Richmond Park Pond

The pond a favorite for years - I am with the dog and the park mostly to ourselves. A five by 5 foot unfrozen hole services the waterfowl : ducks, swans, and others I don't know.

Love Affair

The kids sleep in after a late night watching movies ("Shriek 3"). Eitan wanders into the kitchen and does what every ten-year old does : bakes a cake. This time it is a butter-milk something batter with pecans on the top and side. It turns out flat as a rock but we both note: "tastes pretty good." Me, I swim a few laps (in and out before dawn), walk the dog and organise some family papers. I yell at the kids a couple of times to clean their bedrooms, do the dishes - usual stuff. I ask Madeleine to wear a dress as we are going to the Royal Albert Hall but never going to happen. I offer her £100 and she refuses - either 100 quid not enough or she knows mine an idle jest. Either way, I like her principals.

David

Sonnet's cousin David, on her father's side and the son of Bill. David is a carpenter in Brooklyn - you cannot get any cooler than that.

The cold persists and more snow expected tonight. My parent's flight cancelled - again - leaving everybody a bit blue. Since this be England and our house from the 1920s, the pipes on the outside .. where they can burst .. which they do. No water. These things so routine they barely cause a ruffle. Kids happy, no bath. For the record : I insulated last winter but to no consequence against the lowest lows on record.

Growing up in northern California has had a big influence on my love and respect for the outdoors. When I lived in Oakland, we would think nothing of driving to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz one day and then driving to the foothills of the Sierras the next day.
-- Tom Hanks

£ove Your Job

Me: "When do you think life begins?"

Madeleine: "Like what do you mean?"

Me: "Does it start when the man's sperm and woman's egg come together?"

Madeleine: "No, of course not."

Me: "Well, when?"

Madeleine: "At birth."

Me: "What if I told you a baby in mom's uterus has ten fingers and a heart beat?"

Madeleine, Eitan:

Me: "How about the potential for life? When does that start?"

Madeleine: "Life begins at the first breath. That is when it starts."

Me: "I like that. There is no doubt there."

Eitan: "Yes, at birth. When the baby breathes."

Madeleine: "That is what I said!"

Eitan: "Well, it's obvious isn't it?"

Me: "Not so obvious - a lot of people argue this. How about a tree seed. Is it living when just a root underground?"

Madeleine: "Yes."

Me: "Isn't this like a baby in mom's uterus?"

Madeleine: "Well, a tree is not actually living until it has leaves."

Eitan: "That is when it can breath."

Madeleine: "Nice one, Eitan."

Me:

Singing In The Snow

Everything, and I mean everything, shut down across the UK. The kids will have their white Christmas. This reminds me of the Great Blizzard of Jan '96 which closed the NYC metro for the first time ever. It was Sonnet's first day at Anne Taylor - a job she took to help put me through business school along with my parents. The prior month Sonnet relocated from San Francisco and her fine life so we could be together. So, after a bunch of kvetching and worry, Sonnet's boss calls and we have a free day together - AT closed ! We trudge to the newly opened Fairway underneath the West Side overpass on Riverside Drive which, Sonnet now describes : "a marvelous display of excess". B/c of the snow storm we are only ones in the giant super market - spooky - and so buy lobsters. Why not ? While it may sound romantic I suppose in reality when weather messes things up, especially in a big city, life is a drag. No taxis, jammed humid subways, dress shoes soaked ..

So, today, everybody excited for Moe and Grace's arrival which is delayed two days. The good news : they do not pass time at the airport as I listen to reports of 1000s stranded at Heathrow spending the night in Terminal 3, nobody in charge nor adequate heat nor blankets. Pointing the story, the shrill woman who blasts the country's ability to deal with adverse weather - but there she is, having gone to Heathrow, stuck there for another day or two. In fairness her story about my worst nightmare - H/r bad enough those few hours before check-in.

While Eitan's football match cancelled, the boy makes it up 6:30AM for swim practice; he is one of three who join Coach, God bless her.

Sonnet: "Righty ho."

Madeleine: "Can we pick a movie and watch it together? All of us?"

Sonnet: Can we watch 'Singing In The Rain?'"

Madeleine: "No, Eitan hates it."

Me: "He's never seen it."

Madeleine: "Yes he has. There was that time when we went to that cabin by the farm and it turned 2009. And then we drove to the museum .. Fishourne Palace .. and we saw the Mary Rose."

Me: "Why do you think he hated it so much?"

Madeleine: "Because he said : 'Oh, I hate this movie.' And then he walked out of the room."

Me: "Well done."

Madeleine: "How about Harry Potter?"

“Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

--Oscar Wilde

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow

We finish our Christmas cards; the side-pipe burts; the Astorg subscription documents in; kids on winter recess; parents arriving tomorrow (weather permitting) - it strikes me : I am on vacation for two weeks.

