This is my
Nanna. I love her!
So remember the family with the explosions at school and "this is the gas tap location"? Well I was late for babysitting the other week because of a suspected BOMB at their metro station - the whole line was closed and as I passed an hour later it was crawling with police with helicopters in the sky - what is wrong with their neighbourhood?! It's meant to be a nice family place! Fear not though, I was fine and by the time I got there they were already fed and pyjama-ed so I just had to read a story and put them in bed! Easy! AND I think I've finally cracked how to get the little boy to sleep - rubbing his back! (Good old Mexico taught me that one!) I am QUEEN of babysitting! (But still not of actually getting them in bed on time) This meant I was suddenly left with an entire evening of silence as I'd forgotten to bring anything to do in my haste on my way to work that morning so I simply curled up in their comfy chair and appreciated an exceedingly rare silence for about three hours! It was so delicious!
A few Mondays ago I went to a Hammam Sauna (I think it's like a Turkish bath?) with Amel and Gaby from the foyer. It was a large, brightly coloured, ornate, steamy palace - heaven at a time of year when it's so cold outside you head experiences very real physical pain every time you venture outside the front door! We stripped down to our knickers, showered and then went deeper into the place, each chamber was darker and steamier than the last, the final one physically burning our skin. There we sat and rubbed "black soap" into our skin (it was like shower gel) and then a scary lady jabbered at me in arabic/incomprehensible French whilst giving me an all-over body scrub (even hoiking my knickers up my bum to ensure she didn't miss my buttocks!) before handing me over to another lady who gave me a delicious all-over massage. She was much less scary but she did almost smother me with her buxom bosom! It was wonderfully relaxing and refreshing and warming and when we came out there was a counter where they sold little turkish pastries and sweets which we had with a very syrupy traditional mint tea.
Then, at the weekend I went to DISNEYLAND with Becky and Rozy! This was great fun - we went on lots of rides and ate lots of food and stayed in a hotel the Saturday night!
This was one of my favourite bits: upstairs inside the castle they tell the story of Sleeping Beauty with stained-glass windows and tapestries!
The Monday, alas, I was hit by a tummy bug which had been doing the rounds at work but this fortunately only lasted 24 hours, leaving me fighting fit and full of beans for my MCFLY concert on Tuesday! They honestly just get better every time I see them and this was a teeny tiny little venue and packed out but we were ridiculously near the front and my beloved Tom! I succeeded in dragging a blissfully ignorant Li along with me, who to my surprise genuinely enjoyed the night and left a converted admirer! I was a fool and completely forgot both camera AND phone, but on the plus side, this left me completely free to break out my dance moves uninhibited!
Then last weekend I met up with Laura, a friend from my days at the Weald, and her best friend to go to a live television recording! This is actually a whole lot less cool than it sounds: Revu et corrigé was an hour and a half long programme which took the six main news headlines from the week and invited appropriate authorities on the subjects to come in and comment upon and analyse them. I don't keep too up to date with the news and certainly not with politics! However this was all livened up my a number of things:
Firstly, I was with Laura, and to my great delight, I still enjoy her company ENORMOUSLY.
Secondly, there was free coca-cola and chocolate cake. An excellent start to an evening, I'm sure you'll agree.
Thirdly, a deliciously handsome young man appeared and addressed the crowd (I think he was the producer) his wit and fair face certainly rendering the experience not entirely unbearable. When we went into the studio, he sat us right at the front along with a few other young girls. (I reckon the average age of the audience was pushing late fifties at least!) We then spent the next half hour watching him surreptitiously (we thought) and giggling, trying to discern whether he was gay or not (he was immaculately well-groomed) in the end we decided he wasn't but that he was secretly going out with the floor manager (I mean, he touched her shoulder and smiled!)
Fourthly there was a fantastic old man with long white hair and the most FABULOUS moustache going on! He wore a bright pink jumper and a purple cravatte which matched his wife's striking purple outfit. We became absolutely fixated on him and it turned out that he was something of a celebrity there becase a lot of people working there knew him and greeted them as old friends! On a side note, I AM so fascinated by all the moustaches here, they are so ridiculously big and curly and now at work all the other stagiaires make fun of me and jump with excitement and point out the men with the biggest moustaches. I caught my favourite one smoking a cigarette outside the canteen the other day which upset me enormously. I am of the opinion that facial hair like that requires either a cigar or a pipe. Stupid man.
Fifthly, as we were discussing Pink Jumper the heavily bearded gentleman behind us leaned in and joined our conversation in an Irish accent!! (Because he was Irish.) I love accents.
Oh and SIXTHLY the security was TOTALLY off - we originally went in the wrong door - waved in by a security man, walking down, following signs for the show until we found ourselves in a corridor with rooms live on air and one filled with screens of what was playing at that moment! We were so surprised that we had walked in without question and that we could have totally hijacked the airwaves and "Mooney all of France!" I cried. Laura looked at me incredulously, saying "given power over a whole channel, that's what you would do? That's the best thing you can think of?" Hyeah! "Well what would you do?" She soon realised mooneying France was in fact a superb idea. Eventually we asked our way and had to exit the building and come in another entrance where we were stripped of coats and bags, phones and money, metal detected and had our ID taken, only to end up on the other side of the cordon thing in the main hall - where we had been stood earlier without any question at all! And that was the more powerful side! French.
Anyway, afterwards, we all went back for a little housewarming party with some other exchange students. I was proud of my superior French skills as I managed to speak in French but bitterly humiliated by my overwhelming lack of Spanish skills, as I failed to formulate a single word to a spaniard there - my stupid brain kept presenting me with French!
Last Monday I made Valentine's cupcakes for everyone at work and home which went down a treat, I even by a total MIRACLE got hold of some cupcake cases with hearts on!
Finally, this weekend I went home and was heart-brimmingly happy to be reunited with my family and friends, eat the greatest food, play the best games, sleep in my wonderful bed, visit the sea, and go to Maybridge! On my way over, I stopped to buy saucisson fand the old man stood in the shop chatting with him assured me that the saucisson I was buying would make me hot and guaranteed that I would make love three, four times that night - with him if I wanted! How generous. Needless to say, I declined and chose instead drink and cake with Ali at St Pancras!
Oh aaand my favourite boulanger by work has said I can come and make bread with him any time I want! Get in!!!
