The Times they are a-Changin

All week we have been bombarded with publicity promoting a much anticipated event, an exciting evening of TV drama and no it’s not the new Poldark series but the first televised Republican Presidential Candidate’s Debate. Yes I can feel your frisson of boredom from here – however having been subjected to the Trump (as in Donald) and his ego for the last few weeks I gave in to curiosity and stayed tuned.

Well folks it was anything but boring as one commentator said it was a 5 pack popcorn night, now I can’t imagine our Jeremy (Paxman) saying that but we are in the US of A. My other half decamped to another room with a dvd of Rumpole and a bag of choc whilst I settled down to watch reality tv.

As you may know there are 17 Republican candidates (1 woman) up for the nomination to stand for president and believe it or not the Trump (as he is known here fondly or otherwise) is leading the polls by 23% with Jeb Bush next with 13%. DT has grasped every opportunity to be interviewed over the last few weeks and everyone is surprised/appalled that he is in the lead. Although well known as an entrepreneur with lots of real estate and golf courses under his wig oops sorry I mean belt, he has no political experience and used to be a supporter of the Democrats.

During these interviews he has upset a lot of people with the following:

• Mexican immigrants are rapists, druggies, pimps and loosers – there is an illegal immigration problem here and he has vowed to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep them out, when asked who will pay for it he said the Mexicans.
• Next up was ISIS and he would resolve the problem by bombing the oil fields thus cutting off their means of finance then get together with the top 6 oil companies to re-build. His answer to the question of bombing innocent Iraqis was that there is no Iraq anymore it doesn’t exist.
• Ukraine is a problem for Europe not the USA – so much for the USA being the leader of the free world then!
• John McCain is a veteran of the Vietnam War and was a POW for 5 years, tortured and badly treated by the Vietcong. He is considered a war hero and most politicians from both sides of the aisle have a great regard for him and he is treated with respect. DT said he didn’t consider people who were captured should be hailed as heroes only the people who weren’t captured they were the true heroes.

So with a taster of the above just about everyone has been waiting for this debate. The ten top candidates were chosen and the remaining 7 were given a “Happy Hour” before the main event to an empty auditorium.

There were 3 moderators presenting a range of questions to each candidate and the general feeling is they had done their research extremely well. The rumpus started with the very first question: would they put up their hand if they felt they could not pledge support to the chosen candidate and would not stand independently – well guess whose hand went up yep the Trump. There were lots of boos and hisses from the Republican grass roots audience and that boys and girls was the kick off.

The Republican party or GOP (Grand Old Party) as it is commonly known is extremely conservative – think of a union between Margaret Thatcher and Genghis Khan and you get the picture. They are anti same sex marriage, pro-life, pro-gun owning, are hawkish and much more besides. According to Democrats Republicans want to return to the past and this became evident from a number of candidates particularly Rand Paul who said if he was elected on his first day of office he would repeal Obamacare, same-sex marriage, the nuclear deal with Iran if it is ratified and so.

One of the moderators Megyn Kelly challenged Trump on previous descriptions he has made of some women “You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals” and asked was that the right behaviour for a potential president of the US. Uh oh he did not like that. He said he didn’t have time for political correctness.

We then had verbal fisticuffs between Rand Paul and Chris Christie which translated to two boys pulling each other’s hair in the playground – think of that fight in Brigit Jones Diary and you get the picture.

The programme went on for 2 hours followed by the post mortem with various commentators and political analysts.

Some of the comments were very funny:

on the Christie/Paul fight: described (by a woman) as testosterone with tabasco

on Jeb Bush’s performance: cold oatmeal (porridge to us)

on the whole programme: this was a 5 bag popcorn night

on a subsequent comment by DT that his questions were much harder and unfair: well boo hoo this is what it’s like at the big boys table

Today the fall out continues with DT making twitter comments on Megyn Kelly calling her a bimbo! This woman is a lawyer, a main news anchor for Fox and a mother and probably has more intelligence in her little finger than he has in his entire brain. The female journalists are really gunning for him and rightly so.

Will DT make it to the next debate in September well sit down, turn on and stay tuned. Come back Screaming Lord Such there’s a place for you here.

 

 

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Caught the Saratoga and North Creek Railway train from Saratoga Springs to North Creek recently which travels through the Adirondacks. Not quite the Orient Express and definitely no murders but it was fun. The station reception area was very neat and even boasted a baby grand piano, unfortunately no one played us aboard. In total a 155 passengers were waiting to board and we were soon called by the assistant engine driver who waved his flag and shouted in a stentorian voice “all aboard”, what a pity there wasn’t any steam billowing out.

We clambered on and found our seats, for a better view we had upgraded to the dome which was also the restaurant car. All the tables were nicely laid out for breakfast but we had had ours at the hotel so settled for juice. We shared a table with the Glums; a young couple who were dressed for January weather (this is July and around 90F) – did they know something we didn’t! Before we had even stoked up they brought out their books and started reading, I think this was a hint they didn’t want to engage in conversation – not even with each other.

