Richmond Sunset
And Friday again. Another week under the bridge. And why? Maybe as simple as the pooch - a scratch behind Rusty's ears and it all kinda makes sense.
London, England
And Friday again. Another week under the bridge. And why? Maybe as simple as the pooch - a scratch behind Rusty's ears and it all kinda makes sense.
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1976 - I think. Please note the plaid pants. This puts me about Madeleine's age.
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The world may have lost its greatest marathoner, who you have probably never heard of. Samuel Wanjiru died after a fall from the balcony of his home in Nyahururu, Kenya at 24. Wanjiru the first Kenyan to win a gold in the marathon, which he did in Beijing, in 2:06:32 despite 29C temperatures. Wanjiru also won London (2009, pictured), Chicago (twice) and Fukuoka, Japan. He was the youngest man, at 23, to win four of the world's major marathons and he did it in style : Wanjiru's London time of 2:05:10 suggested that he would one day own the great Haile Gebrselassie's World Record of 2:03:59. Haile 35 when he lined up in Berlin to set the standard, an age, Dear Reader, generally thought to be the peak for long-distance running. In the athletic community, the whisper that Wanjiru might have a legitimate shot at The Holy Grail : sub-2-hours. We shall miss him in London next summer.
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Sonnet's morning routine fascinates me - indeed, I live with a woman. She allows me to post this photo btw.
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So today, a vampire. The kids' school doing "story week" so Eitan's teacher has me in the classroom, little does he know. I'm stumped for an idea until last night then,voila, it strikes me : "Twilight" (even if the little monsters not supposed to see the movie since rated 18 - they have, and Madeleine gives me a "thumbs up"). So I open Party Palace costume store to buy a cape and faux fangs (chewing gum holds them in place) and loosely retell Bram Stoker's tale relocating the plot to the bayou. I use the first-person to suggest that I recount a true thing - kidnapping, bloodletting and etc, all on a business trip to Monsieur de la Bloodfern's Louisiana estate. Half way into the story I pull down the drapes, light a candle, pour red-dyed water into a glass (blood), put on a cape and switch to .. Count Dracula , complete with snarling and hissing. Kids enthralled. Eitan mortified. Eitan's teacher on the edge of his seat. It all works and, once again I think, "I am in the wrong profession."
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Madeleine and I share a goof before going to Stephen and Jennifer's party. Today is Jenn's 40th and their newborn, Sabrina, christianed.
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Eitan shows off our tomatoes which seem to be doing OK.
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Nobody loves Rusty like Madeleine loves Rusty. She made the pooch happen.
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Madeleine returns from Juniper Hall, which reminds me of Chantilly (or maybe The Shining), and jumps into my arms - so much to tell me ! She shares a room with four girls who keep her up all night "crying and stuff" - our Tom Boy has no problems missing home. The children explore their natural surroundings on guided tours, set worbel traps and examine plants. Madeleine tells me : Photo from a scanned post card.
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Morgan and I check out Glasvegas at the Forum in Kentish Town. Awesome photograph of Caroline McKay by Jon Behm. Glasvegas does Indie rock and has a weird, intense and violent energy - perhaps because they are from the East End of Glasgow? Or maybe guitarist Rab Allen enormous and dwarfs his instrument. His brother and lead-singer, James, wears a white sleeveless sequined outfit - and jams. Behind them, "GLASVEGAS" , spelled in large bulbs, flashes. Glasvegas got critical acclaim for their debut album Glasvegas , released in 2008, reaching No. 2 in the UK Album Charts. Their debut album also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2009. The NME declared, "If The Libertines defined the start of the decade and Arctic Monkeys its middle, then Glasvegas are almost certainly going to define its end and beyond."
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Sonnet at the V&A's costume storage facility at Blythe House in Olympia, London. Today and this week she is with fashion photographer David Hughes where they set up a make-shift studio to photograph ball gowns for Sonnet's upcoming book and exhibition, both out next year.
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My photo facing Ham House northward with the Thames on the opposite side.
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Since Sunday, the weather fine and Katy here, we motivate to Ham House on the Thames. The Shakespeares mood only worsened when they realise we will have a guided tour of the grounds , 1230PM, sharp. I tell each they must know one thing, and one thing good, which they will tell me afterwards (Madeleine: "Aw, Dad, this is torture.") while Eitan sulks. The old-age pensioner takes it in stride and gives us a lovely overview of the property from gardens to gates, kitchen to ice which, we learn, Queen Victoria had shipped from Norway until she decided America had better ice, then it came from there ("beggars belief" our guide says). Once concluded, Eitan and Madeleine snap-to with Best Behavior, under Sonnet's watchful eye, and all ends up fine.
