All that glitters...

...may be gold. Or silver. Platinum, diamond, pearl, even? Certainly all and more were glittering, glistening, and shining their little hearts out at the re-opening of the V&A's jewellery gallery, which I went to Friday night with jewelophile friend Margot.

The galleries are impressively done, albeit a bit overwhelming, and frankly less bling than I was expecting. The Crown Jewels these are not -- instead the visitor is presented with an historic march from some of the earliest known adornments (including those darn Etruscans) through to the most modern of pieces, looking more like works of art than something you could (or would) actually wear.

The panel after panel crowded with samples perhaps got just a little samey to all but the true aficianado (how many signet rings can you look at? Really, the ones from the 1600s didn't look that different from ones from the 1800s, at least to my philistine eye.) I think I would've preferred examples of 'the best' of this, or 'most distinctive' of that -- which they did have in some cases, highlighted in the centre of the galleries. And I did learn a few things -- such as what a "chatelaine" is. I knew the word to mean mistress of a large house / estate / castle. Turns out it also was a chain women wore in the days before pockets & purses, on which would hang tools for the house -- keys, scissors, a watch, etc. A Swiss Army belt. Ish.

I was also impressed by the gemstone colour wheel at the end of the exhibit -- ranging from diamonds to pearls, the wheel swirled together jewels in every imaginable colour. I can never decide if saphires or emeralds are my favourite... sigh -- I guess I'll have to take both.

There were also a few multimedia aspects -- the most amazing of which was a touch screen computer where you could design your own ring. My efforts weren't too fantastic, as I ran out of time, but I was hugely impressed by the instant 3D nature of the design -- you could rotate, resize, recolour, cut, etc, your jewels and ring onscreen and see your creation from every angle. Pretty cool.

Next on the exhibition schedule -- Psycho Buildings. Or should I see Skin & Bones -- about fashion and architecture? Aaah -- too many choices.

Sunday evening again

And time for my normal refrain -- where *has* the weekend gone?!

I can tell you where some of it went -- my monthly V&A afternoon. After talking about it for yeeeears, I've finally started volunteering at my favourite London museum. It's not the most taxing of jobs, sitting there as I do at the membership desk. Mostly a lot of 'Bathroom? Just down those stairs.' and 'You can get back to the Tube a couple of ways...' But I do sign up a few new members each time, and I enjoy chatting to the visitors who stop by (perhaps a little too much. I'm sure the visitor from St Petersburg, FL, today simply wanted to know if the central hall chandelier was a Chihuly, not a discourse on the glassblower's recent UK exhibits, but hey - she started it).

And I especially enjoy getting there a little before my shift to check out the latest exhibitions, even if I only get a quick glimpse. And today was particularly fun -- a visit to the newly opened Story of the Supremes exhibit, courtesy of the Mary Wells collection. Unlike the recent Couture exhibit, which was vast, but mostly dress after dress, with relatively little context, the Supremes show packs in not only a variety of stage outfits from various incarnations of the group but also a plethora of contextual background panels, covering Motown, the civil rights movement, growth of girl groups, general Americana... phew! A bit much to take in in my whirlwind 20 minutes -- I was mostly looking at the sequins -- but I look forward to going back.

I also restrained myself in the gift shop, though I quite liked the Love Child t-shirt for some reason. And I realised my CD collection is remarkably -- and sadly -- bereft of any classic girl-group sound, but held off addressing that lack with the Best of Supremes double album. One item that did make me laugh, however, was the serving bowl, made from a real live gen-yoo-ine LP record (don't see many of those any more). The laugh came from the price -- £25!! Man, I gotta get me some of that action. I remembered reading about how easy these are to make on Web-Goddess, (who herself credits Get Crafty) -- and now I see them for sale for £25??!

M... is for the many things she gave me...

Happy (American) Mother's Day, Mom. Rather than a card, I thought I'd celebrate in proper Mother's Day 2.0 style, with this blog post -- I couldn't say it better myself.



Now, imagine this with 3 children (and, er, 2 of them female)



Happy Mother's Day to a Mom I can laugh with -- thanks for the years of smile lines I've got -- every one of them is worth it!

366 days later

Happy anniversary to my husband – 1 year on, and just getting better and better.

I’d write more, but I’m afraid it would descend into schmaltzy Hallmark quality... or worse still, be sub-Apprentice, and we can’t have that.

I just wish we could invite everyone back for another party! At least that would give me an excuse to update the website...

Puzzle time again...

Two weeks in a row - (pause to give myself a little pat on the back. Pause again to take it back when I remember NPR received 3,000 entries last week - one of the larger numbers, so suppose it was a pretty easy one...)

Let's see how many right answers they get this time - Alright, Mr deShortz... I'm ready for my phone call...

And the question is:

"Insert a long E sound after the first letter of "bond" and phonetically you get "be-ond." Insert a long E sound after the first letter of "renter" and you get "re-enter." Name something found in outer space. Insert a long E sound after the first letter, and you'll name a resident of a major American city. What are the words?"

Answers to NPR Puzzle by 3pm Thursday as usual... Or below. Though I make no promises of calling anyone to play puzzle on air Sunday morning -- you'll have a slightly better chance of that with NPR...

More money than sense

So, I'm reading Daily Candy today, and what's the featured hip new fashionable item du jour? Ooh - a stunning necklace, each one individually crafted, and all the more covetable because of its ephemeral nature. And more than being simply beautiful, the necklace is a wearable piece of social commentary -- rather than purchase something momentarily trendy, which you then tire of after wearing it twice and it gets old and faded and then you send it to the charity shop but no one wants it there either and then it adds to our ever growing mountains of rubbish threatening to swamp the earth -- rather than that, it just melts away in a few weeks. Ah, beautiful and eco-friendly. And only from £120. What a triumph of jewellery making.

Er, no. It's ROCK CANDY people! As the designer herself says - sugar, water, and string. Get a do-it-yourself kit here. Or go to the grocery store - I think you may be able to find the rare ingredients there...

[BTW, I realise this rant may make me sound like either a philistine or a grumpy old woman -- but really! Rock Candy necklaces 'from £120'??? What happened to the recession?]

NPR puzzle - about TV, so how can I miss?

To enter this week's NPR puzzle:

"If you take the title "Candid Camera." and write down the first appearance of each letter, in the order they appear, ignoring any repeated letters, you get C, A, N, D, I, M, E, R. Or "LA Law" would be L, A, W.

