I may just have made my best mash ever . The secret is it's mashed butter with a bit of potato for seasoning.

For the first year or 2 when Bloke called over on a Saturday night I still got dressed up, then got more casual until eventually I was in my PJ's .
As he is hardly ever able to stay at mine anymore (carer duties ),
I made a special effort tonight - M&S pjs and I ironed them .

Ah sorry to hear that you must have been quite young.
I'll accept the dreams as on going so.

Who called it the Claudia Winkleman Show and not Beyond the Fringe?

Though of course, like everyone that experiences the loss of loved ones (and everyone will at some point ) , you find out the idea that grief is something you get over is just straight up a big old lie .
Rather it becomes an extra part of you that you learn to live with.

Almost every night I dream of my Parents and / or my nephew Daniel . I get it . It is my brain helping to process loss etc.
But it does make the first few moments when you wake up a bit shifty. And while Daniel is only gone 2 and 3/4 years , my folks are gone 9.
I thought it might have eased off .

Watching Scarpetta. 2 episodes in and it's not grabbing me as much as I thought it would . However, I like the cast and the use of Dark Entries by Bauhaus has tempted me on to go for a third

What a wonderful way to spend a Friday . I think everyone could do with more Ealing Comedies in their lives .

It is . A sweet martini ,without being sickly sweet. Never had licor 43 before , glad I bought it back , I knew nothing about it , but seems to go well with lots of stuff I like. I must try the Spanish Coffee tomorrow.

Licor 43 is also meant to go well with ginger beer and pineapple juice , have both in the fridge, so will just try that after . More cocktails that are basically a way to drink a shed load of neat spirits while allegedly not being an alcoholic do not lead to a happy Saturday.

A martini glass containing a pale yellow ,clear cocktail, resting on a Star Wars stormtrooper coaster , on a dark wooden table

Haven't made cocktails in a while , but I bought a bottle of Licor 43 back from Spain.
So here is a Bloomsbury Martini - 60ml gin, 15ml licor 43 , 15ml dry Vermouth, 2 drops Peychaud's bitters . Stir with ice , strain into a glass ,squeeze lemon zest . Recipe from Diffords. V tasty

Keeping a low profile this afternoon, as my 3 day week is currently Tues ,Wed , Thurs, and I don't want them to remember that I won't be in again till Wednesday.
It may startle the higher ups into thinking maybe I should work Monday .

Watching the new Louis Theroux- Inside The Manosphere
I've muttered this year's supply of twats in the first 5 minutes.

This is lovely - and now I want a picture of James Mason with a cat in a cave.

I always feel v stupid as I reckon my pronunciation is bad , but yes , so much better than just talking straight at people loudly in English.

Otters , Octopus and Coelacanth ( the last one because when 5 year old me learnt that a fish thought extinct for 200 million years was found in the 1930s , I took it as proof there could be a T rex in a jungle somewhere and I was v happy ).

Started Greek on Duolingo, as while it could be a quite long time coming , myself and Bloke are planning on Athens as the next away trip . This is definitely going to put my meagre language learning skills to the test !
But I think it is always polite to at least attempt a few phrases.

Loads of out of commission tube stations with vintage posters , deep level WW2 shelters , walked many lines on the early hours . He doesn't believe in ghosts , but he says it's v spooky

My brother has actually been there when not open to the public as he worked for Thames Water and Waterflow for a few years . Don't hate him 😁 he was just incharge of maping drainage route cross sections with railways and tube stations . But he has seen some v cool stuff because of that ....

Wow , what a surprisingly great end to International Women's Day . Met a couple of mates and out of the blue our male friend insists on treating us to dinner , no dodgy motives , we've known him for years and he has a gf.
Plus any in planned crème brulé is a bonus

Very good
We were originally going to go in April , but when my bro went to book this morning it was sold out

So finally fulfilling one of my architectural must visits in May. Going over to the UK so myself and my bro can take his grandson to Crossness Pumping station.
It's one of their Steaming Days when you get picked up from Abbeywood on a classic Route master Bus and also ride the narrow gauge railway.

Drawing of an umbrella bird sitting on a branch , done using Procreate on an iPad

U is for Umbrella Bird #bird 🪶

Torrential rain today , but still had a great visit to the aquarium here in Valencia, very impressive.
Now in our accommodation with the heating blasting in an attempt to dry our clothes and my phone camera has condensation in the lens, so no pictures.
I especially liked the green Moray eel.

*horchata

Yes it was fantastic

Myself with hair done in a rockabilly style curl, clutching a paper cup of horcharta and a bag of carton cakes

Paella checked off in previous pic, have now unlocked Valencia level 2 with horcharta and farton

A photo of me in front of a dish of paella,which forced perspective has made look enormous

Officially landed in Spain

My answer - Sandra Bullock, I just assumed nobody, especially a woman would pick the surname Bullock if seeking fame