Friday 23 January 2015

KISSING STRANGERS ON THE 14 BUS! AND FROSTY TIGER HAD LAID HIS WHITE STRIPES ALLOVER THE LAWN.

WHATEVER NEXT, I ASK YOU?

Back to the beginning of today, as the beginning is always the best place to start. Because if you start in the middle then you have to back-track and before you know, you'll get into a cat's cradle of a muddle.

So whoosh, back we go. We broke our fast and posted a post. The telephone rang and it was the Audio Dept. of her hospital saying there had been a cancellation and would she go in tomorrow at 12.15! How about that? How nice of them, she didn't realise they worked on Saturdays.

Thick jacket on, hat on, gloves in pocket, keys in pocket, bus pass in pocket, out of the door, Wicker Wheelie lifted up the stairs, oh look.. there's Jim, one of our two postmen. Such nice men they are, working in all weathers to get the post to us on time. They chatted and they spoke about how cold it had been last night.

Apparently it had been the coldest night, in London, of the year. It was indeed very chilly-billy and Mr. Jack Frost and old Frosty Tiger had lain their white stripes on the lawn which were slow to melt as the trees were shading the sun from hitting the ground.

Off to catch the 319 to Streatham Hill on King's Road. It was very busy, there sat beside her a charming woman and they talked, as strangers can, with pleasure about all sorts of things and laughed at a naughty little boy who wanted to eat his lunch and his mama's and his sister's!

Off at St.Leonard's Church and into Bartek.. oh.. please let them have had a delivery.. pretty please. She snuck up to the delicatessen counter and.. oh.. YIPPEE.. there were the three big tubs!

Summer Salad, Summer Salad with fresh Dill and Red Cabbage Summer Salad.. oh, happy days are here again.. yubba-dubba-doo.. the counter staff all smile when they see her lick her lips and grin like a wolf.. so would you if you knew what I am talking about!

Just take our word and that of Debbie Goat, she says she stands and spoons it down straight out of the tub.. yes.. it IS that good! Lots of tubs loaded up, eggs, a loaf of Lithuanian Rye Sourdough bread and two Hamburg Parsley roots, a quick chat with the lovely Kasha and off she went to catch a bus all the way to Oxford Circus.

We are SO lucky with our transport system in this city, you can go everywhere but it does help if you know the routes! Which she does. Lots of time to read her book. 'The Trial of Henry Kissinger' by Christopher Hitchens. Bill loathed Kissinger and would not, by choice, be in the same room.       .

Off the bus in Regent Street, wiggle wiggle, oh look, ahead of her in Warwick Street was the lovely building that used to be the head office of Dormeuil Fabrics. The very lovely big boss Xavier Dormeuil (dream on lass, he was such a divine man), Peter Watson and his glorious wife Rhoddie. She knew that team that ran the company very well.. and talking about Supermodels, which we weren't but we are now.. do you remember the very FIRST one?

Countess Vera von Lehndorff.. is her name but I am certain, if you are of a certain age, that you will recognise her by her 'other' name.. Veruschka. Tall with an amazing beauty she was Dormeuil's model in the '60s and '70s and is / was magnificent.

Leaving Warwick Street and turning right, she came to an abrupt stop. There on the left was Kingly Street. Oh, talk about memory lane.. this is where the Valbonne Club was.. is? Perhaps it is still there.

In London in the '60 and '70s there were great clubs. AdLib off Leicester Square, Tramp in Jermyn Street, Annabelle's on Berkeley Square.. NO jeans allowed.. Ronnie Scotts, The Marquee and The Valbonne. There were other clubs, of course, but these were where she 'hung' out and either danced herself silly or listened to great live music.

No time and it was too cold to stand dreaming of thigh boots and hot pants on cold street corners.. get on with it woman.

That lovely Lawrence, he had indeed done his work over night and the package was waiting for her, it was carefully packed into WW with her shopping as ballast and off she went to catch a bus to Chester Street.

Behind her in the bus queue was a pretty woman in a glorious couture coat, fabulous fabric with a great cut, her raised hand stopped a number 14 on Shaftesbury Avenue. They got on and sat together. Wicker Wheelie by now was bulging.. THANK YOU DAVID.. and the woman said "lots of food for the week end?"

She smiled and did a quick run through what was in the trolley, the pretty woman, whose nationality was not obvious, asked her what was her favourite food.

"Fish and vegetables" was her very speedy response. The woman nodded and agreed. They spoke about all the different varities of delicious food available in London and the woman then said the magic words.. "I come from South Korea".

"South Korea" she cried.. "your country has fabulous food and that magic Kimchi! It is very high on the list of the best countries for healthy eating and I am looking for a proper Korean restaurant, do you know if there is a good place that does not cost two fortunes?

The woman smiled and said "oh yes, certainly there is, it is called Kimchi Restaurant and it is near to Holborn Station, very reasonably priced' and then she reached into her small shopping bag and took out a packet of Roasted Seaweed Sushi Nori, gave it to her and told her how to eat it.

She was so stunned by this delightfully spontaneous gesture that she lent sideways and kissed the woman on her cheek. The woman smiled a huge smiley smile and said "my name is Hyeree, I live in South Kensington, would you like to come with me to eat Kimchi?"

Oh, quickly quickly for her stop was fast approaching, they both scrabbled for their mobiles and exchanged telephones numbers and then the bus stopped beside the Lanesborough Hotel and it was her stop, she had to lift Whicker Wheelie, whom Hyeree had greatly admired, off the bus.

How about that, she thought to herself as she trundled off to Chester Street. It was only within the last week that we had watched that documentary about the healthiest diets in the world, Iceland has the healthiest, and she had thought to herself about how she was going to find a South Korean restaurant that did not cost three arms and two legs and on a bus, the answer was given to her and she has made a charming new friend.

She turned right into Chester Street, climbed the immaculate stone steps and rang the door bell. The lovely woman, to whom the package belonged, smiled as she opened her front door and said "ah dearest, you always pull the rabbit out of your hat, thank you, come in and have coffee and tell me your news".

Home via Belgrave Square, what a day.. what an amazing day. She came in and we went straight into YumYum HQ to cook delicious fish and to slurp two dollops of red, green and yellow vegetables.

And bake savoury biscuits for Debbie Goatie mum, how delightfully cosy a room gets when you are baking. She rolled and cut out lots and lots of star shaped little biscuits and in and out of the oven they went. They cooled on racks and were then packed into an airtight box.. to become 'cheesier'.

Now it time for us to go to bed, for she has that hospital appointment and we are both sleepy.. this has been a very long post but it was a very busy day.

GeeGee Parrot.
January 23rd, 2015.

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