A taste of home

On Thursday Lisa's friend's mum had invited me to dinner, which I very gladly accepted.  She lives in this incredibly plush tower block in the CBD, and her apartment was incredible.  It was on the 16th floor and had a balcony that overlooked the city, you could see the sea and as far out as the Indonesian islands.

Lisa had said that this lady was an excellent cook, and boy she wasn't wrong!! After settling down on the sofa with a glass of wine (how lovely to sit on a sofa, the first time in two weeks!) and having a bit of a natter (her hubby, daughter and daughter's boyfriend were all very welcoming and chatty) we sat down to eat Paella - literally this was better presented than some of the restaurants I have eaten in, and tasted just as good.   Pudding was home made chocolate mousse with little festive star biscuits - so much effort had gone into making the dinner, it puts my dinner parties to shame.  We even had little bowls with slices of lemon in to wash our fingers after decapitating the prawns (to be fair, it isn't hard to put my dinner parties to shame, I once served rich tea biscuits covered in icing and sprinkles as pudding).

It was a really lovely evening and I felt very at home, we both had mutual acquaintances back home so had common ground, and there was a lot of banter round the table.  Weirdly it made me miss Mum a bit, when H was calling to her mum, I realised I missed mine!! (love you mum!!) Not that I didn't know I missed her, I guess it just emphasised the fact that mine isn't here.

We chatted until about 10.30, then I shared a cab back with H and her boyfriend as it turns out they're staying literally opposite my hotel.

I felt buoyed from the evening and it put me in a good mood for today.

Work is very busy - the work isn't particularly hard, but there's just a lot of little jobs that all need to be done at once so I constantly feel like I am chasing my tail.  It's a bit irritating and I am panicking I am not going to get everything done in time, but there's no use worrying about it, just got to get on and do it!!  I left a bit early today so I could share a cab back with one of my colleagues, and then carried on working once I got to the hotel to make up for it.

Earlier on in the day I decided I wanted to do something in the evening, and so booked tickets to go see Thor at the cinema.  Going to the cinema on my own is something I have always wanted to do, but never been brave enough to do in London (stupidly because I was worried about what people would think about someone in the cinema on their own, when really you shouldn't give a rats arse about it).  This cinema was perfect for the lone viewer, it even had two individual seats at the back all on their own, perfect!!!

The movie was really good - it was funny, though the bit I found most amusing was the appreciative audience - they LOVED it, they literally laughed at every joke and even clapped at some - you don't get that much in UK cinemas, we're all too stiff upper lip!  One thing did annoy me though: I know it's not meant to be real, but there's a scene where Thor ends up at Charing Cross and asks a lady on the tube how to get to Greenwich, she replies 'this train, three stops'.  In what world can you get to Greenwich in three stops from Charing X!!!!! Though to be fair, it sounds better than "Get this train to Embankment, then get the District or Circle line to Tower Gateway, then get the DLR to Cutty Sark".

At the end of the movie I thought I'd try and sneak out as I was sat at the back, but the lady pointed towards an exit at the front.  I had already committed by this point even though the rest of the audience were still watching the credits (the lights were also on by this point) so I headed down the stairs and walked in front of the screen, but then realised the exit she had been pointing at was a fire exit and I wasn't sure if I was allowed to go through, so I awkwardly just stood there pretending to be really intrigued by the credits until someone else left a few minutes later and I followed them through the door.  I felt a bit silly!

for dinner i went to Nando's, in this one they sat you down and served you which was nice.  I was massively underwhelmed though (as I usually am when I go there).  I think you only get good value for money when you get the big platters, but when you get the burgers or pittas it's just a rip off. I had the pita with no sides as I wasn't that hungry, but it was literally half a pitta with a few sorry bits of chicken in - not even any garnish to spruce it up a bit. Nando's fail! and you pay £6 for the privilege.

Here's some pics from today

In the cinema toilets

Plaza Sinagpura looking very festive

Inside - it looks incredible






Comments

  1. Are you sure they were getting on the underground? Perhaps they were catching the overground to Greenwich... Although that also probably takes more than 3 stops... Lisi xxxx

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  2. Love you daughter, glad you're having such a good time xx

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  3. Haha lisi you make me laugh, was definitely a tube train :)
    Love you too mummy xxxx

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