Majorca rocks

Just back this morning from a totally brilliant week in Majorca, staying at the holiday house of old mates David and Sarah. The house is very private with a walled garden on a quiet road a few miles from the old town of Pollenca, in the north east of the island, well away from the Brits Abroad southern beaches. We spent our days idling in their pool, occasionally venturing out to the odd local beach, village market or walled town. We climbed the 365 steps to the church at Calvari, drove out along the switchbacks to Cap Formentura and strolled around Palma's magnificent gothic cathedral.  Highlights included making gin and tonics using lemons and limes from the tree in the garden, seeing the thrilled look on Flo's face having mastered lengths of the pool doing a combination of breast stroke and crawl, Scarlett perfecting her dive after a zillion "Watch me Mum, Dad!" practices, strolling to a local restaurant with swimming pool for dinner while the girls splashed about,  visiting the Sunday market in Pollenca and eating our body weight in serrano ham and cheese. It was all incredibly easy and relaxing. I managed to read two whole books by the pool and, with the girls now at an age when late nights don't create a problem, we were all in bed late every night and sleeping in very late every day. I hadn't been to Majorca since I was a kid on holiday with my family and had forgotten, or more likely never bothered to notice, how beautiful the island is. The mountains that cut across from north to south create a stunning backdrop to olive and lemon groves, terracotta tile roofed houses, palm trees and windmills. Viva Espana!

These are the good times

A great week of nostalgia with the arrival from NZ of the Salmons, here on holiday for a couple of weeks. Fortunately for us they were based with Ant's mum in Kent, only half an hour away. They came down for lunch on Thursday and we spent a great afternoon catching up. The last time we saw Ann-Marie was in Sydney when I was pregnant Wth Flo, and we hadn't seen Ant and the kids since Scarlett was 6 months old and we visited them in Auckland. Sebastian and Georgie are now tall, fun teenagers who made a real fuss of Flo.

On Saturday afternoon I got the train to London for a 'Four* Girls from London' reunion in the evening. I went up a few hours early, so I could spend some time wandering around some of my old west London haunts from the early 90s. Maria and I lived variously around Notting Hill, Maida Vale, Westbourne Grove and White City and spent many happy times in and around Portobello Road, at the market, in the bars and at the carnival with lots of good mates. I don't know if I have a misty-eyed memory of it, and to be fair 20 years have passed, but it had changed a lot. While the antique end of the market and the flea market were still there, there were huge number of stalls selling nothing more than tourist tat. I don't remember there being so many tourists either and the entire West Indian community seems to have vanished - no more pumping reggae coming out of doorways and open windows. All the old boozers are now gastro pubs and  there was a surprising number of mainstream high street shops along the road in place of the one-off shops that made Portobello unique. That said, several old stalwarts were still there -  the Electric cinema and the Ground Floor bar and First Floor restaurant where Rob and I first met. I walked from Notting Hill all the way along Westbourne Park Road to Little Venice and onto to Warwick Ave to meet Ann-Marie, Deborah and Lorraine at Rachael's gorgeous flat, where Champagne bottles were relieved of their corks, and the canapes couldn't be plated up fast enough. Then it was around the corner to Deborah's for a lovely dinner, before I jumped on the late-night train home to Hastings. Good times.
*Rachael has joined as an honorary 5th member.

School is cool

Flo spent her first  morning today testing the waters of the classroom she'll be in when she starts school in September. She insisted on wearing the uniform and marched confidentally in without a backward glance. I was surrounded by tearful parents with tearful kids and was proud of my happy go lucky girl.

We spent the weekend pottering at home, swinging in the hammock, reading the papers, watching the downfall of the NOTW and enjoying 2 movie nights (Bring It On - slightly too old and in appropriate for the kids cheerleading film - and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - tears all round) until Dad called and invited us for Sunday lunch. It was, as always, a gastronomic feast and, as the weather in the south east continues to be gorgeous, we spent a lovely afternoon in Dad and Alexandra's garden enjoying the food, the wine and that view.

Prints Charming

My gorgeous quilt arrived from Sydney this morning, care of the closing down sale at Prints Charming. Luckily for everyone who loves beautiful handmade things, this is not the end of the business, only the shop, and Cath and Kirsten are on to bigger and better things, including a launch in New York in October. I think it looks brilliant with the quilted cushions made for my birthday by the wonderful Cassandra Ellis. It's wonderful to have such talented friends.