By doing the same thing to the title of what other well-known TV program do you get the letters S, E, A, M, T, R?"

If you can get the answer by 3pm Eastern time (about 11 hours from now as I write), be sure to submit it to NPR, and maybe you too can play the Sunday Puzzle on the air with Will Shortz. Not sure he calls London, but have my phone ready if he does!

On the road to domestic goddessness

I took one more step closer last night, courtesy of the London College of Fashion, with the first night of my... (drum roll) SEWING CLASSES!! Yes, I've finally enrolled in a basic machine sewing course after talking about it for ages and eons and even years.

No faffing about, we got straight on the machines, industrial ones at that (ooh, scary. Very fast, and very powerful). I learned that in some beginner courses you start on paper, with no thread (huh?) just to get the feel of the machine - but not us. Nope, right into bobbin winding, needle threading, and line after line on squares of calico. (which, by the way, is not the printed floral cotton I knew it as in the US, but rather a plain unbleached material -- like thicker muslin. Thanks, Wikipedia, for clearing up my confusion!). By the end of the first class I was feeling quite in control of my machine, ooh miss, look at me and my straight seams.

Until it was, erm, miss - I seem to have broken my needle... The industrial machines may be powerful, but clearly no match for me. Stay tuned for next week's installment: what can she break next!?

Where did the week go?

How did it get to be Saturday already, with only a few minutes until we head off on our lovely (we hope!) long weekend in Lugano??

My week off playing hometown tourist disappeared far too quickly -- however I did manage to do more than just sit around watching Rockford*. To wit:

*finally taking in Ice Station Antarctica at the Natural History Museum -- great exhibit... if I were about 30 years younger. Impressive for kids, would've been better if they had more things to keep the parents amused
*didn't take in the Russians at the Royal Academy -- lesson: book in advance for popular shows in their final week!
*took lesson to heart - and successfully booked in advance for Vanity Fair Portraits at National Portrait Gallery. Fab. Will get the book, definitely.
*window shopped -- including the new Banana Republic, first in Europe. Great dresses, I wanted most of them - however disappointingly, either they believe all Londoners are between size 0 - 4, or the larger sizes had sold out.

And now, off to Adventures in Switzerland!

*the fact I'd seen them all before may have helped

Rhythm-tastic at the Kenton

Why were we in Stoke Row at all to experience the great April snow of aught eight? The now annual appearance of the Roy Bailey Band at Henley's Kenton Theatre (featuring Ed Hall on drums -- aka Ashley's Dad). This year's theme was Fascinating Rhythm, which allowed them to pull together quite an eclectic mix of differently-timed (but all toe-tapping) tunes. From the title track to Abba, from Oye Como Va to West Side Story and In The Mood, it was a well rounded musical evening to say the least - and once again, it was all I could do not to jump up and start dancing (or worse - start singing along!)

Speaking of singing, in addition to keeping the fascinating beat throughout, Ed led vocals on one number... take it away, Ed Hall, with his take on The Lady is a Tramp:

If April showers bring May flowers...

...what do April snows bring?

I guess we'll find out, as this past weekend saw temperatures across the UK dive from a lovely spring-like 68 degrees on Friday, to below freezing by Saturday evening. And *this* is what I saw out the bedroom window when I woke up in Stoke Row (at the in-laws) Sunday morning:

I think this is more snow than I've seen in the UK in the 10+ years I've been here. Granted, I was outside London, but still --it's not like I was in the wild Scottish north! Stoke Row still counts as the South East. (at least I think so - my English geography is still pretty poor...)

Poor daffodils in the back garden...

Taking Millie for a walk by the sports field (she didn't fancy too much walking or ball chasing -- preferring instead to lie in the snow...)

All I can say is, pretty as the snow may be, the flowers and I hope spring returns soon...

A-a-a-and STRETCH

So, last night was the last of my 6-week beginners Pilates class (for you Pilatophiles out there - it was floor- not machine-based). I think I liked it less and then more than I thought I would -- which just about evens itself out. On the positive side -- the class was small (6 - 8), and we were all starting out from the same super novice beginner state. And the instructor was great -- very hands on, physically moving us each into the correct position if we didn't quite get it from just watching her movements. And we went over the basics, quite thoroughly. So I do think I learned a lot.

And yet. I'm not sure I really felt like I was DOING anything. I did start to feel the exercises properly after the first few lessons -- but still. We'd do one exercise about 5 times, and then she'd say 'ooh, that's enough, don't over do it'. So at the end of the hour class, I felt quite relaxed, but not sure I felt that, um, exercised. I think the only way pilates works to 'sculpt your body', a la every magazine cover, is to do it more than once a week.

Hmm... will have to think about that one...

What will they think of next??

Thanks, Kris, for pointing me to this fab new application from Google. Why review the past when you can search the future!? I wonder if it only works Down Under, however...

WWLD?

I woke up this morning to film crews on the Green AGAIN. Yep, Kew Green appears to be quite the picturesque spot for commercials -- Mars last week, Activia today. And -- sigh -- 2 more opportunities to get my big break lost through lack of initiative on my part.

If I were Lucy, I would've manufactured 101 ways to get into either of those commercials. Perhaps impress the director by scarfing 100 Snickers bars in 10 minutes, for a little product knowledge? (and then of course being too sick to film the actual commercial...)

Of course, if I *were* Lucy, then my husband would already be in the commercial himself and I'd spend most of the day trying to get on camera while simultaneously disguising myself so he had no idea I was there. And hilarity and hijinks would ensue.

Ah - simpler days... I've just decided my new life motto: What Would Lucy Do?

Margot in the kitchen

No, not the sequel to Margot at the Wedding . Rather, Saturday afternoon saw me at my friend Margot's flat, trying to cook as many freezable recipes as possible in a couple of hours. Why? To see her through the next couple of weeks as she recuperates from surgery to repair a skiing mishap-caused torn ACL. So, sending many get-well-soon wishes to Margot -- hope you enjoy the defrosted veggie soup, chicken cacciatore, and teriyaki chicken! It's amazing what you can freeze -- did you know there's a whole movement dedicated to freezing food for a month, so you only cook that one day a month. I think that requires more dedication and planning than I'm capable of!

