Category: post

Welcome to the UK…

They were initially bemused by the complexity of bus timetables, bin collections and—most of all—by the changeable weather. “In our country, when it’s summer, it’s summer,” says Ziead Alsaouah, Mr Batak’s son-in-law.

—The Economist | After the exodus

I had a very similar reaction to the weather when I moved here 8 years ago.

North India, where I spent the first 24 years of my life, has a very predictable weather. When it’s summer, it’s hot and dry for months on end. When it’s the rain season, it’s raining almost every day for a month. And when winter arrives, it’s bitterly cold, mostly dry, and frequently foggy (recently smoggy) for months on end.

Contrast that to the weather here on the island – it’s common to have at least two seasons in a day. Three’s not uncommon either. We had two months of constant dry, warm summers this year, and it’s already caused a mild panic. If we get a week of snow in the winter, news bulletins are full of ‘snowcalypse’ references.

It’s unsettling, at least initially, for people coming from places with stable, ‘continental’ weather patterns. Where culture, life, traditions, activities are based on the season, what do we do when the seasons just aren’t anymore?

Continue reading Welcome to the UK…

Hard of hearing…

That’s me now.

I’ve been noticing having trouble hearing in certain situations for a few months now. I just wasn’t sure if it was in my head, or was it real. An incident a couple of months ago – R clearly heard someone while I could barely make out that they were talking – prompted me to get the hearing officially checked.

Today was the day. I had a hearing test done at the hospital, followed by an appointment with a consultant to discuss the results. It’s official – I have moderate to severe hearing loss, on higher frequencies, in both my ears. The hearing on lower frequencies is completely normal. I may also have mild tinnitus.

All in all, bad news all around.

The equal hearing loss in both ears indicates that it could not be because of a growth or deformity in one ear, and is likely genealogical. Which also means there is no cure. The hearing will continue to worsen, hopefully very slowly. She’s prescribed hearing aids for me (at 38!). I also need to go for an MRI, just so they can rule out any other possible reasons.

I don’t want hearing aids1. And I don’t want hearing loss. I went in hoping they’ll say that I have grossly dirty ears and need to clean them regularly. Not that I’m losing hearing early and need to wear hearing aids, and could even go clinically deaf if the hearing loss speeds up.

I’m scared. I’m unhappy. And the only person who makes me happy at these times2 is himself under anaesthesia, getting a growth on his head surgically removed :(

I’m very, very unhappy.

  1. NHS only provides big, behind the ear hearing aids. They do provide them free though. Or I could go private and get those tiny, barely visible in-ear ones. My preference: None >>>>>>>>>>>>> In-ear ones >>>> NHS ones. Can I have none please? :( ↩
  2. He’s also probably half the cause of my hearing loss – with his loud, high-pitch whining, and super-loud barking at the cat across the street. ↩

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain - on life vs lazy
Anthony Bourdain – on life vs lazy

Some people leave a mark.

I have never met Anthony. I have never seen any of his TV shows. I have just read one of his books – Kitchen Confidential. I gave it 3 stars.

And yet, I’ve found him hard to forget since I finished the book. He has a way, with words, and a personality that makes him hard to forget. He should not be likeable, it’s hard to sympathise for him, he’s often an asshole, and very much proud of it. Yet, he’s also appealing, and often, surprisingly, likeable.

I guess his charm comes from embodying the hard bits of our lives – the grime, the slime, the hard knocks, the sweat, the wrong calls – and taking them on the chin (or dishing them out), casually. Like most of us do, yet refuse to accept that we do.

There were parts of his book where I wanted to punch him in the face, and ask him to shut his hole, and write something useful. There were other parts that I didn’t want to end. And then there were a few that I bookmarked for frequent return.

He seems my kind of screwed up guy. A guy I would love to know. A guy I would even love to hate to work with.

Continue reading Anthony Bourdain

The first day of summer

Lazy morning in bed reading.


Long walk with boys in the Chantries woods – my favourite running space in Guildford. Can’t run, so made it a hilly walk with the boys.

Cool shower, warm shave.

A spicy naked burrito for lunch, drowned with a free Coke zero.


A pint by the river to soak the sun, reading a saucy, spunky book in public 😉

Followed it up with an ice cream from the van, enjoyed while walking by the river – through waggy dogs, playful kids, picnicking families, and a few sunning beauties.


Finally, had a lovely cortado before the ride home, and picked up a biscotti for later.

Now, back with the boy, with cuddles, and whining, belly rubs and bum scratches.
The best bit: no vomit anywhere == the grub stayed in his tummy 🙂

Oh, and back watching the French Open. (Djoko just won his match)

A day of too many calls

I have to call parents. Didn’t call them this week. That’s about 45 mins gone.

Then I have to call an aunt who’s visiting her injured son in the US. She’s been calling at odd times, I haven’t answered. I guess she’s bored and lonely. 30 mins.

I haven’t spoken to the sister in a long while. May give her a ring. 5 mins, if she picks up.

And it’s been 100+ days since I fell off the wagon – I was on a streak of calling one of my old friends once a week. 10-30 mins, depending on the friend.

It’s gonna be a long day! Glad that R is going back to London, sparing me some ear capacity.

P.S.: It’s still a ‘phone call’ if I’m calling most of them on Duo, right?

The rules do not apply

It’s a brilliant book. It’s amongst the best written books I’ve ever read. It’s got the magic that made me smile, nod my head in agreement, screech inside, and be sad. Be very sad.

It’s probably the best book I’ll read this year.

That’s not good. Because it’s over. I didn’t want it to be over. I finished it in three sittings, but I want it to go on for ever.

It also means that anything I read for the next while will feel like it’s taking something precious away. Like eating a dessert after having a steak at Le relais de venise. When I want to savour the taste of that steak in my mouth, anything I eat next will spoil it. And yet, I can’t go without eating forever. Or without reading. Like she says: “nowhere to go but down”.

For another, I’m already in a rump. I’m not happy. I’m not working. I’m not working out. I’m still injured. I’m gaining weight at pound-a-day. And all my relationships are already on that slope that has nowhere to go but down. I didn’t need another source of sadness. And such a beautifully written source, at it.

:(

Guildford parkrun snaps

I wasn’t in a very chatty mood while volunteering at the park run this weekend. So, instead, I stood in a corner and took some photos on my phone. Here’s some of them…

Doggos, and runners lined up for the start
Lots of runners arrived on bikes – happy happy me :)
Someone’s memoir from a buggy run race :)

And, below the fold, a few gifs…

Continue reading Guildford parkrun snaps

Facing the reality: I may be a shoe hoarder!

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Shoes that I should dispose off, but haven’t. Can’t vs Should.

I recently retired a pair of shoes from service (last-but-one in the photos above), and they’ve been lying next to the bin for a few weeks now. When R enquired how do we dispose them off – waste or recycling – I didn’t know.

I don’t know, because I have not thrown away any1 shoes in the 5+ years that we’ve been living in this house. The last shoe I remember throwing away was a pair of generic sports trainers that I disposed off after the sole fell off. That was in 2012.

It hit me – I may be a shoe hoarder. Confronted by this realisation, I went around the house taking photos of all the shoes that may be past their dispose-off date. Here’s that list, with some notes: Continue reading Facing the reality: I may be a shoe hoarder!