I won't be able to sleep properly again until the scaffolding comes down, and it won't be coming down for another six weeks. Also the builders smashed one of my windows when they were putting it in. Also the fuse for my lights has blown and even after watching six different youtube tutorials (some simultaniously, while talking to my dad about it on the phone) I still don't feel confident that I won't burn to death in my polyester nightgown if I try to replace it myself. So I thought I'd sit here in the dark and write a blog entry to cheer myself up. Here are some awesome things I've been doing lately.
Helping Lily Smith make a music video in Hackney with some of my beautiful friends.
Going to a fascinating talk in Hackney Wick about the I Am Here Project (in case you've ever wondered who those faces in the windows in that council building on the canal in Hackney belong to). The lady who organised the project is wonderful and after the presentation I chatted with her about how Hackney Council are a bunch of dicks. It was cathartic. The talk was organised by these people and held in this lovely cafe which suddenly appeared before me like an oasis in the desert after several wrong turns - if you know Hackney Wick you'll know what I mean, it's basically a terrifying Ballardian maze.
Beautiful if distracting view from where I was sitting.
I had actually found myself in Hackney Wick a couple of weeks prior for a meal in a Ghanian pop-up restaurant at the Peanut Factory. The food was amazing (and cheap!) and the home-cookedness made it even more charming. Sitting in a stranger's front room surrounded by their books and eating their food is a novelty. The host informed us that the table we were sitting at was actually her desk.
The walk home was pretty too.
I also had a brief visit from a seriously beautiful cat. Apparently 75% of people who suffer from cat allergies have no reaction to Siberians. Unfortunately I am in the minority. It was good while it lasted though.
My friend Alma gifted me a sourdough starter a couple of weeks ago and I've been feeding it up like a gross little bubbly pet. I baked my first loaf this week, and it worked out surprisingly well. I've also been on a pesto making rampage and made some walnut pesto to smear on it. Result: tasty and luminous.
So there have been some good things happening around here, it's just hard to notice when I'm tired and furious all the time. Pounding yeast does help though so expect to see a lot more food porn in the coming weeks.