The Assistant engine driver called for attention and we all straightened up to listen to his safety announcement which was extremely funny, I think he was a comedian on the side. He warned us not to rush over to one side of the train if we saw something of interest as we could topple the carriage over; he pointed out the emergency windows to climb through and he would be there to catch us but to be patient as he could only manage 4/5 folks at a time!

We chugged off passing small hamlets with tiny well-kept “St. Mary Mead” stations, caught glimpses of the Hudson River and a lot of trees but not much wildlife. In between counting trees I earwigged on the other passengers. A large group of friends took up quite a few seats around us and it was great fun to listen to the dynamics. One lady had appointed herself Head Girl and wanted to take care of everyone’s tickets until someone pointed out that last time she had lost some of them. She then tried to organise the seating arrangements but one foursome decided they liked sitting where they were as they wanted the sunshine (very diplomatic). Breakfast was served up and most had the usual bacon with eggs over easy and French toast apart from Head Girl who chose granola, in fact she asked for seconds and one of her friends suggested she really ought to give it up!

There were two young girls in the party and when Head Girl commented that a mutual acquaintance had looked dapper she immediately wanted to know what that meant, Head Girl had difficulty explaining and I had to stop myself from recommending she read Jeeves and Wooster. The youngster mulled over this new word and then said what about people who didn’t look smart would they be un-dapper – loved it. Head Girl went on to reveal her husband didn’t like holidays or even days out preferring to stay at home – wonder why?

After 2 ½ hours we reached our destination and tumbled out at North Creek in blazing sunshine. A small town consisting of one very long main street; we half expected to see horses saddled outside the saloon and Clint riding into town in a dusty haze.

We set off to explore and found they are very keen on antiques or gently used as they say here, lots of eateries and a few gift shops. We reached the Community Centre and discovered an exhibition on the Irish connection. No sooner were we through the door then a helper, who turned out to be the manager, pounced on us to sign the visitor book (helps to get more money, so happy to oblige). She gave us the conducted tour then had to go and help the Irish crafts downstairs. Now I love crafts so off I went to investigate however this was a do it yourself class not ones readymade. We were invited to go back to see the Irish dancing later in the afternoon but I could see himself beginning to get glazed eyes so we beat a hasty retreat.

A golf buggy passed us and offered us a lift, we politely declined as we didn’t think there was anywhere left to go, but they obviously make a great effort to be hospitable to visitors. Next up was deciding where to eat and the café we entered was very popular, mostly with folks from the train. Very basic with plastic tablecloths, the teapot kept sticking to it, however the food was delicious and they made proper chips/fries.

We made our way to the station for the return journey and took our places opposite Mr and Mrs Glum; I did wonder if they had just found a shady spot and carried on reading, or perhaps they went to the library. I managed to sneak a look at what Mr Glum was reading and it turned out to be “American Psycho” wish I hadn’t seen that, Mrs Glum was reading one of Jean Auel’s novels; so a combination of American Neanderthal psychos? Well as Bertie Bassett said “it takes allsorts”.

DangerCat

Bonnie: Hey why am I in the naughty corner – you’re the one who caught that chipmunk!

Clyde: huh you egged me on “go get him Clyde” I heard. Boy was she mad yelling at me to drop it – who does she think I am a retriever! And you can talk what about that frog?

Bonnie: not my fault it jumped into my water bowl and drownded

Clyde: yeah and she thought you’d been clever and coughed up a furball in the bowl ‘til she threw it down the sink and discovered it was a frog – another catastrophe

Bonnie: then you tried to pinch my food – again!

Clyde: I just got the bowls mixed up right

Bonnie: then you jumped in that bag of papers and pulled them all over the floor

Clyde: I thought she wanted help with the filing

Bonnie: have you been on the catnip again??

Filing

Three Men in a Boat

Well quite a lot of us in a boat including the female of the species going up the Hudson River on an expedition. Arrived at the little quay with our drinks and snacks and boarded on time – no immigration or security control here – or duty frees for that matter! After the safety talk by the Captainess we set sail with a fresh breeze to keep us cool on a warm and beautiful blue sky day. We sat port side (left for you landlubbers) and sat back to enjoy the commentary.

The Hudson River is full of history and the Captain proved to be a sailing encyclopaedia on local history. We had just begun the trip when Jones Point was pointed out (no pun intended) where The National Defense Reserve Fleet was kept here from 1946 until the remaining two ships were towed away for scrap in1971. The fleet was at its peak in 1965 with 189 ships and covered activity in the Korean War, Suez and Vietnam, the government even used the ships to store wheat.

Bear Mountain Bridge

We sailed under the Bear Mountain Bridge where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Hudson. American Revolutionary forces strung a 40 tonne chain bridge across the river to keep the Brits out; did they succeed? Nah come on we Brits just sailed up and got the chain cutters out! Benedict Arnold decamped to the British side with the intention of handing over the strategic position of West Point, the plot was discovered and he fled down the river to a British ship hotly pursued by George Washington.

WestPoint

West Point later became the first military academy (a bit like Sandhurst) in 1802 with illustrious alumni including Robert E Lee and Ulysses S Grant. The first woman graduated in 1980 and in 2014 24% of the graduates were women – still a way to go. Made a note to visit the museum which contains a range of artefacts including George Washington’s pistols and Hermann Goering’s baton, I’ll try to quell my excitement.

