Saturday, February 19, 2011

Easy morning, band leader and sponge cake.

1. Once Nick has left for work, I bring Alec into our bed, and we spend the morning feeding and dozing and chatting.

2. "What's his name?" asks Granny again. "Alexander -- Alec." And she sings Alexander's Ragtime Band for him, filling in the lines about Swanee River that I had forgotten. Later she picks up When We Were Very Young and treats us to They're Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace.

3. The mother has brought a cake filled with marmalade. The bitterness works very well with the sweet sponge.

Escape, tulips and samosa.

1. This morning, I'm piling into a car with friends to escape into the Weald, where we will visit a garden planted with 45,000 tulips. 2...