 |
| An absolute nightmare to get off the baking tray, but when else do YOU get to eat the DRAGON? |
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Bringing a bit of Wales to my New York Christmas
Andy in Wales!
This Thanksgiving, Andy booked a flight to finally come visit me in Wales... between his amazing long-awaited business trip to Brazil and the last-minute business trip to Japan (he's flying back as I type), he spent over a week traipsing about the southern Welsh coast in the wind and the wet, puttering about Cardiff while I spent a few token hours at work, and helping pull off one of the most ridiculous Thanksgiving feasts I could dream up.
Here are two albums from his visit. First up, a documentation of our day trips to see castles and coastline cliffs. For one day (and one day only) we had epic British weather. The blue skies smiled on our visit to Caerphilly Castle, which sits a 20 minute drive north of Cardiff but that I had yet to go see. Sometimes it takes a special visitor to get you out there! The rest of the week was less weather-friendly, as Wales and England were hit with record rainfall and flooding along with gale force winds. We still managed to stop by Tintern Abbey (a family favorite, it would seem, and featuring earlier on my blog) and Raglan Castle, which was possibly even more awesome for the fear of seriously being blown off the crumbling turrets. Finally, we dropped down to Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula to see the "Worm's Head" (Worm from the word Orm meaning Dragon... I told you we had dragons in Wales!). We couldn't cross the causeway to the Worm's head like Dave and I did on our visit with my parents because it was high tide. Instead, Andy and I went both up to the top of the nearby hill--where gorgeous views and horses made the muck and the incline worth it-- and down to the white sand beach, where reflections of clouds in the setting sunlight were surprisingly well-captured by our little point and shoot camera. Enjoy the album!
At the end of the week we hosted Thanksgiving for my Cardiff friends. Instead of a typical Turkey, I decided to attempt a multi-bird roast. In our case, a five bird roast: a partridge inside a pheasant inside a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all sewn up, covered in bacon, and roasted for many many hours. I have an album of the construction of this bizarre masterpiece, and from the merry feast that followed. Quite merry--- we went through large quantities of booze and guests left in the wee hours of the morning, leaving Andy with only two hours before he had to get picked up by a taxi on his way to the airport!
All in all, a fantastic visit. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving everyone!
Here are two albums from his visit. First up, a documentation of our day trips to see castles and coastline cliffs. For one day (and one day only) we had epic British weather. The blue skies smiled on our visit to Caerphilly Castle, which sits a 20 minute drive north of Cardiff but that I had yet to go see. Sometimes it takes a special visitor to get you out there! The rest of the week was less weather-friendly, as Wales and England were hit with record rainfall and flooding along with gale force winds. We still managed to stop by Tintern Abbey (a family favorite, it would seem, and featuring earlier on my blog) and Raglan Castle, which was possibly even more awesome for the fear of seriously being blown off the crumbling turrets. Finally, we dropped down to Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula to see the "Worm's Head" (Worm from the word Orm meaning Dragon... I told you we had dragons in Wales!). We couldn't cross the causeway to the Worm's head like Dave and I did on our visit with my parents because it was high tide. Instead, Andy and I went both up to the top of the nearby hill--where gorgeous views and horses made the muck and the incline worth it-- and down to the white sand beach, where reflections of clouds in the setting sunlight were surprisingly well-captured by our little point and shoot camera. Enjoy the album!
 |
| Andy's walks in Wales |
At the end of the week we hosted Thanksgiving for my Cardiff friends. Instead of a typical Turkey, I decided to attempt a multi-bird roast. In our case, a five bird roast: a partridge inside a pheasant inside a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all sewn up, covered in bacon, and roasted for many many hours. I have an album of the construction of this bizarre masterpiece, and from the merry feast that followed. Quite merry--- we went through large quantities of booze and guests left in the wee hours of the morning, leaving Andy with only two hours before he had to get picked up by a taxi on his way to the airport!
 |
| Thanksgiving Cardiff 2012 |
All in all, a fantastic visit. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving everyone!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Some more from Melbourne
My epic Australia/Malaysia/Conference/Holiday - part 3
Due to delays in my connectivity with the internets and having given my laptop (with my camera SD card reader) to my boss to bring back to the UK while I traipse around Malaysia... here is a much belated set of photos from Melbourne. Not pictured (yet) are koalas and kangaroos and penguins that I managed to see in the final days in Oz. You know, just hanging out, IN THE REAL WORLD. I'm not inclined to be very verbose with the figure captions, as I am currently knee deep in Malaysian shenanigans, but I am going to try to keep writing in semi-real-time so that I don't forget everything!
