A Strange Loop, CPR and Robert Welch

The Barbican
I’ve had a very busy week, this week, and much of it wasn’t work….pause for several sharp intakes of breath.

On Monday night I went to the theatre, with friends, at the Barbican, a place that I’m not sure I’ve ever been to before. Quite contrasting phrases such as concrete jungle, brutalist architecture and really rather charming, came to mind as we sat out in the late afternoon sun, by the water (pond or lake, I couldn’t decide…a pake perhaps?) enjoying a pot of tea and a really decent sized hunk of an excellent carrot cake, which happily my companion couldn’t quite finish…

We were there to see a rather raw new musical called “a Strange Loop”, the story of a black, gay writer, writing a musical about a black, gay writer, writing a musical about a black, gay….hence the name.

The Guardian said it was “audacious and uproarious, a heartfelt masterwork”. For me, much of the music, which I didn’t know, stood out, as did the quality of the voices, which were outstanding. So, an enjoyable, if unconventional evening.

First Aid
On Tuesday night, Jacky (Reigate shop) had arranged for David Sullivan to come and give us training on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) techniques and in the use of a Defibrillator.

This was far more entertaining than I feared, as I wasn’t actually looking forward to it in the least, and was just doing it because it was the right and responsible thing to do. And you never know as a result of this training, one day, one of us may save someone’s life that without it, wouldn’t have happened. Indeed, with David’s light touch approach, we actually did have a lot of fun that evening and learned a great deal. His website if you’re interested in getting him to do a session for you, is here.

Emmanuel
On Wednesday morning, my old school chum Nick Marsh, picked me up to go to Redhill station where we were to catch the train to Clapham Junction (a lovely place, full of trains).

As we waited patiently in the ticket queue I saw Nick had a Senior Rail Card. My first reaction was “aren’t you a bit young for that Nick?”  Being told that I could have had one for the past 8 years, gave me pause for thought. And when he paid seven pounds something for his ticket and mine was eleven or twelve, I began to feel I was losing out.

The object of our destination was our old school, Emmanuel, and the 50th anniversary of the class of 73 (I wasn’t fond of any school I went to, Emmanuel was no exception, with nothing to recommend it, in my somewhat subjective view) *. Quite how Nick and Neil (another chum from those days) managed to persuade me back there, I don’t know, two very skilled and persuasive fellows, obviously. I say this because, when I left Emmanuel in 1971, I was pretty certain wild horses wouldn’t ever drag me back through those gates again.

So, walking in there without a murmur, (Nick didn’t even need to hold my hand or drag me screaming, I walked in there voluntarily), was really quite a surprise. And even more of a surprise, was that I actually rather enjoyed the experience, and came home having re-met a number of old classmates and having gained a new feeling of warmth towards those years of my school days. A result!

*If you are a parent of young children and have had Emmanuel in mind as a possible destination for them, then don’t let my account sway you too much. My experience is 50 years old and conventional education was, in any case, a complete waste of time for me, and I suppose, my teachers. Shame they didn’t expel me. I would have been so much happier, left to my own devices.

And so to product.

Robert Welch Black Knife Block 8 piece.
May sound like it has that number of knives, but no, it has 6 knives, a built in sharpener and the block itself, so tenuously, an eight piece knife block. 

RRP is £350

This weekend the first 4 customers can buy it for £250. Use code WELCH100 if shopping online.

Le Creuset TNS (Special Purchase) 28cm Shallow Casserole
A very useful, very good value casserole which doesn’t have an RRP that I can quote you, but the size down (26cm) has an RRP of £165. So this, that you can buy for £99.00 has to be very, very good value doesn’t it?

Koziol Cutlery
Ingeniously designed to take the absolute minimum of space, this cutlery I just could not resist stocking.

I’d love to say it’s been flying off the shelves. It hasn’t, so I’m hoping to give it a little help this weekend.

Normally £9.95 This weekend £6.95 each when buying two or more sets.

That’s it for this week. I’ll leave the last word to Eleanor Roosevelt

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

I really wish I’d thought of that.

I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.

Kind regards

Andrew

Andrew Bluett-Duncan

Director