Van Gogh, School Reunion and More

Dear friends. Welcome to my review of September, a good month for socialising with friends old and new, and seeing the big ticket event of the year.  No, not Oasis but Van Gogh at the National Gallery. 

Sunday Sept 1

Hot/sunny. My shopping delivery was late so couldn't do a walk. Did some weeding instead. Had roast lamb. Booked two cycling holidays in Scotland for next year. 

Monday Sept 2

Overcast and humid. Had to wait for a parcel so J walked on his own and I did a forest walk when it arrived.  Had to change route when I saw 4 dogs off leads. Poorly trained dogs in the forest have put me off walking alone, sadly. Their owners don't seem to have any control over them. 

Tuesday Sept 3

Did walk, overcast with chance of rain. I was offered the new book from John Boyne to read, Fire, to be published in November.  Started it right away.

Wednesday Sept 4

Did bike ride. The weather was good initially but clouded over.  Went to the Lee Valley Country Park and Whitewater Centre.  Bit of a struggle getting to coffee place. It looks as if the location is about to be used for a film. There are cranes moving huge boulders into place. The coffee shop was still open but we had to use a complicated route to get to it which included carrying our bikes up the stairs. The white water was not running. You can see one of the boulders on the left.

Thurs Sept 5

Had to wait for a parcel (seems like a theme)..,...so J did a walk on his own. He saw the deer. Did a workout, first for ages. 

Fri Sept 6

Cloudy, became brighter for about an hour. J left at 4.30am to collect the bike he used for LEJOG at Worcester. He was meeting the tour company who are en route to Penzance for the next holiday. 

Had another appointment at the dentist. Am having some old veneers and crowns replaced. Did Pilates. 

Saturday Sept 7

Relieved the weather was OK for my picnic meetup with friends from the Kettlewell Colour Club.  For the second year running it was in Hyde Park.  As there isn't much to do if it rains, I'm always on tenterhooks. Fourteen ladies came and it was very good.  You can see more here.  Here I am with my fellow Springs. 

Sun Sept 8 

Cloudy. Storms in night. Bit of a wasted day. I did a workout but half halfheartedly, was too soon after Fri. Did roast chicken.  Johnnie Walker wasn't on, Radio 2 were covering some ghastly event live. Read all afternoon.  Bit bored. 

Mon  9 Sept

Cloudy. Went to Jodie's to have hair cut and coloured. She did a keratin treatment. My hair was a bit sensitized but the treatment made it very smooth and shiny. 

Tues 10 September

Cloudy, colder. J took his bike to a repair shop. I intended to go for walk but don't like walking on my own now because of the dog problem. Went to the post office and dry cleaners . Wrote blog post and did some other blog tasks. 

Weds 11 September

7 years ago started at Arm  (retired 2 years ago). Cold wind, blue sky. We did one of my favourite Epping Forest walks via  Copped Hall and the deer tunnel under the M25, below. Ironing. Sorted J's upcoming birthday lunch in October. 

Thurs 12 September

Bright, cold. 10 degrees in conservatory. Busy day. Spent 2.5 hours weeding rose bed. Did lots of cleaning. 

Fri 13 September

Up early, did workout. Big day at the dentist: three hours for the fitting of new crowns and veneers. Very pleased with result.

Sat 14 September

Lovely day. We did a forest walk. Saw the cows on the Plain. The Orion Ultra event was underway.  Did an outfit shoot pm. Didn't go well, intended to do several outfits but only 1 in the end. J sorted out new broadband router. Started The Perfect Couple (Netflix).

Sun Sept September

Sunny again. Did forest walk, Yates Meadow. Had roast beef. Listened to Johnnie Walker as I wrote 2 blog posts. Still not back in groove blog-wise after LEJOG.  

Mon Sept 16

Sunny. Went to Sainsbury's to get a few bits for J, as I'll be away for a few days from tomorrow. I'm going to stay with Mum in Plymouth, plus have organized a school reunion.  Teed up 3 blog posts. 

Tues September 17

Sunny. Up early to finish packing. Off to Plymouth on train.  There was widespread disruption on train lines from Paddington so my delayed train was packed to the gunnels and I was lucky to get a seat. The  refreshments trolley couldn't come down, too many people. Fortunately had been in M&S to buy my lunch. Got to Mum's at 5. She was in good form. 

Weds September 18

Sunny and hot. Mum and I went to the local shops and had coffee. 

Thurs September 19

I went into Plymouth. Mum didn't feel up to it.  My first port of call was a retro shop, but it's permanently closed. Went in a few charity shops and then M&S.  Nothing caught my eye. Was  astonished and delighted when a woman recognised me from the blog! This has never happened before.  Had pic taken with Clare, below.   Regretted I didn't get her contact details, as it would be nice to meet up again.  (Clare if you're reading this, could you email me, isthismutton96@gmail.com if you're interested?

