Dog Days

The weather (despite childish protestations in the newspapers) is actually lovely, it's sunny and warm in the mornings and it rains in the afternoon. As a result everywhere is green and not too dusty, what's not to love?

My house is covered on one side in Virginia Creeper, it's a constant battle to stop it colonising the roof space, but in addition to turning a stunning red colour in the autumn, just now it is alive with bees, the whole of the wall seems to be buzzing as you walk past, a bit unnerving I grant you.

Two days ago I found out that back in February I made a mistake on a case, I am waiting to hear from counsel whether that mistake is fatal or salvagable. I have felt sick and woken up sweating at 4am for two days now....I can't do any more, I can't change what's happened. I just wish that after all this time I was better at this job and mistakes didn't happen at all any more. I bet if I look back in this blog there are a number of posts where this has happened, so clearly I have survived before....not sure why that doesn't particularly help.

Emotional Wreck

My Dad is ill in hospital, he has an unexplained obstruction in his gut that we are all secretly terrified is a tumour.


He had a small stroke about a month ago and we had hoped he was getting better. But over the weekend he took a turn for the very much worse.

We all know , or think we know that everybody dies, so why are we shocked when it's someone we know and love? The shock is absolutley profound and over whelming.

Work is a struggle, I don't want to be here and I would really rather all my client's fucked off and sorted it out for themselves. But then I would have no money and something else to worry about.

My summer with Summer.

At the moment we loan this lovely horse, Summer, from our friend Natasha. She is a 17 year old thoroughbred mare, her racing name was Lunch In Paris. In 1999 she had 5 starts over hurdles and her best finish was 9/15 at Worcester, after which she was understandably retired.

We have had Summer for a year now and it's been a fab year..with only a few glitches, like a bad foot.

But I think it may be time for us to buy someone of our very own.

Last Thursday we went down to Essex to see a lovely 6 yr old Irish Sport Horse, a completely different proposition. Going to see him again next week. And trying another Irish horse this afternoon.

But for what may be our swan song, Summer and me are taking part in a charity ride for Breast Cancer Research on 21 August, we will be decked out in everything pink and I will post the pictures later.

Lunch - again

Going out for dinner in highly rated restaurants has proved to be a dissapointing experience on more than a few occasions recently. Not so lunch. Some great restaurants have fixed price lunch menus which are fantastic value (watch what you drink they make the money up on the booze!) .

Today I went with a friend to Maison Bleu in Bury St Edmunds , one tip for this restaurant ask for a table at the front, I find the back room claustrophobic. Their summer lunch special is a "provencal" menu , I went for the seared tuna starter, guinea fowl with green olive sauce for main course and strawberry and pistachio tart for pudding, all lovely and all for under £20.

My London reccomends for the fixed price lunch special are the splendid Bistro du Vin in Clerkenwell and the fabulous Orrery restaurant on Marylebone High St.

So tip of the week, go out for a lovely lunch and then treat yourself to a mildly intoxicated and thoroughly disreputable afternoon .

Lunch

There should be a blog called "what I had for lunch" and there isn't, why is this?

I work from home so every day at around this time, the big question , regardless of the content of the in box, is "what to have for lunch?". Too often this is solved by a trip to the co-op for a rotisserie chicken to pull apart and a baguette. Whilst this is lovely it clearly lacks imagination.

I am not big fan of cheese. Soo any sort of cheese arrangement is out.

In my worst ever lunch phase at university years ago I subsisted on something we called "tuna fish rissotto" - tin of tuna, fried onion, tin of sweet corn heated through with some ready cooked rice...actually sounds quite nice I may have to ressurect it.

This is clearly a subject requiring further thought and research.

"Waves"

Heaven's last post 2009!
.
And apparently I was even missed.

What's happened, well some blog people have become real life mates. Which is lovely.

Still lawyering, still married, child grown bigger, new horse.

Anyway to break myself back in gently. Things I like; Horses, my Jack Russell terrier but not necessarily other peoples, chocolate, raspberries, raspberries and chocolate together, coffee, my nespresso machine, facebook, Lewis, books by Henning Mankell, Holkham Beach, Fit Flops, my blackberry, clean ironed sheets with a bit of starch,white walls with paintings on them, London, my house, the Law Society Library, the smell of bookshops....