Postcard from a sea of blossom

This weekend felt like spring had arrived in full bloom. A walk through Greenwich Park was a treat - sunshine, flowers and warmer than summer often is. 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. Follow the link if you want to know more; for me it's as good a reason as any to use a photo of the Royal Observatory. Sadly, I wasn't there at 1pm to synchronise my watch with the ball's drop. So, if I'm a few minutes late, you'll know why.

Quiet contemplation of blossom is one of the few good things going on in Greenwich just now. Long running roadworks are creating traffic chaos, bringing the bottleneck town centre to gridlock. If one hole in the road can cause that much trouble, just imagine what an Olympic event could do. And without the option for pedestrians and residents to take a break from the traffic by escaping into the Park for a breather. I've mentioned the issue before, you can see the details at NOGOE's website.

Of course, there's plenty of time for Spring to be a wash out yet. But, for now, it's all about pink blossom, yellow daffs and the orange ball of Greenwich Mean Time. Next weekend, the clocks go forward. So I won't be the only one whose watch is wrong.

Postcard from the seaside

Surf's up! Well, it looks a bit rough actually. So much for a holiday in the sun, Fuerteventura's famous winds blew a lot of cloud my way. The kite surfers were well served; the sunbathing book readers weren't so impressed.

On this hazy day we travelled from the soft dunes of Corralejo to the lava shores of El Cotillo (pictured), taking a loop through the mountains of Betancuria. Perhaps in the photo you can just make out the mountains in the distance? So much varied landscape in one small island, and all so much greener than expected because, just my luck, it's rained a lot recently.

Of course, one of the best things about being beside the seaside, is eating a meal at a beachside restaurant, looking out across the water (and eating fish caught in those waters). The food certainly made up for the weather; although, some sunbathing was managed - with interruptions.

Postcard from The REP

The Birmingham Rep is a hideous building. I suppose elephant-hide concrete cladding was the height of architectural design in the 1960s, but it now stands between the classical proportions of Baskerville House (named after John Baskerville, an innovator in typesetting, writing-trivia fans) and the 1990s plate glass and tubular steel of the International Convention Centre. The Rep doesn’t bear up well to the comparison.

What goes on inside, however, makes you forgive surface ugliness. I saw the Kneehigh Theatre production of Don John - Mozart’s Don Giovanni revisited as 1970s rock opera. Hilarious stuff with a quality soundtrack. Kneehigh deserve the accolades they attract, I loved their version of Brief Encounter with song and dance. I wonder if they had to tone down the Brummie accents when they took it to the West End though?

One other thing makes the Rep stand out from other theatres - their restaurant: WineREP. Not only is the food delicious and keenly priced. Not only, as you’d guess from the name, is the wine list superb. But the stroke of genius is the showtime deal. Eat your starter and main course before the performance, return to your table for your pudding and coffee in the interval. So civilised I can’t imagine why nowhere else does it. They should.

Postcard from underwater

There are places in Britain that are further from the coast than Birmingham, but not many. The city doesn't even have a major river running through it. So, it's an apt location for a Sea Life Centre – bringing the best of the underwater world to Brummies.

Highlights include the Bay of Rays, a huge tank filled with weird creatures gliding through the water, flipping and turning like kites. It was hard to draw the smallest member of our group away from the fascination of this drama playing out at toddler-eye level.

My favourite though, was the seahorses. Tiny, delicate, vibrant-coloured and strange shaped, it seems hard to believe these funny fish could survive in the open ocean. Fortunately, they appear to be happy at home in the big city.

Postcard from Pizza Express

OK, so I'm a cheap date, but I love Pizza Express. There are so many of us devotees that we even have a club where our loyalty is rewarded with free pizza. What more could the pizza lover need?

This is the Fiorentina as cooked at Birmingham Bullring – extremely tasty and one of my favourites from the menu. I recommend having the egg soft – lots of delicious runny yolk to soak up with the dough. Serving suggestion is a glass of red and a salad on the side. But you didn't need me to tell you that, did you?

There is only one thing which could improve this meal, are you listening Pizza Express management? I can be trusted with a sharper knife. The toddler at the next table was served bambinoccino in a real cup, so how about letting the adults have cutlery that, you know, cuts? Just, whatever you do, don't mess with my pizza.

Will save my raving about the gelato and the cheesecake for another post, all this pizza talk is making me peckish…

Postcard from outside

Even if politicians get slammed for talking about 'green shoots', it's nice to see the real thing coming through. Forget spin or economic analysis, the world is still turning and it's snowdrop season!

This weekend has also been the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. Eighteen feathered guests visited us. All common species, but it's good to have the company. Good to have an excuse to gaze out the window too. Sitting in a dazed stupor can often be put down to the hard work of preparing to write (!), but this weekend it's all in the name of nature conservation.

I might brew a cuppa, find a comfy chair and take another look. The birds and the bulbs are getting busy.

Postcard from several degrees below

To say the UK is in the grip of a cold snap is to understate matters. What with the national obsession for talking about the weather, understatement is about as likely as High Street stores being saved from collapse by a sudden rush on bikinis. It's not as if we can afford to leave the country after all!

Out on the patio, frozen footprints tell a story – the only ones venturing out are cats and birds. Both are looking for food. The cat does not live here, but the evidence is clear. A trail of footprints takes a direct route from its own house, via a call at our back door to see if anyone's home, through to the neighbour on the other side. The return route is shorter. Having been unlucky in its attempts to gain access, it backtracks to try its luck with the houses to the other side.

The birds were luckier – there is seed on the bird feeder and no sign of them having encountered the cat!

Here's hoping the weather warms up soon…