A little further on is Boscobel House, (not to be confused with the one where King Charles II hid in the oak tree) built by a Loyalist working for the British during the same war as above, sadly he died before it was completed. The original site had been 15 miles downriver and in 1950 the government sold it for $35 to a demolition contractor, luckily several local citizens came to the rescue. One was  Mrs. Wallace, a co-founder of the Reader’s Digest, who put up a considerable sum of money to purchase a piece of land and the reconstruction began.  Over 5 months the house was dismantled and moved piece by piece and stored in barns and various vacant buildings until the new site was ready. After total restoration a few years later it was used as a location for the film Hello Dolly.

Nesting Ospreys

Just below Boscobel is the Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuary; we had already seen Osprey nesting on lightening poles, and some turkey vultures flying overhead but nothing compares to 100 bald headed eagles spotted in 1992.

We chugged along with the wind whipping our hair and as we passed a curve in the River Constitution Island came into sight. Yet another fortification destroyed by the Brits. The Warner family built an estate on the island in the 1830s and invited cadets over from WestPoint to read the Bible on many a bleak night. One of the daughters Anna wrote the words to the hymn Jesus Loves Me.

It was time to return to harbor after a most informative voyage passing more nesting birds on the way, this time on top of a buoy (or bewie as they call them here).

Land ahoy me hearties!

Home Alone

Clyde: Hey Bon they’ve gone, get on the phone to Catsmart and order up some goodies – let’s get this party going

Bonnie: okey dokey what shall we have? Some peeled mice, bird wings, smoked goldfish, a side of cat nip and to drink what about a bottle of cat’s pee on a gooseberry bush?

Clyde: sounds good to me, I’ll just get the dvds out what do you fancy? Catatonics anonymouse ? The Birds? or Catwoman

Bonnie: hmm what about Cats in the Attic?

Clyde: okay let’s start with that then after Auntie Debra has been to check on us we can have more grub and Catwoman

Bonnie: well this beats going to the Cattery and since they couldn’t find one that was up to our 5 star rating we now have our own personal cat sitter

Clyde: yep, we can sleep just where we want, when we want and throw up a few furballs wherever!

Home of the Grapefruit

Arrived in Mickey’s home town – conference for himself and fun and sun for moi.

A case of spot the theme park as we drove from the airport to our accommodation; dinosaurs and Mickey swim with dolphins in a LEGOLAND, well not really but I expect you get the picture.

The resort is MEGA with 40 tennis courts, several pools and golf courses – just what an active girl like me loves (heavy sarcasm here).

We checked in with security and reception then jumped aboard the little kart with our luggage to get to our chalet. Yes it’s that big you need to “catch the kart” to get anywhere. We kept waiting for that big ball to bounce around the corner and we could shout “I am not a number I am a free man” – remember The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan?

Monday

Emphasis is definitely on sport with a capital SP so I spent the day eating, reading and sleeping, holidays are sooo exhausting. As we walked to breakfast a bunch of Cypress trees loomed up (sorry don’t know the collective noun for Cypress trees, is there one?) with what looked like huge white Christmas baubles scattered about the branches. They were nesting Egrets and Storks and some nests had babies. The Egrets are beautiful with amazing feathers, which they used to be killed for, as a result they are now an endangered species.

                       

 The noise from the crèche was incredible as the chicks demanded non-stop feeding. Parents were taking shifts in chick sitting between regular sorties to the fast food joints. I spent quite some time taking photos of this colony. One chick was incredibly vocal and did not stop squawking, mum was trying out a bit of designer homemaking, by way of adding another strand of straw to the nest, and junior insisted on helping. As I walked away I spotted Dad in a nearby branch who was obviously trying to get some kip.

 Tuesday

An interesting few hours on the phone to HSBC (USA branch) with regard to our replacement credit card. The previous week we had been contacted with a query on a transaction and yes it was fraud. We were reassured a new card would be sent out quickly as I mentioned we were going away. I just knew it wouldn’t arrive in time so requested they send it to our hotel – yes no problem it would be there by Monday, or Tuesday. The hotel receptionists were fed up of us asking if a package had arrived yet.

I finally got past all the security questions and got to speak to a human (I think). Several checks on the database and oh dear we seem to have sent it to your home address, yes Fedex delivered it and it is sitting outside your front door. Well why don’t you just hand it to a complete stranger and cut out the middle man!!!!! No signature was required and as we don’t have letterboxes on doors they just leave it on the doorstep if the package is too big to fit in the mailbox – which isn’t locked either!

As the politicians say after a “full and frank discussion” the bank were in no doubt as to how I felt about their total incompetence. Thankfully our cat sitter picked the package up for us.

Wednesday

Oh thrills and spills yes its Disneyland day. I had done some homework before booking and was amazed at how many theme parks there are under the Disney banner. Being a traditionalist I stuck to the Kingdom. We were about 2 hours from the theme park and himself was relieved when we finally got there as I kept saying “are we there yet”.

Signposting is excellent and we found the car park without any problem. We were in Villains! We then had to catch the train to the park and were welcomed by smiling greeters at the entrance. As soon as we got to Main Street my heart raced with excitement and I felt I was in a different world, well I was and it’s called Disney.

