Yesterdays

“Why she Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.
I said, Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.”

~The Beatles ‘Yesterday’~

7 weeks gone and still no sign of Trish. Everyone’s distraught….the waiting goes on…

Yesterday was the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland's own bard in 1759. We spent a memorable year living in Dumfries, the town where Burns spent his last years . Every corner you turned in this little quaint town was dedicated to him. We’d tatties and neeps with grilled lamb (couldn’t find any vegetarian haggis) for dinner to commemorate the day. All in all, a fitting tribute to Scotland's beloved "Rabbie."

Wish to have your own Burns Supper? Check this out. Only in the USA, eh.


On Sunday, we went for an early morning stroll to Brandon Marsh. The robins were so busy guarding their territory that they virtually ignored my stretch hands. The path was flooded again although a few die-hard twitchers still waded through. It must have been freezing.

We walked to the Wright hides. The swans were starting to pair up and the Great Crested Grebes were sporting elaborate head feathers which appear during the breeding season. Not too soon guys cos it’s still winter.

On Saturday, CC and I checked out new restaurant in town, Cosmo, instead of our usual Noodle Bar. It got great reviews from our colleagues but for us, it will be out first and last. It was too Westernised for our tongue.

They served Pan Asian cuisines with food from 9 different countries. Don't know why Pizza, Pasta and chips were available though. For starters, I‘d crispy Seaweed, Deep Fried Crab Claws, Jiao Yan King Prawn Cantonese Style, Deep Fried Mushroom, Sesame Prawn Toast, Tempura Vegetables. It does sounds unhealthy :-)

Then I had the tackled Salmon Fillet in Black Bean Sauce, King Prawns with Ginger & Spring Onions, Sautéed courgettes with mushrooms Peking Style, Bean Curd in Black Bean Sauce and Spicy Pad Thai Noodle. We took out time and observed the surrounding. It was getting crowded. We were glad that we arrived early.

We got up again and I came across the noodle section and a chef was busy stirring something. He’s doing a miso noodle. Oooh, yummy. Of course I had one. But it was very bland. My last trip was to the dessert counter. Hmm…a very, very long queue and some even had 2 plates. Why??? I chose the Peach Melba Cream Torte with loads of lychees. Ha, this was delish. We washed all these with gallons of steaming cha.

We came out 1.5 hours later and dawdled slowly into the market. Cc did some shopping and I picked a basket of grapes and Sharon fruit for only £1 each. Did ask where they came from? The Sharon fruit (named originally after Sharon plain in Israel) was from China and the grapes from Spain. Air-miles…what air-miles ???

We’d our eyebrows threaded as a treat. It felt real good to face the world with crisp brow lines. Sad huh… We bopped to some very good music in aid of the British Heart Foundation. We dropped a few £ and checked a few shoe shops. I just couldn’t wait to stop wearing boots. Felt as I’ve been wearing them forever. Alas, it’s still winter.

Work was hectic as usual. My workload had tripled but thankfully, the books have trickled in very slowly. I’m concentrating more on whatever’s left of the Sivanandan Collection and the donations. But if there’s an urgent, that comes straight on top of the pile. The usual books will be taken care by the rest of my colleagues.
Apart from that, I still need to supervise a junior colleague. There’s also an online metadata for digital collections tutorial that I’d committed myself to. Why oh why? I just remembered that I need to set up a training schedule for two library assistants from Careers Office. H-E-L-P.

Last but not list, these hyacinths have bloomed and the fragrance in the casa is so intoxicating.