I thought I would provide some shots of the convention centre, which came with it's own tall ship, apparently. The building you see in this picture is the plenary hall and some of the meeting rooms, while the long low building in the background stretches for several city blocks and contained multiple trade show spaces. While we used one small hall for posters and exhibitor stalls, the others were used by fisheries and hatcheries people and a mass air-con convention. As always, fun to play the "guess what conference THAT guy is affiliated with" game on the escalators. (Although, perhaps not as fun as when the female body building convention shared the space with us in Canada...)
This year, I gave my first talk at the conference. I would estimate between 150-200 people attended, although the room was huge so that number barely made a dent in the expanse of empty orange seats. Pictured is the last talk of the evening, given by a new friend (who presented really thought-provoking stuff, I might add), to give you a sense of the scale of (half) the room. My good friend Manus, who gave the first talk, appears either exhausted or preoccupied in the foreground. My own talk went reasonably well. I am not thrilled with the amount of 'ehms' that slipped out in the first few minutes, but I think that people listened and understood: someone even asked a later speaker a question in the context of the results I presented :) So yes, talk was alright, but mainly it felt great to have one under my belt.
Despite worrying weather forecasts, we managed to have some decent autumn sun in Melbourne! This is a view from the pub next to the centre. Australian sun is impressive... when it emerges, you strip down to a tshirt, but when clouds return you have to get the winter coat back on. Powerful stuff... isn't the ozone hole somewhere over here?
Following recommendations (thanks Jaani) I managed to find multiple coffee shops I would deem "exceptional" in Melbourne. While very good coffee shops were everywhere (happiness!) the best of the best were in relatively obscure locations down alleys and in reclaimed warehouses. As shown below, a standard trend for Melbourne is the unfinished wall/ceiling aesthetic. And while the "flat white" may be the national coffee drink of choice, and I really did try to like it, I remain a double espresso girl at heart <3
Next up, a slightly random shot of "The Clocks" at Flinders St station, which are surprisingly helpful and efficient and informing late night commuters how much time they have to pick up water or a snack for the train home. Due to the incredible generosity of a friend's brother (a resident of the Melbourne suburbs) I was able to stay in town a few days post-conference without breaking the bank and with the benefit of good conversations over very nice wine.
And finally, a last shot of the Melbourne skyline from the Southbank area where my hotel was. I have many more pictures trapped on my camera, and I dutifully promise to post/caption them upon my return to normal civilization. But for now, I have picked up my trusty (and wonderful) travelling companion Dave in Singapore, and we have just embarked on our 9 day exploration of the Malaysian peninsula. Already an adventure!
Due to delays in my connectivity with the internets and having given my laptop (with my camera SD card reader) to my boss to bring back to the UK while I traipse around Malaysia... here is a much belated set of photos from Melbourne. Not pictured (yet) are koalas and kangaroos and penguins that I managed to see in the final days in Oz. You know, just hanging out, IN THE REAL WORLD. I'm not inclined to be very verbose with the figure captions, as I am currently knee deep in Malaysian shenanigans, but I am going to try to keep writing in semi-real-time so that I don't forget everything!
I thought I would provide some shots of the convention centre, which came with it's own tall ship, apparently. The building you see in this picture is the plenary hall and some of the meeting rooms, while the long low building in the background stretches for several city blocks and contained multiple trade show spaces. While we used one small hall for posters and exhibitor stalls, the others were used by fisheries and hatcheries people and a mass air-con convention. As always, fun to play the "guess what conference THAT guy is affiliated with" game on the escalators. (Although, perhaps not as fun as when the female body building convention shared the space with us in Canada...)
This year, I gave my first talk at the conference. I would estimate between 150-200 people attended, although the room was huge so that number barely made a dent in the expanse of empty orange seats. Pictured is the last talk of the evening, given by a new friend (who presented really thought-provoking stuff, I might add), to give you a sense of the scale of (half) the room. My good friend Manus, who gave the first talk, appears either exhausted or preoccupied in the foreground. My own talk went reasonably well. I am not thrilled with the amount of 'ehms' that slipped out in the first few minutes, but I think that people listened and understood: someone even asked a later speaker a question in the context of the results I presented :) So yes, talk was alright, but mainly it felt great to have one under my belt.