Everyone was smiling and happy and buzzing with anticipation. We walked up through the street and oh look there’s the castle straight out of Cinderella. I had booked three rides in advance so we could bypass the queues and it worked like a dream.

          

First up was Pirates of the Caribbean – no Johnny Depp though; it was really good and the special effects were quite impressive. We had some time before the next ride so wandered around people watching. It was quite busy but not too crushed. We stopped to hear the screams on the scary mountain ride where the car comes crashing down into the water.

The next ride was a bit of an accident as I had clicked on the wrong one but it turned out the Little Mermaid was soooo sweet and now I want to see the film.

Trying to find a seat outdoors was a bit of a problem as they don’t seem to encourage sitting unless at a fast food joint, of which there were many – not much in the way of fresh fruit and healthy snacks here. We watched the paddle steamer come down the river and then took a train ride around the site. Lots of shops of course and I was tempted by the Minnie Mouse ears headband but there was no matching bag so bought a Christmas tree ornament instead.

Final ride was Haunted House, not too scary and thankfully no cobwebs although they did try and persuade us we were stuck in the ride but I think it was the traffic.

It was soon time for the Castle Party and we got a good standing place near the castle and here they come: Mickey and Minnie, Goofy and Donald, Captain Hook and Robin Hood, Snow White and the Prince. There was a collective sigh as they entreated us to “find the magic in your heart” and say altogether now “Dreams come true”. I think we all had a little tear in the eye and definitely a goofy smile.

Time to walk down Main Street and what’s this oh it’s the Parade with lots of floats and characters, music and singing and the shop assistants came out to wave too – magic. M&M had obviously done a quick change into holiday gear – don’t you just love those black tights and yellow shoes?

 

 

 

Time to go as we had a long drive back to the hotel so one last look at the castle and then I decided I wanted my photo with Mickey. He made such a fuss of me I wondered if we had met in a previous life. He said he would stay in touch but huh you know what these holiday romances are like and no I haven’t heard from him since I got back. Still those ears are a bit of a passion killer.

We had to miss the fireworks display but always leave something to go back for I say!

Thursday

Off to NASA today for himself to live his boyhood dream of becoming an astronaut. A very well laid out site with various Apollos scattered about. I must admit to not being a fan of space travel but after seeing the original film of the launch control of Apollo 8 I can see why folks get hooked on it. We had a countdown to lift off in the cinema and boy was it tense. Looking at the technology then compared to 21^st century it looks so archaic and everyone was dressed in shirt and tie (well not the ladies as there weren’t many of them – heavens above girls as engineers and astronauts!).

Apollo Command Module

Saturn 1b rocket

Rocket Garden

We did a bus tour around the site with a slightly manic driver, a persistent name dropper and joke teller. A special road was built, the width of a dual carriageway, to enable a crawler transporter, itself 363 feet in length, to take the launch rocket, weighing in at 6,000,000 pounds, from the area where it was built. When loaded the transporter took 1 hour for each mile of the 3.5 mile journey.

The shop was great too and I started my Christmas shopping early. Tried to persuade himself to have a photo in an astronaut’s outfit but he wouldn’t take the bribes. We headed back via a small town stop for some nosh; it was packed out probably because it was the only decent looking place in town. Three middle aged guys sat on the next table and I cannot believe how much they ate.

Friday

Whilst checking out of the hotel a package arrived for us and guess what – more credit cards – we now have four of the same ones. After one last look at the bird colony we headed off to the coast and St. Augustine. This town dates back to 1565 when some Spanish geezer landed there and colonized it. Of course the Brits tried to rest it from the Spanish on several occasions which encouraged the Spanish to build a better fortification. Nevertheless the Brits got it in exchange for Havana in 1763 but in 1783 it went back to the Spanish again. Still with me? It officially became a US possession in 1822 and is the oldest European settlement in the US.

 

A strong Spanish influence in the architecture and some wonderful buildings still survive. One of the most magnificent is The Ponce de Lion Hotel built by Henry Flagler in 1888, an oil magnet of course; in 1968 it became the Flagler College for liberal arts. We missed the last tour but were able to look inside the reception area which was magnificent and took a walk around the grounds. Of course someone had to ask me if I knew where the Lewis building was – me! I had only just got there for goodness sakes. I must have been wearing my helpful librarian’s look.

              

It was very busy and most of the restaurants were pretty full but we managed to find a Greek place. As soon as the waitress heard our accents she launched into her forthcoming trip to the UK and Europe. Sometimes we feel like ambassadors for the UK and Europe. Yes I know we are Europeans too but just can’t call myself one.

Saturday

Today we visited the Ximenez-Fatio House and try saying that after a few glasses of lemonade. There were a lot of painters (watercolourists) in the garden but we were the only visitors apart from one other lady. The house used to be a boarding house and run by a woman (shock horror), it being a respectable pursuit for a gentlewoman. The many rooms have been restored and refurbished in keeping with the period and the boarders ranged from military, families, doctors and invalids however women were kept apart from the men in the social rooms and only met in the dining room. The house was made from Coquina rock formed from seashells. A standalone kitchen has an unusual beehive oven along with numerous artefacts; the guide took much pride in showing us a jar of “tree-acle”, I put her right on the pronunciation.

