Off to London and then back again

I had been invited to a meeting in London the following day and since I was in England any way, I decided to go and miss the second day of the conference.  Off I went on the train at a very civilized hour of 1030 after saying a big bye-bye to Gill.

I arrived in London 2 hours before the meeting.  After checking my luggage at the train station, I headed off to this vintage watch shop I look at on web. 

It was cloudy, but dry so I decided to take the tube to Westminster and walk the rest of the way to the meeting.  I had received a warning from the state department about being in London as Margaret Thatcher's funeral was going to be going on.  

It took me a couple of days to realize I was going to be in London at this time, and when I came out of the tube station, I was a bit confused wondering what all the fuss was about then I remembered - I am such a dork sometimes. 

There were protests going on and the police were out in force, but this did not ruin my walk.

The meeting was fairly uneventful and ended promptly at 1630.  I took the tube to Selfridges and got my eyebrows threaded, did some shopping in the food hall and then sat myself at the champagne bar and had a snack.  At about 8 pm, I headed back to the train station, collected my luggage and got on the Caledonian Sleeper Train.

I had a first class cabin, which meant I did not have to share with anyone.  I squeezed myself down the hall and into my cabin - handbag barely fit in sideways.

Pajamad, I settled into bed and was asleep by 2230 as the train trundled north.  I slept through the night, but did wake a couple of times as the train started and stopped.  

At 0700, I awoke for real just as we were stopping in Aviemore.  I got cleaned up and changed for the day and spent the last hour of the ride in the lounge watching everything go by.

Once in Inverness, I had breakfast in a cafe and bought some spices at my favorite health food store.  By then, it was raining and time to get the train to Thurso.  This train has 2 cars, and it makes at least 23 stops - sometimes more depending because some are optional stops - like does anyone on the train want to stop.  

I read the newspaper, two magazines and all of my work reading.  This took about 4 hours, which is good because it only left me with a few minutes before we arrived in Thurso.  I walked home from the station, showered, got some dog love and then headed out for a public meeting.

Hard to believe it's only Wednesday - Have I mentioned that life is good

Gill and I's Annual Boondoggle, I mean Conference

It was that time of year again, where Gill and I converge on Manchester for a conference on nuclear decommissioning.  I was speaking again this year, even though I had resolved to say No, I just didn't manage it.  I need to work on that.

So as usual, I waited until the last minute to figure out what I was going to present and I forgot to check the program to verify it was consistent with what everyone had been told I was going to present - by happenstance I got it 66% correct.

We both arrived Sunday night and then wandered into the night to find dinner.  We found this incredible Thai place.  However, it was about halfway through the meal that we both realized that the 'onion' surrounding our sea bass was in fact garlic.  I went back to my room thinking that a head of garlic each was probably not the best the night before a conference - unfortunately, it could not be undone, but the meal was delicious.

I did wake in the middle of the night - over garlic'd and this has never really happened to me before so that gives you some idea.

The next day, we tarted ourselves up and headed off to the conference.  My presentation went just fine and in general, the presentations and questions were much better than previous years.

Where have all the women gone...oh right, there are any

Day 1 done, we could move on to the real aim of the trip - Australasia.  This is a great restaurant that we've gone to every year - small plates with 1 bite each - order 3 plates per person - 2 hour time limit for the table as it is TOO cool.  I had this intention to take photos of each course, but I didn't do it as sometimes I like to eat my meal instead of cataloguing it - sorry middleoldcrow.

We started the meal with cocktails.  Gill and I had the best which was a grapefruit martini.  Andy had the worst, but entertaining, Australasian porn star, which required special instruction on how to drink it.  Richard had the most complex, and it was called a smoky old fashioned and came in a flask filled with smoke that did not come out of the flask and hung around for quite a while.

After cocktails, we had a steady stream of delicious fare including: smoked duck dragon rolls - which Andy thought was fish; squid and fresh lime; black cod in hoba leaf; spicy chicken skewers; sliced beef filet - the tables least favorite; lamb cutlets with sour cabbage - my favorite; yum yum rice squares - I am the only one that really like these; roasted aubergine with miso mustard - that's eggplant for Americans; szechuan salt and pepper beef skewers - extra plate ordered; bok choi in oyster sauce; and pork dumplings - extra order made before the first one was consumed.  Now this was a lot of food even though it was small plates and our table looked a bit like a war zone.

