You know who you are!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This post has a target audience of exactly two people...

Frosty

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Things have warmed up a bit, though it looks like it might rain today...

Darkness

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

This was the color of the sky yesterday at 4:12pm.
And so the darkest day of 2008 has passed.

King Cakes

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

About a week ago I went into Lisboa Patisserie and asked when they were going to start making king cakes (these colorful cakes that are only made at Christmastime). The guy behind the counter looked puzzled, so I said, “you know, those colorful cakes that you only make at Christmastime,” and he said, “oh, you mean Bolo Rei?” I replied in the affirmative and he informed me of the 2008 Bolo Rei production schedule. Then as I was on my way out he shouted, “OH! King cake! Bolo Rei! I get it! I never heard that before...”

Merry Christmas!

Originally uploaded by geatchy.

I got dinged for not blogging today... So that will be my New Year’s resolution for 2009, and why not get an early start?
I’ve actually got quite a bit to blog about, and not all of it will necessarily be here. I set up a separate blog for writing about urban stuff ages ago, and even wrote a couple of entries for it (which I never actually posted). And on top of (or perhaps overlapping) that, I’ve been working on something which might wind up being called either “Love Golborne” or “Discover Golborne.”
I will keep you posted!

New River Path

I’m doing a bit of research on some topics for my soon-to-be-unveiled professional blog, provisionally called spatialist. One thing I’ve been interested in for a while is the comparative design of council estate maps across London, and I wanted to broaden my sample size. Another potential subject (or series) would be a catalog of London’s “unsung” public realm. Not Southbank, the Royal Parks, Trafalgar Square, Broadgate Arena, and the like, but rather the uncelebrated publicly accessible spaces in their almost limitless variety of scales, typologies, and conditions. I combined these two areas of interest on a walk yesterday from Green Lanes Overground to Liverpool Street Station, including a stretch of the New River Path.

Figuring stuff out...

That slideshow thing on the right seems to show my 20 most recent pictures from Flickr, in reverse order. It could be a neat feature to use on my new “professional” blog, but I think I’ll have to set up another Flickr account so I can control the images that appear there... But that would mean 20 different pictures for every entry, a potential hurdle I don’t really need.

Culture alert: Anybody in or visiting London before August 25th should go see the Psycho Buildings exhibit at the Hayward Gallery! It’s great!

Look, Ma, no hands!

Wow! Check out the little Flickr slideshow thingie over there in the right-hand column. Now I don’t even have to choose photos and think of things to write about them. Instead, I guess I can just write. Maybe that will be easier. Also new in the right-hand column is a list of Blogs. It’s not like the list of Blogs I had before, which was just a plain old list of links, but now contains the titles of recent posts. Neat-o!

So now I guess I can just blab about stuff that’s going on over here. Like we went to Jane’s for Sunday roast last week. Um... It’s really hot in London right now (poor Olive is slinking around the house looking for breezes to flop in)... Last night we went to see The Dark Knight, which was beautiful and fun and Heath Ledger’s performance was fantastic. We’re not going to Lisbon this week/end. And stuff like that.

We’ll see how this goes. I’m also in the process of setting up another Blog. It will either be called “spatialist” or “social designer” and it’s going to be for writing about urban-type stuff. So stay tuned. I might even get the first installment, about London’s council estate maps, written today!

Stay tuned...

My clicky knee

Originally uploaded by noisycorner.

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve had a clicky knee for a few years now. Lately, however, the clicking has gotten worse and the associated pain has become almost unbearable. A couple of weeks ago I went for a MRI scan of my left knee and the results are now in: I’ve got a bucket-handle tear of my medial meniscus. Yippie! Now I’ve got to go talk to an orthopedic surgeon about arthroscopy. Woo-hoo! General anesthesia! Hooray! But at least it’s something hypothetically treatable. So... Stay tuned.

Oh, and BTW, look at me blogging with somebody else’s picture!

And the Budweiser takeover? News? Really? Come ON!!! How many local companies has Coca Cola gobbled up all over the world? Has that ever made global headlines?

Ahhhh, London...

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

... where there's someone ready to sell you any good or service you can imagine!

48 kilos of love

Originally uploaded by geatchy.

