HAVE WORKED THROUGH two of the five Jean-Luc Godard films that are thought to be his best, prompted by the French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic's recent death last month. It's been an eventful few weeks since the last update, with autumn walks in the changing colours, saying hello to random cats in neighbours' gardens ...
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JUST A FEW photos of the past days and weeks leading up to summer's end and the official arrival of fall. There are deep orange roses that faded to pink and photos on old digital cameras; there are dusky autumn skies and late-night tapas after getting caught in the wild Scottish rain and Eggs Benedict the morning after ...
I am not a huge fan of aphorisms, but every once in a while I come across something that makes PERFECT SENSE and lately, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these words: Your energy is your currency. Spend it wisely. Invest it well. For the past week, I have been thinking a lot about where my energy is going and how I can spend it better and came to the realisation that still too much of my time and energy is spent on social media.
JUST A FEW SNAPSHOTS of the things we've been up to this past July, including a quick trip to Edinburgh that ended up taking longer due to the heatwave, so iced coffees on the morning of the day that we were supposed to return home; pink English roses in the bright June sun and Sweet Potato, Ginger & Garlic Tofu Stew (with Lime and Spinach) ...
IT'S STRAWBERRY SEASON and Wimbledon, which can only mean one thing: strawberries and cream. Have you been watching the tennis? Also, Summer Solstice was just a couple of weeks ago and we said a bittersweet good-bye to the longest day of the year. Here is a little of our lately: homemade gazpacho and June rose; pints on a sunny pub terrace and wildflower meadows; friendly llamas and gin and tonics and so much more...
NOW THAT WE'RE updating the TIG Instagram a lot less, we thought we'd begin posting our favourite snapshots here, like we used to. Just because we're not using our social media platforms as much as before does not mean we've stopped making beautiful memories or taking beautiful photos, and since this is, in essence, the scrapbook of lives, why not here?
P recently dusted off an old Fuji camera he bought when it first came out a few years ago. He still has two good lenses for it, so he thought it might work fine with a just few firmware updates. We had a late lunch planned for last Friday at a place by the seaside that had only just opened last spring, so it was a good chance to try the camera then. He took pictures of the sea, the dune grasses, and me.
THE TROUBLE with having so much storage on my phone is that it has inadvertently become a digital hoard of images that have been all but forgotten, the favourites already printed and framed, or made into polaroids. The rest are meant to be sorted at some point, but there are so many of them that it's become a tedious task to be avoided ...
P HAS BEEN teasing me about writing my New Year’s Resolutions in mid-February, but that was before I’d told him about all the messages I’d received from you asking after them. It’s so nice how much you love these yearly lists, and to be honest, wasn’t sure I was even going to do it this year, as so far, this new year has been particularly difficult to define...
THIS PAST WEEK, we were back in London, thinking it might be the last time in a long time again that we would be able to be out and about before another national lockdown. We were also there to celebrate the holidays and two anniversaries. When we were last here, it was May, and things were only tentatively opening up again. All the pubs and restaurants were outdoor seating only, which mean it was difficult to find a table without booking the good places in advance through an app. The weather was unseasonably rainy and cold and we wondered if it had been a good decision to come ...
WE HAVE BEEN BACK to Edinburgh many times since we moved away in 2015, but it was not until this past visit in June did we notice how much things had changed in the city since we left, but more so, how much had changed just in the past year of lockdown. One of P's favourite pubs, Smithie's, where he would often go after playing football (soccer) on Thursday nights, closed forever, set to be turned into a block of flats ...
AT THE BEGINNING of the summer, P & I bought folding bikes and on every sunny day over the past few weeks, we went on as many bicycle rides along the English countryside as we could, often ending up in charming, cosy pubs, places with names like The Wallace Arms and Rose & Crown; The Black Bull and Robin Hood. On one trip, our longest, we went from the city all the way to the seaside ...
I READ SOMETHING recently that stated that the sales of colour cosmetics dropped 33% in 2020, and that sales of cosmetics overall dropped by 15%. While I did buy a few new eyeshadow palettes during that time despite not having anywhere to go (perhaps it was for the odd Instagram selfie), I did actually reduce spending on these items ...
I am not a huge fan of aphorisms, but every once in a while I come across something that makes PERFECT SENSE and lately, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these words: Your energy is your currency. Spend it wisely. Invest it well ...
IN THE SECOND week of May, just after the Bank Holiday, we decided to spend some time back in London. We normally visit several times a year, but since 2020 was the year of the Great Lockdown, the last time we had been was the May previously to meet up with a friend from Spain—it was hot then and perfect for traipsing about. P had heard that there would be a heat wave this time around
