Friday 25 March 2011

Brunching and Blue Skies

The first week M is back he is both ill and jet-lagged. He sleeps and sleeps, blinds drawn, waking occasionally to murmur incoherently. It is like having a shiny new toy that I am not allowed to play with. By Friday evening he is feeling well enough to get up, eat a bowl of spaghetti, watch a DVD.

Saturday he is back to his usual self, and we rise early, jet-lag still present, head to the Southbank in the sunshine. Breakfast at Canteen, sunlight streaming in through the large glass windows, orange juice freshly squeezed, egg yolks golden. We wander by the river, aimlessly, stumble upon a practice session for a free running competition at the National Theatre. Lunch is pea soup, oatcakes, cheese from the Cheese and Wine festival at the Southbank earlier. M goes to watch the rugby, I potter about in the sunshine, happy with the light, the gentle warmth.

Later we meet, when it is dark, wind through the streets of Soho to Yalla Yalla, end up at the larger, newer branch near Oxford Circus, eat smoky Baba Ghanoush with chewy pitta bread, salty pickles from tiny bowls, crunchy Fattoush, feta filled Samboussek. It was delicious, I would recommend.

Sunday morning, jet-lag again, we journey across to Columbia Road flower market, take photographs, buy flowers, anemones, ranunculus, brown paper wrapped. Eat brunch at The Book Club, fat buttermilk pancakes, fruit, syrup. Come home and bake for a work bake sale, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, then invite Anna over for tea because the flowers bought earlier seem too beautiful to languish in the living room alone, they need us to sit around them, with a plate of warm cookies and mugs of tea, playing catch up as their petals open.

A slow, quiet weekend all things considered, but I am grateful that M is back, glad the sun is shining. Glad that we are round again to Friday too - hope you all have a lovely weekend chickpeas!




















15 comments:

  1. BEAUTIFUL photos! Hope you have a lovely weekend.

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  2. Becky,I was at Yalla yalla on tuesday! I also loved it and was thinking about blogging it too! Surely we'll bump into each other one of these days!

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  3. What a fab weekend and gorgeous flowers. I love London whatever the season but at the moment, in the sunshine, it looks particularly lovely. I have a trip to Columbia Road booked in my diary for the first Sunday of the week I'm between jobs. I figured it would be a good week to buy some blooms as I'll be at home a lot of the time and can enjoy them to the full.

    Have a great weekend! x

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  4. It all sounds so perfect. Those pancakes looks delicious and i really want to visit Yalla Yalla now! Have a lovely weekend!

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  5. Just lovely! Beautiful flowers & tasty food always catch my attention!

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  6. I love Columbia Road and East London and you have captured it beautifully as well as the loveliness of spring that is definitely starting to bring a bit of buzz back to London.

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  7. These lovely photos are like a poem to London.

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  8. Wow is that breakfast for real?! Looks heavenly. Enjoy your time with your fella xx

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  9. There seems a NEED to take photos of yellow flowers against a blue sky - I've done the same recently with catkins against a cold northern sky.
    Love your culinary tour.

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  10. Hurrah for M being back, and hurrah for lovely times together!!!

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  11. Brunching and blue skies are two of my very favourite things!

    Love the photo of the beautiful flowers wrapped in brown paper. Makes me want to go out to the florist's right now and buy myself a bunch!

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  12. London in the summer sounds just magical.

    Those cookies look epic!

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  13. Mmmm, I'd like one of those cookies, please :-)

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  14. Those flowers are so gorgeous!! and yummm..i want some cookies right now with milk.


    Pearl

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