In this shopping cart are two dozen 2-kilo bags of ice. That’s about 105 lbs. We did think of asking the caterer to bring ice, and they initially said they would. But at the last minute there was an emergency “no ice” call (possibly part of the truckers’ fuel price protest aftermath), so we drove to the supermarket in Sant Pere de Ribes and cleaned ‘em out. The result was that our celebration had 48 kilos more DIY love...

aniversari4020

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Lately I’ve been focused on organizing the party we threw outside Barcelona on June 21st. So... if I haven’t been keeping up with the blog and stuff, well... I’ve been kinda busy.

But now our weekend of celebration is over. Our guests seem to have had a pretty good time. Steven and I certainly did!

Creating the context took a lot of effort: several reconnaissance trips, many phone calls and emails, excel spreadsheets, the website, the book, catering, logistics, sneaking 15 wigs past Steven, hunting down adequately dim lighting (at BHV in Paris), foraging for wildflowers at the last possible moment (thanks to Neil Stock), decorations (which Steven stayed up til 3am one night to paint), etc.

In the end, the event itself was actually the result of several collaborations (ranging in duration from a few hours to a lifetime). Our most obvious collaborators were our guests, who endured any small technical glitches with grace and elegance, and who played their roles admirably well (I’m sure it took a great deal of self-control for some not to flee when the wigs came out). Perhaps slightly less obvious were Silvia Roig from Parés Baltà winery, and of course Neil and Iain who put up with months of antics concluding in our three-day takeover of their amazing Masia Sumidors. Finally, we owe thanks to friends and family who weren’t with us in Spain, yet who inspired us and influenced the sensibilities that guided many of our choices.
I am now in the process of getting everyone’s party pictures onto a flickr group. It’s private, so if you want to take a look just let me know. We will also be making some changes to the website, and I’m going to look into putting the book online somehow (once it’s finished, that is). If you haven’t already submitted something for inclusion and would like to do so, please contact me ASAP!

And now, back to real life (more or less)...

;-)

Innit

As some of you may know, “innit” is as common in London as “like” in New York or “totally” in San Francisco. Even though it seems as if it should always be an interrogative, it is often used as a declarative. We have a kind of a game amongst our expat friends, wherein we collect “innit”s and then compare them to see who got the best one. To wit, my recent entry of a woman to her female friend regarding an aisle endcap displaying jars of pickled veg at Sainsburys: “You like pickles innit” (this would be an example of the interrogative structure, although the tone was declarative). Anyhow, this one seems like the stuff of urban legend, but you be the judge.

Flame on

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

There’s actual perpetual flame in this picture. At least I’m pretty sure there is...

Yesterday morning we went to see the Olympic torch get carried down Ladbroke Grove (just steps away from our front door).

In the snow!

We got to see the torch—even though we were tardy—because moments prior to our arrival on the scene, there were some shenanigans involving a bicycle and a fire extinguisher. The upside (for us) was that they hustled the torch away somewhere and then re-staged the run-by a few minutes later, this time surrounded by an inner ring of Olympic officials (blue jackets) and an outer ring of Metropolitan Police officers (fluorescent yellow jackets).

So there you have it.

Another moment in history...

Happy chana masala

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Last night we couldn’t get a table at Galicia (Spanish) or Mogador (Moroccan). We didn't feel like Thai, gastropub or kebabs, and we didn’t want to cook at home. We were also too lazy to walk down Portobello Road or any further afield.

So...

We wound up at Palki, where we usually get “Indian” takeaway (I think the guys are actually from Bangladesh). Palki has had its ups and downs over the years, but currently seems to be on an up. And there was a goofy face in our chana masala (which we dubbed Chuper Sickpea) to boot!

A Sunday stroll

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

I know, I know... not enough blog posts... bla, bla, bla...

Here’s a bit of weather-talk (and yesterday’s news): it snowed on Easter! Well, Easter Monday (which is a “bank holiday” here - making Easter a four-day weekend). One possible reason is that Easter came early this year, although in general it has been a particularly cold spring. Last spring was very pleasant but wound up leading to an awful summer. I’m hoping that the chilliness so far is a harbinger of warmth to come. Keeping fingers crossed. Knocking on wood. And stuff.

The wetness gave way to a nice Sunday this past weekend. I had agreed to a last-minute shift swap at The Food Chain, so I was down by Hammersmith Bridge in the afternoon. Steven & Chris came to meet me and we strolled along the Thames. Instead of heading west towards Chiswick, we headed east towards Putney. This proved to be a culinary mistake, as there are few decent lunch options by the river in Fulham (if anybody has information to the contrary, please let me know!). While River Cafe make tasty grub, it comes at a very steep price. We wound up at a pub called the Crabtree Tavern, and although what food they had was fine, the whole experience was bad to the point of tragi-comedy.