See what I mean?

Now I was full after all of this, but I have never let being full get in the way of eating dessert and thankfully it was the same with my companions, which is why we like to eat together.

Richard's chocolate and coconut

My and Andy's rhubarb crumble

Gill's lemon creme brulee - notice the A's on the foil?

Have I mentioned that life is good?

Ooh aah Keith Parks

There is this great place on the way to Dunnett Head called Keith Parks.  It is out in the middle of nowhere and every time I go I think this must not be right, but then it turns out it is right.  

Keith is a Renaissance man and dabbles in many things.  The shop is filled with his photography, furniture he makes out of reclaimed wood, antiques that he has brought back from the brink, and other things he finds along the way.

When Gill was here, we went out and spent an hour - no such thing as a quick trip as Keith and his wife, Doreen are very chatty - in a good way.

I had been eyeing some chairs that they had got for a table that need refinishing.  I had look at this table that seemed to be moving around the workshop, but not getting done. 

It was the same with a 'refrigerator.'   Doreen promised that when they were done she would call me, and she did.  

The table was done first, and it was spectacular.  I particularly like how short it was because at modern tables, I sometimes feel like I have to reach up to eat my food.

Notice Badger's Head in the corner?

When I got the table, I was told the refrigerator was in pieces, and they didn't want me to see it as it would upset me.  So I trundled off home.  

A couple of weeks later, Doreen called and said it just went onto the floor, so out I went - even though I was dying of Cold.  And as I suspected, I had to have it.

It is lined with lead and will significantly impact my wallet on the shipment back to America, but isn't it fine?!

Liberty Find

It required a special request to a not-so-nice saleslady, a long and awkward travel through airports and security and assembly, but it was totally worth it.

Buzzard

In the UK, 
          they call hawks buzzards.  
This is not a hawk; 
          it's a buzzard.

Beauty that Needs No Color

The Riots

Ready to head back, I turned back after Smoo Cave, but I stopped at a road side marker.  The marker indicated that this has been the site of the Durness Riots.

The Riots happened in 1841 and by 1842, all of the inhabitants of the village were gone.  These were part of the clearances, which is a big thing in Scotland and can best be summed up by the landed gentry were having a hard time paying their bills so they evicted all their tenant farmers in order to graze sheep on the land - pushing the farmers to the coast.

At Durness, the sheriff was sent to give eviction notices and the cowarderly sheriff waited until all of the men were gone cutting thatch to serve this notice, which said they had to be out in 48 hours.  The women were annoyed, so they tackled the sheriff and held his hand over a fire until the writ burned - thereby making it impossible to serve them - clever huh?

He came back a couple of days later to try again and again they kicked his butt, and this time they booted him out of the village without his mackintosh - harsh treatment in Scotland.  

This was all very scandalous, and there were threats hurled both direction, but when the sheriff tried to raise a party to force the action - no one would join him.

So diplomacy prevailed and the villagers were given a year to find another place to live, which they did, and the land was given over to the sheep.

Durness

I was still feeling adventurous, so I continued on to Durness. Part of this trip reminded me of Alaska.  I am not sure why, maybe the desolation, maybe the unspoiled beauty, but it was fairly spectacular.

Across Loch Eriboll with Ganu Moran, Cranstackie, and Benn Spionnaidh in the background

You have to go all the way around Lock Eriboll and this takes quite a long time, but then all of a sudden you are in Durness.  There is not much in Durness and you can't help but wonder how these people get the stuff they need - there is no Tesco.

I stopped at Smoo cave - Smoo is Viking for Cave.  I didn't go in because there was a little kid that was spending his Easter screaming at the top of his lungs.  

I did smile as I watched the husband hiking fast and farther away from screaming child and mother - I suspect the car ride was jangling his nerves.

Easter Sunday

We had 4 days off for the Easter weekend.  I was pleased that I really didn't have any plans and decided that I would watch the weather and on a good day would drive West.  I really hadn't been past Strathy Beach and everyone said the landscape totally changed past this point.