                                    

Sunday

Home to find out how B & C have been behaving with the cat sitter!

 

 

A Moving Experience

We had waited patiently for over 3 weeks for our furniture to arrive from Vancouver to New York and the day had finally arrived. Local removals workers arrived at 9 a.m. but no sign of the Sumo Wrestler (SW) look alike who was in charge of the van, not even a phone call to inform us of any delay, he finally rolled up at 10.30 a.m.

He proceeded to view the driveway with the intention to drive the truck closer to the house even though the drive is narrow and surrounded by a canopy of trees. I related my conversation with one of his colleagues in Vancouver who had confirmed it was not company policy to use a customer’s driveway due to the possibility of damage, and a truck/trolley would be used or the men would just carry the contents in. SW finally accepted this (and from a woman no less!) and 50% of the team carried and stacked the contents to the halfway point of the driveway while the other 50% carried them into the house.

In the middle of the afternoon the skies started to darken and thunder rumbled around for about 15 minutes. Neither of us realised how much furniture and boxes had built up on the driveway. There followed a thunderstorm and all hell broke loose on the ground as the team tried to carry as much into the house and the garage as possible. I stood at the doorway watching boxes fall apart scattering books, photographs, dried food and much else all over the driveway whilst furniture became saturated. To a background of crashing thunder, fork lightening and tropical rain we ran outside to try and gather up as much as we could whilst SW shouted and berated the men using foul language, I dread to think who the neighbours thought had arrived in their sleepy road.

We were soaked to the skin and when I caught site of myself in a reflection Ursula Andress I did not resemble, more like a bedraggled cat (sorry Bonnie).

We were now faced with a large quantity of furniture covered in saturated cloth covers in the garage where water was also seeping in. Books and photograph albums were scattered over every available surface in the house to dry out, broken and crushed boxes were impeding access with contents spilling everywhere.

A power cut further exacerbated the situation and when it eventually returned about 2/3 hours later we viewed the utter devastation with numbness and shock.

The following day more traumas were still to come as when SW arrived we said we needed time to consolidate the mess from the previous day. We walked him around and it was obvious (at least to us) there was very little room to start moving any more furniture or boxes in until we had cleared space, likewise in the basement and garage. I thought he had agreed but was then told by one of the men that he was intent on repeating the previous day’s process of stacking goods on the drive and it was still raining!

We explained calmly and clearly that we did not want any of our possessions left on the drive and we also needed more time to clear space in the house for furniture to be placed. His reaction was the following:

“what is your problem, I am paying $200 an hour (for the men) for this”

We replied that was his problem not ours.

He responded:

“I am not your f****** slave I am a not your f****** n*****

There was much more of the same ilk so we requested him to leave as we would not tolerate such racial and verbal abuse. Three of the men in the team (who were in the majority black) had been standing close by and were also very shocked, at least two said they did not want to work with him.

At this point it was fairly obvious he was going to dump the remainder of our stuff on the drive and leave so while my other half got on the phone to the company I took a couple of guys to the basement and garage area to organise more space for the rest of the furniture and goods. They were utterly appalled at the behaviour of this guy but complimented us on our cool, calm and collected attitude – hey we’re Brits right, stiff upper lip and all that, nearly started singing Jerusalem!

SW spent the rest of the day in his cab and any messages were relayed through the team to us. He continued to act like a spoiled three year old and then called them to stop helping us as they would only be paid until 2.30.

The team were employed via a local agency specialising in general labour. Whilst they were in the majority very obliging, kind and polite, only a few had removals experience. This was evident when I found one guy walking down the drive with a very large box balanced on his head; I suggested he turned it in the direction the arrow was pointing as it was currently upside down and full of fragile china and ornaments.

I did point out to the Company owner that SW was totally devoid of customer focus or team leadership skills and I doubt he had the mental ability to pack a suitcase let alone the contents of a 3,000 sq ft property.

We had voiced concerns in Vancouver over some of the packing methods (boxes of books so heavy they could hardly be lifted), different guys arriving each day without any uniform or identification (whilst in the garage we had a chap come up to us and enquire how much we were paying, we thought he was one of the removals men but it turned out he was a neighbour from down the road!), and were told that European standards were much higher than those in BC – I can vouch for that!

To sum up we had a $10,000 insurance claim for necessary replacements plus a team of restorers to repair various furniture damage (and even one of these created further problems by running a too long screw in a bookcase instead of countersinking it!).

And the name of this company: think of the name of this continent and add Vans after it – avoid at all costs!

Leaving on a jet plane

 

Clyde: hey Bon I thought we were off to the vets or the cattery so what gives with those big things with wings

Bonnie: they are airplanes so don’t think they are edible just cos they have wings right

Clyde: oh no we’re not going on one of those again are we I don’t think I could stand all that noise again and NO fud

Bonnie: oh just chill looks like we are going as cabin baggage this time

Clyde: how do you know?

