Sunday 6 November 2016

Sunday

(Slightly fragmented post)

Woke up early - it was bonfire night yesterday so I had to stay at home with the dogs as tens of thousands of pounds noisily went up in smoke outside.

I've had a really busy week - barely earned any money but it's been non stop. Last Saturday night I worked from 10pm until 4am on the door of the bar, dealing with very drunk people in halloween fancy dress - I didn't particularly enjoy it. Drunks actually frighten me now.

It's turned much colder, but I refuse to put the heating on before xmas. I'm actually thinking about the logistics of working until lunch time - coming home for a couple of hours and then returning to work for the evening. One guy in the studio already does that - but he only lives a few doors away so it's easy for him - I need to get my head around the cycling implications - I hate cycling in the dark - even the change in the clock hasn't helped as it's still quite dark in the mornings. It's very depressing.

I've been trying to get ahead of myself at work - I had to turn down a really big job because of conflict of interest - it was the right thing to do - but I could have done with the money. I'm trying to get as many practical things done as possible - I'm hosting a public meeting in a couple of weeks to try and establish a creative Quarter where I work, I'm dreading it already - I don't know what I've got myself into.

I'm getting very good at making pasta sauce in a slow cooker. That's probably my biggest achievement of the year so far.

I moved desks at work and really like where I sit now - but I need to buy a new office chair - everything I try gives me a bad back.

I have come to accept that the bay window of my house is going to need to come down - I've been fretting about it for a year now - it can probably get through this winter but it's on the way out. I've looked at every option and I've decided that the best thing is to knock it down and re-model the house as a flat fronted, early Victorian style cottage with much better windows up and down - it will actually look really nice and be more manageable - I'll lose some space in the front room - but I will get more in the front garden - and I can have shutters inside rather than curtains or blinds - I'm keen on that. It will actually raise the value of the property and probably the rest of the street - I'm quite enthsiastic about it. The down side is that I can't actually afford to do it and I'm already stressing out over money. At least I have something to work towards. Frankly - I have no choice. I'm looking around the house for things to sell. It will also be the cheapest option by far. Having a lateral tie will work - but make the house very hard to sell, and the bay window will always be wonky. Last year I spent some time researching bay windows repairs and found a local interest website / forum for people living in Dulwich in London, generally young, wealthy, upwardly mobile couples, who were all buying up houses like mine around Dulwich that had previously been owned by working class families (frequently black ) - it was a constant stream of frankly racist abuse towards the previous owners who had re-modeled or removed their old bay windows or committed the crime of adding PUV double glazing. I suppose they would hate what I'm going to do. Fuck 'em.

I threw away loads of ephemera and stuff that I'd been hoarding for 30 years, I was glad to see it go - I think I keep stuff because of the guilt I may feel if I lose it - but I don't.  Moving on is better.

New neighbours, seem like a nice. middle class couple with a small child - that house was overpriced - I'm waiting to find out online what they finally paid for it.

I'm going to lunch today with some friends and a very famous DJ and his wife - I've met him loads of times, he's a really nice guy - but I've never met his wife before.

This week - there is a very good chance that Trump may be the next president of the United States. It's my worst nightmare. The world has gone mad.

Early morning Sunday radio is fucking awful.

4 comments:

Altbilbo said...

Hi Richard
What's your recipe for slow cooker pasta sauce?
Regards
Bill

Richard de Pesando MA(RCA) said...

ah - now, obviously this comes with the caveat that I made it up as I went along. I put cherry tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped peppers and mushrooms in the cooker first with olive oil, pepper,msome mixed italian herbs and some very hot, dried peppers I bought a while ago and flaked to dust in the blender (not too many - they get hot) and then let it cook down for about 6 hours - usually overnight. The more mushrooms, the meatier it seems in texture - if you prefer a more tomato based sauce - I tin of chopped tomatoes works - I usually add a bit of tomato concentrate and a load of garlic.. once it's cooked down - let it cool down and leave for 24 hours in the fridge. You can then use as just the sauce - or you can add dried pasta - I find that wholemeal pasta holds together better and tastes nicer - and then just reheat - usually I have enough for 3 meals - and usually the cherry tomatoes are reduced in price - the older the better. I think it's letting it cool down and rest for 24 hours that makes all the difference (in the fridge, obviously!)

Richard de Pesando MA(RCA) said...

don't add water! there is plenty in the tomatoes - and the pasta soaks it all up!

Altbilbo said...

Thanks - I'll give it a try.

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