The sickness that held me in a mountain fastness these past two weeks lowered its drawbridge this past weekend and I descended into a sunlit pass and heard the faint sounds of village life draw near.
I have moved fully into my new abode in Iffley, Oxford. This is slightly further away from my spiritual home Cowley Road,Oxford, but it is a nice, neat home. A microwave, dishwasher and gas heating are the new comforts I now enjoy. On the downside, the opportunity for slovenly behaviour has certainly diminished as my live in landlady sets a high standard.
Friday night I decided to pour honey on my bread, not realising that heat had reduced its viscosity to that of water. It poured everywhere! I tried mopping up the mess but stickiness pervaded the floor, the counter and my shoes. Argghh!
On Saturday I took the familiar M40, M25 route to gf's house bringing my futon. The weather was a wretched cousin of winter, bringing rain and cold to Tottenham. We eventually went to our favourite Indian restaurant on Brick Lane and awaited my gf's sister, wg. She arrived late so we missed the Strange Fruit gig we were planning to attend ('Life without buildings' and 'The Rock of Travolta' were playing).
Instead we went to the Lux bar in Hoxton. There wg got a glass of absinthe. The preparation of this drink held us in thrall. A sugar cube was dipped in the alcohol and then set alight and the immersed again.
The next day my gf and I visited several galleries. We saw the new Juan Munoz installation at the Tate Modern. It is an impressive creation comprising an underground carpark-like scenario. In the ceiling there are various opened squares housing sculptured little grey men, some carrying golden bags. Spookily, two empty lifts continously ascended and descended. We also viwed the new Jake and Deimos work at the Redchurch gallery. It was a disconterting series of morphed kittens. The product design exhibition at the Old Truman Brewery held our attentions for some time. Finally, we visited the White Cube II gallery in Hoxton where Gilbert and George were showing racy personnal ads as art.
On Sunday we ate at the Japanese Misato in Soho (a generously large portion of Mackerel). The whole weekend was ended by the imbibing of too much vodka (on the part of my gf at least) mixed with golden syrup. The week of work beckons.