And to Kim, who suffered the SAME injury on the same ill-fated trip -- I wish I could come to New York & cook with you as well! At least home delivery is that much more prevalent in NYC...

mmm... steak

What goes better with last week's potatoes than a juicy steak? And now, having been sucked into watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares for the first time (I swear - I only turned it on while folding laundry!), I now want to try a steak at the Olde Stone Mill Steakhouse in Tuckahoe -- according to Google Maps, only 7.2 miles from White Plains! Though I'm slightly disappointed Gordon took the signature funnel salad off the menu -- that would have been a sight to behold.



View Larger Map
*really - I'm not being ironic -- I do want to check this place out. Gee, I guess I *am* influenced by celebrity, however tenuous.

My cup runneth over

Can you believe it? It seems that not only is this British Pie Week, it is in fact the whole Year of the Potato. And that’s backed by the mighty UN, so it must be for serious.

Some little known facts about the potato:

• It does not, in fact, end in the letter ‘e’ (ok, most people know that already, but in an election year, I thought it was a fun reminder of some lighter moments in Republican party ineptitude. Makes a change from the more serious ineptitude of late)
• There’s not only a year dedicated to it, but a new book -- and Marie Antoinette was a potato promoter... so perhaps she could've said 'let them eat pommes de terre'
• The potato is the world's fourth most important food crop (answers to 1,2,3 most important below)
• The potato was first domesticated by hunters and gatherers around Lake Titicaca (I think it probably looked something like this)
• If you're lucky, you too can read the very first issue of the Frozen Potato Product Newsletter -- and get in there on the ground floor
• There are 7500 varieties of potatoes (how come there are only about 3 or so at the grocery store then -- tiny, a little bigger, and baking size?)
• And finally, the best mashed potatoes in the whole world are made by none other than Ashley Paul Agar. And reader, I married him.

*top 3 crops ahead of potatoes are maize, wheat & rice, btw

mmmmm.... pie.....

Clearly I was meant to live in the UK, given my love for foods stodgy and carbohydrate-intensive. Baked beans -- mmm. Mash? Can't go wrong. But nothing beats a good savoury pie. Yum and double yum, so let's all celebrate British Pie Week.

Of course - I completely disagree with Jus-Rol's site -- puff pastry topping is *not* the way to go. Far too light and fluffy. You need a good solid crust, such as found on Square Pie pies.

Only 5 more days left of Pie Week, and I've yet to have a single pie. Guess I know what's for dinner tonight! (I wonder if I can get take-out from the Greyhound next door...)

Groundbreaking news

Or is that earth-shaking?

Last night at 00:54 on the clock (because I looked!), Ashley & I were woken up by a little rumble, and the sound of things on hooks clinking against the walls. My first thought? Earthquake. My second thought? Don't be silly - England doesn't have earthquakes. It must've been a really large truck or something going by (not that I heard the noise of a truck - but still, it seemed to make more sense than an earthquake.)

But as I always say - stick with your instinct, go with that first thought. Turns out England did indeed have its biggest earthquake for 25 years. And despite it happening about 160 miles away, we can vouch for the fact it was definitely felt in London!

Citibank? Yep, still sucking...

When last we left our heroine (?) it had been 24 hours, several phone calls & still no access to her account.

Well friends, it's now been 48 hours and -- surprise, surprise -- still no account.

But yesterday did bring a few more twists & turns in the grand Citibank Adventure.

Just to remind you, when I called yesterday morning, I was promised a call 'by the end of the day'. Of course, I foolishly took 'call' to mean 'account open with money in it'.

Unable to wait, I checked my account around 2 pm... silly me -- 2 pm is NOT end of day. Of course my account wasn't open! With a little time on my hands (work's been a bit slow for a change), I did a little digging and found the names of the heads of the UK retail banking operation, Messrs. Kerr and van der Meer. And a little more digging gave me a good steer towards their likely e-mail addresses. SO, e-mail them I did. (hmm - am I straying into grumpy old woman territory here? I think I have the right to be in this case!)

I was quite measured in my letter, and didn't make crazy demands or accusations -- but simply (and more briefly than in this blog!) detailed the poor service I'd received, and my hope that by providing feedback, at least perhaps they might change some processes and perhaps others wouldn't have such an absolutely horrid time...

And then I got back to checking for my still non-existent account.

Hmm - what exactly constitutes 'end of day'? Surely 5 pm is end-of-day-ish? And yet -- no call. And of course, still no account showing online, and still no money.

So back on the phone, back on hold, and back to the promises. 'Yes, your account has been activated, and I can see your account has been credited the £800+-- however it's not yet accessible. A supervisor will call you later.' Really? A supervisor will call me later?? That makes me feel so much better!

And then, shock of shocks, 15 minutes later my phone did indeed ring!! And I was speaking not with Call Centre Supervisor # 6, but in fact Mr van der Meer. Yes, the same head of UK retail banking I'd sent my complaining e-mail to 3 hours earlier. He apologised profusely, and said he'd reviewed my file, and it sounded like I'd had an incredibly poor experience, and he would be calling the head of that call centre, and they'd look at their processes, and he definitely appreciated my feedback, and assured me that they care about my customers, and did I feel confident that my account was being taken care of. Um, well, I'm not sure. It looks like progress is being made -- but I STILL DON'T HAVE MY MONEY.

And yet, it worked. I was quite impressed he took the time to call, and actually a bit charmed and my rant softened slightly. And this was followed about an hour later by another phonecall, this time from yet another call centre supervisor, who promised me my account would be open this morning. Oh, and of course, a promise of a call on said morning to let me know that my account was indeed open.

And so, gentle reader, I told my slightly mollified self that if indeed my account was open this morning, I'd stick by Citibank for at least a little longer. Thank you Mr van der Meer for restoring my faith in Citibank's customer service.

Er - wait - I take that back. Because it's 10:30 (that's morning, right? Or do I need to wait until noon to be truly hacked off?) and STILL NO MONEY. So, Mr van der Meer, good try, thanks for the call, but not quite good enough.

Now the big question (after 'when do I get my money back') has to be 'which bank do I switch to?' I think First Direct just got another customer!

Citibank Sucks

So, yesterday morning, like so many mornings, I stop by the ATM machine for a little cash for the week. And get a 'sorry we can't help you - please contact your bank' message. Thinking it was a simple computer error, I try again - same result.

Hmm. Strange. But at least I had enough for a Starbucks, so hey - not such a bad start to the day. Until of course I checked online -- and not only was cash not available from the ATM, cash wasn't available. Period. My UK Sterling account had completely and utterly disappeared from existence -- including the £800+ it held. The only thing showing was my zero-balance US $ account that I'd tried to close 2 weeks previously. Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser...