Saddled with a horrible cold, I watched the weather and decided Sunday looked like a good day.  I struggled with whether to take the dogs.  Badger was bound to be a pill about getting in the car, and Maggie is always a bit off without her fur man.  So in the end, I packed up the car and left on my own.

I had no real plan, but to stop where I was interested and turn around when I was tired.  Once I was past Strathy, everything was new.  

The first little town was Bettyhill, and I was surprised to see that much of the road was single track - this is like the only road going West in this part of Scotland, and it's fairly narrow.

The landscape did start to change, and I stopped at Tongue and took some pictures.

Ben Loyal Across the Kyle of Tongue

I had an 'Oh No' moment when I came around the corner and a sheep threw itself in front of the car.  I jammed on the brakes and swerved, but she was determined.  

The good news is she bounced on the bumper and ran off.  All the road in this part of Scotland were part of open range land for sheep.

Sheep Commute

The fishmonger had told me there was a great beach near here.  I followed what I thought were the directions, but could not find it.  I did find some spectacular views and had some nice 'hallos' with people that looked to be doing the same thing I was doing on Easter morning.

Eternal View of Ben Loyal

Saturday Shopping

Our original Saturday plan was that we would go to Portabello market.  Unfortunately, when we woke up the weather was still not nice so we headed to Selfridges instead.

After eating our salt beef sandwich - where Gill had to go: wait! you aren't making it right!  We hit a couple of departments, but made no real purchases.  They were having a shoe carnival, but neither of us saw anything we must have...this is unusual.

We wandered down to Liberty, which is my favorite store in London.  It is a wonderful old fashioned wooden structure, and they have the best stationary.  We checked out the home section, and there were some amazing unique things in there.  

By this point the salt beef was gone and we realized we were ready for our cream tea.  It took a bit to locate the cafe, and we finally found it by sound, not sign.  We each got 2 scones, and we really only needed 1, but when you have clotted cream in front of you, it must be eaten, so we did our duty.  

When the bill arrived, I told Gill we were paying with change.  She stopped for a second and then said okay.  We see Gill's wallet was bursting with change. 

The waitress was good natured about it - at least to our face and we left feeling quite pleased with ourselves.

We wandered around the streets until we found an interesting wine bar and had a glass and great chat before going back to the apartment for takeout.  

It was a blissful break with my good friend and could not have been a nicer treat for my birthday.

Gill's View

Like many old theaters, the seats were made for smaller people and many of us where a bit jammed into these seats that didn't have enough leg room and basically made you feel like you were sitting on someone's lap.  

Gill had this guy in front of her that had to get up 10-12 times to let people into the row.  Unfortunately, he seemed to be having continuous and severe wardrobe malfunction.

Once

The plan was Gill was going to meet me in London the next day; however, there was a funeral she had to attend, and this changed all of the plans, and we were in a do-our-best sort of situation.

It just so happened that the UK was experiencing some snow, and in general, doesn't handle snow well.  So as she tried to get back to Cumbria, the roads closed forcing her to turn around and catch an earlier train.

I went to Harrods and loaded up on snacks and treats and went back and laid out a spread for us for when she arrived.  We had a good catch up and then we headed off to the theater.

We were seeing a show called Once; this is where everyone says - I never heard of it.  Once is a movie that just happens to be in my top 10 movies of all time.  In looking for tickets over my birthday, I was surprised to see it had been turned into a show - so I bought tickets.

If you haven't seen the movie, it is difficult to explain.  It is quite an intimate movie, and I really could not imagine how it could be put on the stage.  

The theater was fantastic - The Phoenix Theater is an old brick theater and they'd put up the scenery so that  you could see the brick back of the theater over the top.  Occasionally, you could hear the subway trundle underneath.

The Set

They really only had one set, which was a 3 sided bar and they moved in/out chairs, tables and a piano.  At the beginning of the show and at intermission, the bar was functioning and you could go up and get a drink.

The Set / The Bar

The mirrors on the set gave you a number of perspectives on each scene, and it sort of had the same intimacy as the film.  

All in all, I was completely taken aback, somehow they had made something completely new, yet had been true to the original.  It is hard to understand that sort of creativity.