Despite worrying weather forecasts, we managed to have some decent autumn sun in Melbourne! This is a view from the pub next to the centre. Australian sun is impressive... when it emerges, you strip down to a tshirt, but when clouds return you have to get the winter coat back on. Powerful stuff... isn't the ozone hole somewhere over here?
Following recommendations (thanks Jaani) I managed to find multiple coffee shops I would deem "exceptional" in Melbourne. While very good coffee shops were everywhere (happiness!) the best of the best were in relatively obscure locations down alleys and in reclaimed warehouses. As shown below, a standard trend for Melbourne is the unfinished wall/ceiling aesthetic. And while the "flat white" may be the national coffee drink of choice, and I really did try to like it, I remain a double espresso girl at heart <3
Next up, a slightly random shot of "The Clocks" at Flinders St station, which are surprisingly helpful and efficient and informing late night commuters how much time they have to pick up water or a snack for the train home. Due to the incredible generosity of a friend's brother (a resident of the Melbourne suburbs) I was able to stay in town a few days post-conference without breaking the bank and with the benefit of good conversations over very nice wine.
And finally, a last shot of the Melbourne skyline from the Southbank area where my hotel was. I have many more pictures trapped on my camera, and I dutifully promise to post/caption them upon my return to normal civilization. But for now, I have picked up my trusty (and wonderful) travelling companion Dave in Singapore, and we have just embarked on our 9 day exploration of the Malaysian peninsula. Already an adventure!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
A welcome to Melbourne and the conference begins
My epic Australia/Malaysia/Conference/Holiday - part 2
Following a surprisingly enjoyable layover in Singapore, I was herded back onto an A380 Singapore Air flight to Melbourne for another 7 hour flight. This was (whee!) my first time on a double decker plane, and I of course reserved an upstairs seat. Honestly, it wasn't much different from the normal planes, and I didn't even see it from the terminal to coo over how amazing it looks to have two storeys of windows, so perhaps a tad disappointing. Nonetheless, an uneventful flight seated next to one the of the chiefs of my Cardiff lab (yes, we planned it, and yes, there was gossip, and yes, we eventually shut up and let eachother pass out and sleep).
Arriving at Melbourne we faced a ridiculous queue for immigration, followed by a dog-sniffing of our suitcases. This might be the one country where the dogs aren't looking for drugs... they are looking for contraband fruit! Then, in what might be officially the best reception in a foreign country I've ever had, I was scooped up by a driver in a hired car who shepherded myself and Dan (friend from Oxford, from Tasmania) to the house of Dan's brother just outside the city. Sudden torrential rain meant we couldn't avail ourselves of the new hot tub he had just installed in his back yard, but a proper breakfast and shower and brushing of teeth left us renewed and much more capable of facing the challenging prospect of staying awake for another 14 hours or so, despite every cell in our bodies saying SLEEP.... SLEEP NOW.... IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU SLEEP IMMEDIATELY... BEING AWAKE IS INCREDIBLY INAPPROPRIATE.
I was then deposited at my hotel once check in was available, and left to fend off jetlag alone (which is surprisingly challenging). After noticing that, around 4pm, I was literally falling asleep while standing and drinking coffee, I came up with a very simple plan: walk. Walk until you can't anymore. It was the one thing I could do without nodding off! I survived until 10pm before passing out, and so I think I successfully dealt with the worst of the jetlag and have been able to be awake and have meals at appropriate times since then. There is still a strong urge to nap around 3pm though.
The next morning, Ashley stumbled in after her own trans-Earth flying ordeal, and I encouraged a day of seeing sights to help her own acclimatization.
Melbourne is set on a river, with a satisfying number of bridges for pedestrians, cars, and the ubiquitous trams. The weather might have been frustratingly Welsh-like, but the trees told of a different climate.
Lots of random acts of art dot the riversides. The tall building with the gold top is a casino next to my hotel (shorter and not visible) on the south bank. The Southbank area is roughly a mini-Vegas for the city; restaurants are pricey and there are even towers shooting alarming fireballs outside the casinos, but it's convenient to the convention centre and has access to morning espresso (all a girl needs!).
Ashley and I also stopped in an art museum (Ian Potter museum... thanks Jaani!) that featured contemporary aboriginal art (they only started painting on canvas in 2001, to put it in perspective). I was immediately attracted to the colors/patterns of the style, although the gift shop did not* have the same taste as I did when they chose what they offered as prints (alas, I even have a poster tube prepared for this type of thing!)
