November: Colourful with an 80s Twist

 

Dear friends. Here are my jolly japes in November. These included another colourful gathering of friends; a trip to Plymouth; a vintage fair, a new ballet and an exhibition at Tate Britain. 

Friday Nov 1

Went to the dentist, having two of the recently completed crowns replaced as I wasn't happy with them. I was anxious I'd need to cough, as I have a cold. Fortunately it was a short appointment, no coughing. 

We did a long walk before Pilates although my Fitbit seems to have given up the ghost!

Saturday Nov 2

Cold is worse but I always tend to brazen it out as "colds are nothing". Went to an event called Wantage Vintage, two halls in a church with stalls of homewares, clothes, jewellery. A very good event and loved the furniture, but no 60s clothing of interest. Bought some lavender bags for presents and a scarf.

Cancelled train tickets for my trip to Plymouth tomorrow because GWR is advising people only to travel if absolutely necessary. Charged the car.

Started watching William Baldwin series on Netflix, Northern Rescue. We think it may be a bit lame. 

Sunday Nov 3

Cold is a lot worse. Had to cancel trip to Plymouth. Didn't want to risk giving anything to Mum. Fortunately brother was sympathetic. We were going to see Squeeze tonight. I was able to transfer the tickets (3) to him, his wife and daughter. 

Monday Nov 4

Much improved. We did a forest walk. Lots of tree cutting. 

Tues Nov 5

Overcast. Did workout (yay!). Olive came round. Not many fireworks tonight but they'll go on for days. Watched Shackleton (Discovery), film length documentary. 

Weds Nov 6

Came down to find Trump has won the US Election. Hmmm. Let's draw a veil over that.

Overcast. Drove to High Beach to walk in a different part of Epping Forest. Filming location units still there. They'll never tell us what's being filmed, presumably to avoid fans turning up.

Was notified my recent blood donation has arrived at Haywards Heath hospital. Also had a notification that I joined Meetup 7 years ago today, and have attended 33 events!

Thurs Nov 7

My birthday. Originally I'd booked to see the Monet exhibition followed by dinner at Rules. These plans were scuppered by an all out tube strike. It was called off a few hours ago but I'd already moved on and made different plans. Had some lovely messages on FB from former colleagues. 

Had hair done, regrowth and cut, no highlights. In much better condition. Watched last 2 episodes of Wolf Hall in readiness for new series. Had my favourite dinner, quiche, mash and salad with a cheeky taramasalata starter. 

Friday Nov 8

Cold enough to wear blue coat to the Kettlewell Colour Club ladies' lunch I organised at Granary Square Brasserie.  All present, 13 lovely ladies, went well. Started Day of the Jackal, Apple. 

Sunday Nov 10

Did walk in forest, then went to the local war memorial for Remembrance Sunday. There's a big parade.  Christopher and family came round to give me my birthday presents. Started Paris Has Fallen, Prime.

Mon Nov 11

To Plymouth. Train service was ok, although busy. Sunny for first time in 2 weeks. Got bus from station and was at mum's by 4.30. Watched 1st episode of new Wolf Hall series. See reviews section below.

Tues Nov 12

Sunny. Did walk and went in charity shops. Top pic shows Ridgeway shopping centre in Plympton, which had colourful planters filled with knitted poppies for Rembrance. 

Bought a skirt and necklace for £3.25 and purple sequin top. See the skirt.  After lunch Rob & Claire took us to Endsleigh garden centre, which was looking festive. Had tea, didn't buy anything.  Travelling by train instead of car cramps my style! 

Wednesday Nov 13

Train home. Train more or less on time and not over-crowded. Home by 4.30. J met me at the station. 

Thurs Nov 14

Going back to low carb eating. My weight hasn't changed, but "carb creep", particularly since LEJOG, means my waist has gained 2 inches. Look out for my post on this, coming soon. 

Did my 10k steps over to Tesco superstore and back. Watched lovely documentary called Billy and Molly, about an otter, on Disney. Got 3rd book in Wolf Hall series free on the Kindle. 

Friday Nov 15

Did long walk and Pilates. O and R came round. Steak for dinner. Watched Paris has fallen (Prime)

Sat Nov 16

Went to Good Housekeeping Live with Annemarie. Ended up doing over 12k steps. It was a mile to the venue from the tube station. Upgraded to a VIP subscription which includes print and online magazine,  quality beauty box and opportunity to test products. Read more in my post here.

Dinner was salad with 2 chicken breasts (hadn't had any lunch).  Started watching Game of Thrones again. It's probably our 5th time. The lighting and colours are far better on the new TV.

Sunday Nov 17

Short walk, blue sky. Roast lamb with swede, asparagus, peas. Cheese and biscuits in evening. Made Granola, recipe in one of the Caldesi books. Low carb, low sugar version. 

Mon Nov 18

Walked to Waitrose, 5 miles. Wrote blog post. Started buying Xmas presents. Good news on scales. Visceral fat down.  Lost an inch off waist. Full of energy. Had granola/yoghurt for breakfast, poached eggs for lunch and pork with celeriac mash and veg for dinner.

Tues Nov 19

Sleet and a lot colder. 3 to 4 degrees.

