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Wednesday 23 September 2015

A Comment On The Trip to France

I have to say that the trip to France, organised by daughter Sinead (a very good organiser I have to admit) went extremely well. Her father has talked of nothing else since we returned. Nobody in the immediate neighbourhood is safe from extended descriptions of the Tapestry, the Food, the Chateaux.....and I have to say that he is gaining a moderate audience.

Tuesday 22 September 2015

Home Again, Home Again

Just back a day or two ago from a month in London. Four glorious weeks bathing in late August/early September sunshine. Well, that was the plan but of course the weather was not exactly kind to us and the temperature in central London rarely rose above that of an Auckland winter accompanied by considerably more rain. And the London rain seems to have changed its nature somewhat. Years ago it was a steady drizzle that dampened hair, clothes and spirits but did not exactly drench. In those days you had to visit Auckland to be truly drenched in two minutes flat. No longer so! Today’s London downpours have adopted all the North Island characteristics we have come to know and love. London coffee was another disappointment. There was a time when a cup of coffee in that mighty metropolis was infinitely superior to anything that could be found in the fleshpots of Ponsonby or Parnell. No longer the case and the closest we came to a halfway reasonable example was in the local Canonbury Turkish cafĂ© closely followed by the first floor cafeteria in Marks & Spencers at Marble Arch. M&S featured large over the four weeks because they still reliably offer their extraordinary dinner for two with side dish & dessert plus a bottle of wine for a mere ten pounds! A culinary bargain that could not on any account be overlooked. Talking of food, I have to say that Malaysia Airlines on our return journey provided the worst airline food we have ever experienced. I assume that the recent unfortunate incidents have resulted in massive cost cutting but even bearing that in mind a dinner dish comprising of cold pasta minus any kind of sauce is hard to justify. Their coffee, strangely enough was not too terrible and the service was pleasant enough it must be admitted. And finally, how pathetically grateful we were when we finally reached Auckland Airport after midnight last Saturday to find our previously booked QUICK SHUTTLE service waiting patiently to escort us home – most especially since we were more than twelve hours late all because the husband didn’t really believe in the twenty four hour clock. But I won’t go into that. Far too humiliating!