Walking the dogs gives us a rhythm to our day and a purpose that we sometimes, in dreadful weather, would rather not have. In Lockdown our walks have become much more home centric. In particular our late evening walk follows a pattern . There is a pattern for the dogs who like to sniff which other dogs have passed that way and a pattern for us which involves graveyards, patches of grass, the backs of a few houses and never other humans.
Yesterday a neighbour came to.see us concerned about another neighbour who had not drawn their curtains.
We immediately knew that all had been fine the night before because the pattern of lights had been quite normal on the last dog walk.
With some trepidation we did nosey neighbour things, realised there was a serious problem and called the emergency services.
I’m writing this because of the trivial things we thought about that might have stopped us doing the right thing.
Fear of doing the wrong thing.
We had previously offered help to these neighbours and were politely declined.
We were not afraid of finding the worst possible outcome. It’s what we used to do in our day jobs and it doesn’t bother us.
What we were, for a moment, concerned about was upsetting people who had politely declined help a year or so ago. We were concerned that someone might be cross with us or upset about us invading their privacy. Thankfully our brains defaulted to working heads and we got on and did the right thing.
Covid 19 is shrinking all our worlds to something more like the 17 th Century except we don’t know our neighbours as we would have done then. All the technology in the world would not have sorted out yesterday’s situation. It just needed us to be nosey, however awkward and worrying that felt at the time.
The inevitable has happened, a friend, who I loved bumping into, has died, not of Coronovirus but something that had got its claws into her long ago. It was undeserved as most deaths are and the world has lost a fabulous ball of energy. Not for me the excoriating grief of close friends or family, more a sort of dull acceptance of the inevitability of an inevitable event.
I suppose I’m describing the loss of someone to whom I was not close close but whose company I really valued when our busy lives coincided.
Our last such meeting was serendipitous, one of her favourite words and one that I stole soon after I met her.
My little town was briefly brought to a standstill by hundreds of motorcycling Santa’s.
I had ‘popped’ out to collect keys from an estate agent,a job that should have taken 10 minutes, two hours later I was using an unusual route to find my car which I had left down by the river.
My friend and I met, I was hugely surprised, not only because she was already terminally ill but because she lived 5 miles away and our little town is never going to be on anyone’s bucket list of things to do before you die.
We hugged and made one another laugh, caught up on each others news and shared snippets of information about our friends in- common that either of us had met recently.
She has never had ‘ an Elephant in the room’ . Her Cancer story was never hidden and her progress, or not ,with it was well known. We shared an update.
” It’s bloody everywhere now”
” That is such a bugger, bastard thing”
We agreed to catch up with some other friends ‘ In the Spring’ . She caught her bus and I walked down a 45 degree hill to find my car.
As usual meeting her had lifted my heart and soul , maybe some sadness but primarily she had, as usual, shone optimism and happiness into our conversation and we had luxuriated in sharing the use of the word Serendipitous, as we always did.
So here I am in April , she has died. Coronovirus and it’s social restrictions have cancelled Spring meetings, even if Cancer hadn’t already done it’s bit to blight our springtime meeting. Coronovirus has shaped and impacted the way us second tier mourners do mourning. I can’t go round to our shared friends and give them a hug, drink tea and wallow in reminiscing, love and happy memories. Hugging is the thing that wordlessly both links and restores us, it feels inhuman to endure bereavement without them. Hugging saves us saying too much or too little and making the misery worse. It also offers the opportunity of sorting out leaking eyes or a snotty nose behind someone’s back.
Not for anyone in the second tier of connection to her and many in the first the chance to gather together to celebrate and mourn the loss of a veritable power house of a woman.
It all feels kind of blunt really. Dreadfull sadness with no ability to hug or share seems to take on a previously unimaginable direction and poignancy.
Here we go off to Hungary with an artist friend Ildiko who sent me these words and pictures.
“Easter traditions go back to pagan ones. It’s the start of spring, the break from lent. On Easter Monday morning men would draw fresh water from the well and splash that over the young women to keep them fresh for the coming year.
