We've had a very festive week. We took the girls to London on the train and spent a very happy few hours wandering between the excellent Borough Market and the Tate Modern. The market's selection of foods and festive spirit was excellent and after sampling enough free cheese, bread, olive oil and mince pies to sink the Belgrano, we walked in the rain along embankment to the Tate. As is always the way with any visit to a gallery for us, we spent more time in the shop than looking at the actual exhibits, satisfying our love of design, leaving laden with several gifts. We had lunch in the top floor restaurant which was packed with people in paper hats drinking too much wine. There were other people there too - boom, boom! Yesterday we finally got our time slot to see Santa at Bodiam, so after a lunchtime nap for all - except bookworm Scarlett who finished a chapter book in a couple of hours - we headed back to the castle. Although there is no longer any snow in Hastings town centre where we live, only a mile or two up the hill the snow is still on the ground and in the countryside it's lying thick and beautiful across the fields. As dusk fell we queued up for a thrilling 5 minutes in a castle turret with the big man in red. No, not Mick ucknell, Santa. While Flo asked him a stream of questions about the logistics involved in him making it down our chimney (we have a wood-burning stove now which must make it trickier), Scarlett read out a long, long list of gifts she is hoping to get including a iphone (no chance), a DS (must be joking) and a large cuddly elephant (what the..?). Clutching some gifts from Santa, there was peace and harmony in the world, until we got in the car and the girls had a huge fight over their newly acquired presents. Once home, we slipped into eveningwear and headed to Maggie and Popi's for a Christmas cocktail party. I had a great night but remember nothing about the taxi ride home.
1 comment:
Hello my dear Duthies,
I've just spent a very enjoyable 20 minutes or more catching up on all your chilling news. If it's any consolation, it's minus 0.4 at Mt Baw Baw here in Victoria, at this very moment (just heard weather man on radio). ... In the middle of freaking summer. Madness. But supposed to be 36 on Friday thank god. I'm going to a friend's farm in the country for NYE (about an hour north of Melb) where we all must bring inflatables and spend the day floating down the river that runs through their property. With vino in hand of course, and perhaps some locally grown herbs. Groovy baby.
Christmas was naice. Had mum here, plus Martin and his mum, aunt, sister and mute boyfriend. Everyone brought something so all I really had to do was get the seafood, make some veges, crack some Champagne and be a good host. Afterwards the youngsters (Mart, Mute and I) went to Martin's place in North Melbourne - the house I first moved into in 1988 and he has lived in ever since - where the Xmas Day after-party kicked off. Lots of fun people who'd barely survived the family gathering and were keen to get thoroughly shtonkered to celebrate. Yesterday (Boxing Day) I took it easy with a trip to the flicks to see Heartbreaker, a brilliant French film I saw in Pah-ree in June with my frog mate Guillaume and adored. Loved it even more yesterday because it had English subtitles so I could understand more of it. Do go and see it if you can. Very funny, with some classic cinema moments in it involving, erm, Wham! and Dirty Dancing. And Johnny Depp's girl. And the amazingly flexible Romain Duris.
Afterwards Shaz (photog friend) and I went to The European for one of those impossibly cool Melbourne moments where you sit up at a bar, have a glass of something gorgeous (in my case, an Alsatian pinot blanc) while Shaz tucked into slow-cooked goat tagine with a freekah salad and I had a bouillabaisse style fish stew. As you do. It was the perfect way to see out Boxing Day.
I must confess I'm at a complete loss as to how to spend the rest of this awkward, in-between week. I can understand why most people go on holidays; I can't understand why I didn't have the foresight to do the same myself. I had a short break last week instead, and stayed at Gerroa pre-Christmas with Marguerite, Tess, Mark Longley and we had a gorgeous few days between the sea and the mountains. Now am stuck here in grey Melbourne with my mum. Not quite as much fun...
Oh well, better make the most of it.
Love and kisses to all of you. I'll come and visit once the cold weather's gone. Snow is my idea of hell, which is odd because it's not as if hell is ever depicted with snow on it. Unless you count Narnia during the evil reign of the White Witch.
Bear hugs,
Kendall xxxxxx
Post a Comment