Friends and Family Events – Page 26

A String Of Late May Evenings, 22, 27 & 29 May 2008

A few late May evenings with little to report.

Thursday 22 May 2008: Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner

This was at “Rogues” in Maida Vale, as was the norm in those days. John Random did the shout out and only provided limited feedback afterwards:

A big thank you to all of you who turfed yourselves out for the Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner despite the cyclone, earthquake, Crewe and Nantwich Bye-Election and anything else that might have put off lesser mortals. To those of you who didn’t make it, you were much missed. Till the next time…

It will have been fun.

Tuesday 27 May 2008: Net At Lord’s

The e-mail trail tells me that this was Chas, Adam, Mat and me. Here’s my shout out/reminder:

Just a note to remind you all that we are netting this evening.
See you at HQ Indoor School in whites just before 18:00.
Adam – FYI – I’ve bought and am bringing my helmet after our last net together! Although, having seen Mr Flynn on Friday, I’m not sure I’ll be trying to hook the head-high stuff anyway!!
Best
Ian
The “Flynn” reference is to a Kiwi player named Daniel Flynn who was not spared the need for dental work by his helmet – see video below:

I think that net was my first go with a helmet. I had decided to wear one from that 2008 season on, after a couple of near misses the previous season – at least one of which was at the hands of Adam, albeit in outdoor nets. Chas commented afterwards:

Great being at Lords last night, but am I the only one suffering from multitude of aches and pains from the cricket net?…
…The helmet was ‘interesting’ although I did notice others wearing them as well.

Thursday 29 May: Bridge At Andrea’s Place

The four was again Andrea, Barmy Kev, Maz and me. Pre bridge e-mail chat between me and Barmy Kev revolved around Kev being available early and wanting to meet for a pre match drink, whereas I was a mixture of unwilling and unable to do that. My final word on what seemed to have been quite a stressy day:

I need to clear some work before coming out this evening so won’t be around until 20:00 as expected.

Also expect to drive, as could do with a detox and will be pushed for time.

Afterwards, my e-mail to Andrea:

Just a note to thank you very much for your hospitality on Thursday. Super meal and good bridge too. Is Kev still there? Looking forward to seeing you at the next one.

Andrea’s e-mail back to me:

V funny! Kev obviously likes it here as he turned up early and stayed about 20 mins after you lot left. See you at the next one – and don’t forget to get your visa.

The reference to a visa must mean that Maz had just moved South of the river and that we were going to play at her new place next.

Despite the fact that Andrea and I are both “propa sarf” people…”deep sarf” in Andrea’s case (Sutton), by 2008, after so many years north of the river, we needed metaphorical visas when venturing sarf.

Provence & St Tropez, 22 To 29 April 2008, placeholder and links

This was a bit of an unusual week away for us. Kim had been persistently asking us to join her and friends in St Tropez for her birthday for a few years. We’d insisted that we didn’t think that St Tropez would be “our thing”. She wondered how we could judge such a thing without giving it a try.

So, our cunning plan to please everyone including ourselves was to arrange a fly-drive week in the South of France, initially doing our own thing for a few days…

and then joining up with Kim, Micky and others in “San-trop”.

Auntie Janet at Ultimate Travel helped us to construct our itinerary but I cannot find any papers from her, only this quote from her e-mail/invoice:

French Expressions holidays including flights;

Automatic car hire throughout and three nights accommodation

in a Junior Suite at L’Auberge du Chateau de Berne on a bed

and breakfast basis

So, in brief, we flew to Nice and picked up a car for our week in France. We stayed three nights at the delightful Chateau de Berne Hotel and Spa.

We did a bit of touring…

…together with a lot of resting, wining and dining; three nights there. Lovely sun deck for reading; great to try their wines and we even played some ping pong (Daisy’s favourite, because she normally wins).

Then on to St Tropez for four nights at the Tahiti Beach Hotel…

…where Kim and Micky regularly stay. We arrived the day before the others, so played tennis and then ate at a Vietnamese restaurant named Bahn Hoi, recommended by Anthea. Very nice but also very pricey. That’s St Tropez for you.

