If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that I’ve been incommunicado for the past few days because I went to Edinburgh for the weekend, which involved departing from (cue the drum roll…) Heathrow’s brand new Terminal 5. Here’s what happened. Left home at 2pm. Caught Heathrow Express to Terminal 5. All went…
Terminal 5
Monsieur flew from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 for the first time yesterday. Being a bit of a plane-spotter, I was keen to hear all about it, so when he called me last night, I got the low-down. It didn’t take very long. “Well, darling, it’s basically a big shopping centre with a runway. It’s as if…
Malaysia, part 3: Biba’s, The Batu Caves, The Beatles and Beer
Today, miracle of Malaysian miracles, Monsieur and I made it to breakfast on time. This was of particular importance as Biba’s, the hotel breakfast restaurant, had been cited as being a favourite destination for martial arts man, Jackie Chan, apparently fuelling his lethal flying side kicks. I wondered what it would do for us. The…
Malaysia, part 2: Immersion
Apparently Monsieur and I were not immune from jet lag, in spite of keeping to local time on arrival. We slept fitfully that first night and when we finally dragged our heavy bodies down to breakfast, it was all gone. What next? We decided to talk to the concierge about our sightseeing options, but he…
Malaysia, part 1: A Malaysian Initiation
Monsieur and I had two weeks’ holiday at our disposal, so, as you do, we went to Waterstone’s in Notting Hill and stood in the midst of the travel guide section, looking for inspiration. In the end, we restricted ourselves to three guides: Greece, Croatia and Malaysia, which we pored over at home, trying to…
Epicurus said… don’t fear death
Death is feared by most mere mortals. Having said that, the way people drive in North Africa is such a case of vehicle leap-frog that it’s almost like a test of their faith in God: “Insh’Allah!” the Egyptians exclaim as they challenge an oncoming Goliath lorry with their twenty year-old David of a sedan. To…
Epicurus said… don’t be afraid of God.
Epicurus recommended to his acolytes that they not fear God. The fact that he lived from 341-271BCE means that by mentioning ‘God’, it is not necessarily the god that springs to mind when we read that statement. Why? 1. Christianity’s official start date came 271 years after the mortal demise of Epicurus, 2. The Prophet…
Freecycle – take my parents!
As everything in life becomes greener and more environmentally aware, if not friendly, there is an interesting site in the UK called ‘Freecycle’. Its aim is to link people who want to get rid of unwanted items to find people who need them, and vice versa, with the result that less rubbish ends up in…
Alternative swear words
I don’t really like to swear but sometimes I find myself possessed by a demon with Tourette’s causing a few choice words to exit my mouth. Usually the result of surging female hormonal activity or stress in the workplace, such moments even take ME by surprise. I knew it had to stop and the problem…
Buzzword bonkers
It astounds me how many people use buzzwords these days. I can understand (to a point) the necessity of industry-specific jargon, but what on earth does it mean when someone says “I’ll cold towel those documents and get them to you later,” or “he’s just had a brain dump,” A ‘brain dump’? You have to…
My on-line shrine
One of the things I miss most about living with my Former Flatmate is his shrine. On entering his flat, there is a large dresser covered with so many religious knick-knacks that it’s hard to tell exactly what colour it is. The shrine, as FF has named it, is not mono-theistic. In fact, most of…
Homesick
I don’t really get homesick, as in getting overly emotional because I miss New Zealand, the place where I was born and raised. I suppose that’s because I’ve lived in England for so long now that I consider it home. However, there are a few things that make me realise that I am still a…
Epicurienne 