Nowadays this ‘watering’ is done with parfume and is slightly more sophisticated. Boys and men would visit female members of their families, say a short, funny, sometimes rude and erotic rhyme, at the end of which they ask permission ‘to water’ the lady/girl. They get permission and in return they receive an egg. Traditionally these eggs would be dyed and decorated, the must common being a red one, but more often theyare now chocolate eggs and kids get money. All visitors would be offered drinks and food and it’s rude not to take any, so men would return home drunk and bursting at the seams 😅😅 ”
This fresh looking plate is the traditional Hungarian Easter Feast .
Boiled smoked ham with boiled eggs and spring vegetables.
From traditional food to Sam Fords Easter Feast in Lockdown . Sam is a long term friend and ex- neighbour whose honest approach to an Easter Feast suits us @theoldmortuary very well.
“Although it was a specifically religious feast the food itself signified nothing more than a love of kitchen work matched with pretentious tastes!”
“This is a (sort of) lamb shawarma from yesterday. I also stuffed medjool dates with walnut, coconut and cardamom powder”.
Who needs a beach? @theoldmortuary we are pretty close to many beaches, during Lockdown it’s not appropriate to visit them.
We live close enough to the coast for seagulls to be a problem, the current problem is that they are a bit bored with no tourists to steal chips from. To brighten up their days they have chosen our car to practise aiming their copious, glutinous poo.The best way to get it off is an automated car wash, there is something about the chemicals used and the flagellation that gives Seagull poo the brush off.
The perfect self isolation activity, the automated car wash gave us an added bonus today. Tropical coastal outlooks.
Chapter 3 finds us in North London where an Easter tradition of 18 people gathering has shrunk to just two this past weekend. Two flatmates isolating together, one of whom is a friend from The Heart Hospital. The numbers might have been down but the creative effort was high.
The day was lubricated with a Hix Fix, surely one of the easiest cocktails in the world to make. Two teaspoons of Cherry Liqueur in a saucer style champagne glass topped up with Champagne or sparkling wine. I’m loving the Pandemic twist with this one. No one shopped for the desirable but non essential Morello Cherries.
Googling has informed me that TV chef Keith Floyd drank two of these at The Fish House, Lyme Regis, just before he died.
It was his Last Supper.
This is hugely relevant to this blog as this exactly where Nic experienced her first Hix Fix and thankfully survived. Hugely relevent too because I go off piste a bit with this blog.I promise I will pull it all together in the end.
This is where I take some time out and share a family anecdote. This is getting just like a gathering of friends and family.
My Dad knew that he was dying, he had terminal bowel cancer . He remained mentally alert during his increasingly rare periods of wakefulness. He had a schedule of Last Suppers that needed to be fulfilled, each with its own tiny guest list. Shamefully I only remember the ultimate and penultimate ones although I believe afternoon tea with his cousin, Gwen, was also one. As anyone, who has spent a lot of time with someone who is dying, will attest not only the earthly guests attend these gatherings. My grandmother had afternoon tea with my Dad and his cousin, something that slightly bothered him as he was eating in bed. The fact that she was dead was not a bother at all. The next day was scheduled to be an Indian Takeaway, with a very specific order from a particular Take Away, it was to be shared with one of my Dad’s much loved work colleagues called Gordon and his wife Doreen. It was a surprise to us all when my husband’s Dad turned up. Not only was he too dead he didn’t much like Indian Takeaway.
The actual Last Supper was Smoked Salmon Sandwiches and Prosseco and was attended in the earthly sense by Dad’s friends Margaret and Tony, myself,my husband at the time , Steve and my Uncle Peter. The three of us had been my dad’s only carers in the last week and were the fulfilment department of food dreams and guest lists. My mum was about but sadly she was already terminally ill herself and had a rare neurological disorder.
The guest list at the actual last supper went wildly out of control. Nothing wrong with the earthly participants but the deceased ones went crazy. There were people there we didn’t even know were dead.
In the morning we discovered that amid the uncleared plates and unfinished Prosseco glasses my dad had slipped off with the uninvited guests.