Next day we have an early morning snoop around the market…

…then finally meet up with Kim and Micky for lunch at Tahiti that day.

We worked off the lunch on the tennis court. Dinner that evening is at Villa Romana, with Robert, Fiza and their son/girlfriend too. A very fashionable place but it is heaving and displeases me; food ordinary apart from the price:

Next day, we played tennis in the morning. Indeed, we played tennis at Tahiti on the tennis court there a few times. Not the best surface we have ever played on, but far from the worst. As our short stay went on, we found it harder and harder to play tennis for an hour; a cautionary tale for all of us.

Same gang as last night for lunch at Tahiti; then after siesta an evening at a St Tropez nightclub, Stefano Forever.

I was dreading this one but actually it was more fun. As it was pre-season, the show was a tryout and we were the only guests, so we got to have a lot of fun as audience participation could only be us…

…and we were the only possible invitees to the after show party…

…Janie even tried her hand at pole dancing…of sorts…

…she got a wee bit better at it remarkably quickly when she actually took up pole dancing some 10 years later:

…but I digress.

The final day was Kim’s actual birthday. Despite the excesses of the night before, lunch between the four of us (the Robert Anthony family, perhaps knowing the score, made themselves scarce that lunchtime) was a boozy and celebratory affair:

Indeed, after siesta Janie swore that she couldn’t make it to the arranged dinner for six of us (son and girlfriend were gone by now) at L’Auberge de Maures, but then changed her mind. In this photo, I look almost as rough as I felt.

In truth, our view that this sort of eating and drinking extravaganza is not really our thing was reinforced by this trip, but we made Kim happy for her birthday that year and at least we can now say we’ve tried it.

Lots more photos, including those above, in this Flickr album, but surely more for the cognoscenti (i.e. those who were there) than for general consumption. I probably can construct a few good tales from the trusty journal once I get around to it; for now here is the indecipherable scribblings: Provence and St Tropez April 2008 Journal Notes.

Dinner At John and Mandy’s House In Saffron Walden, 5 April 2008

All the diary says is…

6:00 John and Mandy

…with their Saffron Walden telephone number. Nothing on the e-mail about it.

So I think this must have been the occasion we went to their house in Saffron Walden for dinner, probably the first time, without arranging to stay anywhere.

I think Janie volunteered to drive home but afterwards said that she was through with night driving on unfamiliar country roads – don’t blame her – so we have always made an overnighter of it since.

On arrival, I seem to recall that we got a guided tour of the estate, several elements of which I seem to recall were still up for debate at that time – e.g. where would John locate his drum kit and where would Mandy locate her professional practice room.

This was a very enjoyable family meal with the girls there as well (perhaps Lydia only joined us later in the evening, or perhaps I am now confusing two such evenings). For sure John cooked a blinder (he always does), I suspect it was loosely based on Indian cuisine but not too hot and spicy as he knows that Janie only enjoys spices if the food is not too hot.

John might remember the exact details of the meal; if so, with a bit of luck, he might be persuaded to chime in with a comment to flesh out the delicious details.

Still Quasi After All These Years, Bridge At Mine With Andrea, Maz And Barmy Kev, 3 April 2008

Our regular bridge four had rather fallen into decline at this time. Gavin decided he was too busy running Charing Cross Hospital or something…

…and we struggled to find a fourth.

Then, in early February, I wrote to Andrea:

It was good to speak the other evening, Andrea. We discussed a possible bridge. I have a fourth person “quasi-lined-up”, although without dates of course. I propose mine as the venue on that basis.

Andrea replied:

Good to speak to you too, Ian & thanks for finding a 4th – gather his name is Quasi!

Little did she know then that I had lined up Barmy Kev, whom I knew from Middlesex cricket and his occasional appearance on the field of play in Z/Yen colours:

Ged Tries To Keep His Head While Kev Fly Slips, MTWD “Lost Masterpiece” Three Part Match Report on Z/Yen v The Children’s Society, Holland Park, 26 June 2007

Strangely, though, Barmy Kev really can play bridge. No, I don’t mean, “is someone who has more or less picked up the rules of the game of bridge and is therefore marginally more effective at the game than plankton”…

…I mean “Barmy Kev can REALLY play bridge”, in that it was almost embarrassing to have someone who can play at his level grace the kitchen table of people who play at our level.

