Good Evening My Dears,
When last I wrote, I was learning the ins and outs of my new job. The week passed quickly and while there were mistakes made, there was not anything that could not be reversed, thankfully. We will see what the next few weeks bring. A few weeks back, before I got the job, I applied for unemployment and was told at the Job Centre that I would be receiving a Job Seeker's Benefit. Unfortunately, I received a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions, stating that I would not, in fact, be receiving the benefit. The reason? "The law does not allow us to pay you." Really? Nothing more? Strange as, at the very least, I would expect they'd tell me that I am not entitled as a non-Brit. Ah well, it doesn't matter as I am employed.
I was in lovely Harrogate this weekend visiting my friend Nicola and her family. She has a lovely two year old daughter, Gwen, who is really funny. I left work at 5 pm and managed to catch a 6 pm train to York, where Nicola was kind enough to pick me up a couple of hours later. The 40 minute journey from York to Harrogate was 20 minutes longer than was needed to catch up with a friend that I had not seen for 17 years or so, simply because she is from Washington International School (WIS). WISers have the ability to get right back into the nitty gritty of their friendship even after long absences. It is what makes us all such a great community. Anyhoo, enough WIS love. I met her husband Ian and the evening passed with much talking as well as the consumption of tea and wine. The wine did its work rather well and I slept like a baby, until I was woken at 5:30 am by a not-quite baby demanding to be read a book. The tantrum that ensued was rather epic and very amusing once I was awake. After a leisurely morning, we wandered over to the Leeds Market. The market, as you might expect, is like most markets, except cheaper than the super market. We got 8 peaches (about 3 lbs) for a pound, about $1.60. Similarly 2 lbs. of cherries were 2 pounds. In my new spirit of adventure, I am branching out in my cooking as well. I am going to make Sambar and Idli, which are staples of South Indian cuisine. Sambar is a tamarind based lentil stew and Idli are a mixture of lentil and rice flour cakes which are steamed and eaten with the stew. To that end, I also bought tamarind paste and curry leaves. After lunch, Gwen and Ian went to his parents' house, while Nicola and I wandered over to Harrogate's beautiful city center. We decided to go to Betty's, a tea room that was founded in 1919. Tea, Scones, and Art Nouveau, oh my. There was lots of ironwork and beveled glass all over the place. Plus, no one actually knows who Betty was. All of this is leading to a story somewhere down the line, I can feel it. Heaven, indeed.
Yesterday, we woke up and went to spend the day in York, as I left from there in the afternoon. York is a gorgeous town as well, though in a different way from Harrogate. Harrogate is like a Victorian grand dame who has not fallen on hard times. Genteel and reminiscent of what the Gilded Age must have been in the US. York is far older. There has been a city in that spot since the Roman times. York also has the most extensive intact walls in the UK. We walked the walls of York, and I have to hand it to Gwen, she is a trooper. I am sure that at two years old, I complained much more about walking than she did. We also went through The Shambles, a medieval street where butchers plied their gory trade. The buidings are mere feet apart (and by mere I mean 3 or 4 feet). You could sit in your house and gossip with your cross the road neighbour without having to ever leave. There are no butchers in the Shambles now, just lots of cute shops, and of course, lots of not-as-cute tourists. We also happened to see Ed Alleyne-Johnson, an electrical violinist who is amazing. Those of you who are familiar with New Model Army will have heard of him. He is a very down to earth musician, despite being quite famous. He eschews big record companies and does much of his performing on the street. You can check him out on YouTube and buy his music on Itunes or Amazon. I did.
Right, folks, that's all she wrote.
Next up: I throw myself into writing and prepare for more guests.
Cheerio for Now,
Tina
When last I wrote, I was learning the ins and outs of my new job. The week passed quickly and while there were mistakes made, there was not anything that could not be reversed, thankfully. We will see what the next few weeks bring. A few weeks back, before I got the job, I applied for unemployment and was told at the Job Centre that I would be receiving a Job Seeker's Benefit. Unfortunately, I received a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions, stating that I would not, in fact, be receiving the benefit. The reason? "The law does not allow us to pay you." Really? Nothing more? Strange as, at the very least, I would expect they'd tell me that I am not entitled as a non-Brit. Ah well, it doesn't matter as I am employed.
I was in lovely Harrogate this weekend visiting my friend Nicola and her family. She has a lovely two year old daughter, Gwen, who is really funny. I left work at 5 pm and managed to catch a 6 pm train to York, where Nicola was kind enough to pick me up a couple of hours later. The 40 minute journey from York to Harrogate was 20 minutes longer than was needed to catch up with a friend that I had not seen for 17 years or so, simply because she is from Washington International School (WIS). WISers have the ability to get right back into the nitty gritty of their friendship even after long absences. It is what makes us all such a great community. Anyhoo, enough WIS love. I met her husband Ian and the evening passed with much talking as well as the consumption of tea and wine. The wine did its work rather well and I slept like a baby, until I was woken at 5:30 am by a not-quite baby demanding to be read a book. The tantrum that ensued was rather epic and very amusing once I was awake. After a leisurely morning, we wandered over to the Leeds Market. The market, as you might expect, is like most markets, except cheaper than the super market. We got 8 peaches (about 3 lbs) for a pound, about $1.60. Similarly 2 lbs. of cherries were 2 pounds. In my new spirit of adventure, I am branching out in my cooking as well. I am going to make Sambar and Idli, which are staples of South Indian cuisine. Sambar is a tamarind based lentil stew and Idli are a mixture of lentil and rice flour cakes which are steamed and eaten with the stew. To that end, I also bought tamarind paste and curry leaves. After lunch, Gwen and Ian went to his parents' house, while Nicola and I wandered over to Harrogate's beautiful city center. We decided to go to Betty's, a tea room that was founded in 1919. Tea, Scones, and Art Nouveau, oh my. There was lots of ironwork and beveled glass all over the place. Plus, no one actually knows who Betty was. All of this is leading to a story somewhere down the line, I can feel it. Heaven, indeed.
Yesterday, we woke up and went to spend the day in York, as I left from there in the afternoon. York is a gorgeous town as well, though in a different way from Harrogate. Harrogate is like a Victorian grand dame who has not fallen on hard times. Genteel and reminiscent of what the Gilded Age must have been in the US. York is far older. There has been a city in that spot since the Roman times. York also has the most extensive intact walls in the UK. We walked the walls of York, and I have to hand it to Gwen, she is a trooper. I am sure that at two years old, I complained much more about walking than she did. We also went through The Shambles, a medieval street where butchers plied their gory trade. The buidings are mere feet apart (and by mere I mean 3 or 4 feet). You could sit in your house and gossip with your cross the road neighbour without having to ever leave. There are no butchers in the Shambles now, just lots of cute shops, and of course, lots of not-as-cute tourists. We also happened to see Ed Alleyne-Johnson, an electrical violinist who is amazing. Those of you who are familiar with New Model Army will have heard of him. He is a very down to earth musician, despite being quite famous. He eschews big record companies and does much of his performing on the street. You can check him out on YouTube and buy his music on Itunes or Amazon. I did.
Right, folks, that's all she wrote.
Next up: I throw myself into writing and prepare for more guests.
Cheerio for Now,
Tina
Hi Tina! Here's my email: giselle [dot] mickel [at] gmail [dot] com. Send me your mobile number and we'll make plans to do something soon. Giselle :-)
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