Straight on to the phone I go... and after the whole 'enter your account number - enter your PIN - press 1 2 3, etc' (*0 to customer service works every time!), then a little hold music, I was on the phone to customer service rep #1 - time, 9:04 a.m. 'I'm so sorry there's a been a problem. Did you request for your dollar account be closed on 30 Jan?'

'Er, yes, that's why I took the balance to zero.'

'Can you hold please?'

10 minutes later... 'Well, it seems there's been a technical error, and your sterling account was closed instead. We're so sorry.'

'Um - why would I have asked to close an account with money in it? Can you just re-activate it, and give me access to my account and cash again?'

'I'm so sorry - a supervisor will call you in no more than an hour and will have a resolution to this'.

'Er, ok -- but the only resolution I want is my account open and money back in it.'

Well, 10:30 came, and no call -- so, of course I called back. After more 'press 1's and more hold music, and re-explaining the issue, I was assured by CSR #2 that a supervisor would call me in 15 minutes.

At 11:30 -- I'm sure you can see where this is going -- I'd still not been called back by the mysterious supervisor, so once again I went through the lengthy dialing process. And was promised by CSR #3 a supervisor would call me within a half-hour. But a-ha -- I said 'No, I don't believe you, why should I? I will hold here until you put a supervisor on the line.' And hold I did, until the line went dead about 10 minutes later. But I would not be thwarted, and called back. Again. And held. Again. Until I finally talked to -- after explaining the story again to CSR #4 -- yay, a supervisor! Who told me that they were working on reactivating my account as a highest priority, and it should be sorted by the end of the day, and someone would call me by 4:30.

A happy ending? I'm sure it comes as no surprise that no one had called by 5, and when I checked in with friendly CSR #5, I was told definitely that I'd be called by 5:30.

And, at 6:38, on my way out to client drinks with empty wallet and non-working debit card... my phone actually rang. 'Hello, this is Citibank. We have a note here you asked for a supervisor to call you?'

'No, actually, I asked for the mistake to be fixed and my account to be opened and my cash to be returned.'

'OK, yes, we're sorry for the error. I'm calling to tell you your account has been reactivated.'

'Great, excellent, thank you. So when I get out of this cab, I can go get cash out of an ATM?'

'Are you talking about your overdraft? That will be sorted tomorrow'

'No, I'm not talking about an overdraft, I'm talking about my account. You know, my cash. You know, the £800+ that was there.'

'Oh no, your account balance is zero. When your account was closed. and I know this was our error, you were sent a bankers draft for the balance. You should receive that in the next few days'.

Grrr.... I explained I don't want a cheque that I'll then have to deposit somewhere, (and if that somewhere is citibank, that will take a few days, as there are only 3 branches in London). What I WANT is for the situation to return to what it was a few days ago -- money in my activated account, accessible online and/or through an ATM machine.

After more apologies, and more being told my matter was a priority, I was told it would be sorted by this morning.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that... it's NOT. Latest update -- 'We're making this our highest priority, usually it would take much longer to re-open an account, but as this is our error, we're speeding up the process. But there are steps we have to go through, I'm so sorry. Someone will call you by the end of the day.'

SO -- Citibank makes an error, I spend hours on hold and out of pocket, and all I get is 'I'm sorry'. Many times over. And now having read this account, instead of another 'I'm sorry', I may in fact get a 'You're terminated'!

When will Stefanie get access to her account?? How many more hours will she have to sit on hold? Will Citibank ever call her back??? Tune in tomorrow, to All My Bank Accounts to find out!

Geni idea!

So, another thing that's been occupying my time recently is building my family tree, with this incredibly easy to use site, Geni.com, though I must say Ashley has taken it even more to heart, dressing up the tree with some, um, creative photos...

View more of Stefanie's tree  |  

To make additions / changes yourself, I think I need to invite you directly from my tree... so if you're a wulfagarleonardolsorogge type, look for an invite in your e-mail soon & help us grow the Planet Wulfagar tree!

Weekend update

Sigh... such a lovely relaxing weekend I've only just now revved up enough to write a recap.

I knew the weekend was off to a good start, as I bested the master in Trivial Pursuit. (though to be fair, it was a very very close match, I did get a few ridiculously easy questions, and Ashley finally got tired of catching me out on sports questions at the end, so switched to a more achievable category. But hey - a win's a win, right?)

Saturday, after homely errands and chores, Ashley went off to make up for his trivia wounds by bashing around a cricket ball for a while -- leaving me to luxuriate in a sunny flat and no work to do. Hello, T is for Trespass, and hello, too, overpriced box of Wheat Thins, courtesy of American-food-stocking-Partridge's grocery store... Could the day *get* any better?

Well, yes, indeed it could. For Saturday night was engagement-anniversary-night -- celebrated at the same engagement-making restaurant, in 'our table', and -- thanks to my husband's chutzpah -- a complimentary bottle of prosecco. Ah, tradition... (the restaurant & table, not necessarily the chutzpah!)

Sunday was equally sunny, and equally unstressful -- leisurely paper reading, yummy brunch, stroll home through Kew Gardens, stopping at bench after bench to soak up the most-welcome sun, followed by a spot of tennis in the afternoon (note to self: must learn how to serve), and delish (if I say so myself) enchiladas for dinner (note to self: must make more recipes from the Seattle Junior League cookbook, thanks mom, and never buy packaged enchilada sauce again!)

Just a shame weekends don't come on week-middles as well!

The original Tevye

As my mother rightly pointed out, the true originator of Tevye was Zero Mostel... so here goes Mom:




(though looks strange without the beard!)

Wonder of wonder...

Miracle of miracles! I managed to get Ashley to another musical, and -- despite being a self-professed musicals-hater -- he seems to have liked this one too. So, Fiddler on the Roof goes into the 'not so bad' file, along with The Producers and Wicked... I'll convert him yet!

Overall, I was quite impressed, and have been humming ‘If I were a rich man’ and more since leaving the show last night. Ok, maybe I was even humming *during* the show, but I promise no one could hear, seriously.

I think the Tevye role must be one of the most difficult to give your own personal spin to, given Topol’s role-defining performance. However, Henry Goodman (no, I hadn’t heard of him either, a proper stage actor in this age of 'celebs' treading the boards) was quite good, with a nice mix of humour, cynicism and frustration at changing times (I do think he was a bit over the top in Rich Man – though the audience seemed to enjoy).