Called in at The George, where we're having the reunion on Saturday, to confirm final numbers.

Fri 20 Sept

No walk today. My brother came round and we watched our LEJOG video. Also showed him some photos of dad's family which were kindly sent to me by a cousin we've never met.  Got fish n chips for dinner. Much better quality than those we get in London. 

Sat 21 Sept

Reunion day which I've organized with a friend.  It's for people who started at Plympton Grammar School, Plymouth  (now Hele's School) in Sept 1972.  I haven't seen some of them for 47 years. 

Cloudy but warm. I first walked down to the local Civic Society's Open Day, where I met up with several of the reunion attendees. We were thrilled to have our picture taken with one of our maths teachers, Sandra Matthews.

We then made our way to The George and had a group picture taken outside in the sun. The reunion was great, there were 21 altogether.  It was a hard job tracking people down because so many were not visible on social media. Plus women's surnames have changed. Everyone keen to do it again. Hopefully we'll have another bigger event in 3 years' time. 

Sunday 22 Sept

Rainy. Had an awful trip back back to London.  Reservations weren't working on the train and it was over crowded again.  I will drive next time. 

Mon 23 Sept

Had one of our family meet ups to go to see Poets and Lovers, the blockbuster Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery.  It's been rated 5 out of 5 by The Times  A stunning exhibition, a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this carefully curated collection. I chose 4 pics, at the top, that showed Vincent's range. What a genius. 

Afterwards we had lunch at the Devonshire Arms. I had a crab salad starter followed by halibut. J is on the far right, his brother and sister Kate are on the left. 

Tues 24 Sept

Did solo walk intending to do an urban route but unable to resist going into the forest. No dogs around, fortunately. Tidied my wardrobe, fed up with shoes falling out every time I open the doors!  Wrote blog post.

Weds 25 Sept

Christmas slots available at Waitrose. Booked! Last year was a disaster because although I booked a slot, I thought I had plenty of time to order the turkey and Boxing Day party food. By the time I got round to it, in November, there was hardly anything left to order. 

Did a workout. Bit rainy. J went to pick up his bike. When he got back he had a mysterious Amazon delivery. A few hours later, he showed me how he had used webbbing strips to repair his IKEA chair. Top job! 

Thursday 26 Sept 

Didn't sleep well, was either too hot or cold. Wondered if it is linked to what I ate, as it happens occasionally. Didn't eat any sugary products or have much caffeine yesterday but did have quite a lot of dairy. Will monitor.

A busy day. Took photos of two outfits for blog posts next week.  Booked a couple of outings for October as the diary looked alarmingly empty except for a four night break. Spoke to BT on behalf of my mum to renew her broadband. Changed the beds. Watched the first episode of The Resident (Netflix) which looks promising. 

What I've Been Watching

Well, a lean time if you ask me!

Slow Horses, series 3  (Apple TV):  the story this time is a bit far fetched, but it's always very watchable just for Gary Oldman and his sleazy Jackson Lamb. Read my post about the Many Faces of Gary Oldman.

The Perfect Couple (Netflix):  I'm doggedly watching it but I don't really understand all the hype. Has excellent production values (lighting, sound) but Nicole Kidman is always the same, whatever she's in. None of the characters are likable or relatable. 

Island Crossings, series 2 (BBC iPlayer):  a lovely relaxing watch about the biggest ferry fleet in the UK, Caledonian MacBrayne in Scotland, and the islands and people they serve. Narrated by Dougray Scott.

The Night Sleeper, iPlayer:  described as "so bad it's genius" by one of the dailies. I can't agree with the genius assessment. It's just really bad. The woman who's supposed to head cyber security looks like Andy Pandy. She managed to get into the railway nerve centre without even showing a security pass. The guy who's supposed to be in the Met but could also be a criminal looks like he's still at school. 

What I've been Listening To

I don't get much time for podcasts these days because I  often walk with J, rather than on my own.  But I'm enjoying The Price of Paradise (Wondery). It's the true story of a family who bought a beautiful island in the Pearl Keys, not far from Nicaragua.  They discovered the locals had an entirely different idea about who owned it.  The kidnap attempt will chill your blood.

That was my September, it seemed a bit quiet to me but after our 3 week holiday in August I was taking it fairly easy.  How was yours? Do tell in the comments.

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Kettlewell Colour Club London Meet, Lifestyle, Plympton Grammar School Reunion, TV and podcast recommendations, Van Gogh