Month: April 2015

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Perspective In The Eye Of The Beholder

And I thought my packages were extravagant–beautifully wrapped boxes from Net-a-porter, Matchesfashion.com, Harrods, etc.– until I saw the brightly coloured Lamborghini delivered to my neighbourhood recently.

On my way back from an hour of much needed training, I was contemplating my soreness and how I might convince myself to return to my computer to write (as I haven’t written for weeks, owing to stress masquerading as writer’s block) when I saw this expensive spectacle being backed off of a truck.

As I fixed my eyes upon it, suddenly fathomable prose struck me with an exciting force. Not that I hadn’t anything to write about before laying eyes on this car. There is plenty of that.

From the London restaurant where the tables have built in computers to order one’s dinner to the magnificent Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition at the V & A, I have been a girl about town lately. Not to mention the enthralling yet dark play, The Nether, at the Duke of York theatre, focusing on life without consequences. Disastrous! Not the play, which is rather brilliant, even if it is haunting.

Anyhow, that’s three more blogs to come, but with stress addiction (to be explored in a Huff Post blog surely) I was stymied until I saw the Lamborghini.

Enchanted as I was, I moved past the car rather quickly and into my concierge to pick up my own package, which Paul ought to put into perspective now surely, don’t you think. And then back outside, I glimpsed the owner zipping into the parking garage.

Up to the truck driver I strolled and confirmed that it was indeed a Lamborghini since I don’t always get my cars right but I do remember a friend of mine pointing out years ago that ‘the darn thing has wings.’

Anyhow, the truck driver smiled in confirmation, albeit staring quizzically, perhaps wondering if I was a groupie of sorts of if I lived in a hole somewhere. So glad to be a writer again, I dispelled any groupie myths and moved along, knowing that on some level he must have known that I had seen my fair share of such cars in London. Who hasn’t? From Lambos to Aston Martins to Bentleys, they are all here.

At one point certain posh hooligans had to be fined heavily for drag racing along Piccadilly. Never mind this. The point is I had never seen one delivered or witnessed the owner admire it, accept it and take possession of it so to speak.

Something about this experience got me thinking coherently again. Although the car is lavish by most standards, it reiterated something to me about perspective—it is in the eye of the beholder.

With that thought, I tore into my rather modest package–shush it’s a Sophie Hulme handbag. Let’s hope Paul agrees. Regardless, there’s more to come soon, that is writing. Well, maybe packages, too.

 

 

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Hazy Weekend Coming Up in London

Just as well that I wasn’t able to get out for my run this morning. Dust from the Sahara desert has blown into London, once again, sending runners and many other outside enthusiasts inside for the hottest day of the year, yet to come.

A low-grade asthma sufferer, I remember all too well being trapped inside of a gym for days in 2012. This time, as the dust blew in, I spent the morning in my car, driving across London, gazing through the haze upon buildings such as the Shard.

My pre-planned trip to Essex to see my specialist about implants, dental implants that is, okay, had robbed me of the run anyhow, thus I wasn’t as gutted as before. Still, as I glimpsed the London skyline, I thought ahead to Saturday, realising that my plans would surely go up in dust.

In the morning, I had hoped to take to the Thames Path,  but meteorologists are forecasting blood rain, a term scientist use to describe rain when it is mixed with the red dust.

That means hitting the gym or giving my run a miss. Make no mistake about it, I am not above taking to the treadmill – oh no, not I. But do so dislike it, if only for the repetitiveness of running in place. Not to mention that on a Saturday morning the gym will be packed.

Excuses! Excuses! Sounds like a hazy weekend to me.

 

 

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Expats Remembers Easter Sweetly and Fashionably, Too

Eggs have been long associated with Easter. When I was a girl, I remember the excitement building up to the Easter egg hunt at our church in Southwest Georgia and the pleasure of at last participating in it and finding beautifully coloured eggs, some of them I had managed to colour personally alongside my mother, father and siblings.

Most folks in the Western world, Christian or not, will have Easter memories, be it of bonnets, baskets, eggs, new outfits, etc., if only because it has been long celebrated widely and officially as a holiday in some places.

Yes outfits… In some African American traditions, not only were there the Easter egg hunts but also there were new Easter outfits for both boys and girls to make the big day even more special, as we recited Easter speeches for special programmes at church. Not to mention the Easter baskets full of toys and candy eggs.

Admittedly, I’m too old for an Easter basket but just the right age for a new outfit. Thankfully, there’s  still time to get that Easter dress after all. Why start breaking with tradition now. No point.

Here, however, at the mention of new frock at Easter,  people are surprised, pleasantly I hope. While many of them are off to the continent or somewhere to soak up some sun as there is not much here, others are planning Easter feasts with family and friends at home or at a restaurant of choice.

After all they have four days to celebrate. Not only is Good Friday an official holiday but so is Easter Monday. That means lots of opportunities to make Easter memories for sure and eats lots of eggs, albeit chocolate ones.

I’ll have one of those thank you very much, but it has to be the dark chocolate ganache from La Maison du Chocolat, sold during the Easter period only, although this year they’ve mixed dark and milk chocolate, just about ruining it for me. Hence, one dark chocolate egg left. But chocolate is not what Easter is all about anyhow, is it?

Truly it is about rebirth and renewal and making ever so sweet memories with family and friends.