Still, Kev likes good food, good wine and good company and my regular group could do all that as well as the best of ’em, so this arrangement proved to be more than a one off. I’m not sure that it was a “more than the fingers of one hand” off, but it was not a one off.

Maz, who I guess is now really quite good herself as she was keen to progress beyond our kitchen table stuff, chimed in afterwards to say:

…thanks so much for great evening last night – food and bridge was great. Good that Kev is so good.

I get the impression that I didn’t play so well. Message from Kev:

I would like to thank you for your hospitality last night. The food , drink, company was excellent. The Bridge-well you can’t have everything. Anyway, all good fun and would definitely be up for next one.

My reply to Kev:

It was good to see you. I didn’t think your bridge was that special last night – rust and vino veritas don’t mix it seems! My bridge I thought was exemplary.

Andrea’s thank you note, read so many years later (January 2019) made me chortle:

Just wanted to thank you for a really lovely time the other night. Great to see you, fab food, wonderful company and bridge wasn’t bad, either. Just one Q – when looking for a new bridge partner, was your criteria to find someone who is the complete opposite to Gavin in every conceivable way??

Note to Kev: Andrea unquestionably meant that kindly. It’s just that you REALLY aren’t like Gavin, in any conceivable way.

On the field of play, Gavin would have worn whites, not pinks, for a start

Iberico Ham Party, Easter, 23 March 2008

We returned from our trip to Barcelona, Northern Spain and Rioja a few days before Easter, having pre-arranged a small gathering for Easter Sunday. It seemed only polite to bring some amazing Iberico ham back with us, together with our new-found Rioja expertise.

Add to that some of those Lindt Easter Bunnies, without which it simply wouldn’t be Easter…and good friends of course…the result was a good fun gathering.

Not all that many pictures, but the pictures are on Flickr here. I think I took most of these – looks as though it was my camera this time anyhow.

Barcelona, Northern Spain and Rioja, 10 to 19 March 2008, placeholder and links

This short break visiting several places in Spain emerged from a very simple idea; that it would nice to visit nephew Paul while he was temporarily living and working in Barcelona; a good excuse also to “take that town”.

Then we thought about our desire to see Santiago de Compostela after hearing the wonderful music in this concert…

…and our desire to see the Guggenheim in Bilbao…and we’d heard that Santander is nice…and also those wonderful reports we’d read about Rioja and the new boutique hotel and the Marquis de Riscal winery…

…the result was an out of character 10 day whistle-stop break. We wouldn’t do it at that pace any more, but we had a great time and there will be plenty of good individual pieces to dredge out from my trusty journal notes and brain, when I get around to it. Download/try to read my scrawl if you dare.

Barcelona, Northern Spain, Rioja March 2008 Journal Notes

Or if you are an itinerary-ista instead, here’s the itinerary, produced with care by Ultimate Travel/Kirker’s “Auntie Janet”: March 2008 Barcelona, Northern Spain and Rioja.

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On 15 March, we went to the Guggenheim in Bilbao before setting off for Santander. We saw an excellent surrealism exhibition and more besides (programme retained). We took some good pictures of outdoor exhibits too.

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Indeed we took a lot of photos for a 10 day break in Europe, divided into three mini Flickr albums

At Riscal in Rioja, we found this wonderful deli in the village…

…where we bought Iberico ham for our Easter gathering soon after our return. Not the most kosher idea we’ve ever had, but there you go.

CFDG And Ivan Shakespeare Evenings, 27 & 28 February 2008

On the Wednesday evening I went to the Charity Finance Directors Group (CFDG) 20th anniversary reception at St Paul’s Cathedral. Quite grand it was, but I cannot find the details of the event other than those stated. I think Phil Hope MP might have said some well-chosen words at that event and no doubt wine flowed and nibbles went down.

The next day was an Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner. John Random organised thus:

I have consulted the entrails of a sheep and the signs tell me that February 28th is a good time for the next meal at the Cafe Rouge. Can I have a show of electronic hands please? Who can make it? Who can’t?