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The school Fun Run yesterday and Sonnet organises the event - field marshals, aid stations, St John's ambulance and 200 or so runners. Me, I do the BBQ - picture coming. The five-mile course, which may be 5.5 miles as the crow flies, starts at Sheen Gate then through the park and concluding on the school grounds, pictured.
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After the ramble I pick up Katy in Oxford and back to London. Katy has been in the UK for four years and is an interdisciplinary scholar and a senior researcher for the UK Energy Research Centre at OxfordU. "Her role is to integrate social and technical dimensions of changing building practices for a lower carbon future" and (from Oxford) :
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Madeleine's orange spectacles chewed to bits by the dog so our gal gets a new pair and goes for blue, pictured. Her prescription not particularly strong but it makes a difference in the classroom and for reading.
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My first thought before the field, pictured, is Uncle Remus and the trickster rabbit who succeeds through his smarts rather than strength, sticking two fingers at authority and bending social mores as ever he did wish. No doubt Br'er Rabbit, who originated in Africa, represented Southern slaves who use their wits to overcome circumstances and to exact revenge on the slave-owners. He does so without violence. Though not always successful, Br'er Rabbit a folk hero - even I understood, back in the drive-in, thumb-in-mouth, before the main-feature "Robinson Crusoe," Br'er is a multi-dimensional character : while he may be a hero, his amoral nature and lack of any positive restraint can make him a villain as well. This why the rabbit one for the ages.
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Since Friday, Dave and I meet in Oxfordshire for a ramble through the Cotswalds.
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Britain's April the driest on record and our good fortune continues - I take advantage, sitting in a lounge chair in Green Park (cost: £1.50/ hour) reading the USA Today and drinking coffee. The lunch crowds arrive and soon there is barely a patch for a picnic or nap. Suits and skirts next to loafers, teenagers and late-risers. Double decker red buses and black taxis speed along Piccadilly while the Green Park tube station, the busiest on the network, undergoes an overhaul.
There are more than 2 trillion ways of feeding a lace through the six pairs of eyelets on my trainer. Go figure.
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Nathan comments that a dog's sense of smell 150x humans so I investigate : turns out, it is 1000x more sensitive than ours. In fact, a dog has more than 220 million olfactory receptors in its nose, while us humans have about 5 million. So sensitive is a pooch's snout that it can, when trained, detect an early stage tumor in the human body. For his part, Rusty has never missed a dropped kibble nor best mate's ass.
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The weather a surprise - it's sunny! - for the long-week end. We take advantage, preparing a picnic for Primrose Hill with Dana & Co. The dog none to happy about the ride, either, making his displeasure known in the boot. We forget his lead. Usual stuff.
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Madeleine, without any suggestion from me or anybody, thinks up "Dream Clean", a gardening service, pictured. She sets out to canvas the neighborhood so I join to make sure everything Ok; her pitch perfect : "Hello, I am Madeleine. Me and my friend, Billy, have started a new business, 'Dream Clean.' We rake all the leaves, pull weeds, sweep, clip and tidy up. It is six pounds." Within an hour she has 2 and half customers and I throw in our house so she adds up the maths: "that's £21, Dad!" Eitan sniffs an opportunity and asks to join the business but Madeleine demures - as she should. Her idea, her effort. Why share ?
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Kate and William take their vows - the first Royal Kiss, pictured (Eitan tells me they kiss twice). The Queen, being The Queen, confers the ancient title of Duke of Cambridge on her Grandson knowing full well that his future is her future and the future of the monarchy. In a flash they are relevant again : this is one heck of a Fairy Tell that us commoners, whoever we are and wherever we may be, can celebrate in full. Not so in '81 BTW in that pre-arranged and gloriously choreographed affair. The British do pomp and circumstance like nobody's business and today The Firm is "on".
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Tweed Valley, a long, deep valley in Scotland sometimes called "Devil's Beeftub" or even "Devil's Beef Valley."
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Sonnet, who no longer seems exasperated with me, sends this photo of Eitan and Madeleine and the three Zs from this morning in Oxford.
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If you do a google image search for "British youth" the results produce under-age drunks, tarts and louts. Fine impression of today's yuf but that is not this blog.
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