Out with the Noughties and hello to the One-ders.

An optimist is an ill-informed pessimist, so on that account alone 2010 can only be a stonking one. Happy New Year everyone!

A Fairytale of NW6

The walk to Kilburn from Marble Arch took an hour and a bit (thankfully I was given a lift from Islington to W1). On arrival Msmarmitelover confounded me by saying that it only takes her half the time! Hell all that performance-enhancing properties of the turtle blood soup diet I’ve been having in China was a waste of time, nah I don’t believe her, and she’s obviously Lindsay Wagner in disguise.

Fact (and thus sobs)- I’ve never had an actual home-cooked turkey dinner during Christmas, ever. I’ve always fantasised about mimicking Bob Hoskins' character in Felicia's Journey to cook an entire turkey just for one person but as fantasies go I think of myself as being too much of a chicken to do so. Anyway after the past three years solo-dining kebabs on Christmas Day, MsMarmitelover insisted that I should stop this self-inflicted lack of joie de vivre and pop around sa maison instead. Biased I may sound, but let’s be honest who gives a floss, the evening was wonderfully delightful. It was to me a homecoming triumph. The delicious food served was endless and made mockery of one of the seven deadly sins. The salmon en croûte was huge (bloody hell, I thought turkeys were big but this fish took the biscuit!), superior AGA roasted veg (the general consensus is that conventional ovens don’t quite provide the same results when roasting your spuds, parsnips, salsifys, etc), magnificent cheese boards that made me go gaga, Pavlova with passion fruit and salted caramel (I passed on that and opted for a sneaky puff as an alternative) followed by C. pud and the most accomplished home-made mince pies I’ve had. The intimate setting was more than a blissful accessory. The fellow guests proved godsend- the Taiwanese chap and his Italian girlfriend love-speaking in Spanish, a dizzying blonde from Estonia called Ulrike, a most measured Frankfurter who’s now Kingston based that’s Ursula. In addition there was MsMarmitelover’s teen (beautifully attired with a kind of Victorian discipline) and parents (handsome looking couple that makes you look forward to growing old!). I was gobsmacked by two individuals- Alice (who also brought her parents from Nottinghamshire), a Cambridge educated mathematician who has an allergy to WIFI waves and there was MsMarmitelover’s sister, Imogen, who I was sure was singing The Snowman’s Walking in the Air whilst I was incapacitated by sloshing both reds and whites. These gorgeous ladies are perfect catalysts for livening up any parties or dinners. As for MsMarmitelover, just how do you do it? 4-5 days preps required for every event, like I said before, rather you than me. Marms, thanks for the invite and you’re übergorgeous and all.

NB Ursula, thank you for the lift back to W1, you saved me from the leg cramps.

My prez from the Teen and Marms- is that a hint I should start tweeting or twittering?

Merry Christmas Meemalee…

…and to everyone as well. To be honest I couldn’t be arsed about posting but thanks to the above it’s the least I could do. I think I may have up to 70% (don’t ask how that percentage was arrived as I too found it baffling) of my olfaction back. I can’t detect dill or galangal (immensely irritating!) and to make matters worse, a cup of Kenyan AA tastes the same as a Colombian- blogging about coffee is currently stalled. Despite the lack of reviews I have been eating well, from a blow out dinner at The Square to one of the best supper club meals I’ve had this year that’s the Joginder’s Supper Club. I will write about them at some point.

The above is a photo of my daughter’s pressie. She wanted a Strat but I got her an uke instead. She needs to convince me with some George Formby renditions before she can realise her Jack White aspirations.

Alas, my abstinence from grape juice is now history. After 14 months of being teetotal I couldn’t resist taking a peep at a couple of cases of Chateau l'Evangile (1990, for those nosey winos) I had in my possession (‘once an alk always an alk’ is fair do’s). Pinot Noir and Argentinean Malbec currently besot yours truly. The above also shows what I’ll be drinking this Christmas break. Christmas Day will be spent helping out at a homeless shelter followed by an epic walk from Islington to MsMarmitelover’s for a glass or two of Burgundy.

The Muji bear may look childish as a prop but it’s my pressie from my daughter. It’s hardly a ‘Shit Xmas Present’! I love it, thank you Bron.

Meemalee, I’m back, albeit hindered; but thank you.