Palewell Common Sunrise

I drive Aggie to the bus station, 6:30AM. She is going home .. to Poland .. by bus. 30 hours. This saves our gal some money and may end up being the smart route : London walloped by a storm that dumps a foot or more of snow by noon time and closes all the airports and cancels Eitan's football. Mom and dad arriving tomorrow so we keep our fingers crossed. Driving home, with the trusty springer spaniel in the back, I stop at our common for some exercise, me and the dog, and pay witness to a glorious sunrise. It is deathly cold so we stay for 20 minutes but well worth the detour.

Eitan: "People in Italy smoke a lot, don't they?"

Me: "I suppose. You should see the French."

Eitan: "And the Chinese. Don't they smoke a lot?"

Me: "Yes, more than 50% of their population."

Eitan: "In Australia, 300 people smoke."

Me: "That many?"

Eitan: "Yes. I read that on the Internet."

Me: "I bet you did."

Euston RR

Today I visit Wolverhampton, population 239,100. Woo hoo. I start my day at Euston Station which is no more inspiring. On the train a young couple in the row next to me drink beer (him) and vodka tonic (her) - 10:00AM, mind you. They are either ending their week in London or beginning the week-end early or does it matter? The train takes me through what most Americans, or me anyway, think of as the "real England" : villages with tidy rows of neatly organised red brick houses each with a smoke stack today covered in snow white. Rolling hills frame mine eye's review. This be the land of Elizabeth Gaskell and George Elliot or Dickens. The sweet suffering of it all.

Euston Train Station replaced the old station (including the Euston Arch) which was demolished in '62 against great public outcry - old images make me think of Penn Station NY which also went down at about that time. The new station opened in '68 following the electrification of the West Coast Main Line to Birmingham and the new structure intended to symbolise the coming of the "electric age". It certainly feels of the period but, surrounded by Grant Thornton's unimaginative cinder block HQ and next to busy Euston Rd in Camdon Town, it is pretty grim.

Space Girl

Madeleine has some performance thing at school and I learn this morning she needs to have a space suit. Sonnet finds a head-fitting box which I cover with aluminum foil and, presto, duties discharged.

Eitan, who walks to school by himself these days, skuttles around Madeleine and me, head hung down. This demands my attention so I bellow out some song which makes the boy pick up a brisk jog. I wink at Madeleine.

Me: "Do you want to put some antennas on your helmet?"

Madeleine: "Do space suits have antennas?"

Me: "No"

Madeleine: "Why would I want to put them on my space suit then?"

Me: "Fair point."

Rock On, Tommy

I'm in Paris yesterday but back in time to see fabulous Mary, who has moved her family to Seattle to take the role as head of strategy for Starbucks reporting to Howard Schultz who is 55 but, Mary says, looks like 40.

The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle March 30, 1971, by English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker. They were inspired by friend Alfred Peet to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment - in fact, during their first year of operation, they purchased beans from Peet's. Howard joined up in '82 as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing, and after a trip to Milan advised that the company to sell coffee and espresso drinks as well as beans. Even though Seattle had become home to a thriving counter-cultural coffeehouse scene since the opening of the Last Exit on Brooklyn in 1967, the owners rejected this idea, believing that getting into the beverage business would distract the company from its primary focus. Coffee, they thought, was for the home, Howard left to found Il Giornale coffee bar chain in April 1986. Meanwhile in 1984, the original owners of Starbucks bought Peet's (Baldwin still works there). In '87, they sold the Starbucks chain to Il Giornale, which rebranded the Il Giornale outlets as Starbucks and quickly began to expand. Starbucks opened its first locations outside Seattle in Vancouver and Chicago and the rest, as they say, is history, Starbucks went public in '92 with 165 stores; today they are over 17,000. Source: Starbucks and Wiki.

Smoker

People who smoke around non-smokers are the worst. Actually, the worst are those who smoke in queues and I find myself sandwiched between two fags waiting for a taxi at Gare de Nord. The Parisiennes just don't care - theirs an adult city and they shall do what they wish. Photo from Vogue.

Me: "What is your favourite subject?"

Madeleine: "Art."

Me: "What is your favourite subject excluding anything with drawing ?"

Madeleine: "I don't know, French maybe."

Me: "Nice one. Say something in French."

Madeleine: "Ciao."

Me: "Um, something else please."

Madeleine: "Bibliotheque."

Me:

Madeleine: "Ciao bibliotheque. Won't be seeing you again soon."

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Eitan's class remains in the Victorian era and today the boy presents Elizabeth (Eitan's notes in full):

"Hello everyone,

"My name is Elazabeth Donnell Garret and I was a very special person in Victorian times.

