YESTERDAY WE went on a long bicycle ride in the countryside, up and down hilly roads past wild roses and babbling brooks all the way to the castle ruins. It's only our third or so time out on our new folding bikes, and I've discovered that I have an unrealistic, romanticised version of what it might be like to go riding in the countryside: I would wear pretty things and not get hot or tired and arrive at our destination looking perfect.
THIS WEEKEND we watched the 2005 film The Squid and the Whale. Directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson, it follows two brothers dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s. We both really liked it and ended discussing it for a quite awhile afterwards. We watched another Noah Baumbach film awhile ago, A Marriage Story, and I am beginning to realise that I really like his wistful, slow, snippet-in-the-life storytelling style.
RANDOMLY CAME across a Pinterest board last week entitled "Beautiful Women". The man whose board it was had been diligently collecting busty blondes and me. It was a mildly amusing, slightly strange discovery to say the least. It's the early May bank holiday weekend here, and while we're being more lounge-y than normal for a Monday, we're back at work for at least part of the day ...
YESTERDAY WE HAD drinks on the terrace of one of the local pubs for the first time in six months. It's been a bit chilly lately, but yesterday it was sunny with clear blue skies and it felt, to be honest, a bit strange to be doing something so normal, but also really nice ...
I SOMETIMES MISS the magnolia blossoms in London and think of them a lot. Things are slowly getting ready to open again here and perhaps, if all goes well, we'll be able to visit them again, along with the wisteria in Notting Hill. This week we're deep in things from the past, for the vintage Sony stereo that P won on an online auction through reckless bidding finally arrived today ...
P'S BIKE IS in a storage unit in Spain, and has been for the past two and half years, so during the lockdown that was 202o, I sold my Buckingham Black Pashley Princess Sovereign to a woman in London. We had been hoping to buy two folding bikes in their place, but did not anticipate all the folding bicycles in England to be completely sold out for an entire year...
TODAY RESTAURANTS and pubs will be opening for indoor seating for the first time since the last lockdown. Until now, it has been only outdoor seating, and the weather has definitely not been cooperating. Our favourite sandwich shop in town, where we would order for pickup, has become a casualty of the pandemic and in its place, a new chocolate shop will open...
THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS are out, creating fluffy pink poufs in the skyline, against old stone cottages and cloudy spring skies and making everything bright and hopeful. Tiny fallen pink petals line the walkways and flutter lightly on breezes and while it's become a little chilly again, very warm weather is expected for May, so perhaps spring may be taking its time but is definitely on the way.
THE COLD HAS suddenly returned and it's not easy going back to brisk temperatures after having so many bright and warm spring days. The daffodils are fading and it's still technically the long weekend, but we've decided to spend some time back at work after a rather eventful few day of too much of everything.
P JUST TOLD ME about a new app that has been touted as the new anti-Instagram app. The fact that there is now interest in Instagram alternatives could be a sign that it is losing its popularity. Either that, or with everyone turning away from WhatsApp in favour of more secure options, perhaps Facebook's reign our privacy and data is finally coming to an end.
AFTER WHAT meteorologists have been calling the wettest May in 160 years, the rain finally stopped, perfectly in time for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. We spent as much time outside as we possible could, both of us getting blinded by the sun, which we hadn't seen in months, both of getting a little sunburned, so unaccustomed was our skin, despite being coated in SPF30 ...
WE SPENT THE past few days back in London, visiting old haunts and discovering new places, eating so much good food and walking and bicycling to new neighbourhoods all covered in wisteria and cherry blossoms; entering gilded and ornate wrought iron gates to parks filled with swans and happy ducks, sipping drinks on terraces and having dim sum for Saturday brunch ...
ON MONDAY WE went into the city for the first time in a long time, stopped for oat milk flat whites at our favourite coffee shop (so nice!), browsed flower stands and shopped for champagne truffles. We had take-away sushi for lunch and ended up on a sun-drenched terrace overlooking the river where we sipped drinks in the spring air ...
P AND I WERE talking this week about how I may be absorbing the weight of the unrelenting news cycles, the political turmoil, all the constant bad news. I am naturally empathic and find it difficult sometimes not to internalise all of the problems going on in the world.
THERE SEEMS TO be a strange matchstick shortage in England, almost as if everyone here has succumbed to a winter of lockdown by lighting fires all day long in our stone cottages, keeping cosy and making the best of it. That is definitely what we are doing, and I couldn't find any boxes of matches anywhere and had to order mine from Lithuania ...
