24 November 2024

And so, if it’s Monday it must be LA (again) . . .

Sadly, our week in Hawaii flew by and before we could draw breath it was time to get our lazy backsides back to LA – Halloween was coming up and there were great adventures to be had. Leca and Chip got us to the airport in plenty of time, the flight was smooth and uneventful and we arrived in LA to be collected by Ben with a pretty excited Max in tow. How lovely to see them again!

On Tuesday morning Brex-Anna had kindly organised tickets for the Getty Museum so, while Max was in school, we took ourselves around a couple of the galleries and the gardens. As you might imagine, the galleries are stuffed with outstanding artwork from all over and the gardens are splendid. The site is incredible, perched on the hills overlooking Los Angeles and the sea and the architecture is magnificent – I was reminded of Tuscan towers as we wandered around. And lunch in the restaurant was outstanding. We’ll have to go again as there is simply so much to see! A few of the least bad photos and/or some of the pieces I really liked.

Wednesday evening we had a sumptuous dinner with Ben and Brex-Anna and our dear friend Miles at République in the La Brea area of LA. Miles was able to give us a bit of the history of building in which it resides. It was originally erected in 1929 by Charlie Chaplin as a film studio and many of his more famous movies were filmed here. It later became the “iconic” La Brea Bakery and Campanile Restaurant. The building and ambiance were first rate and the food was out of this world.

As it happens, Wednesday evening was also the fifth game of the baseball World Series between the New York Yankees and my hometown team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. I managed to watch the first two games of the series in Hawaii with Chip, both of which the Dodgers won. The Dodgers won a third game in New York while the Yankees also won one. So, the score in the best of seven series was Dodgers 3 games to the Yankees 1 – one more win and the Dodgers would win the whole shebang.

As we arrived at the restaurant, a quick glance at my phone revealed the depressing news that the Dodgers were losing 5 to 0 in the third inning! Oh well, I had originally predicted that the Dodgers would win the series in six games so it was going to be back to LA to win one of the final two games. A short time later I grabbed another quick glance at my phone and the score was suddenly 5 to 5. Wow! What a comeback. An hour or so later the whole restaurant burst into applause – the Dodgers had won and, in doing so, won the World Series. I guess I wasn’t the only one glancing at my phone.

Thursday, of course, was Halloween and I don’t know if there is any wackier place to “enjoy” Halloween than LA. Max had decided we were all to be cats so Brex-Anna kindly provided us with appropriate costumes – an excellent choice and an excellent fit. Who knew they did cat onesies in my expansive size?

In the days leading up to Halloween Penny and I strolled around the neighbourhood admiring (?) the decorations people had erected in their front gardens. Many were quite imaginative, many were quite odd, many were weird and several were quite disturbing. Certainly a much bigger deal than when I was trick or treating around my neighbourhood as a young boy.

On Halloween itself we joined a number of friends of Ben & Brex-Anna and, after a slice or seven of pizza and a cup or pint of wine, we started out with a modest group of about thirty adults and kids. Soon, as other neighbourhoods converged it was a melee of humanity. LA, you never disappoint – still as wacky as ever.

I was surprised to learn that Max had no school on Friday, the day after Halloween. I guess the teachers simply decided that dealing with these kids when they’re all on a sugar high was too much to contemplate.

Since Max had no school we all made an early start for a quick over-nighter in Santa Barbara, a lovely town. We had a bit of brunch in Ventura at the Café Nouveau (excellent) and arrived in Santa Barbara and made our way to the Moxi museum, a museum of interactive displays relating to science and technology – great fun for Max and everyone else!

After a quick wine-tasting session that afternoon, we checked into our accommodation for the evening and then ventured out for dinner at Opal, a restaurant we first enjoyed ten or fifteen years ago, I guess. It was the place where Penny came across a dish of chicken with penne pasta and a homemade Chipotle cream sauce which was absolutely delicious. When we got home on that occasion, she wrote to the restaurant to ask if they would kindly let her have the recipe. Much to our surprise, they obliged and we had many happy versions of this dish.

I was very pleasantly pleased to see a version of the dish was still on the menu – very slightly different but still every bit as delicious as the original version all those years ago.

After a lovely night’s slumber we set off the following morning to the Santa Barbara Zoo which was good fun. We were disappointed that the little train which runs around the perimeter of the zoo was not running due to maintenance issues. Max was obviously disappointed but accepted the situation with excellent good grace.

I always have a bit of a problem with zoos and keeping wild animals in confined spaces. I know they’re better than they used to be and they do good work in conservation, education and breeding programs, etc. but I still find it hard. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed ourselves especially when we came to the “sliding hill”, an artificial mound covered with plastic turf on which kids (and adults) could slide down on a sheet of cardboard. Great fun for children of all ages.

Back to LA, a final good night sleep and then, if it’s Monday it must be time to head home. Excellent, excellent holiday and our deep heartfelt thanks to all of you on whom we imposed and who provided such excellent accommodation, sustenance, laughs and good times. We ought to do this more often!

And finally, before I conclude this lengthy episode, we must give a huge bundle of thanks to our house/dog sitter Aleks who was as sweet, kind and uber-efficient as could be. Daisy had a great time with her (she very kindly sent frequent updates) but, to be fair, she (Daisy, not Aleks) went absolutely ballistic with delight when we arrived home (thanks to Nick for collecting us and ferrying us home). A neighbour three doors down told us that she heard Daisy “singing” with joy and she reckoned it must be us getting home. A great, great trip all around.

In other news, Adam, Ava and the girls arrived safely in China and are now trying to shake off the jetlag and get their bearings. By all accounts, the girls travelled well and are enjoying themselves (so far).

And finally . . .

You Couldn’t Make it Up!
The World Cheese Awards were recently held in Portugal – British entrants were conspicuous by their absence. It seems that the British cheeses did not satisfy the relevant customs regulations to be allowed into the EU. Ironically, several countries typically seen as much more difficult to import for the judging such as cheeses from South Africa, Japan and several South American countries, were cleared for entry. “Before Brexit, this wouldn’t have been a thing. That’s a fact,” said John Farrand, Director of the Guild of Fine Food which runs the event.

We are really disappointed to not compete but it raises the more important question of what kind of damage are export controls with our nearest trading partner doing to our industry?

James Grant, co-founder of the Real Cheese Project and a judge at the competition.

Interesting how all those who banged the drum for Brexit have been noticeably absent in heralding the benefits of the disaster that Brexit has turned out to be.

And, a special bonus You Could Not Make It Up this week. This is the news that an art installation consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York. In what world is a 35 cent banana and a tuppeny bit of duct-tape worth more than 37 cents? And, if you’re thinking like me, what happens when the banana rots? No worries, for $6.2 million you get some instructions on how to replace the banana when it rots.

Oh! And before I forget, look what we woke up to on Tuesday morning!

And the weather forecast for the rest of today?

I guess we should have stayed in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.

Lots of love to you all,

Greg