easter is upon us in less than a week, and whilst I’m not completely averse to working over the long weekend, Monday week will be by advance arrangement only – this means Friday or at the latest Saturday in the event that my phone is still switched on (best to assume Friday). The eagle-eyed and vigilant will also have spotted that I will be away later in the week; unavoidable Other Business I’m afraid, but all will be back to normal for a full week-and-a-bit afterwards before I head for Edinburgh and Dead By Dawn mid month – woohoo! Given the announcement that this years’ guest of honour is the mighty John Landis, I’m preparing to be embarrassingly starstruck.
Song of the Week is the second one Spotify presented me with after walking out of immigration and onto the Airtrain at JFK (for the sake of completeness, the first was Ballroom Blitz by the Sweet which may make an appearance yet, but this one fit the bill better) and the start of my first New York trip in a full two years! I definitely won’t be leaving it so long next time.
More soon! I’m off to try and claw that lost hour back.
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