I was born in 1836. I was an English physicians and the first woman to qualify in medicine in Britain.

"My father was Newson Garret who was a very successful businessman and my mother was called Leisa Dunnel Garret and I was the second of ten of their children.

"I was born in Whitechapel and in 1849 I went to a boarding school called the 'Academy for the Daughters of Gentlemen.' I was a nurshing student at Middlesex Hospital.

"In 1865 I passed my exams and gained a certificate to become a doctor. In 1872 I founded the New Hospital for Women.

"In 1902 I retired to Adlesborough on the Suffolk Coast and in 1908 I became Mayor, the first female mayor ever.

"I died in 1917."

Scooby Doo

Another thing that drives Sonnet crazy, pictured. Me, I figure in a few months the dog will be doing the dishes.

Eitan's KPR back in action, this time against the Manocroft Pumas, following two cancelled games due to weather. The boys never lead in a game that ends 2-2 while KPR has several heart-break shots that miss by millimeters. Eitan scores the first equaliser and almost, tantalisingly, the winner which happens after a scary boot to his left knee which sends him screaming to the ground. I resist every temptation to run on to the pitch to ensure he is Ok - thinking broken something - while the coaches, ref and other players huddle around him. He is fine, if a bit shaky, but refuses to leave the action. It would have been quite the thing if his following shot had found net.

I hike up the ladder to clean neighbors Martin and Helen's gutters. Their house underneath a Scott's Pine and we find one of the pipes properly jammed. I recall my painting days and hang my ass precariously from the second floor fitfully attempting to loosen a 40-year old screw sealed, unhelpfully, by lead-based paint. Finally I have success and yanking the pipe free nearly jerks me from the ladder. Any given Sunday. Martin and I remove a satisfying clump of pines. His garage BTW a miracle of tools, electrics, solvents, woods and castaways. He describes five variations of hammer : the "claw" hammer (which we all know); "ball pein" (rounded, used for shaping metal); "straight pin" (for right angles or through the fingers); "pin" hammer (light joinery); and the "club" (double faced, used for, well, clubbing things). I mark two old doors, a professional buffer, an anvil, chain saw and shelves of nails, more tools, screw boxes and the like. There is a set of rowing oars. Some chains. Martin's tool boxes filled with more .. tools. I love this stuff and suddenly realise that I may never have to go the hardware again. Joy!

Clarence House

Madeleine asks, "where does Prince William live?" Here it is, edited, from the Royal Website:

Clarence House, located on The Mall, attached to St. James's Palace and sharing the palace's garden, is the official residence of The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Prince Harry. At Clarence House, The Prince and The Duchess receive official guests from this country and overseas on behalf of the nation, and bring together people from all walks of life (presumably, me) through official seminars, lunches, receptions and dinners. Clarence House was once the London home of Her Majesty The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, and The Duke of Edinburgh following their marriage in 1947 and of The Prince of Wales between the ages of one and three. It was also the home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1953 to 2002. The Prince of Wales returned to Clarence House on 4th August 2003, the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s birth. Photo from wiki.

Madeleine and Rusty cuddle on the couch following yesterday's biting. Sonnet eases everyone's mind: "Once a dog tastes blood it is what they want forevermore."

Madeleine: "Would you rather have five flat-screen TVs or Rusty?"

Me: "Rusty. No contest."

Madeleine: "Me, too."

Me: "Do you think being in love is a good thing?"

Madeleine contemplates a moment and grins: "Yep."

Madeleine: "Once, when Aggie was our nanny, I slept until 1PM and Aggie made me pizza."

Me:

Madeleine: "I asked Aggie 'why are you making me pizza for breakfast?'"

Rusty In The Dog House

"Rusty" bites Madeleine clean through her thumb nail. I am on top of a 40 foot ladder cleaning the gutters and hear an ever-increasing howl: Ooooowwwww! Then tears. Our hero's thumb spouts red blood. I put Madeleine's hand under cold water, then raise it above her heart to slow down the blood and then bandage her up and contemplate rabies. "Rusty" chomping on a bone and Madeleine's finger got in the way. I ask Madeleine if "it hurts more than the time Monty bit you and you had to shake him back and forth to get him off?" and she replies "much worse." The canine goes deeper into the dog-house by licking the dishes, pictured, which has become his habit that drives Sonnet mad. Happily, following a walk where I drag the dog to the High Street so Madeleine can hit the toy store, the two seem to have made amends and now curled up together on the couch (where the dog is not meant to be).

Madeleine: "I cannot tell what is worst, getting bitten by Rusty clean through the nail or having my hand slammed in the car door. Remember that time, Dad?"

Me:

Me: "You are a very brave girl."

Madeleine: "If you call crying my eyes out brave."