Overall, however, fun show, great dancing, nice use of a relatively small space and sparse staging for a variety of scenes (I particularly liked the dream scene, with people popping up from ‘graves’ in the floorboards). And, most amazing of all, the tailor Motel Kamzoil looked just like Jess! [my brother-in-law, for the odd reader I may have who isn't a family member or close friend I've begged to read this blog]. So much so, in fact, that at times it was distracting, as I expected him to sound like Jess as well… Instead he sounded like a weird mix of English and faux-Yiddishy something… but that’s another story.

So, yabadebadebadabadabadebadebadum and L’Chaim!

How geo-savvy are you?

Warning -- this TravelPod interactive map-quiz is entertaining -- and a major time suck! [note -- I've only made it to level 4 so far... but that's because I stopped myself from going further, given, y'know, real work!]

Which way does your compass point?

Thanks to Kris for pointing me to Electoral Compass... Looks like I'm closest in policy leaning to Obama -- and I'm sure not surprisingly, farthest away from Huckabee. I'll bear that in mind as I cast my vote in the Democrat's 'historic Global Presidential Primary'...

Happy Not-So-New Year

(With apologies to David Letterman)
Top 10 excuses for not updating my blog in over a month
10) I thought the Writers Guild strike applied to blog posts as well. And then I remembered I never paid my union dues...
9) I broke all 10 fingers in a freak manicure accident (don’t ask) and haven’t been able to type
8) I’ve been working on developing a mind-to-blog application – and it’s finally working
7) I’ve been possessed by the spirit of Marie Antoinette – ‘let them eat Facebook’
6) I’ve been caught in a time warp, and thought I was blogging in the present, but it looks like I was blogging in the future. But when we finally get there – boy are you going to enjoy those posts!
5) My mom said if all the other kids blogged about jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, that doesn’t mean I should too...
4) New Year’s resolution was not to blog. But who keeps resolutions past January?
3) I’ve been, er, training for the New York Marathon. The London Marathon. Er, maybe the tv-and-needlework-athon
2) Blogs? We don’t need no steenkin’ blogs!
1) The cat ate my blog-work

Or the more boring reason – I’ve just been too busy at work, and too lazy at home, and have also been hit by that perfectionist-procrastination effect. Rather than do a little bit at a time, I want the whole thing to be perfect from the start. And the longer I put it off, the more perfect it has to be when I finally get to it.

So, my belated procrastinator’s resolution for 2008? Just do it. (er, with apologies to Nike this time). Or should I say Every Little Helps (thanks Tesco). For 2008, I resolve to do a little, but often, rather than a lot intermittently. And I’m not just talking about the blog!

Yearly Roundup!

The newsstands are heaving with End-of-Year Double Issues, every TV station has its 2007 countdown... so it must be time for the Planet Wulfagar Yearly Round-Up!

Considering we saw in 2007 with the local police, detailing our New Year’s Eve burglary, the year could only get better from there . And better it did get:
One wedding (participatory), two weddings (attendatory), two new jobs, three babies-of-friends, three tennis tournaments (well, only one of us got to all 3, Mr Cincinnati), one 5k personal best, Britney shaved her head, jail beckoned for Paris while Lindsay escaped with rehab, er – sorry, slipped into the HeatWorld recap there for a minute.
So congratulations to Pete & Carmen (wedding attendance #1) and Ben & Anita (wedding #2).

And to Duncan & Sabine (baby Lilya); Andy & Sam (baby Charlie); and Anna & Jules (baby Imogen).

And of course to Ichiro, for hit number 200, a home run off of Roger Clemens at Yankee Stadium, providing Ashley with his number 1 moment of 2007. (Well – maybe his 2nd favourite moment...)

Seeing the Mariners beat the Yankees in New York was definitely a highlight of the year, however, coming as it did in the middle of a fabulous NYC-DC visit. We were lucky enough to add a few more cities to the list this year, including 2 new countries (Sweden and Morocco, if you’re counting for the next Planet Wulfagar quiz).

I never got around to posting about our most recent trip, Venice, so I’ll sum up in three words: Lots of walking.

Closer to home, we added a new honorary citizen to Planet Wulfagar: Mr Toots, the friendly neighbourhood cat. And I do mean friendly – I’ve never seen a friendlier feline. So we have a semi-pet, which is great, as we have neither time nor space nor lease conditions that allow a full-time pet, but this way we get some animal cuddling time in, always helpful to keep stress levels down.

On the career front, Ashley moved closer to home, leaving Contemporary for a more senior role working directly for Seapine. I moved even closer to home for a time, leaving LBi for a role doing eating bon bons and watching soaps. Fortunately, however, I’ve more recently started as a 'digital client partner' (all together now, 'oooh') at agency TMW. It’s only a week so far, but looking good.

In addition to all the soaps and sweets, time at home meant Crafty-Girl time – 2 cross-stitch pieces, 1 needlepoint, tens of holiday cards, and 1 Empire State Building. I’m especially proud of the Building, as it required quite meticulous work, though I would’ve been prouder if it had won me the trip the New York!

My real highlight of 2007? The time we spent with friends and family, whenever and wherever possible – and we’re looking forward to more of that in 2008, so hope to see you soon!!

Feeeeed the Wo-oo-oorld

NPR just reported on FreeRice.com -- which I've neglected after the initial buzz. So in this holiday season, give some holiday cheer and rice by testing your vocabulary at FreeRice.com (and Dad -- they're adding in some tougher words for those you word-iacs who make it to level 50...)

Just heard on NPR about this fascinating sounding book: Cartographia -- a collection of maps by Vincent Virga, which illustrates how maps "reveal as much about the society that created them as they do about the geography of the places they describe."

I think my favourite example he draws is of North by Northwest, where there's a scene in an office in DC, which places the Capitol outside the window, which would imply the office itself was on the Mall -- an impossibility. But rather than sneer at the stupidity of Hitchcock, Virga points out that this 'remapping' if you will, is a plot point, to show the looming presence of the government in this scene. (confession: though of course I have seen North by Northwest, I cannot remember this scene for the life of me, so take his word for it. When I think of NbN, I only see crop dusters and Mt Rushmore...)

Gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Ok, as usual, a little late, but am finally recovered from our Turkey Day feast, which, given the fact for some reason it’s not a national holiday in this country, we celebrated on Saturday.

I tried to be so prepared – which meant making the cranberry sauce on Tuesday – but that was about as far as my early preparation went. At least I remembered to ‘stale-ify’ the stuffing bread by leaving it out over Friday night.

