34 posts tagged “nadia”

And not because of Christmas. Yes it's a great excuse to meet up with friends and I'll be doing plenty of that over the next few week but the reason I'm so excited is because it means I have only two weeks and two days of work left this year. And I have veritable feast of culture and entertainment planned between now and the end of the month: Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Gethsemane (fingers crossed Mosh's MAF is able to get us tickets), James, Gogol Bordello, Dylan Moran, ice skating at Somerset House with Nadia and a trip to Liverpool with Mosh.

And then there are all the things I want to do while I'm off like visit the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, Byzantium at the Royal Academy and the Annie Liebovitz exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. There are tons more but these are top of my list.

I'll also be able to queue up for cheap day seats for a some plays and catch up with some films I've missed.

All in all shaping up to be a very good month.

Nadia and Jeremy got married yesterday in just the manner they wished for. It was a small, intimate affair with 19 guests (including children) at the beautiful Butley Priory.

Show us the five people you'd invite to a dinner party.

Firstly I'd like a couple of my best friends, Jen and Nadia, just to keep things on a level and to act as a bit of sanity when I was completely star struck:

Then  I'd invite Kate Winslet because I'm a big admirer of her work and  when we'd exhausted that topic  I could quiz her about working with the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio and Ewan McGregor to name just two.

The wonderfully talented Kate Winslet

And to make a bonkers occasion even more mental it would have to be the brilliantly funny Ross Noble.

Ross Noble

Finally, someone who'd be worth a dinner party all on his own for the stuff I'd like to ask him, the deliciously talented Ben Whishaw.

The wonderful Ben Whishaw

Perhaps the next vox hunt should be show us what you'd cook for your fantasy dinner party...

In pictures, sort of:

(I had my lap top in a ruck sack which is why my shadow looks a bit like a Ninja Turtle
Views along my walk (I'm so lucky to live close enough to enjoy this walk to work)
It's refreshing to know that I have such an innocent reputation around the office. Several people asked Nadia if the card was a little too rude for me. In fact it made me snort with laughter, it was perfect. And I spent most of the day eating the cake, after all a chocolate high is a good state to  be working in...
Decided to have a picnic at lunch time (Nadia actually got a tan mark).
Or two with Mosh and my friend Kate followed by delicious chinese at my favourite restaurant in China Town: Fung Shing (soft shell crab followed by honey roasted eel, delicious)
And back home to open my pressies which were particularly fab this year, most notable being a new digital camera which is a much better version of the one I've already got from Mosh and some headphones to replace the ones I lost in Cuba and a beautiful silver bangle from my friend Chris with a quote from my favourite Shakespearean play on it.
Also got a massive haul of my favourite brand of plain chocolate which should probably last me weeks but probably won't...

Nadia lent me a great 5 CD compilation album of hits from the 80s. It's full of cheesy pop and takes me right back to my formative years. I'd told Mosh about it and was ready for the ridicule when he saw the track listing. But lo and behold, there we are talking about some of the songs in the pub with Nadia and J late last night when Mosh pipes up that he used to have the 12-inch version of this King song.
Now I don't know whether it was the number of pints which had loosened his tongue but needless to say he's managed to keep this little ghost from his music past well and truly in the attic for the 16-odd years I've known him. I'm still in shock.

Because I know she appreciates the, er, talent that is Mr Johnny Depp...

Went to an IMAX for the first time today to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Nadia and J. Not only is it an incredible experience watching the film on such a huuuuge screen with the amazing surround sound but the big battle at the end is in 3D which certainly has the wow-factor.
We were given a taste of things to come as the trailers were all in 3D and I confess I squealed like a young kid when I thought a shark was swimming straight towards me.
I have a thing about sharks OK.
When watching the 3D segment, it is so effective I had a strong urge to reach out and touch the characters as they appeared so close.
Great cinema, great experience and of course a great film. Shame everyone looks comic in the glasses.

Show us a birthday cake. 
Submitted by kite.  

Nadia made this absolutely scrummy chocolatey, hazelnutty (but gluten and dairy free) cake for me for my Birthday this year. She brought it into the office and it was a lovely surprise and a great way to start the week after a weekend of celebrations.

 

It was time, once again, for our annual staff day out to Brighton (which also heralds just over a year since I started my vox blog). Another fab day and not just for the usual festivities of montezuma's, fish and chips and rides on pier.

This shot is partly because you gotta but mainly for Mosh because he always says Nadia and I are like an old married couple...

These sum up the Brighton extremes: sophisticated cafe society and good old fashioned fish and chips with mushy peas on the pier:

But what sets this year's visit apart is:

This is my brother Derren who lives in Brighton and whom I haven't seen for about eight years. We had a falling out and, as we both have very stubborn personalities, haven't had any contact since. We spoke briefly on the phone for the first time last year, sort of by accident, when he was visiting Dad in hospital.
For a while I've been thinking that plenty of water had gone under the bridge and, basically, I've missed him. Even though we don't share blood, we grew up together from the age of seven and a mere three weeks and five days separates us in age. We were at school together, sometimes in the same class.
I decided it was a too good a chance to pass up, got his mobile number from my Mum and texted him. Luckily he is currently working in Brighton and we arranged to meet up during his (v. late) lunch hour.
It felt great to give him a big hug and it was just like old times with us both rabbiting away and him making me laugh.
I love him to bits, its just taken a long time to remember that oh and how bloomin' tall he is (6' 5"!).
We've swapped email and skype details, I'm sure it will just be the start.
 

It is not unusual for a group of us from work to have to stay overnight while away on business. We have always chosen hotels but for the first time, and on the recommendation of Lisa, we opted for a serviced apartment for our Birmingham visit.
Lisa used a contact to get us a good deal and with two, two-bedroomed apartment booked a Friends-like experience lay ahead.
The apartments were wonderful. There were two bathrooms so you still get the privacy of your own hotel room but with the bonus of a large living room/dining room/kitchen space and balcony.

And having that living space made so much difference. Rather than being cooped up in a hotel room and forced to socialise elsewhere, we hung out in the living room listening to music and drinking wine with some other colleagues before going out to dinner and then returned for a nightcap and some early birthday celebration cake for Nadia (and yes Nadia is in her jimmy jams in the shot below - you can't do that in a hotel bar).
We decided to cook breakfast in one of the apartments which was an enlightening experience. I think it helps that we all get on but at times we were scarily like a family, arguing over how best to do things and who should do what. I almost expected the Geordie big brother commentator to spark up: "10 am and the Focus team are in the kitchen. Nadia, Lisa and Dan have been cooking breakfast for 10 minutes and are arguing over whether you should make scrambled eggs with milk..."
It was a different work-related experience and great fun. Full marks to Dan for surviving just under 24 hours as the only boy. I think we terrified him in the preceding days talking about our plans to spend the evening watching Dirty Dancing and painting our toenails.
Will definitely try and stay in serviced apartments again.