Taking over the Asylum
My First Time Together
There were seven of us, from Portsmouth, & 27 of us, all told, from across the country.
I don't normally have to get anywhere by 8am, apart from back to bed, or put the bins out. Hmmm, should have done that today. Ah well, it's chilly enough for the bag to keep till next week no probs.
Today I'd been told we were meeting at Fratton station at 8am. So, having seen H off to work & caught up with yr updates I didn't go back to bed - & I've been ruing it ever since! Zzzzzz! Got sorted, found me trousers were a tad small - must stop eating - & grabbed an alternative outfit. Arrived at station to find three others waiting, two since 7.30am. Good Thing it was neither frosty or East Windy this morning, poor things. Eventually everyone else rolled up & Dunc broke into funds to get us a tea or coffee each. Onto train. I cast on for Debs' scarf & then for the second sleeve of D's cardi. Actually knitted a good 6" of it today at various points. If I'd not been so knackered on the way back it might have been 7-8".
Arrived at the Methodist International Centre (MIC) in Euston St. The others arrived eventually - apparently it's only Black Cab cabbies who have 'the Knowledge'. Cabbies of grey & red cabs haven't a clue! Our cab had been grey, purple & pink. & we'd used the map & told the cabbie it was near Euston Station. Surely he'd know where that was. Good Thing #2 - didn't have to use the Underground, I don't like down escalators. Specially the deep diving ones they have on the Underground.
An interesting day. Reporting back from previous meetings, 'all in' discussions on certain matters, group discussions on others. At the end of the morning group session a volunteer was asked for to report back from our group. P volunteered me!!! So I did it anyway. Nothing like dropping a complete beginner in at the deep end. Wonder what I'd said or done to deserve that? Hmmm, maybe hiding behind T, being the only one in the back row, & knitting a lot of the time. All the same, it's hardly the way to sort out the matter - is it? Particularly as a piece of paper on the chairs welcoming us said we were all free to sit where we felt comfortable, come, go, stay, leave, go to sleep (not a discourtesy but a distinct possibility with certain meds) or whatever we wanted. I felt that covered knitting. Besides which, while I may be a mere novice to Together I've been doing Tear Fund presentations for years now!
All together I thought it was an interesting & informative day. We are assured by various leader-types that decisions made will be carried through, survey results NOT lost & points made taken into account. So we'll see. MIC also do an excellent lunch, choice from three cooked savouries, salad bar & several other bits plus two puddings. Then there were tea, cofffee (Fair Trade, of course) herbal teas & biscuits or cakes throughout the day too.
By 3.30pm I was glad to make excuses & sneak out. I'd have been glad to make more excuses & sneak off to bed too but they'd come all the way from Saudi. So I went & had tea with them - in the Hilton Four Seasons - flash chandelier, fancy glass flowerheads. Also noticed, to my chagrin, that the back hem of this skirt STILL hasn't been put back up! Aaaarrrggh! Call myself a needlewoman. Top of "Things to Do" list for tomorrow!
Then lead them off on a bit of a goose chase across Hyde Park in the failing light. Hardly sunset - far too overcast, no coloured sky, no real indication of which way was West or East or anything. & my compass in my summer bag too! E was kinda worried. Should we be walking across this vast, largely empty park in the gathering gloom. "It's Hyde Park, not Central Park, E!" It comes to something when one has to go up to London to be able to walk across grass & scuff up the leaves! JS, who's obviously been taking lessons from Someone, whinged abt her feet hurting - wearing non-comfortable, worn to impress, shoes (not to impress me I hasten to add, cos the whinging certainly didn't ;) Then her feet went numb & she whinged abt that. She's a nice girl really though! (You did say you were looking fwd to seeing the blog!)
Wandered around Kensington Park as by then it was really quite dark & warders were locking the gates. Then we saw the London Eye far away in the distance as we crossed the Serpentine (The Eye is by Waterloo Station). Shortly afterwards we noticed the Albert Memorial lit up through the trees & gloom. I knew where we really were then - in relation to where we wanted to be! I used to work in the Science Museum Library just around the corner from there, many years ago. OK, so we'd been walking SouthWest rather than SouthEast, so what?
Down Exhibition Rd, pointing out various embassies - including the Iranian one the SAS raided back in 1980, Imperial College, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, a Mosque &, eventually, South Kensington Station. They'd arranged to be (rescued) met there & taken back to their hotel (one of the Hiltons!) I got the tube to Embankment then walked across one of the Golden Jubilee bridges - admiring the river & various bits of nighttime illumination, to Waterloo. Where, in the 10 min before my train went, I got a cheese & tomato pastie & a white Americano (coffee!) then the train. Did about another 2 rows of knitting, ate me pasty & dozed the rest of the way home. H came to meet me at the station, which was really nice. I'm off to bed soon & I don't care if it is before 10pm. I've been up since just after 5.30am today.
They came bearing gifts too. Enough ground cloves, cinnamon & ginger to build a whole city of gingerbread houses - or one extremely aromatic one, & a swathe of peach coloured cotton cloth (think tinned cling peaches but paler) & another amazing swathe of pale blue/green/grey fine silk - stamped Christian Dior on the selvedge. Hmmm, shall I incorporate that in the finished garment? Why? Do I wear designer labels? Hardly! How did I repay them for this bounty & generosity? A brisk walk through a darkening park & city on a chilly evening. Hmmm. Forgive me, ladies!
OK, in honour of the occasion,
Q: How do you get a camel in the fridge? Thinx: Why would you want to put a camel in the fridge?
A: Open fridge door, assure the elephant it's feet are yellow enough, wave it goodbye, persuade the camel it really would like to chill out, shut the fridge door & go mop up the buttery footprints before someone slips on them & has an accident.