I replied thusly:

I similarly consulted sheep’s entrails, and all that told me was that I needed to wash my hands pdq. But the entrails also said “see you 28 February”, which I find a little worrying. I think I might stick to fish or vedge that night just in case.

Unfortunately, John’s roundup from that particular gathering was quite generic:

Just a quick thank you to all those who came out on Thursday night to the Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner. Those of you who weren’t there were much missed. I’ll send out the quizzes if you want me to, though.

Another one where the details are lost in the mists of time.

I said the mists of time, not the mists of Tokyo. Gratuitous eye candy, this is.

Contrasting Care And Attention To Lower Limbs: An Afternoon & Evening With Mum At Woodfield Avenue And Newton’s, 1 February 2008

Janie is a very good-hearted sort, as evidenced by her diary entries for this afternoon – listing a whole load of stuff to take over to my mum’s house that afternoon for our “half-holiday” and evening with mum. A busman’s half-holiday in Janie’s case, with chiropody equipment and massage oils listed.

In short, Janie will have given a great deal of care and attention to mum’s feet and shanks when we visited her at Woodfield Avenue that afternoon, ahead of dinner at Newton’s in Clapham.

Newton’s had been recommended by John and Lily Hogan, who were keen on that place. To be fair, it had good reviews back then and writing more than 10 years later (January 2019), although renamed 33 Abbeville now, still seems to be well regarded by the locals.

We were also attracted to the place by the offering of slow-cooked lamb shanks; a dish we all like(d) and don’t often see on modern restaurant menus.

Unfortunately, the care and attention that Janie gave to my mother’s feet and shanks did not appear to be replicated in those served to us at Newton’s. Our guess is that the shanks we were served had not been cooked for anything like long enough, making the central purpose of our visit more than a little disappointing.

At that stage of her life, mum found it difficult to keep her disappointment to herself…

…and at that stage of long, hard-working weeks, Janie and I were not in the very best of moods for awkwardness either, so I don’t think the visit ended quite as well as it should have done.

We did not return to Newton’s to ascertain whether our poor meal there was a one-off problem – quite possibly it was but we were none of us “second chance” types for restaurants – especially mum.

This picture actually four year’s later at Noddyland, taken by Kim or Janie

Cambridge Weekend with Charlie, 26 to 28 January 2008

We wanted to visit Charlie in Cambridge before she finished her law degree at Girton. January of her final year was leaving it almost as late as would be feasible. We had a pretty full itinerary of short trips March/April and Charlie had finals to start thinking about.

We booked the Felix for the last weekend of January, went and had a good time.

We had a wander around Cambridge on the Saturday and saw some interesting things, the most memorable of which was the Pepys Library. We went with Charlie and some of her friends to a comedy show after dinner on Saturday. Sub-Footlights, had its moments. But for some reason no photos from those bits. Oh well.

The photo album on Flickr is entirely pictures of drinks and dinners; on Saturday night in Cambridge itself, then at the Felix on the Sunday evening – click here or below.

A Quiet Start To The Year, 1 to 14 January 2008

We had a relatively quiet start to 2008, with everything that went on towards the end of 2007, we’d booked little at the start of 2008.

5 January

A gathering at Kitt & Julia’s place in Sandall Close. A good chance to socialise a little with neighbours etc.

9 January

I went to Aidrienne Da Donka’s funeral that day. The Da Donka’s lived next door in Woodfield Avenue. If I recall correctly mum couldn’t face it, being so close to dad’s passing and at the same location, so I moved my (copious) work around and represented the family at that funeral. This was the first of what seemed (to me) an unlikely number of such funerals within 12-18 months or so of dad’s passing.

12 January

Dinner at Amaya with Kim & Micky. Top notch Indian grub. Looks as though we stayed at my flat afterwards. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t much remember this evening…

…but strangely Daisy remembers lots about it. She even remembers eating “zip-up lamb”. Crumbs – that’s some memory in January 2019 from someone who claims to have almost no memory.

We do both remember the evening being a success though as everyone enjoyed their grub as well as the company.

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