Boy Italia - Shami

Eitan wears his (up to the minute current) Italian kit - a gift from the Italians. Recall, Dear Reader, that Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil.

Sonnet's cool college friend Shami (short for Shamiram) stays with us for the week-end. Shami a doctor who is now management at a publicly-traded orthopaedics company Zimmer ("back, neck and spine") with offices in Zurich and .. Warsaw, Indiana, which, she and I agree, about the middle of nowhere. Before Zimmer, she was Policy Director at Medicare - she decided what covered and I can see her doing it. Shami notes there are not many synagogues in her neighborhood and her husband, not Jewish, tells everybody he is to avoid the God loving zealots. Smart move. Surprisingly there are 130 orthopedic, prosthetic, and surgical appliances and supplies companies in Indiana. Sonnet and Sharmi last together at their tenth Smith Reunion which, I remind Sonnet, over ten years ago. That one gets a dirty look from both women.

From the Zimmer website : "Zimmer is a worldwide leader in joint replacement solutions for knee pain and hip pain, and provides comprehensive spine care solutions for acute and chronic back pain. The company also provides a broad range of trauma, dental implant, and orthopaedic surgical products. Founded in 1927, Zimmer is committed to providing effective techniques in hip replacement and knee replacement for orthopaedic surgeons who restore mobility and relieve the pain of osteoarthritis and traumatic injuries. Our minimally invasive hip and minimally invasive knee replacement systems and our wide range of related products and services make us valuable partners to health-care providers in more than 80 countries."

Madeleine: "What is the best thing you have ever done with me?"

Me: "Every time is special."

Madeleine: "Well, be more specific please."

Me: "I love going into your classroom and seeing you hard at work. Or watching your swim practice or going swimming in the pool near Gracie and Moe's house in the mountains. And our holidays are great because we are together all the time."

Madeleine: "I liked getting the hamster. And when we went to Paris."

Me: "Yes, good times."

DC Inferno

Our au pair Aneta - wow, she rocks. I would have been equally surprised if she performed Beethoven. Or spoke Mandarin. Or, on the other hand, maybe not. Aneta is the blonde.

Stéphane Rolland

Sonnet to the museum early today for "Fashion In Motion," which show-cases the work of fashion designer Stéphane Rolland. Here is what Fashion Insider says about Le Monsieur :

"Brought up in the South of France, Argentina, and the West Indies, Stéphane Rolland’s destiny lay in Paris, where he studied fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. At the age of 20, his talent was recognised by Balenciaga, who hired him to work on the menswear collections, and promoted him to Creative Director within a year.

At 24, Stéphane Rolland left Balenciaga to design his own prêt-à-porter collection. Success came immediately and in its first year of existence, Stéphane Rolland was stocked in 80 boutiques and department stores world-wide.

At the same time, fired by his passion for the cinema and the theatre, Stéphane Rolland simultaneously worked as a costume designer – in 2006 and 2007 he was nominated for the prestigious Molière awards – and became an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival.

Later, Stéphane Rolland desired a new challenge: Haute Couture. It was in the house of Jean-Louis Scherrer that he would find his place. Aged 30, Stéphane Rolland was the youngest French Couturier on avenue Montaigne, in Paris.

Today, Stéphane Rolland has set himself the new task of opening of his own Couture House, with which he hopes to contribute something entirely new to an industry that has never stopped evolving since its conception in the Renaissance.

The House of Stéphane Rolland will represent a modern and original interpretation of Couture – all the while remaining true the bohemian outlook and luxurious extravagance which define his nature."

Photo from the www.

Trumpet Ensemble

Sonnet and I race to the school for Madeleine's "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer." Bravo, I say! Afterwards I tell Madeleine that she "blasted her little heart out" which gets a smile and roll of the eyes.

Trafalgar Sq At Sunset

I meet some San Francisco colleagues at the Portrait Restaurant on the top of the National Portrait Gallery - it is a gem of a place that offers sweeping views from Nelson to Big Ben. An added bonus is the museum and I drop in for a two minute look at van Gogh's "sunflower." Magic, as is tonight's sunset which somehow appropriate for the yuful rioting that has moved from here to Parliament. The kids are marching, God bless. War, financial meltdown, fraud - yawn - it takes a rise in tuition fees that gets the students out. This no Berkeley or Columbia of the '60s demanding the end of Viet Nam or civil rights or Watergate. The wii generation tuned out on iPod and free downloads and Facebook. Never they mind world events. Not that my generation much better for that matter but at least we are the ones creating the technology. As to who will fix the mess caused by the Baby Boomers anybody's guess. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party? Once I had high hopes that it would be the black guy. I still have hope.

Madeleine: "I'm not being self-pitying but its always me that is blamed for everything."