Now that is why googling in the middle of a blog is a risky old business. The Hix Fix knocked me completely off my chosen path. My apologies to Nic and her house party for two and those of you who were waiting for the next course.. No more googling for today.
To be fair Nic has suggested in her email to me that the Hix Fix may have knocked her slightly off the path of culinary perfection but like everyone who has worked in highly challenging environments in the Health Service she was prepared and she knew what had to be done.
Here we are back on track.
Big, fat, succulent , scallops on a pea puree with crispy Iberico Ham.
Followed by
Chicken Mole with Rice.
I am just going to have to slip off to Google . Mole!!
Here is the desert, slightly improvised because Nic had a broken oven. Lime and ginger posset with sesame things. It should have been served with home made sesame shortbread.
Thanks Nic Delahunty that was amazing food , thank you for taking the time to share.
The plan was to head off to Hungary next in Chapter 3 but I’ve probably given you enough for today so tomorrow that’s where we are off to.
Unadulterated Coffee Porn. With the occasional tea.
We know how fortunate we are @theoldmortuary. The trivial nature of these pandemic blogs is just a small moment of inconsequential pondering amidst a sea of serious stuff. Things come and go in the ponderings one of them is tiny obsessions with something we can’t have. In truth of course we can easily have a coffee, or tea, and a piece of cake at home. But it’s not the same. Coffee and Cake is our guilty pleasure, artisanal, independent, skilful, visually beautiful and quirky are the basic requirements.Shallow, pretentiousness, maybe twatty , yes all of those things but supporting local businesses and taking pleasure in something simple is no bad thing.I popped the word coffee into the search bar of my image archive. I had not expected it to serve quite so much…This blog will be longer. than I thought and I’ve only chosen the best pictures.April was always going to be tricksy in our coffee world. Hutong Cafe,just outside Royal William Yard in Plymouth, our most regular coffee house is closed for refurbishment.
Column Bakehouse who run the cafe at Ocean Studios also have a great cafe at their Bakery, coincidentally another Old Mortuary. At Devonport Guildhall.
Other great coffee places happen in Plymouth, I just don’t have photographic evidence.Good Coffee HQ in Ebrington Street is one.Black Sheep Brew in nearby Tavistock sells the mythical Monmouth Coffee from London’s Borough Market.
Let’s be honest Plymouth is also the home of some shocking coffee, not all sold by chains, although they do account for a lot of crimes against the bean.South East Cornwall is not a friend to great coffee. My only happy coffee photo comes from The Canteen at Maker.
Coffee at Canteen at Maker
Liberty Coffee at Launceston is well worth the trip when world wakes up again.
Liberty Coffee , Launceston
Coffee Porn @theoldmortuary is off on a little travelogue now. As luck would have it there is a great cup of coffee as we leave the SouthWest.Otter Valley Ice Cream on the A30 does a lot more than Ice Cream.
Lola at Otter Valley Ice Cream
Lynnwood Coffee in Lechlade features heavily, not only because they do great coffee but our friends love to send us Coffee Porn from there. A lot of Coffee Porn.
Many Coffees and comestibles at Lynwood
Further afield in England we found this gem in Bury-St-Edmunds in Suffolk. Paddy and Scott’s
Paddy and Scotts
A regular favourite in London, even though it has become quite a big chain is Gail’s Dulwich Village. Cheese straws by which all others are judged.
Gail’s, Dulwich Village
Finally a curious place for coffee, a butchers shop in Southampton, famed quite rightly for their breakfasts the coffee was great too.http://www.uptonsbutchers.co.uk/
Upton’s of Bassett
In no particular order here is a tiny world tour of coffee houses we have loved.
Uncle Sam’s Pancakes
Breakfast in South Korea, we stayed in an Airbnb in an untouristy suburb of Seoul, Yongsun-gu. Uncle Sam’s Pancake was our closest cafe. This next image was my birthday breakfast also in Yongsun-Gu.
Anonymous in Seoul
Havana in Cuba gave great everything, it is a wonderful country.Coffee here is represented by art. A sculpture made from old and damaged Stove-top Espresso pots.