Bonnie: cos I just heard someone say to her how sweet and were we travelling on the plane with them and she said yes

Clyde: oh my paws and whiskers what’s happening now looks like we are being lifted out, I’m going to dig my claws in Noooooo

Bonnie: oh Clyde just do your breathing exercises, it’s security – they just want to check we haven’t any illegal catnip or have ugh rabies!

Clyde: I wannna go home!!! I don’t like this place

Bonnie: oh give it a rest we’ll soon be on board

Clyde: s’okay for you the security guy said you were a cutie pie huh

Bonnie: see I told you we would be on board with them, now fasten your seat belt and get some kip, it could be a bumpy ride!

5 hours later

Clyde: I’m starving when are we getting some grub?

Bonnie: Not sure we have to go through security now then get the luggage

Clyde: I haven’t any luggage, I wanna pee and why is it so noisy?

Bonnie: well you’ll have to cross your legs and its noisy cos New Yorkers are like that

1 hour later

Clyde: where are we?

Bonnie: in a flat oops I mean apartment

Clyde: where’s the garden, where’s my bed, where’s my food

Bonnie: where’s my ear plugs

Clyde: hmm if we play this right we could get loads of extras

Bonnie: zzzzzzzzz

The Kraken Wakes in New York

Well not quite but we have been living here for two years now and I thought it was time to start the blog again. It has taken some time to settle in hence the hibernation. We had quite a horrendous move (see A Moving Experience) followed by lots of bureaucracy and red tape with credit rating/banking/driving licences and then of course there was the winter weather. However we have weathered the storm and managed to maintain a sense of humour (I think) so read on readers and welcome to the US of A.

I’ll take Manhattan ….

Sunday 29 July
Dragged ourselves out of bed after a late Saturday night murder mystery dinner:

 great fun but now have to get ready to get to the airport for an unexpected trip to New York.

Dropped B & C off at the cattery again, had to use the boarding one at the Vets and not our usual one as they are fully booked; I expect we won’t hear the end of it when we get back.

I couldn’t check in on-line and we found out why when we got to the check in desk – it seems I had been randomly selected for a special security check – well hey my lucky day. I wasn’t sure what to expect given the goons at the American/Canadian border.
I put on my little old lady expression but it fooled no-one and as soon as the operator clocked my boarding pass with the secret code he got quite excited and went off to consult his colleague who came over with her body Dyson and vacuumed me down. I had to open my cabin case for extra swabbing then was given two options: either a body scan by machine or a body pat down search – decisions, decisions. I took a look at the lady doing the pat down search and thought I would try out the scanning machine instead and wow them with my co-ordinating undies. I was taken to the transparent booth where I had to stand with legs apart and hands above my head and pretend I was Julia Roberts modelling for Victoria”s Secret. He waited in anticipation for the result although not as much as if I had been tall, blonde and 20 years younger – oh alright 30! In all fairness the guard was very nice and he even helped me get my suitcase off the conveyor belt. Himself looked relieved – I think!
Next up was American immigration; they do this at the Canadian end and what a difference a few feet make. We had to have the usual finger printing and photo taken mine was ok but John had to have his done twice, no explanation provided by the buzz cut just the usual fierce “don’t mess with me” look. One of the guards was quite rude to one Asian family who obviously didn’t have English as a first language. I felt a letter to Obama coming on.
After a reasonable five hour flight (although no free munchies) we arrived at Newark airport in New Jersey (home of Stephanie Plum to all you fans out there – will I meet Ranger or Morelli??). It was quite late when we arrived at our hotel near Brooklyn Bridge which looked fabulous draped in lights. However room not so good as right on top of a building site and a window so far up you couldn’t see out of it, decided to ask for a different room. Well 3 rooms later with a door on to the balcony that didn’t close properly we decided we would change it the following day.

Monday 30th July
We decided to try breakfast oh my – plastic knives and forks, plastic plates and matching plastic scrambled egg – I have seen better on Air Canada! Moved on to Hotel No 2 in the Tribeca area, much better although couldn’t check in until this afternoon so himself went off to work and I went off for to explore and find some lunch. Found a lovely Italian place but it wasn’t open however I got to speak to the owner who, possibly thought I was trying to break in as I had been twisting the door handle with some vehemence. After some interrogation I discovered they did Gluten Free pasta, hooray, promised I would be back this evening.
Our hotel room was now ready although Himself was still at work and I had to provide a credit card payment and photo id, slight problem as it wasn’t booked in my surname, however after re-assuring the chap on reception we were married (much to their amusement), and that being a 1970s feminist I had kept my maiden name, I knocked them into submission and got the key to the room.
We went off to sample the delights of the Italian place and what a delight it was. The owner took us through the specials and I ended up not trying the GF pasta after all. We asked which part of Italy he was from and it turned out he was from Venezuela and had only been open for 7 weeks, he was full of the American dream and enthusiasm for his food, which was scrumptious.

