Notes from the Weekend

ON SUNDAY WE went on a epic 50 km bicycle ride past Wimbledon and Clapham Common (where we stopped for a bit to lounge in the sun and nibble on the mini ice cream bars and pan au chocolat we picked up along the way) before heading into the city centre. The place we wanted to stop in at for dinner was closed by the time we arrived (it’s 4 p.m. on Sundays⏤noted for next time), so we ended up getting takeaway from our usual noodle bar in Embankment and eating it by the river. It was well after dark when we made it home but still mild. The days are already getting shorter, but these pink September sunsets are breathtaking and it’s okay when the nights are still warm. The day before, we received email from TMZ, of all people. Promise to tell you all about it, after we have a chance to reply to them first. Off topic, but did you read last week about the woman with a live worm in her brain? The 64-year-old English woman, who was living in Australia, was experiencing symptoms of forgetfulness and depression. Neurosurgeon Dr Hari Priya Bandi in Canberra found an 8cm-long (3 inches!) still-wriggling parasitic roundworm in her brain. Of course, the first I did was google all of the ways a person can contract roundworms and haven’t really been able to get the image of the thing out of my mind since. And just for your own peace of mind, I’ll tell you how the worm got there: Ophidascaris robertsi is a roundworm usually found in pythons. This case marks a world-first of this parasite being found in humans. Although the woman had no direct contact with any snakes, she often collected native grasses, including warrigal greens, from around the lake near her home to use in cooking. That area also happens to be inhabited by carpet pythons. The doctors and scientists involved in this case believe that a python may have shed the parasite via its faeces into the grass (yes, disturbing, I know!), and the patient was probably infected with the parasite from touching the native grass and transferring the eggs to food or kitchen utensils, or after eating the greens. So now you know! Oh, and after all that, I’ll close with something much more pleasant: our second instalment of curated links and topics was published at the new TIG Substack this weekend and it’s all about the universe and manifesting. You can read it here.

This week’s links include a neglected house in Malta brought back to life, and a recipe for Spicy Jalapeño Margaritas; merino cashmere jumpers and Baroque pearl drops for the weekend; and much, much more.

xo,

P.S. past weekend links