A message from paradise

Bali truly is paradise, and the yoga retreat is better than I could ever have imagined! I'm here blogging on the centre's only computer (the retreat is called 'escape the world' so the whole idea is that you're not blogging and on facebook the whole time hence my near total absence these days!). I'll be back in the UK in a week or so where I'll post some photos from the trip before returning to Madrid. In the meantime here's a link to my 'wanderlist' (travel wishlist) which Alex and Mina have posted on their wonderful blog, Sending Postcards, where they document their travels round the world.

Super express post!

From Changi airport in Singapore - about to board for Bali! Posts might be a bit sparse over the next couple of weeks - will depend if I can get to an internet cafe between all the yoga, massages and eating :-)

I take back everything I said about Primark

I'm in the UK as of several days ago, and I've finally got around to buying some clothes for my Bali trip. I didn't want to spend a fortune on travel wear and despite saying I wouldn't go anywhere near the place, I found myself in cheapo superstore Primark. I don't know what happened, but 1.5 hours later I emerged from there 60 pounds poorer but with approximately 10 new items of clothing bundled into a bag. I've always been a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for', but seeing nicely cut classic white tees at only 2 pounds that rule went straight out of the window. I was like 'who cares if they fall apart in two months!' I sincerely hope they are not made by children - a discreetly placed notice in the shop suggests they aren't, but the very fact the placard is there arouses suspicion. Also in my haul were pumps in black and metallic peach at 4 pounds, long floaty dresses, 2 quid leggings and some housewarming presents for my brother's new place (2 cushions for 6 pounds!) The only thing I'd say is that you have to rummage, you have to get past the idea of shopping being a pleasant experience for all the senses and you have to forget about attractive merchandising. Also, you definitely can't dress head to toe in stuff from here without being a little, er, flammable. But seriously, there is some nice stuff here. Viva bargains!

For Madrid dwellers who are interested there is a Primark in Carabanchel's chavvy Isla Azul shopping centre.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday. My, wait for it, 33rd year on Earth! This is the first birthday I've had with my family in the UK for a few years and it was a really nice relaxing day. They had prepared a Lebanese meal for the occasion - homemade felafel, sambusek (a kind of samosa), hummus, baba ghanoush (aubergine dip), Greek salad, flat breads and baklava complete with candles. You know how I love to get all 'deep', so I'll be writing about my take on the passing by of years when I get a moment, but for now, here are some photos of the meal :-)

Hummus, ful medames (fava bean stew), and more

Felafel - this time made with broad beans as well as chickpeas, which gives a nice nuttiness

Sambusek in the making... stuffed with ground lamb and pine nuts

Boys, don’t do it! Top men’s summer fashion faux pas

Last year I had a go at us girls, and this time I’m having a go at the boys! Seriously though, it’s meant to be light-hearted, so don’t get too annoyed boys :-)

1. Bin Laden sandals. I would describe these as a heavy leather Jesus sandal with a chunky rubber tractor-tyre sole. I'm afraid I can't find an exact photo of what I mean but in my head I can see them loud and clear. They can be found as slip-ons, velcro-fastening, buckled or mules, but what they all have in common is that they’re hideous! A man can be beautifully decked out for summer; white linen shirt, bermudas that show off great calves, maybe the odd bead strung on a leather thong (not that kind of thong) – then you look down to his feet and he’s ruined it with BLSs (abbreviation). Perhaps my aversion to this type of footwear has something to do with the amount of time I’ve spent ‘in that part of the world’, indeed ‘my part of the world’ but it doesn’t matter if you’re a beard-free blondie – no-one can get away with this awful footwear that looks like a kind of saddle for feet.

2. Bare torsos. By bare torsos I mean naked chests on public transport and in restaurants – even beach restaurants. I don’t care if you have a six-pack or have specially shaved your chest for the occasion (which you see a lot of in Spain). It’s just not necessary!