The geography, attitude, and tastes of the city I shall have to address in a less long-winded post. I am also being remiss in not mentioning the purpose of the funded trip to the other side of the globe: the conference. It is the annual meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), where 5000 people get together for a weekend educational session and 5 days of talks, posters, venders, and general mayhem (erm, I mean, "collaboration"). It's fun--there is a lot of seeing old friends and some meeting of new ones. It's exhausting--conference fatigue already hovers, after only a day! It's rewarding--this year I have my first talk at this conference, and I am ever so slightly petrified. It's pretty damn awesome, actually. Perhaps I'll even mention the science in a future post :-p
Following a surprisingly enjoyable layover in Singapore, I was herded back onto an A380 Singapore Air flight to Melbourne for another 7 hour flight. This was (whee!) my first time on a double decker plane, and I of course reserved an upstairs seat. Honestly, it wasn't much different from the normal planes, and I didn't even see it from the terminal to coo over how amazing it looks to have two storeys of windows, so perhaps a tad disappointing. Nonetheless, an uneventful flight seated next to one the of the chiefs of my Cardiff lab (yes, we planned it, and yes, there was gossip, and yes, we eventually shut up and let eachother pass out and sleep).
Arriving at Melbourne we faced a ridiculous queue for immigration, followed by a dog-sniffing of our suitcases. This might be the one country where the dogs aren't looking for drugs... they are looking for contraband fruit! Then, in what might be officially the best reception in a foreign country I've ever had, I was scooped up by a driver in a hired car who shepherded myself and Dan (friend from Oxford, from Tasmania) to the house of Dan's brother just outside the city. Sudden torrential rain meant we couldn't avail ourselves of the new hot tub he had just installed in his back yard, but a proper breakfast and shower and brushing of teeth left us renewed and much more capable of facing the challenging prospect of staying awake for another 14 hours or so, despite every cell in our bodies saying SLEEP.... SLEEP NOW.... IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU SLEEP IMMEDIATELY... BEING AWAKE IS INCREDIBLY INAPPROPRIATE.
I was then deposited at my hotel once check in was available, and left to fend off jetlag alone (which is surprisingly challenging). After noticing that, around 4pm, I was literally falling asleep while standing and drinking coffee, I came up with a very simple plan: walk. Walk until you can't anymore. It was the one thing I could do without nodding off! I survived until 10pm before passing out, and so I think I successfully dealt with the worst of the jetlag and have been able to be awake and have meals at appropriate times since then. There is still a strong urge to nap around 3pm though.
The next morning, Ashley stumbled in after her own trans-Earth flying ordeal, and I encouraged a day of seeing sights to help her own acclimatization.
Melbourne is set on a river, with a satisfying number of bridges for pedestrians, cars, and the ubiquitous trams. The weather might have been frustratingly Welsh-like, but the trees told of a different climate.
Lots of random acts of art dot the riversides. The tall building with the gold top is a casino next to my hotel (shorter and not visible) on the south bank. The Southbank area is roughly a mini-Vegas for the city; restaurants are pricey and there are even towers shooting alarming fireballs outside the casinos, but it's convenient to the convention centre and has access to morning espresso (all a girl needs!).
Ashley and I also stopped in an art museum (Ian Potter museum... thanks Jaani!) that featured contemporary aboriginal art (they only started painting on canvas in 2001, to put it in perspective). I was immediately attracted to the colors/patterns of the style, although the gift shop did not* have the same taste as I did when they chose what they offered as prints (alas, I even have a poster tube prepared for this type of thing!)
The geography, attitude, and tastes of the city I shall have to address in a less long-winded post. I am also being remiss in not mentioning the purpose of the funded trip to the other side of the globe: the conference. It is the annual meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), where 5000 people get together for a weekend educational session and 5 days of talks, posters, venders, and general mayhem (erm, I mean, "collaboration"). It's fun--there is a lot of seeing old friends and some meeting of new ones. It's exhausting--conference fatigue already hovers, after only a day! It's rewarding--this year I have my first talk at this conference, and I am ever so slightly petrified. It's pretty damn awesome, actually. Perhaps I'll even mention the science in a future post :-p
 |
| The foyer of the centre, prior to invasion. There are two other conferences in the centre... air conditioning and fisheries and hatcheries. I think it's pretty easy to spot the MRI folks, although not quite as easy as when we shared a centre with a female bodybuilding convention. |
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The beginnings of an adventure
My epic Australia/Malaysia/Conference/Holiday - part 1
I am writing from the floor of perhaps the nicest airport on Earth...