Tuesday 31st July
Did some research on trips for the rest of the week then got a cab and went to the Museum of Modern Art. The driver was very quiet which amazed me I thought all NY cab drivers were chatty.
I started off with a visit to the café for lunch, fabulous selection of food and very well organised, you placed your order at the counter, guided to the seating and the server brought your order over; so no trying to balance a tray with bags etc. I did have to launch myself up on a high chair though and then two New Yorkers joined my table, they talked about the food and the art and seemed to be regulars at the café.
This is one big gallery devoted to modern art so I decided to start with something I could recognise and headed towards the Monets. The ones I liked were of course the Lilies painted at his little place in the country – Giverny. I am no expert but there was a luminescent quality about these paintings that was quite beautiful. The room was full of people listening to their headphone guide or just sitting and looking.
I left Monet and wandered down to see Jackson Pollack, Warhol and Dali and then came across some installation art: a large white wall with a sentence printed along the top “this wall has been peppered with a single shot from an air rifle”, well I couldn’t find any peppered bits – perhaps that was the object – who knows! I moved on to some huge plain white canvases, apparently this artist only ever paints blank canvases in white – oh dear I think I left my art appreciation at the Monets. I did notice the further I got away from the Monets and into the very modern section the less visitors were around “appreciating” all this installation collection, hmmm I wonder why!
All arted out I just had enough energy for the shop (oh come on you didn’t think I was going to miss the shop!). Lots of interestingly designed gizmos as well as the usual stuff but just bought a little torch and some Christmas cards on offer.
We decided to try out an American style restaurant owned by Robert de Nero in an area that had originally been warehouses but now of course re-developed into apartments and shops and restaurants. I had salmon but asked to have it well done – of course it came with a “moist” centre so had to send it back.
What is this trend for undercooked fish and meat – a few years ago it was just steak that was offered as rare, medium etc, now everything is “seared” or “moist” and you are looked at askance if you want anything well done. Some of these so called chefs are driving customers into choosing undercooked food, for that is what it is, and it’s bad for us! If they can’t cook meat and fish to an edible state of well done without making it tough or dry (“oh chef says the cut demands searing/moistness” – what a load of you know what) then in my opinion – and no it’s not humble – they are not very good at their so called culinary art – hummmph.
Okay rant over!

Wednesday 1st August
Hailed another cab and as we neared the end of the journey the driver actually started to chat about his numerous relations in London. He dropped me off at Maceys allegedly the “biggest department store in NY”. Unfortunately it was having a mega makeover to the extent that staff were posted at entrances and staircases and elevators helping customers find their way about. The noise was excruciating and not just from the construction works but the customers, I have never been in such a noisy shop. Very disappointing experience and decided to just have some lunch then try and find Bloomingdales.
Came out of Macey’s to find it was pouring down so hailed another cab to take me back to the hotel. It proved difficult at first as none stopped and I found out later it’s always difficult to get a cab either when it is raining or at 4 p.m. when the shift changes.
After a meal at a restaurant in the Lincoln Centre which was very posh and unhurried – we told them we were going to the theatre “yes sir/madam not a problem” but it still took ages to get a menu.
We went to see a production of War Horse and it was awesome. We had really good seats just 8 rows from the front but a bit cramped if you have long legs; I was okay with my stumps but himself had to move after the interval to slightly more comfy ones at the back. The horses are life size puppets operated by puppeteers both inside and outside the horse, now you’d think seeing the operators it would detract from the performance but it didn’t, you forgot they were there and were totally caught up in the story. I listened to some conversations going on around me and heard one woman say she had a feeling it was going to end sadly, another said she had only heard about it from a tv documentary. At the end I glanced around and saw a lot of folks – even the blokes – surreptiously drying their eyes and wiping away tears. It was an emotional roller coaster but well worth seeing. Now call me a chauvinist but it was a Brit production from the National Theatre – yay!
We caught the subway back, all perfectly safe now as some years ago Mayor Guilliano sorted out the druggies and others of a dubious character who used to frequent the subway making it very unsafe late at night.
At one stop three guys got on with musical instruments so I thought they were on their way home from a gig – no this was the gig on the subway, they launched into some very high spirited Mexican music then came around with a hat – not a sombrero.

Thursday 2nd August
John had a break from work today so we headed off to see the 9/11 memorial. Although free entry you had to book passes on the web or take a chance. We had booked and joined the line for the bag search, a bit different to the airport as these folks were friendly and a lot of the guides and helpers were people who had links with the disaster.

                                           

The whole area is still undergoing construction and is full of cranes and scaffolding replacing damaged buildings with new skyscrapers.
The visitors centre is not yet open but the actual memorials are; these take the form of two huge squares – the footprint of the two World Trade Centre buildings – with water cascading downwards into another smaller square resembling a void. Around the walls are the names of the people who lost their lives, all the more poignant when you read a woman’s name followed by “and unborn child”.
Trees surround the memorial but one in particular was receiving a lot of attention and this turned out to be the Survivor Tree. It had been discovered in October 2001 with blackened trunk, burned branches and snapped roots in the middle of smouldering rubble. Amazingly it was nurtured back to health and re-planted at the memorial site only to be uprooted a few months later by horrendous storms, nevertheless it survived again. A message of hope and survival for us all I think.

