February 14, 2009
London

London was made for Lovers! And more so on Valentine’s Day. All the world loves a lover and they were out in droves today–with their red-attired beaus, the gals were all dolled up in the miniest of mini skirts and impossibly high stillettos, their scruffier boyfriends tagging alongside in unhemmed jeans and sneakers! Why do the girls kill themselves so when their guys are so nonchalant about this most romantic of holidays?

I awoke and read Harry Potter for an hour, then worked on my email correspondence. Soon after breakfast, my soaks and exercises and a shower, I left my flat and decided to go antiquing on Portobello Road. I can’t believe that five months have passed since I came to live in London and I haven’t yet been to my favorite hunting ground. But when I arrived the dollar was so weak that everything was out of my reach. Now that the dollar has skyrocketed, I can finally start to look at purchasing some antiques and today, with the rain at bay and the sun making occasional attempts to peak out, I thought it would be a good day to find out what was available.

So, off I went by bus (8 to Tottenham Court Road, then the 390 to Notting Hill Gate) and a short ten minute walk later, there I was amidst the stalls selling vintage jewelery and bric-a-brac and the serious antiques dealers with their sterling silver, Royal Douton china and signed designer jewelry. It is always a mystery to me where time goes when I have my nose pressed to the show cases that display the items that most take my fancy. While painted porcelain has always been my passion, I am no longer in the market for cups and saucers as I simply have no place to store them. My collection already numbers about 250 and I now only make a purchase when the pair is really rare or very reasonably priced.

At different times, on Portobello Road over the years, I have looked very specifically for a certain item. One year it was an umbrella stand (I ended up snagging a rare Japanese Imari for next to no money). On another occasion, it was a cut-crystal cruet set (I did not find it on Portobello Road but we did find a rather rare complete set in a very special antiques shop in the Cotswolds). This time, I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but I did end up buying an antique type face–a giant A (for Almeida) which I can use with a stamp pad to personalize Thank You cards, Place cards and the like.

It was almost 1. 00 and I was already tired when I hopped on to the first bus I spied and rode it towards Kensington. I decided to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Scultpure Gallery and the collection of Rodins that I really had no energy to study the last time I was there. I found myself a seat indoors and ate my home-made tongue and gammon sandwich and feeling fortified for more art inspection, I spent a while among some of Rodin’s most recognizable work such as the study for the Gates of Hell, St. John the Baptist, etc.Having also left the paintings gallery unfinished the last time, I climbed the stairs to complete it and ended up browsing once again in the upper story of the jewelry section where I became particularly fascinated by the 18th and 19th jewelry items called chatelains–a sort of carry-all that included the tiniest implements that a lady might need such as a pair of tweezers, a pen knife, a pair of scissors, a bottle for her perfume, a tiny spoon to dig the wax out of her ears (!) and a lot of other odds and ends that might otherwise be misplaced! They were just too cute!

It was still bright and not yet biting cold when I got on the bus again and made my way towards Chinatown. As part of the course I am teaching this semester, my students have been assigned the exploration of a different ethnic London neighborhood each week. This is designed to teach them about the global environment in which they dwell in one of the world’s most diverse cities. I figured that I might as well explore the neighborshoods at the same time and since one of my students will be making a Powerpoint presentation on Chinese London on Monday, I decided to get off at Shafestbury Avenue and poke around Chinatown myself.

London’s Chinatown is located on Gerard Street right behind Shaftesbury Avenue. There is a giant gateway designed in Oriental fashion that marks the entrance to this neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago, this area was seen at its festive best with scarlet lanterns strung all over the facades of the stores in celebration of Chinese New Year. Most of them have been removed but a few remain, red being the color of good luck and prosperity. Though I have passed through this part of Shaftesbury Avenue several times on the bus, I had never really entered the shops, studied the menus in the main restaurants or poked my head into the supermarkets.

The entire experience was heady and fascinating indeed. In the Loong Fung Supermarket, for instance, I decided to buy myself some Oriental fruit as I had eaten these in Thailand a few years ago and had quite enjoyed them. So I filled my basket with lychees, rambutans and mangosteens but when I came to the check out counters and saw the lines stretching for miles, I decided I simply did not have the energy to join them. I left my fruity purchases right there and resolved to vist the area on a weekday.

Many restaurants offered Peking Duck that hung from large hooks at the entrance. Many served Dim Sum all day and as I love Chinese dim sum, I wished very much that I could have tried some of their offerings. But I do not enjoy eating alone in a restaurant, so I shall wait until I can find some company to check one of these places out. I was quite taken by the Chinese bakeries where all sorts of exotic pastries beckoned–red bean pastry, sesame pastry, almond cookies, melon and kiwi mousse cakes, green tea mochi, etc. Food apart, I also saw Chinese hair dressers and Chinese acupunturists and Chinese herbalists all plying a brisk trade in this area. Hundreds of tourists strolled along the shop fronts looking for a suitable place to eat their evening meal. It was a very interesting evening indeed and I ended up feeling as if I had just taken a detour into Hongkong via Singapore!

Since I was very close to Kingsway, I then walked for another 15 minutes for the 6 pm mass at St. Anselm’s Church. Stephanie and I will be out for the day on one of our weekend trips–we’re going to Canterbury tomorrow a la Chaucer’s pilgrims–and since I would be missing Sunday mass, I did want to go to Church today. It is after all Valentine’s Day and I did miss Llew and Chriselle very much indeed. The mass was fairly well attended but, when it ended, my wait for the bus was most frustrating as even 20 minutes later, the bus did not make an appearance. In disgust, I walked a few yards to another bus stop from which I could get 3 buses and in less than ten minutes I was home!

I arrived at the door of my flat to find a huge parcel on my door–the delivery of flowers and a gift for me from my Valentine across the seas! I was so excited and so delighted that despite the fact that I was not home all day and there was no concierge on duty, the delivery had been made. When I opened the parcel, I found a dozen long stemmed red roses, a bottle of champagne and a darling little Teddy Bear–and of course, a very touching message from my beau! I called Llew immediately and thanked him for the very loving thoughts and, of course, then I missed him more than ever. This is the very first time in our lives together that we have been away from each other on Valentine’s Day and so it is the first time I have received a long-distance gift from him. The thought was very sweet indeed.

I spent the next few minutes arranging my red roses in a vase and getting together my Meal for One–lovely pecan and raisin bread with Smoked Cheddar for a starter, Chicken Curry with Rice and Tiramisu for dessert washed down with ice-cold cider. I watched the Food Network do all sorts of programs that had focussed on the Foods of Love and the UK’s favorite dinners (would you believe the Number One favorite is Spaghetti Bolognese?) and then it was time to end this lovely Valentine’s Day by calling Chriselle and Chris in the US and wishing them a happy Valentine’s Day as an engaged couple before I got ready for bed.