Barbeque, bolus, Brighton, bikes and screaming foxes

June 2015 

It's been quite a week.

Barbeque

It kicked off with our neighbour Davide knocking on our door on Saturday morning inviting us to a barbecue that afternoon. He lives with his girlfriend Flora just behind our little flat and it's far bigger than our place, with its own small backyard. It turned out to be an great afternoon - good food,  the weather played nice, and we met some of their friends, ranging from other Europeans living in London to some born and bred Brits. 

(Food) bolus

The next day wasn't quite so nice  While having a Sunday roast in a pub near Angel, Rach got a chunk of beef stuck in her oesophagus. And it stayed there for several hours, persisting despite any water, coke or other food to push it down. She couldn't even swallow her own saliva, having to regurgitate it every half hour or so.

After about 4 hours we decided to call the non-urgent NHS line who said they would get back to us with details of an after hours centre nearby...but they didn't. So we bused out to Middlesex After Hours centre where the doctor advised us to go to Northwick Hospital (even further out in the 'burbs) to get it looked at, with the chance it would be removed in the morning. But luckily it didn't quite come to that. 

We tubed even further out for another half hour and got up as the train pulled into Kenton Park station. It came to a halt with a slight jolt and Rach gasped and grabbed me to keep from falling. And with that, she was fine - the surprise had dislodged it. So Rach was able to start her new job the next day without stress.

Brighton

Saturday was a trip to Brighton, only an hour and a half's journey away in a comfortable train. We had an obligatory visit to the Brighton Pier, smashing into each other (at low speed) in the dodgems and getting a bit of a splash in the log flume ride. A quick trip down to the "beach" convinced us it wasn't really worth it.

I'm afraid you can't make sandcastles out of those stones, kids.

Then it was across the road to the famous fish and chipper Harry Ramsdens, and its reputation was well deserved: the fish was soft, fleshy and tasty, with a tasty batter I could eat by itself, and the chips were crisp and fluffy inside. But I've decided I'm not a fan of mushy peas in any way.

I wish I could crop the mushy peas out of this photo. 

After that was a walk around (and also in Rach's case a nap in) the grounds of the Royal Pavillion, an odd but impressive Indian-influenced former royal mansion.

Following that we wandered through the lively markets in North Laine and the quieter streets of The Lanes, and had a drink at a pub, before boarding the 6:08 back to St Pancras.

Biking

Sunday was another exploring day - a wander along the canal from home to Warwick Avenue, where we picked up a couple of "Boris bikes" and rode/walked to Camden via Regent's park. 

We picked up some market food for an early dinner and sat on the canal to eat - Rach had a falafel wrap, while I had a duck wrap (which was clearly the better of the two).

Screaming foxes

And the strangest one of all.

Before 3am on a Tuesday, we were woken by a horrible screaming sound outside the front of the house. It sounded like a small dog in anguish after a serious injury. Peering out into the darkness we saw movement and rustling in the hedge outside the front window.

We were quite concerned at this point for the welfare of someone's pet so we opened the front door to go outside. Just as it opened I saw a small long shape the size of a cat dart off the road and into the area by the bins. Shortly after that there was more scuffling and rustling in the garden.

I realised then the cause of the noise: foxes. After a trusty Google search it was confirmed - we had heard the screaming sounds of a mating, probably female, fox. (And at this point a specific video probably should be linked to.)

So, all in all, a pretty eventful week.