London Sundays

The last two Sundays we have met friends in London for Sunday lunch. The Sunday before last we met Annalie and David and Colin (the dog). We had a pub lunch and afterwards Annalie and David took us to their lovely office (they're architects). The office includes a great roof terrace with lovely views of lots of other roofs in the City of London. It has become really really cold!

Last Sunday was also freezing - lots of ice. We went for lunch at The Barbican where my friend Jean lives. She made a delicious hot soup and vegetable stew. London looked beautiful beneath the clear cold sky.

Radishes

I am addicted to radishes. My addiction began in the summer. I buy a bag of radishes, take them home, clean them, put them in a little pot and then spend the rest of my time thinking, "God, I really want a radish. I must have a radish!" Finally, my will weakens, I go to the fridge, take out the little pot and eat 3 or 4 radishes extremely quickly and in a secret manner. It is a very strong addiction.

Small post for a small person

Last Friday I had a day off work and met my sister and Edie for lunch in London. My sister had a scone, Edie had some cauliflower and cheese, and Shun and I both had stuffed mackerel and cous-cous salad (Big People's food). After lunch, Edie wandered around the department store pointing at things. She is very good at pointing. She is, officially, the smallest person I know.

Fire!

5th November is Guy Fawkes Night (or Bonfire Night) in the UK (Guy Fawkes=name of man who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and the king some time in the 17th Century. It's a strange event to commemorate, but there are a lot of strange people here.) It's a festival which we celebrate with fire and fireworks. Sevenoaks had its Bonfire Night Festival on 6th November and Shun and I joined in. There were a lot of people and we all carried flaming torches and walked up the main road to a big field. In the field was a huge fire (bonfire) which we all threw our torches onto (perhaps quite a dangerous action - but nobody cared!). Then there was a really good fireworks display (with truly terrible pop music accompaniment).
When the fireworks had finished, Shun and I decided to follow this exciting old British festival with some traditional Chinese food (Guy Fawkes' favourite, I'm sure)

Autumn Leaves (^o^)/

Suddenly, last week, the autumn leaves in Sevenoaks began to glow with colour. They changed really quickly - different shades every day. It was very dramatic. This is the tree at the end of our road . . .
. . . Wednesday . . .
. . . Friday . . .
. . . later on Friday!
And this is the rest of the road on Friday - lovely!On Saturday evening we went to visit our friends in London (Vicky, David and their kids - the same people I had fun in Paris with :)) It was the day before Halloween and Vicky made a deliciously spicy pumpkin soup, served in a pumpkin. Wow. And fish stew. Double wow. And rhubarb crumble. Triple wow! We had a great time with them and drank a very good cocktail - prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) and campari. Very good (and a bit dangerous). On Sunday we were tired (I blame the dangerous prosecco and campari drink) but the clocks went back. Ah! Do you know what I mean? I mean that all the clocks in the UK changed from Summertime to Wintertime. Therefore, we could stay in bed one extra hour in the morning because it was earlier than we thought. Yeah! But still . . . we were tired. The leaves called to us, though, and in the afternoon we went for a walk around Sevenoaks and took some autumn photos. It was Halloween and a little cold and the air was smoky and misty and full of atmosphere . . . . . . hmm . . . beautiful and spooky . . . I LOVE autumn.