Anyhow, after lunch we continued through Bishops Park and over Putney Bridge. The sky was very beautiful, reflecting in the river and all. Try looking at this picture upside down!

Mattress season

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

I know, I know, it’s been a while... Sorry.

I snapped this picture on my way home from the gym (which I haven’t visited in weeks because I had a head cold and then “minor surgery” to remove a ganglion in my wrist—yuck).

I took this for two reasons: First, there is a fine tradition of skanky old mattress photos by contemporary artists (Todd Hido, for example); and Second, it seemed to be mattress season in North Kensington and I wanted to document it (though this is my only one). By mattress season, I mean that for about a week the streets were filled with mattresses: night and day, all sizes and colors, on just about every road. I’m not sure why. Maybe the council scheduled a special rubbish collection. Maybe there were good sales on new mattresses in January. Maybe it was just unconscious herd behavior...

A country walk in Oxfordshire

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

With Steven in San Francisco for the 15-year WIRED reunion, Chris and I decided it would be nice to head out of London for a lovely day in the country. After turning the house upside down I found our copy of “Country Walks Near London” (since I didn't want to fork out £13 for another one).

Yesterday we took a train from Paddington to Henley-on-Thames, switching at Twyford. Setting out on the abridged 8.8 mile route (as opposed to the full-on 13.7 mile, ten and a half hour one) we walked over the hill and through the woods... and over the hill and through the woods... and over the hill... well, you get the idea. I think in this part of the world they call the hills escarpments, but that’s probably just because they like using words with more letters.

Among the notable fauna we observed were some old horses wearing blankets, several kites (a kind of bird), and a few teenage girls hopping around the train platform wearing nothing but sleeping bags and knickers (the British kind). There were also a couple of planes doing aerobatics above the fields all afternoon (not exactly fauna, I know).

We had lunch at the Rainbow Pub in Lower Assenden and tea at the Henley Tea Rooms, which is run by Spaniards and staffed by Vietnamese.

It’s my party...

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Snapped this one outside the gym yesterday (my actual birthday)... 

Last night Steven & I went to dinner at Texture (everything was very textural). We thought of opening a whole series of restaurants: Flavor, Color, Temperature - the list could go on and on. The meal started out with some crispy skins (cod, potato, parmesan - I’m not sure whether parmesan has skin) and two dipping sauces: wasabi somethingorother and “Bali” yoghurt. It took a few minutes to figure out that “Bali” is antipodean for “barley,” thus explaining the lumpy chewy bits. Then there was some bacon popcorn - yum! Next came a tiny glass pot with parsnip and granny smith apple stuff. Steven had Scottish scallops and I had Cornish crab as a starter (ooh - more restaurant ideas: Name, Alliteration, Spelling). Our main courses were roast suckling pig with squid and other fishy things for Steven and Icelandic lamb with fregola and beetroot for me. Then came tiny glass pots again, this time filled with blood orange textures (fruit, jelly and granita). For dessert I had warm chocolate goop with olive oil, cardamom ice cream and a sculptural fennel sugar spike, and Steven had coconut textures (um, ice cream, something else, another thing, more stuff, and a mini metal toothpaste tube filled with coconut sauce for squirting everywhere).

Today I’m baking bread as prescribed by some old codger, going to the gym, waiting for a delivery of cupcakes from Cookie Girl, then heading over to The Fat Badger to eat one and stare at the rest, since everybody was busy this weekend, the weather’s crap, and the Hammersmith & City line is closed for track replacement.

Art ‘n stuff

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

We kicked off Saturday at Alfies, helping Neil pick out an occasional chair (very unusual round Scandinavian number with almost nautical details) for his living room. While he was getting the thing into his boot, Steven & I lunched on the best fish & chips we’ve eaten so far. After giving Neil our brutal assessment in situ (two thumbs up), we purchased a copy of Laura Owens’ gorgeous catalog (from a show we saw at the Camden Arts Centre a while ago) for half price at Sadie Coles HQ. On our way home, we took a little detour to look at some very pretty Rachel Howard paintings at Haunch of Venison. Once home, we popped downstairs to pick out our pan-parental Christmas gift, settling on an ink on paper piece (“Untitled 2”) by Tanya Ghosh (who happens to be William’s wife and a fabulous fashion illustrator).