We went next to Trinity Church which is just a few blocks away; beautiful stained glass and carved wood screens in the modern section then wandered down Wall street which was not quite as big as I thought it would be.
Very hot walking along the South Street Seaport, this used to be the hub of sailing activity in the 19th century and there were some wonderfully elegant tall ships moored. The area buzzed with street entertainment from jugglers to warblers and electric guitars. On Pier 17 we were spoiled for choice for lunch options but sank down on a balcony and ordered a delicious salad and smoothie whilst we took in the view over the river.

After lunch we joined the line-up for the river cruise down the East river passed Brooklyn Bridge (apparently the best pizzas are in B), and back up the Hudson taking in Lower Manhattan and the New York skyline.

                                                    

It was everything you expect it to be, from the Statue of Liberty to the Chrysler building. Ellis Island came into view where at various times it had been used as an immigration centre, training centre and a hospital then in 1954 it was closed and remained so for the next 30 years then $156 million was spent on a restoration programme. The top five nationalities immigrating to the US via Ellis Island during the early part of the 20th century are: Italy, Austria, Russia, Germany and England.
We got off at Greenwich Village and walked around trying to find a book shop (we were having withdrawal symptoms) and finally located good old Barnes and Noble. I also spotted a Jo Malone perfume shop which surprised me but I didn’t succumb.
After a late siesta back at the hotel we headed back to the subway in search of some grub. Unfortunately the place we had been recommended was crammed so we hovered outside debating what to do then I noticed a place next door which looked like a hotel but turned out to be a Greek restaurant – what a find, fab menu, lovely servers and very nice tableware – what more could a girl want. I had the most delicious starter of white (Haricot) beans braised in tomatoes, so simple but the flavours were yum. I followed this with Moussaka (a big favourite of mine), it was superb and one of, if not the best, I have ever tasted, not at all greasy or soggy but a rich meat sauce with a little aubergine and topped off with a thick white sauce. John had lamb with lemon roast potatoes to die for. I tried them out when we returned home but I need more practice; they are supposed to be marinated in olive oil and lemon juice but not sure how long for – just have to keep practising. A truly delicious meal and not a dancing waiter or broken plate in sight.

Friday 3rd August
More culture with a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (think Victoria and Albert on speed). Today’s cabbie was sooo chatty he didn’t stop talking, he was from Pakistan but assured me he was a good guy (!), said a Welsh accent was lovely (yes I gave him a tip) and then we got on to hockey because Pakistan were playing hockey in the Olympics – well that was a revelation, I thought they only played cricket.
At the Museum entrance I was searched or at least a cursory look in my bag was made, I expected to have to open up all the extra pockets but no, perhaps they thought no-one carrying a Vera Bradley bag would be dangerous.
Surprisingly at the ticket desk I was informed entrance was free or I could give what I wanted, you do feel obliged to pay the full wack though which I did (you can’t get in without a ticket so you must go to the ticket desk). I wanted to see the costume display and eventually located the room but it concentrated on just two designers: Prada and Schiaparelli; an interesting arrangement with a costume from each designer doing a sort of compare and contrast. Prada is renowned (apparently) for using unusual objects for trimmings for example old bottle tops and so on. I’m afraid I found her clothes very junky and much preferred Schiaparelli’s classic and timeless flowing garments in beautiful fabrics, they were much more elegant. My only gripe was an intrusive imaginary recording of a conversation between Prada and Schiaparelli that followed you around the exhibits – and boy could they talk!
I tried to follow the plan but kept getting lost however the attendants were fantastic, how they remember where everything is is truly staggering. At one stage I found myself in the silver collection, row after row of display cabinets with gleaming objects along with an expert who wanted to impress her young friends (and everyone else) with her knowledge of 17th century silver eyebrow tweezers!
The Egyptian room was colossal with a selection of original walls full of hieroglyphs and lots of us pretending to understand what they meant. I was amazed to read the Egyptian people had presented the American people with a choice of artefacts for their collection and I think their choice was the Temple of Dendor, so why I wondered did they merit this colossal pressie? The poor old British Museum gets pilloried (no pun intended) for nicking Egyptian goodies (well finders keepers is what I say, they would only have rusted away if we hadn’t “rescued” them). However on reading a bit more it seems the Egyptians had asked for some spare dollars to save an historic area that was earmarked for flooding and in return the yanks could have their pick of the goodies – who says money doesn’t talk.
I sat outside feeling rather exhausted and people watched whilst I waited for the other half to turn up. He did eventually having had problems getting a taxi on a Friday afternoon. We went back in to the Museum where we were searched and a real jobsworth made John take his camera bag apart yet my bag was just glanced at again. Went to the Information Desk and made a point about it.
Visited the café for a quick snack then up to the roof terrace where it is the place to have cocktails in the evening – in a plastic cup – oh the sophistication! Wonderful views of Central Park and the blocks of apartments where the rich and famous live.
Took a quick walk through the Park and saw the Alice statue, but didn’t have time for Strawberry Fields, the commemoration to John Lennon. Reached the Rockefeller Center with the intention of going to the top of the tower but it was incredibly busy plus our feet were aching.
Went back to our little Italian place for dinner where I tried out the GF pasta with lots of wine against a background of NY buzz. I could get used to this!

Saturday 4th August

Sadly the end of our NY sojourn so back to Newark airport to catch a flight to Toronto which was incredibly busy then on to Vancouver.