Menu for the day? Pretty much the classics – turkey, stuffing (my first that didn’t start with the words ‘Stove Top’), sweet potatoes, green beans, aforementioned cranberry sauce, spicy cornbread, and of course dessert & more dessert. Pumpkin pie of course (though, sacre bleu, it’s not one of my favourites, so luckily the one other American attendee volunteered for that one!), chocolate brownies (you must have one chocolate dessert for any dinner party. It’s the rule.) and cranberry apple crisp – all topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Yum, yum, and double yum - If I say so myself.. though I think the empty plates give a good indication of the yum factor. And also serve as a sign that we did a pretty good job of consuming our estimated 4,500 Thanksgiving meal calories. Each. Some of the carnage can be seen in the photo here – unfortunately we forgot to take any of the shiny untouched meal before the knives came out, so remains are all you get...

Key learning from hosting a dinner party for 12? SERVING SPOONS! The last time around I borrowed so many dishes & other implements from Kim, who we missed this year (though I’m sure you enjoyed that week in the Bahamas...) Ah well – we’ve got a while to amass a few more of our own before our next one...

So many thanks to ‘the other American’ (only 2 at this year’s festivities, counting me) for bringing 3 dishes (especially that pie!) and my dear American-in-spirit husband for the best mashed potatoes ever as well as delicious gravy, and our guests for the wine, champagne, charades and company that sweetened the evening and my favourite holiday all the more.

Nostalgia

Awww... 10 Things I Hate About You was on last night. I do love that movie - and I think it gets cuter each time I see it. I managed to keep my 'that's my high school!!' squeals down to only 3 or 4 times. Or maybe 5. Hmm...

Don't think it's supplanted 16 Candles ("Lek. Big lek." "Married? Married. Married? Yes, married. Sheesh.") as my all-time favourite teen flick, but it's definitely up there.

So - what's your favourite classic teen movie that can stand the test of time? And is it on this list? (Why is 16 Candles only 49 out of 50? And where is Better Off Dead??)

[On a side note -- why, despite having many of these films on DVD, do I only get excited and watch them when they show up randomly in the tv schedule?]

Do you know your venesection from your fellah?

Test your vocabulary at (www.freerice.com -- I couldn't figure out how to link out from the image) AND donate rice through the UN. It's rare they say to get above level 48 -- I am *so* going for it...

Yum yum yum

Four forks (or should that be spoons) for this Spicy Corn Chowder from Epicurious... like many of the reviewers I added a potato and jalapenos -- thicker and spicier. (maybe a little too spicy -- jalapenos + overfill on the cayenne pepper = firy tongue). And super easy to make. Yum and double yum - certainly one to add to the autumn / winter rotation. Looking forward to tomorrow's leftovers for lunch already...

Happy Halloween?

Last night, the 30th of October, mind you, hubby & I were enjoying a pleasant dinner at the newly refurbished local bistro, when who should wander over to our table but 2 budding ASBOs (aka delinquents), girls of about 12, 13, with white face paint and wearing crude garbage bag 'costumes' over their clothes.

One of them came forward to our table and mumbled something about 'trick or treat' to me. I replied quite snappishly 'It's not Halloween, what are you doing here. And I don't have any candy anyway, as of course it's not Halloween.' She looked suprised that I even questioned her right to demand favours, in a RESTAURANT, the DAY BEFORE Halloween, but quickly recovered: 'Just give us some money'. Give us some money?? What?? That is NOT Halloween, and that is NOT trick-or-treating. And of course, I said 'No.' Again, I think somewhat to her suprise...

Luckily the manager came out shortly after, as the girls were making their way to the next table, and ushered them out. No doubt to hit up the next restaurant or pub, where no doubt many give in to their demands, muttering 'Halloween - stupid American holiday'.

And yet - that's not how *I* remember Halloween. Have I gotten to the stage of 'back in my day'? And I know it's been years since I celebrated Halloween in the US. So - US-based readers (of which I must have oh, 4 or 5) tell me: Is media coverage in the US dominated by more tricks than treats? Do you worry about being egged or mugged, rather than whether the candy will run out?

Or do you agree with this columnist, who believes Britain has put its own yobbish spin on Halloween, so please stop blaming the US of A. America may not be perfect, but let's take a little responsibility people...

Time to celebrate

Happy Candy Corn Day! Not really a big seller over here -- shame - it's not one of my favourites, but nothing says Halloween more... And if it's good enough for NPR, it's good enough for me.

Ich bin ein doughnut

Ok, ok, so Kennedy never made the ‘I am a jelly doughnut’ mistake, but that was the only quote I could think of about Berlin. And yes, in true procrastinator style, I’m finally posting about my Berlin trip – only about 3 weeks late... As always it’s impossible to cover everything about a trip in a single blog posting, but will try for some highlights.

One impression of Berlin is that it wears its recent history in particular on its sleeve much more evidently than any other city I’ve visited. Or is that just because the ‘last great war’ and the subsequent Iron Curtain still hold a grip on our (my?) historical knowledge. I felt that I both knew a lot and knew nothing about Berlin’s history, so was glad we tagged on to a walking tour of the city that included ‘800 years of Berlin history in 8 minutes’. A bit compressed, but still an education.

It’s also large and small at the same time – according to Wikipedia it’s the 2nd largest city in the EU, and yet we seemed to cover the same general area in our 3 days, and felt very comfortable the town, in a similar way to much smaller places I’ve visited. I’m sure that’s because the city itself sprawls much further than the tourist-centric maps we had, but still, it felt very familiar very quickly.

We didn’t do a lot of sightseeing – however you can’t help but see sights just by walking around. By far the most impressive I felt was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (part of that visible recounting of history). The memorial goes on and on; visitors can get almost lost within it – it’s both stark and in some ways human at the same time. The artist refuses to explain what it means – rather it’s up to each visitor to interpret and take what s/he will, and it was interesting to hear the different responses given by members of the walking tour.

The Jewish Museum was impressive as well – not least because of the architecture. I was most impressed, however, with the breadth of the historical record, showing the presence of Jews in Berlin for centuries. You wind through the exhibits mostly chronologically, learning about significant personalities here, impacts on the city there – all leading to, but not solely focused on, the Holocaust... which of course you know is coming, but seems all the more horrible with the knowledge of the contribution to and identification with the city the Jewish population had.

