Buildings

One of the huge delights of our trip to Bradford was seeing so many absolutely spectacular buildings. I was awestruck at times by how many beautiful buildings we passed. There's an abundance of high Victorian neo-gothic and stunning 19th century industrial and domestic architecture. It's hard to imagine that most of these would have been, up until a few years ago, completely black with soot, belched from the mills that gave the town the wealth to build them. The saddest sight though, was the building below. The old Bradford Gaumont Cinema, heartbreaking to see such a huge, grand, picture palace now derelict.

Bradford town hall

Waterstone's, the old Trade Hall, I think?Back street yards in Saltaire

Saltaire model village

Congressional Church, Saltaire

The Mill gates, Salts Mill

Salts Mill

Victoria Hall, Saltaire

A cottage in Titus Street, Saltaire

The parsonage at Haworth

Bradford

Lots to catch up from a weekend away with my parents to see my Dad's childhood homes in Bradford and other attractions in the area. These were his first 3 homes. The first picture is the bungalow where he was born, nearly 77 years ago.

Fish Pie

We had the great pleasure of hosting dinner for Stephen and Christophe on Tuesday and Sarah and Lee on Thursday. This was Thursday's Fish Pie, one of my signature dishes, and Lee's sensational, homemade, treacle pudding. He even made homemade custard to go with it.

October

Blimey!

I've no idea what's happened to September but no sooner had it arrived, its finished!

However, whilst the global economic landscape collapses all around us and free market capitalism implodes, there are many reasons to be very cheerful about October and why it's looking like, for me at least, one of the most exciting months so far, this year.

Here are a few reasons why:

• Ibolya and I start ante-natal classes and and hopefully I'll finish the nursery
• A new independent, ecologically sound, cinema is opening just 5 minutes (by bike) down the road from us in Kensal Rise! It's called the Lexi and opens on Oct 5th. The bar will serve fair-trade wine, organic ice cream and all the profits will go to the Sustainability Institute http://www.pinkhamlighthouse.co.uk/lexi.aspx
• The Westfield shopping centre opens down the road too. Not an especially big fan of shopping centres but I'm sure will come in very handy However, I'm really excited that Westfiled will have a new 14 screen multiplex cinema, which is a nice contrast with the Lexi's 1 screen and 80 seats
• New tube and Overground stations are opening at Wood Lane and Sheperd's Bush, making our public transportation even easier
• Ibolya and I are having a long weekend away with my Mum and Dad in Yorkshire, seeing where my Dad was born and bred
• I'm also going to the Frankfurt Bookfair, if I finally manage to find a vacant room, somewhere in Germany
• The Hampton Boys Scouts have their jumble sale on the 11th and we'll be going along with Sarah and Stephen
• Frank is having his annual Low Life Halloween party, which I'm sorely tempted to go as it might be my very last 'hurrah' before our Little One arrives
• October is a phenomenal month for Art in London with:
  Gerhard Richter4900 Colours: at the Serpentine, Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms at the Hayward, Bacon and Rothko at the Tates and the Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park
• A new £100million arts venue is opening behind Kings Cross, called Kings Place which will house 2 large exhibition spaces and concert hall
• And as for movies, October just couldn't be better; with a new Bond and Coen Brothers, 'Burn After Reading, opening. But also the London Film Festival finally gives me (and I have waited a very long time for this) Stephen Soderberg's epic 'Che' and I can't wait to see Oliver Stone's 'W' and Ron Howard's 'Frost / Nixon'

What an amazing month !

Finally, we say goodbye to Georgi today who's getting colected by Andy at 4.00. We've had her for a month now, the longest time she's spent with us and although it's been very difficult for Ibolya (getting her to and from work, a 2 hour round trip) it's been wonderful having her with us and she's really made me fall for her. So we're sad to see her go today but happy to get our cats back, who've taken refuge in the spare room all month. Here's Georgi, sunbathing and looking very adorable on Sunday. The picture at the top is a lovely conker man Ibolya made for me.