3. Cut offs. Ok, it’s not fair to put this on the list as almost every boy I know wears cutoffs, but I have some inexplicable issues with them. Shorts I love, trousers too, but cutoffs, meh, luke-warm. Either get your legs out or hide them away. They seem to cut people off at the most unattractive part of the leg. To be fair, I hate cutoffs on myself too, and as a woman I have no idea how to make them look good. Wear them with flat shoes and I look like a slightly-bottom-heavy waddling duck (IMHO), with heels and it’s sort of a brunette slightly slutty Doris Day. Can’t win. Or maybe the Doris Day thing is a good look? If any of you ladies have any tips on how to look good in these then let me know!

4. ‘Holiday uniforms’. This means that special combo of garish sloganned T-shirt, tall towelling socks, white trainers, polyester bum-bag (fanny-pack) and a baseball cap. I know it's practical, but...

5. Other scary footwear: apart from the old bin ladens I have a few more to add to the list: a. Crocs – I know they are comfy, but unless you work in a hospital please do not wear them. b. Those ‘walking sandals’ (black canvas with velcro) unless you are actually walking.

Looking back at this list I can see that I’ve practically left men with nothing wear in summer, and while I understand I don’t really have the right to play at fashion police, please let me indulge in saying what I love men to wear in summer: Short-sleeved shirts in cotton or linen, khaki or chino shorts, nice flip-flops, crisp white Ts, canvas pumps, summer deck-shoes, cotton summer scarves for when it gets chilly, a touch of hawaiian or surfer look here and there...am I expecting too much metrosexuality? Or maybe I think we live in a Davidoff Cool Water ad? Perhaps the boys also have a list of what they’d like us to wear? High-heeled strappy sandals, tiny skirts, butt-skimming shorts and boob tubes? Or maybe, and hopefully, they’re not as demanding as me and they just want us to be comfortable :-)

Who would you most like to have a 121 with?

As much as I like group activities, I have to say my most natural state of interaction is one on one. I don't think this has so much to do with the fact I'm a little shy, it's more that I feel I get so much more out of a one to one; I see a facet of the person I'd otherwise miss, and vice versa.

Whenever I think of one 2 ones I remember this mobile phone ad with Kate Moss, it's 12 years old and she seems so different from who she is now (aren't we all?). She was all Johnny Depp and freckles, and these days I'm afraid to say I find her just a tiny bit rough - nothing to do with her age you understand - more to do with this image of a chain-smoking, coke snorting, bleached out It Girl.



I decided to write about this as the other day I had a really nice unexpected one to one with someone. It was actually with a director in my company, someone who is a little gruff and in your face and not afraid to be tough with you. He told me how brave he thought I had been in a particular situation unrelated to work, and how he perhaps couldn't have coped under the same circumstances. I was so touched that this person had even noticed my predicament, let alone admired my ability to cope with it. It was a little moment that cut through all our day to day pretending and posturing and portraying the right image.  That's what I like about one to ones.

And who would I most like to have a 121 with? I'm not sure to be honest. Hundreds of names come to mind; Mandela, Darwin, Cleopatra, Rumi... I even wonder what it would be like to have a 121 with my mum aged 20 or myself aged 60! But deep down I know the most insiring 121s are likely to come from people I already know, those in my outer circle, those I barely know and those who are yet to come into my life - and the thought of all the moments we might share is quite heartening :-)

Barcelona again

Lately I keep finding myself in lovely hotels - but alone and for work. As I write this I'm sat by a pool on a hotel roof in Barcelona, looking over the mediterannean, the Sagrada Familia and Norman Foster's 'gherkin'. It would be easy to feel lonely in such circumstances, but I kind of secretly enjoy these moments. I find it hard to explain, but there's something kind of anonymous and self-indulgent about days like this; a solo martini rosso at 4pm 'just because', long uninterrupted baths before my fellow colleagues arrive, strewing my clothes messily over the couch. No neighbours to be annoyed by, no food to cook, no clothes to wash. Tomorrow there will be long hard meetings about a book we're working on, but for now I'm just going to enjoy today and these lovely views :-)