Particularly chilling to me was the ‘Memory Void’, with its installation ‘Fallen Leaves’ – rudimentary iron faces scattered like so many bodies. You’re supposed to walk over them, which I did, but it felt sacrilege, and I had to leave. The piece is also supposed to be forward-looking, though leaves fall the tree lives on... but while I appreciate the metaphor of life going on, I think that affords too much natural order to the Holocaust – there’s a difference between leaves and lives ending naturally or being stripped from the tree while still green.

We did more than wallow in WWII memorials, however – lots and lots of walking around, and much window shopping! Berlin has much to offer on the shopping front, both boutique and department store, and we made sure to investigate whenever possible. We also were very pleased with the Time Out Guide’s dining recommendations, including an ‘American Style’ diner for Sunday brunch (yummy bacon, though the pancakes were, umm, a little different. Tasty, but not exactly fluffy Bisquik specials!) We made sure to partake of some classic tourist activities as well: standing in both East & West Berlin (echoes of standing in East & West Hemispheres in Greenwich); looking for remnants of the Wall; passing by Checkpoint Charlie; and eating some yummy pastries. And of course, no holiday is complete without a visit to Starbucks, or its local imitator, in this case ‘Balzac Coffee’, which – other than the name – seemed scarily identical to Starbucks in every way. Weird.

Another highlight of the trip was talking. And talking some more – it was absolutely fabulous to catch up with Liz, my travelling companion and first-year-in-London flatmate, so thanks to her again for suggesting the trip... already looking forward to our next outing!

(PS - for more photos, you can check out Flickr...)

38 & counting

Happy birthday to my Lego-loving, Spurs-supporting, super-cycling, older-than-me-for-a-few-months-at-least husband. Here's wishing you a fantastic fun-filled 39th year...

Real live celebrity spotting

OMG. How could I have waited so long to post THIS?! I was enjoying the Golden Age of Couture exhibit at the V&A last Sunday, when an American accent (and cloud of lingering cigarette smell) caught my ear (and nose). I looked over, and there was a tiny doll of a girl (tsk, young woman), with tousled blond hair held back by enormous Wayfarers on her head, wearing short studded boots (possibly Louboutin) on her teeny skinny legs, and a huge furry hooded parka reaching to mid-thigh (the same length as her dress or skirt or whatever underneath - couldn't quite tell.) The round eyes delineated with black kohl confirmed my guess... I was in the presence of one of the Olsen Twins. (must confess, I'm not enough of a Heat or US Weekly reader to know if it was Mary-Kate or Ashley...)

I can sheepishly report I played junior stalker the rest of the way around the show to see if she had any celeb gossip I could gather -- unfortunately she and her friend pretty much only talked about the dresses in the exhibit. How dare they deprive me of a juicier story?!

And of course, no way did I have the courage to play junior papparazzo and take a snap on my mobile - so no visible proof, you'll have to trust me.

Beats all those sightings of George Stephanoupolous when I lived in DC, that's for sure!

Great website find!

I can't believe I've only now heard of this site: Chow.com -- for anyone who loves to eat, especially to eat out. It's jam-packed with reader comments, like for example, how I might find Andouille sausage in the UK. I think it's probably NYC-heavy, but covers other metropolitan areas, both US & beyond, and even has one category "Elsewhere in America". Yum. I only wish I'd seen this before our NY / DC trip!

needlecraft inspiration

Another year, another trek to Alexandra Palace and the Knitting and Stitching Show. Given the number of projects I already have piling up, I pretty much avoided the kit-selling-stalls (though couldn't miss the amazing Michael Powell, though did manage to resist buying one more Jennifer Pudney, as cute as they are.)

No, this year I just marvelled at the raw material, and all the different techniques -- embroidery, quilting, knitting, papercraft, beading, lacemaking, batik (and of course cross stitch), and on and on and how much do I wish I could do them all?! Ok, maybe lacemaking doesn't hold a huge appeal at the moment, but I absolutely would love to learn how to make a quilt. And I even know what I want it to look like. I just need the knowledge and the sewing machine!

And the artists on display - some amazing work with textiles. I think that's worth the price of the admission. Of course, no photos allowed, so can't post any here, but I get so inspired seeing what can be done with needle and thread and just a little imagination. So impressive! Already looking forward to next year...

How to celebrate?

It's National Chocolate Week... however shall I celebrate? Toll-House cookies, anyone? Or is it wrong to use an American classic to commemorate a British, um, 'holiday' (aka, corporate PR event)?

Sunday Puzzle Success

Woo-hoo! I knew if I went about it methodically I'd find the answer to this week's challenge:

Name a well-known city in the United States, two words, 10 letters altogether. Add the letter A at the front, add the city's two-letter state postal abbreviation at the end, the resulting 13-letter chain will be palindromic, that is, it will read backward and forward the same. What city is this?

(ps - mom & dad -- if you try to figure this out, do so before checking the comments!)

Li'l(le) adventure

Eek - am about to head off on my girly weekend to Berlin, and realised still haven't posted anything about our little weekend in Lille a few weeks ago. Last trip on Eurostar before it moves to St Pancras. Only there for about 28 hours, so not much time, but we did manage to cover a fair bit of the town. Of course, this was possible given the fact almost NOTHING is open on Sunday -- so that limted our options for our main day of travel to walking & walking some more. Which was fine, really - a great weekend for it, and we got to see many sights, including the massive street market (which is only open on Sunday - the reverse of everything else). Umm - it wasn't as cute and gift-laden as I expected... ah well - don't need to spend the money anyway!

A few selected photos:
Notting Hill Coffee -- unfortunately neither this nor 'Covent Garden Coffee' were open, so no chance to sample a Lille Latte

Meerkats at the larger than expected free zoo

A very very tall tower with supposedly a great view of the town. Open most days... except, err, Sunday

Cute little hotel if we ever go back [note to self - include more non-sundays if we do!]

Finally worth paying attention...

I mean, if NPR's going to cover cricket, I guess it must be a real sport after all.

A respectable showing

Saturday saw PlanetWulfagar visiting the Stonor Cricket Club pavilion in an effort to retain our Quiz Night Championship Title... The team roster was a little different this year -- an all Agar showing, with Ash & his parents and li'l ol' non-cricket-trivia-knowing me.

As you may have guessed from the headline, we didn’t quite make it – but, considering we were the smallest team (4 to others’ 5 or even 6!), we were pretty happy with our bronze medal finish. [Strangely, the organisers didn’t listen to our request for a ‘small team’ handicap, or my suggestion of taking each team’s final score & dividing it by the number of team members. Our 50 would’ve become 12.5 to the winning team’s paltry 9.17. Not that I’m bitter...]