Sadler's Wells

I've loved coming to Sadler's Wells ever since Ibolya first brought me there when we first started seeing each other.
Last night we went to see a company called Rosas perform 'Steve Reich Evening'.
I'm a big fan of Steve Reich's orthodox and highly rigorous minimalism and was very excited to hear his music performed live (by a group called Lctus), accompanied by some thrilling dancing. The programme consisted of:
Pendulum Music, Marimba Phase, Piano Phase, Eight Lines, Four Organs, Poeme sypmhonique pour cent metronomes (Ligeti) and Drumming Part 1.

31 Weeks!

Little One will have been in Ibolya's tummy for 31 weeks on Tuesday, leaving only 9 weeks left before he or she enters the world, on or around the 3rd of December.

We're feeling ever closer to Little One as he makes his presence known ever more loudly and frequently with movements and kicks which are now visible just by watching Ibolya's tummy.

It was an extraordinary feeling the other day, when, cuddling Little One and Ibolya in bed, I could feel a pounding heartbeat through Ibolya's tummy. It made me feel incredibly close, physically and emotionally, to the tiny Human Being, in between us, wriggling to find a comfy position.

Little One will have to make the most of the tummy gymnastics, as space is fast running short as he grows rapidly and in a couple of weeks he'll be a tightly curled bundle of about 32cm.

We have a GP visit this Thursday and the nursery will be feeling more complete when the family crib, very significantly, is passed from Sara to me this week.

This has been used to cradle all my nieces and nephews (and I think by my elder sister Jane?), most recently by Florence, so finally being custodian of this heirloom will make me feel very happy.

Gunnersbury Park

Paul Newman

I've been expecting to hear of Paul Newman's passing since news of his terminal cancer was reported earlier this year but I'm no less sorry that the day has now arrived.
He was every bit a truly great cinema actor who's work has given us immense pleasure and happiness to watch.
Only after reading many books on Hollywood and the movies, particularly William Goldman's 'Adventures in the Screen Trade', I begun to be aware of what incredibly high regard his profession and peers hold him in. He became, during the course of my reading, a recurring motif in these books for a universally admired and loved person.
And it's easy to see why. Not only modest, ego-less, humorous and liberal, he led an exemplary life for a Human Being.
Married and faithful to the same woman for over 50 years, he put his family before all things. He enjoyed but never took his work too seriously. Passionate and politically active, he was a campaigning Democrat and a vocal supporter of gay rights and marriage.
He understood that the disproportionate fame and wealth, that came with his work, could be turned to benevolent, philanthropic goodness. His 'Newman's Own' products donate 100% of all profit to charity and have generated more than 100 million dollars to charitable causes.

What finer life can one have than to have lived it so selflessly and to leave behind such great films like 'The Hustler', 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', 'The Verdict' and 'The Hudsucker Proxy'.

Furthermore, like so many great men, Paul Newman was Hungarian. Well, one-quarter Polish and three-quarters Hungarian. His mother was born in Hungary and his father was the son of a of a Hungarian father and a Polish mother.

Weekend

We had a weekend of sheer, glorious, domestic bliss. Just the two us, Little One and Georgi.

Some of things we did included some things which are my most favourite things to do in the whole world!A chicken tikka masala from the Acton Balti House. One of my absolute most very favourite things in the world

Lots of walks and fun with Georgi and Ibolya in Roundwood Park

An afternoon sunbathe and snooze in the garden

Picked ripe pears from our pear tree

A pint of Guinness in the Mason's Arms

Watched a really great film, 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'. What a film! Brilliantly directed by the great American painter, Julian Schnabel, in French, from an English script by Ronald 'The Dresser' and 'The Pianist' Harwood, starring the fabulous Mathieu Amalric, Godlike screen legend; Max Von Sydow and several very beautiful French actresses including Marina Hands and Emmanuelle Seigner.

Listened to a really great album, which sounded good even on first listen. Elbow's 'Seldom Seen Kid'

Ibolya made an absolutely delicious Hungarian pea soup with dumplings

We also got some chores done. Ibolya stripped the paint of these drawers, which will be repainted for Little One and go in the nursery

I put up some roller blinds

and did a little bit of clothes shopping.