Coffee Pot Sculpture, Havana
Toronto in Canada gave us a lot of coffee action. I had a bad knee injury and we were ‘forced’ to rest often in coffee shops.https://www.hotblack-coffee.com/
HotBlackCoffee
HotBlackCoffee Queen Street, Toronto.
Kobrick, NY, NY
Kobrick Coffee, amazing vintage coffee house serving great coffee and wonderful Jazz in the Meatpacking District.https://www.kobricks.com/A reward after a blisteringly hot walk on The High-Line, my favourite park in the world.https://www.thehighline.org/Although it’s landscaping did cause the knee injury that forced so much coffee drinking in New York.It is only a tiny tour, bringing up the rear is Hong Kong. Birthplace of both Hannah and our lovely VV.
Coffee Academics , Hong Kong
Hong Kong also gave us two lovely coffee quotes. From the stools at Coffee Academics.
My last picture comes from Hoi An, I’ve used it before in blogs but it represents, for me, the current situation and a hope that nattering in coffee shops will become normal again.This pillow rests on a bench in a tea house , that also serves great coffee, where noise and conversation is discouraged always.
This week started with bright shafts of sunshine. That special Spring sunshine that manages to illuminate dust and cobwebs even in the homes of dedicated cleaners. Obviously this week started with more serious restrictions regarding Covid-19 . Stay with me on this these two things are connected. Spring cleaning catches me just like any human, for a brief time dusting and tidying seem almost a pleasure. On top of this in these bizarre circumstances I feel the need to get rid of anything around the house that reminds me of what I’m going to be missing in this uncertain time. So artwork and ‘stuff’ associated with the Exhibition I was involved with next week needs to be put away. As did our grandparent kit of yesterday’s blog . The washing line has been strung up in the trees ready to blow fresh Atlantic and country fragrances into clean clothes and all the domestic linens that will fill the rest of my week of cleaning madness
After all these chores were achieved me and the dogs went out for our one permitted exercise walk.
The sun was beautiful and keeping our distance was easy for the few humans about. The dogs of course went about their usual social greetings.Not that you would know this from these photographs.
Life really does have a way of taking you in unusual directions in these rapidly changing times. Earache or not I had to go out today, observing social distance and cleanliness at all stages.
For some time now doughnuts have loomed large in my imagination, not just any doughnut, nothing fancy, a fresh ring doughnut or indeed a perfectly simple jam doughnut.
It has been a back burner kind of fantasy, perhaps a little enhanced or made more presient by the current restrictions on life. It was those very restrictions that enabled doughnuts to feature @theoldmortuary today. Parking in our local High Street (We are in Cornwall so it’s called Fore Street) is normally impossible but less people around gave me the Golden Ticket of parking spaces. Right outside Rowe’s Cornish Bakery.
Not somewhere I usually go for no other reason than the parking is tricksy.
Their doughnuts were perfect and the staff had been fully trained in no touch techniques and tonging. It was impressive. https://www.rowesbakers.co.uk/
But it didn’t stop at Doughnuts…
Long ago in a large NHS hospital on- call and long shifts were sometimes fuelled by a Gregg’s Bacon Tasty, truly the comfort food of Health Professionals who know a lot about diet and Cardiac health.
It’s been 12yrs since I was close to a bacon tasty. Rowe’s call it a ‘Bacon Bite’ for complete accuracy. London Hospitals of my aquaintance did not offer such things. More worldy offerings certainly, equally bad for the general health but not Bacon Tasties.
The picture tells the story. The very best thing for a virus that induces earache is a Bacon Tasty. Served by someone well versed in the art of tonging.
Followed by the perfect doughnut. Also delightfully tonged.
I won’t bore you with the lovely fresh vegetables I sourced today, or the fish or other healthy comestibles.
What’s the point, this is Bakery Porn. You were warned that I had no idea where this restricted lifestyle would take us.
By complete coincidence a gift of bakery was also delivered to @theoldmortuary.
A man, unknown to us but connected made us a loaf to help out with the earache.