We did a short forest walk. Rang the surgery re lump on wrist (has been there for a while, but recently has started to throb, particularly at night). Was able to see doctor right away.  They now only give out appointments for the day, nothing can be booked in advance.  I was referred for an ultrasound. Feeling good, marched v fast up the hill.

Weds Nov 20

Sunny but cold. J ran, I did long walk via Connaught Water.  Did some wardrobe clearing.

Thurs 21 Nov

Very cold, blue sky after lunch. Walked to Nuffield and did Pilates. Good to be back in Toni's class.

Friday 22 Nov

Cold, blue sky eventually. Dentist at 9, very quick check, all good. Did shortish walk on own. Pilates. R and O came round. My GHI beauty box arrived. Top quality items.

Made recipes from Caldesi book: baguettes (2.1g carbs each), country loaf (1.1g per slice) and Stilton and celery soup (8.7g). The loaf is particularly good, I froze batches of two slices which is perfect for my lunch, and it's high protein. 

Sat 23 Nov

Storm Bert, lots of snow in the north and Scotland. Just rain here. Did a blog shoot, 2 outfits. Maddaddam ballet matinee at the Royal Opera House. This is a new full length modern ballet based on the Margaret Atwood novel. Was a bit patchy.  In the evening we went to Rachel and Sean's for babysitting. 

Sunday 24 Nov

Very windy. Did forest walk, sun was trying to come out. Roast chicken. Sold 2 Pandora bracelets instantly on eBay. Watched film Blitz on Apple.  See thoughts on it below.

Monday 25 Nov

Did forest walk. Fitbit not working properly. Have tried all the suggested fixes. It's not recording energy (calories). Ordered a lot of Xmas presents.

Tuesday 26 Nov

Lovely day, we should have gone out on the bikes. Walked to Waitrose to get a few bits. Ordered latest Samsung smart watch, on offer for Black Friday. My Fitbit has become unreliable, and Google seems determined to phase them out. Dinner was curry with cauliflower rice instead of normal pilau rice. 

Wednesday 27 Nov

Went to new 80s exhibition at Tate Britain. Tough, came out reeling. A very big exhibition that focuses on a lot of the negative times in the 80s:  strikes, protests, racism, gender bias, homophobia. Felt like I'd been bludgeoned over the head when I came out. Photo below shows the size of the first mobile phones - transportables. I remember them well!

Took a long time getting home because of flooding at a major underpass and closure of Walthamstow bus station. Weather very cold. 

Thurs 28 Nov

Became sunny. Walked to Pilates and back. Spoke to Mum. Shopping delivery was late, had frantic hour packing it all away while simultaneously prepping for dinner. Salmon with celeriac mash, courgettes, leeks. J spent 1.5 hours with EE on phone after they took £1,100 for a month's broadband (!). Reader, I wouldn't recommend them. The transfer from BT to EE has been a shambles.

Friday 29 Nov

Cold, became sunny. Our usual long walk in the forest followed by Pilates.  My new smart watch, Samsung Galaxy 7, arrived. It was very simple to set up with the phone doing most of the work. It has a lot more functionality than the Fitbit. Will be interesting to see what it tells me after gathering some data!

What We Watched - November 

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC)

Absolutely STUNNING. Probably the finest drama the BBC has ever produced.  The acting, the scenery, the lighting, sumptuous costumes - all perfect.  It somehow has a modern, energetic vibe, breathing new life into the Tudor story.  I suspect Thomas Cromwell has come out of it a lot better than he actually was  (he was the enabler of a tyrant, and dismantled all the monasteries, giving their riches to the landed gentry). The BBC lamented that Netflix doesn't like showing dramas like this. Too "English." It's probably a bit too authentic for many. There's no pop music. Mark Rylance's performance is utterly sublime. 

Paris is Burning (Prime)

One of the new generation of international crime thrillers, designed to be sold across the globe.  We started watching it as the same time as Day of the Jackal  (Sky, Now) and I must admit the plots seemed fairly similar for a while. Both the protagonists were in the military in Afghanistan. 

Paris, and the French President, are under attack from a former soldier. Some of it is a little implausible. I couldn't understand how some of the action - gun fights and so on - happened in central Paris, near the Eiffel Tower for example, and no-one saw it!

There were quite a few gasps from my corner, particularly with a fight on board a helicopter, mid-air. Worth a watch.

The Day of the Jackal (Sky, Now)

You have to let this bed in, the first two episodes are a bit dull.  Eddie Redmayne is a highly trained assassin  (The Jackal) who gets into hot water.  International cast and lots of fabulous locations, including London, Tallinn, Munich, Spain.

Blitz (Apple TV)

This WW2 film was a disappointment;  it seemed curiously low powered.  It did shine a light on some of the aspects of life in London during the Blitz which history has overlooked:  how the working classes without shelters were left unprotected, and originally forbidden to go into underground stations, and how there was a lot of looting of bombed shops and houses. The story follows a boy who escaped from the train evacuating him out of London to the countryside, and his adventures getting back home. 

The Diplomat (Netflix)

Another superb series about the US Ambassador based in London. A shock ending.

I hope you enjoyed November's shenanigans. How was your month? Do tell in the comments. 

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