What questions helped us to our 50/72 total? Which ones kept us from the top spot? All I can say is thank goodness the Quizmaster has a fondness for American sports – so naming Brett Favre’s team was no problem. A few others:
1) The shortest verse in the Bible, found in the Gospel of John (thank you trivia brain!)
2) Mt Aconcagua is in which country (d’oh... we just missed this one)
3) Which of these cities is the furthest west: Oxford, Portsmouth, or Sheffield?
4) This star is the lead in Michael Clayton
5) Which is the highest grossing film franchise?
6/7) And I’m particularly proud we were able to name the (individual) artists responsible for “Persistence of Memory “(the artist is Spanish) and “Mother and Child Divided” (the piece is in need of repair)

So - not bad... and we’ll get ‘em next year!

Maybe I should've kept that Slingbox...

D'oh - really really annoying that NBC is no longer selling shows through iTunes. I'll have to watch Season 2 of Heroes with all the other non-Americans - whatever will I do??!

New York, DC, both helluva towns

So –we’ve been back from the States for 2 ½ weeks – about time for a holiday recap! It would take me nearly the length of the trip to cover *everything* we did in such a packed week (and you’d die from exhaustion / boredom reading it all!) So instead – some highlights:

• Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge – iconic views, and the friendly policeman out of central casting who pointed out the shortcut to getting onto the bridge. And when he heard Ashley’s accent, stopped & chatted a bit about the upcoming NFL match to be held in London – with ‘his boys – the Giants’

• Going for a run in both Riverside and Central Parks on a sunny Sunday morning, ending our run with H&H bagels, lox, Starbucks coffees and a fat Sunday New York Times. Could we be any more New York-y?

• Wandering through Washington Square Park, and stopping with the locals (or other tourists – who knows? That’s the great thing about New York, such a mix) to enjoy a jazz interlude, complete with spaced out drummer, and blissful keyboardist in his own world
  
  
  
• Checking out Rye’s classic Playland (since 1928!) – I never knew there were so many variations on kiddie rides. Next time though – it’s the big kids turn!

• First visit to Yankee Stadium – and trading good natured comments with the 99.9999% of fans there who were cheering on the Yankees. Of course, we were good natured because –amazingly – the Mariners were winning; they were good natured because they could see the Yankees were still going farther in the post season... best moment of the game: Ichiro hitting his 200th hit, Ashley standing up and shouting, everyone in our section looking at him, and Ashley responding, as if for explanation, ‘we’ve got the same birthday’

• US Open vs Wii Open in Rockefeller Square. Missed out on tickets to Flushing Meadows – take in Federer and Williams on the big screen set up in Rockefeller Square. OR cross the street and see 2 people you’ve never heard of battle it out on a different sort of big screen – playing Wii Tennis in the ‘virtual open’
  
• Taking in New York skyline at night – at Top of the Rock – definitely one tourist attraction worth a visit (though how come our photos don't look as good as those on the site?!)

• Travelling back to DC for the first time in 10 years – and finding it quite surreal. Almost everything seemed the same, and I had to keep reminding myself that it really was 10 years later, and I’m 10 years older. But then little changes would appear – like the fact my old shared house at 17th & P has been turned into individual apartments. Or I’d pass a corner and think ‘hmm... was that always here?’ I think Ashley got tired of me saying ‘Ooh – I ate here once’ or ‘this is where I got my drycleaning’. Yes, dear, very exciting.
  
• Getting coffee at ‘my Starbucks’ on Connecticut Avenue – I almost told the girl at the counter ‘I was a barista here 13 years ago’... but figured she wouldn’t be perhaps as accommodating with my recollection stories as Ashley

• Enjoying a day out at the Zoo – one of the best in the US, if not the world... I especially like the gibbons, though can’t give a specific reason why...

• And of course – the real highlights (saving the best for last!) – getting to see family & friends – from Chez Olson (yay – place in White Plains looks great, happy to see you looking settled in with so much space), to our Hotelier Friedman Towers (thanks Kim – not only for Upper West Side pied-a-terre, but the great Mexican recommendation for Rosa Mexicano), to Zoo buddies the Caltrider Clan, where I finally got to meet the lovely Lauren and beaming Ben...

Fantastic trip... when do we go back?

I did not know that...

What did you learn this weekend? Me? I learned -- courtesy of an 'invest in our great city' ad -- that Łódź in Poland is pronounced 'wodge'. And here I always thought it was 'shuh-shev-skee'. Ok, really, I just assumed it was pronounced 'lohdz', but maybe everyone knows it's 'wodge', and I'm just a little late to catch on.

I think Polish must be one of the most difficult languages to learn.

Magazine Week?

How did I not know it was Magazine Week? See, this is why magazines are losing readership... when someone as addicted as I didn't even know to celebrate this week? How are the little, non-caring, dilettante readers supposed to find out?

I want to go to *this* movie!

Smell-o-vision returns... and Willy Wonka is the perfect subject! (I always think of that movie with a weird mix of fondness and creep-me-outedness... but I guess that's its charm. And the original only, please. Call me a luddite if you will, but I never got that Johnny Depp high-pitched lisp thingy...)

Schoolhouse Rock for the 'aughties?

How come WordGirl wasn't around when I was a kid?!

Another day, another 5k

A little slower this time -- but with 20,000 other runners on a tight course in Hyde Park, I had a reason! So, relatively happy with my 31:31, though could've done better. But why-oh-why do people overestimate their abilities?? If the sign says 'Est time 25 - 30 min' DO NOT start in this wave unless you know you can finish in that time!

I'm all for inclusive races & getting as many people out as possible, especially for charity-driven outings such as today's run, and I'm certainly no speed demon, but there must be a better way to train newbies on basic race etiquette. I mean, I roughly know my pace, and know not to start in front of people faster than I am... More signs along the way saying 'walkers keep right'? More obvious information in the race pack?

Or am I being a race snob and I should just live with it, and do a better job of getting to the start line earlier so I have a better chance of being closer to the front?

29:17

Woo-hoo... think that's my fastest 5k ever, this morning in Battersea Park for the Trees for Cities 'Tree-athlon'. So thanks to running partner Verity for keeping me moving, and Ashley for cheering us on as our bag man...

I've got another one tomorrow, but no Verity or Ashley -- so a scientific test of how important support is! (of course, I think I know the answer to that already...)