Changi airport in Singapore is hitting all the spots, as did the national Singapore Air. The flight was nearly empty, so I and the other guy in my row moved up to the vacant bulkhead before anyone else could grab them. Most people were able to snag 3 seats together and lie down horizontally (it's possible, when short) while I was explicitly told by long-haul pros that I should *not* sleep during this leg of my trip to help with jetlag; so I watched Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and read a trashy Patricia Cornwall book I bought in the airport from the comfort of the bulkhead seat.
They give you fleecy blankets and Givenchy socks. An easy flight, despite being the longest I've taken to date (13 hours I think?).
Upon arrival at Changi, I leisurely picked up a fancy exotic flavored Starbucks frappucino before getting the LAST seat (phew/whoops) on a free tour of Singapore meant for people with long layovers. The bus drove us into the city from the airport, gave us 15 minutes to take pictures at a temple in Chinatown, a twisty tour through various other neighborhoods, and drove us back, all in about 2.5 hours. I learned several fun facts... did you know that 85% of Singaporeans live in apartments, rather than houses? But about 90% of them own their home rather than rent? OK, so it was terribly touristy and consisted mostly of people taking pictures through the windows of a coach bus, but it gave me a nice overview of what I might like to come back to on my day in Singapore post-conference... the national museum, the narrow streets of Chinatown, Arab St, etc.
Back at Changi, and following a long walk, a train, another walk, and a shockingly informal security process, I was back in my terminal with still plenty of time to kill (case in point, I'm blogging). Some scrumptious curry later, I explored the airport's own Butterfly garden:
Next up, another long flight to Melbourne, but this time on the upper deck of my first two-storey plane! One of the heads of my lab has the seat next to me, but odds are we both just pass out and try to avoid painful jetlag come Australia. Wish me luck!
I am writing from the floor of perhaps the nicest airport on Earth...
Friday, March 2, 2012
The end of winter
Winter is definitely coming to a close here in Cardiff. It isn't as if we faced bitter cold and bracing winter storms--Cardiff barely goes below freezing, and when it does people LOVE to talk about it and how rare it is and what they will do to cope with such chilling conditions--but it is still a fantastic feeling to emerge from whatever season we were having into a land of daffodils and crocuses and no need for coats. Roath park, where I go jogging on my more successful mornings, suddenly looked as if it snowed lilac and yellow when the bulbs emerged. The local gardeners are outstanding, and there is always something new coming up. The swans in Roath lake are starting to be a bit more frisky, rather than just being annoying and greedily snatching all the stale bread from the puzzled geese and grebes. The herb plants I keep on my windowsill finally perked up. I haven't put away the warm wooly jumpers yet-- it might suddenly re-freeze tomorrow night. But in general you can almost taste Spring.
A few other events have occurred to welcome in the change of seasons... Dave was gone for the week of Valentine's Day, but made it up to me on the weekend with a visit to the Purple Poppadum on the far side of Cardiff. I didn't know until we starting walking there what I was in for... all Dave had told me was that I wasn't allowed to eat a big lunch. It was a bit intimidating when we first walked up the stairs and were greeted by swanky lighting and a sea of waiters and diners in suits while we had backpacks, but the crowd demographics shifted in our direction as the evening went on. Dave treated us to the Chef's tasting menu, which included perhaps the single best piece of chicken I have ever had in my life. There were exploding bitesize yogurt parcels (thank goodness the waiter told us to eat it in one bite!), salmon done three ways, three curries, lychee sorbet to cleanse the pallet, and chocolate ganache samosas... definitely remembering the chocolate ganache samosas. Thank you Dave!
In less gluttonous news, I have had some surprising musical developments. The director of the university chamber choir asked if I would perform something with them... he wouldn't give me any details until I met with him, perhaps because he figured the Sunday 8am performance time would scare most people off! But I am going to be making my radio debut... BBC radio 4 on March 11th at 8am, I will be the solo oboe accompanying Psalm 23 by Rutter. Live radio: I'm nervous but super psyched. For those with legal or quasi-legal access to BBC radio, tune in!
