Monthly Archives: October 2011

Gone But Not Forgotten

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

The last time I was in the UK my grandmother told me that she didn’t know if she would see me again. As I led her up the steps to the car, she let her hand slip from my forearm, … Continue reading →

Posted in The UK | Tagged | Leave a comment

Good Housekeeping

Posted on October 20, 2011 by

I always smile when I cook tortellini. I remember running through the cooking instructions with our housekeeper in Pakistan. Boil the water, add the tortellini, cook for four to five minutes. I found having a housekeeper difficult. I had no … Continue reading →

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Spellbound

Posted on October 17, 2011 by

Halloween, like everything else in the States, is big. Weeks before the 31 October, an array of weird and wonderful outfits hits the shops, an inordinate amount of plastic mummies and skeletal fragments begin emerging from front lawns, pumpkins start … Continue reading →

Posted in The Neighbourhood, The USA, Washington DC | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Home Improvement

Posted on October 9, 2011 by

Reverse assimilation: that’s what it’s like returning to the UK. The longer we’ve been away, the greater the assimilation. Travelling north from Heathrow I’m particularly struck by the dainty, odd-shaped fields, cows, the sight of which is a rarity in … Continue reading →

Posted in The UK, The USA, Travel | Leave a comment