Glee, proms, Laura and lunch

We went into the weekend with Scarlett dizzy with excitement as she went to her very first concert (cool), with her Dad (not so cool, but this Dad is quite groovy). They drove up to the O2 on Thursday straight after school to see Glee live. Meanwhile Flo and I headed to the local park with picnic and blankets, and neighbours Janice and Mathilde, for the Hastings Proms. It was brilliant, held in the huge big top erected for the weekend's beer festival. After an hour of clapping and cheering Flo nodded off, leaving Janice and I to sing along and polish off a couple of bottles of red. On Saturday our lovely friend from Sydney, Laura arrived for the weekend. It was brilliant to see her as always, she made a huge fuss of the girls, and we talked and talked into Saturday night. You might like to buy Laura's new cookbook My Grandmother's Kitchen, available in all good bookshops now. On Sunday Dad and Alexandra, Maria and Lol and the boys joined us for lunch on the sunny deck, before we collapsed in front of Night at the Museum 2 and Rob fell asleep in the armchair, like the old (but groovy, see above) Dad he is. 

P.S - quote of the weekend was from Laura, when mentioning her cousin's wedding, that she travelled to the UK to attend. "It was lovely. Kate Winslet was at my table and served me my dessert", in the most casual of tones.

Sports Day and Wet n' Wild

Scarlett had her very first school sports day yesterday. She missed out on it in her Kindergarten year at Annandale Public because we were on holiday in England, and again in the first year because we moved back here. Now in year two she finally got to know the thrill of waiting around on a hot sports field for ages until your event is called. Having got the timing all wrong, I had to race home after dropping off Scarlett and then Flo, to grab my camera and zoom back to school in time for the first race, which I missed. I did manage to see her in the relay, the spud and spoon race (less messy than eggs apparently) and the 100 metres. She came 2nd in two of them and wasn't bothered at all not to place in the third. She's like that and I was very proud because several other kids were in tears when they didn't win a sticker. It was a stinking hot day so they all did well to sit it out all morning.

Today, after dropping the girls at school on another hot day,  I bought some coolio water pistols and a brilliant wet slide game thingy for the garden. You attach the hose to it (no hosepipe bans here, Aussie friends) and it shoots jets of water out through tiny holes the length of the slide. Flo declared it "the best day of my life" after repeatedly skidding in the wet, down the plastic sheet to the end, followed by a lively water pistol fight, that I easily won because she's so short. Fun.

Dougal and the Blue Cat: Florence's housework song

They came from the north...

We had a great Saturday afternoon at Scarlett's school 'fayre' (they were called fetes in my day). Scarlett was in a cheerleading demo and Flo rode her first (and last if Rob has his way)  pony. To quote Rob - "two words - Christopher Reeve"). With the weather clouding over and the burgers all sold out, we zoomed home to receive our London guests Ruth and Pete. While we were raring to go (even me despite getting up at 5.30am for work), the Londoners needed a pre-dinner sleep for an hour, while we prepared dinner. I've become obsessed with a new dish of par-boiled new potatoes roasted with rosemary sprigs, cherry toms, red peppers, red onions, garlic and half a bottle of balsamic. The jammy result is outstanding. I served this with pork and asparagus and then we had a cheese board in front of the fire - the fire!! In June!!

This seemed ridiculous on Sunday when it hit 30 degrees here in sunny Hastings and we hosted lunch on the deck for Ruth and Pete and the Harrisons, who drove down from Surrey. We had the hammock up, sunlounger out, rugs and newspapers on the lawn, sunshades up and my newest bunting on display.  Rob's eclairs made an appearance which closed the conversation down for several minutes as they were shovelled in. A triumph. Today it's even hotter - 32 degrees and with both children at school and Rob at work until 12, I have my eye on that sunlounger and the papers. 

One year on...

We arrived in the UK exactly one year ago. Sometimes it feels as if it has dragged and at other times as if it has rushed by. It has been more stressful at times than I could ever have imagined and at other times just perfect. We are still unsure whether or not this is where The Duthies belong, but we have had more ups than downs and more fun than not. Here are some new shots of our garden which has gone nuts due to the recent rain, after weeks and weeks of dry weather. My new hammock looks perfect in the bottom corner of the garden and ticks all the boxes that  a hammock should.