G'night y'all.
There were seven of us, from Portsmouth, & 27 of us, all told, from across the country.
I don't normally have to get anywhere by 8am, apart from back to bed, or put the bins out. Hmmm, should have done that today. Ah well, it's chilly enough for the bag to keep till next week no probs.
Today I'd been told we were meeting at Fratton station at 8am. So, having seen H off to work & caught up with yr updates I didn't go back to bed - & I've been ruing it ever since! Zzzzzz! Got sorted, found me trousers were a tad small - must stop eating - & grabbed an alternative outfit. Arrived at station to find three others waiting, two since 7.30am. Good Thing it was neither frosty or East Windy this morning, poor things. Eventually everyone else rolled up & Dunc broke into funds to get us a tea or coffee each. Onto train. I cast on for Debs' scarf & then for the second sleeve of D's cardi. Actually knitted a good 6" of it today at various points. If I'd not been so knackered on the way back it might have been 7-8".
Arrived at the Methodist International Centre (MIC) in Euston St. The others arrived eventually - apparently it's only Black Cab cabbies who have 'the Knowledge'. Cabbies of grey & red cabs haven't a clue! Our cab had been grey, purple & pink. & we'd used the map & told the cabbie it was near Euston Station. Surely he'd know where that was. Good Thing #2 - didn't have to use the Underground, I don't like down escalators. Specially the deep diving ones they have on the Underground.
An interesting day. Reporting back from previous meetings, 'all in' discussions on certain matters, group discussions on others. At the end of the morning group session a volunteer was asked for to report back from our group. P volunteered me!!! So I did it anyway. Nothing like dropping a complete beginner in at the deep end. Wonder what I'd said or done to deserve that? Hmmm, maybe hiding behind T, being the only one in the back row, & knitting a lot of the time. All the same, it's hardly the way to sort out the matter - is it? Particularly as a piece of paper on the chairs welcoming us said we were all free to sit where we felt comfortable, come, go, stay, leave, go to sleep (not a discourtesy but a distinct possibility with certain meds) or whatever we wanted. I felt that covered knitting. Besides which, while I may be a mere novice to Together I've been doing Tear Fund presentations for years now!
All together I thought it was an interesting & informative day. We are assured by various leader-types that decisions made will be carried through, survey results NOT lost & points made taken into account. So we'll see. MIC also do an excellent lunch, choice from three cooked savouries, salad bar & several other bits plus two puddings. Then there were tea, cofffee (Fair Trade, of course) herbal teas & biscuits or cakes throughout the day too.
By 3.30pm I was glad to make excuses & sneak out. I'd have been glad to make more excuses & sneak off to bed too but they'd come all the way from Saudi. So I went & had tea with them - in the Hilton Four Seasons - flash chandelier, fancy glass flowerheads. Also noticed, to my chagrin, that the back hem of this skirt STILL hasn't been put back up! Aaaarrrggh! Call myself a needlewoman. Top of "Things to Do" list for tomorrow!
Then lead them off on a bit of a goose chase across Hyde Park in the failing light. Hardly sunset - far too overcast, no coloured sky, no real indication of which way was West or East or anything. & my compass in my summer bag too! E was kinda worried. Should we be walking across this vast, largely empty park in the gathering gloom. "It's Hyde Park, not Central Park, E!" It comes to something when one has to go up to London to be able to walk across grass & scuff up the leaves! JS, who's obviously been taking lessons from Someone, whinged abt her feet hurting - wearing non-comfortable, worn to impress, shoes (not to impress me I hasten to add, cos the whinging certainly didn't ;) Then her feet went numb & she whinged abt that. She's a nice girl really though! (You did say you were looking fwd to seeing the blog!)
Wandered around Kensington Park as by then it was really quite dark & warders were locking the gates. Then we saw the London Eye far away in the distance as we crossed the Serpentine (The Eye is by Waterloo Station). Shortly afterwards we noticed the Albert Memorial lit up through the trees & gloom. I knew where we really were then - in relation to where we wanted to be! I used to work in the Science Museum Library just around the corner from there, many years ago. OK, so we'd been walking SouthWest rather than SouthEast, so what?
Down Exhibition Rd, pointing out various embassies - including the Iranian one the SAS raided back in 1980, Imperial College, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, a Mosque &, eventually, South Kensington Station. They'd arranged to be (rescued) met there & taken back to their hotel (one of the Hiltons!) I got the tube to Embankment then walked across one of the Golden Jubilee bridges - admiring the river & various bits of nighttime illumination, to Waterloo. Where, in the 10 min before my train went, I got a cheese & tomato pastie & a white Americano (coffee!) then the train. Did about another 2 rows of knitting, ate me pasty & dozed the rest of the way home. H came to meet me at the station, which was really nice. I'm off to bed soon & I don't care if it is before 10pm. I've been up since just after 5.30am today.
They came bearing gifts too. Enough ground cloves, cinnamon & ginger to build a whole city of gingerbread houses - or one extremely aromatic one, & a swathe of peach coloured cotton cloth (think tinned cling peaches but paler) & another amazing swathe of pale blue/green/grey fine silk - stamped Christian Dior on the selvedge. Hmmm, shall I incorporate that in the finished garment? Why? Do I wear designer labels? Hardly! How did I repay them for this bounty & generosity? A brisk walk through a darkening park & city on a chilly evening. Hmmm. Forgive me, ladies!
OK, in honour of the occasion,
Q: How do you get a camel in the fridge? Thinx: Why would you want to put a camel in the fridge?
A: Open fridge door, assure the elephant it's feet are yellow enough, wave it goodbye, persuade the camel it really would like to chill out, shut the fridge door & go mop up the buttery footprints before someone slips on them & has an accident.
G'night y'all.