A Social Life

Nan arrived from Vancouver, and I prepared a welcoming meal of salmon poached in white wine, fresh salad greens, and steamed asparagus. We were good, and didn't get too over excited, going to bed at a reasonable hour - 11:00 pm. Waking up full of beans, we had tea and toast then headed off to the airport to pick up her rental car. Nan's a great walker, but I had no idea when I agreed to go by foot that it would take us an hour and a half. And it wasn't exactly picturesque along the way, buses and cars zooming past and high winds lashing our faces. Three quarters of the way there, we decided to jump on a bus, only to be taken two blocks before we had to get of because that particular bus wasn't going to the airport. We went through the process of renting the car and were directed to a very nice new vehicle that will take us around the UK for the next twelve days. We then picked up Nan's friend Doreen from the train station and dropped me back at the flat. Doreen lives in London but has a house in the country and that's where Nan will base herself.

Later on, Nancy Patterson arrived at 10:00 pm all the way from Marrakesh by plane and bus - the same trip I'll make when I leave Norwich for Dar Sidi Bounou on December 21st for two weeks. I had a nice meal waiting for  this Nancy too - smoked haddock done in the oven with roasted yellow peppers, leeks, tomatoes, and white wine, served with parsley potatoes and green beans. We talked until 2:30 am! I told her how grateful I am to be able to call her flat home for the next nine months or so and to be able "eat, drink, and live" with her off and on for the time I'm studying. Because I've chosen her as the subject of my biographical dissertation we'll need to spend as much time together as possible. She's only in the UK until November 22nd, but I'll be able to hear more about her life when I go to Morocco. My dissertation is supposed to be maximum 60 pages, but I think I'm going to have trouble keeping it to that - there's so much rich material.