On the far left is Lee (Anna's husband) who I met in my first job in the 80's at a small UK software company, and we stayed in touch ever since. Then Anna, Isabella (their daughter) and myself and Rose. Zoom in on the crab - it was truly delicious. I seem to recall we had a good Californian Chardonnay with it, but the producer is gone from my memory. I certainly would love to come back Anna!
This was part of an awesome holiday where we spent a couple of days in San Francisco, followed by skiing in Heavenly and Squaw Valley, followed by wine touring in Napa, Sonoma and Russian River Valley, finishing off with a stop in Cupertino to visit Marcio.
Shortly after Rose arrived, I got two surprise visitors - Lynne and June, old friends from college. This really was a surprise, as I had thought June was in Geneva! She flew back today and stopped by for a visit. It was very nice to see them both, and they bought some nice silly gifts which will distract me for some of the time tomorrow.
Next in to see me were Yvonne and Andy, bearing many snacks and nibbles. Sadly, many of them were unpasturised cheese, which are forbidden. But the cheese straws, chillie nuts, wasabe peanuts and Thai rice snacks have gone down a treat - I rather pigged out on them this evening.
Everyone left around three, and I managed to catch up on some sleep this afternoon, so now I am feeling a bit fresher, and hence able to write the blog!
Whilst failing to sleep last night, I remembered an incident from my past that I thought I might share with you ...
My first date with Rose was to see Aliens 2 at the Marble Arch Odeon (a large movie theatre in London). It was autumn 1986, and a good time was had by all. The next date was dinner a week later, on a Saturday. I had to take my boss to heathrow, and was driving his car, an early Honda Prelude with the very wedge shaped hood (or bonnet as we Brits like to say). On my way back from the airport, I was driving up Willesden High Street, towards home. The road and pavements were busy with Saturday shoppers, and the traffic was moving slowly at about 15mph. As I crossed a pedestrian light, a boy of about 10 years old ran out in front of me! Needless to say I hit him. He rolled up over the bonnet, and fell to the front offside of the car. We were right outside the local police station, which in retrospect was lucky. Of course there were no mobile phones, but somebody popped into the station, and the police called an ambulance. Many passers by told the police what happened, and they just took my name and said no charges would be pressed. It was quite a traumatic episode as you can imagine! Eventually the ambulance arrived, and the lad was taken to hospital - he had a broken leg. The policeman told me that mostly if they go up and over then the injuries are not as bad as if they go under - the wedge shaped Honda was a good thing then! The car was unmarked!
With all the stress and delay, I still made the date with Rose, but I have no idea where we went! I guess it went well though :):):)
As a footnote, the London Ambulance Service sent me a bill for the emergency call out, which I thought was a real liberty. I cannot remember who I called(police or insurance I guess), but they told me it was standard to bill the driver in these cases. I rang the ambulance people and told them to charge the parent's of the boy; I never paid the charge myself. I have no idea if this practice of charging for emergency ambulance callout continues today.
I really appreciate your thoughts and wishes, and although neutropenic I still welcome healthy visitors. Ideally, I prefer to be serially visited, so if you are thinking of coming, please contact me first so that I can plan a little ahead (phone or email is fine).
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Location:London,United Kingdom
Ian, you asked earlier about book recommendations. My daughter Audrey just finished reading "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace. She read it over the holiday break, and I could see that it was quite a challenging and absorbing read. She says it's a terrific book. It's over a thousand pages, so that's something that could keep you occupied for some time!
ReplyDelete-- Samuel
I had a similar "pedestrian crossing" incident myself. I had taken my cousins to Palo Alto (home of Stanford University and generally a rather posh area) and on the way home, we drove through East Palo Alto (polar opposite of Palo Alto in every way apparently). It was around 4 p.m., traffic was nose to tail, when I spotted the guy standing at the side of the road, seemingly looking like he was trying to cross the pedestrian crossing. Like the good driver that I am, I stopped to let him use the pedestrian crossing and he ...... threw himself over the bonnet! It was very surreal because he did it slowly and it seemed to me like it was happening in slow motion! He pretended to be hurt and CHP and an ambulance was called. He complained of "neck pain" etc. It was an insurance scam obviously. I never got a citation and my insurance company even used a P.I. to investigate the incident. Turned out the guy was a known drunk and scammer! And I thought those things only happened in American movies, LOL!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Aliens 2 is my kinda movie too, LOL.
I remember that Honda Prelude very well. For a period in the early eighties I drove it to meet customers across the UK. Being a young man in a hurry, I often drove somewhat over the speed imit. On one occasion in deepest Wales I was in a hurry to get back to London for a game of squash. As I crested a rise at some speed I saw a dry stone wall on the horizon - it quickly got closer and I managed to swing the car round the left hand turn at the T junction! The adrenaline rush took a while to subside and I drove at the speed limit until the idea of missing the squash match became intolerable...
ReplyDeletenot only was I charged for the ambulance, but the Policeman, (who,s garden fence l demolished) even did me for careless driving!!, (Silly place to put a fence anyway) despite me fully repairing the damage and apologising in person, (some time later) bearing a hamper of goody's,....My conclusion don't try to bribe British bobbys,....but to be fair l did make an all-full mess, and if it had not been for his lovely wife (a full time nurse), things might have been different.
ReplyDeleteAlien 2, ok, Alien 1 1st rate (and not a lover of si -fi) Colin Firth, got a good chance for a "gong" for his performance in the "Kings Speech", (worth watching).... Peter
Do you remember the red Citroen? I think it was a hand me down from you (or Patrick). Anna and I drove in that for a while. Built muscles turning the steering wheel. The red color made it a bird magnet .. of the feathered kind. If I parked it under a tree it would inevitably be plastered by the time I returned. The hydraulics sprung a leak once and I remember vaguely that finding a garage mechanic who knew how to fix it was a pain.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, can't wait for Rose and you (Rose's husband) to return to SF. The crab place is still our favourite place and we go there periodically - can't go there too often because its so rich. And Isabella is now 17!!! Time flies!
Lee
Hello Ian, Isabella here (daughter of Anna and Eng Yew)!
ReplyDeleteI remember when you came to the restaurant, and I remember that you and Rose were both very pleasant people. I really hope that you will come back to San Francisco again, because it would be really nice to see you two again.
I heard that you liked satire, and though it may be quite different from what you are used to, I would suggest that you check out a series called 'Hetalia'. It's a manga (a japanese comic book) and an anime (japanese cartoons), but I think it is hilarious all the same. I myself regret not finding out about the series earlier, because I not only find it funny, but also very educational. There are a lot of hidden history jokes, mainly about WWII, and it successfully gets information across to the reader/viewer. I also find that the series is enjoyed by people of all ages. Once again, it's probably something you don't usually read, but please do check it out. It makes me laugh, and I hope that it can make you laugh too!
Speaking of good books, I'm also reading Jekyll and Hyde right now, for school. Frankly, I find it a little hard to read, but once I understood the story, I found it very intriguing indeed. I only wish I could have been able to understand it earlier...but I guess my English class would be too easy if that were.
But once again, you should come back to SF and visit c: