Triple the Fun - High Tea Party

Tea table in the Parlour

My triplet tea party today went very well!

My fellow triplets, being still young and foolish, decided to walk all the way from Abingdon to Oxford, a 4.5 hour long walk along the towpaths, punctuated by showers and miscellaneous muddy encounters.  My home was the last stage of their journey, and I was to give them Afternoon Tea to restore their flagging spirits after their ordeal.

So while they were trudging through the blizzards I was peacefully at home, cutting sandwiches, arranging cakes, and laying the table in the Parlour.  Several times I had to stop and turn off all electrical appliances - there was thunder and lightning, right above the house, judging by the non-interval between the flash and clap.  Better safe than sorry!

There are few greater joys and cozy comforts than being snugly ensconced in one's house while outside the elements rage!

Finally the little group arrived, somewhat bedraggled, but, luckily for them, filled with considerable hunger (and thirst - we had four large pots of tea among us!).  They managed to eat most of the sandwiches and quite a bit of cake, and miscellaneous other bits and pieces as well.  As usual the candied-dipped-in-dark-chocolate-orange-peel was the greatest hit, and got demolished almost completely during the later, filling-in-the-gaps part of the tea party.

We tried to steer away from the less digestible topics of conversation at first, to ensure a peaceful completion of the meal, but after the sandwich phase That Awful Result could no longer be banished and we were soon knee-deep in current politics.  Naturally enough we all agreed on all issues, so no disharmony blighted our afternoon.

Meanwhile my great role model Queen Victoria gazed benevolently down at us, and there was no doubt in our minds that she, too, would have been completely on our side, if only she had lived long enough.  Or could you imagine this great sovereign of the imperial age approving of her subjects retreating into Little Englander isolation, rather than expanding into the rest of Europe and embracing it as a replacement empire?  If Victoria's subjects had been as unenthusiastic and obstructive about their colonies as Elizabeth's subjects are about the EU, the empire would have never gotten anywhere!

In modern parlance, like, duh!

Queen Victoria - I bought this bust to keep me on the straight and narrow;
it is difficult to be a lazy layabout under her stern gaze!

Egg & cress, cucumber, cream cheese & smoked salmon, crabs & dill sandwiches
your choices are limited with visiting vegetarians

German cheesecake, malt loaf, and seed cake ( a la Bilbo)

Baby plum tomatoes & Radishes are always welcome accompaniments to sandwiches 

 

Royal thrones aren't always occupied as we might wish

Oxford Art Festival

Oxford has gone all artsy for a week, and on my way back from meeting my good friend A for morning coffee I stumbled across this little exhibition in the grounds of Magdalen College School.  The weather was quite nice, though overcast and slightly muggy.  To be expected after all the rain we have been having, I suppose.  I made the most of the morning, and sure enough later today it was raining again.  Quite a summer we are having!

Triple the Fun - Bubbly Triplets

Practically identical third triplet

Most people don't realise that I am a triplet, which leads to all sorts of surreal discussions in elevators and such like.  Only the other day a colleague, trying to make small talk, asked what I had planned for the weekend.

"I am out with the Triplets", said I.
"You are a triplet?" said the colleague.
"Yes of course, J&R".
"They can't possibly be your triplets!"
"Prove it!"
"You all look totally different!"
"I never said we were identical."
"But you are not the same age!"
"So?  You think triplets come out of the womb at the same time?  You have any idea what a strain that would be on the birth canal?  Triplets are born one at a time, so every triplet is a different age."
"A twenty year age difference?"
"Thirty actually - it is true they took their time.  They still tend to be late a lot.  I should be stricter with them, really."
"Sorry must dash, I am late for a meeting ...." colleague rushes off, eager to make a get-away.

Oh well. Even a bad reputation requires upkeep, as I always say.

Where was I?  Ah yes, Friday evening.  We sloped off to the Champagne Bar at St Pancras, partly to make J&R familiar with the lay of the land (we are planning a get-away from there later in the year), partly to celebrate R's birthday (yes, triplets have different birthdays, three each year, to be exact,so there is a lot of celebrating going on).

Pink champagne, with 2nd triplet looming in the background

St Pancras Champagne Bar - the longest in the world,rumour has it

The great thing with triplets is that you can trust them completely, and share all your secrets with them.  So we spent an hour or two slagging off all and sundry, focusing especially on the sundry, drinking pink champagne and feeling privileged and weekendish.

When that palled we trickled over to Pall Mall for a long evening of clubbing, and putting the world to rights, especially the part currently referred to as Europe - yes, that wretched referendum again!

It was nevertheless a splendid evening, and even having to traipse through the rain to the bus stop afterwards did not significantly crimp the mirth.

We'll re-group next weekend, when the Triplets are having a tea-orgy!  Actually that's not saying much - 3rd triplet has one of those every day ....

Remembering Malena ....

I have been very busy lately, both with various projects and with memories, which is why there haven't been any blog-posts recently.  I am planning to do something scarfish/scarvish? for the 4th of July and 14th of July, though!

A long time ago I had a dear friend, Malena.  Today I went through some old papers, and realised it is the anniversary of her death ....

Malena, my friend
they have forgotten you.

Your patience and your love
your never ceasing care -
they have forgotten you.

The laughter of your youth
that died so very soon
your short life
filled with work -
they have forgotten you.

However hard you tried
they never loved you well.
You were not good enough
they often humbled you.

As if you'd been a dream
you faded from their minds.

Malena, so lovely
your smile was long ago.
Life was not fair to you
How could they treat you so?

Malena my friend
they have forgotten you.

Paris Jardin des Plantes

I had a lovely time in Paris this weekend, visiting the Jardin des Plantes, then mosying over to the rue Mouffetard (Muffensausen in German) for a spot of shopping.  When that palled we went to the Musee Monde Arabee, to the rooftop terrace for a drink and a bit if a rest.

We had nice weather, too!

There are lots of museums and institute in this area, but I refuse to spend time inside on a lovely day like this!

 See this bench with a plaque?  The Jardin des Plantes was the first park in France that sold spaces for people to memorialise their loved ones.  I used this information in my negotiations with the mayor of la Bourboule, when I wanted to buy my own plaque bench.  Plaques on benches are common in the US and Britain, but in France it is something of a rarity.  I noticed that the plaques are rather tiny and tasteful, as compared to mine, which is huge and brassy.

Not my fault - the la Bourboule Park & Recreation department had bought and installed a plaque about ten times the size of the one you see here.  It had to be replaced because it was too flimsy for my taste, but since I had to utilise the existing fixation holes I ended up with a 'dentist style' plaque on my bench.  Hey, I am not complaining- it is so huge it can be seen from every part in town, especially when freshly polished, which I do whenever I am on holiday there.

See that little brown rectangle on the front of the seat, left hand side?  That's the plaque ...

Lots of frogs in the park - they are half green and half brown!!!!!

Lots of statues, too

And on to the Rue Mouffetard ...

Outside a school entrance

This was rather far away, so excuse the fuzzy photo - kind of neat though, no?

NotreDame in the background