And lastly, a very happy St. David's Day from Cardiff... it's the St. Patrick's Day, the St. George's Day, the St. Andrew's Day, but of Wales. I went to a pub in the center of town, Owain Glyndwr, with a few friends from the uni orchestra. A violinist in that orchestra was going to be bringing her violin to the pub to join in some folk music. The evening was my first encounter with random pub folk music, which blankets the celtic countrysides but generally peters out when approaching the big cities. When we arrived there were bagpipes and bombards (very much like marching oboes, I would LOVE to try to play one!) that reflected more of Brittany's culture than Wales, but were impressive nonetheless. A pint in, and suddenly the table next to us (an older crowd) pulled out violins and flutes and a guitar and drum and began to play from their seat, sipping pints between numbers. I've never experienced that type of impromptu, expected music.... it was fantastic.
The pub devolved a bit into an open mic event, with younger pop singing and an American import playing Baby Got Back on banjo interrupting the folksy flow. Faint applause marked the otherwise unremarkable gaps in their performances. And then a more traditional group would stand up, say pipes and drums that knocked the roof off, and people were on their feet and cheering or singing along. The quieter folk players moved next door to a side room for a proper session of strictly Welsh music. Gwenno (the aforementioned violinist) invited me to come try someone's "pibgorn," which is an esoteric Welsh instrument with a brass-like mouthpiece and a reed hidden inside. I admit I sounded like a boy going through puberty, the way the pitches cracked uncontrollably, but it was highly entertaining to give it a go (even if it was in public, and a bit embarrassing!) Overall, a fantastic (and very Welsh, and slightly tipsy, and definitely excellent) night in Cardiff. Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!
A few other events have occurred to welcome in the change of seasons... Dave was gone for the week of Valentine's Day, but made it up to me on the weekend with a visit to the Purple Poppadum on the far side of Cardiff. I didn't know until we starting walking there what I was in for... all Dave had told me was that I wasn't allowed to eat a big lunch. It was a bit intimidating when we first walked up the stairs and were greeted by swanky lighting and a sea of waiters and diners in suits while we had backpacks, but the crowd demographics shifted in our direction as the evening went on. Dave treated us to the Chef's tasting menu, which included perhaps the single best piece of chicken I have ever had in my life. There were exploding bitesize yogurt parcels (thank goodness the waiter told us to eat it in one bite!), salmon done three ways, three curries, lychee sorbet to cleanse the pallet, and chocolate ganache samosas... definitely remembering the chocolate ganache samosas. Thank you Dave!
| Foreground: exploding yogurt parcel. Green blob: best piece of chicken I have ever had. Background: happy Molly. |
| A shadowy Dave surrounded by gluttony... I think Dave had over 35 courses this week, when you combine the tasting menu with his week of Oxford dinners (and lunches)! |
| Green tea creme brulee, chocolate samosa, and tandoori pineapple (first pineapple I have ever really become infatuated with) |
In less gluttonous news, I have had some surprising musical developments. The director of the university chamber choir asked if I would perform something with them... he wouldn't give me any details until I met with him, perhaps because he figured the Sunday 8am performance time would scare most people off! But I am going to be making my radio debut... BBC radio 4 on March 11th at 8am, I will be the solo oboe accompanying Psalm 23 by Rutter. Live radio: I'm nervous but super psyched. For those with legal or quasi-legal access to BBC radio, tune in!
And lastly, a very happy St. David's Day from Cardiff... it's the St. Patrick's Day, the St. George's Day, the St. Andrew's Day, but of Wales. I went to a pub in the center of town, Owain Glyndwr, with a few friends from the uni orchestra. A violinist in that orchestra was going to be bringing her violin to the pub to join in some folk music. The evening was my first encounter with random pub folk music, which blankets the celtic countrysides but generally peters out when approaching the big cities. When we arrived there were bagpipes and bombards (very much like marching oboes, I would LOVE to try to play one!) that reflected more of Brittany's culture than Wales, but were impressive nonetheless. A pint in, and suddenly the table next to us (an older crowd) pulled out violins and flutes and a guitar and drum and began to play from their seat, sipping pints between numbers. I've never experienced that type of impromptu, expected music.... it was fantastic.
The pub devolved a bit into an open mic event, with younger pop singing and an American import playing Baby Got Back on banjo interrupting the folksy flow. Faint applause marked the otherwise unremarkable gaps in their performances. And then a more traditional group would stand up, say pipes and drums that knocked the roof off, and people were on their feet and cheering or singing along. The quieter folk players moved next door to a side room for a proper session of strictly Welsh music. Gwenno (the aforementioned violinist) invited me to come try someone's "pibgorn," which is an esoteric Welsh instrument with a brass-like mouthpiece and a reed hidden inside. I admit I sounded like a boy going through puberty, the way the pitches cracked uncontrollably, but it was highly entertaining to give it a go (even if it was in public, and a bit embarrassing!) Overall, a fantastic (and very Welsh, and slightly tipsy, and definitely excellent) night in Cardiff. Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
After a long hiatus...