 My tomato plants and lettuce are going great guns (above) and I'm very happy with my pots (below) and hanging baskets. We'd made lovely new friends, but still think of our old ones in Sydney often, and have loved being regularly reacquainted with our old, old friends from London and beyond. 

 Today was Father's Day in the UK. A Hallmark card event, if ever there was one, but the girls made Rob a plate, a tie and bought him a t-shirt and chocolate and we let him have a whole 2 hours to himself by heading off to the woods without him. We finished the day with  a lovely late lunch with Janice and Roger, while Mathilde played with the girls. Perfecto.

How to make jam

1. Take one project-driven husband and one young daughter with nothing to do one rainy afternoon. Allow access to internet to find local PYO farm. Let the picking commence.

 2. Praise rather than mock the way said husband manages to make a load of jam jars, lemons, sugar and strawberries look photogenic.

3. Boil  equal amounts of sugar and fruit...

4. ..until it looks glossy and sleek, like this.

5. Transfer into previously sterilized jars, with Cath Kidston-style lids.

6. Store in dank, dark cupboard under stairs in preparation to spring on unsuspecting guests as a way of moving it on.

Nightrider 2011

Last night I continued my David Hasslehoff appreciation by taking part in Nightrider, the overnight sponsored bike event around London. I drove up to Crystal Palace with my bike in the boot, and snaffled loads of the free chocolate bars and bananas at the start line ready for my midnight kick off. The route took in south east London, including Blackheath and Greenwich, the east end and Canary Wharf, before turning back into the city, then north up through Hackney, Islington, Highbury and Finsbury Park before that bugger of a hill leading up to Ally Pally in time for sunrise. But what goes up must come down and I was thrilled to be on the downhill run, forgetting that other bugger of a hill up to Hampstead Heath. From there it really was all downhill through Belsize Park, Camden, Regent's Park and into the west end for a jaunt through Soho and Covent Garden. After the Strand we crossed the river again seemingly going in circles around Vauxhall before re-crossing the Thames and heading along Pall Mall and through Mayfair to Knightsbridge. Then it was along Cromwell Road, past the museums, before finally crossing Chelsea Bridge and making our way south through Battersea and Clapham before making the final ascent to the top Gypsy Hill and onto Crystal Palace.
I noticed several things. London is incredibly beautiful. I don't think it gets enough credit for its fantastic architecture. Not just the grand old streets like Regent Street and Portman Place but the brilliantly inventive new buildings that have popped up all over the City and Canary Wharf. Something else,  people in London NEVER go to bed, and man can they drink. Even at 4, 5 and 6 in the morning we were still encountering people smashed out of their gourds outside pubs and clubs, fighting in taxi and kebab queues, or cluttering park benches smoking jazz cigarettes.
I found the ride incredibly nostalgic in places, particularly cycling through Hackney, along Ridley Road market, passing the Empire, and up through Highbury and Islington. At the finish I got a medal, a bacon sandwich and a cuppa. Anyhoo, apart from a sore bottom and very sore palms, I am unscathed and happy.

Half term

The girls were off school this week on half term which also included yet another Bank Holiday Monday. We spent the Monday having lunch at Maria and Lol's celebrating the American holiday, Memorial Day, with a Spanish-themed lunch. Dad and Alexandra came, alongwith Maria's neighbours Tina and Dick and an afternoon of fine food and wine ensued. During the week we met up with another family from school, for a barbecue on the beach. The weather continued to be very warm all week - reaching a dizzy 25 degrees most days - and we had a really lovely evening eating honey soy chicken, burgers and a tricolor salad. We hardly saw the girls, who were all racing along the beach looking for crabs at low tide and chasing the horses being ridden along the beach. Smashing. I endured 3 very hot days in the bakery this week as there isn't any air-conditioning and the ovens were going all day. On Saturday Rob and the girls picked me up straight from my shift - covered in the chocolate brownie mixture I had made that morning - and we drove straight up to Surrey for lunch at Helen and George's to see Rob's Uncle Barrie, and his partner Glennie, who were on holiday from Melbourne. I was struck how much he is like Rob's mum Barb, down to the smallest mannerisms. George's parents came too and we had a really lovely family  lunch of barbecued fillet steak and chicken, rounded off with Rob's (now signature) eclairs. They were given a special twist with fresh raspberries. Here are a few pics of the day showing Princess Flo in all her glory, a group shot and a pic of Barrie with his niece and nephew, inspired by the comment "Ooh look there's George Clooney!"