Another week in review

This week I took my first trip 'up North' to Cheshire for work to a town called Knutsford, known (amongst my coworkers) for it's Rolls-Royce dealer in the village (aka downtown) that's 1/10th size of Laguna Beach [the village, not the dealer]. There are about 5 good restaurants, and for the one night I was there I enjoyed the Knutsford wine bar, the highlight being the chocolate fondue for dessert. I stayed at an inn called the Longview, and each room was complete with floral duvets, out-of-date trinkets, and large, overdecorated beds. The bar was in the cellar and you had to duck to get into the bar lounge. It was COLD up there, but the skies were clear blue. I saw snow on cars coming in from out of town, the pace was so much more relaxed, and it was a different side of the UK that I hadn't seen before.

On Wednesday morning in London, I woke up to at least 1/2 inch of snow in my neighborhood! I did a double take as I walked through the kitchen to the bathroom and saw a layer of snow covering the plants outside. I admired the thin blanket of snow over Clapham Common as I walked to the tube. That night I hosted a dinner party/wine tasting at my house, and it was so much fun! A few of us had decided to have a mid-week dinner, and after some suggestions by me, it turned into an organised wine tasting as well! We started out with glasses of champagne and cheese/crackers, and then for the first course shared a bottle of Sancerre and pasta with scallops. The main course was steak and mushrooms/onions in port and green beans with pine nuts.

Before eating the main, we blind tasted four reds. The criteria was preferably New World, something that would go with steak, and to stay away from blends unless they are clearly labeled. We took some notes along the way, and tried to guess who had brought what. In the end, the winner was, much to my surprise, a Ravenswood Zinfandel (California) that one of my friends found at a shop here. I have had that wine so often in California and always consider it a solid dinner party standby. It was so interesting that we chose it over a Chilean Shiraz, a South African blend of Cinsault, Syrah and a touch of Viognier, and another South African Syrah. But after seven bottles of wine amongst 5 people, Thursday was rough start.

Thursday morning I walked to the Clapham South tube stop to find a few hundred people milling about at bus stops, walking around, etc. Uh oh. Turns out the Northbound Northern Line was closed between Morden and Kennington, meaning I wasn't getting to work this morning on the tube. Unfortunately, I had to get all the way up to North London for a day of conferences for work, and I was meant to be there at 8am to help set up! I started walking towards Clapham Junction to catch the overland to Waterloo and then cab/tube from there. A woman walking in front of me overheard one of my phone conversations et voila! offerred me a ride! After recounting this story later, people have agreed that this is unheard of in London. She was very nice, and had a teenage girl with her who I gather to be a relative doing a work-study program in town. Anyway, in the end I was able to get into town and then a short cab got me to the work location by 9:30am, only one hour late!

The day of meetings was as to be expected, and the evening event was a black tie 'Burns Night'. This is a Scottish celebration of the poet Robert Burns on 25 January, his birthday. There someone playing the bagpipes, a Scottish comedian, and even one of the senior executives of our firm who is Scottish who did the emcee rituals, including a traditional prayer/speech to the haggis. The event was fun, but I was so tired after my week of work/partying that I left at 10pm to head home and finish cleaning up from the night before.

Friday I never felt like I really woke up, and I enjoyed just watching TV and having a massive sleep in on Saturday. It's Saturday night now and I haven't even stepped foot outside for over 24 hours. I've cooked comfort food such a tuna noodle casserole and hot chocolate, cleaned the house, watched TV, talked on the phone with friends from the States, and made progress on travel arrangements. I'm looking forward to another long sleep and having brunch at a gastropub in Battersea with a friend on Sunday.