Yes, it has been ages since my last entry,
and I have already decided that it would be impossible to recount
everything from the last, erm, half year (give or take) in a single
post. So rather than tell you about my exploits in Lyon (played an oboe
there) or Portugal (drove there for more oboe playing), or list the
numerous characters in my new Cardiff life, or describe the happiness
that is Dave "temporarily" living with me while he writes up his thesis,
I will just jump to the present. If my blogging momentum pushes
onwards, I will perhaps revisit all these events. For now...
Dave and I like cooking. We like borderline pretentious cooking techniques. Dave *really likes eating (I don't mind it too much, either). For Christmas this year, I gave Dave a bag, that contained a card, that contained a message, that presented him with a private, personalized cooking lesson with a French chef in Bristol.
We were in different countries for the holiday, but after we both returned to our flat in Cardiff we arranged a phone call with the chef (Iza... pronounced Eeee-zah) to plan our menu. I think I initially pictured a day of buttery pastry skills, folding layers upon layers of delicious butter (with maybe a dash of flour for appearances' sake) into croissants and profiteroles oozing with infused cream.
Instead, we went in a completely different direction... there is one area of cooking that we never do. Ever. In a pinch, I will eat lamb. When pressed, Dave will eat cous cous. But we never seem to venture into the scary, slimy, smelly world of Fish. There are several possible explanations: a good fishmonger is hard to find, and most grocery stores sell frozen slabs of cod, or smoked mackerel, or herring. If you want more interesting fish, they come with eyes and tails. And don't even get me started on bones.
Dave and I like cooking. We like borderline pretentious cooking techniques. Dave *really likes eating (I don't mind it too much, either). For Christmas this year, I gave Dave a bag, that contained a card, that contained a message, that presented him with a private, personalized cooking lesson with a French chef in Bristol.
We were in different countries for the holiday, but after we both returned to our flat in Cardiff we arranged a phone call with the chef (Iza... pronounced Eeee-zah) to plan our menu. I think I initially pictured a day of buttery pastry skills, folding layers upon layers of delicious butter (with maybe a dash of flour for appearances' sake) into croissants and profiteroles oozing with infused cream.
Instead, we went in a completely different direction... there is one area of cooking that we never do. Ever. In a pinch, I will eat lamb. When pressed, Dave will eat cous cous. But we never seem to venture into the scary, slimy, smelly world of Fish. There are several possible explanations: a good fishmonger is hard to find, and most grocery stores sell frozen slabs of cod, or smoked mackerel, or herring. If you want more interesting fish, they come with eyes and tails. And don't even get me started on bones.
So we asked Iza for a fish theme, and she presented us with menu suggestions and we eventually settled upon stuffed calamari, baked macquerel filet with grain mustard and sauerkraut, and
pan-fried sea-bass with lemon caper sauce. Finally, Dave quickly zoomed in on the classic cheese souffle as our starter/dessert.
We took a short train ride to Bristol one gorgeous (chilly) Satuday, with a bag full of empty tupperware ready to carry home leftovers and a bottle of wine to drink during the class. Bristol is a surprise: everyone describes it as "very hilly" but for some reason I was really taken aback by how hilly the city was! (Yes, Dave kept rolling his eyes). The center of Bristol houses a university campus, and this translated into lots of independent cafes and music shops and a laid back attitude... something I haven't really experienced in the UK thus far. A fun city, <1 hour from Cardiff, with a good university... if only they had some biomedical engineering going on for Dave to sign up for! Ah well, I'm sure we'll be back.
River barges housing bars etc.
We randomly came across a morning market... please note the epic weather we are having!
University tower at the top of the hill. Well, the top of one of the smaller hills. The poor undergrads have residences on the top of a bigger one!
All smiles, post class/feast
Early evening stroll, looking down towards the river (at least it would be downhill to the train station!)
