Trip to London

Sunday morning began with breakfast here, cooked Matzo Brei from Martha Stewart - which was incredibly filling and very tasty. Its definitely a recipe designed to use up leftovers from your Passover meal - matzo crackers, and spices, apples and raisins from the Charoseth. I thoroughly approve of such thriftiness. The Old English word for 'a meal from leftovers' is "Orts". when the girls were small, we had Orts so often, I think they couldn't ever remember what the original meal might have been!

Anyway later on, Bob drove me down to London to see the girls. He left me with Steph in Stoke Newington.In the evening, she and I walked round to Clicia in Church Street for a splendid Mediterranean meal in attractive surroundings.

After a Jewish Breakfast,it was more of a Turkish Supper!

The restaurant is right opposite the house where Daniel Defoe used to live. In fact, Stoke Newington is a hotbed of Nonconformity - Isaac Watts, the hymnwriter lived here, and his memorial is in nearby Abney Park Cemetery. It's all to do with the Nonconformist Academy, apparently, started locally for those who wanted to study, but could not get into University because they weren't Anglicans! For current Nonconformists, all very much alive, check out the London Baptists

On Monday we had a lazy start, and met up with Liz to potter around various places. I really enjoy being with my daughters, and being in London - so it was tremendous fun.

They really indulged me by letting me spend ages in a wool shop I had not visited before - although I have to say that the assistant was not very chatty and didn't seem at all concerned to sell us anything. I got some pretty Rowan wool to make some more scarves. Then we went on to John Lewis and they disappeared to look at kitchen stuff whilst I went up to Haberdashery (Whose bright idea was it to relocate H to the 4th floor?) Wanted to buy some fabric to make a summer skirt, but hadn't remembered to copy quantities down from my wonderful, but ancient, needlecraft book,so ended us standing in the store with my Filofax, drawing diagrams involving pi and Pythagoras. Hope I got the calculations right, or it may end up more A line than circular!

In the evening we ate a Lebanese meal at Beirut Express - more aubergines, and tender lamb, and pitta bread... We were all very taken with the wonderfully named hand dryer in the Ladies Loo! Then we parted company with Steph - she returned to Stoke Newington, and Liz and I got on the bus for Elephant and Castle.

Home in time to watch Delia Smith! I didn't sleep that well - woke very early and listened to the Dawn Chorus, and finished my book. The Friday Night Knitting Club. Will blog more about that later.

Got up at 7.30am, packed my bag - including my craft purchases - and then Liz and I headed off to get our buses. I forgot breakfast!

The lovely variegated colours of the wool have not shown up too well in this photo. The second photo is the other end of Liz's sofa, with the Orla Keily cushions I made for her last year.

Once I got to St Pancras,I grabbed hot chocolate and a croissant from Pain Quotidien, and thus armed with my Daily Bread I climbed aboard the train to Leicester.

It's good to be home! But Bob's sabbatical is over, and he is back to work now - time to go off to the Ladies Fellowship.

I am using Windows Live Writer now - must be careful not to get too carried away. Do not expect so many photographs in subsequent postings.