Dave the engineer and the bridge he wanted to see (I admit it is a good bridge)
The class was held in Iza's flat, on the top floor of a tall Georgian rowhouse. Aprons donned, the fish were presented, eyes and tails intact. Those we would learn to fillet and de-bone, although the scaling and gutting were done before purchase. While Dave and I have learned a lot from scientifically-minded cookbooks and youtube video explanations, there are some things that are so easily picked up through osmosis when in the physical presence of a trained chef. As Dave says, he was able to hear how Iza wielded the knife along the spine of the fish, and see how much force she needed to carve out the fillet. We got to poke parts of the pan-fried bream, feeling the difference between not-done, could be called "done" now, and over-done.
The stuffed calamari brought it's own lessons: first, the head/tentacles and attached internal globby bits are pulled out from the fleshy sack (the mantle). Sometimes, the eyes burst, or ink goes everywhere. Creepy on its own, but when you are wrist deep in a random sludge of squid guts, these things pass. The tentacles are cut off from the eyes bit and set aside for cooking. The long clear "quill" is drawn out. Then you squeeze your fingers down the mantle, open side down, pushing out all the remaining inedible mucousy organ slime. The fins are tugged and the skin is peeled away. Everything is washed and meticulously dried before using a piping bag to pump in a stuffing of mashed butternut squash, chorizo, spanish paprika, garlic, and herbs. It loos super impressive, without being actually very difficult... an excellent showpiece for a dinner party. I'll just try to remember not to recount how the squid gets cleaned while we're eating!
We did not take any pictures during the class--like I said, wrist deep in fish sludge. We traveled back to Cardiff with a backpack full of stuffed calamari and 1.5 whole fish that we didn't get end up using. On Sunday, we recreated the mackerel and bream dishes, with slight alterations to the menu based on what was in the house. And I think the class worked... we did a damn fine job.
win!
pan-fried sea-bass with lemon caper sauce. Finally, Dave quickly zoomed in on the classic cheese souffle as our starter/dessert.
We took a short train ride to Bristol one gorgeous (chilly) Satuday, with a bag full of empty tupperware ready to carry home leftovers and a bottle of wine to drink during the class. Bristol is a surprise: everyone describes it as "very hilly" but for some reason I was really taken aback by how hilly the city was! (Yes, Dave kept rolling his eyes). The center of Bristol houses a university campus, and this translated into lots of independent cafes and music shops and a laid back attitude... something I haven't really experienced in the UK thus far. A fun city, <1 hour from Cardiff, with a good university... if only they had some biomedical engineering going on for Dave to sign up for! Ah well, I'm sure we'll be back.
River barges housing bars etc.
We randomly came across a morning market... please note the epic weather we are having!
University tower at the top of the hill. Well, the top of one of the smaller hills. The poor undergrads have residences on the top of a bigger one!
All smiles, post class/feast
Early evening stroll, looking down towards the river (at least it would be downhill to the train station!)
Dave the engineer and the bridge he wanted to see (I admit it is a good bridge)
The class was held in Iza's flat, on the top floor of a tall Georgian rowhouse. Aprons donned, the fish were presented, eyes and tails intact. Those we would learn to fillet and de-bone, although the scaling and gutting were done before purchase. While Dave and I have learned a lot from scientifically-minded cookbooks and youtube video explanations, there are some things that are so easily picked up through osmosis when in the physical presence of a trained chef. As Dave says, he was able to hear how Iza wielded the knife along the spine of the fish, and see how much force she needed to carve out the fillet. We got to poke parts of the pan-fried bream, feeling the difference between not-done, could be called "done" now, and over-done.
The stuffed calamari brought it's own lessons: first, the head/tentacles and attached internal globby bits are pulled out from the fleshy sack (the mantle). Sometimes, the eyes burst, or ink goes everywhere. Creepy on its own, but when you are wrist deep in a random sludge of squid guts, these things pass. The tentacles are cut off from the eyes bit and set aside for cooking. The long clear "quill" is drawn out. Then you squeeze your fingers down the mantle, open side down, pushing out all the remaining inedible mucousy organ slime. The fins are tugged and the skin is peeled away. Everything is washed and meticulously dried before using a piping bag to pump in a stuffing of mashed butternut squash, chorizo, spanish paprika, garlic, and herbs. It loos super impressive, without being actually very difficult... an excellent showpiece for a dinner party. I'll just try to remember not to recount how the squid gets cleaned while we're eating!
We did not take any pictures during the class--like I said, wrist deep in fish sludge. We traveled back to Cardiff with a backpack full of stuffed calamari and 1.5 whole fish that we didn't get end up using. On Sunday, we recreated the mackerel and bream dishes, with slight alterations to the menu based on what was in the house. And I think the class worked... we did a damn fine job.
win!
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